Chapter 52
Chapter 52
It seemed Pei Yuming had been telling the truth before. He really did love Bai Xue. Otherwise, he never would have risked losing his job and ruining his future just to insist on being with her, nor would he have failed to look too closely into whether she had even been single at the time.
As for Su Jin, Cao Lei’s earlier hypothesis was probably wrong. Pei Yuming had most likely never loved Su Jin from beginning to end. From the way he had described Lu Dong’s character, and from the matter of setting Su Jin up with him, it was clear that he did not care whether Su Jin lived or died.
And setting things up for Lu Dong was probably a sign of guilt. He knew Bai Xue had been Lu Dong’s girlfriend, yet he had stolen Bai Xue from Lu Dong back then. Afterward, he had made it up to him by introducing Su Jin to him. That could be considered a kind of tacit understanding between men.
But since he did not love Su Jin, why was there such an obvious protectiveness toward her in his words? He did not even blame her when his own daughter had jumped off a building because of her. That did not fit the logic of his behavior.
Cao Lei could not help rubbing his chin. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the watch on his wrist and suddenly asked in a deep voice, “Lao Pei, did you go back again just now?”
Cao Lei had originally intended to catch him off guard. Since Pei Yuming had made up such an absurd story, he had to be prepared to have it exposed. Unexpectedly, when Pei Yuming heard the question, not only did he not panic, he nodded as if it were perfectly natural and admitted, “Yes, I went back. But because of my wife’s negligence, there was a gas leak at home and an explosion, so we couldn’t have dinner together. Then I came back again.”
“An explosion? You’re saying you were blown up this time?”
“Uh, no,” Pei Yuming said. “We were downstairs at the time.”
“That convenient?” Cao Lei’s suspicion was obvious.
Seeing that he did not believe him, Pei Yuming wanted to explain, but just as he was about to speak, a dazzling white light flashed before his eyes. He sighed. Fine. He would have to explain it to him later.
Pei Yuming got off the subway early again and took a taxi straight to the hospital.
Last time, he had failed to get an answer out of Su Jin. Even if he had, he would not have been able to judge directly whether what she said was true. He figured he might as well go straight for a DNA test.
This time, he intercepted the two of them right at the hospital entrance. He did not argue with Lu Zixuan again. Instead, he simply dragged both of them into the taxi waiting by the curb.
The two kids were obviously guilty. Even after getting in the car, neither of them dared ask where he was taking them for a long while.
The hospital where Pei Yuming worked was the largest and most authoritative Grade-A tertiary hospital in the city. He took his daughter and Lu Zixuan straight to the Clinical Laboratory.
A DNA test was not like a blood test. Even with an expedited request, the results usually took twenty-four hours. Pei Yuming had less than four hours. If he wanted to see the test report before he went back, he could only go to his own hospital.
Su Jin had said the results could be ready in three hours. As the director of the Clinical Laboratory, her word was naturally the most authoritative.
Under normal circumstances, Pei Yuming would never have done something like this at the hospital where he worked, even if it killed him. If word got out, his reputation would be finished.
But after so many Flashback events, he had grown somewhat emboldened. In any case, once he went back, everything would reset to zero. He could endure a few hours of strange looks from his colleagues.
He took the two of them straight to the blood draw window and had the nurse inside draw their blood.
“Dad, what are you doing?” Pei Xiaobei pressed a cotton swab to the puncture mark and asked tentatively.
Lu Zixuan was also looking at him, but he did not quite dare stare openly. There was more probing than anything else in his expression. He was probably trying so hard to guess whether Pei Yuming knew Xiaobei was pregnant that his brain was about to overheat.
Pei Yuming did not answer his daughter’s question. Instead, he pointed to the chairs in the hallway and ordered, “You two sit here and wait. Don’t wander off. If there’s anything else, we’ll talk when I come back out.”
The deputy director of the Clinical Laboratory was named Xiao Ming. Because of Su Jin, Pei Yuming knew him fairly well.
He personally took the blood collection tubes and went to the Laboratory to find Xiao Ming.
Xiao Ming was busy at the moment. When he saw Pei Yuming come in, he asked in surprise, “Hey, Lao Pei, what brings you here? Looking for Director Su? She’s off today.”
“I’m here for you.” Pei Yuming got straight to the point and handed him the blood collection tubes. “I need you to run an expedited DNA test. How soon can you get the results?”
Xiao Ming stared at him in astonishment, then quickly glanced at the other people in the Laboratory. He leaned closer and asked in a low voice, “Whose is it? Don’t tell me…”
A flash of embarrassment crossed Pei Yuming’s face, and Xiao Ming immediately understood. “Is it yours?”
“No.” Pei Yuming sighed as he denied it. This was also why he had not directly used his own blood and Lu Zixuan’s for the test. At least if his colleagues asked, he could vaguely muddle his way through. “Enough, Lao Xiao, don’t ask. Just help me with this. When can the results be ready?”
Xiao Ming clicked his tongue twice. “Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?!” Pei Yuming panicked. “That won’t work. I need this urgently. I have to get the results within three hours. Lao Xiao, you have to think of something for me.”
“Three hours?” The corner of Xiao Ming’s mouth twitched. “I’ve still got plenty of work on hand, and all of it is urgent. What exactly happened? Why are you in such a rush? Even if the court wanted it, they wouldn’t be this urgent!”
“I can’t explain it all right now. Just help me out,” Pei Yuming pleaded. “I’ll pay the full fee, whatever it costs. Just write up the order, and I’ll go pay right now.”
“Go on, stop that.” Xiao Ming put on his gloves, picked up the two blood collection tubes set off to the side, and said helplessly, “I can’t guarantee the results will be out in three hours, but I’ll do my best.”
After thanking him profusely, Pei Yuming came out of the Laboratory and found that the two kids who were supposed to be waiting in the hallway were both gone. He was just about to take out his phone and call when he saw his daughter walking over from the other side, swinging her hands by herself.
“Didn’t I tell you to sit and wait? Where did you go?” he asked unhappily.
“The restroom!” Pei Xiaobei replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The timidity from earlier was gone from her tone.
Just now, she and Lu Zixuan had discussed it for a long time and guessed that the chance of her father knowing the truth was very small. Otherwise, with his temper, he would definitely have exploded on the spot.
Still, neither of them could figure out how her father had managed to find them so precisely at that hospital. Could it really have been a coincidence?
As for why he had drawn their blood, both of them were trying to think optimistically. Maybe her father happened to have time today and had brought them here for a physical exam.
“Where’s Lu Zixuan?” Pei Yuming looked around but did not see him, and his tone worsened. “Did he leave?”
Pei Xiaobei’s eyes shifted. “He went to take a call. He’ll be back in a bit.”
Pei Yuming did not suspect anything and gestured for his daughter to follow him. “Tell him that once he’s done with the call, he should go straight to my office.”
It was rare for father and daughter to have time alone together in the same space. Pei Yuming sat down at his desk and found, to his surprise, that he had no idea what to say to his daughter.
The two of them stared at each other in silence for quite a while before Pei Yuming finally asked, “Do you want some water?”
Pei Xiaobei shook her head awkwardly. “No, thank you.”