Stepmom Alpha’s Guide to Raising Kids - Chapter 8

Lu Luozhu looked at the price tag, then at the little one hugging the wooden horse.

She wanted to say, maybe let’s forget it—it’s not like we absolutely have to buy this horse.

Ninety thousand? At that price, you could ride me like a horse and I wouldn’t complain.

Before transmigrating into this novel, if Lu Luozhu saw a child who liked something, she wouldn’t have hesitated to buy it. But now, she had less than sixteen hundred in her pocket.

To be precise, one thousand five hundred seventy-three yuan and eighty cents.

Just saying it out loud was laughable.

The sales associate was still explaining the design concept, while the live-stream camera focused solely on the child and Lu Luozhu.

Lu Luozhu shot Qian Qianqian a helpless look.

Qian Qianqian didn’t grasp her desperation and tilted her head in confusion.

Seizing a moment, Lu Luozhu sidled up to her. “Can we do installment payments here?”

Qian Qianqian’s pupils trembled. “Are you joking? Please tell me you’re joking.”

Lu Luozhu stared back silently.

Qian Qianqian: “Didn’t you use your charm to get Qi Zi to unfreeze your card while you were cleaning his office?”

Lu Luozhu: “I only cleaned. Haven’t used the office yet.”

Qian Qianqian: “Pathetic.”

She didn’t have the money either.

The two whispered back and forth, Qian Qianqian’s expression shifting from confusion to despair before finally going numb.

The host noticed the odd commotion and thrust the microphone toward Lu Luozhu.

Host: “Ningning seems to really love the horse! What do you think, Lu Luozhu?”

Lu Luozhu opened her mouth, ready to say that love means restraint—if you care for someone, you let them go. If you like something, you don’t have to possess it. A life with imperfections is perfect.

Just as she was about to speak, Qian Qianqian discreetly pinched her arm.

Maybe the host noticed Lu Luozhu’s pained expression, because she glanced at the live chat and said, “Some viewers are worried that as a stepmother, you might hesitate to buy this for the child. But ninety thousand is indeed pricey.”

Lu Luozhu rarely met anyone sharper-tongued than herself, but the host was one of them.

It had been a long time since Lu Luozhu felt the sting of financial struggle. Since transmigrating, she’d been drowning in poverty every single day.

Just as Qian Qianqian couldn’t take it anymore and was about to pull out Qi Zi’s card, the sales associate who’d been entertaining the child walked over. “The payment has already been processed. Here’s your receipt.”

The host froze. “It’s… paid?”

A faint smile flickered in Lu Luozhu’s eyes. “Good. I’ll take the receipt. The delivery address is the same as before.”

Qian Qianqian’s tense body relaxed, her back drenched in sweat. The blast of cold air from the AC sent a shiver down her spine.

She never should have come along.

If Qi Zi was the epitome of reliability, Lu Luozhu was the definition of chaos.

[Live Chat Reactions:]
“I thought Lu Luozhu would be stingy. Isn’t her family loaded? How could she not afford a wooden horse?”
“After scrolling online for so long, ninety thousand doesn’t even seem like much anymore.”
“Maybe the stepmother act is just for the cameras. Who knows what she’s really like in private?”
“Say what you will, but the ‘villainess’ is kinda growing on me. She bought it without hesitation because the kid liked it. Maybe she’s not as cold as the rumors say.”
“Ughhh, my baby deserves all the best things in the world!”

Apart from the wooden horse, Ningning didn’t seem to want anything else. She got sleepy after just a short while of shopping and dozed off on Lu Luozhu’s shoulder.

The drowsy little one curled up like a kitten that had just drunk its fill of milk, nestling comfortably against Lu Luozhu. Her soft little cheeks were kneaded like dough by her stepmother, yet she didn’t get upset at all.

The livestream wasn’t about completing tasks, and since the child was sleepy, it was about time to wrap things up.

On the way back, Lu Luozhu and Qian Qianqian sat in the back seat. Qian Qianqian clutched her hair in frustration, “Do you realize that if you can’t pay, you’ll end up trending? Qi Zi’s rivals would jump at the chance to hire trolls to smear you!”

Unlike Qian Qianqian’s despair, Lu Luozhu yawned lazily and said, “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Qian Qianqian: ?

Lu Luozhu: “Someone from Qi Zi’s side is definitely monitoring my livestream. If she notices I’m short on cash, she’ll contact the sales associate to pay. Our reputations are tied together—even if she doesn’t do it for sentiment, she’ll do it for her own interests.”

Hearing Lu Luozhu’s rational analysis, Qian Qianqian relaxed slightly. After a few seconds, she asked, “But what if Qi Zi doesn’t pay?”

Lu Luozhu smiled brightly. “Then I’ll just have to trend, haha. How much would it cost for you to suppress the hashtag? I can pay you in installments—just go easy on the interest, okay?”

Qian Qianqian: “…”

She was tempted to hit someone.

Lu Luozhu carried the half-asleep child home. The moment she stepped inside, she noticed a velvet box on the coffee table.

Opening it, she found the wristwatch she had casually admired during their last outing.

She had assumed Qi Zi wouldn’t bother gifting it to her—after all, she had only mentioned it in passing. Yet here it was, presented before her today.

Lu Luozhu took the watch out and examined it closely. The intricate, precise beauty unique to mechanical watches was mesmerizing, while the pink dial added a touch of youthful lightness to its otherwise weighty elegance.

This watch could buy at least five wooden horses.

After her health declined, Lu Luozhu’s desire for material possessions had gradually faded. She used to enjoy luxury goods, but over time, they no longer held any appeal. Beautiful things only needed to be admired—they didn’t necessarily have to be owned. This wasn’t an excuse for her financial constraints, but rather the genuine mindset of someone whose days were numbered.

Besides, she and Qi Zi had no real connection. Marking her had been a trivial favor for Lu Luozhu, no different from treating an illness. She was living under Qi Zi’s roof, eating her food—helping her was only natural.

Since she wouldn’t live long anyway, it was better to let these exquisite things remain dazzling in their display cases rather than taint them with her ill-fated aura.

“Drive me to the set.”

After settling Ningning in her room with the nanny watching over her, Lu Luozhu had the chauffeur take her to the film studio.

…

During a break in filming, Qi Zi checked the livestream on her phone.

That morning, the surveillance had shown Lu Luozhu tidying her room unprompted. At first, Qi Zi had been displeased, but the thought of the alpha’s bergamot scent lingering on her bed quickly softened her irritation, replacing it with a strange sense of satisfaction.

Since she was being so considerate, Qi Zi might as well indulge her.

A watch was nothing to Qi Zi.

Hmph. Hopefully, she could keep up the act.

If she could pretend this well for so long, she deserved a little reward for her sister.

Qi Zi tilted her chin up slightly, allowing the makeup artist to work.

A notification popped up on her phone about the start of the parenting show’s live stream. Qi Zi only opened Lu Luozhu’s channel—she had zero interest in anyone else or their kids.

“Pathetic.”

Qi Zi was well aware of Lu Luozhu’s financial situation and exactly how much debt she was drowning in.

Though the alpha on screen maintained a calm expression, Qi Zi could still detect a trace of awkwardness in the subtle frustration of her brows.

The barrage of comments in the live chat was a toxic mess. No one would believe Lu Luozhu was genuinely broke—they’d just assume she was a cruel stepmother mistreating her child.

Whatever. Qi Zi thought to herself, Hopefully, Lu Luozhu knows how to return a favor. Next time she bites me, she’d better make it quick.

Sa handed the receipt to Lu Luozhu, and the alpha on screen visibly stiffened.

Qi Zi smirked slightly before flipping her phone face-down on the table, then headed back to filming when the director called for her.

“Ms. Qi, someone’s at the gate asking for you, but they don’t have a pass.”

Dressed in lavish ancient robes of deep crimson, her hair adorned with jewels, Qi Zi’s already icy, untouchable aura was amplified to regal heights.

“Not interested.”

“They said they’re family.”

“…?”

A familiar car pulled in, and Lu Luozhu stepped out from the back seat, holding a paper bag that Qi Zi recognized even more.

The omega tilted her chin up slightly, waiting for the alpha to thank her.

Just a watch. Was it really worth making such a fuss over?

And ‘family’? What a pointless show of extravagance.

Besides, her pheromones were a little unstable right now. Surely a satisfied alpha would be more than willing to indulge her.

Just as Qi Zi was basking in anticipation of Lu Luozhu’s flattery, the alpha pushed the bag toward her and said earnestly, “Ms. Qi, this gift is too expensive. I can’t accept it.”

Qi Zi’s eyes snapped open, her expression colder and uglier than ever before. “What did you just say?”

A gift from her had never been returned.

Was it not enough? Or was Lu Luozhu just tired of playing along?