You're my wife, don't doubt it!

The staircase leading upstairs was a spiral structure. While this type of staircase was impressive, it also took up a lot of space in the house—enough room for Xiao Yao to live under the stairs. Shen Jie always felt this was unnecessary, and even secretly suspected that her father had deliberately made the house like this to prevent her grandmother from living there.

As they spiraled upwards up the stairs, Shen Jie asked Johns, "Johns, how does my dad look? What's his mood?"

Johns replied, "I think that's hard to say."

Lisa opened the study door for the young lady and then stepped aside.

Shen Jie took a deep breath and went inside with Johns.

"Dad, I'm back," Shen Jie said in a deliberately obedient voice.

The walls of the study were covered with dark wallpaper, striped with gold threads that shimmered in the light, while a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, its white light illuminating the entire room.

My father stood behind the exquisitely carved wooden table, his back to me, looking at the books on the bookshelf, a dazzling array of books with spines printed in various foreign languages.

The antique clock on the bookshelf ticked away, and next to the father was an antique chair with a woven horsehair cushion that made it even more elegant.

A huge oil painting hangs on the wall, depicting a woman in a gorgeous long dress, leaning over a writing desk, deep in thought.

"Dad, I'm back." Seeing that there was no response, Shen Jie said it again.

"It's good that you're back," the father said gently.

Shen Jie called out, somewhat moved, "Dad."

When her father turned around, the girl saw that his hair, parted in a 3/7 ratio, was indeed slightly gray.

“You’ve lost weight—and you even cut your hair!” The father adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, then changed his tune: “You don’t seem to have lost weight. Have you lost weight, Johns?”

Johns replied in fluent Chinese, “In my opinion, he’s gained a little weight.”

Really? Shen Jie nervously lowered her head, examining her figure.

So, Xiao Yao really is taking good care of himself?

“Johns,” the father called the butler’s name again.

“Sir.” Uncle Johns stood ramrod straight and pushed up his glasses.

The father didn't speak, but simply waved his hand slightly.

“Sir!” Johns’ eyes held a hint of care and reluctance; this time, his “Sir” sounded like a remonstrance to his master.

“Do what I told you,” the father insisted.

“I beg your pardon, my lady.” The kind Uncle Johns had already turned around and bowed deeply to her.

Then, Johns reached out and locked the study door with a click.

Shen Jie then belatedly realized that the situation was not good.

Or rather, it's very bad.

Dad came over.

Chapter 176 Being a Stepmother Isn't Easy

2023-04-29

Yu Luying, Shen Tianyun, and Xiao Yao ate lunch together.

Yu Luying prepared a typical Shanghai-style four-dish meal with soup: First, braised pork belly, the pork of which Xiao Yao bought was lean, but braised to a rich, dark sauce with an irresistible aroma; second, dry-fried green beans, although Xiao Yao actually bought small green beans, he believed they were green beans, so Yu Luying went along with it, achieving the same fragrant bean flavor and tender, crisp texture. The other two dishes were stir-fried shrimp and asparagus in oil, both excellent in color, aroma, and taste. Finally, a classic tomato and egg drop soup, the fresh eggs and delicate tomato broth blending together beautifully, creating a refreshing and delightful dish.

Chef Yu Luying and assistant Xiao Yao worked together surprisingly well.

However, what should have been a mouthwatering and sumptuous lunch was somewhat spoiled by the way Xiao Yao and his daughter enjoyed it.

Xiao Yao was absent-minded and preoccupied, glancing at his phone every ten seconds.

"Did you reply?" Shen Tianyun asked.

"No reply," Xiao Yao said sullenly.

He switched his phone's interface to the SMS inbox, then to QQ, and kept switching back and forth.

"Don't rush things. Since things have come to this, let's eat first," Yu Luying said gently. "Perhaps he just got back and was being scolded by his parents, so he hasn't had time to reply to your messages. Just wait a bit."

“Hmm,” Xiao Yao said, “In the taxi, she kept replying to me on QQ on her phone. Later, she told me that we were almost in the residential area, and I asked her to send me a picture via MMS. But she hasn’t replied to me since.”

Yu Luying hesitated, but Shen Tianyun said what Yu Luying wanted to say: "Maybe your stepmother just doesn't want you to know where she lives, so she deliberately doesn't tell you. You still want her to take pictures, so your stepmother must think you're trying to trick her out of information, and that's why she's leaving you hanging."

"What nonsense! We're already like this, and she's still deliberately not telling me where she lives. What's she thinking?" Xiao Yao said anxiously.

When she heard "We're both like this," Yu Luying raised her eyelids and looked at him.

"You've failed as a person," Shen Tianyun teased. "It's been so long, you've done everything you were supposed to do, and you still can't get your stepmother to completely let her guard down."

"Don't be ridiculous," Xiao Yao said. "If I wanted to know where she lived, I would just ask you."

"Hmm..." Shen Tianyun told Xiao Yao, "Our family moved to a new house later. I only lived in the place she lives now before I was 4 years old, so I don't remember it much. I can only tell you the general location at most. Besides, do you think Grandpa only has one house in Shanghai?"

"There's even a temporary palace here?" Xiao Yao muttered.

He originally wanted to say "a cunning rabbit has three burrows," but then felt it wasn't a good phrase, so he changed it to "temporary palace."

"Where is your mother staying at this time? You can call me and her to ask."

"Alright, alright," Shen Tianyun clicked her tongue and said, "If she really is missing, I'll ask around for you."

"Xiao Yao, don't worry too much," Yu Luying advised again. "Tian Yun is sitting here eating peacefully, isn't that the biggest reassurance for you?"

"That's not wrong..." Xiao Yao muttered casually.

"Why don't we just call them?" Shen Tianyun suggested.

“No,” Xiao Yao shook his head and said, “I’ve already told Shen Jie not to make any phone calls for the next couple of days, so your grandfather won’t see them and get even angrier.”

Just then, the boy's phone suddenly rang, indicating that a new text message had arrived.

The boy perked up and hurriedly looked around.

Then, like a deflated balloon, he slumped into the chair.

"What's wrong?" Yu Luying asked him.

“Idiot ribbonfish, I’m going to kill him,” Xiao Yao said.

"Hey," Yu Luying suddenly remembered something, "Do you like ribbonfish? I'll fry some for you tonight?"

“Okay,” Xiao Yao said casually, “Uh, no thanks. How can I let you cook three meals a day? Let’s order takeout or eat out.”

“What does it matter?” Yu Luying smiled and said, “Cooking is my hobby.”

“Agreed,” Shen Tianyun said in a sarcastic tone, “I can’t get used to Aunt Yu’s cooking, so I still prefer…”

"Huh?" Yu Luying was taken aback: "Tianyun... if Tianyun thinks something is not to her liking, tell me and I'll make some improvements?"

She had originally intended to call her "Sister Tianyun," but then felt that since she and her mother were sisters, it would be inappropriate; if she called her "Niece Tianyun," it would seem like she was showing off her seniority, so she simply called her "Tianyun."

"Okay, Aunt Yu told me to say this, so I'll just say it directly." Shen Tianyun stuck two chopsticks into the rice: "The braised pork is too dry, it wasn't braised long enough, it's not flavorful, it's a failure."

"These small green beans are not suitable for stir-frying at all. It's a mess. Blanching them and then making a cold salad would be better. It's a failure."

"The shrimp had a fishy smell and wasn't fresh. At least add some ginger and cooking wine, or even chili peppers if necessary. What a failure."

Yu Luying's face turned very awkward.

Finally, Shen Tianyun took another sip of the tomato and egg drop soup and said, "This soup is absolutely sickeningly sweet, a complete disaster! Hey, is salt free? Is pepper free for us?"

Xiao Yao received another text message from the telecom company. Already feeling irritated, he saw Shen Tianyun deliberately picking a fight with Yu Luying and his anger flared up: "Nonsense!"

The loud shout, accompanied by the sound of slamming the table, startled not only Shen Tianyun but also Yu Luying.

Xiao Yao was so angry that he stammered, "Have you been watching too much 'The God of Cookery'? This is a failure, that is a failure, if you know so much, why don't you cook it yourself? Can you please stop making dishes that end up in the hospital every time?"

"You can order takeout if you don't want to cook yourself. So what if you can cook?" Shen Tianyun said dismissively.

"What did your mother say to you when she left? Huh? She just left and you're already causing trouble, huh?" Xiao Yao half-stood up, leaned forward, and pulled the two chopsticks out of Shen Tianyun's rice bowl: "Who taught you to stick chopsticks into rice at the dinner table? Don't you have any manners? Are you offering incense to me? Your father isn't dead yet."

“You…” Shen Tianyun stared at Xiao Yao with wide eyes in disbelief.

In fact, Xiao Yao was not superstitious, so she didn't care about chopsticks sticking into rice. However, Shen Tianyun was not the only one who would use this as an excuse to find fault.

Xiao Yao gradually got into character, mimicking his father's actions in his childhood, and tapped Shen Tianyun's head with the chopsticks he had pulled out—except he didn't use any force at all: "Yu Luying is here tutoring me and cooking for us, and instead of saying thank you, you deliberately nitpick and act sarcastic. Have some basic manners, be a decent human being—"

"It's alright, it's alright, Tianyun is just—" Yu Luying quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Fine!" Shen Tianyun slammed her hand on the table and stood up, pretending to be in pain. "You're getting angry with me because of this woman? You're going to hit me? I'll let you off this time, but let's see if I don't fight back next time?"

"You're going to fight back! You've really gotten bold!" Xiao Yao laughed angrily.

"He really acts like a father, he really thinks he's a father, get down!" After saying this, Shen Tianyun opened the wardrobe door and slammed her head against the mirror.

Xiao Yao jumped up to chase after her, but Yu Luying hugged him from behind: "Doggy, calm down."

The boy felt the girl's chest against his back, her slender arms wrapped around his waist, and the nameless anger in his heart dissipated considerably: "What...what did you just call me? Silly girl?"

Yu Luying blushed and released Xiao Yao's waist: "Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue."

“Silly girl,” Xiao Yao said, composing himself, “Don’t be like her…”

"Don't call me that!" Yu Luying said shyly, lightly punching Xiao Yao's arm with her small fist.

"What does 'full of fatherly charm' mean? Aren't I her father?" Xiao Yao seemed to be talking to himself. "And what does 'below' mean? I've only heard of 'above'."

Just then, Xiao Yao heard a series of beeping sounds from his phone.