The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 655 - 654: Warming a Cold Shoulder

Chapter 655: Chapter 654: Warming a Cold Shoulder

Shen Mingzhu arrived smoothly at the hotel, placed the gifts she brought, arranged the menu with the recommendations of the ordering clerk, and then ordered a pot of tea. Sitting across from Pei Yang at the private room’s tea table, they chatted while sipping tea, patiently awaiting the grand arrival of La Shiran.

Just two minutes past seven o’clock, the door to the private room was pushed open by a waiter, and engulfed by an elegant sweet fragrance, La Shiran, wearing a V-neck white dress and with a smiling face, appeared at the doorway.

Shen Mingzhu immediately stood up to greet her, "Mrs. Four..."

"No need to be so formal, just call me Shiran like before."

Shen Mingzhu was about to agree when, the next second, she found herself hugged in a warm and fragrant embrace.

The soft and delicate touch, the unfamiliar sweet scent, momentarily left Shen Mingzhu feeling disconcerted.

La Shiran’s enthusiasm caught her by surprise.

Fortunately, she quickly let go of her and changed to holding her hand instead.

"I’m late, I’ve made you wait."

From her appearance and demeanor, La Shiran possessed a gentle and pure innocence, with an air of naivety and vulnerability that made her seem like an easily bullied little white flower. Yet, from the moment they met to the first words exchanged, she emanated a powerful aura that was hard to resist.

Truly, she was the woman beside a powerful man.

"It has been quite a long wait," Shen Mingzhu responded.

Upon hearing Shen Mingzhu’s reply, La Shiran was momentarily taken aback, yet before she could lament Shen Mingzhu’s lack of conversational skills or worldly sophistication, she found herself laughing at what Shen Mingzhu said next.

"I’ve been waiting for this meeting for more than three years."

"Mm, that’s my fault; I should have brought you over earlier."

"It’s alright, a beauty is always worthy of forgiveness."

A few simple exchanges were enough to make La Shiran laugh delightedly, "Talking with you is always so enjoyable, I wish you could stay in Ao City."

Seeing that his wife was about to be charmed away, Pei Yang immediately stepped forward to make his presence felt, "Mrs. Four, hello, I’m Pei Yang. I’m very grateful for your help with my uncle the last time."

La Shiran offered Pei Yang a polite smile, "It’s nothing, don’t give it another thought."

Shen Mingzhu took the opportunity to suggest, "Let’s sit down and talk."

"Certainly."

The hotel’s luxury surpassed all expectations; not only was the private room twice the standard size, but the dining table was also exceptionally large. The three of them, seated in a triangular arrangement, occupied only a quarter of the table.

As the waiter inquired whether to serve the food, Shen Mingzhu gestured for the staff to repeat the menu.

After the waiter finished, she then asked La Shiran if she would like to add anything to the meal.

With La Shiran’s refusal, Shen Mingzhu signaled the waiter to start serving.

"You are quite attentive."

After the waiter left, La Shiran propped her chin on her hands and said warmly to Shen Mingzhu.

Shen Mingzhu explained, "I’m in the catering business myself, so I pay more attention to these things to avoid offending guests’ taboos."

La Shiran laughed, "When I’m free, I must visit your place. I bet the taste of your restaurant won’t disappoint me."

"You’re most welcome."

Although this was only their second meeting, the two talked like old friends about children, work, and their individual lives and interests, finding much in common.

In fact, over the past three years, they had maintained contact, exchanged greetings, and sent each other gifts, even sharing their everyday lives and troubles.

Rather than friends, their relationship resembled that of internet friends or pen pals.

After the meal, Shen Mingzhu brought out the gift for La Shiran.

"This is pre-Qingming Longjing green tea, which is rich in catechins. It refreshes the mind and can also alleviate anxiety and stress. When you’re tired of coffee, you might try this for a change of flavor."

The tea leaves came in six small tins, each containing one ounce and packed in goose-egg-shaped Ru ware porcelain bottles, which were both exquisite and thoughtful.

In a place like Ao City, where there weren’t many tea drinkers, and most preferred black tea, a top-grade green tea like pre-qingming Longjing was quite a novelty.

La Shiran immediately opened a can and asked the server to brew three cups for them to taste.

While waiting for the tea to be brewed, Shen Mingzhu continued to showcase other gifts.

There were Jingdezhen ceramics, Shu brocade cheongsams, double-sided embroidery ornaments, and more, all cultural heritage gifts of national essence, each captivating La Shiran completely.

The brewed Longjing was soon served, filling the room with tea fragrance that overflowed like a grassy meadow sparkling with dew under the morning sun, fresh, elegant, and charming.

While sipping Longjing, La Shiran asked Shen Mingzhu about the plans for the next day and learned that Mingzhu wished to wander around the city, at which point Shiran volunteered to guide the two of them.

It was already eleven o’clock when they returned to the hotel.

As Pei Yang entered his room, he casually knocked on the neighboring door. All was quiet, clearly Zhou Shuhuan and Qiao Ya had not yet returned.

It wasn’t until midnight that Shen Mingzhu, who was already lying in bed ready to sleep, heard Zhou Shuhuan and Qiao Ya come back.

The two had brought back quite a bit of late-night food and called them over to eat.

Shen Mingzhu, having had a full dinner and not used to eating late at night, asked Pei Yang to go eat while she continued to sleep.

She hadn’t been asleep for five minutes before Qiao Ya came knocking on the door, insisting on bringing over a pile of food.

With no other choice, Mingzhu got dressed and went next door to nibble on something.

She was greeted by quite the sight—crispy skin suckling pig, baked Portuguese chicken, pan-fried prawns, ginger onion mantis shrimp, thick soup chicken stew with fins, Typhoon Shelter fried crab paste, crab porridge, among various seafood delicacies. The room was filled with the aroma of meat, which even lured out Shen Mingzhu’s appetite.

"Sister-in-law, did your dinner with Madam La go smoothly tonight?"

"Mhm." Shen Mingzhu didn’t really want to talk about La Shiran and changed the subject. "Did you guys strike it rich tonight, buying so much good food?"

Qiao Ya smiled and handed her a piece of roasted pork, "Brother Zhou had some decent luck, won almost two hundred thousand."

Pei Yang looked at Zhou Shuhuan in surprise, "You’re something, keeping quiet about such a windfall."

Zhou Shuhuan raised his beer and clinked it with Pei Yang’s, "Just pure luck."

Pei Yang took a sip of his beer, "You can’t just say that, luck is also a part of strength, right wife?"

Shen Mingzhu smiled and nodded, "This trip sure wasn’t in vain for you guys. You can go out shopping tomorrow and buy some nice stuff."

Qiao Ya took over the conversation, "Sister-in-law, come with me tomorrow, I want to buy a bag. Brother Zhou doesn’t understand these things, shopping with him is so dull."

"We have plans during the day; you and Shuhuan go have fun. We can find a place to have dinner together in the evening."

Qiao Ya was curious, "Where are you planning to go?"

"We have an appointment with a friend."

Seeing that Shen Mingzhu didn’t want to go into details, Qiao Ya laughed enigmatically, "Sister-in-law, you seem to have quite a few friends around here."

Shen Mingzhu didn’t continue the topic but turned to Pei Yang, "Why don’t you go visit some of your uncle’s friends tomorrow instead of coming with me?"

Pei Yang nodded in agreement.

This trip, Pei Ke had entrusted them to deliver some things to several old friends in Ao City.

After eating their fill and drinking plenty, Shen Mingzhu and Pei Yang both helped clean up before returning to their room next door.

As soon as they left, Qiao Ya began to lose her temper again.

"What’s her deal? It’s like I’m being snubbed after offering my warmth. I really don’t get what she’s so proud of!"

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