The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 187: Want to Steal His Wife? Wait for the Next Next Next Life!!!

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: Want to Steal His Wife? Wait for the Next Next Next Life!!!

After Pei Ziheng came back, Pei Wenping couldn’t help but chide him, "You barely know him, what did you run over there to say?"

Pei Wenping deliberately reprimanded him, but in reality, she was worried that her nephew might have said something wrong or let something slip, leading her brother to misunderstand.

What she didn’t know was that despite Pei Ziheng’s young age, he was shrewder than anthracite.

"I invited him to attend Mom’s wedding."

Having said that, Pei Ziheng turned to Pei Yang and spoke, "Dad, Mom has few friends, having one more guest not only means an extra gift of money, but the wedding can also be livelier."

Pei Ziheng’s presumption was very much to Pei Yang’s liking.

Even though he had only met Yan Yi twice and had never had a conversation with him.

But the dream he had when he was on the brink of death made it impossible for him not to feel wary and hostile towards Yan Yi.

Even if his son hadn’t invited him, he would have found a way to have this Yan Yi attend his and his wife’s wedding. He wanted Yan Yi to see with his own eyes how he was going to marry his wife and bring her home.

If he wants to steal his wife, he can wait till his next next life!!!

Pei Wenping had no idea about the father and son’s schemes; she was conflicted.

On one hand, she thought it might be good for Yan Yi to attend the wedding—to see her brother and sister-in-law so loving and give up holding any romantic hope for her brother.

On the other hand, she thought it might be best to minimize the contact between her sister-in-law and Yan Yi. After all, Yan Yi seemed in every way to be no worse than her brother. If he eloped with her sister-in-law, to whom could she turn to weep?

But since her nephew had already extended the invitation, her worries were futile; she decided it was out of her hands.

...

In the bar.

Ning Yuan pinched his chin, looking amusedly at Yan Yi across from him.

The person who usually couldn’t be coaxed out was now the one calling him to go drinking, looking like he was nursing his sorrows with alcohol. Ning Yuan was dying of curiosity.

"Hey Yan, looking like that, anyone would think you got dumped by a woman."

Yan Yi looked down at his drink, ignoring Ning Yuan’s teasing.

She was married, with children, a husband, a family—all things he was fully aware of from the start.

He had never thought about destroying her marriage and family, but upon learning that she had married that Pei surnamed man without even having a proper wedding, he truly couldn’t stay calm and detached.

It was unclear whether it was anger or feeling indignant for her, pity or heartache, or simply jealousy.

He knew he had no right or standing to feel wronged or resentful on her behalf; perhaps in her eyes, he didn’t even count as a friend.

But emotions are, by nature, beyond one’s control.

He had always been self-disciplined and restrained. And now, he had somehow come to the point of drowning his troubles in drink.

The burning sensation of the spicy alcohol sliding down his throat was the only thing capable of briefly smothering the jealousy burning within him.

By the time Zhong Qing arrived, Yan Yi had already drunk himself into unconsciousness.

"What happened to him?"

Ning Yuan shrugged, "I wish I knew. He hasn’t said a word since he sat down; just drinking."

Ning Yuan had drunk quite a bit himself and couldn’t drive, so he had especially called Zhong Qing to pick them up.

Zhong Qing conscientiously dropped off both men at their respective homes.

"Zhong Qing."

Having taken Yan Yi home, Zhong Qing was ready to leave when Yan Yi, who was on the sofa, suddenly called out to her.

She turned back to see Yan Yi sitting up from the sofa, so she set down her bag and went to pour him a glass of water.

"Thank you."

Yan Yi drank some water and pinched the cup as he asked Zhong Qing across from him, "Have you ever been jealous of someone?"

"No," Zhong Qing looked at him and said gently and softly, "But I know what it feels like to hate someone."

"Shen Mingzhu is getting married. The wedding is on the 20th."

Seeing her surprised expression, Yan Yi scoffed with sarcasm, "Surprising, right? I felt the same when I found out."

In Zhong Qing’s light tea-colored eyes, a realization showed, "So you went to the bar to drown your sorrows with liquor."

Yan Yi swirled the water in his cup, "Unfortunately, alcohol cannot dissolve worries."

Zhong Qing smiled, "You make me quite curious to meet Mingzhu’s husband and see what kind of man he is, to have brought such defeat to the mighty heir of the Yan family."

...

Shen Baolan looked at herself in the mirror and stepped back a few paces, so that the palm-sized mirror could reflect her waist and belly.

After looking in the mirror, Shen Baolan had Liu Cuihua borrow a large scale.

The scale was commonly used for weighing pigs and sheep, and Liu Cuihua couldn’t carry it alone, so she had to call Shen Dashan and Shen Hao back to help.

Shen Baolan sat in the basket, and Shen Dashan and Shen Hao lifted it with a carrying pole while Liu Cuihua read the scale.

The family was busy for a while but finally got Shen Baolan’s weight measured.

110 pounds.

Shen Baolan shook her head, "Not enough. I need to lose more weight."

Liu Cuihua grabbed the mirror hastily and held it up to her face, "Look at what you’ve become, you’re nothing but skin and bones now. If you lose any more weight, don’t you want to live?"

Shen Dashan and Shen Hao also tried to persuade her.

Though Baolan had caused quite a bit of trouble in the past, even getting Shen Hao locked up for a few days, the father and son, both with laid-back personalities, had already forgotten the incidents and still doted on Baolan as if she were precious.

Yet Baolan was determined, insisting that Liu Cuihua go to town to bring back two meters of cotton fabric for her to wrap around her waist; her waist was still too thick compared to Shen Mingzhu’s slender one.

At the Zhou family dinner table.

Ma Sufen looked at her son who was eating silently and urged, "Find some time to talk to her again. If it really doesn’t work, just sue for divorce in court. Your third aunt has a good match in mind, a man who died last year leaving behind a four-year-old daughter. Still, the woman has a city hukou and a permanent job. After you divorce Baolan, go meet her, and if it seems right, give it a try."

Zhou Shuhuan had little thought on blind dates—two failed marriages had completely eroded his faith and interest in marriage.

But he didn’t want to delay the divorce from Baolan anymore, so he took advantage of his day off the next day to visit Shenjiagou.

Upon arriving at the Shen family’s place, Zhou Shuhuan did not see Baolan.

However, Baolan sent him a message through Liu Cuihua, saying to wait another half a month, and then she would look for him to get divorced.

With Baolan finally loosening up, Zhou Shuhuan didn’t want to push too hard; after all, it was just another half a month’s wait.

Leaving the Shen family’s place, as he walked towards the village entrance, Zhou Shuhuan couldn’t help but look back several times in the direction of Mingzhu’s maternal home, his heart filled with limitless melancholy.

Back at the residential compound, at the entrance, he bumped into Pei Yang and his son, who had also just returned from outside.

Learning that Zhou Shuhuan was off work that day, Pei Yang warmly invited him to have dinner at their house.

Zhou Shuhuan did not refuse.

Upon entering the Pei family’s house, Zhou Shuhuan subconsciously glanced at the living room decor; it was pretty much the same as his last visit, but the coffee table and tablecloth had different patterns.

The flowers in the vase on the coffee table had also changed to a snow-white variety he had never seen before, elegant and serene, just like her.

"I heard you’re planning to divorce Shen Baolan?"

When Pei Yang brought it up, Zhou Shuhuan didn’t hide the truth and shared his visit to Shenjiagou that day to find Baolan.

Seeing his downcast mood, Pei Yang comforted him with a smile, "It’s fine. After the divorce, just be more careful and find someone better next time."

Stung by either Pei Yang’s smile or his words, Zhou Shuhuan’s heart brimmed with irony, "What about you, Brother Yang? Are you planning to drag Mingzhu along for a lifetime like this?"

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