Stepmom Alpha’s Guide to Raising Kids - Chapter 12

Lu Luozhu clutched a crumpled piece of paper in her hand.

“Legacy?”

Legacies could be big or small. Looking around, everywhere was filled with intangible cultural heritage—paper-making, tie-dyeing, paper-cutting…

After Ningning rushed headlong into the alley, she had no idea where to go next.

As part of a child’s game, Lu Luozhu had Ningning retrieve her phone first. She opened her email and saw a message from the owner of the small entertainment company she had invested in.

Lu Luozhu had invested 250,000 yuan in the nearly bankrupt owner. Without this money, the girl group under her management would have disbanded after their concert.

Lu Luozhu knew that one of the group members, Xunxun, would explode in popularity a few months later, driving up the commercial value of the entire group.

In the original novel, the owner of this entertainment company received investment from a major industry capital, but in exchange, the five young girls lost their freedom to choose their work and were forced to sign ten-year contracts that essentially bound them like indentured servants.

After a few years of fame, the group suddenly vanished. In the chapters Lu Luozhu had read, Xunxun was suspected to have committed suicide under pressure from higher-ups.

The owner on the other end sent a worried message: Do you really think the songs Xunxun writes will take off?

Lu Luozhu: They will.

The owner was stunned by the investor’s inexplicable confidence and replied: Recently, Wangxing Group has offered a very high price for investment.

Wangxing Group was the major capital Lu Luozhu had read about in the original novel.

The owner typed: But I don’t plan to accept their investment. Wangxing Group wants the artists to sign new contracts—ten-year agreements. What’s the difference between that and a slave contract? Business is about making money, but we can’t throw away our conscience. These girls are good kids; they shouldn’t have their futures shackled by a piece of paper.

Lu Luozhu exchanged a few more words with him. Producing a single with just 250,000 yuan was definitely not enough. She scratched her head—right now, she didn’t even have 250 yuan left in her bank account.

Investments took time, and Lu Luozhu understood better than anyone that she had to be patient.

Exiting the chat, she noticed an unread message.

Qian Qianqian: Your sugar mommy wants to proposition you.

Lu Luozhu raised an eyebrow slightly: I’m filming a show.

Qian Qianqian typed quickly, but Lu Luozhu could sense the despair behind every word.

Qian Qianqian: Your sugar mommy knows. Name your price.

Lu Luozhu calculated the return on investment and replied unhurriedly: Another 250,000?

Two minutes passed before the reply came: Did you take out a nude loan or something?

“Mommy, I can’t find it 🥺”

Up ahead, Ningning, exhausted from running, plopped down on the ground. Her eyes instantly turned into teary pools as she began wailing.

To Ningning’s left was a traditional Chinese medicine shop. Behind her, the show’s cameraman kept filming, frantically blinking his eyes to signal something.

Ningning, confused: “Is that big brother’s eye twitching?”

The live stream’s barrage exploded:
“!!! She’s only three, would she lie?”
“Alright, alright, I knew this kind of variety show was fake.”
“My baby didn’t say it was the cameraman hinting! Maybe the passerby just got sand in their eye?”
“Whether it was staged or not, Lu Luozhu has been on her phone the whole time, showing zero effort. That can’t be fake, right?”

The cameraman lugging around heavy equipment: …

Lu Luozhu: “Not everyone with short hair is a big brother.”

Ningning was about to say something when Lu Luozhu suddenly covered her mouth, turned her around, and nudged her toward the traditional Chinese medicine shop.

“She’s going easy on you—don’t get her in trouble.”

Ningning didn’t understand, but Ningning really wanted that frog.

Inside the medicine shop, an elderly man was reading a medical text. When he saw the pair enter, he shakily adjusted his glasses and prepared his scripted line.

Old Man: “What seems to be the trouble?”

Lu Luozhu extended her wrist to him.

The old man hadn’t expected her to actually offer her pulse, so he hesitantly placed his fingers on her wrist.

Having lived in the ancient town long before it became a tourist attraction, the old man had run this pharmacy for decades.

He wasn’t some hired NPC—he was a genuine, skilled practitioner of traditional medicine.

“Your heart isn’t in great condition?”

Lu Luozhu stiffened slightly but kept her composure. “It’s fine now.”

The old man listened a while longer. “It is fine now…”

Lu Luozhu had only approached this as part of the game, never expecting him to actually detect her past heart issues.

“How am I doing now?”

“Didn’t you just say you were fine?”

The old man peered up at her, pushing his glasses higher. His dark eyes reflected Lu Luozhu’s faint unease.

She was used to teasing others—being the one caught off guard was a first.

The old physician leaned on his cane as he stood. “I’ll prescribe some heart-nourishing pills. Take them before bed.”

Lu Luozhu: “I don’t have money right now. I’ll come back tomorrow to buy them.”

Old Man: ?

Lu Luozhu thought to herself—I’ll go sell myself first, earn some cash, then come back to treat myself.

While Lu Luozhu consulted the doctor, Ningning had nearly turned the entire pharmacy upside down—though her movements were light, and she meticulously returned everything to its place, making her more curious than bothersome.

The medicine cabinets were divided into small compartments, towering all the way up to the ceiling beams.

Lu Luozhu noticed one cabinet had no dust—as if freshly wiped.

Tradition. This really is the passing down of knowledge.

Old Man: “Your condition isn’t serious. Just avoid cold foods and strenuous exer—”

Before he could finish, Lu Luozhu dragged over a ladder and agilely climbed up.

The production crew kept their distance, so their earlier conversation wasn’t picked up by the mics. The cameras only captured Lu Luozhu scaling the shelves without warning.

Live chat: “Crawling all over the place.jpg”

As a parent-child challenge, most tasks tested the adults’ endurance. Under the old man’s speechless gaze, Lu Luozhu pulled out a box from the top shelf and found a metal badge with a ginseng design inside.

Before leaving, she glanced back at him.

The old man’s face clearly said: Are you messing with me?

Having spent too much time at the pharmacy, Lu Luozhu only collected four badges in total. She assumed they wouldn’t win—but when everyone regrouped, it turned out their team had found the most.

Little Jasmine and Bai Mianmian tired quickly, demanding to be carried. Their parents spent considerable time soothing them. In contrast, Ningning’s obsession with spicy frog hot pot was nothing short of astonishing.

That night, after filming wrapped, an unremarkable black car parked outside Lu Luozhu’s guesthouse.

Ningning clung to her frog, sprawled out in deep sleep on Lu Luozhu’s bed.

Qian Qianqian shoved Lu Luozhu into the car, then stayed by Ningning’s bedside to tuck her in.

Lu Luozhu settled into the black sedan. “Do I look like a favored concubine summoned by the emperor in the dead of night, riding the imperial carriage to attend his bed?”

In the backseat, the omega’s slender, manicured fingers brushed through Lu Luozhu’s slightly damp hair. The scent of pear blossom pheromones inside the car was so thick it seemed to condense into droplets.

The omega pulled Lu Luozhu closer, their bodies suddenly pressed together—

“Favored concubine?”

In the darkness of the car, Qi Zi straddled Lu Luozhu’s lap, the gland patch on the back of her neck already torn off. “No favored concubine would take out a nude loan.”

The omega was unreasonable and domineering, yanking at Lu Luozhu’s clothes. Her fox-like eyes reflected Lu Luozhu’s slightly stunned expression.

Qi Zi sneered, “Let me see how you posed for that nude loan. Like this? Or like that?”

Lu Luozhu couldn’t help but laugh at Qi Zi’s wild tugging. Maybe it was the omega’s overwhelming pheromones, or perhaps she had entered an alpha’s rut.

Her heart pounded violently in her chest. Lu Luozhu grabbed Qi Zi’s restless hands. “I didn’t take a nude loan. I just want to serve my sugar mama well.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Lu Luozhu’s fangs pierced the delicate gland on the omega’s neck.