Considering that Pei Xi had fainted due to low blood sugar before, even though he had eaten breakfast before going out, He Chuzhou bought him a cup of milk tea before they went back.

It was the same kind as last time – lemon coconut boba balls, full sugar, room temperature.

When they got home, he refused to let Pei Xi do anything. He put the litter box in place, poured the litter, then placed the cat food, cat bed, cat toys, and cat climbing frame…..

The kitten was braver than they expected. She didn’t hide upon arriving at a new environment, but sniffed around, drank a few sips of water, ate a few bites of food, and then very consciously crawled into the cat bed and prepared to sleep.

She was extremely well-behaved, and seemed to know that this was her new home.

He Chuzhou tidied everything up well before letting He Xingxing out. Fearing that such a big dog would scare the little cat, he stayed beside them throughout their first meeting, ready to deal with an emergency at any time.

Everything went more smoothly than expected.

The kitten wasn’t afraid of the dog. When He Xingxing put his doggy nose in front of her, she mewed and touched it gently with her pink nose, then turned her belly over to play.

He Xingxing had always liked cats, and was very happy to see his father bring one back. He put his entire doggy head into the cat bed and played with the kitten, laying on the ground with his tail wagging like a propeller behind his butt.

“Who said families with two children aren’t harmonious? Look how harmonious it is.”

He Chuzhou touched He Xingxing’s head proudly, then stretched out a finger to play with the kitten.

When Pei Xi came over and crouched down to watch, He Chuzhou turned and said with a smile: “Want to give Xiao Bai a name?”

Pei Xi was puzzled: “Xiao Bai?”

He Chuzhou pointed at the kitten: “Her.”

Pei Xi was silent for a moment: “Haven’t you already named her?”

“When did I…..”

He Chuzhou came to a realization and laughed at himself: “That doesn’t count, I just called her that randomly. Xiao Bai is too casual, you should give her a serious name.”

A serious name…..

Pei Xi looked at the playing kitten, then at He Xingxing, who was happily acting as a cat toy. His heart moved somewhat, and he said softly: “I’ll name her Pei Yueliang.”^[1]

“Pei…..Yueliang?”

He Chuzhou repeated it, feeling it was a bit strange. It was casual, yet not casual. He couldn’t put the feeling into words.

“What’s so special about that name?” he asked Pei Xi.

Pei Xi calmly responded: “What’s so special about the name He Xingxing?”

“Nothing, ah. My surname is He, and there were lots of stars on the night I brought him back—”

After speaking, He Chuzhou came to a sudden realization.

Weren’t the stars and the moon a perfect pair?

Although he knew Pei Xi didn’t mean anything by it and had probably just said it for the sake of symmetry, that didn’t stop him from applauding the name.

One surnamed He, and the other surnamed Pei. One Xingxing and one Yueliang. And it was the one he secretly liked who came up with the name. There couldn’t be a better sign than this.

“Okay.” Secretly elated, he scratched the kitten’s belly: “From now on, I’ll call you Xiao Yueliang.”

Yueliang meowed and turned upside down. As she hugged his finger and chewed on it, her little pink mouth and four pink paws were on perfect display.

He Chuzhou, a man who had only raised a silly dog, had never witnessed such a scene before. With a shout of “Cute!” he took out his phone and snapped a flurry of photos.

Pei Xi watched silently for a while, then suddenly said: “I noticed today that our WeChat pictures were changed. Was that done yesterday?”

“Yeah, when we got back yesterday—”

He Chuzhou’s voice cut off abruptly, and he stopped taking pictures. In just a couple of seconds, his expression changed several times.

Pei Xi could pretty much guess what he was thinking. He pressed down the corners of his mouth that were trying to rise and said in a mild tone: “Where did we come back from?”

He Chuzhou was silent. He was probably regretting the fact that the avatars had slipped his mind, while his brain was racing to think of a method to get away with it. 

Pei Xi gave him no time before throwing out the last clap of thunder: “Looking at the photos, did we go to an aquarium?”

“Huh? No way.”

He Chuzhou was already cursing himself a hundred times in his heart, but he showed no sign of it as he calmly put down his phone: “I’ve never been interested in those kiddy places. Do you want to go?”

He knew that with Pei Xi’s character, he would definitely deny it. Then he could go on to say that since he didn’t want to go, how could they have—

“I do,” said Pei Xi.

He Chuzhou: “……”

He Chuzhou: “……”

Pei Xi saw that a certain person’s CPU had practically burned out, and a smile flashed through his eyes. In the end, he had mercy and let him off: “Just kidding. I don’t want to go.”

He Chuzhou visibly breathed a sigh of relief. He cleared his throat and brought out the words he had prepared: “See, you’re not interested, so why would we go out of our way to take pictures there?”

Pei Xi nodded, and was about to play along when his phone suddenly rang. He looked down, and his smile vanished.

He Chuzhou waited until Pei Xi returned from taking the call on the balcony. Seeing that his expression was still a little off, he guessed: “Your dad?”

Pei Xi gave a hum. Beneath his dark eyelashes, the look in his eyes was unclear: “He’s returned to China and says he has something to discuss with me. He asked me to go over for dinner tonight.”

*

*

Pei Yansong and his family lived in a mountainside villa up the river, and it took crossing half of Wancheng to get there.

As he was leaving, He Chuzhou offered to bring him home, but he declined. He might not come back tonight, and He Chuzhou would have to send him there and then drive home by himself, which was a waste of time.

Besides, his family situation made it inconvenient for him to invite He Chuzhou as a guest, and Pei Yansong wouldn’t welcome him either. He didn’t want He Chuzhou to have to face those looks because of him.

Nearly an hour later, the vehicle turned off the ring road and went up the mountain on an asphalt road. He arrived at his destination before sunset.

A servant had been waiting at the door to greet him. When he saw Pei Xi coming, he opened the gate so the driver could park the car inside, and then escorted him all the way to the main house.

He hadn’t been back here for a very long time.

In the past, even when he was occasionally called back, he wouldn’t stay long. After all, this place hadn’t been his home since the day he was sent away in high school.

He went in through the main entrance, and when he stepped into the entrance hall, he looked up and made eye contact with the sole person standing in the middle of the parlor.

The youth was wearing light-hued home clothes. He had a thin figure, and was holding a cup of steaming water in his hand. The face behind the steam was a bit blurry, but it could still be seen that his complexion was pale and he wore a stiff expression.

They hadn’t seen each other in several years. Pei Zhen had hardly changed, except that he was a little taller than Pei Xi remembered.

The way he looked at him was still loathsome.

It was unclear what Pei Zhen’s current situation was. Did he get permission, or had he decided to run downstairs and ended up meeting him by chance? Or was there a possibility that his illness, which was said to be under control, had relapsed?

Pei Xi stood there motionless, waiting for the other party to react first.

He didn’t move, and Pei Zhen didn’t either. He just stood in the parlor and stared at him, as if in a trance. There was no telling what he would do.

The stalemate was broken when Jiang Ting came in from the back garden.

She first gave Pei Xi a polite greeting, then discovered that Pei Zhen was in the parlor too and suddenly became a little nervous: “Xiao Zhen, why did you come down? Didn’t I tell you to read in your room and not walk around?”

Disregarding formality in front of Pei Xi, she quickly stepped forward to hold Pei Zhen. She half-coaxed, half-dragged him up to the second floor and closed the door to his room, separating the two people who shouldn’t have met.

It seemed he wasn’t the only one who was distrustful of Pei Zhen’s so-called “stable condition.”

He removed his coat and hung it casually over his arm, taking a couple of steps into the parlor. There was once again the sound of a door opening upstairs.

It wasn’t Jiang Ting this time, but Pei Yansong, who had come out of his study.

“You’re here?” He stood at the railing upstairs and looked down at Pei Xi. “Why didn’t you call me?”

Pei Xi: “I just got here.”

Pei Yansong: “Was the traffic bad?”

Pei Xi: “Somewhat.”

Pei Yansong gave a hum: “Come on up.”

Pei Xi went up to the second floor, where the door to the study was left ajar for him. He pushed it open and walked in, sitting down opposite Pei Yansong.

There was only a laptop on the desk, and it wasn’t tall enough to block one’s view.

Across the table, Pei Xi could clearly see the gray hair at Pei Yansong’s temples and the long-accumulated fatigue on his features.

It seemed the trip abroad that had just ended hadn’t been so smooth.

“How has work been during this time?”

When the father and son pair spoke, Pei Yansong habitually used work as an opening topic.

Pei Xi: “Everything is going well.”

Pei Yansong: “I heard you failed to acquire the land by the river from Mr. Zhang?”

Pei Xi: “Mr. Zhang is currently abroad. I’ll have to wait until he returns before we can speak.”

Pei Yansong nodded, saying: “I didn’t make it back for my birthday some time ago, so today is a good time to make up for it. Our family hasn’t been together for a long time.”

Pei Xi nodded. He didn’t think Pei Yansong had asked him to come over just to tell him this.

As expected, Pei Yansong asked directly in the next sentence: “You’ve been close with President He of He Group recently?”

Pei Xi didn’t answer. He just asked: “Why?”

Pei Yansong sighed: “You should know your brother has been applying to schools recently, but the results have not been smooth. First, he was rejected by the University of St. Paul because his interview score wasn’t up to standard, and then several other schools rejected him for various reasons.”

This surprised Pei Xi.

He knew that Pei Zhen had been applying to schools, and was also aware that Pei Yansong was using resources and connections from all over to help him.

He’d thought qualifying for admission would be a piece of cake, but the reality was different from his expectations, full of twists and turns.

However, he wasn’t sure of Pei Yansong’s intentions.

After all, during their last phone call, Pei Yansong had firmly told him to keep his distance from He Chuzhou, his words full of contempt for the man. “You want He Chuzhou to help?”

“Yes.” Pei Yansong didn’t shy away from saying this. “He studied abroad in his early years and should have accumulated many connections. In addition, He Group already covers a lot of foreign-funded education industries. If he comes forward to help, matters will be much simpler.”

Sure enough.

Pei Xi suddenly felt extremely fortunate that he hadn’t let He Chuzhou send him over.

Pei Yansong’s attitude toward He Chuzhou irritated him. While belittling and looking down on him, he simultaneously wanted to ask him for help.

“You’re overthinking it. I don’t know him that well.”

He calmly denied: “I haven’t had any contact with him since you told me to keep my distance from him last time.”

“Is that so?” Pei Yansong narrowed his eyes, somewhat doubtful.

Pei Xi: “Yes. If you want to ask him for help, you can ask him in person. But if you don’t show full sincerity, your hope may be even slimmer.”

Pei Yansong frowned: “What?”

Pei Xi: “As you said, nobody in the business world is a saint who doesn’t seek rewards. He has no obligation to waste time and favors on an insignificant person.”

The study fell into complete silence after he said this.

Pei Yansong didn’t speak immediately, but instead regarded him with a scrutinizing look. His enigmatic eyes had subtly changed compared to before, and contained a hint of coldness.

Pei Xi let him look, his behavior neither servile nor overbearing.

After a while, Pei Yansong spoke solemnly: “Are you unwilling to help your brother? Do you hate him?”

Pei Xi: “I can’t help him.”

Pei Yansong: “Did I teach you too well and praise you too highly, making you forget your responsibilities?”

Pei Xi met his gaze and, for the first time, stated his position on the topic directly: “It is your responsibility to take care of him. It has never been mine.”

“Why isn’t it yours?”

Pei Yansong raised his voice with his usual authoritative oppression: “I gave you the best education, trained you to be a talent, and handed over everything I worked so hard for to you, letting you sit back and enjoy the results. What do you think it was all for?”

“Pei Xi, I put you in a high position and gave you the greatest power. I made you the pillar of this family, and now you’re telling me you have no responsibility. How can you say such a thing?”

Pei Xi was instantly struck dumb. As if coming to a sudden realization, he felt a chill spread quickly from the soles of his feet to the rest of his body.

He stared fixedly at Pei Yansong and struggled to squeeze out in a low, hoarse voice: “What do you mean by that?”

Pei Yansong likely realized that he was asking for help from others and couldn’t communicate with his son in this state.

So he raised a hand and rubbed his nose, taking a brief moment to calm himself. He then spoke again: “You are also very clear on your brother’s situation. His illness may never be cured. He will need someone to take care of him for the rest of his life.”

“Your Auntie Jiang and I will both grow old and pass away one day, and then you two brothers will be each other’s closest relatives in the world. Isn’t it natural for family to take care of each other?”

“Xiao Zhen is young, and doesn’t measure up to you in everything. Even if he wasn’t ill, he never would have been able to manage the company. He can’t inherit anything, and can’t take care of himself like you can.”

“So I did my best to cultivate you, to make you outstanding and formidable. Not only out of trust, but also because you are the hope of this family. You can do well in this position, but your brother can’t. He can only rely on you.”

Pei Yansong never realized what a bad father he was.

He couldn’t reflect on himself, and had no way of empathizing with Pei Xi, whose frozen body felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. His mind was only filled with nauseating, self-righteous principles.

“Since you’ve taken over my position, you must naturally assume my responsibilities and take on the duty of caring for your brother. You and Xiao Zhen are siblings, and there should be no hatred between you, no matter what has happened.”

“I gave you the company, but that doesn’t mean it is all yours. Xiao Zhen needs you, and his shares will slowly be taken away from you in the days ahead.”

*

*

“Ge, why are you alone, ah?”

He Aiyue took advantage of the lively atmosphere in the living room to sneak over to the balcony: “Where’s Pei-ge? Why didn’t you bring him back for dinner?”

“Your Pei-ge will be home tonight.”

He Chuzhou responded to her absent-mindedly. He rested his arms on the balcony, turning his phone over and over in his hands and wondering if he should call and ask about the situation.

He worried that Pei Xi would be bullied when he went back.

But what status did he have?

Pei Xi had gone to reunite with his family, and He Chuzhou was an outsider. No matter how he looked at it, it was inappropriate for him to interfere in the other’s trip home.

What if Pei Xi thought he was sticking his nose in where it didn’t belong again…..

“Ai.” He sighed heavily.

He Aiyue was amused: “What is this? It’s been such a short time since you last saw him, yet you already miss him this much?”

He Chuzhou smiled wryly: “Two hours isn’t long enough?”

“Wow, it’s been two hours! That’s a really long time, ah.” He Aiyue aggrandized the issue: “I could finish a whole set of test papers, my god!”

He Chuzhou boxed her head and told her to go away and stop bothering him.

He Aiyue waved his hand away and refused to leave: “If you’re so reluctant to let him leave, why didn’t you just go with him?”

He Chuzhou gave a self-deprecating snort: “I wanted to, but I have no name or status.”

No name or status?”

He Aiyue’s eyes widened: “So the two of you are still hiding your relationship from Pei-ge’s parents?”

He Chuzhou’s lips curled, and he was about to speak when his cell phone suddenly vibrated.

He Aiyue saw him glance at the ID. His expression immediately changed from listless to joyful, but in the next second, his smile disappeared and his face darkened.

After he hung up the phone, He Aiyue hurriedly asked: “What’s wrong, what’s wrong? What happened?”

He Chuzhou: “I’m going out for a while, and I might not be back tonight. Tell Mom later.”

He Aiyue: “Ah? Where are you going?”

He Chuzhou had already put on his jacket and was walking out in a hurry: “I’m going to pick up your Pei-ge.”

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[1] Yueliang (月亮) means “Moonlight.” ⮐

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Chapter 50 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 52