Chapter 43

Did your system bind itself to the wrong person?!?!?!

Chapter 43

At noon the next day, just after class, Weng Shao received a call from Weng Zhen.

Weng Zhen had clearly learned that Weng Shao had contacted the forum administrator the previous night to question them about deleting his post without cause. He considered this a victory for the Weng family, and even his voice carried a triumphant swagger. "How does it feel to be silenced?"

"Now you understand, right? No matter how silver-tongued you are, if we don't give you a chance to speak, there's still nothing you can do."

"Don't think that sucking up to Pei Xingze means you can lord it over me and Dad. We have the Weng Group behind us. What do you have? Do you think Pei Xingze would mobilize the resources of the entire Pei Group just to vent your anger? Even if he wanted to, the others wouldn't agree."

"At the end of the day, you're just a dog Pei Xingze keeps by his side. They'd love nothing more than to see the Weng family tear each other apart."

Swept along by the crowd as he headed downstairs, Weng Shao could barely make out Weng Zhen's bragging through the noisy surroundings.

But even if he could not hear him clearly, Weng Shao knew what Weng Zhen wanted to say.

"Why aren't you talking? Gone mute?" On the other end of the line, Weng Zhen sneered when Weng Shao remained silent. "So there are times when even you have nothing to say."

Weng Shao chuckled. "You spent money to delete one post. Is that really worth getting so happy over?"

"Stop pretending to be calm." Weng Zhen scoffed as well. "We both know this is only the beginning. From now on, if we want to, we can keep you from saying a single word!"

"Weng Shao, the only value you have that makes Pei Xingze see you differently is your ability to stir up public opinion and disgrace the Weng family. Without that, do you think Pei Xingze would still bother with you?"

"Is that so?" Weng Shao asked. "Are you sure?"

"What else could it be?" Weng Zhen's tone was sharp and aggressive. "You don't honestly think the Pei family would truly accept you, do you? Don't forget, you're a Weng too."

"So what?" Weng Shao pressed.

"So the Pei family would never—" Before Weng Zhen could finish, he suddenly realized something. He drew a deep breath. "Stop playing dumb. Someone as shrewd as you can't possibly fail to see that Pei Xingze is only using you, can you? He's treating you like a gun. With your personality, you shouldn't be willing to let him use you either."

"I know you're angry, but when all is said and done, we're family." At this point, Weng Zhen abruptly changed the subject. "You're on lunch break now, right? Dad and I are at the school gate. Let's find somewhere quiet and sit down for a meal."

Weng Shao made no commitment. But after hanging up, he still strolled unhurriedly toward the school gate.

Weng Yingjie's stretch Lincoln was parked by the roadside.

The moment the driver saw Weng Shao walking over, he immediately got out and respectfully opened the car door for him.

Weng Yingjie and Weng Zhen sat primly inside the car.

"Get in," Weng Yingjie said blandly. "Your mother and Weng Sui are already at the restaurant."

After getting into the car, Weng Shao asked curiously, "Didn't Weng Sui go abroad to study?"

At those words, Weng Yingjie shot Weng Shao an irritated glare. "You have the nerve to ask?"

"If you hadn't sued Weng Sui for defamation, how would he have been unable to leave the country?"

Weng Shao had filed a criminal lawsuit at the time. Under the law, once a defendant was charged in a criminal case, they were not allowed to leave the country, whether the case had concluded or not.

"When exactly are you withdrawing the lawsuit?" Weng Zhen asked impatiently.

Weng Shao smiled faintly. "Why should I withdraw it?"

"Didn't you say my chances of winning were practically zero? If that's the case, you can hire the best lawyers and fight me in court."

"And then wait for you to lose the first trial before filing an appeal?"

Weng Zhen sneered, exposing Weng Shao's intentions. "You don't actually care who wins or loses this lawsuit. You just want to use it to maintain your popularity, drag things out as long as possible, disgust us, torment Weng Sui, and ruin the Weng family's reputation. Am I wrong?"

Leaning back against the leather seat, Weng Shao said helplessly, "If that's what you think, there's nothing I can do about it."

"Cut the act." Weng Zhen sniffed disdainfully. "Since you got into our Weng family's car, I assume you've recognized the situation?"

"Rather than be Pei Xingze's dog, why not come back to the Weng family and be our second young master?"

"Which matters more, dignity or money?" Weng Shao suddenly asked.

Weng Yingjie and his son exchanged a glance. Weng Yingjie spoke without giving anything away. "As long as you're willing to return to the Weng family, we can afford to give you whatever Pei Xingze can."

"Words are cheap." Weng Shao sneered. "You don't think I'd fall for the same trick twice and still believe you, do you?"

"Then what do you want?" Weng Zhen could no longer hold back and asked directly.

With one leg crossed over the other, Weng Shao said leisurely, "At the very least, I need to see your sincerity."

Weng Yingjie asked, "What do you want?"

But Weng Shao fell silent.

"You can take your time thinking about it," Weng Yingjie said.

The three remained silent all the way to the restaurant. Zhou Shujing and Weng Sui had already arrived.

When the server brought over the menu, Zhou Shujing immediately handed it to Weng Shao. "I'm an unqualified mother. I don't even know what you like to eat. You order."

Weng Shao did not stand on ceremony. Taking the menu, he ordered seven or eight dishes he liked in one breath, without the slightest concern for dining etiquette.

Instead, Weng Yingjie and Zhou Shujing looked delighted. "That's more like it!" It meant Weng Shao no longer treated them like outsiders.

"I'll have the chef practice these dishes properly. Once you come home, you'll be able to eat food that suits your taste."

Hearing this, Weng Sui pouted resentfully, too angry to speak. Because of the lawsuit, he could not go abroad to study and could only stay home day after day, wasting his education. Fortunately, the Weng family's background meant he did not need a degree to find work, so taking a semester off did not matter.

But choosing not to study was one thing; being unable to leave the country because someone had plotted against him was another. Not to mention that because of Weng Shao, Weng Sui had been cursed out by internet users across the country. Even if he was not utterly disgraced now, his carefully crafted image had completely collapsed. Ever since receiving the summons, Weng Sui had felt as though everyone was pointing at him and whispering. He had even been too embarrassed to attend parties hosted by his friends.

In any case, the grudge between the two brothers had been firmly established.

The more attentive Zhou Shujing was toward Weng Shao, the more unhappy Weng Sui became. But he did not dare go against his parents and older brother, so throughout the meal, he could only keep pouting and rolling his eyes, his little gestures never stopping.

Weng Shao ignored Weng Yingjie and Zhou Shujing's solicitous concern, and he paid no mind to Weng Sui's endless antics. He feasted heartily and enjoyed the meal immensely.

Throughout the meal, Zhou Shujing kept hinting around the subject, trying to persuade Weng Shao to withdraw the lawsuit. Weng Shao ignored her.

After eating, he even had Weng Yingjie's driver take him back to school.

"Mom, look at his attitude!" After Weng Shao left, Weng Sui complained loudly, his face full of displeasure. "He doesn't respect you or Dad at all."

Zhou Shujing patted the back of Weng Sui's hand reassuringly. "Don't worry. Mom won't let you suffer."

But Weng Sui was still dissatisfied. He shouted angrily, "But he keeps bullying me! He dares bully me like this outside. Once he comes home, won't he bully me to death? You never consider me at all. You just don't love me anymore."

Weng Sui did not understand why his parents would not hire lawyers to fight Weng Shao in court and instead kept begging Weng Shao to withdraw the lawsuit. Did that not indirectly prove that they were afraid of Weng Shao?

In a fit of anger, Weng Sui lifted his chin and said, "Fine, if you won't do anything, I'll find a lawyer myself and sue Weng Shao for violating my reputation rights!"

He had already consulted someone. As long as he sued Weng Shao on those grounds, he would win one hundred percent. Then he would make Weng Shao pin an apology to him on social media! And compensate him for emotional damages!

Weng Zhen frowned and said gravely, "Stop throwing a tantrum. The priority is getting Weng Shao home as soon as possible. Don't do anything unnecessary and complicate matters."

"But—"

"No buts." Weng Yingjie cut off Weng Sui's complaints, his authority unquestionable even without anger. "Your brother is right. Stop throwing a tantrum."

Weng Sui's heart trembled, and he did not dare say another word.

Over the next week, the Weng family frequently called Weng Shao. They either invited him out for meals, or Zhou Shujing personally cooked dishes and made a great fuss of delivering them to the school.

To win Weng Shao back, Weng Yingjie even transferred a three-hundred-square-meter luxury residence in downtown Jinghai City into Weng Shao's name. When he learned that Weng Shao was getting his driver's license, he had a sports car custom-made for him as well.

Weng Shao accepted both the house and the car. Then he gave all the food Zhou Shujing made to his roommates and classmates.

Before long, the teachers and students of Jinghai University all knew that the Weng family intended to mend its relationship with Weng Shao. Some news outlets also began reporting on the progress of the Weng family's reconciliation.

Influenced by those reports, the Weng Group's stock price, which had previously fallen to rock bottom, actually began showing signs of recovery.

At the Pei Group, Pei Shaoan walked into Pei Xingze's office holding a stack of gossip papers and asked sneakily, "Big Brother, has your little follower reported to you what he's been doing lately?"

Pei Xingze was bent over his documents. He did not even lift his eyelids at the question. "What does that have to do with you?"

"Of course it has something to do with me! You should read these papers first!" Pei Shaoan dumped the newspapers in his arms onto Pei Xingze's desk and said indignantly, "I knew there wasn't a good person in the Weng family. That lapdog is no exception. Big Brother, he's clearly using you—"

Before he could finish, Pei Xingze suddenly looked up at him. The icy sharpness in his eyes frightened Pei Shaoan into immediately falling silent.

He awkwardly rubbed his nose and tried to explain, "I don't mean anything else. I just think Weng Shao is an ungrateful bastard. He used you to gain the Weng family's attention, then turned around and started cozying up to his biological parents. Knowing our two families are at odds, he still helped the Weng Group repair its image and raise its stock price... Don't you think he's betraying you? A country bumpkin like him, someone even his own biological parents despised—if it weren't for Big Brother's support, how could he possibly have achieved his current success and reputation..."