Chapter 13.2

Ye Huihui was the daughter of Pei Zheng’s mother’s good friend and was closely related to Pei Zheng’s aunt, Pei Mingxia. Whenever anything happened, Ye Huihui would rush to tell Pei Zheng’s aunt, driving him crazy.

Moreover, Pei Zheng’s aunt had a strong personality. Once she got involved, there would be no peace for anyone.

“Huihui, don’t be impulsive.” A gentle-looking girl stepped forward from behind Ye Huihui to hold her back.

Seeing it was Song Zhao, who was always inseparable from Ye Huihui, Pei Zheng let out a sigh of relief and gave Song Zhao a look that said, “Well done.” However, he didn’t notice that Song Zhao had lowered her head, slowly turning red.

“Let go of me!” Ye Huihui glared at Song Zhao. “You coward, if you won’t say anything, I’ll go myself.”

“Enough!” Pei Zheng interrupted Ye Huihui, his impatience evident. “My stepmother isn’t bullying me, we get along just fine. You don’t need to tell anyone, Ye Huihui. Stay out of my business from now on.”

He was genuinely tired of Ye Huihui’s nosy nature and her habit of reporting everything.

His words left Ye Huihui feeling embarrassed. Pouting, she turned and ran off in tears.

“Huihui!” Song Zhao hesitated for a moment before chasing after Ye Huihui, leaving the small red building.

Once they were far away, Shen Jiming turned to Pei Zheng and said, “Why did you make her cry? You’ll have to coax her later.”

“Why should I coax her?” Pei Zheng replied, bewildered and exasperated. “Do you think there’s something wrong with her? Why is she so nosy? Every little thing, she has to run and tell my aunt. No one is as idle as she is.”

Shen Jiming thought to himself that Ye Huihui’s mother practically wanted to arrange a marriage between them. It was clear that the girl liked Pei Zheng, yet here Pei Zheng was, completely clueless.

He patted Pei Zheng’s shoulder and said, “Good brother, hang in there.” Brothers walk together for life, and whoever gets a girlfriend first is a dog.”

Jiang Yu also patted Pei Zheng on the shoulder, saying nothing.

Only the chubby boy was confused, asking, “So did your stepmother really bully you or not?”

Pei Zheng: “……”

Shen Jiming: “……”

Jiang Yu: “……”

Meanwhile, Ye Huihui, who had run away crying, finally stopped when she got tired.

Song Zhao caught up with her.

“Huihui, are you okay?”

Song Zhao cautiously asked, worry etched on her face.

“Why did you come after me? To watch me make a fool of myself?” Ye Huihui shouted at Song Zhao.

Song Zhao sighed in resignation. “You know that’s not true. I just care about you.”

“That’s better,” Ye Huihui glared at Song Zhao. Wiping her tears, she found that no matter how much she tried, the tears wouldn’t stop. She continued crying and said, “What should I do? It seems like Pei Zheng hates me. Does he think I’m annoying or that I meddle too much?”

Before Song Zhao could respond, Ye Huihui quickly made excuses for him. “But his stepmother is too much. I saw Pei Zheng being punished yesterday, and today I heard Zhang Kaiping and Jiang Yu say Pei Zheng’s stepmother is bullying him. Zhang Kaiping never lies. If he said it, it has to be true.”

Song Zhao bit her lip, feeling uneasy herself. How could someone as wise and strong as Pei Zheng’s father let his son be bullied by his stepmother?

“What should we do?” After a moment of thought, Song Zhao spoke softly. “How about we tell Grandma Pei and Aunt Pei? Grandma Pei cares for Pei Zheng; she wouldn’t allow him to be mistreated. And Aunt Mingxia wouldn’t let Pei Zheng’s stepmother get away with it.”

“But Pei Zheng said not to tell anyone,” Ye Huihui hesitated. She didn’t want Pei Zheng to truly dislike her.

“Pei Zheng values his pride. He’s probably feeling really frustrated that his stepmother bullies him while his dad defends her. He wouldn’t tell anyone, especially not Grandma Pei, because he wouldn’t want her to worry about him.”

At this point, Song Zhao lowered her voice. “If Pei Zheng continues to endure this silently, swallowing his pain, one day, his stepmother will win over Father Pei completely and even have another child. Grandma Pei wouldn’t break ties with her for that child, and then Pei Zheng would be left out in the cold. By the time he wants to fight for his place, it would be too late.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Huihui stopped crying altogether. “That won’t do! Everything in the Pei family belongs to Pei Zheng. Why should it go to that woman who came in with her child after a second marriage? My mom said women like her are trouble. If it weren’t for her, Uncle Pei would have long remarried Aunt Shen.”

“Since that’s the case, you should tell Grandma Pei and Aunt Pei about Pei Zheng’s stepmother. Not only will you be helping Pei Zheng, but you’ll also be helping Aunt Shen. Pei Zheng must want his parents to remarry. By helping him get rid of his bad stepmother and reuniting his family, he may not say it, but he will definitely be grateful to you.”

Song Zhao slowly analyzed for Ye Huihui.

Ye Huihui fell into deep thought. She actually shared a similar opinion with Song Zhao, believing that Pei Zheng didn’t truly hate his stepmother. He just didn’t want to lose face in front of the girl by yelling at her.

Song Zhao was right. If she secretly informed Grandma Pei and Aunt Pei, asking them to put pressure on Uncle Pei to get rid of Pei Zheng’s stepmother, Pei Zheng might feel better afterwards. Knowing she had contributed to that might make him remember her kindness, and who knows…

The more Ye Huihui thought, the brighter her eyes became, and at one point, she even blushed.

Coming back to her senses, Ye Huihui grabbed Song Zhao’s hand and said, “Zhao Zhao, you’re really my little genius! You’re absolutely right. I’m going to tell Grandma Pei and Aunt Pei everything right now.”

In the Pei family, Aunt Wu stood at the kitchen door, listening to the entire conversation. Afterward, she quietly returned to the kitchen, deciding to cook more dishes.

When lunch was served and the family gathered at the table, Pei Ji’an naturally noticed that Pei Zheng had invited friends over for dinner. He glanced at him and said, “After you’re done eating, you four need to stay behind and do some work.”

The four, including Pei Zheng, didn’t dare to breathe too loudly, quickly nodding in agreement, hoping to at least get a chance to eat first.

At this moment, Lu Nong came downstairs holding Gu Huai, pulling out a chair to sit down. From the moment she appeared, Jiang Yu and Zhang Kaiping couldn’t help but follow her with their eyes, looking stunned, as if they were enchanted.

Zhang Kaiping closed his mouth, muttering, “So your stepmother really is a fairy.”

Pei Zheng was drinking water at the time and immediately choked, spitting it out and stepping on Zhang Kaiping’s foot hard.

What kind of useless brother was this, bringing up such a thing in front of the whole family (especially in front of Lu Nong)? Didn’t he care about his face?

Even Pei Ji’an, his biological father, looked at him in surprise, which only fueled Pei Zheng’s annoyance.

“Thanks for the compliment; you’re not bad yourself,” Lu Nong said, finding Pei Zheng to be a decent and likable guy.

Aunt Wu happily served Pei Zheng another bowl of pig’s trotters soup. He was taken aback, not understanding why the old lady had suddenly changed her attitude, especially after she had been indifferent to him the day before.

“Thank you, thank you, Aunt Wu. I can get it myself,” Pei Zheng said, taking the bowl.

The others didn’t receive such special treatment, but they didn’t complain because Aunt Wu’s cooking was simply too delicious.

The dishes were not only visually appealing but also full of flavor. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they had never tasted such good food in their lives.

After lunch, Pei Ji’an left for the army.

Lu Nong told Aunt Wu about the plan to take photos, asking her to prepare the best clothes and to bring a few extra sets so they could change outfits at the photo studio.

She opened Xiao Gu Huai’s suitcase and took out a set of green military attire, a small suit, and a children’s naval outfit.

She dressed Gu Huai in the green military outfit and decided to take pictures in that right away.

As for her own clothes, there were even more options. She wore a green military outfit as well.

For later changes at the studio, she had brought a soft white cheongsam, a little dress, and a handmade lace vintage white long dress paired with a veil.

The last outfit was actually an European-style wedding gown that her cousin had sent her when she got married. It had been carefully packed away because it wasn’t something she could wear every day, and the original owner had married early and never had a chance to use it, leaving it tucked away at the bottom of the box.

The intricate lace and delicate pearls made it incredibly beautiful. Lu Nong didn’t want it to stay hidden forever. Moreover, this year was 1963, and aside from this occasion, she likely wouldn’t have another chance to wear a wedding dress in her lifetime.

After organizing everything, Lu Nong hugged her child, and Aunt Wu carried the big wicker basket downstairs.

Unexpectedly, Pei Zheng was sitting on the sofa downstairs, reading the newspaper. When he saw Lu Nong and the child in military attire, with Aunt Wu dressed like a wealthy matron, carrying a big suitcase, he asked with a strange expression, “You finally can’t stand my dad leaving? Can you go alone and leave Aunt Wu and Xiao Huai behind?”

Lu Nong couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and replied, “We’re going to take photos.”

“Photos? You’re taking that big suitcase just for photos?”

But soon, Pei Zheng didn’t care about the suitcase issue anymore. He suddenly remembered something and excitedly said, “Wait for me! I’ll go upstairs to change and join you!”

…It wasn’t a bad idea. If Pei Zheng came along, he could help carry the suitcase for free, so she wouldn’t have to do it herself.

Before long, Pei Zheng came downstairs, dressed sharply in a black Zhongshan suit and wearing a student cap. The suit perfectly showcased his youthful vigor, making him look like he had just stepped out of the Republic of China era.

Most importantly, there was a school badge pinned to his chest.

Pei Zheng puffed out his chest and looked proudly at Lu Nong and the others.

Lu Nong couldn’t help but twitch her lips, playfully adopting a confused expression like Aunt Wu’s.

Seeing this, Pei Zheng felt disheartened. Nobody knew what he was bragging about, instantly robbing him of the fun of showing off.

Lu Nong instantly felt delighted, laughing heartily.