Overnight Hit: Vicious Stepmother and Genius Son
Chapter 97 What’s there to fear!

Chapter 97: Chapter 97 What’s there to fear!

Madam Shen slightly furrowed her brows, and Aunt Zhang hurriedly said, "Madam, ladling soup is the rough work we servants do. Be careful not to scald your hands, I can do it."

Rough work for servants?

Han Jiangxue’s face turned pale, her outstretched hand stiffened. Aunt Zhang’s words were laced with overt and covert sarcasm, and she had picked up on it.

Just now, she had been busy cooking in the kitchen for a long time, yet this old thing hadn’t come to lend a hand!

And sitting to one side, Madam Shen’s expression remained unchanged, nor did she say anything to Aunt Zhang.

Han Jiangxue felt a wave of anger rise to her chest, yet she dared not explode and could only sit down sullenly.

She knew her mother-in-law did not like her. Although their interactions weren’t as confrontational as other mother-daughter-in-law relationships, she would always end up with a bellyful of repressed anger after every visit, with nowhere to vent it.

After taking a sip of the soup, Madam Shen said indifferently, "This soup tastes too bland, Xiao Xue, did you forget to add salt?"

Han Jiangxue was taken aback and followed by serving herself a bowl of soup. She took a small sip and indeed it was somewhat bland; she remembered adding salt earlier.

"Mom, why don’t you try this fish? I specifically went to the seafood supermarket to buy this Epinephelus septemfasciatus this morning."

That fish had cost her nearly five thousand, and she had personally selected it.

Madam Shen glanced at the fish on the plate, her eyes drooping slightly. She clearly understood the implication behind Han Jiangxue’s words; it was nothing more than an attempt to show off her efforts in front of her.

Deep down, she just felt that the petty habits of Han Jiangxue were deeply ingrained.

In their Shen Family, was a several-thousand-yuan fish worth such a mention?

Madam Shen picked up a piece of tender white fish and tasted it; as soon as the fish entered her mouth, she immediately spat it out, "Too salty."

Han Jiangxue also tasted the fish, and indeed, it was nauseatingly salty...

Madam Shen put down her chopsticks and began slowly, "Xiao Xue, I don’t mean to criticize you, but look at how busy you’ve been with work recently, you can’t even cook a proper meal. How can you take care of Ah Nan and Yibo at home like this?"

Her voice sounded gentle, but every word and sentence was a reprimand.

In her own defense, Han Jiangxue said, "Mom, I take very good care of Yibo and Ah Nan. It’s just that it’s been a long time since I’ve been around here and I’m a bit unfamiliar with the kitchen tools..."

A stern look welled up in Madam Shen’s eyes, "Oh, unfamiliar? Well then, starting tomorrow, come over for lunch with me. Besides getting to know the kitchen, it’s also a great opportunity to improve our mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship."

The smile on Han Jiangxue’s face stiffened, "But, Mom, I still have work..."

"Work?"

Madam Shen’s lips curved into a meaningful smile, "As I see it, hasn’t your work for the past month just been taking my grandson out for photos and posting on Weibo? Now that my grandson is in school, what work do you have left?"

Han Jiangxue felt both angry and annoyed inside. Lately, she indeed hadn’t had any significant notices or scripts, and the only thing she could look forward to was Xia Zhi’s movie script, which now seemed far off.

In the end, she could only nod her head with a forced smile, "Alright, Mom."

Having received an answer, Madam Shen stood up, "Enough, I can’t eat any more of this meal. I’m going upstairs to rest. If there’s nothing else, you can go; I still have to pick up Yibo from school this afternoon."

Han Jiangxue nodded slightly, "Alright, Mom, I’ll come over again tomorrow."

After she finished speaking, Han Jiangxue rose to her feet, gathered some clothes and her bag from the living room, and left.

Watching Han Jiangxue’s retreating figure, Aunt Zhang could not help but vent to Madam Shen, "Seeing Madam like this, she must be unhappy. Is she going to complain to the young master?"

Madam Shen snorted coldly, "I wish she would. I want to see when Ah Nan will be able to see through her. She has no real talent and likes to play those underhanded tricks that can’t be openly acknowledged."

After Madam Shen finished speaking, she paused and then said to Aunt Zhang, "Do we have any servants near Ah Nan’s that you trust? If not, send someone you trust over there to keep an eye on things.

Stepmothers will be stepmothers, after all. I can’t use my grandson as a tool for her to grab attention."

...

Hongshan Villa District.

Ye Zhenzhen had been browsing Weibo all morning, making a note of several big V-bloggers who were especially harsh in their criticism, as well as several netizens whose likes were the most. Especially those three comments she had replied to.

Now that the shares and likes had exceeded ten million, if things continued at this pace, her name, Ye Zhenzhen, would be known to all within the industry within three days.

Liu Rui and Director Fei had both called Ye Zhenzhen after hiring some paid posters, with no other intent than to enquire about her current status.

Ye Zhenzhen had responded to each in turn, stating that she was doing very well.

She thought if this were her previous life, there were plenty of celebrities who leveraged negative publicity for fame without any real evidence to back it up. Now she had everything under control, what was there to be afraid of?

At the same time, Director Fei revealed that the TV station planned to start airing the edited variety show "Mom’s Companion" on Friday evening. If Ye Zhenzhen needed it, they could release some highlights in advance.

Director Fei’s words were tactful, but in reality, the station had already pressured him to release the video where Ye Zhenzhen was genuinely injured. Otherwise, it would affect the advertising sponsors.

After listening, Ye Zhenzhen asked, "Director Fei, regarding the highlights of the injury, apart from the two cameramen from the crew, and the leaders you just mentioned, does anyone else know?"

Director Fei quickly shook his head, "No, rest assured. My leader and I have a great relationship. As the director of the show, if I don’t say anything, no one underneath dares to leak even a hint of information externally."

Ye Zhenzhen nodded slightly, her tone firm, "Director Fei, if the station pressures you again, you can assure them that I only need three days.

If after three days, I, Ye Zhenzhen, am smeared as an artist with a scandalous record and the variety show suffers losses because of it, I will personally take responsibility for all the damages. I mean what I say. If you are worried, we can sign a contract in black and white and stamp it."

Hearing Ye Zhenzhen say such things, Director Fei was deeply moved; he had never felt such a positive impression towards another artist.

"Okay, then I’ll follow your plan. There’s no need for any guarantees. I believe in you. You tell me what to do, and that’s what I’ll do."

After ending the call, Director Fei went to face the station’s leaders with a much straighter spine.

He assured them that if the show became a hit, he’d want to continue filming the second and third season. If it flopped because of Ye Zhenzhen, he and Ye Zhenzhen would compensate for all the losses, and then he would pack up his things and leave.

After having lunch, Ye Zhenzhen was preparing to go upstairs for a rest and a nap before starting her counterattack that evening when she received a call from the kindergarten teacher:

"Hello, is this Song Yuchen’s mother? If you have time now, please come to our kindergarten immediately."

Hearing the keywords "kindergarten" and "Song Yuchen," Ye Zhenzhen’s heart tightened, "Teacher, may I ask what happened?"

The teacher sighed, her voice tinged with impatience, "Your son, Song Yuchen, has been crying and insisting on seeing his mother. You’ll understand once you get here."