The Malicious Stepmother

The fading rays of the sunset were swallowed by the apartment blocks, and the greasy scent of stir-frying drifted through the stairwell.

Carrying her backpack, Lin Wanwan kicked a pebble at her feet, slowly shuffling her way to the bottom of her apartment building.

At the entrance of the unit, Chen Zhi's mother was fishing for her keys, carrying bags full of vegetables and fresh meat.

"Auntie Zhang." Lin Wanwan immediately stood up straight and greeted her obediently.

Zhang Guifang turned around. Seeing it was Lin Wanwan, a bright smile immediately bloomed on her face. She peeked behind Lin Wanwan a couple of times, but it was completely empty.

"Wanwan, why are you alone? Where is that brat Chen Zhi?"

Zhang Guifang was holding a live fish in her hand, its tail still thrashing about in the plastic bag.

Lin Wanwan's heart skipped a beat.

She couldn't exactly say that the guy went to the internet cafe to play shooting games, could she? If Auntie Zhang found out, Chen Zhi's legs probably wouldn't survive the night.

"He... he's on classroom duty today," Lin Wanwan blinked, lying without blushing or skipping a beat. "The teacher made him responsible for erasing the blackboard at the back of the classroom and rearranging the desks and chairs. It'll probably take him a while."

"That little rascal. At home, he wouldn't even pick up a fallen broom, but he's quite proactive at school." Zhang Guifang scolded with a laugh, not suspecting a thing. "Wanwan, why don't you come over to Auntie's place for dinner tonight? Your mom just called me to say she has to work overtime, and your dad isn't coming back either, so there's definitely no one at home."

Lin Wanwan hesitated for a second.

Going to Chen Zhi's house for dinner meant facing a barrage of questions from Auntie Zhang about why Chen Zhi still wasn't back. The lie would only get bigger and bigger, making it easy to slip up.

"No need, Auntie." Lin Wanwan waved her hand, gripping her backpack straps tightly. "I have a lot of homework, so I want to go back and do some test papers first. There are frozen dumplings in the fridge, I'll just boil some."

"This child, always so sensible." Zhang Guifang sighed and raised an eyebrow. "Alright, if you get hungry, come knock on our door anytime."

After bidding farewell to Zhang Guifang, Lin Wanwan took out her keys and opened her front door.

The house was dead silent. Only the sensor light in the entryway flickered on for a moment before going out.

A cold, desolate feeling filled the air.

She threw her backpack onto the sofa and sank into the soft cushions.

The sports meet had just finished, so there was no homework at all, and she didn't really want to eat any frozen dumplings.

She took out her phone. The screen was completely empty; there were no new messages.

That jerk, he probably forgot the time while playing, didn't he?

Lin Wanwan grabbed a throw pillow from the sofa and punched it hard twice, as if trying to flatten a certain someone's face.

"Stupid Chen Zhi, only knows how to run off and play by himself."

In the empty living room, the young girl's complaints sounded exceptionally clear, carrying a trace of grievance.

...

Meanwhile, in the back alley of the commercial street.

Three figures emerged from a dimly lit internet cafe.

The sky outside had turned completely pitch black. The dim yellow streetlights stretched their shadows long.

"Ah, Brother Zhi, why did we log off so early?" Li Zihan rubbed his hands, still wanting more, with a constipated expression on his face. "I just found my rhythm and was about to go on a killing spree with my sniper rifle!"

Chen Zhi walked in front and stretched lazily, his joints popping.

"If we keep playing, your mom will come marching in with a rolling pin to drag you out." Chen Zhi didn't look back, merely waving his hand. "Besides, the smoke in there is too heavy; it's choking me."

Li Zihan was about to retort that he was usually pretty good at pulling all-nighters, but swallowed the words before they left his mouth.

He sneaked a peek at Pei Ningxue, who was walking at the back.

Although Campus Belle Pei didn't say anything, her clean school uniform had indeed picked up a lot of the tobacco smell. She crinkled her nose slightly, clearly not used to this kind of environment.

"Come on, I'll take you guys to eat something good." Chen Zhi stopped and pointed to a barbecue joint across the street.

Li Zihan gulped. His lingering gaming addiction was instantly replaced by gluttony.

"For real? You're treating, Brother Zhi?"

"Duh. Don't eat if you don't want to."

"Eat, eat, eat! I'd be an idiot not to!" Li Zihan immediately sprinted to the front like a loyal lackey to clear the way.

The three of them found a window seat and sat down.

Chen Zhi picked up the menu. Without asking the other two, he shouted directly at the waiter, "Boss, twenty lamb skewers, twenty beef skewers, and get me twenty vegetable skewers too. Two bottles of iced cola, and one room temperature."

Li Zihan was dumbfounded.

Was this still the same stingy Chen Zhi who would mooch a bite even when buying a cheap bag of spicy strips?

"Brother Zhi, did you strike it rich?" Li Zihan asked cautiously. "This is gonna cost a lot, isn't it?"

Chen Zhi pushed the room temperature cola in front of Pei Ningxue, tossed an iced one to Li Zihan, opened one for himself, and tilted his head back to take a huge gulp.

"Cut the crap, can't free food shut your mouth?" Chen Zhi shot him a sideways glance. "It's leftover class funds. Might as well spend it."

"You can't be a corrupt official, Brother Zhi."

"I'm messing with you, dumbass."

Soon, the sizzling, oily meat skewers were brought to the table, sprinkled with cumin and chili powder, their aroma filling the air.

Li Zihan pounced like a starving wolf, grabbing two skewers and eating from both hands simultaneously, getting grease all over his mouth.

In comparison, Pei Ningxue was much more elegant.

She wrapped the bottom of the skewer with a tissue, took a small bite of meat, and chewed carefully.

This was her first time eating this kind of food at a street stall.

In the past, the nanny at home always said that outside food was unhygienic, the oil was bad, and the meat wasn't fresh.

But right now, the taste of cumin bloomed on the tip of her tongue, and the spiciness stimulated her taste buds. It was much more delicious than the exquisite but cold food at home.

Chen Zhi quietly observed Pei Ningxue.

The young girl ate very earnestly, her cheeks bulging slightly.

Pei Ningxue, who always had a cold face and exuded a "strangers stay away" aura, finally showed a bit more of the vibrant liveliness that belonged to her age.

"How is it? Is it good?" Chen Zhi asked suddenly.

Pei Ningxue paused, swallowed the food in her mouth, and nodded. "Yeah."

"As long as it's good." Chen Zhi smiled and handed her a skewer of grilled steamed bun slices. "Eat more. You only have the strength to fight against the world when you're full."

Pei Ningxue froze for a second and looked up at Chen Zhi.

Fight against the world?

Hearing these words come out of a junior high school student's mouth seemed a bit melodramatic and somewhat ridiculous.

But for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to laugh.

The meal went by quickly.

Half an hour later, only a small mountain of bamboo skewers and empty cola bottles remained on the table.

Li Zihan let out a loud burp and slumped in his chair, rubbing his round belly. "Awesome! That was awesome! Brother Zhi, from now on, you're my biological brother!"

Chen Zhi checked the time; it was about time to wrap things up.

He stood up, went to the front counter to pay the bill, then walked back and kicked the leg of Li Zihan's chair.

"Alright, you've eaten and drank your fill. Time to get lost."

Li Zihan was taken aback and bounced up from his chair. "Huh? We're splitting up already? Not gonna stroll around a bit more? It looks like the night market up ahead is open."

"Stroll my ass," Chen Zhi shot him down mercilessly. "Didn't you just say you haven't done your homework yet? Hurry up and go back, otherwise when Lao Wang checks homework tomorrow, you'll be standing in the hallway for punishment again."

"But, we don't have any homework." Li Zihan looked at Pei Ningxue. "Campus Belle Pei hasn't left yet either, right? Shouldn't we walk her home together?"

"She lives in the villa district. Is that anywhere near your rundown apartment?" Chen Zhi snatched up Li Zihan's backpack and shoved it into his arms. "Get lost. Stop being a third wheel."

Although Li Zihan could be a bit slow on the uptake sometimes, he definitely understood the words 'third wheel'.

He looked at Chen Zhi, then at Pei Ningxue, and a knowing, cheeky grin spread across his face.

"Oh—" Li Zihan dragged out the syllable, winking and making faces at Chen Zhi. "Alright, alright, I'm leaving. I won't interrupt your lovely evening. Brother Zhi, good luck!"

With that, the guy hugged his backpack and sprinted off, disappearing in a flash.

Only Chen Zhi and Pei Ningxue were left standing at the entrance of the barbecue joint.

The evening breeze blew past, sweeping up a few fallen leaves from the ground.

"Let's go," Chen Zhi said, his hands in his pockets as he lifted his chin toward the direction of the school. "I'll walk you back."

Pei Ningxue didn't refuse, silently following by his side.

The two of them walked slowly along the sidewalk.

The streetlights stretched their shadows, making them overlap and then separate.

"Why didn't you answer the phone earlier?" Chen Zhi broke the silence.

Back at the internet cafe, he had seen Pei Ningxue's phone screen light up several times before she finally just turned it off.

Pei Ningxue looked down at the tips of her toes. "I didn't want to."

"Did you have a fight with your dad?" Chen Zhi probed gently.

"He's not home." Pei Ningxue's voice was so soft it almost scattered in the wind. "Only that woman is."

That woman.

She wouldn't even mention her name. It seemed their relationship was even more strained than he had imagined.

Chen Zhi now had a pretty good idea of the situation.

The core of the Save the Ex-Girlfriend mission in his system lay within Pei Ningxue's family dynamics.

"You don't want to go back?" Chen Zhi stopped walking and turned to look at her.

Pei Ningxue stopped as well.

She looked up, the halos of the streetlights reflecting in her eyes, flickering faintly.

"I don't," she answered honestly.

"Even if you don't want to, you have to." Chen Zhi shrugged, breaking the brief melancholic atmosphere. "You're still a minor. If you run away from home, the police will just escort you back."

Before they knew it, the two had arrived at the school gates.

At this hour, the school gates were tightly shut, with only the security room still lit.

Across the street from the school gates, a black Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan was parked by the road.

An exquisitely made-up woman stood by the car, clutching a phone in her hand, her face dark enough to drip water.

Seeing Pei Ningxue appear, the woman's gaze instantly sharpened.

"Pei Ningxue!"

The woman's voice rang out.

Pei Ningxue stiffened, subconsciously taking a half-step back.

Chen Zhi, however, didn't move an inch. Instead, he took a step forward, blocking Pei Ningxue behind him.

Liu Yi stormed over to them, her chest heaving violently. She was clearly furious.

"Where did you run off to?! Why was your phone off? Do you know how many times I called you?!"

Liu Yi pointed right at Pei Ningxue's nose, spit flying as she yelled.

"Are you trying to worry me to death? Is this how the eldest daughter of the Pei family is supposed to act?"

Pei Ningxue kept her head down, not saying a word, her fingers clutching her backpack straps so tightly her knuckles turned white.

After scolding Pei Ningxue, Liu Yi finally turned her attention to Chen Zhi, who was blocking her way.

She looked Chen Zhi up and down.

A standard school uniform, reeking of cheap barbecue and cigarette smoke.

Liu Yi furrowed her brows, covering her nose in disgust as she took a step back.

"Who are you?"

Her tone was dripping with contempt and disdain.

"I'm her classmate," Chen Zhi replied calmly, completely unfazed by the woman's overbearing attitude.

"Classmate?" Liu Yi sneered. "More like some street thug, right? Reeking of smoke, what a disgrace!"

She turned back to Pei Ningxue, her tone even more biting.

"Pei Ningxue, you're really something. Instead of studying, you've learned to fool around with shady characters like this?"

"Let me tell you, stay away from low-class hooligans like him from now on! Don't let him ruin the Pei family's reputation!"

Liu Yi's words were like knives, each sentence uglier than the last.

Pei Ningxue abruptly lifted her head, her usually cold eyes now blazing with anger.

"He's not..."

"What? You dare talk back?" Liu Yi didn't give her a chance to speak, interrupting her directly. "Get in the car right now! I'll deal with you when we get back!"

Saying that, she reached out to grab Pei Ningxue's arm.

Just then, a hand shot out from the side, blocking Liu Yi's wrist.