Chapter 26

Everyone immediately cursed Pei Xingze for being such a show-off. What friends? Those clearly weren't the words you wanted to say!

Lu Qingyang cleared his throat, rose to his feet with a solemn expression, and said, "Weng Shao, a pleasure to meet you. I wonder whether Young Master Pei has mentioned me to you before."

Weng Shao smiled gently. It was midsummer, and the sunlight was brilliant. The golden light dyed his peach-blossom eyes a pale amber. As his gaze shifted, it seemed as though a glimmering sheen flowed within them.

Lu Qingyang was nearly mesmerized. In his daze, he only saw Weng Shao's lips opening and closing, but he did not hear a single word he said.

All he remembered was that Weng Shao's hand was very rough, with calluses of all sizes covering his palm and the web between his thumb and forefinger. It felt cool to the touch.

As Lu Qingyang sat down, he could not help flexing his fingers. His body temperature is so low. Could he be deficient in both qi and blood?

His thoughts began to wander. He remembered an old Chinese medicine doctor whom his grandfather often visited. Should he introduce Weng Shao to him?

As he thought, his gaze unconsciously stuck to Weng Shao's face. He noticed that Weng Shao's complexion was very pale—so pale it was dazzling, so pale it made one uneasy. Even his lips were faintly colored.

A breeze drifted in through the window, and sunlight scattered over the swaying leaves. Green shadows of light rippled like the shimmering surface of a lake. The shifting light made Weng Shao's pale face look even more like that of a beautiful ghost submerged beneath the water. When the time came, he would drag a substitute victim down into that endlessly rippling lake.

If he were the one dragged into the lake as a substitute victim, Lu Qingyang silently thought, he would gladly die.

By the time Lu Qingyang came back to himself, Pei Xingze had already introduced all twelve of his dubious friends in the private room to Weng Shao. Even the dishes they had ordered earlier had all arrived.

Pei Xingze sat beside Weng Shao, attentively picking fishbones out of his fish for him. Weng Shao sat beside Pei Xingze as well, calmly watching him remove the bones. He waited to eat the fish while taking small sips of soup.

Pei Xingze had poured the soup for him too. Beside Weng Shao was a bowl of steaming rice topped with several translucent shrimp, which Pei Xingze had just peeled.

The longer Lu Qingyang watched, the more amused he became.

Clearly, Pei Xingze had thrown this dinner together at the last minute, yet Weng Shao truly seemed as if he had simply come to eat.

Lu Qingyang swept his gaze around the table again and found that the others were just as distracted as he was. Still, to cooperate with Pei Xingze and Weng Shao, they held their chopsticks and picked up a few bites now and then.

Weng Shao quietly finished half a bowl of soup, and Pei Xingze had finished picking the bones from the fish.

"Shad has a lot of bones, but it tastes good. Give it a try." As Pei Xingze spoke, he sighed again. "Actually, it's already a little late in the season for shad. Next April or May, we can go to Jiangnan to eat fish."

Weng Shao nodded. He did not like talking while eating, but at dinner gatherings, people were expected to trade toasts and witty remarks. In both his past and present lives, Pei Xingze was the only person Weng Shao had ever seen who could turn a dinner party into simply eating dinner.

Everyone knew that the eldest son of the Pei family had always been unconventional and uninhibited. He had enough temper and enough confidence to trample every customary rule beneath his feet.

Now, Pei Xingze was willing to share that privilege with Weng Shao.

Whether he was flaunting his wealth and power or had some ulterior motive, Weng Shao accepted it gladly.

He deserved it.

Author's Note:

Chapter 26

After dinner, the group of rich second-generation heirs started clamoring about continuing on to the next round.

They eagerly discussed whether to go singing, horseback riding, golfing, or hiking next. The weather was good today, after all, so they could even head out to sea for night fishing.

Pei Xingze watched Weng Shao's expression and noticed what seemed to be a trace of fatigue on his calm face. He lowered his voice and asked, "Do you want me to take you back to the hotel?"

Lu Qingyang had been secretly watching the interactions between Pei Xingze and Weng Shao. Hearing that, he immediately suggested, "How about we go soak in a hot spring? Didn't a new hot spring hotel open in the northern suburbs?"

Pei Xingze frowned. They had only just met, and he worried that Weng Shao would feel uncomfortable going to a hot spring together.

Yet before Pei Xingze could speak, Weng Shao had already politely declined. "It's getting late. I want to go back to the hotel."

He explained, "I have to record a program at the television station tomorrow. I want to think in advance about what I should say."

Lu Qingyang was just about to speak when Pei Xingze beat him to it.

President Pei asked with a concerned expression, "Should I have someone from the PR department write you a script?"

Weng Shao steadily drank the last sip of tea and replied calmly, "No need."

On second thought, Pei Xingze agreed. Weng Shao was no ordinary high school graduate. With his masterful PR methods, a mere move on his part had already caused the Weng family enormous losses. How could a scripted interview program possibly stump him?

If even Weng Shao felt uncertain, then even if a hundred people wrote scripts for him, none would do better than he could himself. Pei Xingze had casually suggested hiring a ghostwriter for Weng Shao; Weng Shao might think he was looking down on him.

Thinking this, Pei Xingze smiled apologetically and said softly, "My mistake. Concern has made me lose my judgment."

As he spoke, he truly seemed to have lost his judgment from concern as he poured himself a cup of leftover tea. "I'll use tea in place of wine and offer you an apology."

Weng Shao watched coldly as Pei Xingze used the cup Weng Shao had just drunk from to pour tea, raise a toast, and apologize. The entire sequence was smooth and effortless, and even the way he tipped back his head to drink was exceptionally bold. It was just that...

Weng Shao frowned. "Cold tea is bad for the stomach."

Pei Xingze smiled again. "You care about me so much. Does that mean you're not angry with me anymore?"

Weng Shao thought that he had not been angry in the first place. He did not even understand why Pei Xingze had to humble himself so much in front of so many people. Everyone present was one of Young Master Pei's friends. He was pouring tea and apologizing to an outsider in front of people he knew, and over such a trivial matter at that. Did he not find that embarrassing?

Weng Shao lowered his eyes, unable to understand the reason behind Pei Xingze's actions. Was it because of tomorrow's interview, so he was coaxing him into willingly serving as a weapon?

But wasn't this already agreed upon? Pei Xingze can't possibly be worried that I'll suddenly back out at the last minute, can he?

Could I, Weng Shao, possibly be the kind of fool who is indecisive and cares about family ties?

As Pei Xingze watched Weng Shao's snow-cold brows and eyes suddenly turn distant, his heart inexplicably sank.

This is bad. Afraid that his eagerness to declare his claim in front of his friends had crossed the line and truly angered Weng Shao, he hurriedly said, "Let me take you back to the hotel, all right?"

Before Weng Shao's emotions could even fully form, they were washed away by the plea in Pei Xingze's eyes.

"I'm not angry." Weng Shao spoke instinctively. He hesitated, seeming to want to say something but ultimately did not. He only said, "Let's go."

Lu Qingyang watched coldly as the two men talked and talked until they had completely forgotten about him. His expression was indescribable. The rich heirs watching nearby also looked at Pei Xingze with aching teeth.

—Call him cheap, and he really started acting up.

In the span of one meal, there had been "friends," "concern has made me lose my judgment," and even an apology with tea in place of wine! They could not even be bothered to point out that it was not an apology at all. He just wanted to drink that cup of tea!

He had even racked his brains to find an excuse. His brain must have nearly dried up!

Served him right!

The rich heirs exchanged glances and silently mocked him among themselves.

They had only come to an ordinary dinner gathering. This was not some bizarre engagement banquet, was it?

The rich heirs, who had been caught off guard and force-fed romance, were gleefully watching the show. Pei Xingze, however, could not be bothered with his dubious friends anymore! Though he had thrown this dinner together at the last minute, this host perfectly embodied the phrase "forgetting friends for a pretty face." "We have something to do, so we're leaving first. Go on with the next round. Go wherever you want—put it on my tab."

Pei Xingze waved his hand and left after accomplishing his purpose.

As they watched the two depart together, the laughter in the private room gradually faded.

After a long while, someone suddenly asked, "Is Young Master Pei serious?"

No one answered.

Even before coming here, they had known that Young Master Pei had taken a fancy to someone, but none of them had taken it seriously. After all, Weng Shao was merely a poor student with no family background or connections. He was only lucky enough to catch Pei Xingze's eye and be used as his weapon.

They might not think much of a poor person, but a clever, capable poor person who had won Young Master Pei's favor was worth a measure of respect. At the very least, for Pei Xingze's sake, there was no need to offend him.

Some had even secretly been waiting, thinking that once Pei Xingze grew tired of him, they would eventually have their chance...

But now, it seemed he was not someone they could touch!

The black Rolls-Royce Phantom was caught in the impenetrable traffic of rush hour.

Weng Shao and Pei Xingze sat side by side on the leather back seats. Outside the window, colorful neon lights occasionally flashed across Weng Shao's snow-pale cheeks. Pei Xingze quietly studied Weng Shao's expressionless face, secretly trying to gauge his thoughts.

"Let's go to your place," Weng Shao suddenly said.

"...What?" Pei Xingze did not react at first. He froze for a moment before speaking.

Weng Shao patiently repeated, "Didn't President Pei say before that you wanted me to stay at your home?"

Pei Xingze's heart leaped straight into his throat, fireworks nearly going off in his head, but he still hesitantly said, "But didn't you say before that you wanted to stay at a hotel?"

This was Weng Shao's first time coming to Jinghai to record a program, and Pei Xingze's first thought had been to have Weng Shao stay at his home.

At the time, Weng Shao had refused Pei Xingze's invitation on the grounds that staying at a hotel would make subsequent PR efforts more convenient.

Weng Shao's original intention was to separate this interview from Pei Xingze as much as possible—though everyone knew that Pei Xingze had arranged the interview behind the scenes. But knowing was one thing; it did not stop Weng Shao from using the guise of an impoverished genius to pressure the Weng family and Weng Group.