Chapter 58

"How dare you talk to your parents like that?"

Pei Jinglin, accompanied by his wife Sheng Shu, approached him. Pei Jinglin frowned in displeasure at Pei Yizhou's coldness and impatience.

The two of them have outstanding looks and temperament, especially Sheng Shu, who is naturally noble. Pei Yizhou looks like her, but his personality does not follow anyone. He is distant, cold and arrogant, and does not get close to anyone. Pei Jinglin often wonders if his son is in the wrong arms. Otherwise, how could such a warm-hearted person give birth to such a stern person every day?

Sima Lian's son.

"Speaking of which, that necklace was meant for your mother; I'll have it delivered to her residence later."

No need to see me out.

Pei Jinglin raised his thick eyebrows, his tone unfriendly. "What did you say?"

"I said I wouldn't deliver it." Pei Yizhou completely ignored him. "You want to buy it yourself."

There's only one of that necklace in the whole world; where can he buy it?

Pei Jinglin was about to get angry when his wife calmed him down. "Yizhou, I just saw you with a female companion. Are you seeing her off?"

Sheng Shu had sharp eyes and had noticed the girl standing next to Pei Yizhou earlier, but she was too far away to see clearly what she looked like. Unlike her husband, who was slow to react, Pei Yizhou had never been one to pay attention to girls before, and this was the first time he had been so close to a girl.

Pei Jinglin suddenly realized, "You have a girlfriend?"

His parents kept pressing him for answers, Pei Yizhou, feeling annoyed, retorted, "It's none of your business."

"Hey, you've really grown up now. If we were still at home, I would have already..."

Before he could finish speaking, Pei Yizhou caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye. That cold gaze made Pei Jinglin shrink back, his fierce expression instantly vanishing. He cowered behind his wife, pulling her arm and whispering, "... Your son was mean to me."

Sheng Shu raised her chin slightly, her voice icy as she warned, "Pei Yizhou, don't yell at your father."

"..."

bother.

"Then stay away from me and don't get involved in my affairs."

Pei Yizhou has a rather distant family relationship and doesn't have much affection for his parents.

The couple proved the saying, "Parents are true love, children are an accident." Not long after Pei Yizhou was born, the two went on a trip and didn't care about him. When he grew up and became more sensible, they simply left the whole family to him and went off to enjoy themselves.

Pei Yizhou wasn't a saint; he naturally had his share of grievances and complaints, but as time went by, he gradually became indifferent to them all. His parents were unreliable, and he didn't want them interfering in his and An Xiang's affairs.

"Pei Yizhou, Momo is about to go on stage."

Upon hearing the sudden sound, Pei Yizhou's expression changed instantly.

An Xiang didn't notice anything unusual and walked over on her own. Only when she got closer did she realize that there were two other people standing in front of Pei Yizhou. They were very young and looked a lot like Pei Yizhou.

While An Xiang at them, the couple were also sizing An Xiang up.

Too thin, too fair-skinned, too beautiful; my son isn't good enough for her.

"Did you come with Pei Yizhou?"

Their gazes were a little strange. An Xiang nodded and unconsciously moved closer to Pei Yizhou. This small gesture made the couple exchange glances and smile ambiguously.

"Girl, are you even human?"

Anyone else would probably be annoyed to hear this, but An Xiang is no ordinary person.

She thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'd say that's a fair assessment."

Her current body is human, but her soul is that of a pure Vampire; she's at most half a human.

"You and our Pei Yizhou are...?"

"Alright." Pei Yizhou raised his arm to shield An Xiang behind him, stopping his parents' increasingly inappropriate questions. "Don't say anything more, you'll scare her."

Oh wow.

This kid's even protecting girls now?

Pei Jinglin's eyes were filled with satisfaction. He wanted to look at An Xiang a few more times, but his eyes were blocked by that arm. He awkwardly looked away and was dragged to the other side by Sheng Shu.

With only one performance left, everyone was astonished when An Zimo came on stage with his suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument). It has to be said that this move definitely attracted the attention of the adults. These days, parents usually send their children to learn several musical instruments, mainly piano and violin. It's the first time I've ever seen someone so young playing the suona; it's truly a novel experience.

Seeing that her son was about to perform, An Xiang excitedly tugged at Pei Yizhou's sleeve.

He looked down at the slender, white finger, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The unique melody of the suona resounded throughout the hall, drowning out Pei Nuo's singing and the background accompaniment. Pei Nuo tried to sing her heart out but couldn't get her voice up, so she simply stopped and started dancing along with An Zimo.

The suona can be used for both funerals and weddings. The melody of "The Little Worm Flies" is slightly sad, so it naturally produced the former effect. What was originally an elegant and luxurious hall was suddenly turned into a funeral hall, devoid of joy and celebration.

An Zimo was playing the flute with great enthusiasm, while Pei Jinglin and Sheng Shu, not far away, found An Zimo increasingly familiar. That face... how could it look so much like their son?!

"Could Pei Yizhou have had a baby behind our backs?" Pei Jinglin exclaimed in shock, whispering to his wife in alarm.

Sheng Shu thought it was impossible. Pei Yizhou was cold-hearted and arrogant, plus he had a loss of taste. In the Vampire world, that would be considered a cold personality. How could he have given birth to such a big child?

but...

Sheng Shu stared at An Zimo; his face looked exactly like his.

After the performance, An Zimo stepped off the stage, ignoring the stares of others, and walked straight to An Xiang.

"Son, are you tired? Mommy will get you a cold drink."

Mommy?

The couple gasped; the three of them standing together definitely looked like a family of three.

They could no longer stand still and hurried over, but Pei Yizhou was very vigilant. He blocked their way, hooking one of them with each arm and leading his parents to a corner.

This was a quiet place, with greenery perfectly shielding them from the view of others. Pei Yizhou stood with his hands in his pockets, observing them with a calm and indifferent expression.

"You brat, don't block my way! That kid was my grandson, wasn't he?"

Pei Jinglin is already over 100 years old. He's had his fill of fun in his youth, and his purpose in coming back this time is to urge Pei Yizhou to get married as soon as possible so that he can have a grandchild and experience raising a child, something he never had when he was young.

Pei Yizhou stopped him without any politeness.

"What... what do you mean?"

Pei Yizhou said coldly, "Mind your own business."

Pei Jinglin: "...??"

Pei Jinglin: "!!!"

How dare this little brat talk to adults like that?!

"If you keep acting so disrespectfully, I'll really get angry!" Pei Jinglin glared fiercely at Pei Yizhou, only to find that Pei Yizhou's gaze was even more ferocious than his own, clearly not taking him seriously.

Pei Jinglin pursed his lips in grievance, then turned and shrank behind Sheng Shu, complaining, "... My son was mean to me again."

"Pei Yizhou, don't yell at your dad." Sheng Shu was very unhappy. "He's timid. If you yell at him and he makes you cry, are you going to comfort him?"

Pei Yizhou had really had enough.

"Zimo is my child, that's true, but our relationship isn't as simple as you think. I'm warning you, don't interfere in my affairs, or don't blame me for turning my back on you." He spoke rudely, showing no regard for them as his parents.

Sheng Shu was well aware that Pei Yizhou had harbored resentment towards them over the years, but they were, after all, mother and son. How could a son have a child without his parents knowing?

"Yizhou, would you like to invite them to our house? We can sit down and have a proper talk."

Pei Yizhou ignored him.

He knew An Xiang's personality well; the girl had no feelings for him whatsoever, and given her racial identity, taking her back to the Pei Family now would only scare her and make her feel pressured or coerced.

Pei Yizhou was unwilling to do that.

"An Xiang is the person I admire." Pei Yizhou's voice was hoarse, each word filled with genuine emotion. "I hope that one day she will like me for who I am, not because we have a child together."

The two were taken aback.

Pei Yizhou's eyes were filled with stubbornness, and Sheng Shu knew he was truly in love.

"That's why I don't want you getting involved," Pei Yizhou said, glancing at Pei Jinglin's face, "Especially you."

These four words instantly broke the old father's heart.

What do you mean by "especially you"? Why is he considered "especially"?!

The banquet was nearing its end, and with his parents' presence, Pei Yizhou no longer had the desire to stay. He turned back to An Xiang's side and said, "Let's go, I'll take you home."

An Xiang nodded and glanced in Sheng Shu's direction. "Are they your parents?"

"Hmm." Pei Yizhou responded lightly, unwilling to say anything more.

An Xiang didn't bother to pry into other people's family backgrounds, but judging from his current expression, his family relationships probably weren't very harmonious.

What would Mr. Pei like to eat tonight?

"Um?"

An Xiang smiled and said, "I'll make it for you."

Her dimples were sweet, melting Pei Yizhou's heart.

Ask Momo what he wants to eat.

An Zimo was fiddling with the brand-new suona when she heard Pei Yizhou's words. Her eyelashes trembled. "I won't eat." Trying to use him to gain favor? No way.

Sure enough, Pei Yizhou's smile changed.

[You brat.]

An Zimo lazily lifted his eyelids and slowly mouthed a sentence that translates to. "You, again, scold."

[Oh.]

Heh my ass.

The father and son exchanged glances, and An Xiang was very pleased. "Momo seems to really like Mr. Pei."

Blood relations are truly amazing!

Her son never flirted with her.

An Zimo's eyebrows twitched. Was she blind? Where did she get the idea that he was flirting with her???

**

The banquet went well, and the next day An Xiang began closely monitoring online activity, afraid of seeing her face on camera. Pei Yizhou seemed to have someone suppress the news; she didn't see her own face, but she did see a video of her son being filmed and posted online, which had already garnered 10,000 reposts overnight.

[Starbucks Trash: This kid's got talent! It's the first time I've ever seen a kid perform the suona at a charity gala.]

The photographer was far away, and the lighting was dim, so the picture was not very clear, and An Zimo's face could not be seen clearly. However, it did not affect An Zimo's flamboyant style when playing the suona at all.

--I'm dying of laughter, is that the Little Worm Flies?

--The insect said it wouldn't fly anymore, and I fucking can't fly anymore.

--The kids next to me stopped singing, hahaha.

So what instrument can beat the suona?

--Replying to the person upstairs, Erhu, he plays "Hundred Birds Worship the Phoenix Paying Galloping Horses," you play "Ten Thousand Horses Galloping"; he plays "Crying at the Fifth Watch," you play "Moon Reflected in the Moon Reflected on the Second Spring." When he rejoices, you rejoice even more; when he grieves, you griev even more. You can choose whichever path you choose.

"..."

An Xiang died laughing at the comments, then scrolled through them for a while longer, and inspiration struck.

She turned on her computer and started drawing comics. Today's theme was "Tiger Cub Plays the Suona," inspired by life—perfect.

An Xiang updating her comic just after 4:30. She rubbed her wrists, changed her clothes, and went out to pick up her child.

An Xiang was always the first one to pick up her child, but when she arrived, she heard Teacher Lin say, "Mr. Pei has already sent someone to pick up all three of them. Didn't Mr. Pei tell you?"

Pei Yizhou?

An Xiang a vague feeling that something was wrong. Pei Yizhou would always discuss things with him before doing anything, and it was impossible for him to take the child away without saying a word.

She was a little anxious and quickly found Pei Yizhou's number and called. As soon as the call connected, An Xiang asked, "Did you have someone pick up Momo?"

"No, I'm currently on a business trip in C City. What's wrong?"

An Xiang a chill run down her spine, realizing something was wrong.

"I'm at kindergarten now. Teacher Lin said you had someone pick up the child."

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I didn't post two chapters yesterday, so I'm making up for it with three chapters today.

Random red envelopes.