Chapter 10

The squishy little guy is just asking to be bullied, who can resist that?

So, without hesitation, Sheng Xia kindly picked him up and started vigorously rubbing his naturally curly head. This made the nearby Feng Xuran anxious, almost jumping in frustration. Sheng Xia then heartlessly pushed the dizzy little guy to the door and said, “Okay, cry if you want.”

Even the system couldn’t help but sigh, “Host’s behavior is really mean.”

Ignoring the comment, Sheng Xia pretended not to hear.

But Feng Xuran felt completely different. His eyes sparkled, and he couldn’t help but smile with joy, covering his reddened face. He thought, the wicked stepmother must like him because she just voluntarily hugged him!

And the wicked stepmother is so soft and fragrant… Mom’s embrace must be like that, right?

Thinking happily in his heart, he remembered the task the wicked stepmother gave him and immediately became serious. This is a task only he can complete, so he must do it seriously!

Feng Xuran clenched his little fists, took a deep breath, and after just a few seconds, he burst into fake tears, “Wuwu, Auntie, save me!”

Even though it was clearly fake crying, the sound wasn’t very clear through the door, so all they could hear was him shouting for help. After a while, the door hastily opened.

Sheng Xia took a quick glance and understood why the original owner hated his younger sister-in-law so much.

The young girl had delicate and beautiful features, a pale and expressionless face without any emotion, and slightly messy black hair almost covering her eyes. At this moment, she appeared in a defensive and evasive posture, emitting a faint sense of melancholy and timidity.

Compared to the original owner who pretended to be sick for attention, it was evident that people could see the resistance and seclusion of Feng Shaoyun. Therefore, upon seeing her for the first time, “Sheng Xia” was destined not to like her.

Feng Shaoyun impulsively opened the door, and upon seeing the combination of Sheng Xia and the twins, she stiffened, unsure of what to do.

She gripped the doorknob tightly; her icy fingers were trembling. She didn’t dare to meet her sister-in-law’s cold and disdainful eyes and wanted to ask what happened to the child, but she couldn’t open her mouth, feeling almost unable to breathe.

Sensing her condition keenly, Sheng Xia raised an eyebrow. Controlling the wheelchair, she retreated a bit, adopting a vulnerable posture, tilting her head and smiling gently, “The kids want to see your studio. Is that okay?”

Noticing Sheng Xia in a wheelchair, speaking with an especially gentle and innocent tone, and the two children looking at her with expectant eyes, Feng Shaoyun hesitated. Unaware that her once stiff body had gradually relaxed, she opened her mouth but only made meaningless sounds.

After a moment of silence, she slowly moved aside, gesturing for the kids to enter.

However, the twins obviously didn’t understand and just stared at their step-aunt’s expressionless cold face, feeling a bit scared and shrinking back.

Feng Shaoyun tightened her grip on the doorknob again.

The members of the Feng family each had their own issues, keeping to themselves without communication, quite interesting indeed.

Seeing that the twins were really about to cry from fright, and Feng Shaoyun was also on the verge of recoiling in fear, the scene became somewhat absurd. Sheng Xia couldn’t help but laugh a bit, then raised her hand to cover her mouth, deliberately sighed.

Attracting their attention, she cleared her throat a few times, emitting an even more melancholic atmosphere than Feng Shaoyun, and said with a bit of grievance, “Forget it, I know Shaoyun doesn’t like me. Let the kids go in.”

With a pale and melancholic face, she controlled the wheelchair and slowly left.

The twins were bewildered, staring at Sheng Xia as she moved at a turtle’s pace, progressing bit by bit.

So, the step-aunt doesn’t dislike them, she just doesn’t want the wicked stepmother to go in?

Especially Feng Xuran, looking up at his step-aunt, suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie against a common enemy.

The system also seemed quite puzzled at this moment: 【Host, you’re about to complete the task, how could you…】

“Don’t worry, she’ll catch up.”

Sheng Xia lazily said, fearing that if she really entered, the child might faint from holding his breath.

Sure enough, watching the woman with a thin and sorrowful figure, looking particularly sad, Feng Shaoyun’s heart was suddenly gripped.

She knew better than anyone how uncomfortable it felt to be disliked and rejected. After struggling in place for a while, seeing Sheng Xia still hadn’t entered the elevator, she gritted her teeth and chased after her.

“Sis, sis…” Her voice was very low; if it weren’t for the unusually quiet corridor, it would be almost inaudible when she spoke. “Come in together.”

“Did the wicked stepmother’s wheelchair break? Why is it slower than when she was pushing it for Xuchen?”

Watching the step-aunt catching up with Sheng Xia from a distance, Feng Xuran didn’t understand, puzzled.

“Sister, should we go in, or should we run over too?”

Feng Xuran thought for a moment, confidently saying, “Humph, it’s obvious she’s deliberately causing trouble, letting the step-aunt catch up with her.”

No wonder the step-aunt hated the wicked women like her. She couldn’t help but feel sympathetic to the step-aunt.

“Why?”

Feng Xuran rolled her eyes, “How would I know?”

By now, Sheng Xia, who had been silently pushed back by the step-aunt, smiled and held down their heads, “What were you two talking about just now?”

The twins: “… Waaah, the wicked stepmother’s smile is so scary!”

Perhaps

Feng Shaoyun took the initiative and invited them, taking control of the situation. As she pushed Sheng Xia into the art studio, although she was still a bit nervous, the suffocating feeling from before gradually disappeared.

The only thing Feng Shaoyun loved was drawing, so the art studio was meticulously decorated, spacious enough to rival Sheng Xia’s luxurious wardrobe. Exquisite sketches were scattered everywhere, overwhelming anyone who looked.

The twins had never seen such a scene before and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow!”

—The step-aunt is amazing!

They looked up at Feng Shaoyun with admiration in their eyes. The fact that she was still keeping a cold face didn’t seem scary at all; she was clearly cool!

Feng Shaoyun felt a bit embarrassed under their gaze. She mumbled her lips for a while, then softly said, “Do you guys want to draw too?”

The twins shouted in unison, “Yes!”

Feng Shaoyun’s lips curved into a small smile, and her language became more fluent, “You can’t use paint right now, but you can use brushes.”

After searching on the nearby table for a while, she finally found a stack of drawing paper and beautiful watercolor brushes.

“Eh—”

The two children were a bit disappointed since they often used watercolor brushes in kindergarten. But they also wanted to draw like the step-aunt, creating beautiful paintings with those vibrant colors!

Just as Feng Shaoyun subconsciously wanted to withdraw her hand, Sheng Xia lazily mocked, “Are you two silly? The purpose of coming here this time is to let your step-aunt teach you how to draw, right?”

“Shaoyun is a professional. Have you seen those sketches? Even if she uses watercolor brushes, she can create such beautiful paintings. Whatever you want to draw, she can teach you. Why are you rejecting her now?”

Sheng Xia, with a mischievous smile, playfully scared them, “And you’re still young, indeed not ready for paints. Accidentally getting them on you can make you sick, and then you’ll have to take bitter medicine.”

Feng Xuchen immediately got scared and shrank his neck, quickly shaking his head, “No medicine, Xuchen doesn’t want to take bitter medicine!”

Understanding that the wicked stepmother meant well, Feng Xuran blushed and awkwardly apologized, pulling on Feng Shaoyun’s clothes, “Sorry, step-aunt. Let’s just use watercolor brushes. Thank you, step-aunt.”

Feng Shaoyun stood still, allowing the two children to take the paper and brushes. She had never dealt with children before, and she couldn’t believe that the people who used to dislike her were now praising her without hesitation.

She distinctly remembered the previous times her sister-in-law had burst into the room, casting a cold and disdainful gaze at her, making her shiver and want to hide.

But… there was none of that now.

Feng Shaoyun gathered her courage for the first time, turning to meet Sheng Xia’s eyes. Her bright black eyes were filled with a warm and sly light, truly different from before.

Was it because of the car accident? Did it cause a brain injury?

“What’s wrong?” Sheng Xia raised an eyebrow, noticing her gaze.

Feng Shaoyun tightened her grip on her clothes, numbly shook her head, hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a dry voice, “Sis, did you… have something to discuss with me?”

Was she really just here to bring the two children to paint?

“Oh, nothing much.”

Before the system could remind her, Sheng Xia nonchalantly extended her hand, lazily saying, “I just suddenly realized my nails are empty, and since you’re a professional, I thought of asking you to do a manicure for me.”

She innocently looked up, deliberately making it difficult, “Shaoyun, you’re an art major, you should be able to do it, right?”

Feng Shaoyun’s face stiffened, “…?”