Chapter 71 - 71 71 Bullying children is nothing to brag about, come on, bully me
The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 71: Chapter 71 Bullying children is nothing to brag about, come on, bully me Chapter 71: Chapter 71 Bullying children is nothing to brag about, come on, bully me âNo, itâs just something I picked up casually.â
Shen Mingzhu subconsciously denied, feeling oddly uncomfortable inside.
Pei Yang looked at her intently, with a firm tone, âIt is for me, you wonât even admit it.
Xiaohuanâs towels and toothbrushes were just changed last month.â
âTheyâre just everyday items.
Weâll use them at home as needed.
Why must it be for you?â
Pei Yang didnât say anything more, but he was convinced in his heart that his wife had bought it for him.
He was just too shy to admit it, and he couldnât help feeling secretly pleased.
His pleasure made him more talkative, âOf all the gold bracelets at the counter, this one was the most beautiful.
The others were too old-fashioned.
As soon as the salesman took it out, everyone desperately scrambled for it, but none of them were as strong as me, and I was the one who snatched it in the end.â
Shen Mingzhu was indifferent about buying a gold bracelet.
It was a Buddha-like state of mind, fine with or without it.
But seeing the manâs animated and triumphant face, a sentence came to her mindâ
Men die young at heart.
The man standing before her at this moment seemed like a somewhat silly yet adorable youth.
He was so genuine that she couldnât help but be moved.
âWhich hand do you women usually wear it on?â
Shen Mingzhu thought for a while and raised her left hand, as the right hand needed to work, and wearing a bracelet could easily get in the way.
Pei Yang slid the gold bracelet onto her slender, pale wrist.
The creamy and delicate section of her wrist, once adorned with the glittering bracelet, didnât look tacky at all but rather made her skin appear even more tender and fair.
âIt looks good.â
After saying that, he frowned, âI bought the smallest size possible, but why does it still look too big on you?
Donât you eat regularly?
Why is your wrist so thin?â
Then he laughed, revealing his teeth, âLuckily it has a hinge, so it can be adjusted in size.
Otherwise, we would have to find a goldsmith to alter it.â
As he spoke, Pei Yang firmly grasped the bracelet, and in no time, he made the circlet smaller.
The two lotus pods, originally facing each other, intertwined to form a twin lotus on a single stalk.
Pei Yang looked at the twin lotus he had crafted with satisfaction and smiled, âYou wear it for now.
When the year end comes, Iâll take you to buy a gold necklace.
You donât seem to have pierced ears.
Do you want to get them done?
We can buy you a pair of earrings then.
Your earlobes are fair, plump, and round; they would certainly look good with gold earringsâ¦â
As Pei Yang spoke, lively and enthusiastic, Shen Mingzhuâs heart unexpectedly began to sour.
According to the story in the book, he wouldnât live past a year, so it would not be possible for him to take her to buy a gold necklace at the end of the year.
With this in mind, Shen Mingzhuâs eyes suddenly misted over.
Seeing her close to tears, Pei Yang was puzzled at first but then he thought his wife must have suffered a lot in her childhood and had never seen fine things before, which was why she was so moved by a gold bracelet.
âMingzhu.â
He affectionately grasped his wifeâs delicate hand in his palm, his deep voice filled with indulgence, âDonât worry, youâve married me, and I will be responsible for you all my life.
I will try my best to give you a good life with endless dresses to wear and gold jewelry to adorn yourself with.â
The more the man spoke like this, the more pained Shen Mingzhu felt inside.
But she couldnât confide in anyone, so she had to suppress these feelings in her heart and deal with them alone.
To mask her emotions, Shen Mingzhu changed the subject and asked what else he intended to buy.
Pei Yang responded that he wanted to buy two sets of winter clothes for his nephew and niece.
Thus, the two detoured to the clothing counters.
âIâll carry it.â
They had barely taken a few steps when Pei Yang signaled her to hand over the nylon bag she was holding.
Shen Mingzhu passed the nylon bag to him without thinking as her emotions had not yet subsided.
As Pei Yang took the nylon bag, his other hand naturally took hold of hers.
His large, broad palm enveloped her hand completely, the fiery warmth of his hand heating hers warmly.
âLetâs go.â
Shen Mingzhu was stunned for two seconds before she instinctively tried to pull her hand away, but the man seemed to have anticipated this and held her even tighter, turning to smile at her and saying, âI feel more at ease holding your hand; there are so many people here, what if you get lost?
Where would I find you then?â
Speechless, Shen Mingzhu rolled her eyes but stopped struggling.
It was just holding hands; itâs not like it would cost her a piece of flesh.
However, while being led by the man like this, the discomfort in her heart slowly faded.
The two quickly reached the childrenâs clothing counter on the first floor, where Pei Yang asked her to help pick out two outfits.
After making their choices and paying, they were ready to head home.
Shen Mingzhu grabbed him, âYou bought for your nephew and niece, arenât you going to buy a set for your own son?
What kind of father does that?
Besides New Yearâs money, he gets nothing else.â
Pei Yang looked at her with a smile in his eyes, âDidnât you, his mother, already buy our son a Walkman?â
âThat was for Ziheng, it has nothing to do with you.â
âWhatâs yours and mine?
Weâre in this together.
Itâs good enough that you bought it; besides, you often buy clothes for Ziheng.
Letâs go, thereâs no need to coddle boys too much.â
Seeing Pei Yangâs unconcerned attitude, Shen Mingzhu couldnât help but think that Pei Ziheng turned into a dark and twisted antagonist in the original book, and Pei Yang, as a father, probably had his share of responsibility.
It wasnât to say that Pei Yang intentionally ignored his son Pei Ziheng, but a manâs heart will never be as delicate as a womanâs.
And they will not understand that a childâs heart is fragile, sensitive, and lacks a sense of security.
How others behaved was none of her business; as for her, she wouldnât let it be that her brothers and sisters had new clothes to wear while Pei Ziheng, her little brother, could only watch enviously.
After giving the manâs back a glare, Shen Mingzhu turned and went back to the counter.
Pei Yang had walked some distance before realizing his wife hadnât followed.
Turning back, he saw her choosing clothes at the childrenâs counter.
Seeing his wife dote on their son made Pei Yang naturally happy, but then he thought about how she hadnât even bought him a pair of socks, and he felt a burst of sourness in his heart.
In the whole family, he was the most pitiful one, even the flowers and plants on the balcony received his wifeâs meticulous care and attention.
Who was he to complain to?
â-
When they returned to the Chen family home, Pei Yang gave the two sets of winter clothes to Pei Wenping.
Pei Wenping was not modest and immediately took them out for the twins to try on.
Kids being kids, they naturally got excited about new clothes, hopping and jumping around, while the adults gathered around, laughing and taking turns complimenting them.
Shen Mingzhu joined in the praise but then noticed her stepson sitting silently on the sofa.
She got up and sat next to her stepson, whispering, âZiheng, I bought you a sportswear set.
Try it on when we get home, and if it doesnât fit we can exchange it tomorrow.â
Not sure if he was surprised or not, Pei Ziheng stared at her with his dark eyes for a long while before slowly muttering an âOh.â
Shen Mingzhu ruffled his hair, intentionally messing it up even more.
In the past, Pei Ziheng would always dodge to the side, clearly displeased, and today was no exception.
But just as he started to move away, he stopped himself, then slowly straightened up, allowing Shen Mingzhu to mess with his hair without struggling or resisting.
He was already handsome and pretty, and his docile demeanor made him look even more charmingly soft and cute, which made Shen Mingzhu want to pinch him fiercely.
Just at that moment, Pei Yang came over and stopped Shen Mingzhuâs mischief.
âWhat kind of skill is it to bully a child so big?
Come on, bully me instead.â
Shen Mingzhu immediately performed a change of facial expression faster than flipping a book, instantaneously withdrawing the happiness and smile from her face.
Pei Yang: ââ¦â
What?
Was he not as fun to play with as their son?