The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 369 - 368: Shen Hongmei Slaps Shen Baolan

Chapter 369: Chapter 368: Shen Hongmei Slaps Shen Baolan

Shen Mingzhu gave a light scoff, "This is malicious? Shen Baolan, all the things you’ve done behind the scenes, you don’t think anyone knows, do you?"

"What have I done now?"

"When Tian Dayong brought people to the factory, trying to abduct Shen Hongmei by force, do you dare say it has nothing to do with you? Should we go confront the Tian Family right now?"

A flash of guilt crossed Shen Baolan’s eyes, but she defiantly said, "What does that have to do with me? Stop splashing dirty water on me. Besides, Shen Hongmei is so old now, if she doesn’t get married soon, she won’t be able to marry at all."

"To think you are her close friend, you yourself have a husband and children to warm your bed, a happy family, yet you cold-heartedly delay her lifelong happiness. And you still say you’re not malicious?"

Shen Mingzhu’s smile was tinged with sarcasm, "So, you admit that you were the one who acted as a go-between for Tian Dayong, encouraging him to come and abduct her?"

Shen Baolan snorted coldly, "So what if I did? I did it for her own good. She should be thanking me. Without me, the Tian Family wouldn’t have come up with a five-hundred-dollar dowry."

At the door of the office, hearing this conversation made Shen Hongmei so furious her lungs were about to explode.

She stormed into the office and, rounding her arm, gave Shen Baolan a hefty slap.

Caught off guard, Shen Baolan was struck hard, covering her face in disbelief as she stared at Shen Hongmei, "You dare hit me?"

Shen Hongmei, undeterred, glared with almost murderous intent, "Who I marry is none of your damn business. I’m warning you, Shen Baolan, if you mess with me behind my back again, I will go all out against you!"

Shen Baolan, too, was frightened by Shen Hongmei’s ferocity and, making a show of bravado, threatened to leave.

Shen Mingzhu stopped her though, "You’re right, it was indeed my idea for my mom to set up the cold water stall, with the purpose of taking revenge on you and stealing your business."

"Shen Baolan, if you don’t want to live a peaceful life, just try messing with my people."

Enraged but helpless against Shen Mingzhu, Shen Baolan could only leave in a downcast mood.

...

Although Shen Baolan was annoying, what she said perhaps had some truth to it.

After work, once dinner was over, Shen Mingzhu called Shen Hongmei to the upstairs baby room for a heart-to-heart talk.

"Hongmei, you’ve always said you didn’t want to marry, and I didn’t press you for the reason. You couldn’t still be hung up on Ma Chao, could you?"

Shen Hongmei remained silent without a peep.

Shen Mingzhu offered comfort, "Actually, I can understand. You were childhood sweethearts, each other’s first love, it’s natural to find it hard to forget. But, closing off your heart for a man who is heartless and faithless isn’t worth it."

Shen Hongmei’s eyes suddenly reddened, "It’s not that, it’s me, I and he, we..."

Seeing Shen Hongmei’s embarrassed and anguished expression, Shen Mingzhu suddenly understood something.

Shen Hongmei had hinted at this to her before, but at the time, Shen Mingzhu hadn’t paid much attention. With her modern mentality, she didn’t place much importance on the loss of virginity.

But Shen Hongmei was a woman of this era, whose thoughts and concepts were comparatively more conservative.

As the conversation progressed, Shen Hongmei no longer hid the truth, "I was pregnant once. I wanted to keep the baby, but Ma Chao disagreed."

"I thought we were going to get married in the future. I never considered marrying anyone else, otherwise I wouldn’t have..."

Shen Hongmei couldn’t continue, only covering her face shamefully as she sobbed softly.

"Auntie, here, play."

Guoguo, who was playing on the side, saw Shen Hongmei crying and tried to raise the Barbie doll she was holding toward Shen Hongmei.

In her simple and naive mind, having a toy meant no more tears.

Even a child can have a kind heart.

Shen Hongmei was touched and warmed by Guoguo’s kindness, raising her hand to wipe away her tears, "Thank you, Guoguo. You play with it, if you give it to me, you won’t have anything left to play with."

Guoguo paused for two seconds, as if trying to understand her words, then she picked up a rattle lying by her feet, shook it, seemingly to say: I have other toys too~

Shen Hongmei couldn’t help but praise Shen Mingzhu, "Guoguo is so well-behaved. Who knows which lucky brat will benefit from her in the future."

Shen Mingzhu raised her hand to touch her daughter’s soft-haired little head and smiled, "If I can’t bear to marry her off, I’ll just find a live-in son-in-law."

Shen Hongmei followed with a laugh, "That’s a good idea."

Perhaps because both of them were laughing, Guoguo also giggled along.

Shen Mingzhu reached out to scoop her daughter into her arms and kissed her daughter’s tender and smooth cheeks, coaxing softly, "Guoguo, let’s agree then, you won’t marry off and will bring mama a live-in son-in-law, okay?"

"Ah~"

Guoguo: Anyway, I don’t understand, better agree first and talk later.

With Guoguo causing such a scene, Shen Hongmei also felt much more relieved and took the initiative to talk about what was on her mind.

"People like me would just be looked down upon if married off; it might be better not to marry at all."

After learning about Shen Hongmei’s inner turmoil, Shen Mingzhu was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Does your family know about this?"

Shen Hongmei nodded, "I didn’t understand anything at that time, it was my mom who went to the town to buy me the medicine."

No wonder Yu Jin’e favored Tian Dayong, probably having the same thoughts as Shen Hongmei, feeling that her daughter was worthless without her virginity.

"Hongmei, this is not your fault, and it doesn’t define anything. If a man despises you because of this, it means he is not the right person for you. The one who truly loves you will accept you for who you are."

Shen Hongmei mocked herself, "Someone like me, I’m afraid can only end up like Shen Baolan, marrying a divorced man and becoming a stepmother."

After saying that, she suddenly realized something, turned pale, and apologized, "Mingzhu, I’m sorry, I wasn’t talking about you."

Shen Mingzhu smiled, "It doesn’t matter whether it’s a first marriage or a second, what’s important is whether the person is good or not, and whether they’re worth it."

"There’s no need to rush. If you bloom, the butterflies will come. When you are good enough, all sorts of excellent men will naturally surround you, and among them, there will be someone who connects with you spiritually and doesn’t care about your past."

Shen Hongmei nodded, "Right now, I just want to work hard and earn my college diploma as soon as possible."

"That’s the right mindset. Men may disappoint you, but your career won’t."

...

Before long, it was July, and the results of the entrance exam for junior high came out. Pei Ziheng, unsurprisingly, was admitted to Nanming Junior High with the highest score in the city.

Nanming is the only provincial-level demonstration junior high school in Fengcheng.

Although Zhao Yun also passed the entrance exam minimum score, he was still a ways off from Nanming.

Fortunately, with Pei Ziheng, a genius brother to back him, Nanming decided to make an exception and admit Zhao Yun.

Zhao Dafa was thrilled and kept his word by buying Zhao Yun a large house. He also set up a celebration banquet at the best restaurant in Fengcheng.

The celebration banquet was held in the name of both brothers.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t want to make it high-profile, as Pei Ziheng was still young and too much attention wouldn’t be a good thing.

But Zhao Dafa insisted on including Pei Ziheng in the banquet to express his gratitude to the "hero".

Shen Mingzhu couldn’t decline the generous offer, so she agreed.

From the guests attending the celebration banquet, it was evident that Zhao Dafa’s business had climbed to a new level this year.

The banquet was attended by bosses and CEOs from various industries, all generous with their gifts, and all of them doubled up.

What Zhao Yun got, Pei Ziheng got too.

The two children received so many gifts that their hands grew tired, which prompted Zhou Hui to spit out some sour words in front of Shen Mingzhu—