The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 706 - 705 Zhou Shuhuan Confrontation

Chapter 706: Chapter 705 Zhou Shuhuan Confrontation

She Zheming just happened to be nearby working on a case and arrived at the food factory ten minutes later.

After Shen Mingzhu briefly explained the situation, she led She Zheming to Liu Cuihua:

"Aunt Cuihua, I’ve brought Officer Shen for you, feel free to share any thoughts and suggestions with him."

"Auntie Liu, please get up first, it’s cold and freezing. If you hurt your body from kneeling, wouldn’t that just add to your family’s burden?"

She Zheming reasoned with her with both emotion and logic, but Liu Cuihua was resolute as if her heart had turned to iron.

"I won’t get up until my Baolan is found!"

"Then how about this, you come and search with us."

Liu Cuihua hesitantly asked, "Me go searching? But where should I go to search?"

"There are many methods, like asking door to door with a photo, posting missing person notices, slowly there will be clues. As for the means you mentioned, like using police dogs or closing roads, I can also apply for those with the leadership."

"Your kneeling here only makes things difficult for others and doesn’t help the case. It’s better to call your family to help with the search, more help means more hope, don’t you agree?"

Without waiting for Liu Cuihua to reply, She Zheming added, "Your daughter is from your own family, if you are not willing to put in the effort, how can you expect outsiders to do their utmost? That doesn’t seem right, does it?"

With She Zheming’s intervention, the onlookers also began to side with Shen Mingzhu:

"The officer is right, old lady. Helping is a favor, not helping is the duty. If you don’t search yourself, how can you have the audacity to pressure others to find your daughter for you?"

"Moreover, you’re forcing people to give you special privileges and use connections. What great contributions did your daughter make to the country and society that justify marshaling the entire city’s police force to find just her? Don’t they have other cases to handle?"

"Your daughter’s disappearance has nothing to do with these people, and they don’t owe you anything. Your crying and causing a scene here are affecting their business."

The lashings from the onlookers made Liu Cuihua feel utterly embarrassed, and in the end, she was half-pushed, half-pulled away by She Zheming.

Although the commotion had subsided, Shen Mingzhu’s heart was anything but calm.

Using police dogs, helicopters for search, closing roads, setting up checkpoints—these were all methods previously used by Yan Yi.

Liu Cuihua’s sudden appearance seeking her out, and specifically mentioning these techniques, clearly indicated she had been incited by someone.

After much thought, Shen Mingzhu gave She Zheming a call, asking him to help coax some information out of Liu Cuihua.

The food factory made annual donations to the Public Security Bureau, and for that reason alone, She Zheming wouldn’t decline such a small favor.

Half an hour later, Shen Mingzhu got firsthand news:

"Auntie Liu said it was a young woman with an unfamiliar face who told her to find you. You know important and influential people who could not only help find Shen Baolan but also retrieve the five million yuan."

"Did you get to know the appearance or any characteristics of the person?"

"She said she couldn’t remember clearly, just that she had long hair, was slim, dressed very stylishly, oh, and she wore a purple jade bracelet on her hand."

Shen Mingzhu mentally reviewed all the women she knew, but none matched the description. She simply couldn’t be bothered to think any further.

If it’s a fox, its tail will show sooner or later.

...

Focheng Airport.

"Brother Pei, it must have been tiring traveling all this way," Zhou Shuhuan said warmly as he welcomed the three of them at the airport exit, thoughtfully taking the suitcase from Pei Yang’s hand.

"The car is outside, let’s go," he said.

"Hmm."

Getting in the car, Pei Yang took the passenger seat, while Pei Ziheng and Pei Tang sat in the back.

Before they even settled in, Pei Tang leaned against the window and looked outside, "Big brother, look, palm trees!"

Pei Ziheng leaned in closer, bracing himself against the front seat, and loosely wrapped his arms around Pei Tang to prevent him from hitting his head in case he wasn’t seated securely.

"Hmm."

Seeing Pei Tang’s enjoyment of the trees, Zhou Shuhuan lowered the car window and slowed down the vehicle.

"Why didn’t sister-in-law come along?"

"She’s busy with work at the factory and can’t get away. How are the wedding preparations coming along?"

"It’s all being handled by the wedding planning company. We just need to go through the motions according to the process."

Pei Yang chuckled, "That’s also true, it’s not the first time after all."

"But it is the last time."

Sensing the seriousness in Zhou Shuhuan’s tone, Pei Yang’s emotions grew complex for a moment.

As a brother, he naturally hoped for Zhou Shuhuan to have a happy family and a blissful marriage.

However, if Shen Baolan’s disappearance truly had something to do with Zhou Shuhuan, it would be difficult for him to turn a blind eye.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Pei Yang declined Zhou Shuhuan’s arrangements and decided to take the two kids out for some fun by himself.

November in Fucheng was the season of gentle breezes and perfect sunshine.

The sky was as clean as a sheet of blue paper, dotted with cotton-like clouds. Flowers on both sides of the streets burst into riotous bloom, complemented by rows of coconut trees, creating a scenery too beautiful for words.

To give the children a better view of the scenery, Pei Yang specifically rented a convertible sports car, drove around the urban area, took a ride on a riverboat, and even indulged in some seafood, playing until ten o’clock at night before returning to the hotel.

The wedding the next day was grand and lively.

Unlike the customs in Fengcheng, here the wedding banquet took place in the evening, and after it ended, Zhou Shuhuan was dragged by his best man to a bar to revel.

After settling the two siblings to sleep in the hotel, Pei Yang also headed to the bar.

"Yang, why are you here? Come on in for a drink!"

Seeing Pei Yang, Zhou Shuhuan warmly invited him into the bar but was instead pulled by the hand, "Shuhuan, do you have a moment? I’d like to talk to you about something."

As if sensing something, the smile on Zhou Shuhuan’s face faded a bit, "Does it have to be right now?"

"I’m leaving early tomorrow morning."

"Then wait for me a moment, I’ll just go inside to say hi."

"Okay."

The two found a tea restaurant to sit in.

Busy with toasts and entertaining all night, Zhou Shuhuan hadn’t had time to eat, so he quickly ordered more than a dozen snacks.

Pei Yang asked for a pot of tangerine Pu’er tea.

After the tea was served, Pei Yang first poured half a cup for Zhou Shuhuan, "Drink some tea to sober up."

"Okay."

After finishing his cup, Zhou Shuhuan put the empty cup down, "Yang, just say whatever you want to say."

Pei Yang refilled his cup with tea before speaking, "Shuhuan, did you know Gao Hualiang before?"

Zhou Shuhuan took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. Gazing off into the distance, he countered with a question, "Why would you think that?"

Pei Yang regarded him, "I wish I were overthinking it. Give me a straight answer. Does Shen Baolan’s disappearance have anything to do with you?"

Just as Zhou Shuhuan was about to speak, a waiter knocked and came in to serve dishes, and both men fell into a tacit silence.

One smoked, the other sipped tea.

After the waiter left, Zhou Shuhuan spoke first, "Yang, if this matter really had something to do with me, what would you do? Would you go to the police station and report me?"

Pei Yang answered him, "If I wanted to report you, I would have gone directly; there wouldn’t have been a conversation tonight."

Zhou Shuhuan bit his cigarette in silence, just looking at him.

"It’s best if it has nothing to do with you. Some things can be hidden for a while but not for a lifetime. Sooner or later, the police will clear it up. Carrying such a burden in your heart, you’ll never have peace of mind in your lifetime."

Zhou Shuhuan put out his cigarette, picked up his chopsticks, and grabbed a crystal shrimp dumpling, stuffing it into his mouth. While he ate, he said,

"I just wanted a divorce, I didn’t want her dead."

"She was the foolish one. I warned her that Gao Hualiang was no good, but she wouldn’t listen."

"That’s how she is; she never takes advice. I told her not to compete with my sister-in-law and to just live our own peaceful life, but she always treated my words as if I were just farting!"

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