The Laid-back Life of a Stepmother

Xu Yuxuan was still young, and a quarter of an hour's walk was already his limit. After that, he needed to be carried. Previously, it was always Nanny Ji who carried him, but today, for some reason, he suddenly reached out to Xu Yuejia.

Wen Ye watched the scene with amusement and urged, "Husband, Xu Yuxuan wants you to carry him."

Xu Yuejia lowered his gaze to meet Xu Yuxuan's eyes for a moment, then bent down to pick him up. Xu Yuxuan immediately clung tightly to Xu Yuejia's neck, pressing his chubby little face against his father's for a while.

The father and son had never been this close before, and Xu Yuejia froze in place, stiff with surprise.

Xu Yuxuan pulled his pudgy face away from Xu Yuejia and turned to look at Wen Ye, exclaiming in a clear voice, "Is Father dumbfounded?"

Wen Ye stifled a laugh and said, "Your father is just too happy. He loves it when you treat him like this."

Xu Yuejia shot her a sidelong glance, but Wen Ye pretended not to notice.

Xu Yuxuan nodded seriously and said, "Teacher Xu said that if I do this, Father will like it!"

The word "like" was shouted so loudly that even the maids trimming the branches in the distance couldn't help but sneak a glance.

Wen Ye let out an "oh" of understanding. No wonder there had been such a big change in just half a day—it was all Xu Baili's doing.

She glanced at Xu Yuejia, who had relaxed a bit, and wondered if he regretted hiring Xu Baili as Xu Yuxuan's tutor.

Xu Yuxuan, not receiving a response from Xu Yuejia, kept pestering him, "Father? Father?" His rosy lips and pearly teeth were close, and his round, watery eyes, which usually didn't show such boldness, were fixed on Xu Yuejia.

Xu Yuejia reluctantly responded, "Hmm."

Xu Yuxuan beamed, revealing a row of tiny teeth, and snuggled closer in Xu Yuejia's arms. Xu Yuejia then turned to Wen Ye and said, "Let's go."

Hearing this, Xu Yuxuan quickly turned to Wen Ye, who was half a step behind, and waved his little hand at her.

Wen Ye observed this scene and thought, "Is he summoning me like a cat or a dog? What exactly has Xu Baili been teaching him in such a short time?"

Since it was Xu Yuxuan's first day at school, Wen Ye wanted to make it a warm and memorable experience. She had the kitchen prepare some of Xu Yuxuan's favorite dishes and decided to play the role of a good mother for the day.

Xu Yuxuan could now hold a spoon steadily and no longer needed Nanny Ji to feed him. She only helped by cutting the harder-to-eat dishes into smaller pieces, which he then scooped up himself.

Sitting in his special chair, he ate bite after bite, his cheeks stuffed with meat. He looked so well-behaved that Nanny Ji, watching from the side, felt her heart melt.

Her gaze then shifted slightly.

Wen Ye was never one to deprive herself. The table was set with three different styles of dishes, each catering to their preferences: spicy for Wen Ye, sweet for Xu Yuxuan, and light for Xu Yuejia.

The spicy chicken made with Ling City's specialty chili peppers was even more delicious than any she had tasted before. Wen Ye accidentally bit into a dried chili with seeds, and the spiciness burned all the way down her throat.

She endured the heat and picked up a piece of chicken for Xu Yuejia, saying, "You've seemed to lose weight recently, probably from being overworked. Have some spicy chicken; it goes well with rice."

Xu Yuejia, unaware of her discomfort, thought she was putting on a show because Nanny Ji was present.

He glanced at the piece of chicken in his dish, picked it up with his chopsticks, and ate it. After chewing a couple of times, he realized something was off. By then, Wen Ye had already looked away and was sipping her soup. Xu Yuejia, expressionless, swallowed it.

Before Wen Ye could react, he picked up a slice of bitter melon and placed it in her dish, saying, "Eating too much spicy food can cause heatiness. Bitter melon helps clear heat and reduce fire."

Wen Ye could eat almost anything, except bitter melon.

She immediately transferred the bitter melon to Xu Yuxuan's plate, saying, "Eating too much glutinous meatballs can be hard to digest. Here, try the bitter melon your father gave you."

Xu Yuxuan, unaware of the situation, obediently scooped it into his mouth. After one chew, his brows furrowed into a tiny frown. He spat out the bitter melon and cried, "Water! Water!"

Wen Ye quickly fed him a sip of soup, and after gulping it down, Xu Yuxuan finally managed to swallow the unpleasant taste. He then declared, "Xu Yuxuan doesn't want to eat anymore!"

Suddenly remembering something, he turned to Xu Yuejia, who was sitting diagonally across from him, and said, "Father, you eat it."

Wen Ye nodded in agreement, "Your father does like it."

Xu Yuxuan, with a determined look, added, "Teacher Xu said we should be filial!"

So, Father, you eat it!

Xu Yuejia: "..."

Wen Ye raised an eyebrow. Such filial piety indeed.

To Nanny Ji, watching the scene, it was a picture of a harmonious family, each caring for the other.

Xu Yuxuan smoothly began his early education, but the warm moments were fleeting. On the first day, Wen Ye and Xu Yuejia picked him up from school. On the second day, it was Madam Lu. By the third day, Duke Xu had joined them.

After that, it was only Nanny Ji.

Xu Yuxuan still carried his book bag embroidered with a little tiger head. Renshu led him by the hand, with Nanny Ji on the other side.@@novelbin@@

He asked Nanny Ji, "Where's Mother?"

Nanny Ji patiently replied, "Madam Wen's family has come to visit, so she's busy hosting them in the west courtyard. That's why she couldn't come to pick you up today."

Xu Yuxuan asked curiously, "Who's here?"

Nanny Ji smiled kindly and said, "Your aunt, your little cousin, and your little aunt are all here."

Xu Yuxuan's eyes widened. "Little aunt?!" He felt like he'd heard the name before, and his heart suddenly felt uneasy.

When Madam Yang arrived at the Duke's residence, she naturally went to the main courtyard to see Madam Lu first. After exchanging polite greetings, Madam Lu had Qingxue lead Madam Yang and her two children to the west courtyard to rest.

As soon as Madam Yang entered the west courtyard, she noticed two swings of different sizes hanging under the eaves. Wen Ye, having been informed in advance, came out of the house to greet them.

With a bright smile, she said, "Sister-in-law."

Seeing Wen Ye's radiant complexion and carefree expression, Madam Yang could tell that Wen Ye was living a comfortable life in the Duke's residence.

She smiled in return and said, "Mother was worried about you and wanted to come herself, but she's been busy with household affairs. So she sent me to check on you instead."

She then glanced at the two children beside her and added, "The school at home had a day off today, so I brought them along."

Wen Ye called out, "Cheng."

Wen Cheng, polite and well-mannered, replied, "Aunt Wen."

Wen Ye then turned her gaze to Wen Ran beside him. The two sisters exchanged a look but said nothing.

Wen Ye turned back to Madam Yang and said, "Sister-in-law, let's go inside to chat."

Madam Yang nodded.

When Xu Yuxuan returned to the west courtyard after school, Wen Ye and Madam Yang were discussing the upcoming birth of Madam Liu, Wen Ye's second sister-in-law. The room was filled with unfamiliar faces, and Xu Yuxuan hesitated at the doorway.

Madam Yang was the first to notice the little boy and smiled, "It's been a while since I last saw Xu Yuxuan. He seems to have grown taller."

Wen Ye beckoned to Xu Yuxuan, "Come here."

Xu Yuxuan, full of curiosity, toddled over to Wen Ye. Wen Ye introduced, "This is your aunt."

Having attended school, Xu Yuxuan was quicker on the uptake. He immediately bowed to Madam Yang and said, "Xu Yuxuan greets Aunt."

Madam Yang smiled and said, "What a well-behaved child."

Xu Yuxuan pursed his lips, trying to contain his proud smile.

Wen Ye ignored his smug little expression. With Xu Baili as his tutor, this boy was bound to grow up into a sweet-talking but cunning individual. For now, though, he was still too young to hide his true nature.

"And this is your cousin, Cheng."

The two children, one big and one small, exchanged polite greetings.

"Cousin!"

"Little cousin."

Wen Ye sometimes enjoyed watching children act so seriously. Wen Cheng, with his delicate features resembling his father, performed the formalities with precision.

Xu Yuxuan, with his rosy lips and round, chubby face, didn't resemble any one person in particular but had a bit of everyone in him. His eyes blinked but didn't wander aimlessly.

Wen Cheng had prepared a small gift for his first visit—a handmade bookmark. After the greetings, he presented it to Xu Yuxuan.

"Cousin, this is for you."

"Thank you, cousin!" Xu Yuxuan accepted the bookmark graciously. He then rummaged through his book bag, which he hadn't taken off yet, and pulled out a bamboo dragonfly, handing it to Wen Cheng. "Xu Yuxuan gives cousin a gift."

Wen Cheng had played with bamboo dragonflies when he was younger, but since he had been in school for almost a year, most of his childhood toys had been passed down to his younger brother, Wen Che.

Nevertheless, since it was a gift from his little cousin, he accepted it with gratitude.

Wen Cheng took the bamboo dragonfly and said, "Thank you, cousin. Your elder cousin likes it very much."

Xu Yuxuan touched the simple yet delicate bookmark and earnestly expressed, "Xuan'er likes this too!"

Madam Yang, seeing this, smiled and said, "I didn't expect them to get along so well."

Wen Ye remarked, "Cheng has grown up."

Before the two boys could say anything more, Wen Ye continued, "Xuan'er, there's also your auntie."

Wen Ran was a bit nervous. This was her first time visiting outside the family estate, even though it was her elder sister's marital home. She had brought a gift as well.

Similar to the bookmark Wen Cheng had given, hers only differed by one character. Seeing that her little nephew liked the gift Wen Cheng had given, she suddenly felt less nervous. Last time, she had packed in a hurry and left behind several books. Wen Ran had been worried that giving the same type of gift twice might not be well-received by her nephew. Xu Yuxuan's gaze fell on Wen Ran, and his voice softened, "Auntie?"

Wen Ran responded somewhat awkwardly with a soft "Hmm," then took out the three annotated beginner books she had been holding and said, "Little nephew, this is a gift from your auntie."

Xu Yuxuan instinctively took half a step back.

His reaction was far less enthusiastic compared to when Wen Cheng had given him the bookmark.

/

Just like how she had also liked pretty things when she was little.

Wen Ye instructed Nanny Ji to take the books from Xu Yuxuan and said, "Little sister, come over here to your fourth sister."

Wen Ran walked over,

and Wen Ye gently touched the two flower buns on her head, saying, "Your little nephew does like it."

Wen Ran's almond-shaped eyes lit up, "Really?"

"If you don't believe me, just watch," Wen Ye hinted with her eyes.

Wen Ran looked over, puzzled.

She saw Xu Yuxuan rummaging through his book bag again.

Xu Yuxuan suddenly remembered—this auntie was the one who had broken something before.

Finally finding what he was looking for in the bag, Xu Yuxuan turned around and handed it over, "Here!"

It was a rabbit-fur brush.

Wen Ran took it in surprise.

Xu Yuxuan instantly brightened up, thinking he wouldn't have to suffer from sore hands tomorrow. In Wen Ran's heart, this rabbit-fur brush carried far more weight than the bamboo dragonfly.

So her little nephew truly did like the beginner books she had given. Wen Ran tightened her grip on the small rabbit-fur brush and smiled, "Thank you, Xuan'er." Wen Ye didn't expose the little boy's ulterior motive in front of everyone—thinking that by giving away the brush, he wouldn't have to practice his pen-holding posture anymore? Dream on.

Xuan'er: La-la-la~