The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 451 - 450: One Each

Half a month had passed since Zhuang Xueqi gave birth, and the twins had gradually turned from wrinkly little monkeys into plump and tender babies, with their facial features beginning to vaguely resemble those of their parents.

The elder sister looked more like Zhuang Xueqi, while the younger brother looked more like Ning Yuan.

Yan Jing entered the confinement room and first visited the nursery to see her sleeping grandson and granddaughter.

The milky little bundles, with skin pale and blushing, had faces smaller than the palm of a hand. The sister had a melon-shaped face and an upturned nose, while the brother had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a high nose bridge, clearly a little heartthrob in the making.

Yan Jing bent down to look at them for quite a while before she turned, satisfied, and left the room.

Upon seeing the newspaper on the coffee table as she came out, she casually picked it up and handed it to a maid nearby.

"Take this away."

The maid took the newspaper and left.

Yan Jing sat down beside the bed and looked at Zhuang Xueqi, who was eating her nutritional meal, with concern in her eyes, "How is your wound recovering? Does it still hurt?"

"It’s much better now, not really painful anymore."

Yan Jing then inquired about the situation with breast milk.

With Zhuang Xueqi’s status and family background, she could easily hire the best wet nurse or simply feed imported formula without having to suffer through breastfeeding.

But Zhuang Xueqi insisted on nursing the children herself.

She was well aware that she and Ning Yuan lacked a loving relationship, and the two children were her only foothold in the Ning Family. She had to ensure that the children were close to her.

After discussing the children, and once Zhuang Xueqi had finished her meal and the attendants had all left, leaving just the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the room, Yan Jing carefully brought up the topic of the children’s paternity.

From the birth of the twins to now, a half month had elapsed, and Ning Yuan had not returned even once, parading around every day with different female stars and models.

The newspaper that Yan Jing had earlier asked the maid to remove featured intimate photos of Ning Yuan with a female star.

Ning Yuan might not truly be promiscuous but was fighting a battle of wills with Zhuang Xueqi in this manner.

"...It’s pointless to keep hiding things like this. Xiaoyuan is, after all, Manman and Enbao’s biological father. His irresponsible behavior not only displeases the elders but also sets a bad example for the children, don’t you think?"

Yan Jing’s words were nothing new to Zhuang Xueqi.

"Mom, I never planned to hide it forever. But, as you know, Ning Yuan is stubborn and won’t believe mere words. I’ve already had paternity tests done for Manman and Enbao, and I just received the reports yesterday. I was about to find a time to talk to Ning Yuan."

"That’s good."

Under Yan Jing’s insistence, Ning Yuan finally appeared at the Banshan Villa where Zhuang Xueqi was completing her confinement.

Upon entering, not seeing the children, Ning Yuan blurted out with his usual tactlessness, "Where are those two things? Bring them out for your young master to see, and let’s see what exactly you’ve given birth to."

Zhuang Xueqi wasn’t angered, merely regarding him with the look one reserves for an idiot.

"Before we discuss serious matters, I want to confirm our agreement: you don’t bother with what I raise, and likewise, I won’t touch what you have brought into the world."

Ning Yuan sneered, "Zhuang Xueqi, you think too highly of yourself. I’m not even interested in you, so why would I care about the two bastards you gave birth to? There are plenty of women out there willing to bear children for me. The line could stretch from Hong City all the way to Fengcheng, believe it or not?"

"Remember what you said."

Zhuang Xueqi looked at him intently and tossed the envelope from the bedside cabinet over to him.

Ning Yuan caught it reflexively and looked down at the medical center logo on the envelope, somewhat dazed.

"What is this?"

"If you can’t see, you might as well donate them."

After being countered by Zhuang Xueqi, Ning Yuan suspiciously removed the documents from the envelope.

After reading them, he laughed angrily.

"Zhuang Xueqi, you’re really something, aren’t you? You think you can make me play the fool with these two pieces of trash? I’ll tell you now, if you’re trying to dump this mess on me so I’ll pick up the tab, you’re dreaming!"

It seemed Zhuang Xueqi had anticipated this response and calmly said, "Believe it or not, I’ve done my duty to inform."

"So ruthless!"

Ning Yuan stormed off.

As he left the gates of Zhuang Xueqi’s confinement villa, Ning Yuan went to open his car door and only then noticed that he was still holding the paternity test report, which he threw to the ground without a second thought.

Boom!

The sports car shot off like an arrow released from a bow and drove a hundred meters away before slowly reversing back.

Sitting in the driver’s seat and staring at the two papers drifting down onto the curb, Ning Yuan glared bitterly for a while before finally getting out and picking them up again.

This was evidence!

I can’t just let this slide.

Zhuang Xueqi, that dead woman, had the audacity to cuckold me, and now she’s trying to fool me with these two fake reports.

I won’t let her off!

Boom—

The orange sports car streaked like a flair down the Mountain Road.

...

"Mom! Mom!!"

As soon as the car came to a stop, Ning Yuan leaned out the window and shouted towards the Ning Family mansion.

Yan Jing was discussing the details of Manman’s full moon celebration with the elders from her side of the family when she heard her son yelling outside. She excused herself unhurriedly from the elders and then rose to step outside.

"What are you yelling for? Have you no manners at all, carrying on like that?"

Yan Jing eyed her son in the sports car with an expected look, "Now that you’re back, go inside and greet your grandmother and the others.""I’m not going in, I have something important to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Get in the car; we need to go somewhere else."

Yan Jing could guess why her son had rushed over in such a hurry. She opened the passenger door and saw the paternity test reports on the seat, picking them up casually.

Ning Yuan drove the sports car to a deserted open space.

Only then did he start his accusations against Zhuang Xueqi, "... She’s gone too far! Cuckolding me was bad enough, but to push her luck and expect me to be her scapegoat? Unbearable! I want a divorce!"

Yan Jing flipped through the paternity test reports in her hand and said, "When you’re free, we should get a test done too."

Ning Yuan was confused.

Yan Jing was succinct, "Both your father and I have high IQs and are highly educated. Logically, we shouldn’t have produced such a stupid son."

"..."

What kind of international joke is this!

How could those two things possibly be my progeny?

The only time I was with Zhuang Xueqi was three years ago. Was she pregnant with Nezha?

The more Ning Yuan thought about it, the more speechless he became. He found a phone and called Yan Yi to vent.

"... Old Yan, what do you think my mom is doing, insisting on recognizing those two bastards? Has she gone senile in her old age or what?"

"I’m not sure what your mom is thinking, but if she heard you say that, she’d beat you into senility," replied Yan Yi.

Ning Yuan: "..."

"Also, they’re not bastards; they’re your children."

"Impossible!" Ning Yuan asserted firmly, "After getting married, I didn’t even touch her finger."

"Are you sure?"

"I..."

A long-forgotten memory suddenly surged into his mind.

Before New Year’s Day the year before last, he went to Zhuang Xueqi’s room, had a drink, and when he woke up, he was lying in his own bed, with the memory in between missing.

He had thought he blacked out from drinking.

Damn!

Ning Yuan immediately drove to Zhuang Xueqi’s Banshan Villa where she was staying for her confinement.

"Zhuang Xueqi, have you no shame, drugging me..."

As Ning Yuan barged into the room, he pointed at Zhuang Xueqi and began to curse furiously. He was in mid-rant when he saw two Maternity Matrons holding two little kids.

This was his first meeting with the little ones.

Their tiny bodies were swaddled in light blue cotton blankets, only their small, tender, fist-sized faces exposed.

Ning Yuan’s actions outpaced his thoughts as he stepped forward and snatched one of the kids from the Maternity Matron’s arms.

"I put in effort in making the kids too, one for each of us!"