The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 561 - 560: Verbal Abuse at Liang Kean

Chapter 561: Chapter 560: Verbal Abuse at Liang Kean

Shen Hongmei was stunned for a couple of seconds before she grasped Zhao Dafa’s meaning, and she couldn’t help but feel warmth spreading across her cheeks.

"Brother Zhao, if Xiaoyun finds out about us, will he be unhappy? He seemed to dislike Sister Hui in the past..."

Zhao Dafa snorted, "If he dares to have an opinion about you, I’ll make him pack his things and move out to live on his own. After all, the old house is almost done with renovations."

Shen Hongmei froze.

Zhao Dafa was amused by her naive look, "I’m just teasing you, don’t worry. Xiaoyun likes you a lot. You helped him with his question before, and he couldn’t stop mentioning it to me for several days, constantly praising how awesome you are."

Hearing this, Shen Hongmei couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Then you arrange it, Brother Zhao."

Zhao Dafa patted her arm comfortingly, "Don’t feel too pressured. I’ll talk to Xiaoyun about our relationship when I get home tonight, and then we’ll pick a time to have dinner formally."

"Mmm."

...

When Zhao Dafa got home, he saw his son sprawled on the sofa watching TV and walked over to give him a nudge with his foot.

"Go, pour me a glass of water."

Zhao Yun looked at him, "Fifty."

"I’ll give you a hundred."

"Deal."

Zhao Yun sprang off the sofa like a carp leaping out of water, and soon came back from the kitchen with a glass of warm boiled water.

Zhao Dafa took the water, sipping it while watching his son, "Finished your homework?"

"Of course!"

"Keeping up with your studies recently?"

"Absolutely, haven’t you seen who my brother is?"

"Still playing basketball lately?"

Zhao Yun finally gave Zhao Dafa a straight look, "Boss Zhao, if you’ve got something to say, just say it. No need to beat around the bush."

Zhao Dafa leaned back against the sofa, trying to appear casual and relaxed, "This weekend, Aunt Hongmei is coming over for dinner."

Zhao Yun was slightly startled, and replied without thinking, "So, let her come."

Zhao Dafa squinted at him, "What’s that attitude? You’re not welcoming?"

Zhao Yun rolled his eyes, "Which eye of yours saw me being unwelcome? I think you’re too slow. After so long, you can’t even settle things with a woman. I really don’t know what my mom saw in you."

When his son brought up his ex, Zhao Dafa was speechless for a moment.

Perhaps, no matter how kind and beautiful the woman he marries in the future is, in his son’s heart, his birth mother will always be irreplaceable.

After a brief silence, Zhao Yun stood up.

"I’m going to sleep."

Watching his son go upstairs, Zhao Dafa sat quietly for a while, then picked up Zhao Yun’s backpack thrown on the sofa, took out the homework book and exercise book to flip through.

Although he couldn’t understand a word, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction when he saw the densely packed, scribbled handwriting.

Every character, every problem, was a trace of his son’s learning and growth.

After finishing, he took out his wallet, pulled out a Chairman Mao note, and slipped it into the book.

Then he picked up another book and continued to place money in it, until he had put a Chairman Mao note in each book.

Imagining his son’s expression when he opened the books tomorrow and saw the money made him laugh to himself.

This was the only way he knew to make up for the deficits he owed his son.

It was also his motivation to earn money tirelessly over the years.

...

After returning to her dormitory, Shen Hongmei immediately called Shen Mingzhu and told her about the conflict with the Liang Family mother and daughter in full detail.

After listening, Shen Mingzhu felt both relieved and speechless.

It was fortunate that Shen Hongmei and Liang Kean hadn’t worked out; otherwise, if she had truly married into such a family, it was uncertain what kind of troubles she would have to endure in the future.

After a moment, Shen Mingzhu told Chen Liang about the incident and casually mentioned Shen Hongmei’s determination.

Her intention was to warn Chen Liang not to meddle in other people’s affairs, and certainly not to agree to help Liang Kean by speaking on his behalf.

Seeing Chen Liang with a worried frown after finishing the call, Yi Ling asked with concern what had happened.

Chen Liang had no choice but to tell Yi Ling about the situation.

Just as he was speaking, the home phone rang.

Chen Liang and Yi Ling looked at each other.

"I’ll answer it, and if it really is Kean looking for you, I’ll say you’ve gone out of town to study and won’t be back until next month."

As she spoke, Yi Ling picked up the phone, and upon hearing the voice on the other end, she quickly nodded to Chen Liang.

The hint was that it was Liang Kean.

Chen Liang immediately held his breath and brought his ear close to the receiver to listen to what Liang Kean was saying.

As Shen Mingzhu had predicted, Liang Kean indeed wanted Chen Liang’s help to plead his case.

After Yi Ling made the excuse that Chen Liang had gone out of town, Liang Kean still did not give up, and actually asked Yi Ling for help.

Yi Ling was also infuriated and directly rebuked Liang Kean.

"Kean, we don’t owe you anything, right? Why is it that every time something happens, you come to us to clean up your mess?"

"When Chen Liang went to all that trouble to matchmake you with Shen Hongmei, you looked down on her, and I humbled myself to apologize to them while you hid behind like nothing happened."

"Now that your mom has offended them, you want me to plead for you again, huh, I am really puzzled. Do you not have legs or a mouth of your own? Why must everything involve us managing it for you? Who do you think you are!"

After finishing, Yi Ling forcefully hung up the phone and unplugged the line.

Chen Liang patted her back to help her calm down while admiringly giving her a thumbs-up.

Yi Ling, still angry, said, "What a piece of work, I’ve never seen such a useless man. You should also reduce contact with him!"

Chen Liang hastily claimed his innocence, "I haven’t seen him much lately; he has asked me out several times, and I’ve always declined."

"That’s for the best, or else I would break your legs."

Chen Liang: "..."

...

Liang Kean, holding the buzzing receiver, felt his face burning as if he had been slapped several times.

From childhood to adulthood, he had always been the good child in his parents’ eyes and the good student in his teachers’ hearts, always surrounded by praise and compliments; this was the first time he had been cursed like this.

He was extremely frustrated.

What made him even more agitated was that he didn’t know how to go back and explain to his family.

His family all believed that, given his relationship with Chen Liang, Chen Liang would definitely help.

"How did it go, did Chen Liang agree to help?"

When he got back home and faced the eager gazes of his entire family, Liang Kean really didn’t have the face to speak of the scolding he received from Chen Liang’s wife.

"Chen Liang said he would try to see what he can do, but he didn’t guarantee that he could be of help."

"With such a good relationship with you, Chen Liang will definitely help."’

Liang’s mother was both overjoyed and relieved, "Thank goodness you have a friend like Chen Liang; otherwise, I would have really suffered this time. That Shen with her cheap behavior, she’s just too malicious, she’s intentionally making my life difficult..."

"Mom, can you stop calling her that? Do you want to make the situation even worse?"

Scolded by Liang Kean, Liang’s mother guiltily closed her mouth.

...

Four or five days passed without any move from the police or Shen Hongmei’s side, so Liang’s mother, who had been uneasy for days, finally let go of her worries.

"Hmph, I see she was just trying to scare me; she wouldn’t dare actually report it because then all her dirty laundry would be aired for all to know. When she loses face, let’s see if her man still wants her!"

Compared to Liang’s mother’s assumption, the Liang family members were more inclined to believe that Chen Liang had pulled some strings.

The eldest brother of the Liang Family proposed to invite Chen Liang’s family to dinner as a token of gratitude.

Even Liang Kean himself wondered whether Chen Liang had helped him.

Yi Ling had been so vicious that night, and as a friend, Chen Liang surely felt guilty toward him; thus, he might have used this way to mend their friendship.

If that was the case, for the sake of Chen Liang, he could also forgive Yi Ling.