Chapter 21.2

Meanwhile, Gu Xiaohuai had started chasing after the little dog again. Pei Zheng, Han Lu, Song Yang, and the others lined up at the table to write their reflections while the guard patrolled around them, occasionally tapping the heads of these little rascals.

Lu Nong, on the other hand, was being stared at by Lu Qing and Qian Yu with accusatory looks.

“Sister, why didn’t you explain for them?” Lu Qing asked, frowning. To be honest, her frown made her look less plain.

Qian Yu clenched her fists in frustration.

She really didn’t know that Lu Nong had such luck. She married the promising Gu Weiguo in her first marriage, and after Gu Weiguo’s death, she was able to marry Pei Zheng’s father with a burden!

At school, Han Lu and his friends were quite notorious. Everyone knew that Han Lu had a powerful family background, and those who surrounded him were similarly well-off. No one dared to provoke them.

Some students would do anything to join their group, but no one had ever succeeded.

Pei Zheng was also well-known, but it was for his looks, grades, and intelligence. He was aloof, consistently topping the grade rankings, and kept to himself, completely different from Han Lu and his gang.

It was probably this aloofness that attracted many girls, though Qian Yu was not among them.

What truly caught Qian Yu’s attention was when Pei Zheng clashed with Han Lu.

Logically speaking, Han Lu and Pei Zheng have nothing in common. One likes to show off and be lively, while the other likes to study and keep to himself. But somehow, they started to become enemies.

It’s not just a minor friction, but the kind of confrontation where they would fight whenever they met.

At first, everyone sympathized with Pei Zheng, believing that despite his talents, Han Lu’s strong background would lead Pei Zheng to concede defeat quickly.

But as time went on, Pei Zheng consistently managed to best everyone except for Han Lu. The few lackeys around Han Lu even started avoiding Pei Zheng altogether. By the time they were nearing graduation, Pei Zheng was still thriving.

Han Lu hadn’t laid a single finger on Pei Zheng.

There were smart students among them, and Qian Yu was one of them. She had pondered who could stand up to Han Lu and outmaneuver him. The answer was clear: it had to be someone with an equally strong background.

This led her to deduce that Pei Zheng’s father or grandfather must be a significant figure.

Qian Yu had considered approaching Pei Zheng, but he was incredibly hard to get close to. Not only her, but anyone else with similar intentions had also failed, so she ultimately abandoned the idea.

However, she never expected that Lu Nong would become involved with Pei Zheng and end up as his stepmother.

Today, she and Lu Qing had merely followed Lu Nong because they heard she had become someone’s stepmother and was involved with dubious characters like human traffickers and gangsters. They wanted to come and witness Lu Nong’s misfortune, hoping to see how miserable her life had become.

To their surprise, instead of a laughable situation, they found out that Lu Nong had remarried into the Pei family.

Why did her life always seem to go so well?

Qian Yu was genuinely unwilling to accept this reality. This resentment had taken deep root within her, stemming from the moment she realized that her mother was just a servant of the Li family and that she was merely the daughter of a servant.

Why wasn’t she the young lady of the Li family, but just a servant’s daughter instead?

She was consumed with envy for the young lady of the Li family, jealous of Lu Nong, who was favored by the Li family, and even envious of Lu Qing—at least her mother wasn’t someone else’s servant.

One day, she learned that Lu Qing was just as envious as she was. Lu Qing envied Lu Nong for her beauty, her intelligence, and how the Li family treated Lu Nong better than they treated her.

Thus, they became allies with a common enemy.

Later, when the Li family went abroad, they learned that the Li family had left Lu Nong a sum of money for studying overseas. They notified Mother Lu and managed to take away Lu Nong’s funds.

To their surprise, Lu Nong soon passed the entrance exam for Peking University. Two years later, they resorted to the same tactics and sabotaged Lu Nong’s opportunity to study.

When Lu Nong got accepted to work as a nurse and learned that she was being forced to marry an older man, both she and Lu Qing nearly burst out laughing. As long as Lu Nong was unhappy, their inner discontent would fade away.

But why was Lu Nong able to rise from the ashes time and time again?

Qian Yu forced a smile, softening her tense expression. “Yes, Sister Nong Nong, after all, Pei Zheng is your stepson. He hasn’t done anything wrong. Why should he have to write a reflection?”

Lu Nong couldn’t be bothered with the two of them. Sometimes, she felt that speaking with people like Lu Qing and Qian Yu was like conversing with venomous snakes.

In her memories, Lu Qing was clearly her younger sister, but she had always resorted to various tactics to frame and compete with her, making Lu Nong feel disgusted. Lu Nong wasn’t one to let things slide. After teaching Lu Qing a lesson, she would be scared for three days before sneaking around to cause trouble again.

In the end, with Mother Lu protecting her, Lu Nong would simply avoid Lu Qing from then on.

As for Qian Yu, her dark thoughts made her just as despicable as Lu Qing.

Lu Qing and Qian Yu spoke loudly, intentionally letting everyone hear them, so the people who needed to hear it did.

Unfortunately, none of the students writing reflections looked up at them. The guard, however, didn’t appreciate what Qian Yu said. “Girl, what do you mean by ‘didn’t do anything wrong’? What place is this? A university! Your classmates came here to fight, and you act as if they have a point?”

“The stepmother knows to reflect on her mistakes, while you two are here stirring up trouble. If you have nothing to do, you should leave. You’re not welcome here.”

The guard impatiently waved Lu Qing and Qian Yu away.

The guard was incredibly strong and even took down the teachers without breaking a sweat. He didn’t need Lu Nong to step in, he managed to make Lu Qing and Qian Yu turn pale, leaving them speechless.

At that moment, Pei Zheng and Han Lu were still focused on writing their reflections. Qian Yu realized she was leaving empty-handed. Although disappointed, she reassured herself that there would be future opportunities.

After all, didn’t she just learn that Lu Nong married Pei Zheng’s father?

“Let’s go,” Qian Yu said, taking a deep breath and pulling Lu Qing along. “We should leave. We have a social event to attend soon.”

Neither she nor Lu Qing had gotten into college, so the event was essential. It might even lead to finding a suitable partner, opening up new paths.

Lu Qing always listened to Qian Yu. Hearing her, she stole another glance at Han Lu, feeling disappointed, and followed Qian Yu away.

As soon as they left, Lu Nong felt the atmosphere around her become sweeter.

Half an hour later, Pei Zheng and Han Lu finished their reflections one after another.

Lu Nong bid farewell to the guard and led her older son, younger son, and a group of young men out of the school gates.

Once outside, Han Lu glanced meaningfully at Lu Nong and said to Pei Zheng, “So she’s your stepmother. Your dad sure is… quite impressive for his age.”

In Han Lu’s eyes, Pei Ji’an wasn’t old at all. In fact, Pei Ji’an was the kind of man he aspired to be. However, he couldn’t help but throw a few jabs at Pei Zheng.

Pei Zheng didn’t even bother to acknowledge him. Instead, he hurried after Lu Nong, deciding to bring up another topic to distract her from the previous conversation.

“Do you know those two girls? I heard them call you ‘sister.’ Are they your sisters? They don’t seem very bright. You should stay away from them.” He didn’t want them dragging down Huaihuai’s intelligence.

In Pei Zheng’s eyes, the two girls, when they started talking, turned into the perfect embodiment of Ye Huihui. They loved to talk to themselves, almost as if they were out of their minds.

Lu Nong looked him up and down, surprised to find that Pei Zheng was quite the tea connoisseur. With such talent, it was no wonder he resembled a male protagonist from a novel.

Then Lu Nong sighed. Aside from this point, what else about him resembled a male lead?

She opened her mouth to say something but realized they were still outside. Forget it, she would deal with it when they got home.

Pei Zheng felt uncomfortable under Lu Nong’s gaze, fearing she would bring up the topic of him following her. He obediently trailed behind her.

Thus, a peculiar scene unfolded on the street:

A beautiful woman was walking ahead, followed by a gloomy but handsome young man. He cradled an adorable baby in his arms, while the baby held a little puppy.

At least the situation was more normal than before, as no one approached Lu Nong to strike up a conversation.

That was a relief.

They remained silent on the way back to the small red building. As soon as Pei Zheng entered, he wanted to rush upstairs.

“Stop right there.” Lu Nong called out to him leisurely.

Pei Zheng froze, slowly turning around with the baby in his arms. It seemed he couldn’t escape this confrontation. He sighed, acknowledging that he was indeed in the wrong today. As long as Lu Nong didn’t go too far, he could accept a few scoldings.

Aunt Wu peeked out of the kitchen and noticed Lu Nong’s vengeful expression. She quickly withdrew her head and returned to cooking.

“Why were you following me?” This was what puzzled Lu Nong the most. Why sneak around like a thief and make a fool of himself?

“Isn’t it because you said my dad is old…” Pei Zheng rolled his eyes and decided to be honest.

Lu Nong was taken aback. When had she ever complained about Pei Ji’an being old?

Even if she did, what did that have to do with Pei Zheng following her?

Lu Nong couldn’t grasp the connection between these events for a moment.

“Fine,” Pei Zheng changed the subject and hinted, “Let me ask you this: If I ask who you met today, would you tell me?”

Lu Nong thought for a moment and replied honestly, “I wouldn’t.”

She wanted to tease Pei Zheng, so she decided to keep the truth until the end, enjoying the sight of him scratching his head in confusion before being shocked when he finally learned the truth.

Pei Zheng rolled his eyes again and exclaimed, “I knew it! As long as I’m around, don’t even think about finding a pretty boy. If my dad is not good enough, then he can’t be the one.”

Lu Nong: “……”

Xiao Zhou, who had just entered the room, took a deep breath, and the sound of his breath was particularly deafening in the silent room.

Pei Zheng turned to the door, his neck cracking as he did.

He saw Pei Ji’an standing at the entrance, watching him intently.

Pei Zheng: “……”

Lu Nong: “……”

Pei Ji’an let out a cold laugh.

Pei Zheng shuddered, and Lu Nong followed suit.

The room fell silent except for the little puppy barking “woof woof” and the baby mimicking it with “woof woof” too. Even Aunt Wu in the kitchen was quiet, carefully handling her tasks.

Lu Nong was so stunned by this unexpected turn of events that she couldn’t find her voice.

This silence continued until dinner was served. Aunt Wu brought out the special soup she prepared.

Pei Zheng let out a sigh of relief. He was grateful to Aunt Wu, now he had a chance to live until tomorrow.

With the pressure off him, Pei Zheng was ready to enjoy the show. He had heard Lu Nong complain about his dad not being good enough. Otherwise, why would Aunt Wu keep making nourishing soups for him?

Lu Nong: “??” Godmother! Hadn’t she promised not to set her up again?

Aunt Wu calmly addressed Pei Ji’an, saying, “Son-in-law, this is a special soup I made just for you. You mustn’t let my kindness go to waste. You have to finish it all.”

Unfortunately, no one believed this was Aunt Wu’s idea. Everyone looked toward Lu Nong.

Lu Nong: “……”