The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 86: Is Pei Yang Not Up to It?

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Is Pei Yang Not Up to It?

Pei Wenping was straightforward and got straight to the point, which caught Shen Mingzhu by surprise for a moment before she gathered her wits.

"Big sister, why would you say that?"

Pei Wenping looked at her and told her about the visit to her parents’ house a few days earlier, where she found out that the couple were sleeping in separate rooms.

After finishing, she took Shen Mingzhu’s hand, "Mingzhu, Pei Yang is my only brother, and I regard you as my own sister. I sincerely hope you can live a good life with Pei Yang. If you have any thoughts or demands, feel free to mention them. We will meet your needs as much as we can."

Initially, Shen Mingzhu was somewhat angry.

Although Pei Wenping spoke in a joking tone, there was still a certain forcefulness in her words.

And deep inside, she never felt that her refusal of Pei Yang was wrong.

But just then, she thought of Yang Lizhen.

She once viewed Yang Lizhen as pretentious—already married and making various demands while expecting a child. She found it outrageous.

Perhaps in Pei Wenping’s eyes, she was no different from Yang Lizhen.

All that money spent to bring home a bride for the brother, who was always looked after with utmost diligence, only to find that she refused to consummate the marriage when push came to shove.

Shen Mingzhu felt stifled inside but didn’t know how to explain to Pei Wenping that she was not from this era. She valued freedom in love and marriage and wasn’t ready to be a wife to Pei Yang yet.

"Big sister, I don’t have any demands. I just want to spend more time getting to know each other, to see if we are truly suited for one another."

"What if after spending time together, you feel it’s not fitting? Do you plan to divorce then?"

Shen Mingzhu was at a loss for words.

She had considered divorce before, but deep down she hadn’t seriously pondered the matter.

Or rather, she hadn’t yet resolved to take action toward divorce.

"Big sister, I haven’t thought about it yet."

Pei Wenping looked at her for a while, sighed, then gestured for her to turn around. She began to scrub her back with a soft cotton cloth, all the while murmuring incessantly in her ear, "I’ve been your age too. When I was young, I was dying to stick with your brother-in-law every day, and it was torture not to see him for even a day. If it were me and your brother-in-law did Pei Yang’s job, barely seeing him all year, I’m afraid I would go mad."

"My mother had experienced it too, so she was against Pei Yang becoming a sailor from the start. But my father didn’t see it that way. He thought it was an honor for Pei Yang to take over his mantle. Pei Yang himself also liked the job, loved to roam around, and anyway couldn’t stay put at home. He’d even be happy to go to the heavens if asked."

"Before my mother passed away, her only worry was about Pei Yang; she feared he’d never be able to find a wife in this life."

"Fortunately, he managed to get married, and to such a good girl at that. I often think, it must be my mother watching over us from the beyond. Otherwise, how could Pei Yang have such good fortune to marry a fine girl like you?"

"Mingzhu, can we be sisters-in-law for life?"

Shen Mingzhu: "..."

"If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as your agreement, okay?"

"..."

"Then it’s settled. We’ll be sisters-in-law for life, no turning back."

No, really, is this domineering compulsion a hereditary trait of the Pei Family?

After the hot spring bath, Chen Yi drove them to a nearby farmhouse restaurant for dinner.

After dinner, when preparing to return to town, Chen Yi went out briefly and came back to report that the car had broken down.

Pei Wenping suggested they stay overnight here and return the next day.

If you were to say that this wasn’t deliberate on the part of the couple, Shen Mingzhu could twist off her head and offer it to them as a stool.

But even knowing Pei Wenping’s scheme and that the car was definitely not broken, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t just expose them and cause them to lose face.

Unless she truly intended to not live with Pei Yang anymore.

Unlike the convenience of future times, it took the four of them a while to find a farmer’s inn that could accommodate guests.

As luck would have it, there were only two rooms left.

Before Shen Mingzhu could suggest sharing a room with Pei Wenping, Pei Wenping shoved one of the room keys into Pei Yang’s hand, then hurriedly entered the other room with Chen Yi, shutting the door promptly as if afraid to hesitate even a second longer.

Shen Mingzhu turned and glared at Pei Yang with his innocent expression, unwilling to give up she sought out the owner for another room, but the owner’s response left Shen Mingzhu speechless.

The inn had only two guest rooms. All other rooms were occupied by the owner’s family.

Shen Mingzhu turned around, intending to ask Pei Wenping to switch rooms with her, so Pei Wenping could sleep with her. However, Pei Yang simply opened the door to his room and, taking her hand, pulled her in.

"My sister and brother-in-law rarely get a chance to enjoy their own company, so let’s not bother them. We can manage for one night."

Shen Mingzhu glanced at the only double bed in the room and sneered, "How are we going to manage this? You’re going to sleep on the floor?"

Pei Yang looked at her, a smile in his eyes, "Can I sleep on the chair?"

"Whatever you want."

Shen Mingzhu huffed, walked to the bed, took off her shoes, and lay down on the bed as she was, ready to sleep.

Pei Yang watched her for a while, took off his jacket and hung it on the wall, then sat down in the bamboo chair, looked around the room, and after finding a comfortable position, he began to close his eyes and rest.

Apart from the breathing of the two, there were no other sounds in the room, making the atmosphere eerily quiet.

After a while, Shen Mingzhu suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the man, "Are you really going to sit in that chair all night?"

A flicker of amusement crossed Pei Yang’s eyes, "Otherwise, are you willing to share half of the bed with me?"

Wishful thinking.

Shen Mingzhu sat up, took her jacket off, and placed it at the foot of the bed, then pulled over the only blanket to cover herself.

"Use my jacket to keep you warm."

"No need, just sleep, don’t worry about me."

Forget it then.

Shen Mingzhu turned over with a huff, back facing the man, and closed her eyes to sleep.

A few minutes passed, and Shen Mingzhu’s sleep became increasingly uncomfortable.

The room’s heating was very strong, and she hadn’t shed her trousers and sweater, plus she was under a blanket; soon she began to sweat.

Seeing her suddenly sit up and throw off the blanket, Pei Yang teased with a smile yet not a smile, "Are there bedbugs on the bed?"

Shen Mingzhu, holding the blanket, got out of bed and walked in front of him, "You sleep on the bed, I’ll sleep on the chair."

Her thinking was, the chair would be colder, so wearing clothes and wrapping herself in the blanket wouldn’t be too hot.

However, her antics gradually wore down Pei Yang’s patience.

He stood up, blanket and all, and in one motion picked her up.

The sudden lift made Shen Mingzhu exclaim in surprise.

The next second, she was placed on the bed, and then Pei Yang lay down as well, the old wooden bed creaking loudly twice under the weight of both of them.

"Go to sleep, I won’t touch you, but if you keep doing this and that, I can’t guarantee I won’t," he said.

After that, Pei Yang closed his eyes.

As she stared at the man’s handsome and determined profile, Shen Mingzhu’s pounding heart gradually calmed down.

"I’m feeling a bit hot."

Hearing her words, Pei Yang opened his eyes and looked at her from the side.

With a trace of discomfort on her face, Shen Mingzhu said, "I want to take off my clothes, turn your back."

After watching her for a moment, Pei Yang turned away from her.

Shen Mingzhu hid under the thick blanket, rustling as she took off her trousers and sweater, feeling much more comfortable once she was done.

But because of her movements, the wooden bed creaked several more times.

"Turn off the lights."

Pei Yang turned back and saw his wife covered up from head to toe, only exposing a round, adorable little head, her silky black hair spread out on the pillow, her moist, almond eyes blinking.

The frustration in his heart suddenly dissipated.

Oh well, she is young, and she’s a bit pampered; he’s several years older than her, so what’s the harm in indulging her a bit?

In the next room, Pei Wenping pressed her face tightly against the wall, her ears almost melting into the wallpaper.

"Why is there no movement now?"

"So soon?"

"Could it be Pei Yang is not up to it?"

Chen Yi: "..."

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