The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 466 - 465: Eat When There’s Food, Earn When There’s Money

Chapter 466: Chapter 465: Eat When There’s Food, Earn When There’s Money

Shen Mingzhu finished her work and glanced at her watch, half past eleven.

Guessing that Pei Wenping must be feeling terrible after sending off her family, Shen Mingzhu picked up her bag and drove to the family quarters.

She parked the car, went upstairs, and knocked on the door.

The door was quickly opened from the inside, revealing Pei Wenping’s face with eyes red from crying.

Seeing her, Pei Wenping didn’t seem too surprised and asked her to come in with a hoarse voice.

Shen Mingzhu entered, placed her bag on the shoe cabinet, and bent down to open the cabinet door to get slippers.

Pei Wenping said, looking at her, "You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll make you something."

Shen Mingzhu followed her, "I’ll help you. It’s been a long time since we cooked together."

She opened the refrigerator, which was empty.

Pei Wenping felt a bit embarrassed, "I forgot to buy groceries. I’ll go down and buy some. What do you want to eat?"

Shen Mingzhu smiled, "Never mind, I’m not hungry yet. Let’s sit down and chat for a while. We can go downstairs to eat later."

Pei Wenping nodded.

"Big sister, are you alright?"

The tears that Pei Wenping had been holding back welled up again at Shen Mingzhu’s words of concern.

Though she had shed tears enough to form a sea, she said stubbornly, "I’m not crying because of the divorce. It’s because I can’t bear to part with the kids."

"Big sister, I understand," Shen Mingzhu said, offering a handkerchief with empathy.

Pei Wenping took the handkerchief, lowered her head, and sobbed.

During the days since the divorce, she had appeared to be fine on the surface, interacting harmoniously with the Chen family’s old couple, but inside, she had been holding back a lot of emotions.

Now that the old couple had taken the children to Shanghai City, she could finally stop hiding her true feelings.

Decades of marriage, a life built together—such things aren’t easily severed by a mere divorce certificate.

But a broken mirror can’t be made whole again, and no amount of repair will remove the cracks.

Just like the wounds caused by betrayal, they bring sadness upon thought and pain upon touch.

She insisted on the divorce not because she no longer loved, but because she still did.

Precisely because of love, she couldn’t forgive or let go of the betrayal and hurt she had suffered in the relationship.

The only solution was to cut the Gordian knot and set each other free from the entanglement that couldn’t be sorted out or severed.

"Mingzhu, I don’t understand why I’m so upset. I was the one who proposed the divorce, and I was the one who didn’t want the kids. But I’m really devastated..."

"Especially when I saw the train leaving, it felt like they had abandoned me. I feel so meaningless now. Work is meaningless, earning money is meaningless, and life is even more so."

Shen Mingzhu realized that Pei Wenping was experiencing post-traumatic stress. In such times, what one needs most is comfort and companionship from loved ones.

She sat down next to her and gently took her into her arms.

She spoke softly and gently, "Big sister, Xiaolu and Xiaochao are eleven this year. They’ll be starting middle school next year, followed by high school, university entrance exams, and then they’ll work, date, and get married. Children will eventually leave us—it’s just a matter of sooner or later."

"The same goes for a partner. It’s wonderful if we can grow old together, but if we can’t, we needn’t force it."

"Each person is an independent individual, and the only one who can accompany you for a lifetime is yourself. Loving yourself the most is the greatest responsibility to oneself."

Pei Wenping nestled in her arms like a child, tears streaming down like rain.

"Mingzhu, the song you sang the other night, could you sing it again for me?"

"Sure."

I can’t predict for you

Whether it’s any use to compromise all the time

But how I hate to see

A friend suffer so much in love

...

"It’s so beautiful, what’s the name of this song?"

"Love’s Farewell."

"Who sang that? I’ll go buy a tape someday."

"I dreamt about it."

Pei Wenping looked incredulous, "Are you kidding me?"

"Really."

Pei Wenping wasn’t sure whether to believe that or not, but her mood definitely improved a lot.

She sighed, got up, and said, "I’ll wash my face and change clothes, then let’s go out to eat. We can even make it back in time for work in the afternoon."

If she was considering work, it seemed she truly let go.

Shen Mingzhu felt relieved, walked around the room by herself, and then checked the balcony.

The balcony used to be filled with flowers and plants, but now they had all been moved to the old Western-style house, leaving it empty and forlorn. She needed to find time to go to the flower and bird market to buy some new ones, and the house also needed some new decorative items and appliances.

Shen Mingzhu was silently calculating in her mind, planning to make this house a little cozier, so the person living here could feel better.

The next day, after finishing her work, Shen Mingzhu took Pei Qiuxia and drove to the flower and bird market.

She picked out ten pots of flowers and a tank of goldfish in one go.

When leaving, she ran into an old farmer carrying a bamboo cage, selling kittens.

Shen Mingzhu chose a domestic cat, with orange fur on its back and tail, a snow-white belly and paws, and a body not much bigger than a palm, all fluffy and milky.

Shen Mingzhu had the key to the quarters, so she went straight in and carried everything upstairs.

Once everything was arranged, Pei Wenping had just gotten off work and returned.

Seeing the living room and balcony transformed into a beautiful and stylish space, she was both touched and joyful.

Especially upon seeing the kitten balled up in a cardboard box, she verbally chided Shen Mingzhu for giving her trouble but honestly cradled the kitten in her arms, her face showing an unmistakable fondness.

What mother wouldn’t love a little creature?

...

By the time she went downstairs, it was already getting dark.

At the gate to the quarters, she ran into Shen Baolan pushing her snack cart back.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t plan to acknowledge her, but Shen Baolan crowded in like a hound, "Shen Mingzhu, I heard that Pei Yang’s sister got divorced? Her man doesn’t want her anymore?"

Although Pei Wenping’s divorce was kept secret from the outside world, the fact that she moved back to her mother’s house without a word and Chen Yi took his parents and child to Shanghai City, the whole quarters were gossiping about their marriage troubles.

Shen Mingzhu gestured for Pei Qiuxia to wait for her at the parked car.

Once Pei Qiuxia left, Shen Mingzhu finally looked Shen Baolan in the eye, "Shen Baolan, just eat your food and earn your money, and mind your own business instead of poking your nose into my eldest sister’s affairs. If I find out you’ve been spreading rumors about her behind her back, I’ll come and settle the score with you!"

Watching Shen Mingzhu’s receding figure, Shen Baolan spat in disdain, privately revelling in her misfortune.

Once, she had stirred up trouble in front of Pei Wenping, and instead of dealing with Shen Mingzhu, Pei Wenping had stormed over to curse her out, which caused her great embarrassment. She still held a grudge for that.

Now the tables had turned, and Pei Wenping had become a deserted wife, which filled her with glee.

She was just waiting for the day when Shen Mingzhu’s bad luck would come.

But she was different.

Her man had already gone down south for big business, and in a couple of years, she was sure to become a rich lady, live a good life, and step all over Shen Mingzhu.

In the car.

Pei Qiuxia hesitantly asked, "President Shen, did my cousin really get divorced from Brother Chen Yi?"

To completely keep it from the twin siblings, Pei Wenping even kept her relatives and friends in the dark.

While everyone speculated, no one had received confirmation from the people directly involved.

"Don’t pry into the affairs of society too much."

Although they couldn’t keep it a secret forever, it still couldn’t come from her mouth.

Pei Qiuxia wisely didn’t pursue the matter any further. freewebnσvel.cøm

...

After the fifteen days of the New Year had passed, the self-study examination results were released.

As it was the first day, many students came to get their transcript, and a long queue formed outside the office.

Shen Hongmei had just taken her place at the end of the line when someone called out to her from behind—