Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Hey, come on,” Lu Dong said. He thought Pei Yuming was joking with him, so he laughed and teased back, “That’s pretty wicked of you.”

Lu Dong expected Pei Yuming to shoot back with some sarcastic remark, but instead, Pei Yuming did not even bother to look at him. He picked up his book, went straight into the bedroom, and slammed the door so hard that even Bai Xue and Su Jin, who were busy in the kitchen, heard it.

“What happened?” Su Jin asked, poking her head out.

Lu Dong shrugged. “No idea. I just made a joke. Maybe he’s in a bad mood.”

Bai Xue shoved the ladle into Su Jin’s hand and said, “Keep an eye on the pot for me. Don’t let it boil over. I’ll go check on him. Even if he’s in a bad mood, he can’t just take it out on other people.”

“Hey, don’t. Don’t go,” Su Jin said hurriedly, grabbing her. “Maybe something happened at the hospital. He’ll be fine in a bit. Dinner’s almost ready. If you two start arguing again, on a happy day like this, how awful would that be?”

Bai Xue pursed her lips and glanced at Lu Dong, but still took off her apron. “It’s fine. I’ll just take a look. I won’t fight with him.”

When Bai Xue entered the bedroom, she saw Pei Yuming lying on the bed, and her temper flared at once. “How many times have I told you? Change your clothes before you lie on the bed after coming home. You wore those clothes outside all day and squeezed onto the subway in them. Who knows how many germs you brought back? You’re a doctor. Why do I still have to remind you about this?”

Pei Yuming rolled over, turning his back to Bai Xue without saying a word.

“Your shoes, your slippers, they’re all on the sheets!” Bai Xue snapped. She reached over to pull off his slippers, but Pei Yuming lifted his feet out of her reach.

Just as Bai Xue was about to lose her temper, he suddenly sat up from the bed and shouted, “Now you’re worried about things being dirty? Why weren’t you worried about that when you brought someone home?”

Bai Xue’s expression froze for a split second. Then she yelled back in an even sharper voice than his, “Pei Yuming, make yourself clear. What do you mean, ‘brought someone home’? Which of your damn eyes saw me bring anyone home? You think I’m like you, with nothing to do except go to work? I just sent a few joking messages to someone, and you’re going to hold that against me forever? Fine. Looks to me like you don’t want to live properly anymore. We might as well get divorced sooner and be done with it. This time, even if your family kneels down and begs me, I’m still getting the paperwork done!”

Those words were harsh. With Pei Yuming’s usual temper, he would have softened at least a little after that.

Bai Xue knew there were guests at home today and that she could not go back and forth with him the way she usually did, so she had gone straight for the killing blow.

But to her surprise, just as she waited confidently for Pei Yuming’s apology, he turned out to be even more unyielding than she was.

“Don’t worry. We are definitely getting divorced. Just not now,” Pei Yuming said darkly.

Bai Xue was so choked by his words that she nearly could not catch her breath. She shrieked, “What did you say? Say that again if you’ve got the guts!”

Pei Yuming raised his hand, patted her cheek, and warned through gritted teeth, “I’m giving you two choices. One, you go out there right now and keep cooking. Two, we go to the property office right now and pull the elevator surveillance footage. We don’t need to check all of it. Just around three o’clock today should be enough. How about it?”

“You…” Bai Xue stared at Pei Yuming as if she had seen a ghost. She was probably about to ask whether he knew, but in the end, she did not dare say it.

Outside, Su Jin and Lu Dong had been discussing whether they should go in and persuade the couple to calm down when the room suddenly fell silent. A short while later, Bai Xue opened the bedroom door with a strained smile on her face. “Let’s keep going. He’s tired and wants to rest for a bit.”

“Are you all right?” Lu Dong asked when he saw that her expression was off, stepping forward in concern.

But Bai Xue avoided him. She took the initiative to link arms with Su Jin and said with a smile, “I’ve already cleaned the lobster, but you’ll have to cook it. Mine never tastes good.”

The atmosphere in the house did not improve until Pei Yucheng, Pei Yuming’s younger brother, and his father, Pei Xianyu, arrived.

Pei Yuming did not show his face the entire time. When dinner was served, Su Jin came over to call him. He sat down at the table expressionlessly, neither eating nor drinking, and did not say a word.

His cold face was far too obvious. Now no one dared to pick up their chopsticks, and the atmosphere instantly became awkward to the extreme.

Pei Xianyu was the first to speak and advise him, “Yuming! Today is supposed to be a happy day. Whatever it is, talk about it after dinner.”

Pei Yuming glanced at the wall clock and said coldly, “Dad, you should wait. Xiaobei and the others will be here in a few minutes. Whether you’ll still be able to eat this meal then is another question.”

“This child…”

Pei Xianyu shot him a glare, but said nothing more. He had never known what to do with this eldest son of his.

But at that moment, Bai Xue could no longer sit still.

She slammed her chopsticks onto the table. “Not eating, are you? Then go downstairs.”