The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 640 - 639: Doorstep Confrontation

Chapter 640: Chapter 639: Doorstep Confrontation

Looking at the man tilting his face back in a hopeful plea for praise, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but let out a light laugh, "Mhm, you acted pretty well, I’ll add a chicken leg to your dinner tonight."

"I actually took a real punch, don’t think you can fob me off with just a chicken leg."

Saying so, he lifted his hand to rub the spot on his back where he got hit, lightly sucking in his breath, and it was hard to tell whether he was pretending or actually in pain.

Shen Mingzhu stepped forward to lift his shirt and observed the injured area with concern.

The hit was to the right shoulder blade, and a faint bruise was visible.

Shen Mingzhu frowned slightly, as this spot was right over the heart, and she worried it might have caused damage to the heart or lungs.

Soon, the doctor came over with the X-ray results to make a diagnosis.

Perhaps because most of his strength had been used up in the challenge, Gong Rong’s sneak punch hadn’t caused any damage to Pei Yang’s bones, and as for the internal injuries Shen Mingzhu was concerned about, they were ruled out after the doctor’s examination.

After prescribing some ointment to reduce bruising and relieve pain, the doctor allowed Pei Yang to be discharged from the hospital.

Upon leaving the hospital, Shen Mingzhu flagged down a taxi. Just as she was about to give the driver their home address, Pei Yang beat her to it by reporting the company’s address.

Shen Mingzhu cast a cold glance his way, "Didn’t you hear what the doctor said? He advised you to rest more."

"It’s nothing serious, just a minor injury."

Seeing his casual demeanor, Shen Mingzhu raised her hand and patted the injured spot on his back.

"Hiss—"

Pei Yang sharply inhaled, his complaint laced with grievance, "Are you trying to murder your own husband?"

Shen Mingzhu responded without much sympathy, "It serves you right for trying to show off."

Sitting high up, she had a clear view of everything that took place on the stage. Gong Rong was somewhat distanced from Pei Ziheng, and it took almost three seconds from the start of the sneak attack to its successful execution.

At the time, Pei Yang was right in front of Pei Ziheng and noticed Gong Rong’s sneak attack almost instantly. He could have easily pulled Pei Ziheng out of the way but deliberately used his own shoulder to block the punch.

"If I hadn’t taken that punch and let him vent his anger, he would sooner or later take it out on Ziheng."

As a married couple for many years, Shen Mingzhu wasn’t blind to his intentions.

In the hospital room, the couple’s coordinated act of good cop, bad cop was aimed to settle the grudge once and for all, so Gong Rong wouldn’t trouble their son again in the future.

"I made such a big sacrifice, you won’t really just fob me off with a chicken leg, will you?"

"One leg isn’t enough? How about two."

"I don’t want chicken legs!"

"Fine, I’ll take them to feed the dog. Demu would definitely love them."

Pei Yang bent down, rested his fuzzy head on her shoulder, and said, "I want to go on a trip."

The request wasn’t unreasonable.

Shen Mingzhu was about to agree when she heard the man continue, "Just the two of us, without bringing Guoguo and the others, let them stay home and play."

Shen Mingzhu looked at the man with amusement, "Where do you want to go?"

"How about Ao City? Haven’t you always wanted to go there?"

Shen Mingzhu did indeed want to visit Ao City, but not just for fun. She wanted to meet La Shiran in person.

Previously, La Shiran had helped them out by rescuing Pei Ke, and Shen Mingzhu had always intended to thank her in person.

Shen Mingzhu agreed to the man’s suggestion and decided to take a few days off at the end of the month to travel to Ao City.

...

In the boxing gym changing room.

"Your dad’s injury isn’t serious, is it?"

"Mm."

Looking at Pei Ziheng’s cold and handsome profile, Ma Weilong patted his chest, still feeling frightened, "It’s a relief you’re okay; otherwise, I would never be at peace for the rest of my life. That brat Gong Rong, resorting to sneak attacks behind the scenes, it’s a good thing your dad is fine, or else I wouldn’t have let him off lightly."

After organizing his things and pulling the zipper, Pei Ziheng turned to Ma Weilong and said, "Sell all the stocks you have in your hands before the market closes this afternoon."

"The stock has been rising these past few days, aren’t you waiting another couple of days?"

Pei Ziheng stared at him, "If you don’t sell now, by the time it starts to fall, it will be too late to want to sell."

That made sense.

"Alright, I’ll sell it when the market opens this afternoon."

Having said that, he excitedly rubbed his hands together and asked Pei Ziheng, "Then, which stock should I buy next?"

The reason Ma Weilong refused Shen Mingzhu’s bribe wasn’t because he was principled, but because he had already been bought by Pei Ziheng.

In this period, Pei Ziheng had guided him in stock trading and he had already made a tidy sum of nearly ten thousand.

"Don’t buy any, if you don’t want to lose the money you’ve made, stay away from stocks for the coming year."

"Is it really that bad?"

Pei Ziheng didn’t wish to say more, but considering the mentor-apprentice relationship they’d built over the past month or so, he offered Ma Weilong a piece of advice.

He suggested Ma Weilong use the money he earned from the stock market to expand the boxing gym, not only to provide professional training but also to host competitions, set up various training classes, and select promising boxers for development, with the goal of growing the gym into a formal club.

It must be said, this advice was an eye-opener for Ma Weilong.

As a former boxer himself, he knew very well that if he did well in any of the directions Pei Ziheng had suggested, he could make a fortune.

...

It was nearly midnight, and the clock on the wall ticked on.

Shen Hongmei sat alone on the couch, dozing off.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening from outside, and she quickly opened her eyes and stood up to greet the newcomer.

When she reached the courtyard entrance, she saw Zhao Dafa being helped out of the car by Ren Yan, and she immediately went forward to assist.

The two of them together helped Zhao Dafa to the couch in the living room to rest.

"How come you drank so much again?"

Ren Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at Shen Hongmei, hesitated to speak, and ultimately remained silent.

"Madam, you take good care of Boss Zhao, I’ll head back now."

"I’ll see you out."

"No need."

As though she hadn’t heard him, Shen Hongmei insisted on seeing Ren Yan out the door.

Once in the yard, Shen Hongmei called out to him and began to inquire about the company’s situation.

Lately, Zhao Dafa had been leaving early and returning late, entertaining until eleven or twelve in the night, and this worried her greatly.

Ren Yan had long had complaints about Shen Hongmei, and upon being asked, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Madam, forgive my frankness, but the company’s current predicament is all because of you; Boss Zhao has really been ruined by you!"

Shen Hongmei thought Ren Yan was referring to her borrowing money, her face showing shame, "I’ve already explained it to them, Dafa wasn’t aware of the borrowing..."

Ren Yan interrupted her, "Madam, the suppliers demanding early payment is just a minor inconvenience in the short term and is not enough to seriously trouble the company. Do you know why Longchang suddenly stopped working with the company?"

Shen Hongmei uttered feebly, "Is it because of the borrowing?"

"No, Mrs. Yan is behind it. She has spread the word that not only have we lost Longchang, a major client, but other clients no longer continue to work with Dafa either. We have never dealt with Mrs. Yan before; why she would target us, you should be very clear."

After saying this, Ren Yan left, but Shen Hongmei stood there, unable to recover for a long time.

It was only when a gust of wind slammed the courtyard door shut that she suddenly snapped back to reality.

...

After finishing her work, Shen Mingzhu glanced at her watch and stood up to go to the reception room.

The moment she entered the reception room, before she could even speak, Shen Hongmei questioned her, "Why did you have to involve Brother Zhao’s company in our conflict?"