The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 540 - 539: The Night Sky is Really Beautiful Tonight

Chapter 540: Chapter 539: The Night Sky is Really Beautiful Tonight

Apart from Zhao Dafa, Shen Mingzhu also invited Pei Wenping and Cui Lianying over to her house for dinner.

Pei Wenping arrived early as well, getting there at three o’clock, and even brought her cat along.

Since her divorce, with both children having gone to Shanghai City with Chen Yi, Pei Wenping poured all her emotions into the cat, missing it desperately if she didn’t see it for even a day.

As for the fluffy little kitten, Guoguo was utterly enamored and refused to let go once she had it in her arms.

Though Tudou was just a domestic cat, her temperament was particularly gentle, and she merely meowed a few times without struggling when Guoguo held her.

While the children played with the cat in the yard, Shen Mingzhu, Shen Hongmei, and Pei Wenping busied themselves in the kitchen.

Pei Yang’s store had a promotion today, and he and Pei Ke were busy there from early morning, not able to return home until at least six o’clock. Aunt Yu had also gone to the countryside to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with relatives, so today’s meal needed to be prepared by Shen Mingzhu herself.

"Yo, there’s not much soy sauce left, Hongmei, go buy a new bottle," Shen Mingzhu said.

"Eh, anything else we need to buy?"

Pei Wenping casually mentioned two more items.

After Shen Hongmei left, Pei Wenping winked and nudged Shen Mingzhu’s arm, "You’re not planning on setting up Hongmei with Dafa, are you?"

As someone who had been through it all, she could tell that there was definitely something going on by the way Shen Hongmei was dressed.

And the only single man coming to dinner today was Zhao Dafa.

Shen Mingzhu smiled, "You caught on too. She herself is still clueless."

After expressing her sentiments, she asked Pei Wenping what she thought about it.

"It’s a good idea. Hongmei isn’t young anymore. Rather than picking a clueless young man in his twenties, stumbling through life together, it’s better to find an older one who knows how to cherish her."

"Before, I thought that if you had love, you could be satisfied with just water, bullshit. Living day to day, it’s the same with anyone, facing the daily grind of life, the sorrow of a poor couple. With money, life is always easier."

Shen Mingzhu laughed.

...

Just after six o’clock, Pei Yang returned home, while Pei Ke was a bit later, about ten minutes, because he had gone to pick up Cui Lianying.

Now only Zhao Dafa was yet to arrive.

Shen Mingzhu had Pei Yang page Zhao Dafa, and he quickly responded, saying he could arrive by seven o’clock.

Shen Mingzhu was relieved.

As it neared seven, Zhao Dafa finally arrived fashionably late, carrying big and small bags.

Shen Mingzhu took the bags from him, turned, and called towards the kitchen, "Hongmei, make a cup of tea for Brother Zhao."

"Alright."

Hearing the response, Zhao Dafa subconsciously glanced towards the kitchen, but he swiftly averted his gaze, smiling and exchanging pleasantries with Pei Yang and Pei Ke.

Shen Mingzhu smiled knowingly and turned to enter the kitchen.

"Brother Zhao, your tea," Shen Hongmei offered.

"Eh, thank you."

As Zhao Dafa took the tea, he glanced over at Shen Hongmei, and his gaze inadvertently held a hint of amazement.

"Yo, Hongmei, you’re looking quite sprightly today."

"Not bad," she replied.

Shen Hongmei responded comfortably to Zhao Dafa’s jesting, having become used to it after being teased in turns by Pei Wenping, Pei Yang, and Pei Ke since she had dressed up in the afternoon.

Out of nowhere, Zhao Yun popped up, "Aunt Hongmei, you’re all dressed up today; you’re not going on a date, are you?"

These words made Shen Hongmei blush, "No, of course not, don’t talk nonsense."

Taking a sip of tea, Zhao Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Once everyone had arrived, the meal officially began.

The theme for tonight was a crab feast: spicy crab, marinated raw crab, steamed king crab, and crab baked with salted egg yolk— a whole tableful, delighting Zhao Dafa to no end.

He had always loved crabs more than anything else.

Under Shen Mingzhu’s deliberate arrangement, Shen Hongmei sat directly opposite Zhao Dafa, so he could see her every time he looked up.

Under the lights, admiring a beauty, the more he looked, the more enchanted he became.

The crab feast was so delightful that Zhao Dafa was utterly enchanted.

After enjoying a hearty meal and plenty to drink, the men took care of the dishwashing in the kitchen, while Shen Mingzhu led the women and children to admire the moon and enjoy mooncakes in the courtyard.

The weather was perfect that night, with a moon so large and round it seemed like a jade plate suspended in the sky.

Pei Ziheng and Zhao Yun played hide and seek with Guoguo in the courtyard, their laughter and chatter never ceasing.

Pei Wenping chatted with Shen Hongmei and Cui Lianying about trivial factory matters.

Shen Mingzhu sipped tea, inhaled the fragrance of the sweet osmanthus in the air, and relished the rare tranquility and leisure.

Shortly after, Pei Yang took a seat beside her, his large hand playfully covering her eyes.

"Is it really that beautiful that you can’t take your eyes off it?"

Shen Mingzhu tilted her head to look at the man’s handsome and deep features and blurted out, "The moonlight is so beautiful tonight."

Pei Yang looked up at the sky and said, "Really? I don’t see it. It’s just a bit bigger than usual."

Shen Mingzhu turned her body away to listen to Pei Wenping’s chatter, not wanting to deal with the buzzkill of a man.

Pei Yang faintly realized he might have said something wrong and upset his wife, so he picked a beautiful tangerine, peeled it, and offered half to Shen Mingzhu.

"I don’t want it."

Pei Yang then speared a small piece of mooncake with egg yolk on it with a bamboo stick and fed it to her lips.

Shen Mingzhu turned back, meeting the man’s eyes, which held a hint of apology, and opened her mouth to eat the mooncake.

Sweet nothings might be romantic, but sincerity is always the trump card.

After admiring the moon and enjoying the mooncakes, everyone was ready to leave.

The Zhao Family lived just down the next street, a five-minute walk away; Pei Wenping rode a motorcycle, Cui Lianying was driven home by Pei Ke, leaving only Shen Hongmei.

She lived in the food factory’s staff dormitory, which was not close, requiring a transfer on the way.

Shen Mingzhu escorted Shen Hongmei to the door, reminding her, "Be careful on the way back, and call me when you arrive."

"Don’t worry, I’ll be fine."

Zhao Dafa followed the two women and suddenly said, "I need to pick up something from the office. It’s on the way, so I can drop off Hongmei."

Shen Hongmei instinctively wanted to decline, but Shen Mingzhu responded more quickly than she did, "That would be great, Brother Zhao, thank you for your trouble."

"No trouble at all. It’s on the way."

Shen Hongmei couldn’t help but interject, "It’s really not necessary..."

Shen Mingzhu cut her off, "It’s unsafe for you to walk alone at night, and I’ll be at ease if Brother Zhao can take you."

"Wait at the door for me, I’ll bring the car over."

After Zhao Dafa hurried off, Shen Hongmei could not say anything further, as it would seem ungrateful to refuse again.

After watching Zhao Dafa’s Santana drive off into the distance, Shen Mingzhu turned and headed back to her house.

In the courtyard, Pei Yang was cleaning up the uneaten fruits and mooncakes on the table, and seeing Shen Mingzhu smiling, he smiled too.

"Your attempts at matchmaking are quite transparent, and everyone can see right through them."

Shen Mingzhu hummed lightly, "If Brother Zhao wasn’t interested in Hongmei, no amount of my effort could force them together."

On Pei Ke’s end, Cui Lianying was also speaking to him about the matter, "Hongmei and Mr. Zhao are quite compatible, Mingzhu has a good eye."

Pei Ke laughed heartily, "Of course, Mingzhu has always had good judgment. It was she who brought us together, remember?"

Cui Lianying smiled with pursed lips.

Love is blind, but onlookers see clear.

Everyone could see Zhao Dafa’s interest in Shen Hongmei except for Shen Hongmei herself.

"Thank you for your trouble today, Brother Zhao."

Having said that, Shen Hongmei instinctively checked her jewelry to ensure nothing was left behind before pushing the car door open to get out.

"Hongmei."

Zhao Dafa called out to her.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.