Who Wouldn't Want to Be a Wealthy Stepparent? - Chapter 2

Even after being shouted at, Cheng Leyan didn’t mind. He simply let out a couple of “haha” laughs and continued the massage.

 

Mrs. Rong, on the other hand, felt a bit awkward after her outburst. After all, the person was still right there kneading her shoulders and.

 

Well…

 

The! Massage! Felt! Too! Good!

 

What was the deal? Had Cheng Leyan spent time working in a massage parlor before? This was better than the professional therapists she paid a fortune for!

 

With this kind of talent, you could have done anything. Why did you have to end up like this?!

 

Wait.

 

Thinking of this, she was instantly reminded of why she had come today.

 

She had come to demand accountability. She had even decided beforehand that the moment they met, she would throw the evidence in his face and tell him to get lost.

 

She never expected that Cheng Leyan would be a completely different person. He had been “Mom”-ing her non-stop since she walked in and had immediately set to work on her shoulders.

 

In the past, he had always been sycophantic, but it was greasy and superficial—there wasn’t a drop of sincerity in it. Instead, what he usually let slip was his dissatisfaction, resentment, and contempt for the Rong family and his current life.

 

The problem was that he had been the one to actively choose this “marriage” in the first place. He had taken plenty of benefits, yet he acted like he was the one suffering a great grievance. Mrs. Rong had been holding her temper for a long time.

 

She assumed that his sudden change in personality and “unsolicited kindness” was simply because he knew the truth had come out.

 

Her mood cooled instantly. She said coldly, “That’s enough. Cheng Leyan, sit down. Let’s talk.”

 

Cheng Leyan didn’t dawdle. He chirped an “Okay!” and sat across from her, his eyes curving into crescents. “Mom, please, speak your mind!”

 

Mrs. Rong said, “Stop calling me ‘Mom.’ My son is in a coma, not dead. You wanted a divorce, didn’t you? What is this performance? You changed your mind? You think this marriage is something you can just enter and exit whenever you feel like it?”

 

Cheng Leyan replied, “Mom, my brain was clouded by greed before, but I’ve thought it through now. Why would I divorce? I can’t possibly divorce! Besides, for the sake of the child, we shouldn’t split up. Let’s at least wait until the kid finishes the National College Entrance Exam.”

 

Mrs. Rong sneered. “Stop the act. You really think I don’t know about Xiang Jingzhou?”

 

Cheng Leyan looked genuinely blank. “Huh? Who?”

 

Mrs. Rong said icily, “Stop pretending. You can’t possibly spend a million yuan a month on yourself. I know exactly where that money went. Tell me, what kind of creature is this Xiang Jingzhou? What kind of thing are you raising using the Rong family’s money!”

 

“Xiang Jingzhou…” Cheng Leyan paused. He suddenly remembered the phone call he had received right after he arrived.

 

He straightened his posture and said solemnly, “Mom, he isn’t a ‘creature,’ and he certainly isn’t a ‘thing.’ He is my enemy. He… he killed my parents.”

 

Mrs. Rong’s eyelid jumped. “Pardon?”

 

Cheng Leyan said deeply, “To cut off someone’s path to wealth is like killing their parents. He cut off my wealth, so he might as well have murdered them! This is an irreconcilable blood feud, Mom! What should we do? How do we get that money back? How did I send it to him? Was it in amounts like 1314 or 520? Mom, do you know?”

 

Mrs. Rong: “…”

 

She turned her head to look at Butler Li. The butler nodded solemnly and mouthed a few words.

 

Bizarrely, Mrs. Rong understood exactly what he was saying. He was mouthing: “Madam, the Eldest Young Madam has lost his mind.”

 

Uh…

 

Mrs. Rong’s lips trembled twice as she forced the conversation back on track. “Stop playing dumb with me. Cheng Leyan, you were the one who approached me with your birth chart to negotiate the deal. Marrying Wangzhi was your own choice; nobody forced you. In this past year, tell me honestly—how has the Rong family treated you? How have I treated you?

 

“And you? What have you done?! This villa belonged to Wangzhi before his accident. I wanted to put your mind at ease, so I put the villa in your name. I made it clear: you only have the right to live here, no other rights. And yet, you actually used this villa as collateral for a loan shark!

 

“Cheng Leyan, that is fraud. Do you realize I could send you to prison right now?”

 

She delivered her final blow: “You aren’t the only person with that specific birth chart. Don’t think for a second that I have to keep putting up with you.”

 

She was using both the carrot and the stick.

 

At the same time, 419 spoke in Cheng Leyan’s head: I found it, Host. In the past year, the original owner made 29 transfers to Xiang Jingzhou, totaling over 9.82 million yuan. Most were in ‘520’ related amounts, making them difficult to recover. Your credit card has a limit of one million, and you currently owe 960,000. All of it was spent on him.

 

Cheng Leyan let out a sharp hiss as if his seat had caught fire. He jumped up and cried out in anguish, “That Xiang guy is a total scumbag! He swindled me out of 9.8 million? That’s 9.8 million!!!

 

“How many months of hard labor does this corporate slave have to do to earn that back?! Do you think it’s easy for me to earn money?! That bastard, that dog, that absolute piece of trash! It’s one thing to play with my feelings, but how dare he steal my money!

 

“And the villa mortgage—that was definitely that scumbag’s doing! Mom, is the villa still ours? Is it? Please tell me that jerk didn’t steal our big villa!?”

 

His reaction was so intense that even Mrs. Rong was stunned for a moment. “…It hasn’t been stolen yet. I suppressed the loan issue.”

 

Cheng Leyan breathed a sigh of relief. Overjoyed, he hopped over and grabbed Mrs. Rong’s hands. “Mom! You are my real mother! My Savior Mom! It’s all thanks to you that we kept the house.”

 

Mrs. Rong’s mouth twitched as she pulled her hands away. “Cheng Leyan, tell me the truth. Are you hiding a history of mental illness? Are you… having an episode?”

 

She asked the last part with genuine concern.

 

Cheng Leyan gave a dry laugh and stabilized his emotions. He knew he had to give her a proper explanation; he couldn’t just play cute to get through this.

 

He organized his thoughts and said, “Mom, I’ll be straight with you. My head wasn’t screwed on right in the past, and I did some truly terrible things. I’ve done a lousy job at this ‘work,’ and you have every right to fire me. But I really like this job, and I want to ask for one more chance.”

 

Mrs. Rong frowned. “Job? What job?”

 

Cheng Leyan: “Being your daughter-in-law—well, son-in-law. That’s my job.”

 

Mrs. Rong: “Then what am I? Your boss?”

 

Cheng Leyan: “Not a boss, a Goddess. Mom, you give me a million a month. If that isn’t a Goddess, I don’t know what is.”

 

Mrs. Rong:

 

Cheng Leyan’s eyes curved as he said sincerely, “My job description includes using my birth chart to bring luck to Mr. Rong, raising his child well, and looking after my elders. I haven’t done any of those things well.

 

“I feel very guilty and full of regret.

 

“If you’re willing to give me one more chance, let the next three months be my probationary period. I will send you a weekly progress report. After three months, you can decide whether to fire me based on my performance. Is that okay?”

 

His expression was so calm and sincere. His eyes were like clear pools of water, transparent and honest.

 

Furthermore, he was handsome. He had a small face, skin so fair it seemed to glow, and lips that naturally curved into a smile. He was the kind of good-looking that wasn’t aggressive the exact type that the older generation tends to adore.

 

Mrs. Rong was surprised: Has Cheng Leyan always been this good-looking? Why did I… never notice before?

 

She thought back to the hot towel he had placed in her hands, the floral tea he had prepared, and the way his hands felt during the massage.

 

Judge a person by their actions, not just their heart.

 

Ultimately—her heart softened.

 

She finally said, “Fine. A three-month probation. Every Monday before 10 AM, email me your weekly report. If you still haven’t improved after three months, you’re out.”

 

Cheng Leyan said, “Don’t worry, Mom. If it turns out we aren’t meant to be, you don’t even have to give me a severance package. I’ll resign voluntarily.”

 

Mrs. Rong added, “Three more things. First, forget about the villa. Lawyer Zhao will handle the paperwork to transfer it back to my name. Second, your black card has been deactivated; all expenses related to Zhuozhuo will be handled by Butler Li from now on. Third, your personal spending will be monitored. Any expenditure over 100,000 must be approved by Assistant Chen. Any problems?”

 

The first two were expected, but Mrs. Rong was prepared for him to reject the third rule.

 

To her surprise, Cheng Leyan said very brightly, “No problem at all.”

 

Mrs. Rong: “Think before you speak. Even the third rule is fine? You’re willing to have your large expenses audited?”

 

Cheng Leyan said mysteriously, “Mom, let me tell you a secret. I don’t have any large expenses.”

 

Mrs. Rong: “…”

 

She didn’t think he was having a delusion anymore; she thought he was just losing it.

 

Regardless, the crisis was averted for now, and Mrs. Rong breathed a sigh of relief. She looked toward the second floor. “Where is Zhuozhuo? Is he in class?”

 

419 chimed in: That’s the future villain. His formal name is Rong Jishi, nickname ‘Zhuozhuo’.

 

It then gave Cheng Leyan the background: the future villain was currently only three years old. Normally, children his age could speak quite fluently, but Zhuozhuo was different. He had a language barrier. He didn’t speak at all not even words like “Daddy” or “Mommy.”

 

Doctors said his language development was severely delayed and required intervention. Consequently, the original owner had hired a teacher to come to the house every day for intervention sessions.

 

Meanwhile, Butler Li stepped forward. “Madam, yes. The Young Master is currently in his language session.”

 

Mrs. Rong asked with concern, “How is he? Any progress?”

 

Butler Li frowned. “In the time I’ve been here, there hasn’t been much improvement.”

 

Mrs. Rong sighed and shot a glance at Cheng Leyan. “Your main focus for work going forward is Zhuozhuo. I hope to see progress in next Monday’s report.”

 

She then told the butler, “Butler Li, you know I can’t keep an eye on things constantly. Pay more attention. To everything.” She had specifically transferred Butler Li here to watch over Zhuozhuo.

 

Butler Li understood. “Don’t worry, Madam.”

 

Mrs. Rong nodded, checked the time, and stood up. She took one last look around the villa’s living room.

 

A memory of Rong Wangzhi playing with Zhuozhuo in this very room flashed through her mind.

 

Things remain, but people change.

 

Mrs. Rong picked up her bag and left on her high heels.

 

Cheng Leyan dutifully saw her to her car, then returned to the living room and plopped down on the sofa. He told the staff to let him know when Zhuozhuo’s class was over, then focused on chatting with 419.

 

The first priority was, naturally, the finances. The final tally showed that the original owner’s bank accounts, WeChat, and Alipay combined came to about 10,000 yuan—plus a 960,000 yuan debt on his credit card.

 

Cheng Leyan nearly stopped breathing. He genuinely wanted to strangle that Xiang guy.

 

Having carried heavy debt before, he couldn’t stand owing money. The credit card had to be paid off immediately. That million-yuan check he just got would leave him with only 40,000 after the debt was cleared. He had essentially been reset to zero.

 

Yonghe Temple… oh, Yonghe Temple. Is this what you call ‘becoming rich’?!

 

He would get the money back from Xiang Jingzhou eventually, but he couldn’t rush it. He had to take it step by step to avoid ending up with nothing.

 

He needed to make more money. He was used to being poor; if he didn’t have savings in his hand, he felt restless.

 

As he was pondering this, the elevator opened. A nanny walked out, smiling, carrying a small boy.

 

When they reached him, the nanny set the child down and gave his back a gentle nudge. “Eldest Young Madam, the Young Master is out of class.”

 

The child stood rooted to the spot, motionless and silent. He looked timid, his right hand clutching his own trousers tightly, his eyelashes trembling slightly. He was clearly very nervous.

 

His hair was jet black, his lips were red, his teeth were white, and his eyelashes were impossibly long. His eyes were huge, dark, and round, like two beautiful black grapes. When he pursed his lips, two shallow dimples appeared on his cheeks.

 

This was the future “legal-offender” villain.

 

Cheng Leyan’s heart skipped two beats: He… he…

 

The system was nervous: What? What’s wrong with him?!

 

Cheng Leyan screamed like a marmot in his head: [He’s so cute! He’s so cute!!! Super cute! AHHH! 419, why didn’t you tell me he was this tiny and adorable?! Look at his eyelashes! Look at the dimples! Look at those big eyes! He’s so cute it hurts!!! I can’t take it; I want to hug him and squish him and rua him!!!

 

System: Control yourself! Dog cage warning! The cage!

 

Cheng Leyan: I don’t believe it! How could such a cute little cub do something so psychotic?! I’m not listening, I’m not listening!

 

Unable to contain his primal urge any longer, he pounced toward the toddler.

 

The toddler’s entire body tensed up.

 

He was familiar with this routine. His step-father would usually slap him, kick him, pinch him, or grab his hair and slam his head against something.

 

He was familiar with that pain.

 

He had experienced it many times. This time, he would try his best not to cry or make a sound.

 

He told himself: I am a tin man. I won’t feel pain. I won’t be afraid.

 

He—

 

Wait, what???

 

The toddler’s eyes widened in shock.

 

Instead of hitting him, his step-father had suddenly scooped him up and hugged him tightly.

 

His step-father… smelled nice. His embrace was warm and soft—everything was soft. The boy had never felt this before. He felt like he was being wrapped inside a cloud of cotton candy.

 

Then, his step-father pressed their cheeks together, rubbing against him and kissing his hair several times. He even lifted the boy high into the air.

 

The child’s breath nearly hitched in fear, terrified that he was about to be thrown to his death. But—no. His step-father lifted him high and then brought him down steadily, making “whoosh” sounds.

 

He knew what this was.

 

This was called “the airplane” or “lifting high.”

 

As he was lifted up and down, his heart felt like it was floating. His bangs were blown back by the air. His fear was replaced by wonder: So “lifting high” is this much fun.

 

But before long, his step-father stopped.

 

Just as a sense of loss began to bubble up in his heart, he heard his step-father ask someone else: “Do you have a yuan? Could someone find me a one-yuan coin?”

 

A nanny quickly brought over a coin.

 

His step-father placed the coin in the boy’s palm and said with a beaming smile, “Come on, baby. Put this coin in my pocket.”

 

The toddler truly didn’t understand. He didn’t know what his step-father meant or what was happening.

 

But… whenever his step-father spoke to him before, he had a furrowed brow and looked at him like he was something filthy. Now, it was different.

 

His step-father was smiling at him, and his eyes were sparkling.

 

The toddler was confused. He clutched the coin tightly, his heart pounding like crazy.

 

He told himself again: I am a tin man. I won’t feel pain. I won’t be afraid.

 

So it was okay if he got hit. He wanted… to see what the man wanted to do.

 

So, he took the coin and, very carefully, tucked it into his step-father’s pocket.

 

The next second, his step-father began to rock back and forth.

 

As he swayed, he chanted rhythmically: “Beep beep beep! The rocking car is starting! Daddy’s daddy is Grandpa! Daddy’s mommy is Grandma~ Mommy’s daddy is Grandad! Mommy’s mommy is Granny~”

 

The toddler: “…”

 

He stood there in a daze, being rocked, listening to the list of all his relatives being sung in his ear.

 

By the end, it had reached “the seventh brother of Great-Grandmother is called Seventh Great-Uncle.”

 

In that moment, the toddler suddenly thought of his “grudge notebook.”

 

Yes, he had a grudge notebook.

 

Before today, the section for his step-father was filled with jagged drawings of swords. Every time his step-father hit or scolded him, he would draw a sword in the book, secretly vowing to get revenge one day.

 

But for the first time in his life, he didn’t want to draw a sword. Instead…

 

He wanted to draw a giant medicine pill.

 

The toddler thought rationally: Clearly, my step-father’s brain is broken.

 

Beside him, his step-father chirped: “Beep beep! Little friend, your time on the rocking car has ended! You are welcome to deposit another coin. I can sing, I can play cartoons, and I can rock! Little friend, come play with me!”

 

The toddler continued to think rationally: Clearly, one giant pill isn’t enough.

 

He needed to fill the entire page with giant medicine pills.

 

All of them for his step-father.