The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 760 - 759: Teaching Zhuang Xu a Lesson

Chapter 760: Chapter 759: Teaching Zhuang Xu a Lesson

Pei Ziheng quietly said to Zhao Yun, "Wait another year."

"Then what?"

"Then you’ll enter the NBA."

"Do you think it’s just shooting a basket, that you say ’enter’ and you’re in?"

"Yes, I’m saying you can get in."

Zhao Yun laughed, "You think the NBA is run by your family, letting in whomever you want?"

Pei Ziheng gave a noncommittal response, "Right now, don’t think about anything else, and don’t worry about anything. Just focus on honing your basketball skills. If a club wants to sign you and the conditions are right, go for it. If not, you wait."

"How long am I supposed to wait?"

Zhao Yun was idly kicking a stone on the roadside, imagining it as the detestable Coach William.

"Wait until I invest in an NBA team for you."

Zhao Yun was stunned.

"Holy shit, you’re not just screwing with me, are you?"

Pei Ziheng: "I’m like your godfather, do I need to screw with you?"

Zhao Yun licked his dry lips, overly excited, eyes shining, "If you really invest in a team for me, I wouldn’t mind calling you ’Dad’!"

"Get lost, I don’t want a dumbass son like you."

Although he disdained Zhao Yun’s notion that anyone who provided for him could be his father, Pei Ziheng solemnly assured him, "I will definitely get you into the NBA, provided you have the skill to play in the NBA. I’m pushing you to the top because I hope you can bring glory to our country, not make an international embarrassment."

Zhao Yun nodded vehemently, "Even if it costs me my life, I’ll knock these foreign devils down and show them the strength of the Chinese!"

Pei Ziheng smiled satisfied, "Go for it."

After sending Zhao Yun back to the Basketball Academy, Shen Mingzhu also took her siblings back to London.

...

"Madam Zhuang, Ziheng and Xu are fighting in the yard!"

Upon hearing Kona’s report, Mother Zhuang hurriedly put aside what she was doing and went to the yard.

More than the reason for the children’s fight, she was worried that her son might seriously hurt Pei Ziheng.

Zhuang Xu was several years older than Pei Ziheng and a head taller; at first glance, Pei Ziheng seemed to be the one getting bullied.

But as soon as she stepped out the door, she saw her own son face down, being held down on the lawn with one hand by Pei Ziheng.

It looked as effortless as pinning down a thrashing, feather-losing chick.

Beside them, Pei Tang crisply shouted, "Big brother, stop it! You won’t kill anyone like this."

Mother Zhuang stumbled.

After pausing on the spot for two seconds, she turned around and went back inside.

A young man of seventeen or eighteen, getting beaten by a thirteen-year-old boy—she was somewhat reluctant to acknowledge such an embarrassing son.

Although Mother Zhuang didn’t intervene, Pei Ziheng knew when to stop and he let go.

Zhuang Xu flipped over and lay flat on the grass, eyes red as he glared at Pei Ziheng, "You tricked me!"

"Yeah, that’s right."

Pei Ziheng’s frankness nearly drove Zhuang Xu mad with rage.

"Waste."

Zhuang Xu stared in disbelief, "What did you just say?"

Pei Ziheng looked down with a cold stare, word by word, "I said you’re a waste."

Zhuang Xu, furious, tried to get up and react but was lightly kicked back onto the lawn by Pei Ziheng.

Deceived and beaten up, Zhuang Xu burst into tears.

"And you have the nerve to sit there crying? Isn’t that shameful?"

"It’s none of your business, get lost!"

Zhuang Xu grabbed a handful of lawn soil and hurled it fiercely at Pei Ziheng, only to find that the wind was against him, and the soil scattered, covering his own head and face.

The awkward and comical scene amused Pei Tang and Elsa so much that they burst into hearty laughter.

Zhuang Xu was mortified to death, his face turning beet red.

Pei Ziheng, however, did not join in the ridicule. Instead, he told Pei Tang to take his friends back to the house.

After the girls had left, he approached Zhuang Xu.

"Your sister is the eldest daughter-in-law of Ning’s Third House, your brother-in-law is the heir to Ning’s Third House, and your nephew is the future heir of Ning’s Third House. Even if the Zhuang Family falls, you remain at the apex of the upper echelons, possessing a background, resources, and connections beyond the reach of most," he said.

"Yet you choose to degrade yourself, allowing yourself to rot in the mire. With this kind of mentality, even if your father hadn’t encountered trouble, if the Zhuang Family came into your hands, it couldn’t change the outcome of ruin."

"Your great-grandfather was a brick kiln worker. He created the vast enterprise of the Zhuang Family one brick at a time. Now, you’re not even worth the clay bricks he held in his hands."

"Shut up! Who do you think you are? What right do you have to make such snide remarks here!"

"If it weren’t for the close friendship between your sister and my mother, I couldn’t care less about your well-being."

With that, he turned away without a second glance and went home.

A breeze arose, and light rain began to fall.

Zhuang Xu lay spread-eagled on the lawn, letting the rain beat on his face and body, his salty hot tears mixing with the cold rainwater, seeping into the soil.

When Shen Mingzhu came home in the evening and learned that her son had beaten up Zhuang Xu, she immediately brought people over to apologize.

Mother Zhuang wasn’t particular, but Zhuang Xu fell ill.

He was beaten up and then caught in the rain, causing him to develop a high fever once he got home.

Luckily, as a young man, he had a strong immune system. After getting an injection and sleeping, the fever subsided, but he was listless and lethargic.

Shen Mingzhu personally cooked a nutritious congee and delivered it to the Zhuang Family as a way to make amends and express her regret.

Pei Ziheng had to take at least half the blame for Zhuang Xu’s illness.

Mother Zhuang herself took the congee, prepared to bring it upstairs to her son. Just reaching the staircase, she saw the gaunt figure of Zhuang Xu coming down the stairs.

"Xiao Xu, you’ve come down just in time. Here’s some freshly simmered yam congee. Have some," she said.

To avoid her son’s resistance, Mother Zhuang dared not say the congee was from Shen Mingzhu.

Zhuang Xu nodded and sat down at the dining table.

He quietly began to eat the congee set before him by Mother Zhuang without saying a word.

Halfway through eating, he suddenly looked up at Mother Zhuang and said, "Mom, I want to continue my education."

Mother Zhuang was initially startled, then her face showed delight, and her voice trembled slightly with excitement, "Good, I’ll have Lou send word right away to arrange that."

She paused, then cautiously inquired if Zhuang Xu had any preferred schools.

Since the family trouble began, her son had given up on himself. He hadn’t even taken the college entrance exams, nor was he willing to apply to schools in London.

She had been prepared to accept her son’s downfall, but who knew that after being ill, he actually wanted to study again. It was a blessing in disguise indeed.

"University of London," he said.

"Good, good, I’ll go find Lou Hua right away to arrange it."

A cold rain completely awakened him, and a single insult ignited his fighting spirit.

He would take back everything the Zhuang Family had lost!

...

Time flew, and the summer holidays were coming to an end. Pei Ziheng and Pei Tang were preparing to go home.

Before leaving the country, Shen Mingzhu held a lawn BBQ for the siblings as a send-off.

Other than the Zhuang mother and son, Pei Tang also invited Elsa and Kona.

Elsa and Kona brought along a few close friends, and seven or eight doll-like little girls gathered together, chirping and chattering noisily.

The girls were rowdy, but polite. Every time Shen Mingzhu served freshly grilled food, they would all say ’thank you’ loudly.

As dusk fell, a woman with a chilly aura appeared like a ghost in an unremarkable corner.

It was Ou Liya.

She looked scornfully at the lively scene in the villa’s courtyard, then after a dozen seconds, put on sunglasses and left.

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