The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 651 - 650: Seeing Zhou Shuhuan Again

Chapter 651: Chapter 650: Seeing Zhou Shuhuan Again

Basketball court in the gym.

As the game approached, players were warming up on the court, and the stands were abuzz with people.

Zhao Yun, one of the main players in this game, wasn’t interacting with the other team members on the court but leaned against the railing listlessly, chatting sporadically with Pei Ziheng, Liu Shan, and a few others.

"Brother Hei Xiong, why didn’t Sister Ren come to see you play basketball?"

"She’s busy and can’t make it."

Pei Tang suddenly understood, "No wonder you’re looking half-dead, if people didn’t know any better, they’d think you’ve been dumped."

"Pfft, stop jinxing, Sister Ren and I are fine."

Hiss—

The whistle sounded, signaling the start of the game, and Zhao Yun perked up and jogged back onto the court.

...

"Behave yourself when we get to Grandpa’s house. There will be many distinguished guests at the banquet today, and you absolutely must not embarrass your father."

Ren’s mother checked the dance costume and shoes while reminding her daughter.

Ren Jingshu gazed silently out the window, where a few four- or five-year-olds were chasing a black-and-white ball on the lawn.

"I’m talking to you, did you hear me, what are you spacing out for?"

Ren Jingshu turned around and said to her oblivious mother in a slow tone, "Mom, I’ve got my period."

Ren’s mother paused, then asked, "Your period last month...?"

"Didn’t come last month."

Due to the side effects of dieting, Ren Jingshu’s periods were never on schedule.

Ren’s mother threw the dance skirt on the bed in frustration, exclaiming angrily, "Of all days, why did it have to be today? Do you know how much effort I put into this, how long I have been preparing for you to make an appearance at the birthday banquet? You really are going to be the death of me!"

Ren’s mother stomped out, slamming the door behind her.

Ren Jingshu closed the door to her room and silently laughed, with a smirk on her face.

Ten minutes later, the family, dressed neatly, left the house to attend Grandfather Ren’s seventieth birthday banquet.

In order not to wrinkle their formal wear, the family of four split into two cars.

Ren Jingshu and Ren Yingying took one.

Today, Ren Yingying was dressed in an elegant white bubble dress with a crystal tiara on her head, looking like a beautiful, proud peacock.

"Mom said that today I will replace you for Grandpa’s birthday performance."

Ren Jingshu ignored Ren Yingying’s bragging, her gaze fixed quietly outside the car window.

"Stop the car."

Ren Yingying widened her eyes, "What are you doing?"

"I don’t feel well, I want to buy some painkillers."

"Can’t you just endure it?"

"I can’t."

"Well, I won’t wait for you. I want to get to the banquet early for rehearsal."

"Whatever."

After watching the car turn into another street, Ren Jingshu stepped out of the pharmacy and ran toward the city gym not far away.

Hiss—

The whistle blew, signaling the end of the first half of the game; all the running players came to a halt.

Glancing at the lagging scoreboard, Zhao Yun lifted his jersey irritably, wiping sweat as he headed to the rest area.

"Guoguo, get brother a bottle of water, I’m dead hot!"

Zhao Yun, with his head down wiping sweat, didn’t notice someone had joined his siblings by their side.

It wasn’t until a delicate, fair hand came into view that he looked up in surprise. When he saw Ren Jingshu in a black chiffon dress, his eyes suddenly lit up with admiration.

"Jingshu!? When did you get here?"

"Just arrived."

Zhao Yun took the mineral water, his gaze lingering on Ren Jingshu involuntarily.

Ren Jingshu was naturally fair and beautiful, but she was particularly stunning today after making an effort to dress up, attracting many gazes from those around.

Even Pei Tang couldn’t help but mumble to Pei Ziheng, commenting on how beautiful Ren Jingshu looked that day.

"Didn’t you say you were busy and couldn’t come?"

Ren Jingshu was concise, "I have to leave in a bit."

"Did you come specifically to see me?"

While he was asking with his mouth, his heart had already decided that Ren Jingshu was there to see him, grinning with his large teeth in delight.

Ren Jingshu cast a meaningful glance at the scoreboard and said, "You called me here to watch you lose the game?"

Zhao Yun’s smile stiffened, and he immediately explained, "It’s because they aren’t coordinating well, always passing the ball incorrectly. Just you wait, watch how I blow them away in the second half!"

The second half quickly began.

Whether it was because he’d found his groove or because he didn’t want to look bad in front of his girlfriend, Zhao Yun’s offense was clearly much more aggressive and fierce than in the first half, and he scored two goals in less than five minutes, evening up the score.

Three minutes later, Zhao Yun, heavily guarded by three opposing players, took a jump shot from where he stood.

The basketball traced a beautiful arc through the air and passed perfectly through the hoop.

"YES!"

"Nice shot!"

A stunning three-pointer put Zhao Yun’s team in the lead for the first time.

After making the shot, Zhao Yun looked over to the rest area and saw Ren Jingshu giving him a thumbs-up, which made him ecstatic.

Following that, he played as if he was charged up, punishing the opposition with a wild frequency of scoring a goal every three minutes on average.

The audience, going crazy, chanted Zhao Yun’s jersey number, their cheers almost lifting the roof off the stadium; even Pei Tang, who didn’t understand basketball, was standing on a bench waving his arms and shouting.

The entire game reached a climax thanks to Zhao Yun’s outstanding performance.

That’s the charm of basketball: to sweat with passion, to chase dreams, never admitting defeat.

Whistle—

The whistle signaling the end of the game sounded.

Zhao Yun’s team won the match with a lead of twenty-seven points.

By the time Zhao Yun finally broke free from his teammates’ embrace and ran over to the resting area, he found out Ren Jingshu had already left, and he felt as if he’d been drenched in cold water.

"Brother Hei Xiong, Sister Ren left a message for you."

"What message?"

"She said if you win the game, she’ll take you to the movies."

Zhao Yun’s excitement instantly returned.

Because he helped the team win the game, Zhao Yun, as a foreign aid, received his "remuneration" of fifty bucks as hoped.

He divided the money into three parts: one part was used to treat everyone to fried skewers, one to repay the "loan" from Pei Tang, and the remaining was kept in hand, ready to treat Ren Jingshu to something after watching the movie with her.

In the past, fifty bucks wouldn’t have been enough for one of his meals; now, he had to budget carefully.

Watching Pei Tang gobbling up a skewer of fried rice cakes, his face shiny with grease, Zhao Yun secretly felt relieved that Ren Jingshu wasn’t as big an eater as Pei Tang; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to afford her.

...

Stepping out of the airport, the hot wave carrying a salty moisture didn’t make Shen Mingzhu feel uncomfortable but instead gave her an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

In her past life, she was a true Southerner, born in Jiangmen, went to university in Guangzhou after the college entrance examination, and lived in Guangzhou until she transmigrated into a book.

The Sui City she was in now overlapped with the Guangzhou of her past life.

"Pei Yang, sister-in-law."

While Shen Mingzhu was surveying her surroundings, trying to find traces from her memory, Zhou Shuhuan arrived with a young and beautiful woman.

"Shuhuan, long time no see!"

Pei Yang set down his luggage and embraced Zhou Shuhuan warmly.

When Shen Mingzhu looked over, Qiao Ya greeted her with a smile, "Sister-in-law, hello."

Shen Mingzhu returned the greeting with a polite smile, her mind couldn’t help but speculate about the woman’s identity.

"Pei Yang, sister-in-law, this is Xiaoya."

With Zhou Shuhuan’s introduction, Qiao Ya also greeted them with a smile.

The couple were smart enough not to pry into the relationship between Qiao Ya and Zhou Shuhuan; Zhou Shuhuan didn’t explain either, and just led them to pick up the car.

In the car.

"Shuhuan, you’ve done pretty well for yourself these past two years, even driving a Benz now," Pei Yang commented.

In those days, a Mercedes-Benz was a symbol of the filthy rich, hence the nickname "big Ben."

"It’s nothing much, just making a living," replied Zhou Shuhuan.

Qiao Ya joined the conversation, "Pei Yang, sister-in-law, would you like to try Cantonese food or seafood? It’s just about lunchtime. We can have a meal before we take you back to the hotel to rest."

"Either is fine; we’ll leave it to your arrangement," they answered.

"Then let’s have Cantonese food. We can enjoy seafood when we get to Ao City," she suggested.

Hearing her words, Shen Mingzhu felt a slight pause in her heart.