Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Pei Ge raised her head and saw Pei Zhenghui enter the living room in his black suit.
His arrival caused the heavy atmosphere in the living room to slightly ease.
“Ah Hui, you’re back!” Liu Yan got up off the sofa with a big smile.
“I already had the cook make some hangover soup for you. I’ll bring it over now.”
“It’s fine; I didn’t drink much today.” He shook his head in refusal.
“Even if you didn’t drink much, you still drank some. Let me get you some of the soup,” she insisted as she continued walking toward the kitchen.
He did not bother stopping her anymore and simply sat on the single-seat sofa.
Pei Ge gazed at the father-daughter pair the moment he sat down.
Inside, she was trying to guess the exact reason her second uncle had called her over.
However, before she could voice out her question, her mother beat her to it.
“Ah Hui, it’s already so late. What did you call Ge Ge over for?”
He raised his head to look at Pei Ge and then at Zhang Manhua. “Elder sister-in-law, I called you guys over because I want to have a family meeting.”
“Huh?” Zhang Manhua was confused. “Family meeting?”
“Yes. To talk about Ge Ge’s marriage.” His eyes darkened when he shifted his gaze onto Pei Ge.
For some reason, Pei Zhenghui’s gaze and action repulsed her.
“Aye, Ah Hui, no need to rush things. Our Ge Ge only started a new relationship, so there is no need to pay this much attention to it.” A smile immediately blossomed on her mother’s face.
Pei Ge only muddled through the person she was dating, while Pei Shishi and Liu Yan did not want to discuss the particulars of the matter when they were talking about the issue just then.
Thus, Zhang Manhua assumed that Pei Ge’s current boyfriend was that Wen Qimo fellow whom her daughter had recently gone on a blind date with. What she did not know was that she was not even on the same page as the others.
“I naturally have to pay attention to my niece since she is this capable,” he remarked in a voice filled with hostility.
Pei Ge pressed her lips together, knowing that her cousin had said something to her second uncle.
“‘Capable’?” Zhang Manhua felt that something was off with his use of the term.
Although her daughter’s boyfriend was definitely of a high caliber, he should not be comparable to a big boss like Pei Zhenghui… right?
Moreover, his tone of voice just did not sound right.
“Second Uncle.” Pei Ge was hurt by his words. She had indeed lied to her cousin, but she had never harmed Pei Shishi.
Hence, she felt really hurt when her second uncle, whom she was close to and who was always affectionate to her, suddenly treated her coldly.
“Dad, you’ve had too much to drink. It’s not good to discuss things when you’re not in the right state of mind. Let’s have Ge Ge and Auntie go home for tonight.” Pei Shishi only told her father about the matter because she wanted him to have a slow chat with her cousin.
The slow chat she had in mind was one where it did not feel as if fire were about to erupt at any moment.
She had grown up with Pei Ge and knew that the latter, though soft-hearted and kind, was never one to be cowed with force.
Her father would most likely fail if he continued using such critical tone to speak with her cousin.
“That’s right, Zhenghui. Let’s leave everything for tomorrow. It is late now, so you should rest.” Zhang Manhua wholeheartedly agreed to her niece’s assessment once she perceived the wrongness in the living room’s atmosphere.
She had this nagging feeling that he was not his usual good-natured self and was rather hostile toward her daughter.
“I’m not drunk, so I don’t need to rest. Everyone should shut up!” he raised his voice in anger.
Pei Shishi inwardly screamed for help. Her father probably drank too much due to some sort of stimulation at the banquet.
She was actually spot on. He had indeed drunk more than the usual due to being triggered at the banquet earlier.
His participation in the banquet today was due to some projects.
Everything was going smoothly up until that moment he encountered his niece.
When he saw his niece appear at the banquet as Ji Ziming’s plus one, he finally fully believed his daughter’s words, which he had doubted before.
After separating with her, everything was suddenly met with a hindrance, and even the business deals he had earlier secured did not push through.
Some people even mocked him for stepping on his elder brother to climb to his current position…
His elder brother! That elder brother of his was already dead for so many years, so why did they still remember and continue to bring up matters related to him?!
How am I incomparable to him?! In the past, my father, my mother, my wife, and even my daughter mocked me for being less than my elder brother! My achievements have far surpassed him now, so why do people still mention him?!
Pei Shishi saw his red eyes and began to worry.
“Dad? Dad, are you alright?”
“Yes, Ah Hui, are you alright?” Zhang Manhua asked, her face filling with worry.
Pei Ge set aside the hurt Pei Zhenghui had given her and worriedly called out to her second uncle, who seemed to have been possessed by his inner demons. “Second Uncle, what’s wrong?”
Pei Zhenghui was jolted out of his frustrating thoughts by her question. He looked up, saw her face that greatly resembled his elder brother’s, and angrily demanded, “Did you do it on purpose?! Did you—”
Pei Shishi quickly interrupted him before he could continue.
“Dad, you are really drunk! Stop it; stop it!” She quickly approached him and tightly hugged his midsection.
Pei Ge and Zhang Manhua were frightened by his drunken actions. They had never seen this ferocious side of him before.
While Pei Shishi’s words had an effect, they were not enough.
His misconceptions and drunken mind loosened his control over his emotions. Hence, even if he was calm, he was still not his usual self.
“Pei Ge, why did you make CEO Ji steal our Pei family’s project last time?!”
