The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era

Shen Mingzhu woke from her nap and wasn’t surprised to see her son resting on the living room sofa.

Although she tried to be as quiet as possible, by the time she re-emerged from the kitchen with a glass of water, Pei Ziheng had woken up. He propped himself up on the couch, his dark eyes gazing at her like two ink-jewels.

"Did I wake you? Go sleep in your room upstairs,"

Shen Mingzhu said with concern.

Pei Ziheng shook his head, his gaze falling on the glass in her hand. In a low voice with a hint of whining, he said, "I want some water."

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ ɴoᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt

Pretending to be obliging, Shen Mingzhu passed him the glass, "Drink up, I haven’t touched it yet."

"Thank you, Mom."

Seeing her son take the glass and drink slowly brought Shen Mingzhu some relief.

Pei Ziheng was a bit of a clean freak and had OCD; he didn’t like sharing everyday items with others. Usually, when Pei Yang used chopsticks to offer him food, he would refuse to eat. The fact that he was willing to drink water from her glass was clearly a sign of trust and favoritism towards her.

After Pei Ziheng finished drinking, Shen Mingzhu asked knowingly, "Why are you back?"