The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 680 - 679: Gao Hualiang Comes Clean to Shen Baolan

Chapter 680: Chapter 679: Gao Hualiang Comes Clean to Shen Baolan

Upon exiting the dance hall, Shen Baolan, as usual, prepared to hail a taxi, but before she could raise her hand, a rickshaw came to a stop in front of her.

"Madam, would you like a ride on the rickshaw?"

"How much to Ruifeng Garden?"

"One yuan and fifty cents."

Hearing the price, Shen Baolan without a word climbed into the rickshaw.

Nighttime wasn’t like daytime; the daytime was hot, and riding in a rickshaw could peel a layer of skin off one’s body.

The night was cool, and riding in a rickshaw turned out to be more pleasant than a taxi, and what’s more, it only cost one yuan and fifty cents, whereas a taxi would cost three or four yuan.

Shen Baolan was blissfully enjoying the breeze when suddenly the rickshaw took a turn and veered into a secluded alley.

"Hey, hey, you’ve gone the wrong way!"

No sooner had Shen Baolan spoken than the rickshaw came to a halt.

She thought the driver was about to turn around, but the next second, he put a chillingly cold knife to her neck.

"Don’t scream, or I’ll stab you to death!"

Shen Baolan was terrified, "You, don’t be rash, I’ll give you money, all of it!"

With that, she hastily emptied all the money from her bag and stuffed it into his hand, terrified of provoking his anger by being too slow.

"Damn, is this all?"

With a mournful face, Shen Baolan replied, "That’s all I have on me..."

With lots of people and prying eyes in the dance hall, there were many who would fish in troubled waters, and she would only take just enough for the fare and drinks.

"Hand over your necklace, earrings, rings, or I’ll stab you to death!"

Intimidated by the driver, Shen Baolan quickly stripped off her jewelry and handed it over.

The driver weighed the gold jewelry in his hand with satisfaction and smiled. Then he turned his gaze back to Shen Baolan’s chest.

"Nice figure there, how about keeping me company and I’ll let you go."

Shen Baolan was both shocked and angry but didn’t dare refuse.

The icy knife was still at her neck, she was afraid of being stabbed.

It’s better to live to fight another day.

If she couldn’t avoid being stabbed, being cut somewhere else was surely better than having her throat slit...

Just as she closed her eyes, bracing herself, she suddenly heard a scream.

Opening her eyes, she saw two shadows grappling on the ground in the dimly lit alley. She could barely make out that one of them was the rickshaw driver who had robbed her, and the other seemed to be...

Before she could think further, she saw the rickshaw driver scramble to his feet, drag her off the rickshaw, and speed away in a flurry.

"Sister Shen..."

Hearing the familiar groan from the ground, Shen Baolan was alarmed, "Xiaogao? It’s you?"

"This cut is so deep, you’ve lost so much blood, you won’t be in trouble, will you?"

In the clinic, aided by the light, Shen Baolan could finally see the gruesome knife wound on Gao Hualiang, the flesh turned inside out, blood gurgling, which made her shiver.

The doctor, while disinfecting Gao Hualiang, asked about the cause of the injury.

In small clinics like theirs, treating knife wounds usually resulted in routine inquiries and record keeping.

"I slipped by accident and cut myself."

While Shen Baolan wondered why Gao Hualiang was lying, she saw him shake his head slightly at her, and she had to swallow her doubts.

After being bandaged and leaving the clinic, it was already half an hour later.

Shen Baolan couldn’t hold back any longer, "Xiaogao, why did you lie to the doctor, and why wouldn’t you call the police? Robbers like that should be arrested and sent to reform through labor!"

Gao Hualiang sighed, "Sister Shen, have you forgotten why I came to Fengcheng? I don’t want you to follow in my footsteps, get involved with those underworld figures and never have peace. Losing money is one thing, but it’s good you’re unharmed."

Upon learning of Gao Hualiang’s painstaking efforts, Shen Baolan was deeply touched.

To take a knife for her, and to then choose not to report it to the police, to meet such a devoted man, how much fortune must she have accumulated in her past life?

But soon, Shen Baolan’s complexion changed, "It’s over!"

"What happened?"

"All my jewelry is fake, what if he recognizes me and comes back for revenge?"

It turned out that her jewelry was all fake, bought for show. Inside was brass with a thin layer of gold paint on the exterior.

Big sister, your husband is a millionaire, yet you don’t even have a set of gold jewelry; you’ve really got it rough, haven’t you?

Gao Hualiang was speechless in his heart but still comforts her, saying that drivers who run into trouble usually lay low for a while, and by the time he came back, he probably wouldn’t recognize Shen Baolan anymore.

Shen Baolan was relieved.

In the following days, Shen Baolan visited the photo shop every day, bringing Gao Hualiang soup and medicine.

Gao Hualiang gladly accepted everything without reserve and even made up an excuse that his wound couldn’t touch water, letting Shen Baolan help him scrub his back.

Gao Hualiang might have been skinny, but his frame was long and well-proportioned, covered by a layer of fair and fine skin that left Shen Baolan almost in a daze with desire.

Handsome and good-looking, with a great body, and so deeply in love with her--how wonderful it would have been if he were her man.

Just as Shen Baolan was indulging in fantasies of love and finding it hard to extricate herself, Gao Hualiang’s attitude did a complete 180-degree turn.

"Shen sister, you should stop coming to see me."

Shen Baolan’s head buzzed.

It felt like going to a friend’s house while starving, and just when the friend laid out a table full of delicious food, and you were about to pick up the chopsticks to feast, the friend got up to see you off, leaving you both frustrated and in limbo.

"What happened? Did someone talk behind my back? Who is it, I’ll go tear her mouth apart!"

"No, I’m not afraid of that."

Gao Hualiang seemed even more pained and reluctant than her, "Shen sister, you’re a good woman, and I don’t want to hurt you."

"How have you hurt me? It was you who saved me..."

"No, you don’t understand."

"Then tell me, if you do, won’t I understand?"

"No, I can’t say. Shen sister, please stop asking. I really can’t say. I’m not a good person. I deserve to die... " Wah wah wah..."

With that, he covered his face and started crying in front of Shen Baolan.

Shen Baolan also cried, moved to tears.

For the first time in her life, a man cried for her; Gao Hualiang must have really loved her deeply.

"Xiaogao, don’t be afraid, just say it. Sister will definitely help you."

Under Shen Baolan’s repeated questioning, Gao Hualiang finally, with a guilty expression, told her his true identity, and, the truth that he had been manipulated by Qiao Ya and Zhou Shuhuan.

Such a truth was even more infuriating and enraging for Shen Baolan than Shen Mingzhu stealing her man.

"Zhou Shuhuan, that bastard, how dare he? How could he treat me like this? After all the hardships I’ve suffered over the years, now that he has a bit of stinky money, he thinks he can kick me to the curb? Dream on!"

Gao Hualiang held the furiously enraged Shen Baolan tightly and said soothingly:

"All these years, I’ve been cheating and swindling, never settling down; no woman has been as kind and considerate as you, Shen sister. By your side, I’ve felt what it’s like to have a home for the first time."

"I really don’t understand what Boss Zhou is thinking; such a good woman as you, he doesn’t cherish, instead being bewitched by a vixen."

"That woman can’t hold a candle to you, Shen sister. She’s only in it for the money. Shen sister, you deserve a better man and a better life. Let me help you, will you?"

With Gao Hualiang’s consolation, Shen Baolan gradually calmed down, but she no longer had the same trust she once had in him.

Now, like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, she was both suspicious and fragile.

"How do I know you won’t deceive me again!"

After Gao Hualiang whispered a few words, the suspicion on Shen Baolan’s face suddenly eased by a great deal.