The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 214 - 213: Only When You Care Will You Be Affected Emotionally

Chapter 214: Chapter 213: Only When You Care Will You Be Affected Emotionally

Zhong Yin was roused awake by a tantalizing aroma, rubbing her eyes as she made her way down to the kitchen. Seeing Zhong Qing at the stove, she couldn’t help calling out, "Sis, why haven’t you gone to bed yet?"

Zhong Qing turned to look at her. "Did I wake you up?"

Zhong Yin shook her head and stepped closer to take a good look at Zhong Qing’s eyes, her face, young but not without beauty, full of concern, "Sis, have you been crying?"

Zhong Qing shook her head with a slight smile, "Just insomnia."

Zhong Yin voiced an "Oh," her eyes wide with curiosity as she looked into the pot, "What are you making?"

"Milk tea."

Eyeing the frothy, light coffee-colored liquid in the pot, Zhong Yin expressed her skepticism, her eyes widening even further, "Is that safe to drink? Won’t we get poisoned?"

"We won’t."

Zhong Qing laughed softly as she turned off the heat and used a fine cheesecloth to strain the milk tea, then poured it into a white porcelain cup and handed it to Zhong Yin.

Zhong Yin took a sip, blowing on it lightly, her expression changing from puzzled to delighted, "It really is milk tea, just as delicious as the one I had in Hong City."

Zhong Qing also poured herself a cup and took Zhong Yin to the backyard garden.

The sisters sat together on a two-person swing, chatting while sipping their milk tea.

"Sis, when did you learn to make milk tea? You didn’t go learn cooking just to please your brother-in-law, did you?"

"No, I learned it from a friend."

Zhong Qing gazed up at the deep night sky, "She told me that whenever I encounter something unhappy, brew a cup of milk tea for myself, and after drinking it, all the unhappiness will pass."

With a look of comprehension mixed with confusion, Zhong Yin asked, "Sis, are you unhappy? Why? Don’t you like brother-in-law?"

Zhong Qing patted her head, "It’s not about him, you don’t need to worry about adult matters. Just focus on your studies, and after graduating high school, you’ll go abroad to study."

Zhong Yin pouted, her young face showing a hint of petulance, "I don’t want to study abroad, I don’t want to go somewhere alone where I don’t know anyone."

"There’s no choice, you must go!"

Meeting Zhong Yin’s surprised gaze, Zhong Qing realized she had been too forceful and quickly softened her tone, "Yinyin, I want what’s best for you. Only by going abroad can you see a wider world, and meet more and better people."

"Sis, you can’t live vicariously through me, putting all the hopes you had for studying abroad onto me. I just want to live beside you all, I don’t want to go anywhere!"

Seeing Zhong Yin’s stubbornness, Zhong Qing coaxed softly, "Yinyin, be good. You can choose any school and major you like, but you have to listen to me about studying abroad. I won’t harm you."

"You always say that."

"Please, as a favor to your sister, okay?"

Defeated by the sorrow in her pleading voice, Zhong Yin relented, "Fine, fine, I’ll listen to you."

Zhong Qing lovingly embraced Zhong Yin, resting her chin on the soft top of her sister’s head, hope glittering in her tea-colored eyes.

"After you finish your studies, find a man you love, marry him, have children, and build your own happy little family."

Leaning affectionately into her embrace, Zhong Yin’s young face lifted into a sweet smile, "Sis, I think brother-in-law is a good man, a perfect match for you; you’ll definitely be very happy in the future too."

Zhong Qing stared into the dark night, silent.

...

"Godmother, what’s the word? Did you get any information? What’s the deal with that Shen person?"

Wang Chunxiang, who Wu Mei called godmother, unruffled, relayed the information she had gathered to Wu Mei.

"She’s a guest invited by the bride’s side."

Hearing this, Wu Mei’s heart sank, "She’s related to the Zhong Family?"

"I’m not sure about that."

Yan Su called Wang Chunxiang "auntie" out of politeness. In reality, she amounted to nothing in front of the Yan Family and naturally couldn’t find out much news.

After tossing and turning at home for two days, Wu Mei decided to swallow her pride and apologize to Shen Mingzhu.

Although she wasn’t certain whether Shen Mingzhu was a relative of the Zhong Family, given that Yan Su was protecting her, Wu Mei guessed she must be somebody significant.

One Shen Mingzhu wasn’t daunting, but a distinguished family like the Zhong Family was not one she could afford to offend, being from a lesser background.

...

"Director Shen, I failed to recognize a great person before and offended you. Please be magnanimous and don’t hold it against me. This is a small token of my apology."

Shen Mingzhu looked at the gifts large and small on the ground, her expression amused, "I’m just a rural woman; I really can’t accept your lavish gifts."

"You can, you really can!"

Wu Mei smiled obsequiously, a stark contrast to her previous arrogance, "You’re a relative of the Zhong Family, with such a powerful backing, you won’t have any worries in this lifetime."

Hmm, is she trying to feed me a line?

Shen Mingzhu decided to clarify things, "You’re mistaken, I’m not a relative of the Zhong Family."

Wu Mei persisted in disbelief, "Director Shen, don’t try to deceive me. My godmother told me, you were an invited guest from the bride’s side, why would they invite you to the engagement banquet if you weren’t a relative of the Zhong Family?"

Shen Mingzhu showed an embarrassed expression, "Honestly, I just happened to help Miss Zhong with a small favor. She wanted to thank me, and I mentioned wanting to see the engagement banquet, so I pestered her until she reluctantly gave me an invitation."

Wu Mei was half-convinced, "Are you truly not a relative of the Zhong Family?"

"If I were a relative of the Zhong Family, would I be running such a tiny factory? I would be running a large factory with hundreds of workers at least. The Zhong Family is so wealthy, a tiny bit of their spare change would be enough for me to soar high."

After confirming several times that Shen Mingzhu was not a relative of the Zhong Family, Wu Mei left reassured, taking the gifts with her as well.

This was exactly the outcome Shen Mingzhu wanted, for she had no desire to be entangled with someone fickle like Wu Mei.

However, something did take her by surprise.

Subconsciously, she felt Zhong Qing’s abnormal behavior on the night of the engagement banquet had some unspoken difficulty and she had been waiting for her to provide a reasonable explanation.

But it had been three or four days since the banquet, and Zhong Qing had made no move.

If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain. Even if it means death, I want to die understanding why.

Shen Mingzhu pulled out her address book and dialed the number of Zhong Qing’s home.

"Hello, who is this?"

Hearing the familiar voice on the other end, Shen Mingzhu hesitated slightly, "It’s me, Qingqing, have you been busy lately?"

Zhong Qing paused for two seconds before responding, "Yes, quite busy, what’s up?"

Feeling the distance and coldness in the other’s tone, Shen Mingzhu’s temper flared up, "Fine, then you keep busy. Sorry for bothering you, goodbye!"

Having said that, she abruptly hung up the phone.

Zhong Qing held the beeping handset for a few seconds before slowly putting the phone down. As she stood up, the corners of her mouth lifted in a barely noticeable curve.

Shen Mingzhu was angry.

This realization pleased her.

Only when one cares can their emotions be affected.

...

"Sis, someone is looking for you outside."

Shen Mingzhu was still stewing in her annoyance when Shen Chaobei broke the rules; she immediately got angry, "Sis? How many times have I said to call me ’Director’ in the factory..."

Seeing Zhong Qing stride gracefully into the office, Shen Mingzhu’s voice caught in her throat.