The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 874 - 873: Custody Battle

Shen Baolan had always lacked education, and in recent years she had been confined to the mountains; when it came to intelligence and tactics, she was no match for Zhou Shuhuan, a cunning businessman, not to mention Shen Hao, who was typically brawny but simple-minded.

The two siblings combined were not enough for Zhou Shuhuan to play with.

However, Shen Baolan, as usual, was good at being aggressive. "Zhou Shuhuan, you admitted it yourself, Gao Hualiang only came to seduce me under your orders, so you can’t wash your hands of this matter. In any case, I have all the time in the world to drag this out with you. Am I, barefooted, supposed to be afraid of you with shoes on?"

Zhou Shuhuan was indifferent. "Up to you, as for Yuanbao, I can let you see him, but you can’t take him away."

"Why can’t I take him away? When we divorced, we signed an agreement, and I have the custody rights!"

Zhou Shuhuan said mockingly, "Shen Baolan, look at yourself now. You can’t even support yourself, how can you afford Yuanbao’s expenses for food, clothing, shelter, and school?"

"That’s none of your business!"

Zhou Shuhuan didn’t bother with idle talk and took out a piece of paper from his bag and handed it over.

"A declaration of renouncement of custody rights? What does this mean?"

Shen Baolan held the declaration, completely baffled.

Zhou Shuhuan sneered, "What, didn’t the people from your parents’ house tell you? After you disappeared, they took 5,000 yuan from me and transferred Yuanbao’s custody rights to me on your behalf."

Shen Baolan turned to glance at Shen Hao beside her.

The latter awkwardly diverted his eyes.

Realizing this was true, Shen Baolan tore up the declaration she was holding to shreds.

"What you tore is a copy; the original is still in my possession," Zhou Shuhuan said mockingly.

Frustrated, Shen Baolan angrily threw the shredded paper on the ground, "This doesn’t count. I’m Yuanbao’s real mother, and as long as I don’t consent, the custody rights are mine!"

"In the seven years of your disappearance, Yuanbao has been living with me. He has had the best of everything, including clothes, food, and housing. The school he goes to is the best international middle school in Fucheng. After he graduates from high school, he will go directly to study abroad in M Country. His prospects are bright. With you, apart from poverty and burdens, what else can you offer him?"

"He is my own son; I count on him to support me in my old age. I will find a way to make him successful!"

Seeing that Shen Baolan was stubborn, Zhou Shuhuan could not be bothered to argue any more.

"Then let’s go to court and let the judge decide."

Shen Baolan was not stupid.

Not to mention the cost of a lawsuit, she had no income and was disabled; the court would definitely not award her son to her.

"I’m not going to sue you. We had an agreement when we divorced, Yuanbao was to be with me; you can’t go back on your word."

"Who’s going back on their word? How much money has the Shen Family swindled from me over time? Now you want to go back on your word and take the child back, don’t even think about it!"

After dropping those words, Zhou Shuhuan walked away.

Unwilling to give up, Shen Baolan tried to chase after him but was stopped by Shen Hao, "Sis, maybe just let it be. Yuanbao is doing pretty well with his dad, and he’ll be able to study abroad in the future. When he’s successful, he won’t ignore you, his own mother."

"You don’t understand a damn thing. If he doesn’t stay with me, can he be close to me in the future? If he’s not close to me, what good is his ability?"

It had to be said that while Shen Baolan’s mind was clear, she was also extremely selfish.

For the sake of having someone to rely on in her old age, she completely disregarded her own son’s future and prospects.

...

Shen Baolan and Shen Hao stayed in Fucheng for half a month, and almost all their money was spent.

To survive, Shen Hao found some carpentry work at a nearby factory, while Shen Baolan spent every day staking out outside Zhou Shuhuan’s residence.

During this period, Zhou Shuhuan was alone at home, and neither Qiao Ya nor Yuanbao were seen.

It seemed he did not want her to see the child and had Qiao Ya take him into hiding.

You can run away from a monk, but you can’t run away from a temple.

Shen Baolan did not believe they could hide for a lifetime without coming home.

After days of waiting, just as Shen Baolan had run out of options, Qiao Ya finally came home.

With her were the son and daughter she had with Zhou Shuhuan, but Zhou Fu was nowhere to be seen.

"Where’s Yuanbao? Where have you hidden my Yuanbao?"

Although she had been mentally prepared, Qiao Ya was still surprised to see Shen Baolan in person.

The two were only a few years apart, yet Shen Baolan looked much older than her mother, who was in her fifties.

"Yuanbao is with his grandparents, I told him you were coming, but he doesn’t want to see you."

"You’re full of shit!" Shen Baolan burst out with anger, "I’m his birth mother, he’s my own son, don’t you dare try to stop us from seeing each other!"

"I can’t help it if you don’t believe me, anyways, Yuanbao isn’t here."

With that, she took the two children and bypassed her to go back home.

Zhou Shuhuan and Qiao Ya didn’t live in the city center, but took a piece of land in the suburbs and built a four-story villa themselves. freewёbnoνel.com

The villa was grand and luxurious, with a European style, off-white stone paint, tall French windows, and precious pine bonsai on either side of the front door, both westernized and lavish.

The moment Qiao Ya and her children stepped into the house, two nannies came out to greet them—one took the bag from Qiao Ya’s hand, the other took her four-year-old son.

Shen Baolan was incredibly familiar with this scene, for she had dreamed of it many times.

Only in her dreams, the lady of the house was Shen Mingzhu.

She had plotted and schemed to snatch Shen Mingzhu’s marriage only to have this life, to become a rich lady envied by all.

But in the end, she had nothing to show for her efforts, and instead made a wedding dress for Qiao Ya, the mistress.

How could she not be frustrated and hateful!

...

That evening.

After settling her son to sleep, Qiao Ya discussed with Zhou Shuhuan, "Should we just give them some money to send them away? They’ve come from far away and they won’t stop until they get something."

Zhou Shuhuan explained irritably, "You don’t understand how troublesome Shen Baolan is. If we give in this time, she will come back again, and it will never end for the rest of our lives."

"How about letting Yuanbao meet with her? You know Yuanbao’s character better than I do, he won’t go with Shen Baolan."

Qiao Ya didn’t make it too clear.

Yuanbao, with his strong pride and concern for appearance, accustomed to the life of a rich young master, how could he possibly agree to go back to the countryside with the lame Shen Baolan to live on coarse grains and wild vegetables?

"We agree to release her, but if the child refuses to go with her, she won’t have anything left to say, right?"

Zhou Shuhuan accepted Qiao Ya’s suggestion and quickly arranged for Yuanbao to meet Shen Baolan in a restaurant.

"Yuanbao? Yuanbao, my Yuanbao..."

As the tall and handsome Zhou Fu stepped into the private room, Shen Baolan was so pleasantly surprised she couldn’t believe her eyes.

After several years, her son, who was once chubby, had grown into a young man, more robust than she had imagined.

Her joy did not resonate with Shen Baolan.

Before coming, Zhou Fu was full of reluctance.

He had learned beforehand from his stepmother about Shen Baolan’s situation: sold to a poor mountain area for seven years, had given birth to his four half-sisters, lost a leg, had no job or income, and was barely getting by with the support of her own family.

If his classmates and friends found out he had such a mother, he would be laughed to death.

When he saw Shen Baolan’s plain and rugged appearance, his aversion reached its peak.

The woman’s skin was loose, her hair unkempt, dressed in a hemp sack-like cloth shirt, limping towards him.

"Get away, don’t touch me!"

He pushed away Shen Baolan’s arms as she tried to hug him, hiding behind Qiao Ya as if avoiding the plague.