The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 90: Good Advice Is Hard to Persuade a Stubborn Fool

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Good Advice Is Hard to Persuade a Stubborn Fool

Just before noon, Pei Yang returned home, carrying the army-green thermos Pei Wenping had brought over in the morning.

However, given its light weight, he had probably finished the soup inside.

"Mingzhu, what’s for lunch?"

"Air."

Pei Yang, who was changing his shoes, glanced at her and smiled, then sat down beside her after he had put on his shoes.

"Still angry?"

Shen Mingzhu, flipping through the book in her hands, said, "What’s there for me to be angry about?"

It was just soup, as if she had never had any before.

"Don’t be mad. How about I pay you back those thirty bucks?"

Shen Mingzhu turned to look at the man, about to say that she wasn’t upset about Qin Jinlian stealing the thirty bucks, but upon seeing him pull thirty dollars from his bag, her intended words changed to, "Where did you get money? You’ve been hiding money on the side?"

Pei Yang chuckled, "I gave you my salary, where would I find money to hide? This is the money for the cigarettes and liquor I got for Shuhuan last time. He got paid today and converted it into cash for me, exactly thirty bucks."

Shen Mingzhu unceremoniously took the money and glanced at the thermos on the tea table.

"What good stuff did big sister bring for you today?"

Pei Yang scratched his ear, "Nothing much, just some soup. I couldn’t finish it, so I took it to Shuhuan to drink."

Shen Mingzhu felt somewhat unhappy inside but didn’t say much out loud.

Getting angry over some soup, she felt embarrassed just thinking about it.

Pei Yang vaguely sensed her mood, "You’re not happy?"

"Not at all."

Pei Yang tilted his head slightly and stared at her with a smile, "Your lips are pouting so much you could hang an oil bottle off them, yet you say you’re not."

Shen Mingzhu rolled her eyes and decided to have an open and frank conversation with this shameless man.

"There are three people in this family. If you can’t finish the soup, you could leave it for Ziheng and me. What’s the point of giving it to Shuhuan? Is he your wife or your son?"

"Mingzhu, you look so cute when you’re angry, like a little penny-pincher."

Pei Yang continued to rest his chin on his hand and laugh. The more he laughed, the angrier Shen Mingzhu got.

Men can be infuriating in that way. When you’re being serious and earnest, they think you’re joking.

Seeing that Shen Mingzhu was truly angry, Pei Yang hurriedly explained, "This soup isn’t right for you and Ziheng to drink."

If it were any other day, Shen Mingzhu might have guessed something, but in her anger, her mind was running a little slow, and she blurted, "What kind of soup can’t I drink?"

"Deer antler stewed with rooster."

"..."

"My sister thought I was not in good health, so she got someone to buy some deer antler, saying it was for my health. I wouldn’t dare drink that. So, I could only give it to Shuhuan’s family to drink."

"...Wait, why would big sister think you’re not up to par?"

"What do you think?"

The topic was getting stranger, and Shen Mingzhu decisively changed the subject, "Let’s have wontons for lunch. I’ll prepare the filling, and you go buy some green onions and wonton wrappers."

Pei Yang remained seated, still holding her hand, not letting her go.

"It’s already March. How long do you plan to make me wait? Can you give me a definite answer?"

The man hadn’t mentioned it, but as soon as he did, Shen Mingzhu suddenly realized that this might be the last half of the month she’d spend with him.

Her heart suddenly felt as if it had been pricked by a needle, a bit numb.

"Pei Yang, can you not go?"

If he gave up being a sailor, if he stayed at home all the time, maybe they could change their doomed fates?

However, Pei Yang didn’t know what she was thinking and teased her with a playful tone, "What, can’t bear to let me go?"

"Forget it, pretend I never said anything."

Shen Mingzhu shook off his hand, stood up to head to the kitchen, but after only two steps, the man pulled her back to the sofa.

He asked her in a serious tone, "Mingzhu, do you dislike my job?"

Shen Mingzhu thought for a moment and explained gently, "I just think being a seafarer is too dangerous; you might encounter disasters that human strength simply can’t withstand."

Pei Yang laughed, his wife still cared about him after all.

"Mingzhu, don’t worry, the technology for sailing has matured a lot nowadays. In the past few years since I joined the merchant navy, I’ve been on dozens of trips, large and small, haven’t I? And I’m fine, right? My master has been a seafarer his whole life too, he has been through lots of storms, but he also pulled through."

"Ever since I was very little, my dad was a seafarer. Every time he came home, he would hold me and tell me about his experiences at sea, and he would bring back all kinds of strange and exotic toys. So, I’ve been curious about and longing for the sea since childhood, dreaming of becoming a seafarer when I grew up."

"After I was discharged from the military, I could have gone to many places, but I still wanted to go to the merchant navy the most. Every time I’m on the seas, looking at the endless ocean, I would wonder if my dad had also once stood where I stand, and I would feel like he’s always with me, proud of me."

"Mingzhu, being a seafarer is not just a job for me, it’s a calling. I hope you can support me, be understanding, okay?"

From Pei Yang’s sincere tone and his resolute eyes, Shen Mingzhu could tell that he truly loved and was dedicated to his profession.

Probably no one in this world could make him give up his passion.

So——

Good advice is no match for a damned stubborn ghost; compassion fails to save the self-doomed.

——

Perhaps out of a sense of compensation, Pei Yang started treating her even better in the following period, not only taking care of all the household chores but also taking care of dropping off and picking up Pei Ziheng from school, and from time to time, he would surprise her with little sweet gestures and surprises.

Like buying her roses, various small jewelry, or her favorite snacks and desserts.

By contrast, Shen Mingzhu’s response seemed very subdued.

Because every time Pei Yang did these things, all she could think about was that the man smiling at her was on a countdown to the end of his life, and she might never see him again afterward; it felt like a fishbone stuck in her throat.

Therefore, when she received a call from Yan Yi, asking if she wanted to take part in the study group’s weekend activities, she agreed without a second thought.

She needed to meet new friends to distract her attention.

But after she met with the members of the study group, she regretted it a little.

Not only were there more members than she had anticipated, but that young woman who had pulled at her bag strap last time was also among them.

The woman’s name was Sun Feifei.

Unlike the aggressiveness of last time, today’s Sun Feifei was quite gracious, immediately apologizing to Shen Mingzhu for the last incident as soon as they met.

It’s hard to resent someone who comes to you with a smile.

If Shen Mingzhu continued to hold a grudge, it would appear petty and put her at a disadvantage.

The self-taught examination system in Fengcheng began as a trial last year, and there weren’t many majors to choose from. Among them, Chinese Language and Literature, being relatively easy and with a high chance of earning a doctorate, became popular.

Of the ten or so people in the entire study group, half of them were in Chinese Language and Literature, including Sun Feifei.

The group leader Yan Yi was studying accounting, but whether it was due to family tradition or his own wide range of knowledge, he was able to provide insights and analysis for every major and even offer suitable study plans.

Even Shen Mingzhu, a graduate student from the 21st century, couldn’t help but admire him.

It was warm inside, so everyone had taken off their coats. Compared to other men in thick sweaters and corduroy pants, Yan Yi, dressed in a shirt, vest, and tie, looked strikingly handsome and refined like a gentleman, and he stood out stunningly.

Many female students blushed and sneakily glanced at Yan Yi, and even Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but steal dozens of looks.

Who doesn’t like to look at a handsome guy?

Compared to the subtlety of the other female students, Sun Feifei was much more direct.

Every so often, she would approach Yan Yi with a question about something she didn’t understand.

Asking questions wasn’t the issue; the main problem was that each time Sun Feifei got up, she would move her stool, and the sound of her heels clacking on the floor as she walked greatly distracted the others.

Unable to bear it any longer, a female student spoke up, "Sun Feifei, you might as well move your seat next to Yan Yi’s."

Shen Mingzhu immediately looked up, giving a mental thumbs-up to the brave woman.

Then, she heard Sun Feifei ask——

"Mingzhu, do you think I should move and sit next to Yan Yi?"

I mean, seriously? Is she sick in the head? Why the hell would she cue me into this?