The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 678 - 677: You’ve Taken off Your Pants, That’s It?

Chapter 678: Chapter 677: You’ve Taken off Your Pants, That’s It?

"Xiaogao hasn’t come back yet?"

In the Trendy Video Store, Shen Baolan absentmindedly asked the clerk about Gao Hualiang’s whereabouts while picking out videotapes.

Ever since that fight in the store with Wang Feng, and after Gao Hualiang gave her a Ferrero chocolate, she hadn’t seen Gao Hualiang again.

She heard from the clerk that Gao Hualiang had gone back to Yu City to attend his nephew’s one-month celebration.

"Not yet, he’ll probably be back in a couple of days."

Disappointed by the clerk’s words, Shen Baolan left the store and after playing a few rounds of cards at the mahjong parlor, she returned home, unable to eat or drink properly.

She hadn’t heard a word from him in seven or eight days, not a message or a page—he clearly hadn’t kept her in mind at all.

Shen Baolan turned over in frustration.

But if he didn’t like her, why would he give her red roses and chocolates, and protect her during the fight?

She turned over again.

It was better that he didn’t return. She was a married woman and shouldn’t be entangled with Gao Hualiang.

Though Zhou Shuhuan wasn’t as young and handsome as Gao Hualiang, Zhou Shuhuan could earn money and allow her to live a carefree life as a rich wife.

Thinking this way, Shen Baolan made a secret vow that she would no longer have anything to do with Gao Hualiang, nor visit his store.

After having dinner, Shen Baolan changed into a skirt and dance shoes, ready to kill time in the dance hall.

Just as she was about to leave, she received a call from the clerk, Xiaolin, informing her that the store had just received a new batch of tapes.

She decided to have a look since Gao Hualiang wasn’t back anyway.

Once she left the house, she couldn’t control herself and headed straight for the Trendy Video Store.

"Xiaolin, you said there are new tapes, right? Bring them here for me to see."

Xiaolin pointed towards the back room, "Sister Shen, they’re on the coffee table in the back room. Help yourself, I’m a bit tied up right now."

The video store didn’t look big, but it was actually quite deep inside, with partitions made of wooden boards.

As soon as Shen Baolan walked through the door to the inner room, she froze.

The room had been arranged like a small living space, with a two-seater sofa against the wall, and the Gao Hualiang she hadn’t seen in several days was sitting on the sofa.

"Sister Shen."

"Xiaogao, when did you return?"

Unlike his usual gentle and refined demeanor, today Gao Hualiang wore a black and white patterned shirt with the buttons undone to the fourth, and his hair spiked up with wax to reveal his full forehead. His eyes looked delicate and amorous, making Shen Baolan’s face heat up and her heartbeat race.

"I just got back and haven’t had time to tidy up."

Gao Hualiang smiled and invited her to sit down. He pointed to a cardboard box on the coffee table for her to pick from while he got up and went into the bathroom, leaving Shen Baolan wondering if he was changing clothes or taking a shower.

Shen Baolan calmed her racing heart and walked to the coffee table to start selecting videotapes.

While choosing, she felt something and turned her head, only to be suddenly embraced by Gao Hualiang.

The unfamiliar warmth and scent made Shen Baolan’s heart leap to her throat. She was about to speak when Gao Hualiang covered her mouth.

"Sister Shen, don’t shout."

"Just let me hold you, just a hug, I won’t do anything else."

"I’ve missed you so much that I’ve almost gone crazy."

A few sweet nothings left Shen Baolan utterly confused on the spot.

But the next second, Gao Hualiang let her go.

The feeling was like Zhu Bajie eating a ginseng fruit, not even tasting it before it was gone.

Pants off, and that’s it?

"I’m sorry, Sister Shen, I didn’t mean to offend you, I just missed you too much, I couldn’t help myself."

It was then that Shen Baolan remembered her married status, "Don’t talk nonsense, I’m already married, nothing can happen between us!"

"I know, but I can’t control my heart. From the moment I saw you, I was lost."

"I was supposed to come back a few days earlier, but to surprise you, I took a special trip to Southern Fujian and brought back this box of new ties," he said.

"Shen Baolan, I just want to treat you well and see you from time to time, isn’t that okay?"

Looking at the cardboard box on the coffee table, Shen Baolan still couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

It was only in her nearly thirty years of life that she truly understood what it felt like to be loved by a man.

She couldn’t bear to part with it, nor could she refuse it.

...

Not long after Shen Baolan left, Gao Hualiang gave a few instructions to his assistant Xiaolin before calling for a taxi and leaving the shop.

The taxi circled half of the city district before stopping in front of an old tube-shaped building.

Gao Hualiang, familiar with the place, went to one of the rooms on the top floor and knocked on the door.

A young woman opened the door; clearly well acquainted with him, she turned back to her bed without saying a word after letting him in.

Gao Hualiang closed the door and walked to the front of the bed, looking at the woman on it.

"Are you upset?" he asked.

The woman gave him a sideways glance, "What’s there for me to be upset about?"

Gao Hualiang sat on the bed and, with an ambiguous tone, hooked his finger under her chin, "So you’re jealous."

The woman knocked his hand away, "How’s the progress?"

A smug look crossed Gao Hualiang’s face, "Underestimating my charm, aren’t you? With that naive fool, I just need to wiggle my fingers and she falls right into the trap."

The woman scoffed, "Did you sleep with her?"

"Haven’t got that far," Gao Hualiang said with a look of disdain, "With that body of hers, bulky like a tiger’s back and a bear’s waist, I really don’t want to touch her unless absolutely necessary, not even close to one of your fingers."

"Baby, the playacting with her is for our future life together. Once this deal is done, we’ll go back to our hometown in Liucheng, get married, and I’ll build you a big house. You can give me a few kids."

Under Gao Hualiang’s soothing, the woman’s jealousy slowly dissipated, revealing a contented and girlish happiness.

She turned over, propped herself up by her chin, and began to ponder with Gao Hualiang, "Since this is the last deal, how about we do something big?"

"Bigger than here?" he asked.

"Stop joking, I’m being serious!"

After being scolded sweetly by the woman, Gao Hualiang straightened up and listened attentively.

"I’ve had someone inquire about it. That man is worth at least several million. The Qiaos are too stingy, giving us only fifty thousand. I have a way to make much more."

"What way?"

The woman whispered into Gao Hualiang’s ear for quite a while.

Gao Hualiang did not immediately react after listening, but took a cigarette and thought it over.

Beep beep.

The pager at his waist sounded. He looked at it—it was from Qiao Ya.

Gao Hualiang went downstairs to a roadside phone booth to return the call, the woman listening closely to the conversation between him and Qiao Ya:

"...Miss Qiao, rest assured, I will seal the deal within a month. You’ll hear from me."

In Fucheng.

Qiao Ya hung up the phone and turned to Zhou Shuhuan beside her, giving an OK sign, "Everything’s going smoothly; Shen Baolan will be hooked soon."

Qiao Ya’s strategy was simple: have Gao Hualiang seduce Shen Baolan into an affair, then have Zhou Shuhuan catch them in the act. At that point, Shen Baolan would have no choice but to divorce.

And since Shen Baolan would be at fault, Zhou Shuhuan wouldn’t need to give her a single penny, and people would only blame her for bringing it upon herself.

Zhou Shuhuan felt guilty about setting up Shen Baolan.

He planned to give her fifty thousand and an old house when they divorced.

His guilt ended there; he would give no more.