The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 714 - 713 Slapping the Scumbag

Chapter 714: Chapter 713 Slapping the Scumbag

"Honey, calling at this time, what’s up?"

Pei Yang was filled with anticipation, he even had his sweet-talking tactics ready. Dai Mingfang was a connected client; he couldn’t refuse and had to stay in the company, but he had already transferred her to work in a store, rarely seeing her.

"Nothing much, I won’t be home for dinner tonight, just letting you know. Hanging up now."

"Wait a minute!"

Pei Yang, reluctant to let go, called out to her, "Don’t you have anything else to say to me?"

There was a two-second pause from Shen Mingzhu on the other end of the line, "Remember to give Fugui a bath tonight, and after that, comb its fur and apply some care oil."

After that, she hung up the call.

Pei Yang put down the phone feeling disgruntled, muttering to himself while driving, "Fugui, Fugui, always worrying about Fugui. Am I, a full-grown man, less important to her than a dog?"

Shen Mingzhu sneezed twice, thinking the air was dry. She got up, sprinkled some water on the towel over the heater to keep it moist, and then left her office for the bathroom.

On the way, she ran into Pei Qiuxia, who was also heading to the bathroom.

"President Shen."

"Hmm."

Pei Qiuxia, examined by Shen Mingzhu, felt a bit embarrassed, "I didn’t want to dress so formally, but my mom forced me to wear this, or she wouldn’t let me out."

Shen Mingzhu smiled and patted her arm, "It looks quite nice, but your face is a bit plain. Come to my office for some makeup after work."

"Is that really necessary? It’s just a dinner, dressing up too formally might make them think I’m desperate to get married."

Pei Qiuxia said self-deprecatingly, unable to hide her nervousness and inferiority.

In this era, a 25-year-old woman doesn’t have much of an advantage in the dating market.

Moreover, she had been in a relationship for five years and had even been engaged once. Coupled with her ordinary looks, her several matchmaking attempts had ended in failure, leaving her somewhat disheartened.

Shen Mingzhu understood Pei Qiuxia’s feelings, "Women dress up not to please others, but as an armor for themselves. You never know who you’ll meet the next second, it might be your ex or your true love."

"And don’t ever feel that dressing up carefully for a date means you’re too eager. Your appearance, good or bad, directly represents the sincerity and respect you have for the meeting. Similarly, from the other person’s attire, you can also tell their upbringing and character."

Shen Mingzhu’s words enlightened Pei Qiuxia, who felt noticeably lightened in spirit.

"Then shall I go get my hair done at noon?"

"Yes, and get a light, thin-banged haircut, with a slight curl at the ends."

"Okay."

At noon, Pei Qiuxia had her hair done and immediately went to Shen Mingzhu for inspection.

"Not bad, you look much prettier like this."

The approval from Shen Mingzhu evidently boosted Pei Qiuxia’s confidence.

Her features were rather flat, and her face shape was square and round. The new hairstyle with bangs and curls nicely softened her facial contours, giving her a gentler and more intellectual appearance.

When work ended, with Shen Mingzhu’s help, she applied light makeup before they both headed to the agreed-upon restaurant.

After parking at the restaurant, Shen Mingzhu ran into an acquaintance and began to exchange greetings.

Pei Qiuxia didn’t know the person, and being nervous and wanting to check her appearance, she excused herself to go to the restaurant’s bathroom first.

...

"Qiuxia?"

At the washbasin, Pei Qiuxia was arranging her hair in front of the mirror when a familiar voice suddenly came from beside her.

Turning her head, Pei Qiuxia thought to herself that Shen Mingzhu really had hit the nail on the head.

The person greeting her was her former fiancé, Jiang Xinsheng.

Jiang Xinsheng and she were high school classmates. When it came to the college entrance exam, she failed to get in, while Jiang Xinsheng was admitted to a decent university in another province.

They fell for each other at a reunion during Jiang Xinsheng’s sophomore year and became lovers, embarking on a long-distance relationship that lasted for two and a half years.

After graduating, Jiang Xinsheng returned to work in Fengcheng. By then, both had crossed the threshold of 22 years, which was considered the right age for marriage.

But Jiang Xinsheng wanted to focus on his career first, and Pei Qiuxia, as his girlfriend, naturally supported him fully, agreeing to get engaged first.

After the engagement, although they didn’t live together, they did all that a married couple should do.

Earlier this year, as their daughter was approaching 25, Pei’s father and mother began to urge them to get married.

Every time, Jiang Xinsheng would find various excuses to procrastinate, which often led to arguments and cold wars between them. Finally, on Pei Qiuxia’s 25th birthday, Jiang Xinsheng stood her up because of work and they broke up.

After the breakup, Pei Qiuxia suffered for a while and even considered begging for reconciliation. Five years of love wasn’t something she could just cut off.

That was until a close high school friend informed her that Jiang Xinsheng had a new girlfriend and had even known her long before they broke up.

Jiang Xinsheng had been dragging his feet on marrying her not because he was busy with work, but because he was busy cheating on her and giving her a green hat. He stood her up on her birthday to go watch a movie with his "new love."

Though Jiang Xinsheng’s betrayal made her angry, it also allowed her to let go of the relationship completely and start accepting her family’s arrangements for blind dates, in order to resolve her marital status as soon as possible.

Today was the first time the two met since the breakup.

"Qiuxia, what a coincidence."

Looking at the dolled-up Pei Qiuxia, Jiang Xinsheng’s eyes were undisguisedly dazzled, and he sported a relaxed and contented look as if they were old classmates who hadn’t seen each other for a long time.

"Dressed so beautifully, you wouldn’t happen to be here for a blind date, would you? I heard from Qian Rong a few days ago that you’ve been on blind dates recently. How is it, haven’t found the right one yet?"

"None of your damn business!"

Jiang Xinsheng blocked her path, relying on his size. "Is that necessary? Even if we can’t be husband and wife, we can still be friends, can’t we?"

"Sorry, I’m a clean freak, and I don’t like to associate with trash. Also, please stay away from me—I can’t stand the stench of garbage."

Having worked with Pei Wenping for a long time, Qiuxia had picked up some of Wenping’s forthrightness and didn’t mince words when cursing someone.

Enraged by her, Jiang Xinsheng retorted, "What are you so proud of? If it weren’t for our past, I wouldn’t want to waste my time on you. Look at yourself, you’ve been on blind dates for so long without success. Haven’t you ever considered your own faults?"

"You’re not getting any younger. Stop being picky. Marry anyone willing to take you, or after another year or two, you may only be able to settle for a divorced man..."

"Slap!"

Pei Qiuxia’s slap interrupted Jiang Xinsheng mid-sentence.

He clutched his face, incredulous: "You hit me?"

"So what if I did? Jiang Xinsheng, anyone can mock me, but you have no right! Who’s the reason I’m not married yet? If you had any decency, you’d be repenting for your shamelessness every single day!"

After yelling at him, Qiuxia, as if that wasn’t enough, picked up her purse to throw at Jiang Xinsheng’s face.

Jiang Xinsheng wasn’t a pushover. He snatched the purse and was about to slap her back when a strong, capable hand stretched out and firmly blocked his move.

"Brother, it’s illegal to hit someone in a public place, you know?"

"Who are you? What’s it to you?"

She Zheming flashed his police badge, and Jiang Xinsheng’s arrogance dissipated instantly.

Qiuxia’s face flushed upon seeing She Zheming’s police badge.

"It was her who hit first!"

She Zheming let him go, his eyes lingering on Qiuxia for two seconds, before speaking, "Oh, I didn’t see it."

Jiang Xinsheng: "..."