Chapter 3

Listening to these young punks talk, Sheng Mumu felt both amused and wistful.

The novel mentioned that Qi Shaobai deliberately behaved rebelliously during high school in order to get adults' attention.

Bringing his classmates home to play today was probably also due to this consideration.

Just then, Qi Shaobai glanced upstairs.

His gaze unexpectedly collided with Sheng Mumu's regretful yet affectionate one.

Their eyes met, and Sheng Mumu pulled up the corners of her mouth in a faint smile.

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Qi Shaobai was stunned for a moment, "?"

As the central figure of the little clique, Qi Shaobai's every move was closely watched by the others.

Noticing his change in expression, the others followed his gaze and craned their necks to look upstairs, spotting Sheng Mumu.

After all, high schoolers still feared adults. The boys who were just gossiping about Qi Shaobai's stepmother immediately tucked away their brashness when they saw her in person.

Someone patted Qi Shaobai on the shoulder and casually asked:

"Qi Shaobai, who's this pretty older sister?"

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Qi Shaobai's brows furrowed as he glared at the boy and said coldly:

"If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all."

The boy covered his mouth in surprise and lowered his voice to ask:

"She's not your stepmom, is she?"

Qi Shaobai neither confirmed nor denied it.

He ignored Sheng Mumu's existence and lazily sat down on the sofa.

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"Don't mind her, let's just do our own thing."

From Qi Shaobai's reaction, the group could now confirm that this beautiful woman really was his stepmother!

Perhaps because the smiling, gentle woman before them did not fit their imagined image of a vicious stepmother, the high schoolers instantly remembered their manners as guests in someone else's home.

One boy took the lead in calling out, "Auntie!"

Loud, crisp shouts of "Auntie!" immediately echoed from downstairs.

The address made Sheng Mumu jump in shock.

Although she was only 28 and not exactly young, she had never been called "Auntie" before.

The chorus of "Auntie" made her suddenly feel 20 years older.

Qi Shaobai leaned lazily on the sofa, his gaze drifting leisurely upstairs.

At that moment, Sheng Mumu got a clear look at Qi Shaobai's face. His features were cold and aloof, with a nonchalance unique to teenagers.

To describe the feeling abstractly, it was as if every glance conveyed "How annoying."

His features were like an unfinished sculpture, already showing the contours of a future tyrant.

Time would slowly carve this face into an even more exquisite one.

But...

Sheng Mumu's eyes darkened.

A doubt grew stronger and stronger in her heart.

Qi Shaobai looked nothing like Qi Mo.

Were Qi Shaobai and Qi Mo really father and son?

Sheng Mumu suppressed her doubts and smiled at the group of high schoolers downstairs, responding:

"Hello everyone, welcome to our home. Don't be restrained, make yourselves at home."

She made her tone as cheerful and youthful as possible, hoping to dilute the "Auntie" blow.

After she spoke, the teenage boys were shocked.

They hadn't expected Qi Shaobai's stepmother to not only be a great beauty, but also a gentle, friendly one.

She was completely unlike the vicious stepmother they had imagined.

The boys who earlier clamored about "absolutely not acknowledging her" now scratched their heads sheepishly as they politely responded,

"Sorry to bother you, Auntie."

Qi Shaobai: "..."

After greeting them, Sheng Mumu returned to the master bedroom.

When she herself was a teenager, she would always shut her bedroom door, unwilling to be disturbed by her parents. Now, in their shoes, she also didn't want to be the nosy stepmother.

It was best to give the downstairs space entirely to them, so they wouldn't feel constrained by an adult presence at home.

In the living room.

Some boys played video games, others played poker.

Qi Shaobai listlessly scrolled through his phone, his eyes seeming to drift upstairs from time to time.

Strange.

Seeing him bring a whole group of people home to play, that woman didn't show a hint of anger at all.

Was she trying to put on an act and play the gentle stepmother?

Ridiculous.

There must be some scheme behind her sudden thoughtfulness.

Just then, two bulging plastic bags full of snacks were set down on the coffee table in front of him.

Maid: "Young Master, the Madam just told me to go buy these snacks."

"What?" Qi Shaobai's eyes narrowed as he glanced toward the master bedroom upstairs. "She told you to go buy snacks for me?" What kind of joke was this?

It wasn't April Fool's day today.

The maid nodded firmly.

"Yes, the Madam told me to go buy all of these. The Madam also said that if you want milk tea, to go buy it for you. Young Master, would you like milk tea?"

The maid was equally shocked.

The sun was rising in the west today.

The Madam was actually voluntarily showing concern for the Young Master, and while the Master wasn't home at that.

Qi Shaobai was conflicted inside but still wore an impatient expression on the surface:

"...Don't want it."

Wei Zhaonan pulled out a bag of chips from the bag, tore it open, and stuffed it into his mouth:

"Little Bai, your stepmom's pretty nice, even better than my own mom."

Wei Zhaonan had been buddies with Qi Shaobai since middle school. When he learned Qi Shaobai's dad had remarried, he sincerely suggested that Qi Shaobai be wary of the stepmother.

It was rare for even one out of ten stepmothers to be a decent person.

But after seeing her today, Wei Zhaonan's opinion was beginning to change a little.

Qi Shaobai looked away, disdainful of a response: "You know nothing."

Who knew what schemes she had up her sleeve.

Her sudden thoughtfulness must be up to no good.

"Hey, did you bring the new CD from the Black Train band?" Qi Shaobai suddenly asked.

Wei Zhaonan: "Yeah, it's in my bag."

"Put it on to listen."

The penetrating German heavy metal blasted at maximum volume. Qi Shaobai deliberately waited for Sheng Mumu to lose her patience and scold him, exposing her true vicious stepmother nature.

It was as if he wanted to prove that his judgment of her would not be wrong.

Upstairs in the master bedroom.

Sheng Mumu was playing on her phone.

Suddenly, deafening music sounded from downstairs.

The ear-piercing noise made her ears hurt, and she sighed helplessly. Oh well...

It seemed that appeasing rebellious teenagers through a mother's gentle smile and special care and concern, as the internet suggested, didn't actually work.

Those online tips were nonsense.

She might as well act naturally and be herself. Trying to put on a loving stepmom act felt too forced.

Not long after, the master bedroom door was slowly pushed open.

Qi Shaobai sneered when he saw it out of the corner of his eye.

Humph, she finally couldn't stand it huh.

A complicated emotion rose in his heart, though his expression remained indifferent.

He waited for the scolding that was about to come.