The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 875 - 874: Dead Cripple

Shen Baolan hurriedly explained, "Yuanbao, I’m your biological mother. I brought you up from diapers to the man you’ve become. Don’t you recognize me?"

Shen Hao also stepped forward to cozy up to Zhou Fu, "Yuanbao, remember your uncle? When you were little, you loved riding on my shoulders so much. Once, I accidentally dropped you and you got a big lump on the back of your head..."

Zhou Fu interrupted them, impatient, "I came here today to tell you that I want to live with my dad. I won’t go back with you, just give up on that idea!"

"You can’t! I have custody rights over you. It was agreed upon when your dad and I got divorced. You have to come back with me!"

Shen Baolan reached out desperately to grab him, but he dodged away.

"That’s between you two. You didn’t consult me when you got divorced, and I never agreed to anything. I’m not going with you; don’t come looking for me anymore!"

After saying this, he turned and bolted out of the private room.

Shen Baolan wanted to chase after him, but it was futile given how quickly he’d left; she had no choice but to turn and direct her anger at Qiao Ya and Zhou Shuhuan.

"I’m telling you, your instigation is futile. I am determined to take Yuanbao with me!"

Qiao Ya smiled with an implication, "Yuanbao has his own legs. If he wants to leave, we can’t stop him; if he doesn’t want to go, nobody can force him. He’s grown enough to know who’s good to him and who isn’t."

Zhou Shuhuan looked at the siblings, "Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to, thinking that getting a hold of Zhou Fu means you can control me. Don’t even dream about it! Zhou Fu is right here, if you can take him away, go ahead. I won’t stop you."

Shen Baolan nodded, "Alright, remember you said this!"

With that, she prepared to leave with Shen Hao.

Qiao Ya called after Shen Baolan, "Don’t you want to visit Yuanbao’s school? It’s been so long since you’ve seen him; as his mother, you should at least get an understanding of his studies."

After the siblings left, Zhou Shuhuan asked Qiao Ya, perplexed, "Bringing her to the school in her current state, isn’t that just embarrassing Yuanbao?"

Qiao Ya responded, "My intention is to make her face reality, to understand her own standing, and to stop indulging in pipe dreams. Although Yuanbao isn’t my biological son, I’ve treated him like one, shaping him into a pillar of talent. I won’t let her just reap the fruits of my efforts."

Zhou Shuhuan, feeling guilty, took her hand, "You’ve been troubled too much with my family’s mess."

"What are you talking about? We’re family. Your problems are my problems. I’m willing to share your burdens."

Zhou Shuhuan affectionately kissed her forehead, "Once all this is settled, I’ll take you out to relax."

"Mmh, let’s go to Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days; Xiao Fei has been begging to go for a while."

"You make the plans."

...

That night, in the hotel.

Listening to the occasional tossing and turning from the bunk below, Shen Hao couldn’t help but whisper a reminder, "Sister, it’s late. Get some sleep."

"I can’t sleep."

"What’s wrong?"

"I’m thinking of Yuanbao."

Shen Hao said, "Aren’t we going to see him tomorrow?"

"But I still miss him. You saw today, our Yuanbao has grown up so well. Tall, strong, and handsome, with a bright future. He’ll surely charm many girls."

Shen Hao chuckled, "Yuanbao is still so young, and you’re already thinking about his marriage?"

"I must take Yuanbao back with me; I’m counting on this son for the second half of my life."

In the darkness, Shen Baolan turned, her voice tinged with the sound of a last-ditch effort.

Shen Hao comforted her, "Sister, don’t worry. Yuanbao is just not used to seeing you after such a long time. You’re mother and son, blood is thicker than water. He will recognize you eventually."

His words reached deep into Shen Baolan’s heart, bringing her some peace of mind.

...

The following day, Qiao Ya took Shen Baolan to the Fucheng Foreign Language School which Zhou Fu attended, allowing the homeroom teacher to inform her of Zhou Fu’s academic performance.

Hearing that Zhou Fu was not only excellent in both character and scholarship but also skilled in cello, swimming, shooting among other specialities, and spoke three languages: Chinese, English, and French, Shen Baolan was as delighted as if she had found a huge ingot of gold.

With a son so accomplished, he was bound to have a great future, and wouldn’t she, his mother, be able to bask in his reflected glory and enjoy good fortune as well?

"Yuanbao’s classroom is just on the opposite side, on the fourth floor, the second classroom."

After leaving the academic affairs office, Qiao Ya pointed to the opposite side and said to Shen Baolan, "It’s class time now. Do you want to peek at Yuanbao during class?"

Shen Baolan hesitated.

She certainly wanted to see her son in class, but she was also afraid of upsetting him and making him despise her even more.

With her current appearance, she attracted stares and whispers wherever she went.

"You can just stand by the classroom window and sneak a peek. It won’t disturb Yuanbao’s class," Qiao Ya suggested.

In the end, Shen Baolan still couldn’t resist Qiao Ya’s temptation, limping towards the classroom across the way.

Qiao Ya glanced at her watch and revealed a faint sneer at the sight of Shen Baolan’s retreating figure.

With Shen Baolan’s pace, she would reach the classroom just in time for Zhou Fu’s class to end.

No one knew better than Qiao Ya how much her step-son cared about his image. Shen Baolan showing up at school like this, leading to her step-son becoming a laughingstock amongst his classmates, would surely infuriate him.

As long as she could stir up the step-son’s disdain and hatred for Shen Baolan, his biological mother, the Shen Family would have no way to claim the family inheritance in the name of the step-son in the future.

...

Just as Qiao Ya predicted, right when Shen Baolan got to the classroom, the bell signaling the end of class rang.

The students flooded out of the classroom like a tide, filling the already cramped hallway to the brim.

As they passed Shen Baolan, each one gave her peculiar and mocking looks.

Shen Baolan turned to leave in a bit of panic, but was knocked to the ground by a group of roughhousing boys.

She tried hard to get up, but her disabled left leg made her movements clumsy and ridiculous, drawing a crowd of students for a spectacle, effectively blocking the hallway.

"Can you believe it, a beggar woman has come to the school?"

"And she’s got a limp, too."

Shen Baolan’s embarrassment turned her face the color of liver, and just as she was looking around, she happened to see her son Zhou Fu standing among a group of students.

As she was about to call out to him, she heard her son shout in disgust, "Scram, cripple!"

Shen Baolan felt as if she had been struck by lightning, her lips trembling, her face a picture of incredulity.

Her crippled left leg was not only a source of physical pain but also of shame and the deep-seated inferiority that lodged in her bones.

Strangers mocking her was one thing, but her son was a piece of her own flesh and should have been her support for the rest of her life. How could he show revulsion towards his own mother?

"Ah Fu."

Qiao Ya had somehow squeezed into the midst of the students.

"Aunt Qiao, what are you doing here?"

The moment Zhou Fu saw Qiao Ya, he ran over to her side like a docile puppy.

Qiao Ya lightly embraced his shoulder in a loving manner, "I came to take care of some business at the school and thought I’d check on you. Is everything going smoothly on the first day of school?"

"Yeah, we just got assigned seats, and there’s the opening ceremony soon..."

The two chatted affectionately as if they were mother and son.

Watching this scene, Shen Baolan couldn’t help but call out loudly to her son, "Yuanbao!"