The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 611 - 610: Homework

Chapter 611: Chapter 610: Homework

"Wife, over here, I’m here~"

Seeing the man from a distance, waving and jumping without any concern for the curious glances around, Shen Mingzhu put on her sunglasses with some embarrassment.

Was this plane really unavoidable?

"You’re finally back, I missed you to death~"

It was hot, and she was covered in sweat; facing the man’s enthusiastic bear hug, Shen Mingzhu had no desire to reciprocate and casually pushed the suitcase to him, "Let’s talk in the car."

"Alright."

Pei Yang caught the suitcase and wrapped his other arm around her.

The man’s large frame was like a huge furnace, making Shen Mingzhu’s entire body uncomfortable, but seeing how happy he was, she didn’t have the heart to reject him.

On the way to the parking lot, Pei Yang didn’t stop talking, asking how she spent the week in Jiangcheng, what she was busy with, and whether she had eaten the stomach-nourishing porridge he ordered for her the day before yesterday, and so on.

Shen Mingzhu responded intermittently.

"Mua~"

Looking at the man who "ambushed" her with a kiss while she was buckling her seatbelt, Shen Mingzhu glared at him.

Pei Yang grinned, looking like a big boy who had stolen a taste of candy, "Buckle up, we’re heading home~"

The evening glow spread across the sky like flowing fire, and a breeze carrying a hint of familiarity blew through the car window, making one feel unexplainably comfortable and relaxed.

Back home, both children were especially happy about her return.

However, Pei Ziheng was the same as when he was younger; no matter how happy he felt inside, his face maintained a cold and reserved expression.

Daughter Pei Tang immediately clung to her like a koala and refused to let go, causing Shen Mingzhu to complain that her old back couldn’t take it.

Thanks to the two boxes of special nutrition drinks sent by Yan Su, Pei Tang, who would be six in three months, had grown to a height of 1.2 meters, with her weight nearing thirty kilograms.

She had become a chubby little girl.

The two-and-a-half-year-old Fugui had already grown into a mighty and strong large wolfhound, circling around the mother and her two children, wagging its tail non-stop and licking Shen Mingzhu’s feet to express its joyful mood.

After playing around, the family gathered at the dining table for dinner.

The meal was much more lavish than usual, clearly prepared especially for Shen Mingzhu’s return, with Pei Ke and Cui Lianying also present.

While Cui Lianying formally worked as a nanny, over the past two years, she had developed a deep affection for the family of four.

After dinner, Cui Lianying and Pei Ke went home.

Pei Yang leashed Fugui and took the two children out for a walk.

Shen Mingzhu checked her daughter’s homework and drawings from the past days, then took out some clothes to change into and went into the bathroom to freshen up.

After showering, she returned to the bedroom and reached for the hairdryer to dry her hair.

Just as she plugged it in, Pei Yang came in.

"Let me help you."

Without a word, Shen Mingzhu handed the hairdryer over to him and sat down comfortably to enjoy.

The combination of travel fatigue and business trips really wore her out, and all she wanted to do was dry her hair quickly and lie down to rest.

Blow-drying his wife’s hair was something Pei Yang had long been proficient at.

His fingertips combed through the damp roots as the blow-dryer moved gently back and forth to avoid scorching her scalp with the hot air.

"Did you secretly go and cut your hair?"

"Not at all," Shen Mingzhu lied with her eyes closed.

Having kept her hair long for years, it had become somewhat tedious and at the end of last year, she had cut it to shoulder-length.

Pei Yang was quite upset about it for a while until she promised to let her hair grow long to appease him.

Growing it long was out of the question.

Accustomed to the ease of short hair, Shen Mingzhu did not want to grow it out again for a single day.

But Pei Yang liked her with long hair; if he knew she had cut it, he would undoubtedly make a fuss.

So, she could only take advantage of trips to Jiangcheng to get a trim at the salon, cutting just a tiny bit each time, less than half a centimeter, so the man wouldn’t notice.

"It’s been half a year, how come your hair hasn’t gotten any longer?"

"How would I know? Maybe it’s because I’m getting older."

"Nonsense, I’ve never heard of someone’s hair not growing because they’re older."

Suppressing a laugh, Shen Mingzhu straightened her face and looked up, "See, you’ve just admitted it, right?"

"Admit what?"

"That you think I’m old."

"When did I ever say you are old? Can you not wrong me, please?"

"You said I’m of an older age, isn’t that just a roundabout way of saying I’m old?"

"I didn’t."

"Dare to do but not to admit."

...

The topic veered off track by miles during their banter.

"Mommy, Mommy!"

Shen Mingzhu opened her arms to catch her daughter who crashed into her embrace, her tone affectionate, "What’s wrong, baby?"

Pei Tang sat astride her legs, her voice losing the babyish tone and becoming clear and melodious like that of an oriole.

"The teacher assigned weekend homework to be completed with a parent."

"Oh, what is it?"

Shen Mingzhu thought it might be something like arts and crafts or going on a trip, but then she heard her daughter coo, "To go eat at McDonald’s with Mom and Dad~"

Shen Mingzhu’s smile held a hint of mockery, "Is this truly homework or are you fabricating things?"

"Ah, well, it’s more or less the same."

Only after relentless questioning by Shen Mingzhu did Pei Tang finally come clean that the weekend task was to spend a happy and meaningful day with family and to share the story of it with classmates on Monday.

Pei Tang naturally assumed that eating at McDonald’s would be an extremely joyful event.

...

"...You need to first wipe the table with a wet cloth to get rid of the dust, and then use a dry cloth to wipe away any water stains before putting things back in their place."

Shen Mingzhu was sitting on the couch, loudly directing the two siblings as they cleaned.

Pei Tang wiped the sweat off her forehead and plopped down on the floor, "Mom, I’m tired!"

"If you’re tired, take a rest."

Before she could relish the relief, she heard Shen Mingzhu’s next sentence, "And continue after you’ve rested."

Oh no!

Pei Tang laid on the floor, sprawled out in the shape of a character "大".

Pei Ziheng bent down to lift her up, rubbing her head affectionately, "The floor is cold, go sit on the couch."

"Okay."

Pei Tang ran to Shen Mingzhu’s side and sat down beside her, leaning her head against her, "Mom, can we not clean anymore? It’s so tiring."

Seeing her daughter drenched in sweat from exhaustion, Shen Mingzhu felt pity.

She stretched out her arm to encircle her daughter’s tender shoulders, speaking softly but reasonably, "You promised last night yourself, remember? To complete a happy and meaningful day. You choose what’s fun, and I arrange what’s meaningful. Keeping promises is the most basic principle of being a person. If you said you’d do it, you have to follow through, right?"

"Then why don’t you do it with us!?"

"Because our roles are different, I’m the one who gives the orders, and you are the ones who carry out the tasks."

"I don’t care, I’m not doing it anymore!"

After saying this, she turned her back on her mother, clearly showing a fit of petulance.

"Now you’ve already done half, there’s only half left undone. Do you want to tell your classmates on Monday that you quit halfway through? Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at by your teacher and classmates?"

"But if you grit your teeth and finish it, come Monday, you can proudly tell everyone about the fun and meaningful things you did."

"Look at your brother, his back is soaked from exhaustion, and think about Grandma Yu and Aunt and Uncle who always look after us, as well as your dad and I. We get tired from working to earn money, but we never give up on our work because we’re tired..."

"I’m not listening, la la la!"

Shen Mingzhu had gotten only halfway through her reasoning when Pei Tang angrily interrupted, "I don’t want to eat McDonald’s anymore, okay? I hate you!"

This was the first time her daughter had screamed that she hated her, leaving Shen Mingzhu stunned.

By the time she snapped back to reality, her daughter had already run off to the second floor in anger.

"Mom."

Pei Ziheng came to her side immediately, trying to console her, "Don’t be mad at Guoguo. I’ll go talk to her."