The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 662 - 661: Farewell Gift

Chapter 662: Chapter 661: Farewell Gift

Cui Rumao’s gaze slowly dropped to her flat belly.

His tone was light and teasing, "What did you say?"

"Anyway, I’ve said my piece, now it’s up to you."

After speaking, she turned to leave, but Cui Rumao, who was quicker, pulled her back and pushed her down onto the sofa.

"Hey, be careful, don’t hurt the baby."

Looking down at her from his higher position, Cui Rumao’s smile spread from his eyes, "When did this happen?"

"About two months, I guess."

La Shiran looked left and right, avoiding meeting his gaze.

Cui Rumao didn’t mind and was noticeably more gentle, "Why didn’t you tell me earlier?"

La Shiran blinked, "I wasn’t sure before, and I hadn’t gone to the hospital for a check-up. But every three days I used a test, and it always showed two lines, and the red line is getting clearer."

"I’ll have a doctor come and take a look at home."

After saying this, he instructed the nanny to bring over the mobile phone and ordered You Zhong to make arrangements.

La Shiran’s hand rested on her belly, her palm-sized beautiful face showing tinges of expectation and joy.

In fact, after confirming her pregnancy, she quietly went to a traditional Chinese medicine clinic to have her pulse checked and confirmed it was a pregnancy pulse.

Her silence was naturally with a purpose in mind.

Cui Rumao probably saw through her little schemes, but with the happy news at hand, he couldn’t be bothered to care.

And La Shiran was well aware of this too; no matter how much of a scene she made, she always made sure not to cross the line with Cui Rumao.

...

"Sima Shaohui really messed up, just for a mere ten million and ended up getting herself in trouble."

In the main house of the Cui Family estate, Jiang Huiqun, the second mistress, lamented to Huo Qingfeng, the main mistress.

However, her pity was more for other reasons.

The third mistress, Sima Shaohui, had been in charge of several high-end hotels, and now they were all in La Shiran’s hands!

After decades of being sisters-in-law, the main mistress was certainly not blind to the second mistress’ calculations.

"Shaohui is indeed foolish, but her greatest folly wasn’t choosing the wrong path; it was underestimating her opponent."

Hearing the main mistress’s words, the second mistress’s face went through several changes before settling into a smile.

"Fengjie, you’re overthinking it. She might not have the brains or the courage for it."

Huo Qingfeng’s prayer beads twirled in her hands; despite being over fifty with a face suggesting kindness and benevolence, her words revealed a mind that wasn’t as detached as she appeared.

"One must not judge by appearances alone but look through phenomena to see their essence. The one who benefits the most is the most suspect."

The second mistress pondered this thought.

...

Watching another plane take off from the runway and soar into the sky, Shen Mingzhu’s unease grew.

The flight back to Fengcheng was supposed to leave at seven-thirty, but now it was nearly nine o’clock, and there was no sign that boarding would begin.

She had already asked airport staff numerous times, and the answer was always "air traffic control".

Yet other flights seemed unaffected by the control and were taking off one after another, which inevitably gave her cause for concern.

"If by nine o’clock we still can’t board, we’ll take the train back."

Seeing her concern, Pei Yang comforted her with a reassuring arm over her shoulder, "Don’t overthink it, it might be a technical issue with the plane that they’re fixing. I’ve experienced this several times before."

Shen Mingzhu didn’t respond, hesitating over whether she should call La Shiran.

"The flight to Fengcheng is now ready for boarding."

Three minutes shy of nine o’clock, the boarding gate erupted with the call from the ground staff, and Shen Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let’s go, time to board."

"Mm."

At this time, the airport didn’t have jet bridges, and only passengers in business class or above had the privilege of taking the shuttle bus. Those in economy had to walk to the plane.

Fortunately, the plane was parked not too far away, just about a ten-minute walk.

Just as the two of them were about to reach the boarding stairs, four stout men in black surrounded them.

"Ms. Shen, someone wants to see you, please follow."

Before Shen Mingzhu could speak, her hand hanging by her side was grasped by Pei Yang, "I’ll go with you."

She turned her head and met the man’s resolute gaze, and instinctively said, "You go on the plane and wait for me."

Pei Yang shook his head.

Shen Mingzhu hugged him and tiptoed to whisper a couple of words in his ear.

After listening, Pei Yang cast a half-believing look at the men in black, then took Shen Mingzhu’s handbag and walked toward the boarding stairs.

Shen Mingzhu followed the men in black to a small private plane.

As she boarded the cabin and saw La Shiran sitting by the window with a grin, Shen Mingzhu wasn’t surprised at all.

"I saw everything just now."

La Shiran huffed, "Your husband is really unreliable, just leaving you behind and boarding the plane by himself."

Shen Mingzhu chuckled, "He knew it was you who wanted to see me."

"Men’s words are deceitful; don’t let him deceive you."

"It was me who told him," Shen Mingzhu pointed at one of the bodyguards behind her, "I saw him yesterday in the jewelry store."

La Shiran, with one hand propping her cheek, teased in a mocking tone, "Speaking of which, why did you run? With me here, you would certainly be safe."

"I certainly believe that, I just didn’t want to trouble you."

Hearing her say this, La Shiran extended both hands to take hers, her expression even more sincere and grateful.

"I owe you one for yesterday, Mingzhu, thank you."

Shen Mingzhu grinned, "You helped me first, giving me the chance to help you; so, what you really need to be thankful for is yourself."

If it weren’t for La Shiran’s selfless help three years ago, she wouldn’t have been so keen on making a trip to Ao City, nor would she have accidentally cracked the theft case.

One could only say, what goes around comes around, good begets good.

La Shiran let go of her and passed a palm-sized brocade box on the table to her, "This is for you."

"What is it?"

"I promised you a gift yesterday, luckily I made it in time."

Shen Mingzhu accepted the gift, her smile teasing, "It wouldn’t have mattered if you hadn’t made it in time, you have plenty of ability to print money."

The moment she saw La Shiran, she had almost been certain that the flight delay was her doing.

La Shiran didn’t hide it, "I intended to get up early, but something came up, so I had to make you wait a bit longer, you’re not angry, are you?"

Shen Mingzhu shook the brocade box in her hand, "I was a bit upset before, but now I’m not."

...

"Ladies and gentlemen, our plane will soon be taking off, please fasten your seatbelts..."

Hearing the announcement, Shen Mingzhu handed the brocade box to Pei Yang to hold, to free her hands to fasten her seatbelt.

"What’s this?"

"I don’t know, something from Shiming, I haven’t had the chance to look yet."

La Shiran timed it very tightly, letting her go only five minutes before takeoff, so Shen Mingzhu was too focused on catching the flight to look at what was inside the box.

"Shall I help you open it?"

"No need, I can do it myself."

The joy of unwrapping a present is often more enthralling than the present itself.

But soon, Shen Mingzhu was proven wrong.

Looking at the item in the box, the couple exchanged glances.

"This is fake, right?"

"What do you think?"

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