The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 339 - 338 The Cause of Pei Wenping’s Death

Chapter 339: Chapter 338 The Cause of Pei Wenping’s Death

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In the original book, Zhou Hao is the protagonist, and the main storyline also revolves around Zhou Hao and his mother Shen Baolan.

Pei Ziheng and the original protagonist act as the antagonistic contrast, simply serving to highlight the protagonist’s character.

The author portrays one as having a psychologically twisted anti-social personality, and the other as malicious and foolish.

Perhaps to rationalize the storyline of the villain’s abusive childhood or to emphasize the tragicness of his youth, Pei Yang and Pei Wenping, two relatives crucial to Pei Ziheng, are merely glossed over as passersby in the book.

Pei Yang died young.

As for Pei Wenping’s fate, Shen Mingzhu just remembered that she passed away when Pei Ziheng was seven years old.

Pei Ziheng had a little over a month left before turning seven, which means that Pei Wenping, at most, could only live for one more year.

What is infuriating is that the book only uses the words "passed away" to summarize her death without specifying the cause of Pei Wenping’s death.

Shen Mingzhu wanted to avoid it but didn’t know where to start.

"Ding-a-ling..."

The piercing ring of the telephone interrupted Shen Mingzhu’s thoughts.

As soon as she answered the call, she heard Pei Wenping crying from the other end.

Shen Mingzhu immediately called the father and son back home.

"Your sister has gone to sleep, you need to stay home and look after her, I’m going out with your dad to visit your aunt."

"If you’re scared being alone at home, you can invite Zhao Yun over to play."

"Okay."

Pei Ziheng nodded sensibly.

After seeing off his parents, he closed the door, bolted it, then returned to Shen Mingzhu’s room, sat by the bed, and looked at his peacefully sleeping sister, lost in thought.

...

Shen Mingzhu and Pei Yang quickly arrived at the Chen Family’s home.

The Chen Family was all there, including Chen Liang and his wife who had moved out after getting married, except for Pei Wenping. Everyone was sitting around on the sofa.

However, the atmosphere wasn’t great, filled with an indescribable silence and awkwardness.

The arrival of the two made the already awkward atmosphere even more tense.

Chen’s mother stood up and said to Shen Mingzhu, "Wenping is in her room. Mingzhu, go and talk to her."

Shen Mingzhu didn’t ask what happened, untying her scarf and taking off her coat as she headed straight for the room Pei Wenping was staying in.

Pei Yang stayed in the living room. His tower-like height and sharply defined face put a great deal of pressure on the Chen family members.

His lips pursed slightly, and his intense gaze fixed on the dispirited Chen Yi, "Brother-in-law, what exactly is going on?"

Chen’s mother rushed to explain, "Pei Yang, please take a seat, it’s nothing serious, just a misunderstanding..."

...

After knocking, Shen Mingzhu pushed open the door and entered, "Elder sister."

Pei Wenping was sitting on the bed alone. Upon seeing her, tears almost spilled from her eyes.

Shen Mingzhu hurried over to comfort her, "Pei Yang is outside too, just tell us whatever it is. We’ll solve it together."

Pei Wenping wiped away her tears and began to choke up as she recounted what had happened.

After eating the New Year’s Eve dinner, Chen Yi went downstairs with the twins to set off fireworks and firecrackers.

She was worried, concerned that the twins might get hurt by the fireworks or that the sparklers might burn their new jackets.

The new jackets were bought by Shen Mingzhu. She wouldn’t play favorites between her nephew from her maternal side and her nephew from her in-laws’ side.

When Pei Wenping went downstairs with the jackets, the twins were playing with other children in the courtyard, but she didn’t see her husband Chen Yi anywhere.

Her heart turned cold at that moment.

She searched all around the neighborhood and finally found Chen Yi in a grocery store that hadn’t closed yet.

Chen Yi said he went out to make a phone call, but Pei Wenping didn’t believe him.

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"Why bother looking for a phone outside on such a cold day if there’s one at home, if not for having something to hide?

She even thought that his excuse for making a phone call was just that, an excuse. Chen Yi must have gone out to meet someone he shouldn’t have seen.

Pei Wenping had good reason for such suspicions.

Just the other day, she had found a strand of a woman’s hair on Chen Yi’s scarf.

The hair was over 20 centimeters long, while Pei Wenping had short hair.

Under Pei Wenping’s hysterical interrogation, Chen Yi admitted he had met with the woman he was having an affair with a couple of days ago, but it was just to talk things through; they hugged when parting, and nothing more happened.

As for going out to make a phone call tonight, it was to discuss a plot with the director because it was too noisy at home, with too many people around.

But Pei Wenping wasn’t convinced.

After all, the trust between husband and wife had long since collapsed, with every rustle in the wind setting them off.

After finishing her story, Pei Wenping raised her hand to cover her face and silently wept.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t immediately speak to comfort Pei Wenping; crying, just like talking, was a good way to release emotions.

Suddenly, the sound of a child’s loud crying came from outside the door.

Then the door was pushed open, and Yi Ling, the sister-in-law, rushed in anxiously, "Sister-in-law, big brother and Pei Yang are fighting!"

Upon hearing this, both of them immediately went out.

In the living room, Pei Yang and Chen Yi had already been separated by Mother Chen and Chen Liang.

To be precise, Mother Chen and Chen Liang were holding onto Pei Yang’s arms on either side, deadlocked.

Chen Yi’s glasses had fallen to the ground, his hair was disheveled, and his left cheek was red and swollen, he looked very disheveled.

The shock had left the twins at a loss, standing to the side and crying out loud.

Pei Wenping stepped forward to embrace the twins, whispering comfort to them.

Pei Yang angrily questioned Chen Yi, "Have you forgotten how you knelt before my parents, promising to take care of my sister for the rest of your life? You think that just because my parents are no longer here, my sister can be bullied by the Chen Family at will? Dream on!"

As he spoke, Pei Yang struggled, trying to charge at Chen Yi.

Shen Mingzhu stepped forward to pull Pei Yang back, "What are you doing in front of the children?"

Pei Yang turned to look at his panicked, crying nephew and niece, suppressed the rage in his heart, and shouted at Pei Wenping, "Sis, pack up your things and come back with me! Xiaolu and Xiaochao too."

The prospect of Pei Wenping leaving with her son and grandchildren suddenly panicked Mother Chen.

"Calm down and don’t be impulsive. There’s no going back to your mother’s house on New Year’s Eve. People will laugh if they find out."

Pei Yang snorted, "The person in the wrong isn’t my sister, she’s not afraid. I am definitely taking my sister back today; no one had better try to stop me, or don’t blame me for being ruthless."

"Mingzhu, take my sister back to pack her belongings."

After Pei Yang played the "bad cop", Shen Mingzhu played the "good cop".

"With things having reached this stage, staying together is only more hateful. It would be better to let elder sister take the children back to her family’s house for a few days, to cool off. And don’t worry, the children will be safe with me; I will take good care of them."

"Let them go," Chen Yi said guiltily.

Seeing this, the Chen Family could only let Pei Wenping leave with her two children.

Watching her grandchildren being taken away, Mother Chen cried her eyes out.

She had personally raised the two children; they meant everything to her.

While crying, she turned to Chen Yi and complained, "Didn’t you say it was over with that woman? Why did you still see her? A perfectly good home has to be torn apart before you’re happy, is that it?"

Father Chen glared at Chen Yi with a stern look and instructed his second son, Chen Liang, "Bring me my teaching cane!"

Father Chen had taught his whole life, a strict teacher and an even stricter father. When both his teacher’s authority and father’s authority were invoked, Chen Liang dared not disobey.

When the teaching cane was in hand, Father Chen began to thrash Chen Yi’s back.

Whack, whack, whack.

The cane, starched and firm as an iron rod, hit the muscles hard through the thin cloth, emitting a dull sound."