Chapter 346: Since She Likes to Pretend, Let Her Pretend
Zi Yi thought of how she had called her Sister Song in the past and could not help herself as she called out. “Sister Song.”
Mrs. Lu teasingly scolded. “You’re a bad child. If Lu Jingye knew that you had called me Sister Song again, he would get angry with me.”
She herself knew her son the best. That child was as rigid and old-fashioned as his father in matters like these. Just based on how Zi Yi had called her Sister Song, he had been very adamant in not allowing her to do so. Thinking of Lu Jingye’s expression at that time, Mrs. Lu could not help but laugh out loud.
Zi Yi held Mrs. Lu’s hand and said mischievously, “Anyways, he doesn’t know. When we walk side by side, everyone would think that you’re my sister. See, no one said anything when I called you that way.”
“Hahaha.” Mrs. Lu was extremely happy deep down, but she was still slightly unsatisfied. “Actually, I prefer you calling me something else rather than Sister Song.”
“What do you want me to call you?” Zi Yi blinked that pair of curious eyes of hers.
Mrs. Lu whispered in her ears, “Mother of course.”
Zi Yi immediately revealed a huge smile and whispered back in Mrs. Lu’s ears, “I’ll call you that after I marry Jingye soon.”
Mrs. Lu was overjoyed and said with an expectant expression, “Okay!”
She had acknowledged Zi Yi as her eldest daughter-in-law and she could not wait for her son to immediately take her in as his wife.
She had already planned to go back and discuss with Lu Jianlian about when their wedding should be held.
After they continued to walk for some time, suddenly two different tones of voices sounded behind them.
“Junior Zi, I’ve finally found you.”
“Yiyi, so you’re really here?”
Zi Yi furrowed her brows when she heard the second voice. She did not expect Li Peirong to find her.
Mrs. Lu noticed that Zi Yi’s expression was somewhat cold and so, she asked, “Little Zi, who’re the people calling out to you?”
Zi Yi told her about it. “My stepmother and someone from the Student Union.”
The moment she heard that it was Zi Yi’s stepmother, Mrs. Lu had also furrowed her brow.
She knew all about the matters in Zi Yi’s family. She had seen plenty of people like Li Peirong in the rich and powerful families. At the thought of how a good child was nearly ruined by Li Peirong, Mrs. Lu disliked her immediately.
Li Peirong and Yu Xuan walked over from two different directions.
Yu Xuan looked at Mrs.Lu standing beside Zi Yi, then at Li Peirong. She felt that she had come at a bad time, but the event would be starting in two hours and she was somewhat in a hurry.
“Zi…”
“Yiyi, mom has finally found you.”
Li Peirong would always act like a loving mother in front of outsiders and no one would find any mistakes in her behavior. At that moment, even if she wished that she could tear Zi Yi into pieces, she would still reveal an expression of a mother being overjoyed at the sight of their child.
Yu Xuan was interrupted by Li Peirong, but she did not get angry. Instead, she was slightly overjoyed.
She spoke to Li Peirong in a polite manner. “Auntie, are you Student Zi’s mother?”
Li Peirong nodded and said, “Yes, I am.”
Yu Xuan was unaware that Li Peirong was Zi Yi’s stepmother. She wanted to behave well in front of Li Peirong as she felt that it was much easier than coaxing Zi Yi.
“Auntie, you’re so lucky to have such a capable daughter. Junior Zi is not only…”
The moment Yu Xuan switched to chatterbox mode, she could not wait to boast about every single thing about Zi Yi from head to toe. Even Zi Yi’s recent achievements in the school had been mentioned by her in a more exaggerated tone of voice.
Zi Yi and Mrs. Lu stood there without speaking. They admired Li Peirong’s forbearance. Even though her heart must be twisting in anger, she still pretended to be proud of her daughter.
Mrs. Lu could not hold herself back anymore. The corner of her lips curled up and she leaned towards Zi Yi’s ears as she said, “Little Zi, this stepmother of yours seems like she’s about to explode.”
Zi Yi had also revealed a smile and whispered back in her ears, “Since she likes to pretend, let her pretend.”
In fact, Li Peirong could not continue holding back any longer. When she saw Zi Yi speaking intimately with the noble-looking woman next to her, she was constantly guessing Mrs. Lu’s identity, while thinking of how she could reveal Zi Yi’s dark past.
Just then, Yu Xuan asked, “Junior Zi is so capable. She must have been like this since childhood?”
When Li Peirong heard her, she revealed an appropriate slightly stunned look, before acting as if she wanted to hide her stunned expression. In the end, she laughed and said, “In my heart, Yiyi is the best.”
Yu Xuan found her reaction weird and was about to ask further.
Just then, Mrs. Lu suddenly spoke up. “It’s been hard on Sister Li. As Little Zi’s stepmother, you had let her roam free since a young age and provided the best for her. When she didn’t wish to study, you allowed her to do so. Even if she was playing outside and the teacher came to look for her, you went to the teacher to intercede. Instead, you were very strict with your own daughter. Little Zi is fortunate to have a stepmother like you.”
Yu Xuan looked towards Zi Yi.
She noticed that there was not the slightest hint of joy when she faced Li Peirong. Instead, she was alienated from her. Yu Xuan seemed to have thought of something and the way she looked at Li Peirong became strange.
Li Peirong did not expect that the woman beside Zi Yi would skillfully point out her thoughts over the years. After a moment of panic, she revealed an expression that seemed to say: “It’s hard to be a stepmother. I didn’t have a choice. Yiyi was still young back then and she was unwilling to accept me. I can’t possibly discipline her strictly and make her hate me.”
She then looked towards Zi Yi and said in a sad tone, “Yiyi, I know that you are angry with your father, but how could you not even come home? Do you know how worried I was about you these days?”
Mrs. Lu furrowed her brow at her words.
Zi Yi knows how well Li Peirong was capable of pretending. She raised her hand and patted Mrs. Lu’s hand. She then looked towards her and said, “Mmh, thanks for specially finding some hooligans to educate me about how dangerous it is to run away from home. Fortunately, I have my grandfather’s family. Otherwise, I would really have understood the dangers of society.”
Li Peirong revealed an expression of disbelief. Her eyes turned red from being wronged. “Yiyi, what are you saying? Why would I get hooligans to educate you? There must be some misunderstanding between us. You…”
Zi Yi looked at her and said in a serious manner, “I still have the recording of your phone call with them. Could it be that you want me to play it out for everyone to hear?”
Li Peirong’s expression finally changed. It took her a great deal of effort to resist the impulse to slap Zi Yi. She wiped the tears in her eyes and said, “Yiyi, what have I done wrong? Why do you insist on saying that? How could I possibly have done that? Everyone in the S City knows that…”
“If you plan to refute, it seems like I can only take out the recording.”
Zi Yi was about to take out her phone as she said that.
At that time, there was a huge crowd around them who were waiting to watch a show. All of them had already imagined all sorts of drama between a stepdaughter and a stepmother having grudges towards each other.
Li Peirong knew that Zi Yi had changed recently and she feared that she would suffer if she continued this. She then wiped her tears and said, “If you don’t want to see me, I won’t appear before you in the future. But I still wish that you can take good care of yourself in the future and reconcile with your father.”