The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 730 - 729: Reconciliation

Chapter 730: Chapter 729: Reconciliation

Pei Yang watched her leave and then turned back, smiling at his children, "It’s alright, let’s eat."

Pei Tang furrowed her brow, smoother than a steamed bun, "Daddy, you’re so useless, you don’t even know how to coax someone."

Having received Shen Mingzhu’s promise not to divorce the night before, Pei Tang could now face the parents’ quarrel with composure.

Pei Yang tweaked his daughter’s face without showing any sign of anger, "Then you should help out."

Pei Tang thought about it for a moment with her round eyes and said, "First, you have to apologize to Mom, and then buy her lots of delicious food."

The only glutton in the family was her; at the end of the day, any delicious food bought would still end up in her own stomach.

Pei Yang could clearly see right through Pei Tang’s little scheme.

"As long as you help me make your mom happy, I’ll buy whatever you want."

Pei Ziheng raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

Facing his son’s skepticism, Pei Yang had no choice but to add with a strained heart, "As long as it’s within my means."

Pei Ziheng said, "Mom likes Xiaoma."

"A horse? Our house is crowded enough. Where would we keep another horse—in your room?"

Pei Yang’s reaction made Pei Ziheng quite disdainful, even though he once also thought Xiaoma referred to a live horse one could ride.

...

Sitting in the tea restaurant, Zhong Qing supported her cheek with one hand, smiling warmly at Shen Mingzhu, who was clearly in a bad mood.

"So, you knew you were being unreasonable, but you did it anyway?"

Shen Mingzhu nodded honestly, "A single sentence could have resolved the standoff, but I just couldn’t say it."

Zhong Qing smiled and said, "In human relationships, the one who has been in a dominant position for too long will forget how to bow or won’t be willing to. It’s what’s commonly called ’losing face,’ just like what you’re doing now."

Shen Mingzhu was silent.

Zhong Qing continued, "A cold war between spouses is a game of strategy where one side may win, or both sides may get hurt, and outsiders might take advantage. But the one who bends first is surely the one who loves more. Bowing down seems easy, but it means giving up pride and self-respect. Just as smokers can never smell the smoke on themselves, the loved ones don’t know how hard it is for those who love them."

Her friend’s words made Shen Mingzhu sober up while also feeling ashamed.

During eight years of marriage, she and Pei Yang had their inevitable frictions and conflicts. It was always the other who would back down first, and she had taken it for granted.

"Alright, stop thinking about it. Let’s eat, then I’ll take you somewhere."

Shen Mingzhu regained her spirits and asked, "Where to?"

"To a show."

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Shen Mingzhu drove following Zhong Qing to a members-only private club.

The club was hosting an art exhibition that day. From the entrance to the hall, paintings were hung every five or six meters.

Men and women dressed elegantly and appropriately stood in groups before the artworks, exchanging ideas and laughing together.

"All the paintings here are new works by contemporary masters. If you see anything you like, just tell me, I’ll get it for you."

Shen Mingzhu had no real interest in art but thought about buying a painting as a New Year’s gift for her daughter.

"No need, I have money, I’ll buy it myself."

Zhong Qing was amused by her tone, "President Shen is quite different from before."

"That is true. I can’t always be a drag on you. I don’t want people to criticize your lack of taste, saying you’re friends with a pauper, right?"

Shen Mingzhu desperately wanted to approach, but Zhong Qing held her back, "Let’s not go over just yet; we wouldn’t want to disrupt Su Su’s blind date."

Seeing the man next to Yan Su and then glancing around at the various men and women in groups, Shen Mingzhu suddenly had an epiphany.

Using the guise of appreciating art to carry out matchmaking.

Tsk, high society really is different—their matchmaking events are so upscale.

Zhong Qing brought Shen Mingzhu here for two reasons: on one hand, to change her mood by watching the drama, and on the other, to use reality to tell Shen Mingzhu,

"These days, finding someone who truly loves you isn’t easy. You’re already much luckier than the majority of the people here."

After leaving the club, Shen Mingzhu didn’t return to work at the food factory but drove aimlessly around the streets instead.

Craftsmen weaving through the streets, roadside vendors, sanitation workers braving the bitter cold to clean, and the hurried crowd—all of them giving their all just for a few pieces of silver.

Her fussiness and pride seemed like mere whining without sickness in front of these people.

...

She returned home in the evening.

As she pushed open the bedroom door, her eyes immediately fell on a bouquet of bright and warm yellow roses placed on the dressing table.

She hung up her bag and coat, walked to the flowers, and picked up the card nestled among the roses.

My Wife: We may fight, but that doesn’t affect my love for you one bit, it’s a completely different matter. Here’s your New Year’s gift, given in advance, in the hopes of winning a smile from my wife.

Shen Mingzhu lifted the lid of the paper box, surprised to see the platinum bag inside.

It wasn’t the brand that surprised her, but the color of the bag.

Mint green, the very birthday present she had wanted to give herself at 25 in her previous life.

"Wife."

Pei Yang had come up behind her at some point, wrapping his arms gently around her waist, "Let’s not be angry anymore, okay? I know I was wrong, and I’ve already arranged for Xiao Dai to work at another company."

Shen Mingzhu shook the bag in her hand, "Where did this come from?"

"Of course I bought it."

Shen Mingzhu snorted, "You think this bag can be just bought on a whim?"

Not to mention the brand had yet to open stores in their country, but this limited edition model had strict purchasing conditions—ordinary people couldn’t acquire it even if they offered money.

"You didn’t get me a fake to fool me, did you?"

"How could it be fake? I spent 200,000 yuan!"

Shen Mingzhu was also taken aback, "200,000? Where did you get that kind of money?"

Usually, the couple’s money was managed by Shen Mingzhu, and though Pei Yang also had some private savings, it was nowhere near 200,000 yuan.

"I borrowed it from Chen Yi and my uncle."

Shen Mingzhu wanted to hit him with the bag but feared damaging it, so she opted to kick him instead.

"Borrowing 200,000 just to buy a bag?"

After getting kicked, Pei Yang’s face bore a look of happiness, assertively responding, "It’s to make you happy."

"Happy? You must want to get rid of me, right?"

Buying a bag for 200,000 yuan was enough to make her blood pressure skyrocket.

Pei Yang patted her back to soothe her, saying, "Money is an external thing, we can make more if it’s lost. The important thing is your happiness."

Shen Mingzhu glanced at him, turned to pick up her original Hermès bag, and compared the two carefully. The craftsmanship and components were almost identical, and only then did she feel relieved.

With the bag over her shoulder, Shen Mingzhu looked at herself in the mirror and decided to keep it.

Although it was excessively luxurious to spend 200,000 yuan on a bag given her current financial capability, a platinum bag, unlike other accessories, had significant appreciation potential and collector’s value.

She figured it as an investment.

"Wife, if you accept the bag, you can’t be angry anymore. Can I come back to sleep in our room tonight?"

Looking at the man’s ingratiating face, Shen Mingzhu scoffed, "Did I ever tell you to go sleep in the guest room?"

"I can’t help but want to hold you when I lie beside you, and I was afraid of waking you up or making you angry, so I had to sleep in the guest room."

This explanation seemed to satisfy Shen Mingzhu.

She looked at him and said, "There’s something I want to discuss with you."