Chapter 19

Pei Yan watched Zhu Jianxin pinch his fingers into a lotus pose, wiggle his fat backside, and mince away as if he wanted to look back every other step. Unable to hold back a laugh, he teased, "People these days really have no morals. Back then, when a hero saved a beauty, the beauty had to offer herself in repayment. But this fatty? Someone saves him, and he wants his savior to offer himself instead. Even if he isn't a con man, he's definitely no good person."

As he spoke, Pei Yan smoothly turned the subject toward himself. "I'm different. My family raised me well. Since I was little, my dad taught me to conduct myself with the bearing of the ancients, especially when it comes to repaying a life-saving favor by offering oneself—"

Before he could finish, Cheng Yu impatiently stuffed a slice of grilled steamed bun into his mouth. "Can't food shut you up?"

Pei Yan gave a muffled "Mm," ate the whole slice from Cheng Yu's hand, then continued shamelessly, "Our A-Yu is so considerate. You even remembered to pull the skewer out. Were you afraid you might accidentally poke my mouth?"

Hearing Pei Yan's trash talk, Cheng Yu was so disgusted his goosebumps practically fell to the floor. Unable to endure it any longer, he snapped, "Didn't your family teach you to behave like the ancients? Why didn't they teach you not to talk while eating or speak in bed?"

"Because we have to keep up with the times." Pei Yan grinned as he traded barbs with Cheng Yu. Although Cheng Yu was still impatient with him, Pei Yan quite enjoyed this state of affairs. Mainly because after falling into the water this time, Pei Yan had happily discovered that Cheng Yu's tolerance for him had risen considerably. Before, he could flirt ten times without even earning a glance. Now, just a couple of remarks would get a response. Cheng Yu even knew to feed him grilled bun slices, and yesterday he had peeled him an apple.

At this rate, Pei Yan felt that getting Cheng Yu to smile at him could be added to the agenda sooner rather than later.

Cheng Shao watched Pei Yan grin foolishly to himself and could not help shaking his head.

The barbecue lasted until after nine that night. Cheng Yu still wanted to head to a nightclub for a second round, but Cheng Shao talked him out of it after much persuasion.

"Even if you're mad at Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma are still waiting for you at home. They're worried about you. You don't want them to stay up all night unable to sleep, do you?"

No one knew a younger brother better than his older brother. Cheng Shao's words struck directly at what Cheng Yu cared about most. Cheng Yu immediately lost the mood to go have fun. The brothers obediently went home. Sure enough, Chen Simiao and Lin Sufen were waiting in the living room watching TV. When they saw that Cheng Shao had truly persuaded Cheng Yu to come back, they were overjoyed. "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Did you eat dinner?"

Cheng Shao nodded. "We had barbecue skewers with Pei Yan."

The elderly couple frowned, feeling that roadside food stalls were neither hygienic nor healthy, but neither of them said anything to spoil the mood. Lin Sufen smiled. "Grandma made mung bean soup for you. Would you like some?"

"Yes!" Cheng Yu smiled and put an arm around Lin Sufen's shoulders. "Thank you, Grandma."

Seeing that Cheng Yu was in a stable mood, the couple finally relaxed. While his wife went to the kitchen to serve the soup, Chen Simiao patted Cheng Yu's shoulder and earnestly advised, "Don't be angry with your mother. Her mouth is harsh, but she still worries about you a great deal."

Cheng Yu neither agreed nor disagreed, but he did not want to argue with his grandfather over such a small matter. He nodded perfunctorily. "Don't worry. I haven't taken it to heart."

As they spoke, Chen Lingyun came downstairs in her pajamas. When she saw the Cheng brothers, she showed no expression. With a stiff face, she went straight into the kitchen, poured herself a glass of water, drank half of it, then went upstairs again without expression.

Chen Simiao watched his daughter's retreating back and shook his head helplessly. "If I didn't know our housekeeper was diligent, I'd think there was no water upstairs."

Everyone knew whom those words were meant for. Cheng Shao could not help smiling as he leaned sideways and bumped Cheng Yu's shoulder. "I think Mom has exactly the same personality as you."

"Nonsense!" Cheng Yu snorted and said with complete sincerity, "I'm nowhere near as unreasonable as she is."

At that, the grandfather and grandsons exchanged glances, smiled knowingly, and lowered their heads to drink their soup.

Cheng Yu glanced at his grandfather and Cheng Shao, then gloomily drank a second bowl of mung bean soup. He was a little too full that night, and after sleeping all day, he was not sleepy at all. He also kept thinking about Zhao Jinchui's plot of land and Feng Guangxu's challenge at the shareholders' meeting. So he simply kept the lights on and sat at his desk writing plans all night, only feeling a trace of fatigue after five in the morning.

Cheng Yu craned his neck to look out the window. The sky was already bright, clusters of flowers made even more delicate by the morning dew. In the slightly damp dawn, his grandfather, dressed in white training clothes, had already begun practicing swordsmanship in the backyard. Cheng Yu thought for a moment, then changed clothes and went downstairs to join his grandfather for morning exercise.

"You're up this early again today?" Chen Simiao looked at Cheng Yu in surprise. He had not expected his youngest grandson, who had always loved sleeping in, to keep it up for two days in a row. He immediately praised him approvingly. "This is a good habit. Keep it up."

Cheng Yu smiled without saying anything. He practiced two sets of sword forms with his grandfather, and the two returned indoors with a light sheen of sweat. Cheng Yu was about to go upstairs to shower when he pushed open his bedroom door and saw Chen Lingyun standing at his desk, flipping through the plan spread out on it with an ugly expression.

"You wrote all this yourself?" Chen Lingyun held up the notebook and asked incredulously.

Cheng Yu frowned. "Why did you enter my room without my permission?"

"I'm your mother. Do I need your permission to enter your bedroom?" Chen Lingyun shot back aggressively. "Don't change the subject. I'm asking you, did you really write this?"

Cheng Yu pursed his lips unhappily but answered anyway. "Yes. I wrote it."

"Since when did you know so much about your Uncle Zhao's assets? You secretly investigated Feng Guangxu too? What exactly are you trying to do?" Chen Lingyun was practically breaking down. She had never imagined that her fun-loving, mischievous son could secretly be such a gloomy, frightening, calculating person.

"Our Cheng Family and your Uncle Zhao's family have been close friends for generations, yet you want to swallow up your Uncle Zhao's plot of land. No wonder you brought it up for no reason when your Uncle Zhao came yesterday. When exactly did you start having this idea? How did you find such detailed data? And Feng Guangxu's private investments, the way he used shell companies to collude with outsiders and swindle money from the company—how did you know about all that? When did you find out?" The more Chen Lingyun thought about it, the more chills ran down her spine. Once her mind was provoked, she began speaking without thinking.