After Zhou Yexuan returned home, he saw the little boy with an awkward look on his face and ignoring Shen Qingqing. He was a little surprised, because the two of them seemed to be getting along well yesterday. Now they were both arguing with him, and Zhou Jiayan even threatened to take care of Shen Qingqing until the end of her life.

Why did Yanyan become like this today? Could it be that Shen Qingqing did something to "trap" Yanyan again?

Thinking of this, he poked Zhou Jiayan's little head and said, "Yanyan, why are you ignoring your mother again?"

Zhou Jiayan glanced at Zhou Yexuan and didn't want to tell his stepmother that he looked like Zhu Bajie, so he hesitated for a while and said, "Dad, don't worry about it. It's none of your business."

After saying that, he ran away, leaving behind an old father full of confusion.

Seeing this, Zhou Yexuan felt a little jealous. Zhou Jiayan actually had a secret from him, and Shen Qingqing knew it!

Shen Qingqing, who was standing aside, looked at Zhou Jiayan's awkward look and sighed in her heart. The thoughts of children nowadays were really hard to figure out, so how should she coax him this time?

After the family had dinner, Shen Qingqing did not go back to the bedroom directly as usual, but chose to stay in the living room.

While watching TV, she observed Zhou Jiayan who was doing a puzzle not far away.

She felt that being a stepmother was very embarrassing and she apologized to Zhou Jiayan again and again. However, every time she saw the boy's angry look, she felt a little soft-hearted.

Of course, the fundamental way to resolve this matter is for her to turn over a new leaf and become a sensible and good mother.

But Shen Qingqing also felt that teasing children was really fun, especially when she saw him getting angry and his cheeks puffed up like a puffer fish.

Therefore, this matter is ultimately an unsolvable cycle. Shen Qingqing can be regarded as a firm practitioner of "admitting mistakes and refusing to change".

After hesitating for a while, seeing that Zhou Jiayan was about to complete the puzzle and would probably go back to the bedroom to sleep, Shen Qingqing had no choice but to take action.

Although Zhou Jiayan was working on the puzzle, he was also secretly looking at his stepmother. He thought his stepmother must want to apologize to him.

But he secretly made up his mind that he would not forgive his stepmother so easily this time, because every time he forgave his stepmother in the past, she would play tricks on him again.

This time he must let Shen Qingqing know that he also has a temper! This time, if his stepmother wants him to forgive her, she must pay a price!

He could hear the footsteps of his stepmother getting closer and closer. Zhou Jiayan felt a little nervous, afraid that he would be fooled by her sweet words again.

Of course this time Zhou Jiayan learned his lesson and did not run away with the building blocks. Instead, he stayed where he was and waited for his stepmother’s apology.

Shen Qingqing first praised Zhou Jiayan, "Wow, Yanyan is really great. You put the puzzle together so quickly. I can't even imagine someone like you doing that."

Zhou Jiayan glanced at her helplessly and said coldly, "I have been working on this for two months, almost every night."

Shen Qingqing: ...Oh no, she didn’t even notice what Zhou Jiayan did at night.

However, Shen Qingqing has always been thick-skinned. She reacted quickly and decided to get straight to the point. She couldn't flatter anyone anyway.

"Well, I was wrong today. I shouldn't have said you looked like Zhu Bajie. Yanyan wants to be the Monkey King, too, okay?"

She thought that after she said this apology, the brat should be satisfied, but she didn't expect Zhou Jiayan to still have a wooden face and a cold voice, "Humph, if apologies are useful, why are there police officers in this world? And every time you apologized before, you would continue to tease me."

Wow! I've been discovered!

Shen Qingqing felt that it was becoming increasingly difficult to fool children nowadays. She sighed, "Then what do you want me to do in order to forgive me?"

Zhou Jiayan didn't expect Shen Qingqing to be so straightforward. He was stumped for a moment. Although he wanted Shen Qingqing to pay a price, he had never thought about what he wanted her to do.

His little head kept thinking and thinking. What he was most worried about recently was his grandfather's birthday party. If his grandparents showed their displeasure towards him again, he would definitely be very sad.

Moreover, although his stepmother said that no one could be perfect and make everyone like him, he still wanted to try.

So he said, "If you can make my grandparents less cold to me at the birthday party, I will forgive you."

Shen Qingqing opened her eyes wide, she didn't expect him to make such a request.

Please, she herself has no status in Zhou’s parents’ eyes!

However, looking at the child's hopeful eyes, Shen Qingqing finally nodded and agreed.

She didn't forgive her just for the sake of the child. She just felt that Zhou Jiayan was indeed a lonely child. If his grandparents could accept him and love him, he would definitely be much more cheerful than he is now.

In the suburbs of city a, in a neo-Chinese classical courtyard nestled in the mountains and beside the water, a noble lady in cheongsam was sitting in her bedroom watching TV. However, before watching, she locked the bedroom door, obviously not wanting to be discovered.

This is Pu Junya. After returning from the club, she could not forget the four words "Almighty Mother".

She still had mixed feelings about the grandson whom she deliberately ignored and the daughter-in-law she disliked, and she knew that her old man was even more resentful of his daughter's death, so it was best not to let him know about this.

After hesitating for a while, Pu Junya turned on the TV and started looking for it in the replay.

As a popular variety show, "Mom" was easy to find and she started watching it soon.

As a traditional mother, she initially thought that Shen Qingqing was an unreliable stepmother. Zhou Jiayan seemed well-behaved but also somewhat unruly. However, as the show progressed, she gradually fell in love with her.

Especially Zhou Jiayan, his little face is 80% like her daughter Zhou Ruoyan when she was a child, and their personalities are also very similar, both of them look well-behaved on the outside but very stubborn on the inside.

Watching Zhou Jiayan's every move on the show, Pu Junya felt as if she had seen her childhood daughter again. She was filled with mixed feelings of sadness and joy.

What made her happy was that she seemed to see her daughter's life continuing in another person, but what made her sad was that her daughter's life, which was supposed to be free and unrestrained, ended so early, ruined by a scumbag, and she even gave birth to a child for that scumbag.

So Pu Junya, who was originally just watching the variety show, suddenly fell into her endless memories until there was a knock on the bedroom door.

A deep, old male voice sounded, "Jun Ya, why did you lock the door?"

Needless to say, this is Zhou Yexuan's father Zhou Qian.

When Pu Junya heard what her husband said, she suddenly came to her senses. She just stood up and wanted to open the door, but suddenly found that Shen Qingqing and others' variety show was still playing on TV, and the camera was just focused on Zhou Jiayan's white and tender glutinous rice ball.

She patted her forehead and thought to herself that she was really confused and almost forgot that the TV was still on.

Her old man is more concerned about his daughter's affairs than she is, and she can't let him see it.

So she wanted to use the remote control to turn off the TV, but she couldn't find the remote control. Pu Junya panicked and didn't understand why she couldn't find it when she needed it.

Fortunately, she saw the power cord behind the TV at this time, so she took a few steps forward and unplugged the TV.

Seeing the screen go completely dark, Pu Junya breathed a sigh of relief and turned to walk towards the door.

When I opened the door, I saw a man in a suit with a straight back. He was well maintained, with a slender and firm body without any belly. Only his slightly graying hair revealed that he was nearly 60 years old.

Seeing his wife's panic, he became suspicious, "Jun Ya, what's wrong with you? Why are you so panicked and why are you locking the door?"

Pu Junya had already thought of an explanation, "I was just changing my clothes, and I was afraid that some blind servant would suddenly barge in."

However, Zhou Qian was not so easily fooled. "But I just heard the TV outside the door. Why did you turn it off suddenly?"

"If you don't want to watch it, just turn it off." Pu Junya explained calmly, "Okay, let's go downstairs to eat first. You don't have to talk so much."

Seeing his wife's expression of not wanting to talk more, Zhou Qian didn't plan to ask any more questions. Anyway, he knew that the TV had browsing records, and he would know when the time came when he checked.

So, after they finished their meal, Zhou Qian went to the study and connected to the Internet.

Although he is old and retired, he still knows this little skill and soon saw Pu Junya's playback record.

It turned out to be a variety show? He was a little curious, after all, as far as he knew, his wife was not keen on watching TV dramas and variety shows.

Out of curiosity, he clicked on it and watched it, and then he saw Shen Qingqing and Zhou Jiayan appear on TV. He suddenly realized that his wife was secretly watching Shen Qingqing's show.

He has no interest in the entertainment industry. Even though his daughter-in-law has entered the industry, he only knows that she is not doing well and is disliked by many audiences.

But now seeing Shen Qingqing and Xie Bing both on the same variety show, he thought, isn't this still doing pretty well? The old and prudish man didn't know there was a term called bringing money into the group at this time.

Since he had clicked on it, Zhou Qian continued reading.

Zhou Qian is actually a person who doesn't like children. The only child he likes is his daughter. He is even very strict with his son Zhou Yexuan, and there is almost no so-called warm father-son time between them.

Zhou Qian was very impatient when it came to the first half of the show about other people's children, especially when he saw the introduction in the lower right corner, which said that it was the hottest variety show right now. He didn't understand at all: how could a show about just filming these kids acting cute and naughty become the hottest variety show right now?

He felt that he was really old and could not understand the young people of today.

Just when he was about to turn it off, he saw Zhou Jiayan and Shen Qingqing appear. Okay, then I'll continue watching for a while, Zhou Qian thought.

However, after seeing this, he couldn't get out.

Shen Qingqing's alternative way of raising children opened his eyes. Especially it was surprising that his son, such a conservative and law-abiding man, found such an eccentric wife. Is it true that the more you lack something, the more you want it?

But Shen Qingqing is indeed an interesting girl. Although she is a little eccentric, she lives her life recklessly.

If his daughter had not met that scumbag and had not died, she would have lived such a carefree life.

Thinking of his daughter, he couldn't help but look at Zhou Jiayan's similar chubby face again. It was as chubby as a little bun, making people unconsciously want to take a bite.

He still remembered how excited he was when his daughter was born. This was a feeling that Zhou Yexuan’s birth could not give him.

At that time, he, who had always been a workaholic, would go home early to be with his daughter. He even planned everything for his daughter's future and vowed to make her a little princess.

Unfortunately, things don’t always go as planned and misfortunes may happen at any time. His daughter’s life ended at the age of 24.

At this moment, the screen was showing Zhou Jiayan eating. It had to be said that his taste was exactly the same as his daughter's. They both disliked onions, but Zhou Yexuan obviously had stricter requirements for him, so he would eat it obediently even if he didn't like it.

He remembered that his daughter would secretly throw away the onions, but he turned a blind eye because he loved her and even helped to hide it from his wife.

Thinking of this, he felt that he was indeed old and began to recall the past.

He originally thought that after all these years, he had gradually gotten over the grief of losing his daughter, but when he thinks about it now, he still feels heartbroken.

Looking at the little boy on the screen, he sighed.

Intellectually, he knew that Zhou Jiayan was also a poor child. They lost their only daughter, and he lost his only mother, so now he felt happy to meet an unreliable mother like Shen Qingqing.

But emotionally he couldn't accept it. If it weren't for Zhou Jiayan's scumbag father, or even if his daughter hadn't been pregnant with Zhou Jiayan, would she not have committed suicide in despair when faced with the scumbag's cheating?

Zhou Qian felt his brain begin to hurt again, never mind. He quickly turned off the computer screen in front of him and stayed away from Zhou Jiayan. This should be a way to get the best of both worlds for him and the child.

Because she had taken on Zhou Jiayan's glorious mission, Shen Qingqing did not sleep well before going to bed.

Fortunately, because of the embarrassing incident on the first night, Zhou Yexuan had taken the initiative to move to the guest room, so the big bed in the master bedroom became Shen Qingqing's world again.

When Shen Qingqing woke up the next day, her head was very heavy because she had not slept well. She wanted to sleep a little longer, but when she remembered Zhou Jiayan's instructions, she struggled to get out of bed.

Oh my God, she herself is not liked by the old couple of the Zhou family, how can she help little Zhou Jiayan to please the old couple? It would be better for her to sit on the bench with her.

Helplessly, Shen Qingqing could only ask Aunt Chen, who had been in the Zhou family for a long time, "Aunt Chen, do you know what Mr. Zhou likes or what hobbies he has? It's his birthday soon, and I think I should give him a gift. Although Ye Xuan has already prepared it, I can't always take advantage of him, right?"

Aunt Chen naturally supported Shen Qingqing's plan. In her opinion, since she had married into the Zhou family, she naturally had to find ways to please her in-laws.

She said enthusiastically, "After retirement, the old man likes to drink tea, play chess, woodcarve, and listen to opera. Oh, he also likes to go fishing with his friends."

Listening to Aunt Chen talking about these hobbies, Shen Qingqing complained in her heart. Sure enough, no matter what their status or position, most elderly men have the same hobbies.

Shen Qingqing stroked his chin and thought, with Mr. Zhou's power and status, he must have the best utensils and equipment, and there will probably be a lot of people giving gifts to this birthday party.

If she just asked Zhou Jiayan to contribute her own little piggy bank to buy an expensive gift for the old man, there would definitely be no advantage. The best thing would be for Zhou Jiayan to make it by himself.

Thinking of this, Shen Qingqing thought of wood carving. Why not let Zhou Jiayan make a wood carving ornament for his grandfather? But can this thing be made quickly?

And just look at Zhou Jiayan’s chubby, short hands…

However, unexpectedly, after hearing her suggestion, little Zhou Jiayan seemed eager to try it out.

He said excitedly, "Yanyan's handicraft class is great, I think I can do it."

Seeing Zhou Jiayan like this, what else could Shen Qingqing say? Naturally, she could only help him contact a wood carving master to teach him a quick lesson.

And why did she feel that for this boy, preparing gifts was secondary and having fun was the main thing?

Shen Qingqing thought that with his current appearance, it would be enough for him to carve a little rabbit or something. However, little Zhou Jiayan was very ambitious. He said that since his grandfather was born in the year of the horse, he had to carve a horse.

Shen Qingqing's pupils shrank and she had a bad feeling.

Aunt Chen quickly contacted the wood carving teacher, a middle-aged man who looked to be around 40 years old. He came carrying some wood and a box with knives.

Seeing that the one who wanted to learn wood carving was such a five-year-old boy, he opened his eyes wide in surprise and said to Shen Qingqing, "This child is too young. Isn't it not good to let him use knives?"

Shen Qingqing also thought of this, but how could she refuse Zhou Jiayan's "filial piety"? Mainly, if she refused, she didn't know what idea to come up with for him.

So he could only sigh and say, "Well, then I can only ask you to keep a close eye on him and don't let him get hurt."

Zhou Jiayan was full of confidence, "Don't worry, my craftsmanship is amazing, I won't get hurt."

Seeing that both the mother and the son said so, the wood carving teacher could only nod in agreement and made up his mind to keep an eye on this young master.

Zhou Jiayan then excitedly began to learn carving from the woodcarving teacher. "Teacher, my grandfather was born in the year of the horse, so I want to carve a horse, is that okay? It would be best if it was as big as me!"

The woodcarving teacher was stuck for a moment, "Well... the wish is good, but time is running out. How about we make something simpler, like a little yellow chicken or a little carrot?"

However, Zhou Jiayan shook his head and said firmly, "Teacher, how do you know it won't work if you don't try? Besides, there are many of us! I have a father and a mother, and they can all come and carve the pony."

When Shen Qingqing heard Zhou Jiayan call "Mom", her heart skipped a beat. This brat really didn't think of her when good things happened, but started calling for her mom when he needed some hard work!

She didn't want to start playing with a knife just to please an old man. What if she cut her beautiful hands?

You have to know that her hands were famous for being beautiful in her previous life, and she also endorsed hand creams worth tens of millions. What would she do if she got cut by a knife?

However, when she saw Zhou Jiayan's sparkling eyes, she sighed and thought, forget it, he's already agreed, so let's just see him off.

Of course, Shen Qingqing wasn't completely so kind. With the attitude of sharing the hardship, she urged, "Yanyan, the time is very close. It may be too late for the two of us. How about this, why don't you call your dad and ask him to come back from get off work early today so that we can carve together?"

Zhou Jiayan hesitated, "But Dad still has to go to work and make money."

"It's okay, Yanyan. You can't make enough money, and your dad doesn't need a day or two of money. Besides, you just called him to give him advice, not to force him to come back. He will definitely weigh whether he can come back or not."

After listening to Shen Qingqing's words, Zhou Jiayan felt that it made sense, so he picked up his watch and started calling Zhou Yexuan.

Zhou Yexuan was very surprised to hear Zhou Jiayan's request. He had the impression that Zhou Jiayan would never disturb him at work, but today he actually asked him to go home early to accompany him to make wood carvings to prepare a birthday gift for his grandfather.

He intuitively felt that this was probably instigated by Shen Qingqing again, but seeing that he was not very busy with things to do today, and this was the first time Zhou Jiayan made such a request, as a father, he naturally agreed.

So when he returned home, he found that his son and his wife, who was always known for her beauty, had sawdust on their faces, hair, and clothes.

Shen Qingqing had a look of despair on her face, but Zhou Jiayan looked serious and excited. He held the knife in his little hands and followed the teacher to learn how to carve.

He did not deliberately lower his footsteps, so he was soon discovered by the two people. However, it was Shen Qingqing who was even more excited to see him this time.

The moment she saw Zhou Yexuan, Shen Qingqing's eyes were instantly filled with light. She stretched out her hand and waved at him, saying, "Dad, that's great. You're finally back. I've been with Yanyan for three hours. Now you can take over."

As she said this, she handed the knives and other tools in her hand to Zhou Yexuan, then took off her gloves and fled from the workshop that had been deliberately cleared out for wood carving.

Zhou Yexuan looked at the knife in his hand and smiled silently. Shen Qingqing actually had the nerve to run away. How much did this wood sculpture torture her?

Zhou Jiayan looked at his stepmother who was so impatient to leave him and pouted, "Mom is so mean."

But soon he became excited again, waving his little paws at Zhou Yexuan and said, "Dad, come quickly, let's carve wood together, it's fun."

Zhou Yexuan looked at his excited son, what else could he say? Of course, he could only sacrifice his life to accompany the gentleman.

So he took off his suit jacket, put on an apron and gloves, came to Zhou Jiayan, and began to carve with Zhou Jiayan under the guidance of the wood carving teacher.

However, wood carving is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Even though Zhou Jiayan already had an experienced master craftsman to guide him and two adults to assist him, the horse that Zhou Jiayan wanted to carve was too big, so he still couldn't finish it from morning to night.

Moreover, children do not have as much physical strength as adults. Even though Zhou Jiayan was considered energetic, he was already drowsy by nine o'clock in the evening.

He murmured to himself, encouraging himself, "Yanyan can fight again!"

However, in the end, Zhou Jiayan tilted his head and fell asleep.

Zhou Yexuan sighed, picked up the child and carried him to the bedroom, wiped his face and feet, then put him into the soft bed and carefully covered him with the quilt.

After doing this, he left the children's room and saw Shen Qingqing coming out to get some water.

It was only nine o'clock, so Shen Qingqing naturally hadn't slept yet. When she met Zhou Yexuan in the corridor, Shen Qingqing had a bad feeling and planned to get the water and run back to the bedroom quickly.

However, she didn't expect Zhou Yexuan to be faster than her, "Yanyan has fallen asleep, but his wooden horse is not finished yet. As Yanyan's mother and the person who made this suggestion, I think you should take part of the responsibility. It just so happens that Yanyan has fallen asleep, and there is still a set of knives left. I think you have the responsibility to complete the follow-up work with me. That way, Yanyan will definitely be very happy when he wakes up tomorrow morning."

Shen Qingqing really wanted to refuse, but when she thought of the soft, rosy-cheeked glutinous rice ball sleeping, she couldn't help but feel soft in her heart.

That little fool is so attentive, he will be very sad if he can't finish it before his birthday. Thinking of this, she could no longer take the steps to go back to the bedroom.

"Okay, after all, it's the little guy's hard work. For the little guy's sake, I'll finish the rest of the work with you. But then again, you are Yanyan's biological father, so you have to remember to take on most of the work. I'm just helping you."

Zhou Yexuan chuckled when he heard this. How could someone justify being lazy so confidently? However, Shen Qingqing's agreement was considered progress. He nodded immediately and said, "Okay, I'll do most of the work and you can just help out on the side."

Then the two of them went to the workshop and started working late into the night. After about two hours, the pony was basically finished, with only some details left to be refined.

Of course, the cost is incomparable to the works of serious carving masters, especially the details are very rough.

Moreover, this pony looks a little fat, with a round belly, and it is obvious that it cannot run.

Shen Qingqing couldn't help but chuckle when she saw this, "It's indeed the pony carved by Yanyan. It looks a bit like him, with that little fat belly."

As soon as these words were spoken, the three people in the room burst into laughter.

After laughing, seeing that it was already very late, Zhou Yexuan said to the wood carving teacher, "Teacher, it's already very late. I'll ask the driver to take you back. As for the remaining small details, we can fix them ourselves."

The wood carving teacher nodded when he heard this, packed up his things and left, leaving Zhou Yexuan and Shen Qingqing alone in the room.

Zhou Yexuan has always had some obsessive-compulsive disorder and would not easily rest until the work was finished, so he picked up the knife again and planned to do the final finishing work.

He originally thought that Shen Qingqing would leave, but he didn't expect that Shen Qingqing actually picked up the knife and started to move.

Zhou Yexuan couldn't help but cast a suspicious look, but saw Shen Qingqing rolled her eyes and said, "I have endured until this time, so of course I have to persevere to the end. If I go to bed, and Yanyan wakes up tomorrow morning and asks about it, and you say that you finished it in the end, but I went to bed early, how much of a loss would I be."

Zhou Yexuan couldn't help but chuckle when he heard this. This reason made it impossible for him to say the words he wanted to persuade her to go back to bed.

Then the room returned to silence, with only the rustling sound of wood being carved.

Because it was quiet, and the two of them were close to each other, Zhou Yexuan could feel Shen Qingqing's breath again, soft and gentle. He could also see her long and curled eyelashes and delicate and pretty nose.

At this moment, he couldn't help but think of the way the woman fell asleep on him that night. For a moment, he regretted asking Shen Qingqing to do the final carving with him because he couldn't stand Shen Qingqing being too lazy.

As for Shen Qingqing, she had no idea what the man next to her was thinking. She was complaining in her heart while carving.

She had been thankful that Zhou Jiayan had excellent grades and did not need his parents' help with homework, but tonight she experienced what it felt like to stay up late to help her child with homework.

Is this really something that every parent cannot escape? What a surprise!