The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 869 - 868: Huang Chunyu’s Capture

"This is my husband," the proprietress explained with a smile as she noticed Shen Mingzhu’s gaze falling on her man.

The man seemed not very sociable, merely glancing over at Shen Mingzhu in a hurry before turning his face away.

Shen Mingzhu returned a smile to the proprietress, offering polite praise for the good cooking, and when her daughter came out of the restroom, she turned and went back to the restaurant outside.

After the proprietress had delivered the dishes and gone off to the kitchen to get busy, Shen Mingzhu told the others to start eating without her, saying she would make a quick phone call outside.

Pei Ziheng offered to accompany her, and Shen Mingzhu didn’t refuse.

"Hello, who’s this?"

"It’s me."

Upon hearing Shen Mingzhu’s voice, Pei Yang on the other end of the phone immediately brightened up, "Wife, why are you calling at this time? Miss me?"

"Cut the crap, I’ve got something serious to talk to you about."

Sensing the seriousness in Shen Mingzhu’s tone, Pei Ziheng looked over sidelong.

Pei Yang also dropped the joking tone on the other end of the phone, "What’s up? Take your time."

After hesitating for a moment, Shen Mingzhu voiced her suspicions. "...That person should be Gao Hualiang. I’ve seen him before. He’s gotten a bit fatter, a bit darker, but I recognized him at a glance."

Hearing the name Gao Hualiang, Pei Ziheng looked thoughtfully back toward the restaurant.

On the other end, Pei Yang was very nervous: "Wife, you mustn’t act rashly. That Gao is a desperado, capable of anything. Think about our child, think about me; if something happened to you, how would we go on..."

"Could you not ramble with nonsense?"

Interrupted mid-spell by Shen Mingzhu, Pei Yang had to get serious: "You go back and continue eating, try to stall for time. With Xiao Mage and the others there, he won’t dare to make a move. I’ll call Xiaoshe right away; leave the capture of criminals to him."

These words were very much in line with Shen Mingzhu’s wishes.

While she carried a sense of justice, she wasn’t willing to risk the safety of her children and herself.

...

"Husband, does the person look good?"

At the bar in the restaurant, Huang Chunyu teased with a hint of jealousy as she saw Gao Hualiang fixated on Shen Mingzhu, who was making a phone call at a slant opposite them.

As soon as Shen Mingzhu hung up the phone, Gao Hualiang immediately turned and went back to the kitchen, taking off his apron in the process.

Huang Chunyu hurried after him, saying, "Oh come on, it was just a joke. I’m not even upset, and you’re getting hot under the collar. What’s this, you want to go on strike? There are still three dishes left to cook."

Gao Hualiang shoved the apron into her arms and said in a low voice, "You cook the remaining dishes. I’ll go pick up Junjun and then go home to pack. Once they leave, you come back immediately."

"What’s going on? Husband, you need to make things clear."

Seeing Huang Chunyu looking tense, Gao Hualiang suddenly grinned, "Nothing. I’m just tired and want to find a place to relax for a couple of days. Haven’t you been wanting to go to Phuket Island?"

"We’re just going like that?"

"Yeah, we’ll leave today. Business hasn’t been good lately; closing the shop for a few days won’t make a difference."

"Alright, then."

Although perplexed, the thought of going out to have fun still pleased Huang Chunyu.

Gao Hualiang left the restaurant through the back door.

Just like Shen Mingzhu, he had recognized her at a glance.

Over the years, Shen Mingzhu had barely changed in appearance.

While he wasn’t sure whether Shen Mingzhu had recognized him, his keen instinct for danger made him realize they couldn’t stay here anymore.

Years ago, he had gone through a lot of trouble to smuggle himself and Huang Chunyu to this place.

Huang Chunyu had given birth to a son for him, and he had opened this restaurant where the three of them lived a very tranquil and happy life.

He and Huang Chunyu even planned to have another daughter, to complete the word for ’good.’

He couldn’t bear to see such good days ruined.

The reason he hadn’t told Huang Chunyu about Shen Mingzhu’s identity was to avoid her getting overly anxious and giving them away.

"Son, this is delicious—eat more."

"Thank you, Mom."

Pei Ziheng casually put a piece of braised pork ribs into Shen Mingzhu’s bowl, "These ribs are marinated well; try them."

"Sure."

Everyone at the table watched mother and son eat in silence.

"Sister-in-law, haven’t you had enough to eat yet?" Ma Weilong really couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

Shen Mingzhu usually had a small appetite and could only eat a few bites, but that day she was eating like a big stomach king. Even those with larger appetites had set down their chopsticks, yet she kept eating.

Shen Mingzhu also felt pained inside; she had already gone to the restroom once to induce vomiting.

She Zheming was coordinating a capture operation with the Thai police, and had told her she must stall until two o’clock.

"Sorry, I don’t know why, but I have a really good appetite toda...yue..."

The atmosphere at the table grew awkwardly silent.

Just as Shen Mingzhu racked her brains for how to explain her "yue" sound, Pei Ziheng spoke to save her embarrassment, "Mom, I give up. We won’t bet anymore."

"Bro, what did you bet with Mom?" Pei Tang asked curiously.

"I bet with Mom on who could eat more. The loser pays the winner ten thousand yuan. Mom, I concede. I’ll have Lin Fei transfer the money to your account when we get back."

Shen Mingzhu silently applauded her son’s wit.

Ma Weilong and the others had a sudden realization.

"Now that we’re done eating, let’s go. We’ll pack up and head to the airport later."

He glanced at his watch; it was fifteen minutes to two.

Shen Mingzhu clutched her stomach and groaned, "No, no, I need to use the restroom. You all sit for a while longer."

They watched Shen Mingzhu hurry off to the restroom. Ma Weilong couldn’t help but laugh ruefully, "This is quite the scene. Ziheng, you really can’t make random bets with your mom anymore."

Pei Ziheng nodded in agreement, "Yeah, it’s my fault."

Seeing how readily he admitted his mistake, Ma Weilong didn’t feel it was right to say much more and changed the subject to talk about something else.

They had not chatted for long when a bunch of police suddenly appeared outside the restaurant.

Due to economic constraints, local law enforcement was a bit behind, with policemen arriving on sidecar-equipped motorcycles.

Before the motorcycles had even come to a stop, the policemen were jumping off and rushing into the restaurant.

If it wasn’t for their uniforms, one might have mistaken them for robbers!

Ma Weilong and the others became tense; after all, their table was the only one occupied in the whole restaurant.

Just for having a meal, they wouldn’t be taken to the station, would they?

...

After Gao Hualiang left, Huang Chunyu felt uneasy, her eyelids twitched incessantly, indicating some kind of trouble brewing.

Seeing the police charging into the shop, she hesitated for no more than two seconds before running quickly towards the back kitchen.

There was a hidden door in the kitchen that led directly outside.

Just as she neared the back kitchen door, the restroom door opened, and Shen Mingzhu came out.

"Get out of the way!"

Huang Chunyu reached out fiercely to push Shen Mingzhu aside.

Shen Mingzhu was trained; she had learned Taekwondo and grappling, and though she wasn’t a match for professional fighters, she was more than capable of defending herself.

She sidestepped to avoid Huang Chunyu’s attack and then subdued her with a capture technique.

...

Before the police handcuffed and took her away, Huang Chunyu glared at Shen Mingzhu, a mix of despair and unwillingness in her eyes.

"Who on earth are you?"

She and Gao Hualiang had been here for many years without any issues. Coupled with Gao Hualiang’s previous abnormal behavior, it wasn’t hard to guess that she had been taken down by Shen Mingzhu.