The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 823 - 822: Thirtieth Birthday Gift

After the fifteenth day of the New Year, February also neared its end.

The kids needed to prepare for school, and Shen Mingzhu also readied herself to return to work.

On the night before Pei Ziheng left for the Capital, Shen Mingzhu specially made a large table of delicious dishes.

After dinner,

Pei Ziheng mysteriously took out a beautifully wrapped gift, "Mom, this is for you."

Shen Mingzhu picked up the box and shook it, finding it quite light, guessing it was probably jewelry or something similar.

"Why are you suddenly giving me a gift?"

"I originally wanted to give it to you for your thirtieth birthday, but you’re going back to work in a few days, so I thought I’d make you happy in advance."

The mention of her birthday this year made Shen Mingzhu feel a bit gloomy about how relentless the years were.

"Alright, thank you, Erza."

Pei Tang jumped off the table and ran to her brother, "I want to receive my birthday gift in advance too, so I can be happy ahead of time."

Pei Ziheng looked at her and smiled, "I haven’t prepared your birthday gift yet."

Pei Tang pouted, disappointed, but then heard the next sentence, "But I’ve prepared a back-to-school gift for you."

Pei Tang’s beautiful almond eyes widened in an instant as she excitedly asked where the gift was and eagerly searched Pei Ziheng’s pockets.

After searching for a long time without finding it, and just as she was wondering, Pei Ziheng finally spoke up with a smile, "It’s in the second drawer of your desk."

Pei Tang immediately turned to go upstairs.

After running a few steps, she turned back, "When did you put it there?"

"On the first day of the year."

Pei Tang stamped her foot, "Why didn’t you tell me earlier?"

"I originally wanted you to find it yourself. But you, little fool, couldn’t even notice something hidden right under your nose."

As he spoke, he affectionately pinched her perky nose.

Pei Tang blinked and turned to Pei Yang, "Dad, brother said you’re silly, can you take that?"

Pei Yang looked relaxed, as though watching a show, "Don’t drag me into this, he was talking about you."

"A dragon gives birth to a dragon, a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix, and a rat’s son can dig holes. If I’m a little fool, then aren’t you a big fool?"

Pei Yang: found himself unable to refute.

Just as Pei Tang was feeling smug, she was flicked on the forehead by Pei Ziheng, "Ungrateful little thing, I prepare a gift for you, and you turn around and stir up trouble between me and Dad."

Pei Tang covered the flicked spot, asserting righteously, "One thing does not relate to the other. Who asked you to call me a little fool, does giving me a gift allow you to insult me?"

Pei Ziheng couldn’t help but laugh, "Alright, I was wrong, you’re not a little fool, you’re a little clever sprite."

Pei Tang, with an air of ’that’s more like it,’ proudly spoke, "Acknowledging your mistake is a great virtue. Considering you gave me a gift, I’ll forgive you this time."

After saying that, she bounced up the stairs to find her gift.

"Erza, is this a lighter?"

While the siblings were having fun, Shen Mingzhu had already opened the gift box and pulled out a black car key with a winged emblem on it.

Pei Yang took the car key from Shen Mingzhu’s hand, looked at it carefully for a few seconds, then suddenly stood up and walked outside.

"Beep beep."

Seeing the car lights turn on by the roadside, both husband and wife looked towards Pei Ziheng.

"Did you buy this car?"

"When did you buy it?"

Both asked simultaneously.

Pei Ziheng, neither confirming nor denying, took the car key from Pei Yang’s hand and placed it in Shen Mingzhu’s, "Mom, go check out your gift."

Beneath the dim streetlight, the car shone with a pearl-like white luster, and the interior was in Mingzhu’s favorite burgundy.

Sitting in the carriage that exuded the fragrance of leather, holding the soft yet resilient steering wheel, Mingzhu’s emotions were extremely complex.

A Bentley Yajun, she hadn’t expected that at the threshold of forty, she too would be driving such a top-tier luxury car.

But deep down, she always felt an uneasy sense of unworthiness. "Erza, how much did this car cost?"

Hearing this, Pei Yang, who was sitting in the back seat studying the interior, also paid attention.

"Mom, do you like it?"

Mingzhu displayed an "Are you kidding?" expression. "What do you think? Only a fool wouldn’t like such a nice car."

Ziheng’s dark pupils sparkled with star-like brightness. "I’m glad you like it, Mom. The reason I work hard to make money is to buy things you guys like."

Through the half-opened window, they could vaguely hear Pei Tang’s shouting.

He probably got the gift from upstairs, only to find there was no one in the living room.

"It’s still early; Mom, do you want to go for a drive?"

Mingzhu gripped the steering wheel, her excitement barely contained. "Then call Guoguo out, and I’ll take you both to watch the night view from the mountaintop."

"Okay."

As soon as Ziheng got out of the car, Pei Yang immediately moved to the front passenger seat.

Out of male habit, he pulled open the storage box in front of the passenger seat and found a green box inside. He casually took it out and opened it—it was a watch.

"Why is there a men’s watch in your car?"

"Indeed, why is there a men’s watch in here."

Prompted by Mingzhu’s counter-question, Pei Yang then recalled that the car was bought by his son, and similarly to him, Mingzhu had also just gotten into the car.

Mingzhu picked up the watch from the box, pulled the man’s left hand over, removed the old watch, and slid on the new one. The strap fastened just right, neither too large nor too small.

This watch was prepared by the son for him.

The thought popped up, and Pei Yang’s lips curled up so much that even a crowbar couldn’t keep them down. "The kid’s got some conscience, after all."

He hadn’t forgotten his old man.

Not long after, Pei Tang scrambled into the car with high spirits, her eyes wider than longans as she admired the interior, repeatedly exclaiming, "So beautiful!"

After admiring Mingzhu’s new car, Pei Tang shook her head happily. "Mom, do you notice anything different about me?"

Mingzhu glanced at her daughter and replied, "I can’t see anything."

In fact, she had already noticed the striking diamond headband her daughter was wearing on her head.

However, Pei Tang was no longer as easy to tease as she was at four or five years of age. Astonished, she retorted, "Oh my gosh, Mom, you’re only thirty and your eyes are already failing you. How can you not see such a big headband? You aren’t going blind, are you?"

Muttering "this is my own child" thrice in her head, Mingzhu smiled and warned, "Keep your mouth shut if you don’t want to be kicked out of the car."

Pei Tang shrank her neck and leaned into her brother’s embrace. "Mom is so fierce."

Ziheng pinched her ear, his scolding laced with indulgence. "You shouldn’t be disrespectful to Mom."

"But Mom tricked me first. She saw it but pretended she didn’t."

After saying that, she added, "Never mind, she’s getting old, it’s only right that I let her have her way."

Front seat Mingzhu: "..."

A lovely child, it’s just a shame she inherited such a mouth.

...

After a drive, they returned home close to eleven at night.

After the two children had washed up and settled down to sleep, Mingzhu then started using the bathroom.

While she was in the bathroom, Pei Yang sat on the sofa studying his new wristwatch.

When she came out after washing up, Pei Yang was still sitting in the same place, looking at the watch.