Chapter 15

Shen Qingqing was an open-minded person. She had been a big star in her previous life, so she had a strong mentality. She figured that even though her stomachache became public knowledge, at least it wasn’t broadcasted live, right?

At least things hadn’t reached the worst-case scenario!

Then, everyone saw Shen Qingqing lying comfortably on the lazy sofa in her bedroom, sipping hot tea for her stomach while giving instructions.

Zhou Jiayan spread open a suitcase that was taller than him and began going in and out of the huge walk-in closet.

“Yanyan, make sure to pack loose clothing. There will be a lot of outdoor activities.”

“Don’t forget your hat and sunglasses. It’s summer now, and the sun is intense. Wear sunscreen, or you’ll come back looking like a charcoal stick!”

“Oh, and remember to pack the insect repellent we bought at the supermarket.”

“That mother-and-child outfit with the crocodile print is cute. Take it with you so people will know we’re mother and son when we go out.”

Under Shen Qingqing’s instructions, the “little child laborer” folded the clothes one by one and placed them in the suitcase. He pouted, looking unhappy, but his hands worked seriously.

At first, he folded them sloppily, so Shen Qingqing asked the nanny to demonstrate a few times. Gradually, Zhou Jiayan’s folding improved, and his work began looking as neat as an adult’s.

Who would have thought he had such a knack for housework?

Thinking this, Shen Qingqing directly praised, “Wow, Yanyan, you’re quite talented at folding clothes and packing. I guess I can leave this job to you from now on!”

Zhou Jiayan responded with a cold snort, turning his back to show that he didn’t want to acknowledge her.

Seeing Zhou Jiayan work so hard while she relaxed, the audience in the live broadcast room started to feel a bit conflicted.

[I really admire Shen Qingqing. She bullies kids so effortlessly and without hesitation.]

[The craziest part is that she always gets away with it. Yanyan is just too obedient. If this were my family, there would have been a tantrum already.]

[Yanyan is still too young to realize that working too hard will backfire. If he did a bad job, they wouldn’t dare assign him tasks again!]

[What if, just what if, Shen Qingqing is actually using this opportunity to teach Zhou Jiayan independence? It’s not bad for kids to do housework.]

[Do you believe what you just said? All I see is Shen Qingqing gloating!]

Since Zhou Jiayan was still small, he wasn’t as fast as an adult. By lunchtime, he had only finished packing half of the suitcase.

Shen Qingqing, claiming that she wasn’t a “wicked stepmother,” said, “That’s enough for now. Let’s go have lunch, and we’ll continue in the afternoon.”

Shen Qingqing had recently recovered from gastroenteritis, so she couldn’t eat spicy food for a while.

The chefs prepared mild dishes for her, just like they did for Zhou Jiayan. Her meal included scrambled eggs with shrimp, blanched broccoli, mu shu pork ^[1]a Chinese dish with stir-fried pork and vegetables, served with pancakes., and stir-fried shredded chicken with onions.

The chef served the food on small plates and placed them in front of both of them. The dishes looked appealing, with bright colors, but for Shen Qingqing—who loved spicy food—they seemed bland. In her past life, she had almost thrown up from eating vegetable salad, and now she loved meat even more.

However, she understood her health condition and knew it wasn’t the chef’s fault. So, she picked out the eggs, shrimp, and chicken to eat while avoiding the vegetables. After taking just a couple of bites of vegetables, she set her chopsticks down. As for the broccoli, she didn’t touch it at all.

Zhou Jiayan, sitting beside her, noticed her picky eating habits. At just five years old, he also had foods he didn’t like—especially onions, which left a strange taste in his mouth. He always secretly picked them out when eating.

However, when his father, Zhou Yexuan, was home, Zhou Jiayan couldn’t hide his little trick. Zhou Yexuan was strict and highly disciplined, so he couldn’t tolerate picky eating—especially avoiding onions, which are very healthy. When Zhou Jiayan was three, his father lectured him about it and even had the chef prepare onion-based dishes just for him. He even made onion snacks to force him to get used to the taste.

Since then, Zhou Jiayan never dared to pick out onions, though he still didn’t like them. He would always eat everything else first, leaving the onions for last.

This time, Zhou Jiayan did the same. He set the onions aside, planning to eat them all at once with his eyes closed. But as he was staring at the onions in his bowl, he saw Shen Qingqing putting all her vegetables on a separate plate, leaving the broccoli untouched.

He immediately felt wronged. His father always said that adults grew tall and strong because they weren’t picky eaters. If he, as a child, was trying his best not to be picky, how could his stepmother, an adult, not eat vegetables at all?

He stared at Shen Qingqing seriously and said, “How can you not eat any vegetables? Dad said you can’t be picky about food.”

Shen Qingqing didn’t expect to be lectured by a five-year-old—especially with Zhou Yexuan’s name being brought up.

She turned to look at Zhou Jiayan. “Oh? So you’re not picky at all?”

Then she pointed at the onions in his bowl and said, “You’re also picky about food. What right do you have to lecture me?”

“It’s not that I won’t eat them, I just eat them last,” Zhou Jiayan explained excitedly. “I’ll eat them now and show you!”

He then stuffed all the onions into his mouth at once, bracing himself like he was facing a great challenge. After swallowing, he looked at Shen Qingqing and said, “I finished them. Now you eat the vegetables too!”

But Shen Qingqing pushed her bowl and chopsticks away, shrugged, and said with a smile, “Zhou Yexuan is your dad, not mine. I don’t have to listen to him.”

Her shameless response shocked both Zhou Jiayan and the live stream audience.

[Is Shen Qingqing setting a bad example for Yanyan? Adults shouldn’t be picky eaters.]

[The funniest part is that Zhou Jiayan ate all the onions, but she didn’t touch the vegetables at all.]

[Maybe she’s just trying to provoke him into eating the onions?]

[You’re overthinking it. Shen Qingqing only cares about her own happiness.]

[Wait, so Shen Qingqing is actually a picky eater and hates vegetables? But how does her skin still look so good? I’m jealous!]

[Why are we talking about skin right now?]

No matter what the netizens thought, this really shook little Zhou Jiayan.

In his mind, adults were supposed to be mature and responsible—just like his father. But his stepmother was worse than him!

However, he had already eaten the onions. He felt frustrated but was too small to force Shen Qingqing to eat her vegetables.

Finally, Zhou Jiayan made a decision—he would complain to his dad! His father always said that no one was allowed to be picky about food!

Shen Qingqing saw Zhou Jiayan raise his arm and fiddle with his children’s smartwatch. Sensing trouble, she was about to stop him when she suddenly heard a deep male voice from the watch.

“Hey, Yanyan, why are you calling Dad now? Is something wrong?”

Oh no, it was her cheap husband ^[2]a humorous way to refer to an arranged or sudden marriage partner..

This little brat Zhou Jiayan actually tattled on her! Where did he learn this bad habit?

Hearing his father’s voice, Zhou Jiayan perked up and said, “Dad, you said that good kids shouldn’t be picky eaters, but Mom doesn’t eat vegetables at all!”

It was already late at night in Country A. Zhou Yexuan had just finished a long day of work and was about to rest when he received the call from Zhou Jiayan.

His first thought was whether something bad had happened—maybe Shen Qingqing and Zhou Jiayan had a conflict?

But to his surprise, it was Zhou Jiayan complaining that Shen Qingqing was picky about food and didn’t eat vegetables.

Zhou Yexuan found this amusing. His first reaction was: since when did these two become so close? Zhou Jiayan never used to care about Shen Qingqing, yet now he was calling to tattle about something as small as picky eating.

Thinking back to his recent conversations with Shen Qingqing, he wondered—had she really changed? Was she actually taking care of Yanyan now?

He chuckled and said to Zhou Jiayan, “Being picky about food is unhealthy. If kids are picky, they won’t grow tall. Adults who are picky might lack important nutrients. But adults know the risks—they choose to be picky and are ready to deal with the consequences.”

Zhou Yexuan’s reasoning was indeed clear. With just one sentence, he made Zhou Jiayan understand the situation.

Finally, he added, “Yanyan, if you’re as picky with food as your mom, can you accept the consequence of not growing taller?”

Zhou Jiayan shook his head firmly. “No, I want to be as tall as Dad! I don’t want to be short and stocky.”

After saying that, he turned to Shen Qingqing and declared, “I get it! Mom was picky with food when she was young, so she’s much shorter than you, Dad. I have to eat well, or I’ll only be as tall as Mom in the future.”

Shen Qingqing felt as if she had been shot in the knee. What nonsense! He totally misunderstood!

She wasn’t as tall as a model, but at 168 cm barefoot, she had the ideal height for a female celebrity. Yet, this brat compared her height to a man’s!

An image of Zhou Yexuan appeared in her mind. He was quite tall, around 187 cm, and his presence was overwhelming. In the past, whenever she saw him, she felt both admiration and fear.

But the father-son conversation wasn’t over yet. After reassuring Zhou Jiayan, Zhou Yexuan said, “Take the watch to your mom. I need to talk to her.”

Then, Shen Qingqing heard his deep voice again. “Qingqing, you know the consequences of not getting enough vitamins, right? It can cause constipation, skin problems, hair issues, and lack of dietary fiber from vegetables…”