The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 672 - 671: The Desire to Win and Lose

Chapter 672: Chapter 671: The Desire to Win and Lose

"Little Shen, that Xiaogao doesn’t have any designs on you, does he?"

After finishing their card game and walking together, Shen Baolan’s card buddies jokingly teased her as they strolled.

Shen Baolan spat back at them, "Get lost with that nonsense, quit spreading rumors and tarnishing my reputation."

Her friends teased her, winking and nudging, "Everyone else gets pink roses, but you get red roses. Do you know what it means when a man gives a woman red roses?"

"Isn’t it just a flower? What else could it be?"

"That’s where you’re clueless. Red roses symbolize love. When a man gives a woman red roses, it’s a way of expressing his liking and admiration! Don’t believe me? Go ask at a flower shop?"

"I’m not going to bother asking about such nonsense!"

She said that, but after parting ways with her card buddies, she turned her head and headed to the nearby flower shop.

Once inside, Shen Baolan picked out a pot of Persian chrysanthemums, and while paying, she casually inquired about the meaning of red roses.

The shop owner’s response was nearly identical to what her card buddy had said.

As she passed by the Trendy Video Store, Shen Baolan couldn’t help but peek inside.

As if by a tacit understanding, Gao Hualiang, who had been arranging videotapes on the shelf, looked over.

The moment their eyes met, Shen Baolan felt a tremor at the tip of her heart, as if something had brushed by it, leaving a tingling sensation.

...

Over the next week, Gao Hualiang continued to give roses to the female customers, with different colors each day.

Sometimes white, sometimes yellow, sometimes champagne.

Handsome and good at winning women’s hearts, his store’s business got better day by day.

However, no matter the color of the roses given out in the store that day, the rose Shen Baolan received was always red.

Late at night.

Staring at the three red roses on her vanity table, Shen Baolan tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Red roses are said to be a man’s way of declaring love. What exactly did the Gao surname mean? Could he really have those kinds of feelings for her?

But she was a married woman, and there was no possibility of her responding to Gao Hualiang’s advances.

However, to give credit where it’s due, Gao Hualiang was indeed handsome, not lacking compared to Pei Yang, and also younger by eight or nine years than Zhou Shuhuan, so he probably wouldn’t be lacking in that area either?

Thinking about it, Shen Baolan couldn’t help but tighten her grip on her blankets.

...

"Xiaogao, any new tapes?"

Seeing Shen Baolan enter, Gao Hualiang smiled knowingly.

Previously, it had always been him paging Shen Baolan to inform her of new tapes, prompting her to come to the store.

Today was the first time Shen Baolan had taken the initiative to visit the store.

"Sister Shen, you look really beautiful today, I almost didn’t recognize you."

"Stop it with the sweet talk, is that all your mouth is good for?"

Although Shen Baolan spoke dismissively, her cheeks flushed with a hint of red.

She had dressed up today, wearing a floral dress that she would normally only wear for a banquet, applied makeup, and even got a new hairstyle at the hairdresser’s.

It had been a long time since she had taken such care with her appearance.

This long-absent feeling of excitement made her glow and look radiant.

Gao Hualiang didn’t directly contradict her, but instead chuckled leisurely, "Sister Shen, I don’t sweet-talk just anyone."

These words made Shen Baolan’s face flush and her heart race, but before she could ask further, Gao Hualiang changed the subject back to business, "The new tapes will take a couple more days, I’ll inform you when they arrive."

"Then forget it, I’ll be going."

Glancing at the bucket of roses on the low table, without seeing the familiar red, Shen Baolan couldn’t quite pinpoint her feelings, feeling like something was missing.

"Sister Shen."

As Shen Baolan turned back, she saw Gao Hualiang magically produce a red rose from the drawer.

She was both surprised and delighted.

As always, he used transparent flower sleeves and ribbons for packaging.

Gao Hualiang’s fingers were fair, with long joints, making even simple tasks look particularly pleasing to the eye.

Shen Baolan was so mesmerized that for a moment, she didn’t even ask why Gao Hualiang had stopped her.

"Sister Shen, here."

"What, what do you mean?"

Watching Gao Hualiang hand over the wrapped red roses to her, Shen Baolan’s heart thumped wildly.

"A little gift."

Shen Baolan blurted out instinctively, "I didn’t rent any ribbons today, why are you giving me flowers?"

"Because I don’t want you to have made the trip for nothing."

Although this exchange would seem normal between a shop owner and a customer, Gao Hualiang’s heartfelt tone, combined with his killer looks, made it hard not to set Shen Baolan’s imagination racing.

Shen Baolan uncontrollably took the flowers and couldn’t help but voice the doubt that had been haunting her for a long time.

"Xiaogao, everyone else gets different colors, why do you always give me red?"

Gao Hualiang looked at her and said, "I like red roses, fragrant and intense, beautiful and unique, just like Sister Shen yourself."

...

This Mr. Gao must have a thing for her!

He kept finding ways to send her flowers all day long and talked about liking red roses, comparing her to a red rose. Wasn’t this a roundabout way of saying he liked her?

Shen Baolan’s mind wandered even as her hands played the cards.

After losing several rounds in a row, she had no desire to continue the game and quickly finished up to go home.

As she passed by the video store, she resolved to ignore Gao Hualiang from now on.

She was a married woman, after all, and had no intention of getting entangled with a youngster like Gao Hualiang.

Zhou Shuhuan now had a fortune of at least several million, whereas Gao Hualiang, a small business owner, could at best earn twenty thousand a year, which was nothing compared to Zhou Shuhuan.

She wasn’t foolish enough to pass up a wealthy magnate for a small shopkeeper.

But as much as she thought so, when Shen Baolan passed by the entrance of the video store and saw Gao Hualiang chatting intimately with a woman, she felt particularly irritated.

She knew the woman – her last name was Wang. She used to frequent the card rooms a lot. Her husband had only died a few months ago when she surprisingly benefitted from a land redevelopment project, receiving over thirty properties. Just collecting rent brought her nearly two thousand a month, making her a famously wealthy landlady from around the area.

Shen Baolan, under the pretense of buying spicy pig’s head meat, purposefully stood outside the store for four or five minutes. By the time she had the meat in her hands, the two were still talking.

What on earth is there to talk about endlessly!

Shen Baolan stepped toward the store and walked in.

"Xiaogao!"

"Ah, Sister Shen."

Seeing Shen Baolan, Gao Hualiang was as enthusiastic as usual, his face full of smiles, which made Wang Feng specially turn her head to give Shen Baolan a look.

"Just grab a couple of tapes for me, the good-looking ones."

"Sister Shen, have a seat. I’ll find them for you as soon as I’m done here."

"I want them now. I’m in a hurry to get back."

While she spoke, she deliberately shook the spicy pig’s skin in her hand, as if in a rush to go home for dinner.

Gao Hualiang had no choice but to turn to Wang Feng, "Sister Wang, please wait a moment for me, I’ll go get a couple of tapes."

Wang Feng was displeased to hear this, "Hold on, why should I wait? Don’t you understand the concept of first come, first served?"

After saying this, she turned to scold Shen Baolan: "If you want tapes, either look for them yourself or wait. I’m not finished here yet!"

Shen Baolan’s competitive spirit was suddenly ignited.

The reason she had been competing with Shen Mingzhu for so many years was exactly that she was innately determined not to be outdone by anyone.

"Xiaogao, go. Find the tapes for me. I want them now."

After saying this, she provocatively raised her chin, looking at Wang Feng with a defiant ’what can you do about it’ attitude.

Wang Feng instantly got angry, "You stupid bitch, you think you’re giving me