The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 726 - 725: He Seems to Be a Good-for-Nothing

Chapter 726: Chapter 725: He Seems to Be a Good-for-Nothing

Pei Yang had woken up, but his consciousness was still drifting between drunken stupor and wakefulness. Relying on his naturally good eyesight, he recognized the figure in the driver’s seat as his dear wife, and instinctively blurted out,

"Wife, it hurts."

After shouting and seeing that Shen Mingzhu ignored him, he continued, "Wife."

"Wife?"

"Wife, I bumped my head just now, it really hurts, can you give it a blow?"

As he spoke, he leaned towards Shen Mingzhu, only to be unceremoniously swatted away, "Shut up, sit properly!"

"Oh."

Pei Yang, having received a slap, sulkily sat back in his seat.

Silence once again descended in the car.

Shen Mingzhu glanced distractedly at the passenger seat and noticed that the scoundrel of a man had fallen asleep again, his head against the window.

She pressed down on the accelerator with an expressionless face.

The next day.

Pei Yang woke up, staring blankly at the unfamiliar room surroundings for a long while before he realized he was in the guest room of his own house.

Rubbing his head, he walked out of the room and saw that Shen Mingzhu and the two kids were already having breakfast.

"Good morning~"

"Daddy, good morning."

Compared to Pei Tang’s enthusiastic response, Pei Ziheng was much more reserved and simply uttered a quiet "Dad."

Shen Mingzhu, with her eyes downcast, continued eating her breakfast without acknowledging his greeting.

The hangover had not made Pei Yang realize anything was amiss, and he pulled out a chair to sit beside her.

"Wife, I don’t know why, but my right head really hurts."

Both siblings looked at him with concern in their eyes.

In contrast, Shen Mingzhu, sitting closest to him, acted as if she heard nothing and said to the siblings, "I’m finished eating," before standing up and returning to the bedroom.

It wasn’t until the bedroom door closed with a gentle thud that Pei Yang belatedly sensed his wife’s mood wasn’t looking too good.

He looked at his daughter, "Did you make your mom angry?"

Pei Tang reacted vehemently, "I didn’t! Mom was fine just a moment ago, but she turned like this when you came."

While saying this, she even mimicked Shen Mingzhu’s poker face, quite convincingly.

Pei Yang turned towards Pei Ziheng.

The latter gave him a "Yes, exactly like that" expression.

Pei Yang rubbed his face and started to think about where he might have angered Shen Mingzhu, until his daughter reminded him with a wrinkled nose, "Daddy, you smell really bad."

Pei Yang looked at himself, still in yesterday’s shirt, his tie hanging loosely. He sniffed at his armpit and was greeted by a mixture of tobacco, alcohol, and other strange odors—it was indeed unpleasant.

Pei Yang rushed into the bathroom as quickly as possible to shower and wash his hair.

While washing, he discovered a bump on the right side of his head that hurt when touched.

After the shower, Pei Yang, wrapped in a bathrobe, returned to the bedroom.

"Wife, there’s a lump on my head, so strange, I have no memory of it."

Seeing that Shen Mingzhu kept applying makeup and ignored him, he interpreted it as her being angry about his drinking the night before.

"Those guys drink too much, I won’t drink with them anymore."

As Shen Mingzhu still paid him no attention, he tried to please her by reaching out and tugging at her sleeve, "Wife, talk to me, why did I end up in the guest room last night?"

Shen Mingzhu pulled her sleeve back, picked up her purse, and prepared to leave for work.

Pei Yang followed her until she left the house, then dejectedly returned to the living room.

As he approached the dining table and met his children’s sympathetic and pitiful eyes, he feigned composure, "Your mom is angry because she cares about me, worries about me."

Pei Tang naively asked, "Then why did mom make you sleep in the guest room?"

Pei Yang deftly changed the subject, "Finish eating and go play."

Pei Tang bobbed her head joyfully, "I’m going to play at my brother’s company."

Pei Yang looked towards Pei Ziheng in surprise, "Your company? What company?"

Pei Ziheng laid a business card down in front of him in a leisurely manner, "Future Technology. I welcome you to discuss a partnership when you have the time."

After saying that, he called Pei Tang upstairs to change clothes.

Pei Yang stared at the business card in his hand, falling into a deep thought.

His wife owned her own food factory, Shenji, and had various investment projects, and now even his son had his own technology company.

By comparison, he felt like waste.

...

While working, Shen Mingzhu suddenly threw down her pen.

The gold pen clattered against the paper with a smack, and Huang Ju, who was waiting beside her, was surprised and anxious, "President Shen, is there a mistake in the document?"

"I have to go out for a bit. Just leave the documents here; I’ll deal with them when I return."

After dropping that line, Shen Mingzhu picked up her bag and left the office.

After watching her depart, Huang Ju closed the files one by one on the desk and placed them in the pending basket.

After tidying up, she returned to her own desk outside.

Just as she sat down, Pei Wenping arrived, "Last month’s payroll, did President Shen sign it yet?"

"Not yet, President Shen just left."

Speaking softly, "President Shen is in a bad mood today."

Pei Wenping was intrigued by gossip and curiosity, "What happened?"

"I don’t know; she’s been cold-faced since this morning. I didn’t dare to speak loudly."

Pei Wenping, having experienced these matters, guessed it was a family issue and called Pei Yang once she returned to her office.

"Is there an issue with you and Mingzhu?"

Pei Yang acted confused knowingly, "No issue, what’s up, sis?"

"Huang Ju said Mingzhu was in a bad mood today and just went out."

"Did she say what for?"

"No, I wanted to ask you. How late did you guys drink last night? When did you go home?"

Pei Yang couldn’t remember at all. He had just been thinking about calling Chen Yi after he finished work, but Pei Wenping’s call came first.

He didn’t dare to tell Pei Wenping he had blacked out.

Even at 34, he was still a little brother in front of Pei Wenping, who could skin him alive within minutes.

After a few vague responses, he made an excuse to hang up and then called Shen Mingzhu.

After the mobile phone rang a second time, Shen Mingzhu directly removed the battery, and the car finally became quiet.

After sitting in silence for three to four minutes, she pushed the car door open and walked towards the Hengxin Pager Exclusive Store across the street.

"Welcome... Madam, what brings you here?"

Having had dinner the night before, not giving a gift yet receiving a Spring Festival snack gift pack for free, the staff’s attitude towards Shen Mingzhu was exceptionally warm and respectful.

"Just passing by, thought I’d drop in for a look."

Shen Mingzhu glanced casually around the store, then retracted her gaze without a sound.

"How’s business been lately?"

"Much better than last month, with the New Year coming up everybody’s feeling flush."

After speaking, noticing the store was too quiet, she quickly explained, "It’s generally slow in the mornings; more customers come in the afternoon and evening."

Shen Mingzhu nodded, "The manager of your store is He Tao, right?"

"Yes, Manager He is off today, Assistant Dai is on duty, but she just stepped out."

As they spoke, the fashionably dressed Dai Mingfang returned to the store.

Upon seeing Shen Mingzhu, she hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to greet her, "Sister-in-law, are you looking for Brother Pei? He..."

Shen Mingzhu cut her off with a faint smile, "At the workplace, it’s better to call me President Shen."

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