When a Brat Meets Her Bratty Stepmom (1980s)

In 1982, eighteen-year-old Shen Yu was handed over by her own father to Xu Mingcheng, a businessman from the city, to be his wife.

On their wedding night, Xu Mingcheng lifted her veil and gently tried to reason with her. “I know you didn't want to marry me. You're the kindest, most capable girl for miles around, and marrying a traveling businessman like me is beneath you. I'll give you the money I earn from now on. You just have to look after my son. If you don't want to call me your husband, think of me as your older brother. If you ever fall for someone, I'll provide your dowry.”

Shen Yu nodded timidly. “Mm. Don't worry, go ahead.”

Xu Mingcheng entrusted his seven-year-old son to his new wife and went off on business.

When he came home a month later, a shoehorn flew into his face as soon as he opened the door. His “kind and capable” wife was chasing his son around the house.

Xu Mingcheng: I must have opened the door the wrong way.

When he came home three months later, his “little bear of a son” secretly asked whether he'd brought a gift for his young wife. Otherwise, she'd be upset.

When he returned six months later, his young wife got up in the middle of the night and told him timidly, “Brother, I think the college student next door is a good match. A plot of land behind the house should be enough for my dowry.”

Xu Mingcheng, who never smoked, spent most of the night smoking. Early the next morning, he called his son over and asked, “Son, would you like a little brother or a little sister?”

His son replied, “Mom says one naughty kid is enough.”

Xu Mingcheng: “...”

Shen Yu was an overworked modern office worker, working 24/7 until she was balding, yet still unable to afford even ten square meters in a top-tier city.

After dying from overwork, she opened her eyes and found herself back in the 1980s. She'd just gotten herself a spacious apartment with a courtyard in what would one day be a top-tier city.

On her wedding night, she had a dream. Her husband was destined to become Jiangcheng's richest man. Her original self would raise her stepson with endless toil, only to never earn his acceptance, and then die young from overwork.

She never got to enjoy her good fortune, and her stepson's birth mother took her place.

When Shen Yu woke up, she decided to take it easy:

If her stepson acted up, she'd act up even worse. Raising a child was something you got better at with practice.

She'd spend whatever money her husband sent home. There was no way she was going to work herself to the bone.

Just as she had saved enough money and gained enough skills to leave, her husband brought her in front of a large group of his buddies and introduced her: “Come meet your sister-in-law.”

Her naughty stepson bragged to his classmates right in front of her: “This is my mom. Pretty, right?”

2023, 1, 22

Theme: A family that loves one another