Chapter 45

Chapter 45

The moment he said that, the expressions of the three family members across the table darkened. Lu Dong and Su Jin still didn’t quite know what was going on, but from the tone of Pei Yuming’s words, they sensed nothing good.

As for Lu Zixuan, he naturally knew he was in the wrong-even a rabbit won’t eat the grass by its own burrow. Dating Pei Xiaobei behind the adults’ backs was never a particularly honorable thing to do.

And then there was the fact that Pei Xiaobei was pregnant. That was the truth, and he couldn’t talk his way out of it.

“Zixuan, what on earth did you do to make your Uncle Pei this angry?” Su Jin nudged her son and asked.

Lu Zixuan bit his lip, glanced at Pei Xiaobei, who was hiding in her mother’s arms, and said in a low voice, “Xiaobei is pregnant…”

“What?!” Su Jin’s expression went blank for a split second. She instinctively looked over at Pei Yuming, an unusual helplessness in her eyes.

Pei Yuming frowned slightly at her strong reaction. Even though he had already blown up once, having this shameful matter aired in front of everyone still annoyed him terribly, and his fist on the table clenched tight.

Lu Dong was especially adept at reading people. He reached out and patted his wife’s shoulder to comfort her, then spoke up to placate Pei Yuming across the table. “Lao Pei, when something like this happens, it really is Zixuan’s fault, and we adults haven’t raised him right. But the damage to Xiaobei is already done. If we keep harping on who’s right and wrong, it’ll only put more mental strain on the kids. Why don’t we talk this through calmly and figure out how we can make up for the harm to Xiaobei as best we can? What do you think?”

Lu Dong was a seasoned businessman, and his words were carefully chosen. First, he humbled himself and admitted fault, then used Pei Xiaobei’s physical and mental health as leverage to cut off any chance of Pei Yuming and Bai Xue pursuing the matter, and finally brought both families to the negotiating table. In a few sentences, he had turned a major issue into a minor one, and a minor one into nothing. No wonder Pei Yuming had repeatedly been outmaneuvered by him over the years.

At this point, Pei Yuming found it hard to keep pressing. He looked sullenly at Su Jin, and seeing her face even paler than Bai Xue’s, he couldn’t help but wonder.

He was the victim’s parent and hadn’t even said much, yet she was already giving him attitude.

Could it be she was afraid they’d make outrageous demands and take advantage of the situation?

“My daughter’s pregnancy definitely needs to be discussed thoroughly. But before that, I want to ask your son what exactly he meant by this. Not only did he seduce Xiaobei behind our backs, but he also persuaded her to switch from a solid clinical medicine major to music performance. What was going through his head? Does he want to ruin Xiaobei completely before he’s satisfied?”

Pei Yuming’s tone was harsh. Since they were taking this attitude, there was no point in holding back for the sake of friendship or face. He would say exactly what was on his mind.

Lu Dong glanced at his own son and asked, a little surprised, “Is that true, son?”

Lu Zixuan curled his lip impatiently and looked at Pei Xiaobei. “You tell him. I can’t get through to him.”

Pei Xiaobei bit her lip, regretting her earlier impulsiveness.

“What do you want her to say? Don’t you know whether you did it or not?”

Pei Yuming’s temper flared again, and he pounded the table in anger.

“What’s this? You wanna fight?” The police officer sitting in the middle rapped on the table and pointed at Pei Yuming. “You calm down right now. Is yelling going to solve anything? If you can’t keep a cool head, I’ll find a place for you to cool off first!”

Pei Yuming shook his head ruefully. “No need.”

The officer then turned to Pei Xiaobei. “Little girl, you tell us. Did he egg you on into switching majors?”
Pei Xiaobei still didn’t dare open her mouth.
“Say it!” Lu Zixuan grew anxious seeing her like this. “Did I tell you to switch? Aren’t you the one who likes singing, who wants to be a star? Why won’t you say it? There’s a police officer right here who can back you up-you don’t have to be afraid of your dad.”
Pei Yuming immediately wanted to slam the table again, but was stopped by a warning look from the officer at his side. “What are you talking about? What did I do to her? You’re making it sound like I abused her. Officer, listen to this-if that isn’t instigating, what is?”
The officer was getting a bit exasperated too. Whether it was instigation or not was hard to define in this case; ultimately, he was just here to mediate. To solve the problem, the parties involved had to speak for themselves.
“Don’t get worked up. Let the child speak. Young lady, you tell us-did you decide to switch majors because of something he said to you?”
Pei Xiaobei shrank into Bai Xue’s arms, looked at the angry Lu Zixuan, and finally shook her head.
“It wasn’t Brother Zixuan. I don’t want to study medicine. I like singing, I like music. I told him about it, and he was very supportive. He didn’t instigate me-I decided to change on my own.”
Pei Yuming glared fiercely at his daughter, but said nothing with the police present.
“Looks like we’ve cleared things up. Since you can discuss it calmly, just sign here and go home to talk it over,” said the officer, seeing that both sides had cooled down. He hurried to send them off-domestic matters were beyond his purview. Still, a warning was in order. He glanced at Pei Yuming. “Just one thing: don’t lose your temper again. You’re all adults. When problems come up, talk them through. You can’t just start hitting people. No more violence. Can you agree to that?”
Pei Yuming nodded sullenly, picked up the pen, and signed.
The six of them left the police station together. Lu Dong walked beside the Pei family, smiling ingratiatingly. “Lao Pei, we’ve been at this a while. How about I find a place where we can sit down, have a bite, and sort out the matter between Xiaobei and Zixuan?”
“There’s nothing to sort out!” Pei Yuming said stubbornly.
“Hey, don’t talk nonsense!” Lu Dong patiently reasoned. “To be honest, I’ve watched Xiaobei grow up-she’s no different from my own daughter. Since the two kids like each other, as parents we shouldn’t stand in their way. They’re still young, but at least we know them inside out. If we must, we can pick an auspicious day and make it official. They can let their feelings develop over time!”
Pei Yuming stormed ahead with his head down, as if he hadn’t heard a word Lu Dong said.
“What do you think, Xiao Xue?” Lu Dong, seeing that Pei Yuming was ignoring him, turned to seek support from the others.
Bai Xue glanced at Pei Yuming’s expression, thought for a moment, and neither agreed nor disagreed.
“No!” Su Jin, who had been preoccupied ever since leaving the police station, suddenly spoke up. She quickened her pace to catch up. “I don’t agree.”
“Huh?” Lu Dong never expected the first opposition to come from his own wife. He tugged at her sleeve and whispered, “What’s wrong? This is great, isn’t it? I see you and Xiaobei get along well normally. And it works out perfectly-Xiaobei wants to study music. I say, forget about taking entrance exams. Just apply directly to a music academy abroad. She can start when Zixuan does, and the two can look after each other overseas.”
“Right, Lao Pei,” Lu Dong grew more excited as he spoke, as if the matter were already settled. “We’ve known each other for decades, but we can’t skip the proper procedures. The house, the betrothal gifts-whatever conditions you have, just name them. I guarantee I won’t even blink. I’ll handle everything perfectly!”