Chapter 2

This really infuriated Xing Xiaochi!

Stepmother! She’s definitely the wicked stepmother!

She forced him into this!

The most effective trick Xing Xiaochi had in this household was crying—no one could resist his ultimate move.

Whenever he threw a tantrum, it was like a storm rolling in. He threw himself onto the floor, wailing at the top of his lungs. His voice was so loud it was almost a pity he wasn’t singing opera. His little feet kicked furiously, sending a shoe flying—right in front of Ruan Xizhi.

Ruan Xizhi: “……”

Xing Xiaochi wailed shamelessly, his cries piercing the air. “Waaah! You bad woman! I don’t want you in the study! Get out, get out!”

But despite all the thunderous noise, there was barely any actual rain—his tantrum had no effect on Ruan Xizhi whatsoever.

She simply ignored him, pulled out her phone, and opened the only game installed on it—Candy Crush.

Xing Xiaochi screamed and cried until his throat was hoarse, but his stepmother never came to coax him.

That wasn’t right! Was he not making enough noise?

Determined, he kicked off his other shoe and even started pounding the floor wildly with his fists.

Thump, thump, thump.

Ow! That hurt!

Surely now she would come and console him?

But—she didn’t.

What was she doing? Why wasn’t she trying to comfort him?!

Xing Xiaochi couldn’t take it anymore. He opened his teary eyes and peeked over—only to see Ruan Xizhi sitting calmly in her chair, still playing her game.

The cheerful sound of Candy Crush rang out: “EXCELLENT~”

Xing Xiaochi was stunned.

He had thrown such a huge tantrum, yet she still had the mood to play games?!

Seeing that he had quieted down, Ruan Xizhi reached for a water cup on the table, unscrewed the lid, and handed it to him. “Here, have some water.”

Xing Xiaochi was delighted—so she was going to coax him after all! Feeling victorious, he decided to accept her peace offering.

After all, he was actually quite thirsty from all that crying.

Grabbing the cup, he took a big gulp, pouting smugly like a little lord awaiting his due pampering. He even extended his hand slightly, expecting her to help him up.

But—

Ruan Xizhi simply took the cup back from his hands and lazily said, “Now that you’re hydrated, go ahead and continue. I’ll continue playing my game too.”

With that, she didn’t even glance at him before returning her attention to her phone.

………

Xing Xiaochi had never encountered such a situation before.

Now he didn’t know what to do—should he continue crying or stop?

Seeing him hesitate, Ruan Xizhi looked up. “What’s wrong? Not crying anymore?”

Xing Xiaochi huffed. “I’ll cry if I want to! None of your business!”

Such a little firecracker.

Ruan Xizhi ruffled his hair. “Then get up. Look, you’ve rubbed the floor raw with all that rolling around.”

“Hmph, mind your own business!” Xing Xiaochi snapped. But despite his words, his body obediently got up.

He was terrified that if he kept lying there, she would abandon him again.

The more he thought about it, the more wronged he felt. This time, his voice carried a real tremor, his eyes turned red, and he pouted as he made a grand declaration:

“Just you wait! When my dad comes back, I’ll make him divorce you and kick you out!”

A few fat tears dripped onto the floor.

Waaahhh! No one had ever bullied him like this before.

(ó﹏ò｡)

Children were the most receptive after a crying fit.

Ruan Xizhi wouldn’t waste this golden opportunity—she had to make it clear to him that his usual tricks wouldn’t work on her.

Raising an eyebrow, she said, “You keep talking about kicking people out, but tell me—who have you ever successfully kicked out?”

“Let me tell you, your dad hired me specifically to educate you.”

Xing Xiaochi’s chubby little face scrunched up in fury. “I don’t believe you!”

Ruan Xizhi shrugged. “Believe it or not, doesn’t matter to me. But if you don’t believe me, why don’t you keep crying and see if anyone cares?”

Then, she casually handed the cup back to him. “Here, drink some water before you start crying again. You can’t just make noise without actual tears—it’s not convincing.”

Xing Xiaochi nearly exploded from anger!

Why was this stepmother not playing by the usual rules?!

He stomped his foot and huffed, but his voice was still soft and childish, utterly lacking in intimidation. “Hmph! Since you want me to cry, I won’t cry! That’ll show you!”

Ruan Xizhi nodded absentmindedly. “Mmm, yes, I’m absolutely devastated.”

Xing Xiaochi could tell she wasn’t taking him seriously at all. His little fists clenched in frustration. (Ծ‸Ծ)

“Still crying or not? If not, come with me,” Ruan Xizhi said, getting up and heading toward the door.

She pushed it open—only to find Liu Rong waiting anxiously outside.

“You didn’t do anything to Xiaochi, did you?”

The study had good soundproofing, so unless someone was shouting, it was hard to hear what was going on inside.

Ruan Xizhi simply stepped aside and gestured toward the little troublemaker. “Come here.”

Xing Xiaochi instinctively obeyed—he was traumatized by her at this point.

Stepping out of the study, he spotted his grandmother and immediately wanted to rush over to complain.

But then he remembered how he had called for her earlier and gotten no response.

Ruan Xizhi’s words echoed in his mind—was she really sent by his dad to discipline him?

His steps hesitated.

Liu Rong was surprised to see Xiaochi standing obediently beside Ruan Xizhi. Her gaze flickered between them in astonishment.

Could this newlywed daughter-in-law actually be capable of teaching Xiaochi?

Just as she was about to speak, the housekeeper hurried down the stairs. “Madam, the production crew is here with their cameras.”

Liu Rong frowned. “What production crew?”

The housekeeper whispered, “Young Master signed up Young Master Xiaochi and the Young Madam for a parent-child reality show.”

“A parent-child show?” Liu Rong glanced at Xiaochi and Ruan Xizhi—Xing Peixuan must have wanted them to bond.

In that case, she might as well take a gamble.

Besides, with cameras around, Ruan Xizhi wouldn’t dare mistreat Xiaochi.

Liu Rong sighed and said, “Let them in.”

This was the perfect chance to see if Ruan Xizhi was truly fit to be Xiaochi’s mother.

Later, she would come to realize—

She wasn’t just fit.

She was perfect!

Her son had truly chosen the best wife!