The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 742 - 741 Explanation

Chapter 742: Chapter 741 Explanation

The woman’s smile was so beautiful, with eyes like autumn water that conveyed the tenderness of a mother and the friendliness of an older sister, which Ren Jingshu couldn’t help but covet uncontrollably.

She nodded slightly, agreeing.

Shen Mingzhu brewed a pot of jasmine tea.

Amid the curling fragrance of the tea, Ren Jingshu softly recounted the reasons for running away from home.

Shen Mingzhu listened attentively, occasionally refilling her cup with hot tea.

Perhaps because it was the first time she had opened up to someone, Ren Jingshu couldn’t help but speak for well over half an hour.

By the time she finished, dawn had already started to lighten the sky.

She drank tea to soothe her dry throat, and under Shen Mingzhu’s gentle gaze, she felt inexplicably downcast, "Auntie Shen, do you think I’m being too willful?"

Shen Mingzhu shook her head, "In this world, there is no true empathy. The snow that falls on one’s heart is invisible to others. So, I won’t make any comments on your thoughts and actions."

"But as someone older, I can offer you some guidance and direction. Do you have any plans for the future?"

Shen Mingzhu’s open-mindedness and wisdom not only made Ren Jingshu grateful, but also unknowingly melted the defenses of her heart.

"I plan to rent a temporary place to stay near the school."

Shen Mingzhu nodded, "Renting a place isn’t cheap, can you afford it?"

"I’ve saved up some money from working, so I should be able to afford a cheaper place."

Seeing the girl’s reluctance, Shen Mingzhu stood up, went back to her room, and brought out five hundred cash.

"Take this money and rent a safer place to live. As a girl living alone, you need to know how to protect yourself."

Ren Jingshu, looking at the money in her palm, was moved to tears by Auntie Shen’s concerned advice.

"Auntie Shen, we don’t know each other, why are you being so good to me?"

Shen Mingzhu smiled at her, "What I do is just a small effort within my means. If I want to help, I just do it, without so many whys."

"If you really want to know, maybe it’s because I once received selfless grace from others myself."

"Auntie Shen, thank you. I will definitely pay you back as soon as I can."

Watching the girl’s earnest face, Shen Mingzhu smiled slightly, "With the college entrance exam coming up, you should focus on your studies first. There’s no rush to pay me back."

After having breakfast with the Pei Family, Ren Jingshu and Pei Tang left the house together in Shen Mingzhu’s car.

Pei Tang’s school was just one street away from the home.

After dropping her daughter at the school gate, Shen Mingzhu had planned to drive Ren Jingshu to school as well, but Ren Jingshu refused, insisting on getting off at the bus station to take public transport.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t insist, but she admired the girl’s tenacity and independence.

Back at school, Ren Jingshu encountered Ren’s mother, whom she hadn’t seen for a long time.

Mother Ren’s face looked pretty bad, "Where were you last night? Why didn’t you come home?"

Ren Jingshu replied calmly, "You know very well the reason I’m not coming home. Isn’t it ridiculous for you to come and question me about last night? I should have been safely asleep in the dormitory bed, but you forced me to have nowhere to go."

"When exactly will you stop being so willful!? Look around you, everyone here is studying every minute they can, fighting for the college entrance exam in July. What are you doing?"

"Dancing in that kind of place for so little money, ruining your reputation and future! Do you have any idea what people outside are saying about you, how they see the Ren Family, your father and me?"

"We’ve raised you with utmost care since you were little. Even if you can’t bring honor to us, you shouldn’t let your dad and my face be trampled upon by others, right? Have you fed your conscience to the dogs?"

Ren Jingshu fell silent for a moment before speaking, "If having a conscience means obeying you, being controlled by you, then I’d rather be without such a conscience."

Mother Ren, furious, raised her hand to slap her.

But as she lifted her hand, she realized they were at the school gates and had to forcefully suppress her anger.

"Just come home with me obediently. I can overlook all your past willfulness and rebellion."

Ren Jingshu’s gaze fell on Mother Ren’s tightly clenched right hand, her eyes filled with mockery, "I don’t know if you truly don’t understand your own daughter, or if you simply don’t care about what I think."

"During the time I’ve been away from home, I had to study, practice dancing, earn money every day, and give my all for the future."

"But you, with a single word of ’willfulness,’ have lightly denied all my efforts and perseverance."

Mother Ren didn’t think she was wrong, "You’re just asking for trouble. The things you do only impress yourself; to others, it just seems laughable and foolish!"

With no common ground, Ren Jingshu couldn’t be bothered to argue any further and went straight into the school.

...

In the office.

When Teacher Fan heard that Ren Jingshu wanted to take a leave, her eyebrows knitted so tightly they could trap mosquitoes.

Having heard about Ren Jingshu not returning home the previous night from Mother Ren, Teacher Fan was disappointed in her, both as a mother and as a homeroom teacher.

She denied Ren Jingshu’s request to take leave and revoked her privilege of not attending the evening self-study.

"Starting today, you’ll attend the evening self-study on time like the other students, otherwise you’ll be marked as absent from class."

Facing the homeroom teacher’s stern approach, Ren Jingshu didn’t compromise. "Teacher Fan, I can attend the evening self-study, but you have to let me continue to live on campus. If I can’t stay on campus, then I won’t attend the evening self-study, because my personal safety is more important than anything else."

The evening self-study ends at 10 PM, and while it’s not much of a concern for the boys, the danger of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl walking home at night speaks for itself.

The girls who live off-campus either group together or have family members pick them up.

Teacher Fan’s original intention was to cooperate with Mother Ren and force Ren Jingshu to return home, but she hadn’t anticipated Ren Jingshu’s stubbornness, which ignited her temper.

"Jingshu, I can understand girls your age having some friction with family, but no matter how upset you are, you shouldn’t jest with your own future!"

"I’m not being petty. I just want to follow the path I’ve chosen, no matter how difficult it is, I won’t give up."

"Fine, fine, fine, I’m meddling too much. Do whatever you want!"

"Then I’d trouble Teacher Fan to help me re-process the paperwork for living on campus."

Though Teacher Fan was still fuming, she worried about Ren Jingshu’s safety if she rented a place outside, so she proceeded to help her with the paperwork to live on campus again.

After leaving the office, Ren Jingshu didn’t return to her classroom, but instead headed to the teaching building of the first year.

"What do you want with me?"

Staring at Ren Jingshu who had called her out of the classroom, Ren Yingying was both curious and defensive.

Ever since Ren Jingshu had severely dealt with her and warned her, she both hated and feared Ren Jingshu, always taking detours at school to avoid her, afraid that Ren Jingshu might go crazy and beat her up again, and more afraid that her family would find out about her reporting Ren Jingshu.

Ren Jingshu was straightforward, "Bring my luggage and bedding to school this afternoon."

Before Ren Yingying could refuse, Ren Jingshu gave her a sickly smile, "Or would you prefer I move back home? If I really return home, I promise you that not a day will go by peacefully for you."

Staring at Ren Jingshu’s tall, slender figure, Ren Yingying was so angry she almost stomped the soles of her shoes through.

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