The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 192 Shen Baolan’s New Image

Chapter 192: Chapter 192 Shen Baolan’s New Image

Shen Mingzhu lay on Pei Yang’s chest, feeling the powerful beat of his heart, and her mood became tranquil and peaceful along with the rhythm of the heartbeat.

"Pei Yang, compared to wealth and material things, I care more about my partner’s character, responsibility, and absolute loyalty to marriage."

"Up until now, you’ve done very well in all these aspects, and I hope you can keep it up."

"Sure, I’ll listen to my wife."

Pei Yang subconsciously tightened his embrace around her, and planted a kiss on the top of her head to express his stance.

Shen Mingzhu’s lips curved up slightly as she relaxed her body and nestled in the man’s arms with her eyes closed.

A slender moon outside the window tenderly observed the silhouettes of the two embracing as they fell asleep.

...

"How is it, does it look good?"

Shen Baolan turned circles left and right while looking in the mirror, her rose-colored damask skirt swaying with her movements.

Liu Cuihua couldn’t stop nodding, "It looks good, really good!"

Both Shen Dashan and Shen Hao, father and son, had their eyes glued to her.

"Sis, that dress really suits you, you look like a fairy descending from heaven."

Shen Hao’s praise made Shen Baolan’s heart blossom, but she still unsatisfiedly turned to Shen Dashan and asked, "Dad, what do you think?"

As she spoke, she deliberately cinched her waist and pushed out her chest to better show off her figure.

Shen Dashan said a string of ’goods’, smiling until his eyes crinkled, "Wearing this outfit back to your husband’s house, he is sure to like it!"

This comment hit right at Shen Baolan’s heartstrings.

She hadn’t eaten a morsel of food, not a piece of meat, for a month, surviving only on water and rice soup. Didn’t she endure all this suffering just to win back Zhou Shuhuan’s heart?

As long as she continued to be the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, she could become a rich lady in the future and outshine Shen Mingzhu!

This was all thanks to the silly son of Shen Mingzhu, who had provided her with this fantastic idea.

With her current looks and figure, she was certain to recapture Zhou Shuhuan’s heart.

Shen Baolan was full of confidence.

...

Shen Baolan was like a human-shaped spotlight. Wherever she went in the village, all eyes followed her.

Men drooled, women envied.

"Goodness, did she take some magic pill? How did she turn into a little demon overnight?"

The comparison to a little demon fully demonstrated the visual and shocking impact of Shen Baolan’s transformation on the villagers.

There were those who spoke sourly, "So skinny like a dry stick, what’s so good about that?"

After showing off in the village like a proud peacock, Shen Baolan left the village with her fighting spirit flying high and headed back to the city.

...

Next to the flowerbed in the family courtyard, Ma Sufen was chatting with a few old sisters when suddenly one of them nudged her arm, signaling her to look back.

She turned around and saw a beautiful woman in a rose-colored dress walking towards them.

She didn’t pay much attention, secretly cursing "witch" under her breath before turning back to continue the unfinished conversation with the old sisters, when from behind——

"Mom!"

Her first reaction was to look at the other old sisters, and seeing their strange looks, she belatedly realized—the voice, why did it sound so familiar?

She turned around again, scrutinizing the young woman from head to toe, and as she did, her pupils suddenly dilated.

"Baolan?!"

Her voice cracked with sheer amazement.

The shocked reaction of Ma Sufen undoubtedly pleased Shen Baolan. She cinched her waist, pushed out her chest, and with a thin voice asked, "Mom, where’s Shuhuan?"

"Shuhuan is at work!" a straightforward old sister blurted out.

Shen Baolan of course knew that Zhou Shuhuan was at work, she purposely picked this time to come back, wanting to show off her new image in front of the family compound so everyone could see the change in her.

After showing off, Shen Baolan was satisfied and went off to find Zhou Shuhuan.

A few old sisters stared at Shen Baolan’s enchanting figure and gossiped—

"How did she get so thin all of a sudden? I swear I didn’t recognize her at first glance."

"Well, you have to say, Sufen, your daughter-in-law has really changed, she’s quite pretty now."

"Look at that tiny waist, geez, she’s almost on par with the Pei Yang family’s."

Ma Sufen was still immersed in shock, but the old sisters’ compliments undoubtedly made her feel honored, yet her mouth was full of disdain, "She’s turned herself into some kind of spirit, just looking at her annoys me!"

"What young girl doesn’t want to look pretty? Back in our day, even a red hair ribbon could make us happy for half a month."

"Isn’t that the truth? It was just that we didn’t have the means back then, otherwise, who wouldn’t want to wear a flowery dress?"

The old sisters went back and forth, and Ma Sufen’s mood was like a beating drum.

After her daughter-in-law dolled herself up, she indeed seemed less annoying than before.

...

"Shuhuan, your wife is looking for you!"

Upon hearing a coworker call out from outside, Zhou Shuhuan’s first reaction was that Shen Baolan meant business and had come to ask him for a divorce.

Outside the workshop was an empty space, and in the middle stood a tall woman in a red dress.

It was a man’s nature to take a few more glances at a beautiful woman.

Zhou Shuhuan was no exception; he stared at the woman for a few seconds, then looked away, taking off his glasses and wiping them on the hem of his shirt.

He must be really tired from working to even think that this woman looked like Shen Baolan.

If Shen Baolan was ever this slender and attractive, he’d wake up laughing from his dreams.

With his glasses back on, Zhou Shuhuan glanced left and right, not seeing the plump figure he remembered. He couldn’t help but speculate, could it be that Shen Baolan regretted it and didn’t leave?

As he was pondering, he saw the woman in the red dress ahead waving at him.

"Shuhuan!"

The familiar voice made Zhou Shuhuan’s heart skip a beat.

He stepped towards the woman, and as the distance closed, her features became clearer and more real.

Staring at Shen Baolan before him, Zhou Shuhuan could hardly believe his eyes for a moment.

He didn’t know how she did it, but in just a month, she had slimmed down to when they first got married, no, even slimmer than that.

A year of city life made Shen Baolan’s skin much fairer and smoother than when she was at her parent’s home. Now thinned down, her facial features became sharp and exquisite. Her tall figure was like a natural clothes-hanger, and dressed in a brightly colored dress, she looked exceptionally dazzling.

"Baolan, how did you lose so much weight?"

Seeing the astonishment and admiration on Zhou Shuhuan’s face, Shen Baolan couldn’t help but be overjoyed. The next second, she took out a handkerchief soaked in chili water, rubbed it on her eyes, and tears immediately began to fall.

"Thinking that you wanted to divorce me, I’ve been so upset. I couldn’t eat or sleep, and I lost weight before I knew it."

If it had been a month earlier, Zhou Shuhuan would have found Shen Baolan’s crying very annoying.

But the now slender and pretty Shen Baolan moved him to pity and he couldn’t bear it.

"Shuhuan, I know I was wrong, please forgive me."

Zhou Shuhuan didn’t say a word for a while.

Looking at the slim and pretty Shen Baolan, the thought of divorce in his mind didn’t seem so strong anymore.

"Shuhuan, I promise I won’t cause any more trouble from now on, I’ll live peacefully. Don’t leave me, I don’t want to divorce you."

Before he realized it, quite a few rubbernecking coworkers and leaders had gathered around.

Shen Baolan’s beautiful image, her desperate plea, and the envious looks from coworkers and leaders greatly satisfied Zhou Shuhuan’s male ego.