Pei Clan's Young Lady, Ms. He Yin

Because a classmate was visiting, and Chen Jue, that "fine son," was here too.

Chen Yun had not only prepared a huge tableful of sumptuous dishes, but had also specially invited Chen Jue's mother—Ms. He Yin.

"Yo, yo, yo! Look who it is—isn't this Young Master Chen? You didn't go home yesterday, so you'd run off to your uncle's place to enjoy the good life."

He Yin wore a stern, impeccably tailored business suit. Having just kicked off the high heels she had worn all day, she spotted Chen Jue strolling out of the kitchen with an ice pop dangling from his mouth.

"Mom? Why are you here?!"

Chen Jue was a little dumbfounded. Hadn't they agreed that he would lie low at his uncle's place for the time being?

What was the meaning of inviting her over directly?

"Hah?! What do you mean by that, you little brat? This is my brother's home. I'm not allowed to come? Do I need to report to the young master before I visit?"

Ms. He Yin changed into slippers, stepped forward, and gave Chen Jue a loving flick on the forehead.

Then she ignored her son and jogged all the way over to He Tang, who was watching TV on the sofa.

"Auntie!~~~" He Tang said in a syrupy voice that gave Chen Jue goosebumps all over.

"Ah! Little baby Tangtang, did you miss Auntie?"

Ms. He Yin held He Tang's pretty little face and planted two loud kisses on it.

"Blegh!" Chen Jue made a gagging face.

Just then, Pei Qingying came out of He Tang's master bedroom and met the eyes of Ms. He Yin, who had just finished kissing He Tang.

Pei Qingying jumped in fright. Oh no. Is this pretty auntie going to get all cuddly with me too...

Seeing the young girl's unease, Chen Jue spoke up to defuse the situation. "This is He Tang's classmate, Pei Qingying. Ninety-nine percent of the reason you got to come mooch a meal at Uncle's place is thanks to her."

Ms. He Yin shot Chen Jue a glare and spat, "Big mouth. Do I need you to introduce Little Baby Tangtang's classmate?"

After scolding him, Ms. He Yin performed a Sichuan opera face change. With a beaming smile, she went around the sofa to shake Pei Qingying's hand, calling her "Qingqing" again and again as she looked her up and down without pause.

"What a lovely, beautiful little girl. Who knows which bastard will get lucky enough to have her someday."

Ms. He Yin reached out and hugged the girl, then took her by the hand to the dining table and seated her beside herself.

Other than the tactless Chen Jue and He Yuanshan, everyone had a warm, cozy meal.

Seeing how frail little Pei was, Ms. He Yin's maternal instincts immediately overflowed, and she kept putting food in her bowl and ladling soup for her.

As for Chen Jue, every time he prepared to unleash the skill Taotie's Feast, he was violently suppressed by his mother.

In the end, he could only chew slowly and eat carefully. Only after everyone else had finished did he launch a man-to-man battle for food with his uncle.

As a dignified and poised teacher at a martial vocational school, Ms. He Yin rarely hit it off with someone at first sight. Yet she and Pei Qingying chatted for a long time, as if they had endless family matters to discuss.

Sadly, happy times together were always short. The girl had to go home.

"Young Master, Qingqing's car has arrived at the estate entrance. Go downstairs and see her off."

Chen Jue, who was washing dishes, nearly rolled his eyes into the heavens. He could only wash his hands, then lead the young girl downstairs.

At night, from the rooftops at the junction between the inner and outer cities, one could see the outer city's cold, stern curfew and the inner city's endless revelry.

The black sedan that had come to pick up Pei Qingying was parked right at the boundary where light and darkness alternated. Inside and outside were two entirely different worlds.

"Thank you for your hospitality. Auntie He is very nice, so don't always make her angry."

Pei Qingying got into the car, opened her round almond eyes wide, and gently advised Chen Jue in a soft voice.

"..." Chen Jue swore that in all his twenty years, he had never been so speechless.

But the car had already started, carrying the girl who kept looking back as she gradually vanished into the night.

"Third Miss, the old master said that you are not to associate with commoners. It will affect the Pei Clan's reputation as one of Linjiang's foremost aristocratic families."

The driver was over forty, dressed in a crisp suit. Even in the middle of the night, he wore sunglasses, looking stern and cold.

Pei Qingying turned back, rested her head against the window, and watched the neon lights and high-rises streaming backward outside. "My very existence is already affecting the Pei Clan's reputation, isn't it?"

The girl's family was enormous, and she had many relatives.

Yet that vast family could not piece together even half a warm embrace like Ms. He Yin's.

"I'm so jealous of you, He Tang..."

Pei Qingying's snow-white, slender fingers unconsciously began sketching on the fogged-up car window.

By the time she came back to herself, Ms. He Yin's doting smile had already appeared on the glass.

"Young Master, what are you looking at? She's already gone. Hurry up and go home."

Ms. He Yin came up behind her son in her clacking heels and gave him a kick.

"Go home? What home?" Chen Jue took two steps back, his face full of wariness.

"Then I won't trouble the young master. I'll walk back by myself, all right?" Ms. He Yin turned and left in a huff.

Only then did Chen Jue realize what was happening. He hurried after her and took her bag.

What a joke. Although his home was not far from Happiness Estate, and the junction between the inner and outer cities was relatively safe, he still would not dare let his mother go home alone.

"That girl Tangtang brought home today was really nice..."

"If your damn father hadn't died so early, I definitely would have given birth to a cute little darling as pretty as her."

Ms. He Yin was spouting utterly feral nonsense, still savoring the feeling of having held the girl's little hand.

"..." Chen Jue had long become immune to his mother's occasional outrageous remarks.

After all, when his father had still been alive, his mother had declared that she wanted to have a beautiful daughter like He Tang.

Now she had merely changed the object of her fantasy to Miss Pei.

Nothing worth being surprised about.

After returning to their two-bedroom, one-living-room home.

Chen Jue first lit an incense stick before the portrait of his father, who wore the black uniform of the Jiangnan Myriad-House Office. Only then did he begin practicing his Primordial Stance in the living room.

Ms. He Yin, who was holding a mirror and removing her makeup, glanced at her diligently training son and sharply remarked, "Young Master, if you had worked this hard in martial high school, getting into Riverside Martial University wouldn't have been a problem."

"..." Chen Jue's breath caught, as though she had jabbed him right in the lungs. He exploded, "If you hadn't always bought me games and skins when I was in martial high school, would I have become hopelessly addicted to online games?"

Not only was Ms. He Yin not ashamed, she did not care in the slightest. Shrugging, she said, "That just means you had no self-control. How is that my fault?"

"Mom! You're the stumbling block on my path to becoming an immortal powerhouse!" Chen Jue denounced his mother even as he held his stance.

"Fine, fine, fine, Young Master. You're noble! You're amazing! I'm the biggest stumbling block on your immortal path, all right?"

At some point, Ms. He Yin had put on a face mask. She lay comfortably on the sofa watching short dramas, occasionally letting out silly giggles.

Chen Jue's face darkened. He silently repeated, She gave birth to me, she gave birth to me, then shut out all outside distractions and focused solely on his Sage Stance.

One hour, two hours...

After Ms. He Yin finished an entire series of <The Overbearing Devil Lord Fell in Love with Widowed Me and My Child>, she glanced sideways at her son and discovered that Chen Jue was still immersed in the same self-forgetful state, almost unchanged from two hours earlier.

She raised her head and looked once more at the portrait of her damn dead husband on the wall, unable to stop herself from sighing.

That man's genes really were powerful.

Poor son—after so many years of her happy education, the moment his mind matured a little, he had to return to the martial path of flashing blades and treacherous, storm-tossed clouds.

As the saying went: when one general's glory is won, ten thousand bones lie withered.

With her son's temperament of never bowing his head and holding grudges over the smallest slight, the greater his ability, the more dangers he would encounter.

"Ah, no matter how dazzling and glorious the world of martial artists may be..."

"Mom only hopes that you can live the rest of your life in peace and be a happy ordinary person..."