Shen Mingzhu turned her head to look at the man beside her.
Standing at 1.88 meters tall, he had a broad and upright frame, deep-set features, wheat-colored skin, and under the thin fabric of his clothes, the strong contours of his muscles were unmistaken, radiating an unmistakably masculine and rugged hormonal aura.
As Shen Mingzhu sized up Pei Yang, Pei Yang was appraising her as well.
The woman had an oval face, delicate and fair skin, apricot-shaped eyes with curved eyebrows, and eyelashes that fluttered like hand fans, which added a mystical haze to her gaze, making her even lovelier than the camellias planted on his balcony.
Before going to Shenjiagou for the matchmaking visit, he had seen Shen Mingzhu's photograph through the matchmaker.
According to the matchmaker, Shen Mingzhu was one of the two golden flowers of Shenjiagou, and men nearly broke down her door in their quests to propose.
But her family had high standards, insisting on marrying their daughter into urban bliss no matter what.
Pei Yang was actually somewhat resistant to such social climbing, but now, looking at the beautiful girl beside him who had just become his wife, he felt a bit of relief and understanding.
If he had a daughter as delicate as her, he certainly wouldn't have the heart to let her marry into a life of hardship in the countryside either.
With that in mind, he spoke in a gentle tone to his new bride, who was looking at him eagerly, "Next time I come back, I'll take you to buy jewelry and clothes. Today, I'll just take you home to get familiar with the place."
Going home was great, for once home, they could consummate the marriage!
Shen Mingzhu followed the man step by step, scrutinizing him from head to toe with eyes like scanners.
The man was dressed in an old-fashioned, army-green, turned-down collar shirt, with dark blue slacks underneath. The hem of the shirt was tucked into the waistline, secured with a brown leather belt, and he wore leather sandals on his feet.
A typical outfit of the natives in the '80s, yet it did nothing to diminish his perfect physique.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist, firm buttocks, long legs.
As they entered the gate of the family compound, they encountered numerous acquaintances, and Pei Yang greeted each one, tirelessly introducing Shen Mingzhu to the neighbors.
He was rarely at home, and in the future, it would only be Shen Mingzhu and the kids at home, so they would need the help of these old neighbors in case of any trouble.
Everyone thought Shen Mingzhu was pretty and charming, her large, watery eyes resembling washed grapes, and her figure was slender; they all praised Pei Yang for his good fortune.
The Pei Family lived on the fourth floor, and in those days, there were no elevators. The climb was challenging, and by the time they reached the fourth floor, Shen Mingzhu was gasping for breath.
Pei Yang looked at her several times, thinking to himself that she was indeed as delicate as the matchmaker had described.
Shen Mingzhu, however, didn't notice what Pei Yang thought of her. She was sizing up the building which exuded the charm of an era, feeling an inexplicable strangeness in her heart.
This dream felt too real, just like actual reality.
At that moment, the blue-painted iron door on the left, adorned with the character for "blessing," opened from the inside, and a woman in her thirties stood at the door, looking at the pair.
"You're finally back. I'm in a rush to get to the factory."
The woman complained to Pei Yang, scanning Shen Mingzhu from top to bottom like a scanner.
Shen Mingzhu also looked at the woman. Her hair was styled in vintage curls, draped behind her head, wearing a floral print dress made of dacron, and sporting earthy yellow wedge sandals on her feet.
A typical fashionable dress code for a woman in the '80s.
Pei Yang introduced the two women, and then led Shen Mingzhu inside.
"...Sister-in-law, I'm leaving Xiaohuan in your care. I'm off now, I'll come to see you in a couple of days. Oh, and I've left Xiaohuan's medicine on the dining table. It needs to be taken three times a day after meals. Remember that," Pei Wenping said as she grabbed her bag from the coat hanger and walked towards the door. As her voice faded, she was out the door.
Shen Mingzhu stood in the Pei Family's living room, and only belatedly realized that the call of 'sister-in-law' was directed at her.
Pei Yang poured her a glass of water and took her on a tour of the house, explaining where the daily necessities were placed and how to use the appliances.
Shen Mingzhu found everything fresh and new; being from a different era, these unique artifacts of the '70s and '80s seemed as novel to her as antiques.
Pei Yang, watching her like this, sighed secretly.
Before his visit to Shenjiagou for the matchmaking, he had learned that Shen Mingzhu loved to dress up and had a delicate personality. In contrast, Shen Baolan was shrewd and capable, a good hand at managing a household. Given his situation, Shen Baolan was undoubtedly a better choice for a wife.
Unfortunately, Shen Baolan didn't take a fancy to him, so he had to settle for Shen Mingzhu.
"Can you cook?"
Are you kidding, she was the top broadcaster in the gourmet food channel, not to mention cooking, she could even make a Manchu Han Imperial Feast look decent, alright?
With Shen Mingzhu's affirmative answer, Pei Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as she could cook, she and her child wouldn't starve at home.
"I'll take you to the bedroom."
"Alright."
She thought the man seemed very serious, but she didn't expect him to be so randy, wanting to roll in the sheets with her in broad daylight.
Flushed with shyness, Shen Mingzhu followed the man into the bedroom like a little wife.
However, once she entered the bedroom, all of Shen Mingzhu's romantic thoughts vanished.
Because lying on the bed in the bedroom was a person, to be precise, a child.
"Xiaohuan?"
Pei Yang called out and seeing that the child on the bed did not move, he glanced at Shen Mingzhu to come over.
"This is Xiaohuan, he's four years old, and he should be attending kindergarten next month. I've already enrolled him, at the municipal government kindergarten just down the street. You can take him there on the first of next month."
Shen Mingzhu was bewildered upon hearing this, had she come to be someone's stepmother?
Before she could figure out what was going on, a household register booklet was stuffed into her hands.
"Keep this safe, I'll transfer your household registration into it the next time I come back."
Afterwards, Pei Yang took out a square, neatly shaped metal box and handed it to her, "I've left you fifty in cash, and here's the passbook. If you need money, just go withdraw some. Here are some food coupons, meat coupons, and cloth coupons as well; take them, and if you need anything, use these to buy it. When I get to Xicheng Port, I'll call back home. Take care of the house and Xiaohuan."
Having finished his instructions, Pei Yang left with his luggage.
At this moment, Shen Mingzhu couldn't care less about him. She instinctively flipped through the household register in her hands, and the first page listed Pei Yang as the head of the household, while the second page bore the name Pei Ziheng.
Pei Ziheng?
Why did that name sound so familiar?
In a flash, it struck Shen Mingzhu like a bolt of lightning.
Pei Ziheng was the name of the major antagonist character in a period novel she had read just before going to sleep, wasn't he?
Wow, it was like an old woman wearing flowered shoes to follow the fashion trend, she had traveled into the book?!
In the book, the male lead was Zhou Hao, and Pei Ziheng was his foil.
Zhou Hao and Pei Ziheng, who were the same age, started off as friends from the time they were babies in split-bottom pants. Their friendship turned sour entirely because they each had a very different stepmother.
Zhou Hao's stepmother was virtuous and kind-hearted, treated Zhou Hao as if he were her own, carefully nurturing him. Growing up, Zhou Hao met everyone's expectations by getting into a prestigious university, marrying a beautiful and wealthy wife, and becoming a pillar of the state.
On the other hand, Pei Ziheng's stepmother was acerbic and mean, constantly beating and scolding him, cruelly abusing him, which led to Pei Ziheng developing a dark and twisted mind. Out of jealousy and hatred, he grew up to oppose Zhou Hao at every turn and ultimately met a tragic end.
She remembered that when the antagonist Pei Ziheng was written out of the book, Zhou Hao, heavy-hearted, said to his childhood friends something like this.
"Ziheng ended up like this, all thanks to his evil stepmother. She ruined his life."
Damn it, not only had she become a stepmother, but she became the evil stepmother of the major antagonist.
In the book, as the antagonist, Pei Ziheng naturally had a miserable fate, but her role as the stepmother wasn't much better!
She was sent to a mental institution by the grown-up Pei Ziheng and burned to death!
Shen Mingzhu instinctively looked towards the child on the bed, only to realize he was awake now, his black eyes staring straight at her.