Chapter 25 Part 1

To her surprise, although the shrimp didn’t look great, it actually tasted pretty good.

Could it be that she was so moved by the boy’s sincerity that her brain was tricking her into thinking it tasted better than it actually did?

To confirm, she picked up another piece and tried it again. It was indeed quite good. Of course, it would have been even better if there weren’t bits of shrimp shells still mixed in.

Putting down her chopsticks, Shen Qingqing thought for a moment before deciding to praise Zhou Jiayan.

“The shrimp Yanyan peeled tastes pretty good. If she improves her technique in the future, it’ll be even better.”

Zhou Jiayan’s eyes lit up with excitement. Happily, she offered to peel more shrimp for Shen Qingqing. Seeing this, Shen Qingqing quickly stopped her.

Even though the taste wasn’t affected, she really didn’t want to eat more shrimp that had been broken into pieces with shells still stuck inside.

[Shen Qingqing actually ate it! And she doesn’t even look that pained!]

[The person above is exaggerating. The shrimp just looks bad, but no matter how Zhou Jiayan peels it, the taste isn’t affected.]

[Even though Shen Qingqing tricked the child, it’s still a good thing since it didn’t embarrass her.]

[Yanyan is so cute! She even wants to peel more, but Shen Qingqing stopped her. Honestly, the taste might be the same, but eating it must be a real test of patience.]

Zhou Yexuan had been observing Shen Qingqing the whole time. When he saw her eating the shrimp with a pained expression, an amused smile appeared on his face.

Even though Shen Qingqing often tricked his naive son, at least she was perceptive enough not to let the child’s good intentions go to waste.

And it seemed like she cared about Yanyan more than she realized.

Watching as Zhou Jiayan eagerly tried to get Shen Qingqing to eat all the shrimp she peeled, Zhou Yexuan sighed helplessly.

This mischievous kid!

Shen Qingqing obviously didn’t want to eat any more, so she started making excuses to distract Zhou Jiayan.

But little Yanyan seemed unusually persistent today, no matter what, she kept coming back to the idea of making Shen Qingqing eat the shrimp. The two of them went back and forth in a stalemate.

Zhou Yexuan couldn’t watch this any longer. After all, even though Shen Qingqing hadn’t made any major contributions, she had at least put in effort. Her “punishment” was enough.

And did he really think Shen Qingqing was that gullible? If this happened a few more times, she’d definitely figure it out, and then the child would end up being tricked by her instead.

So, he spoke up, “Alright, Yanyan, eat your own meal. Don’t force your mother if she doesn’t want to eat right now.”

Finally, he poked Zhou Jiayan’s little head and said, “Yanyan, look at the shrimp you peeled. Do you want to eat it?”

Zhou Jiayan always listened to his father. After hearing that, she finally stopped pestering Shen Qingqing and continued eating. But she still mumbled to herself, “Yanyan is still little and can only peel shrimp like this… but it’s Yanyan’s effort, so why won’t you eat it?”

For the first time, Shen Qingqing felt grateful to Zhou Yexuan. This man had actually saved her!

She looked at Zhou Yexuan with gratitude in her eyes. For the first time, she wasn’t looking at him with suspicion or scrutiny.

Zhou Yexuan, being perceptive, immediately noticed her gaze. When he looked back at her, he saw the gratitude in her eyes.

They exchanged a look, both realizing how difficult raising a child truly was.

It wasn’t good for a child to be too naive, but it also wasn’t good for them to be too clever. If they were too smart, they could even outwit the adults around them.

But this glance was interpreted differently by some netizens.

[Wow, this isn’t just a glance—it’s a moment!]

[I officially declare them a couple!]

[What a harmonious scene. A lively mother-child duo, and a mature, reliable father bringing balance.]

[Can we get more family-of-three moments? I could watch a hundred episodes of this!]

Shen Qingqing snapped out of her thoughts. She realized that this kid had definitely done it on purpose! She gritted her teeth in frustration, even though she was the one who had started this whole thing.

She smiled and said to Zhou Jiayan, “Since Yanyan is so filial, why not give these shrimp to Daddy instead? Daddy can peel shrimp for Yanyan, and Yanyan can peel shrimp for Daddy.”

Zhou Jiayan wasn’t about to trick his dear father. Realizing that his plan had been exposed, he quickly laughed and said, “No need. Dad can peel them himself, no problem!”

Standing nearby, Zhou Yexuan overheard their conversation and found it amusing. He had saved Shen Qingqing out of kindness, but now she had turned around and thrown him under the bus!

He looked at Shen Qingqing with clear scrutiny in his eyes.

Feeling Zhou Yexuan’s gaze, Shen Qingqing knew she had been a little unkind. She smiled apologetically and said, “I know you don’t need Yanyan to peel shrimp for you. You’re such a good father, after all, and can peel them yourself. Yanyan definitely wouldn’t allow it otherwise.”

Hearing this, Zhou Yexuan nodded, accepting her explanation.

Seeing that his stepmother had finally given up, Zhou Jiayan secretly grinned. Did she still think he was the same naive little kid she had just met? He had grown up a long time ago!

Then, he looked at the plate of shrimp in front of him and the one in front of Shen Qingqing. He sighed inwardly. Dad was so clueless!

And so was his stepmother! Why was she trying to trick him instead of just asking Dad to peel shrimp for her? Didn’t she know that in TV dramas, all the pretty ladies had their boyfriends peeling shrimp for them?

How could the shrimp he got from his own plate taste better than the ones peeled by his dad?

Even though Zhou Jiayan had pranked his stepmother, now that the fun was over, he remembered his real mission for today.

So, Zhou Jiayan turned around and said, “Dad, I’m too young to peel shrimp properly, but you’re really good at it. You can’t just take care of me; you have to take care of Mom too.”

As he spoke, he pushed the plate of prawns in front of Zhou Yexuan. “Dad, hurry up and peel the shrimp for Mom!”

His eyes were fixed on Zhou Yexuan, as if he were supervising him.

Zhou Yexuan felt a chill down his spine under his son’s intense gaze. It was as if refusing would be an unforgivable crime. In the end, he was the one who got “hurt” emotionally!

He turned to look at Shen Qingqing and saw that she was smiling, looking relaxed.

In truth, Shen Qingqing felt delighted. Although she had been tricked by the little rascal, he hadn’t completely forgotten about her and even made sure Zhou Yexuan peeled shrimp for her.

Wow, Yanyan is such a thoughtful little boy.

Zhou Yexuan knew he couldn’t escape, so he resigned himself to his fate. Putting on gloves, he started peeling shrimp for Shen Qingqing. After peeling seven or eight, he placed them on a plate and handed them to her.

“Qingqing, these are for you.”

Shen Qingqing accepted them without much enthusiasm.

She wasn’t particularly grateful to Zhou Yexuan. That bastard! He actually needed Yanyan to remind him to peel shrimp for her. He had no gentlemanly manners at all!

Then, she turned to Zhou Jiayan and smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Yanyan.”

Zhou Jiayan also smiled. “You’re welcome! This is what I should do.”

But soon, he realized something was off and turned to Shen Qingqing. “Wait, but Dad peeled the shrimp. Mom, you should thank Dad.”

Only then did Shen Qingqing turn around and say, “Thank you.”

However, anyone with ears could tell that her gratitude was as perfunctory as it could be.

[Why do I feel like Shen Qingqing and Mr. Zhou combined aren’t as wise as Yanyan?]

[No matter what, Mr. Zhou still peeled shrimp for Qingqing.]

[Yeah, but only under his son’s supervision? This ‘sweet moment’ is a bit forced.]

[You guys don’t get it! This just proves that both of them lack experience in love. It’s actually quite endearing!]

With that, the shrimp-peeling matter was settled.

The three of them ate at a moderate pace, finishing their meal in about an hour.

By then, night had fallen completely. The sun had set, and in its place, the lights of the town flickered to life. But even so, Zhuangyuan Town couldn’t compare to the dazzling neon lights of the city. This made the stars and moon appear much brighter in the sky.

Since they were at a place called the Observatory, Shen Qingqing and the others naturally planned to do some stargazing before heading back.

Unfortunately, Shen Qingqing was completely clueless about astronomy and couldn’t name any stars in the sky.

However, Zhou Yexuan seemed quite knowledgeable. Holding Zhou Jiayan in his arms, he pointed at the stars through a telescope and patiently explained, “Look, that’s Orion… and over there, that’s the Milky Way…”

His explanations were simple and engaging, even including mythical stories about constellations. Zhou Jiayan listened intently, nodding frequently, while Shen Qingqing also felt like she was learning something new just by listening in.

Meanwhile, viewers in the live broadcast chat showered him with praise.

[I never expected to get an astronomy lesson while watching a parenting show!]

[Mr. Zhou is so gentle and knowledgeable, yet he doesn’t come across as a know-it-all. If I had a teacher like him, I wouldn’t be struggling at work right now.]

[Mr. Zhou is such a good man. My wife doesn’t even take educating the kids seriously. Whenever she sees them, she just says she’s tired from work.]

[Shen Qingqing is so lucky, and Yanyan is even luckier!]

Shen Qingqing wasn’t particularly interested in astronomy. She was more excited about the idea of seeing a meteor shower. But since they were rare, she didn’t have high hopes and simply stared at the sky absentmindedly.

Unexpectedly, a few meteors streaked across the calm night sky. They weren’t large, but they were definitely shooting stars.

Shen Qingqing immediately jumped up in excitement and called out to Zhou Jiayan. “Yanyan, look! A shooting star! Let’s make a wish!”

Since he was still young, Zhou Jiayan found them beautiful but had never been told about making wishes. Tilting his head in confusion, he asked, “Why do we make wishes?”

Shen Qingqing didn’t bother explaining such a mystical concept. Instead, she said, “Just do it! You don’t need to question everything. Are you the ‘100,000 Whys’ ^[1]refers to a famous Chinese children’s book series that explains scientific concepts. or something?”

Saying that, she clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and silently wished, “I hope I can get through this variety show smoothly and then retire comfortably.”

Zhou Jiayan looked at his stepmother with some doubt but, for some reason, imitated her. He closed his eyes and made a wish too.

“Even though Mom teases me every day, I still hope our family can spend more time together and be as happy as we are today.”

At the same time, viewers in the chat also started making their own wishes upon seeing the shooting star.

[Wow! Shen Qingqing and the others are so lucky to see a shooting star!]

[I’ll take this opportunity too. I hope I pass my exams!]

[I hope I don’t fail my semester!]

[I wish to meet my ideal partner this year!]

[Please bless me with a successful job change, a promotion, and a raise!]

As a mature adult, Zhou Yexuan never believed in fate, so he naturally didn’t join in the wish-making.

However, as he looked at the mother and son, their eyes closed in earnest prayer, he felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

Maybe… this wasn’t such a bad way to live.

Just when the “family” was enjoying their happy moment, a well-known celebrity on Weibo suddenly uploaded a video.

@EntertainmentFrontline: Did you watch the live broadcast of “Almighty Mom” today? Was the competition fair, or was there some behind-the-scenes manipulation? Look at these five paintings. I won’t say whose is the best, but in my opinion, Shen Qingqing’s is either the worst or second worst.

Later, the blogger uploaded screenshots of the five paintings and labeled their names.

“Almighty Mom” is a popular variety show, and Shen Qingqing has been trending a lot lately. Because of this, the blogger’s post quickly caught the attention of many netizens.

Shen Qingqing’s reputation has recently improved, but mostly because of her relationship with her stepson. Some people like her straightforward and unpretentious nature, but in the public eye, she’s still seen as someone with zero professional skills.

Not many people watched the full live broadcast, so rumors about the competition being rigged spread quickly.