Rebirth of the Fierce, Pampered Wife

"Uncle! Aunt!" The moment she stepped out of the school gate, Gu Nuan Nuan heard her name and immediately spotted her uncle and aunt waiting with a bicycle. A huge smile spread across her face.

"My uncle and aunt are here to pick me up," she remembered to tell Dong Xinran first. Then, after greeting the teacher on duty, she dashed over excitedly.

"Slow down, don’t rush." Zhang Wei Qiang and Lin Qin watched Gu Nuan Nuan running over with a happy smile, and they couldn’t help but grin as well.

"Having a daughter is the best. If only we could have one of our own," Lin Qin said, shaking her head wistfully. She handed the meat buns to Gu Nuan Nuan. "We didn’t buy these. Your mom specifically bought them at noon. We’ve already eaten; these two are for you to tide you over after school."

"Did things go smoothly when you went to see my grandparents?"

Gu Nuan Nuan asked the question, but in her heart, she was already certain of the answer. ’Just by looking at these meat buns... I just had one yesterday, so how could I not recognize they’re from He Ji? Grandpa and the others must have had good news when they visited today. Otherwise, even if Mom wanted to buy buns, Grandpa and Grandma would have stopped her.’

"Of course it went smoothly. Hurry and eat, you must be hungry," Zhang Wei Qiang said, his face full of adoration.

"This is too much. I’ll just have one. Uncle, Aunt, why don’t you each have half of the other one?" Gu Nuan Nuan said with a sly grin, not waiting for them to refuse. "I bet there will be more good food waiting for me at home tonight. If I eat both buns now, I won’t have room for it later. Besides, it’s so hot out. The other bun might spoil if we save it. Wouldn’t that be a waste?"

"Fine, fine. One is enough for you. Save room in that little tummy of yours for even better food at home. Your aunt and I will help you with the other one." Without another word, Zhang Wei Qiang took a bun and broke it in two. He handed the half with more filling to Lin Qin and shook his head with a resigned sigh. "I don’t know who this kid takes after, she’s so clever. She strings her words together so well you have no choice but to do as she says."

Lin Qin laughed, accepting it without further protest.

"Thank you, Uncle and Aunt," Gu Nuan Nuan said with a grin.

"It’s hot! Move!"

Li Yan turned around, carrying a bowl of fish soup, only to find her daughter standing right behind her. The large bowl nearly collided with the girl. The shock was immense. As soon as she set the bowl down, ignoring her own hand that was stinging from the hot splash, she furiously grabbed her daughter’s ear and yelled, "Dong Xinran, what do you think you’re doing?!"

"Ow, ow, that hurts..."

Dong Xinran burst into tears, looking terribly hurt and wronged. In the living room, Dong Xuezhan heard the commotion and shot up from the couch. The sight of his precious daughter crying made his heart ache, but one look at his wife’s furious expression made him shrink back. He could only ask timidly, "What’s wrong? What happened? She’s just a child, can’t we talk about this calmly?"

"Talk calmly? Talk calmly?! You act like I don’t try to talk to her calmly all the time! But look at her, standing behind me without making a peep! What was she thinking? If she’d gotten scalded by that soup, whose fault would it be? I’ve spent all these years raising her. If she got burned like that, all that work would have been for nothing!" Li Yan was still reeling from the shock, which only fueled her rage. Her husband’s words were like gasoline on a fire.

"Waaaah! Dad, you have to be my real dad, but is Mom really my real mom?" Dong Xinran sobbed, shooting a resentful look at Li Yan. ’After hearing about Gu Nuan Nuan’s family today, I started worrying that there might be a problem with my own parents, so I decided to test them when I got home. And just as I thought, something’s not right. I’ve been shadowing Mom for ages, and she didn’t even notice me.’

’Then, when I almost bump into her, she takes it out on me and twists my ear with all her might... Dad is the best. He came running the second he heard me cry. Could it be? Is my mom actually my stepmom? Has everyone been hiding it from me?’ Then she remembered that she had been raised by her grandparents, and Dong Xinran felt she had uncovered the truth.

"I’m not your real mom—"

Hearing this, Li Yan let out a laugh of pure exasperation. She released Dong Xinran’s ear and began poking her forehead instead, a fierce look on her face. "So if I’m not your real mom, I must be your stepmom? Who’s been feeding you this garbage? You tell me. We’ll go to their house right now and have a little chat."

"Dad, Dad... I’m scared! Tell me, is Mom really my stepmom?" The moment she was free, Dong Xinran clapped her hands over her ears and darted behind Dong Xuezhan, clinging to his shirt for protection. Strangely, however, despite her words, she didn’t feel the slightest bit afraid. ’Why not? Is it because I know Dad will protect me?’ Dong Xinran asked herself in confusion.

"Who told you that?" Dong Xuezhan’s expression changed too. He put on a stern face and pulled Dong Xinran out from behind him to question her.

"No one told me. I guessed," Dong Xinran said, stunned to see that her dad was angry now, too. Pouting, she gave them both a wounded look and wrinkled her nose as she leveled an accusation at her mother. "I was standing right behind Mom when I got home, and she didn’t even notice me! Fine, she didn’t notice me, but then she got mad at me! That just proves she doesn’t love me at all. Dad’s not like that. He came running as soon as he heard me cry. It’s always like this! Mom is always the one yelling at me. She’s never gentle and sweet like other kids’ moms."

"...And that’s it?" Dong Xuezhan and Li Yan exchanged a glance. Seeing Dong Xinran’s indignant, self-righteous expression, they didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Dong Xuezhan looked at his wife’s thunderous expression and had to fight back a smile. "Honey, it looks like you’ll have to be more patient with our Xinxin from now on. Try not to blow up at her so much."

"She dares to talk about other moms being gentle? Why doesn’t she mention how she’s not nearly as obedient and adorable as other kids? The kind who do what they’re told and don’t make you worry about a thing?"

Li Yan was livid. She pointed a trembling finger at her daughter, unable to speak for a moment. The more she thought about it, the more wronged and furious she felt. Her eyes reddened, and tears began to stream down her face like broken pearls. "And you..." she turned on her husband. "You think you’re the only one who dotes on her, is that right? You indulge her in everything. You won’t be happy until she’s completely spoiled, will you? Can I afford *not* to be strict with her? And to say I don’t love her... I carried her for ten months! I almost died giving birth to her! If I don’t love her, who else would I love?"

"..."

When Dong Xuezhan and Dong Xinran saw Li Yan crying, they both froze in shock.

"You little troublemaker! Look at the mess you’ve made!" For the first time ever, Dong Xuezhan brought his hand down to swat Dong Xinran. The gesture looked menacing, but the slap landed with no force and didn’t hurt at all. Dong Xinran, being a smart girl, understood her dad’s intentions in a flash. After a brief pause, she burst into loud sobs. "Mom, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it..."

"So you *did* mean it?" Li Yan’s pupils had contracted when she saw Dong Xuezhan’s hand fall so heavily toward their daughter. But any trace of alarm instantly transformed into a raging inferno of anger and jealousy when she saw Dong Xinran’s reaction. ’The nerve of these two! Daring to team up and put on a show to trick me. Are they trying to stage a rebellion?’

She widened her eyes menacingly.

"No, no..." Dong Xinran shrank back, shaking her head frantically. ’Mom looks really dangerous right now.’

"Honey, don’t be like this. I’m sure Xinxin didn’t mean it." Dong Xuezhan hurried to her side, trying to placate her.

"And don’t think you’re off the hook. When I’m done with her, you’re next. You two, father and daughter, are in this together, and I’m just the outsider, is that it?" Li Yan planted her hands on her hips, spittle flying as she yelled in his face. "Who do you think you’re fooling with this little act? No wonder she says you’re her real dad and I’m the stepmom!"

Realizing his little ruse had been exposed, Dong Xuezhan wore a miserable expression. He didn’t even dare to wipe the spittle from his cheek as he forced a placating smile. "Honey, you can’t take what a child says seriously, can you?"

"Hmph—"

Li Yan snorted and simply stared at him with a cold smirk.