Third time’s the charm.
Who else could match this experience but him?
Pei Yan steadied Shen Ju’s head from behind, but the corners of his mouth curved up slightly.
Fortunately, he stayed silent behind Shen Ju.
The man in front of Shen Ju snapped out of it and frowned. “Who’s this kid?”
“What kid? I’m not little.”
Shen Ju puffed out his chest, frowning too. “Just talk—were you about to hit someone?”
He even raised his fist to emphasize.
Wu Tingyu: “…”
Who the hell is this kid?!
“My business with him is none of yours.”
Wu Tingyu reached out to shove Shen Ju aside.
But he didn’t budge.
Shen Ju stood firm in front of Pei Yan. “His business is my business.”
“What business of his??”
Wu Tingyu paused abruptly, as if realizing something. He glanced at Shen Ju, then at Pei Yan behind him. His expression shifted. “You two… Pei Yan??”
“What’s your relationship with this kid?!”
Shen Ju frowned. “I said, I’m not little??”
Just then, a hand patted his shoulder.
Pei Yan stepped forward, standing beside Shen Ju. “It’s exactly what you’re thinking, Uncle Wu.”
Wu Tingyu’s face darkened. “Is this kid even an adult?!”
“Don’t do what your father did??”
“Uncle Wu.”
Pei Yan cut him off, his own expression souring. “I haven’t.”
“You’d better not!”
Wu Tingyu sneered. “If you still remember how your mother died, you wouldn’t mimic that bastard father of yours!”
Shen Ju’s brows furrowed tighter, his heart racing.
What did this guy mean?
“That’s not something for you to worry about, Uncle Wu.”
Wu Tingyu shot back, “Fine, then stay out of my business too!”
With that, Wu Tingyu turned and stormed off.
Once Wu Tingyu was gone, Shen Ju turned to Pei Yan.
He seemed like he wanted to say something.
Pei Yan sighed. “This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go—it’s almost noon. We’ll grab lunch first.”
The spot was easy to find. Pei Yan took Shen Ju to a renowned Cantonese restaurant and reserved a private room.
“Take a look and see what you want.”
Pei Yan handed Shen Ju the ordering tablet. “This place is famous for Cantonese cuisine, but service is slow. Better order ahead.”
“Pei-ge, I ran into the class monitor at the bookstore too.”
Shen Ju spoke up suddenly.
It hit him because Tang Yuexin had said something similar.
Asking if I’m here willingly…
Like she’s scared Pei Yan’s forcing me into something.
And that guy just now.
Asking if I’m an adult, telling Pei Yan not to do what his dad did…
What could that be?
Putting it together, Shen Ju couldn’t not think about it.
He knew Pei Yan’s mother had killed herself on New Year’s Eve, but he didn’t know… why she’d chosen that day…
Not to mention, the Pei Family must think of her death every holiday.
Planning it like that, on that day…
Even with her own son there…
Shen Ju took a deep breath and looked at Pei Yan.
“Pei-ge, if it’s not convenient to tell me, you don’t have to.”
Pei Yan froze.
As if he hadn’t expected Shen Ju to say that.
Shen Ju stepped closer and took Pei Yan’s hand. “No matter what, I trust you.”
Pei Yan’s voice came out hoarse. “Trust me about what?”
Shen Ju answered matter-of-factly, “That you’re a good guy.”
He tilted his head. “And that my taste is spot-on.”
Pei Yan stared at Shen Ju for a long moment, then chuckled softly. He pulled Shen Ju into a tight embrace. “How are you this perfect, baby?”
Shen Ju flushed. “Just average.”
“But actually, I was looking for a chance to tell you.”
Pei Yan ruffled Shen Ju’s hair, his voice low. “My mother killed herself on New Year’s Eve to get revenge on Pei Tai.”
Pei Tai?
Pei-ge’s dad?
“A girl in the flower of her youth, falling for an old man.”
What?!
Shen Ju jerked his head up from Pei Yan’s arms, mouth agape, words failing him.
Pei Yan pulled Shen Ju to sit down. “The man you just met is Wu Tingyu, a college classmate of my mother, Su Muya. All these years, he’s… held a torch for her. He believes Pei Tai killed her and wants revenge, to make Pei Tai pay. A top finance grad like him can’t even land a proper job anymore.”
“Can’t find work? You mean…?”
“Yeah. Pei Tai’s been blackballing him behind the scenes.”
Shen Ju gaped. “How could he?!”
Pei Yan scoffed coldly. “You think he’s some good guy?”
“The person I despise most in this life is him.”
Pei Yan’s tone darkened. “He was over twenty years older than my mother. He met her as an honored alumnus invited back to campus, then deliberately closed in. He used his power and money to force her… Pei Tai threatened her with her own father, claimed it was true love, sweet-talked her, even built a little white house to ‘keep’ her—like he’d given her the world…”
“But my mother never even finished college. Her dad died of anger in the end. She slowly went mad.”
Pei Yan’s gaze dropped. “Everyone said she was crazy, but I think she was clearest at the end—finally seeing her feelings for Pei Tai were just lies, self-delusion.”
“When you’re deluded, you can keep living. Once you’re clear-eyed, how do you go on?”
“He ruined her life.”
“But she was powerless to fight back.”
“So killing herself on New Year’s Eve… that was probably her fiercest rebellion.”
“She made me remember her death, made me avenge her against Pei Tai.”
Pei Yan seemed lost in memory, his features shadowed.
Shen Ju had to grip Pei Yan’s hand.
“Then you now…”
Pei Yan looked at Shen Ju. “Did Tang Yuexin say anything else to you?”
Right, the class monitor!
Shen Ju caught on. “Does she know too?? Wait, how does she know? She??”
“She has a sister, Tang Yueke. Five years ago, she jumped off a building. They saved her, but now she’s a vegetable.”
Shen Ju gasped sharply.
Realization hit. “Don’t tell me she was…?”
Pei Yan’s lips twitched in confirmation.
“Now you see how disgusting my father is?”
Shen Ju sat stunned, worldview shattering.
He pictured Pei Tai from the Pei Family banquet—couldn’t reconcile it with this.
Pei Yan gave a self-mocking smile. “I only learned about Tang Yuexin’s sister after her suicide attempt. I anonymously donated to her family, but I didn’t expect Tang Yuexin to investigate Pei Tai herself. If I hadn’t seen her at the banquet that day, I wouldn’t have guessed she might be after revenge for her sister right now.”
“She has no idea how cautious Pei Tai is. Aside from my mother, he never let a whisper slip about anyone else.”
“People still think he’s pining for my mother. Ha.”
Shen Ju’s brows knotted. “So the class monitor wants…?”
“Evidence to ruin Pei Tai completely.”
“After all, a man like him can’t have done all that without leaving traces.”
Someone like Pei Tai, at his age, cared most about his reputation.
Pei Yan wanted him destroyed too, but it wasn’t easy.
Pei Tai still wielded power at Pei Corporation, and his every step was calculated—no way to easily dig up proof.
Pei Yan starting Star River Technology with Gao Chuanbai was a front to search for evidence outside.
He’d found some, but not enough to topple Pei Tai.
So he had to return to Pei Corporation, strike from closest to the source.
But that was riskier—Pei Tai couldn’t suspect a thing.
Pei Yan hadn’t planned to tell Shen Ju any of this.
Running into Wu Tingyu was a fluke.
But…
From the moment Shen Ju appeared, Pei Yan felt an urge: Tell him everything. Let Shen Ju know it all—his tainted blood, what kind of man fathered him, what the Pei Family was, his goals… even that he, like his father, had fallen for someone younger.
Pei Yan reached out, lightly brushing Shen Ju’s cheek. “No wonder Tang Yuexin and Uncle Wu worry like that. With a father that vile, how good could the son be?”
Smack!
Shen Ju cupped Pei Yan’s face with both hands, frowning angrily. “How are they the same!”
“No wonder you always think I’m too young, won’t go all the way. Is this what you’ve been thinking?!”
“You’re older in status, not age. I just look young—it’s not my fault I’m fresh-faced! I’ve told you a million times, I’m an adult now. Sure, just barely, but I’m responsible for my actions. I know exactly why I’m with you—because I like you, not anything else!”
Shen Ju rubbed Pei Yan’s cheeks vigorously. “Pei-ge, stop overthinking. You’re making it seem like you don’t trust me.”
Pei Yan caught Shen Ju’s hands, helpless. “Baby, you know how strong you are? Any harder and my face’ll swell up.”
“Ah.”
Shen Ju startled, starting to pull back.
But the next second, Pei Yan yanked him over, settling Shen Ju right on his lap.
“You really don’t mind?” Pei Yan murmured.
Shen Ju shook his head earnestly. “Pei-ge, you’re you. That old bastard’s him. I like you—not anyone connected to you.”
Pei Yan couldn’t help laughing. He opened his mouth—
“Oh right, no wonder you got mad when I called you an ‘old cow munching tender grass’ before.”
Shen Ju lit up like it’d clicked. “That was just me venting?? Pei-ge, you’re not old at all. You’re gorgeous—even Brother 996 said so.”
At that, Pei Yan remembered something.
“Mm, yeah. Wonder who told 996 before that looking at me makes them want to… revere me.”
Shen Ju: “…”
“Even said they wanted to dote on me.”
“…”
