The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 623 - 622: Kind Lies

Chapter 623: Chapter 622: Kind Lies

By the time Shen Mingzhu returned to the police station, the parents of a few young delinquents, including Gong Rong, had all arrived and were busy lecturing their own children.

Particularly, Gong Rong’s father, a towering figure at 1.8 meters, dragged Gong Rong around, kicking and cursing him as if training a dog.

Gong Rong attempted to dodge but couldn’t evade, crying out in pain.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t step forward to interfere, instead, she sat in silence waiting for her turn.

Not only had these kids bullied her son, but they had also used caterpillars to scare her daughter; she was quite content to see them receive a good beating.

Finally, after the parents, including Gong Rong’s father, had finished scolding their sons, they turned to Shen Mingzhu to seek a resolution.

Trafficking was no trivial charge; if it led to a criminal record, their sons’ futures would be utterly ruined.

The parents’ attitudes were quite sincere, with many apologies and offers of compensation, and they even involved their children in the process.

Initially, Gong Rong refused, but after two forceful nudges from his father, he obediently apologized to Shen Mingzhu and the siblings, Pei Ziheng.

Shen Mingzhu agreed to the reconciliation.

Though unruly, Gong Rong and his friends weren’t deserving of the trafficking accusation.

"My daughter has a severe heart condition that cannot withstand fright or external stimuli. If anything were to happen to her because of your pranks, you would be murderers. You’re all over sixteen, old enough to face criminal responsibility. I hope you will behave yourselves."

After speaking, Shen Mingzhu took her children to process the withdrawal of the charges, leaving Gong Rong and the other young delinquents looking at one another, clearly shaken.

They were visibly scared.

They were troublemakers, but definitely not villains beyond redemption. The thought of harming someone’s life was beyond their wildest imagination.

"Damn brat, causing me nothing but trouble, I’ll beat the hell out of you!"

Furious, Gong Rong’s father took off his belt and violently whipped Gong Rong again.

...

"Mom, you lied too! I don’t have a heart condition."

In the car, Pei Tang peered out from the back seat, his big eyes fixed on Shen Mingzhu, who was driving.

Shen Mingzhu kept her gaze steady on the road ahead, focused on the traffic but responded, "Then do you know why Mom lied?"

"To scare them?"

"No, it was to protect you."

Shen Mingzhu patiently explained, "If they know you have health issues, they won’t bully you so casually, afraid of being responsible if you fall ill."

"It’s like having a valuable vase on the table; if you break it by accident, you’d have to pay a lot of money. Would you carelessly go near the vase then?"

"No!"

"That’s right. Mom lied to tell them that you’re valuable and fragile, and would break at the slightest touch. Naturally, they wouldn’t dare come near you again."

Pei Tang’s pretty little face lit up with excitement, "Mom, you’re so smart!"

Shen Mingzhu smiled, "Lying is wrong, but Mom did it to protect you. It’s a situationally justified lie, also known as a white lie."

Pei Tang seemed thoughtful, "Can I tell white lies too in the future?"

"In situations like today, to protect yourself or others around you, you can," she replied.

"I got it!"

The next day.

Early in the morning, Zhao Yun ran to the Pei family’s doorstep, urging the siblings to leave, as today was the day of Ren Jingshu’s final round in the city dance competition.

"Brother Hei Xiong, what’s the rush? The competition doesn’t start until nine, and it’s not even eight yet."

Pei Tang, who was waiting for Shen Mingzhu to finish a prettily braided hairstyle, couldn’t help complaining because of the rush.

"Ah, you don’t understand. I’m family, so of course, I should go early to cheer on Jingshu."

Pei Ziheng spoke up, "You go ahead, we’ll come in a bit."

"Then come early, don’t be late!"

With that, Zhao Yun left.

Shen Mingzhu, holding a ribbon, came out of the room and saw Zhao Yun hastily leaving. She casually asked, "Why did Xiaoyun leave?"

"He’s in a hurry to see his family," replied Pei Tang, quick-wittedly.

"What family?"

"It’s his new girlfriend."

Shen Mingzhu went behind her daughter, began combing her hair and weaving braids, and asked casually, "So, this girl hasn’t broken up with him yet?"

"Brother Hei Xiong says, he’s getting deeper and deeper into confusion, the longer the road, the longer and more winding it becomes."

Shen Mingzhu laughed, "What kind of nonsensical words are those, where did you learn them from?"

"From Brother Hei Xiong, ah, he sings this every day, he says he’s fallen into the web of love."

It looks like this time, he’s really taken it to heart.

Shen Mingzhu thought to herself that she needed to find time to talk to Hongmei about this.

The few little girlfriends that Zhao Yun dated before were all like child’s play, it was over in a couple of days.

She wasn’t opposed to kids falling in love early, but the premise was that they couldn’t engage in sexual activities too soon, and definitely could not cause a pregnancy.

Boys like Zhao Yun, at this awkward age, were especially prone to problems.

...

When Pei Ziheng and Pei Tang arrived at the theater, it was exactly nine o’clock, and the hostess in a red dress was giving the opening remarks on stage.

"You two finally made it, the competition is about to start," Zhao Yun murmured quietly to the siblings.

"Is Sister Ren the first one?"

"No, she’s in the middle."

Pei Tang rolled her eyes cutely and said, "Then what’s the rush, we’re here to see Sister Ren compete, as long as we catch her performance, that’ll be enough."

"How will you know how well Sister Ren dances if you don’t watch the others?"

After finishing his thought, seeing Pei Tang staring at him with round eyes, he asked confusedly, "What’s up?"

"Brother Hei Xiong, it’s the first time you’ve said something so reasonable."

"...Your words don’t sound like a compliment," he replied.

Pei Ziheng spoke lazily, "Be confident, take out the word ’like’."

Zhao Yun: "..."

"Don’t learn from your brother, Guoguo, someone with a bad temper and a foul mouth like him will definitely not be able to get married in the future."

Pei Tang stated, "That’s no problem, in the worst case I’ll be my brother’s wife."

Zhao Yun laughed at Pei Tang’s childish remarks, "Silly Guoguo, brothers and sisters can’t get married."

"I don’t care, I want to be my brother’s wife!"

Saying this, she deliberately leaned into Pei Ziheng’s embrace and said earnestly with her pretty little face upturned, "Brother, if you can’t find a wife in the future, I’ll be your wife, okay?"

For the first time, Pei Ziheng didn’t directly respond to her question and stretched out his hand to straighten her up, speaking indulgently, "Concentrate on the competition."

"Oh."

As the melodious sound of the hulusi began, a contestant in a beautiful Dai fish-tail skirt started dancing the peacock dance on stage.

Pei Tang watched with rapt attention, applauding excitedly from time to time.

Pei Ziheng’s dark gaze was fixed on the performer on stage, but his mind echoed with the previous conversation—

Brothers and sisters can’t get married, but he and Pei Tang aren’t.

Soon it was Ren Jingshu’s turn to perform.

Ren Jingshu performed a classical dance called "Feiyan Palace." She was dressed in a sumptuous palace gown of gold and red, her water sleeves fluttered lightly, her waist was slender, and every smile and frown was captivating, she was just like a fairy descending to earth.

Zhao Yun’s eyes were glued to the performance.

When the performance ended, he was the first to clap and cheer, closely followed by the siblings Pei Ziheng and Pei Tang, and the other friends who usually played well with Zhao Yun.

To support Ren Jingshu, Zhao Yun had gathered a good ten to twenty people to come to the competition.

At the end of the competition, Ren Jingshu won the second prize with a high score of 97.8.

Zhao Yun was ecstatic, and he ran backstage with the roses he had prepared in advance to pay his respects.

After searching the backstage area, he couldn’t find Ren Jingshu. He asked around and learned that Ren Jingshu had already left.

Zhao Yun hurriedly chased after her, and when he reached the parking lot, he saw Ren Jingshu and her mother talking in front of a flower bed from afar.

Presumably due to the lack of time, Ren Jingshu hadn’t taken off her makeup, and she was still wearing her performance costume.

With her long dress trailing the ground and gossamer shawls wrapped around her shoulders, she was stunningly beautiful.

Zhao Yun didn’t dare to approach because he and Ren Jingshu had agreed that their early romance must never be known by her family.

Just as he was hesitating whether to find a place to secretly wait, he saw Ren Mother raise her hand and slap Ren Jingshu across the face.

Shit!