The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 582 - 581: Happy Moments

Chapter 582: Chapter 581: Happy Moments

Pei Wenping was conflicted about whether to go to Shanghai City or not.

On one hand, he hoped that Pei Wenping could reconcile with Chen Yi and reunite with their children in Shanghai City.

Indeed, Chen Yi’s affair was an unforgivable mistake, but his behavior in the past two years and his attitude of repentance had satisfied him somewhat, and he was already inclined to give Chen Yi another chance.

Moreover, he didn’t think there was any man in the world who could tolerate and accommodate his sister’s temper better than Chen Yi.

But on the other hand, he knew that Shen Mingzhu had always wanted to pull Pei Wenping into the food factory to help out, even bringing it up in front of him several times.

If he were to help Chen Yi, wouldn’t that mean going against his own wife?

After taking Chen Yi to the airport, Pei Yang went back to the shop to work.

When he finished work and returned home in the evening, he was surprised to find his wife’s car parked in front of the house.

Upon entering, he dashed into the bedroom and saw Shen Mingzhu sitting cross-legged on the bed reading documents; Pei Yang pounced onto the bed with a flying leap.

"When did you come back? Why didn’t you call me?"

Looking at the man snuggling in her arms, Shen Mingzhu scolded him,"You seem pretty happy when I’m not home, not coming back for dinner, not caring for the child, frolicking around until this late hour."

"Nonsense, I was settling last month’s accounts with my brother-in-law tonight, that’s why I’m late. I didn’t go out to play."

As he spoke, his fuzzy head nuzzled into her embrace, "I thought you weren’t coming back today; being home alone is no fun either."

Shen Mingzhu pushed the man’s head to the side.

His hair was stiff, tickling and itching her skin.

She explained, "The contract signing with Lihua went smoothly. They wanted me to stay for dinner, but I was impatient with the drinking and socializing, so I made an excuse to come back early."

Quancheng was not far from Fengcheng, about four hundred kilometers, roughly a five-hour drive.

Sensing her resistance, Pei Yang tightened his arms around her, pressing his face against her soft abdomen.

His wife’s body was not just soft, but also fragrant, which made him reluctant to let go.

Shen Mingzhu waved the agreement in front of him, "Do you want to take a look at the contract with Lihua?"

"I don’t want to see it."

Pei Yang refused straightforwardly, with his eyes closed.

Right now, he only wanted to hold his wife.

Shen Mingzhu put the agreement back into the file bag, intending to stand up and put it in the safe, but was thwarted by the man’s arms, tight as iron clamps around her waist.

She looked down, preparing to ask the man to let go, but then she saw a clump of earwax in his ear.

She couldn’t tolerate even a bit of mess due to her obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"Go get the ear pick, I’ll clean your earwax for you."

"Alright."

Pei Yang happily got up to open the drawer of the dressing table and took out the ear pick, cotton swabs, and alcohol, not forgetting to grab a few clean tissues as well.

While the man fetched the ear pick, Shen Mingzhu placed the file in the safe.

The safe had two layers, the upper for documents and the lower for valuable jewelry and cash, and it was almost full.

"Do you have time to go to the bank tomorrow and ask if they have safe deposit box services? I want to rent a safe deposit box."

"Don’t we already have a safe?"

"It’s full."

"Then let’s buy another one, a bigger one."

Shen Mingzhu carefully shook the extracted earwax onto the tissue, while saying, "The house isn’t a hundred percent safe."

"Then I’ll ask at the bank tomorrow."

After cleaning the earwax from his ear canal, Shen Mingzhu used a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to wipe the inside and outside of the entire ear, clearing the grease from the ear pit and the dirt from behind the ear.

"All done, switch to the other side."

Hearing her command, Pei Yang turned over, exposing his other ear.

"Daddy, Mommy, what are you doing?"

Guoguo had run into the bedroom at some point, her big, pitch-black eyes fixed on the two of them.

"Mommy is cleaning Daddy’s earwax."

"I want some too!"

Looking at her daughter who lay expectantly on the edge of the bed, Shen Mingzhu felt an indescribable tenderness in her heart. Noticing that her daughter’s feet were bare, she patted the bed beneath her.

"Come up."

After her daughter had clambered up onto the bed with effort, she took a tissue and began wiping the bottoms of her daughter’s feet, while asking, "Why are you still awake so late?"

"I want some neinei."

Shen Mingzhu embraced the little one who kept burrowing into her arms. "Why do you suddenly want neinei? Didn’t you have enough dinner?"

In order for her daughter to eat regular meals, Shen Mingzhu had weaned her off formula milk after she turned three years old.

"Mhm!"

Seeing her daughter nod vigorously, Shen Mingzhu gently suggested, "How about Mommy finishes cleaning Daddy’s ears first, and then we’ll ask Daddy to cook you some noodles?"

"Oh."

Worried about her daughter being hungry, Shen Mingzhu clearly lacked her previous patience and meticulousness, and finished the ear-cleaning in no time.

"All done!"

Pei Yang opened his eyes and looked at her, his gaze carrying a mix of dissatisfaction and grievance, "That quick?"

Shen Mingzhu pushed him up, "Alright, go cook the noodles, and while you’re at it, check on Ziheng to see if he’s asleep. Ask him if he wants to eat too."

Pei Yang got up with a belly full of complaints, but still headed to the kitchen.

In stark contrast to Pei Yang’s displeasure, Guoguo lay happily on her mother’s lap, her carved little face brimming with excitement and joy.

"Mommy, time for ear cleaning."

"Mhm, lie still and don’t move around."

"Mhm!"

Children’s ear canals are delicate and soft, and one careless move can cause injury, so Shen Mingzhu didn’t dare to use an ear spoon, only daring to gently scrape with a cotton swab.

Before long, Pei Ziheng also came into the bedroom.

Seeing the mother-daughter pair cleaning ears on the bed, he didn’t make a sound to disturb them, instead standing quietly at the bedside like a little pine tree.

"Brother."

When it was time to switch to the other ear, Guoguo saw Pei Ziheng standing by the bed and couldn’t help but call out happily.

Pei Ziheng climbed onto the bed and covered his sister’s gem-like beautiful eyes with the palm of his hand, "Close your eyes, don’t move around."

"Oh."

Feeling the soft touch of eyelashes repeatedly brushing against his palm, Pei Ziheng couldn’t help but curve his mouth slightly.

Little rascal.

"All done!"

Guoguo kept her eyes tightly shut, pretending not to hear.

Lying on her mother’s chest while having her ears cleaned was too comfortable; she didn’t want to get up at all and wished she could lie there forever.

Noticing her daughter’s little scheme, Shen Mingzhu laughed and patted her little bottom twice, "Come on, get up. It’s time to clean brother’s ears."

Pei Ziheng was surprised at first, then his face showed anticipation and joy.

Guoguo reluctantly straightened up her upper body, blinking her eyes that were prettier than a doll’s, and whined in her baby voice, "Mommy, I think they’re not clean yet."

"Let me see."

Shen Mingzhu picked up her daughter’s delicate little ear and pretended to inspect it, "They’re clean."

Then she pushed her towards the edge of the bed, "Good girl, go and see if Daddy’s noodles are ready. If they’re done, come and tell us."

"Oh~"

Guoguo climbed off the bed and was about to run out when Pei Ziheng caught her and slipped his slippers onto her soft little feet before letting her go.

Shen Mingzhu felt reassured witnessing this scene, and her tone softened without realizing it.

She patted her thigh and urged her son, "Come here, lie down."

Pei Ziheng obediently moved over, settled sideways on Shen Mingzhu’s lap, closed his eyes, and savored the bliss of having his ears cleaned by Mommy.