The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 48 - Stepmothers are Two-faced
Chapter 48: Chapter 48 Stepmothers are Two-faced
Chapter 48 -48 Stepmothers are Two-faced
Ma Sufen was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan while searching for her grandson when she suddenly heard such a statement, feeling as if a needle had pricked her heart.
The roads were slippery with snow, and she had initially disagreed with her daughter-in-law going out, fearing she might slip or catch a cold, but her daughter-in-law insisted that staying at home was too stifling and she wanted to go out for a chat.
As it turned out, it wasn’t her daughter-in-law who had an accident but her eldest grandson who went missing!
Ma Sufen glared at Shen Baolan, her gaze as sharp as a knife, “Tell me, did you intentionally lose Xiaohao?”
Shen Baolan was both upset and angry, crying out her innocence, “Mom, how could I do such a thing, you know how I treat Xiaohao on a daily basis.”
Zhou Shuhuan didn’t believe Shen Baolan was such a malicious person, especially since it was his own son who had run out of the classroom, so he spoke up in her defense.
Under Zhou Shuhuan’s persuasion, Ma Sufen didn’t voice her suspicions anymore, but her gaze at Shen Baolan still carried dissatisfaction and scrutiny.
Once the seed of doubt is sown, it’s hard to uproot.
Shen Baolan, infuriated, turned her spearhead towards Shen Mingzhu, “It was you!
You’re the one who taught Pei Ziheng to say such things, right?
Shen Mingzhu, what grudge do we have that you spread such nonsense to ruin my reputation?
Do you want to see me dead that badly, how can you be so heartless…”
Shen Mingzhu was both speechless and wronged but didn’t defend herself.
She was Pei Ziheng’s stepmother and guardian, and was responsible for all of his words and deeds.
Thinking this, she apologized to Ma Sufen and Zhou Shuhuan, “Ziheng is young and talks nonsense, Aunt Ma, Shuhuan, please don’t take it to heart, Zhou Hao probably ran off to play somewhere, you shouldn’t be too anxious…”
Before she could finish, Shen Baolan rudely interrupted her, “It’s not your child that’s lost, you can talk without a care!
Shen Mingzhu!
If Xiaohao is found, all is good, but if he’s not, the Pei family will be responsible!”
Shen Mingzhu looked coldly at Shen Baolan, “It seems to me you’re almost hoping Zhou Hao won’t be found.”
Shen Baolan screamed as if she was a cat whose tail had been stepped on, “Don’t spout nonsense!
Today’s incident can’t be separated from your Pei Ziheng, get him to come out and say what he did to my Xiaohao.
He left the classroom with him and then suddenly he’s gone!”
Hearing Shen Baolan say this, Ma Sufen and Zhou Shuhuan immediately turned their attention to Pei Ziheng.
Ma Sufen rushed to pull Pei Ziheng over, but Shen Mingzhu was quicker to shield him behind her.
“Out of the way, Pei family’s, I have questions for Pei Ziheng!”
“You can ask questions, but don’t get physical.
Your grandson is precious, and so is my Pei Ziheng.
If anyone hurts him, I don’t care who it is, I will fight them with my life!”
“Sufen, let’s talk calmly.
I know you’re anxious about losing your grandson, but it’s not the Pei family daughter-in-law’s fault.
Instead of running over here and making a scene, it would be better to spend that time searching.
Perhaps then you’ll find him.”
“Yeah, Pei Ziheng is still so young, what does he know.”
With Shen Mingzhu taking a strong stance, and the onlookers from downstairs siding with her, Ma Sufen didn’t dare to be too aggressive.
At this point, Pei Ziheng took the initiative to talk about his conversation with Zhou Hao outside the classroom.
“…Zhou Hao wanted my Rubik’s Cube, but I didn’t give it to him.
Later I mentioned that he would soon have a little brother, and he would no longer be the most pampered one at home, then he turned around and ran off.”
Zhou Shuhuan quickly asked, “Ran off to where?”
Pei Ziheng shook his head, “I went to the toilet, and when I came out, I didn’t see Zhou Hao.”
Shen Baolan yelled at Pei Ziheng furiously, “Why would you say that to him, what were you thinking?
So young and already learning to gossip, Shen Mingzhu, you’ve really done a great job teaching the child to say these things!”
Pei Ziheng pretended to be scared and shrank back, his little face full of grievance and confusion, “It wasn’t Aunt Mingzhu who taught me, I guessed.
It was you who said it in the classroom, that you like sour food and you must be carrying a boy in your belly.
You also said that Grandma Ma and Uncle Zhou were both especially looking forward to the little brother’s birth.”
Shen Baolan was dumbfounded.
She had indeed said such things, but it was only to show off to Shen Mingzhu and the other mothers, with some exaggeration.
How could she have imagined that Pei Ziheng would overhear and then go tell Zhou Hao.
This really threw her.
Shen Baolan looked at her mother-in-law guiltily and aggrieved.
Sure enough, the latter’s eyes were so fierce that she seemed to wish she could pierce two holes in Shen Baolan’s face.
Shen Baolan shrank back behind Zhou Shuhuan.
Even the usually mild-tempered Zhou Shuhuan couldn’t hold back this time; his gaze was full of reproach and condemnation towards Shen Baolan.
Shen Mingzhu felt a sense of relief, as if a burden had been lifted off her.
Look, it was you, Shen Baolan, who talked recklessly outside, and the child overheard it.
Though the child is small, he still has his own thoughts.
It was your words that drove your stepson away.
At that moment, someone ran down from upstairs with the message that Zhou Hao had been found.
The Zhou family members immediately scrambled downstairs.
The nosy neighbors also went back to their homes one by one.
Shen Mingzhu closed the door, turned around, and looked at Pei Ziheng.
“Who taught you that?”
Pei Ziheng blinked, uncertain whether Shen Mingzhu was asking in English or something else, and kept his lips sealed in silence.
“The stepmother, after having her own biological child, would not care for her stepchild anymore and may even deliberately try to lose the stepchild so she could only raise her own biological child.”
“Who taught you these words?
Hmm?”
Pei Ziheng answered, “I heard them from other people.”
“Who said it?”
“Everyone says that stepmothers are two-faced, pretending to be virtuous and kind in front of others, but who knows how they might secretly treat their stepchildren.”
The more Shen Mingzhu listened, the more tightly she frowned.
“Nonsense!
Anyone who tells you such things has bad intentions.
They have filth in their own hearts and see everyone else as the same!”
“Would you do what they say you would?”
Gazing into her stepson’s deep, dark, and bright eyes, Shen Mingzhu suddenly had the eerie feeling of being watched by a demon from hell, sending shivers down her spine.
She looked earnestly at her stepson, “Under any circumstances, I will never bully the weak.
I may not be the perfect stepmother, but I can assure you I will never hurt you.”
“Oh.”
You’d better keep to that, or else, or else…
he hadn’t thought it through yet, but he would find a way to punish her.
Pei Ziheng thought expressionlessly.
—-
Meanwhile, the Zhou family was embroiled in a heated argument over Zhou Hao’s running away.
As it turned out, Zhou Hao, spurred by Pei Ziheng’s words, had run off to his grandmother’s house to find his birth mother.
Fortunately, Zhou Hao had a good memory.
From the kindergarten to Zhou Shuhuan’s ex-wife’s house, it was a full two kilometers away, and he had to cross four blocks, but amazingly, he didn’t get lost or go astray.
His ex-wife sent Zhou Hao back, but not before lambasting Zhou Shuhuan and the Zhou family.
As she was leaving, the ex-wife glared at Shen Baolan’s belly and dropped a harsh warning: if the Zhou family started to neglect Zhou Hao because of the new grandson, she could very well take back custody of Zhou Hao.
After Zhou Shuhuan’s ex-wife left, Ma Sufen pointed at Shen Baolan’s nose and cursed her out.
Shen Baolan, armed with the child in her womb, fought back just as fiercely against Ma Sufen and even threatened to return to her parents’ home.
What should have been a peaceful New Year’s Day ended up with the Zhou family in complete turmoil, providing ample gossip and entertainment for the entire residential compound.
Although Zhou Hao returned home safely, Shen Baolan’s days were anything but peaceful.
