Chapter 20

With that interruption, everyone immediately forgot about condemning the reporters and Weng Shao's biological father, all chiming in, "Thank you, President Pei."

Pei Xingze answered steadily, "You're welcome. It was thoughtful of you to come visit Weng Shao. I should be the one thanking you."

Huh?

Everyone looked at one another and scratched their heads in confusion. Something about hearing those words from President Pei just seemed off!

Weng Shao chuckled to himself without saying anything.

After successfully placating the mighty President Pei, Weng Shao turned his gaze to Zhang Chang. "Why are you here too?"

Zhang Chang twisted open a bottle of cola and gulped down more than half of it in one go. Hearing Weng Shao's question, he immediately said, "I'd just gotten off the plane when Zhou Mingjing and Jiang Rui called me. First, they told me the college entrance exam scores were out, that everyone in our class did pretty well, and that you were the top scorer in our province. Then they said you'd been hospitalized, that everyone wanted to come see you, and asked whether I was coming. The moment I heard that, I didn't even go home. I took a cab straight here from the airport."

Before he could finish speaking, the door was pushed open again.

Pei Xingze's face darkened when he saw who entered. "What are you doing here?"

Weng Yingjie, who had finally managed to bring the reporters inside, was equally livid. "My son is sick with a fever. I came to visit my biological son. Is there a problem with that? President Pei, on the other hand, first deliberately provoked discord between my son and me, and now you want to use a sick child. Your methods are truly vile."

Standing at the doorway, Weng Yingjie looked at Weng Shao in the hospital bed with a pained expression. "He's still just a child. He doesn't understand anything. Can't you leave him out of the feud between our two families?"

The moment Weng Yingjie finished speaking, Zhou Shujing, who had been silently standing beside him, suddenly rushed forward. With lightning speed, she threw herself beside the hospital bed, grabbed Weng Shao's wrist, and wept, "My poor son, why didn't you tell me you were sick? I knew something was wrong when I woke up this morning. I'd been restless, and my eyelid kept twitching. So something had happened to you."

"They say a mother and son are connected at heart. I never believed it, but now I do. No matter what, you're the child I carried for ten months and gave birth to. How could I not love you? Do you know how much it hurts me to see you like this?"

Outside the ward, a group of reporters carried cameras and recording equipment, scrambling to film and take pictures. Some even tried to squeeze into the room, only to be stopped outside by a look from Pei Xingze.

"I said no filming!"

Seeing that Pei Xingze was clearly about to lose his temper, Weng Shao spoke first from the hospital bed. "Do you think I'm dead?"

His voice, seemingly laced with ice chips, instantly froze Zhou Shujing, who had been sprawled over him and wailing.

"You believe a mother and son are connected at heart?" Weng Shao lowered his head and carefully examined Zhou Shujing's face, whose makeup had not even smudged from crying. The corner of his lips curled in mockery. His peach blossom eyes turned soft and alluring beneath the wash of a smile, but the words from his mouth were as sharp as knives. "I suffered in the countryside for eighteen years while you enjoyed eighteen years of luxury in Jinghai. If there really were such a connection, why didn't the pain kill you during those first eighteen years?"

"Or is this so-called mother-son connection of yours only tied to Weng Group's stock price? The worse Weng Group's stock falls, the more your heart hurts?"

"So does it hurt even to breathe right now?"

"My situation is exactly the opposite." Weng Shao shook off Zhou Shujing's hand, pulled a disinfectant wipe from the box on the bedside table, and slowly wiped the back of the hand she had held. Bright-eyed, he said, "The worse Weng Group's stock falls, the better I feel. Our boss made a fortune shorting Weng Group and even gave me a one-million bonus. I'm thrilled right now."

"If the two of us really are connected at heart, then you should be just as happy as I am. Why are you crying so miserably?"

"Could it be tears of joy?"

Author's Note:

Chapter 20

Zhou Shujing froze completely.

Her face still wore the fake concern and heartache a mother should show upon hearing that her child was ill—though those outward emotions were incredibly superficial, and her acting was so poor that even a rookie actor with formal training could have done better. Yet after hearing Weng Shao's brutally vicious mockery, her eyes abruptly filled with resentment and venom. The two emotions blended across her exquisitely made-up face, producing an exceptionally complicated expression.

Like a Peking opera mask smeared messily with dirt—

With a click, Weng Shao pulled out the phone from beneath his pillow and thrust it in front of Zhou Shujing's face, snapping a photo with lightning speed.

"This is art," Weng Shao said solemnly. "If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, it would be hard to imagine such a complicated expression appearing on one person's face."

"Weng Shao!" Zhou Shujing finally snapped, unable to endure any longer. "What exactly do you want? What do I have to do before you'll let us go?"

Her shrill, piercing voice was like the explosive squeal of microphone feedback, a hysterical wave of noise pollution drilling straight into Weng Shao's ears.

The noise made Weng Shao's ears ring. Feeling slightly dizzy, he covered his ears and frowned in discomfort. Zhou Shujing seized the chance to snatch away his phone and frantically opened the gallery to delete the photo.

But she was already too late. Weng Shao had sent the photo to his class group chat and the larger grade group chat.

"What did you do? Why would you do this? Are you trying to ruin me?" Zhou Shujing felt a nameless fury shoot straight to the top of her head. Her eyes were bloodshot as she glared at Weng Shao, who sat calmly on the hospital bed. Terrifying red veins instantly spread across her eyeballs, making her face look even more twisted and hideous.

Zhou Shujing truly hated him to the bone. If there had not been a group of reporters outside filming and taking pictures, she would have loved nothing more than to slap Weng Shao across the face.

Unfortunately, she couldn't! All she could do was viciously smash Weng Shao's phone onto the floor. With a bang, the phone he had bought only days ago shattered into pieces. Two streams of tears ran down Zhou Shujing's face, black eyeliner trailing into two crooked streaks. Her makeup was finally ruined.

Weng Shao lounged comfortably in the hospital bed and even had the leisure to comment on Zhou Shujing's acting. "You look much better crying now than you did earlier."

After a brief pause, Weng Shao added, "At least these are real emotions."

"You really are insane!" Zhou Shujing panted heavily, her chest rising and falling sharply. Even though she considered herself a refined member of high society, she could not control the violent fury rising from the depths of her heart. "How could I have given birth to such a terrifying son? You're not even human."

"Then I must take after my family." Weng Shao clapped his hands hypocritically, smiling warmly. "That only proves we're one family."

The implication was obvious: he clearly thought no one in the Weng family was human!

"Enough!" Weng Yingjie spoke with a livid expression. He looked at Weng Shao with disgust. "I don't know who bewitched you into being stupid enough to help an enemy deal with your own family. But I must remind you: do you really think Pei Xingze is good to you? It's only because you still have value to him. He wants to use you against us. That's why he buys your loyalty with a few petty favors and lures you into obeying him in everything."

"Once you lose your value, he'll kick you aside without hesitation. When that happens, he'll still be the eldest young master of the Pei family, while you'll be abandoned by everyone and become a stray dog."

"You're still too young. You don't understand how sinister people can be. Take this hospitalization for your high fever. Fine, he didn't tell us, but why didn't he even tell Yu Huixin?"

"He clearly wanted to use this opportunity to sever your ties with your family and create the illusion that he was the only one around you who cared for you and would look after you. That way, you'd become more dependent on him, and he could use you even more thoroughly." Weng Yingjie said earnestly.

Pei Xingze guiltily looked away. He had indeed had selfish motives for not informing Yu Huixin to come care for Weng Shao. He wanted to be the first person Weng Shao saw when he opened his eyes.

Weng Shao's eyelids twitched slightly as he silently looked at Pei Xingze.

Seeing this, Weng Yingjie mistakenly assumed his attempt to sow discord had worked. His spirits lifted, and he pressed on. "If we hadn't learned from the reporters—"

Before he could finish, a hesitant question interrupted him. "...Um, aren't we people too?"

Weng Yingjie's long speech came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone turned toward the voice and saw Zhang Chang awkwardly raise his right hand. He said sheepishly, "There are so many of us here. We all came to see Weng Shao!"

The classmates, who had been engrossed in watching the drama, finally caught on and immediately chimed in, "That's right! We all care about Weng Shao! What do you mean only President Pei cares about him and looks after him?"

"Chairman Weng really doesn't see us as people!"

Pei Xingze, who had also been caught off guard, recovered and defended himself with restrained dignity. "I discovered Weng Shao had a fever by accident when I went to the dormitory to pick him up this morning. I immediately took him to the hospital and didn't have time to notify Ms. Yu Huixin."

A faint smile appeared in Weng Shao's eyes. He knew Pei Xingze's little scheme perfectly well, but he merely said in an even tone, "When I woke up, I told President Pei not to notify my mother. I only had a fever. It wasn't as though I was dying. Since President Pei and the caregiver were already here to look after me, there was no need for my mother to take leave from work to care for me. She'd only just started her job. Taking leave would not only mean a pay cut, but would also leave a bad impression on her supervisor and coworkers."

"I can't take advantage of President Pei's kindness and act spoiled because of his favor."

The moment Weng Shao used the phrase "act spoiled because of his favor," Pei Xingze's heart began pounding violently against his will. He did not know whether Weng Shao had only just recovered from his fever and could not think of a more appropriate expression—though, honestly, the idiom fit quite well.

Pei Xingze thought happily, What does it matter if an employee as capable, resourceful, obedient, and sensible as Weng Shao acts spoiled because of his favor? I, Pei Xingze, can afford to spoil him!