Chapter 63

Chapter 63

She was a little surprised. Her husband had never bothered himself with trivial things like this, yet today he actually remembered to wonder where their daughter was.

Pei Yuming gave a vague nod, sat down, poured himself a drink, and silently took a sip.

Bai Xue glanced at him strangely but did not pay it much mind. She turned to greet Su Jin and Lu Dong. “You two should sit down too. Oh, right, where’s your Zixuan? Didn’t you say he was coming today too?”

Su Jin handed out chopsticks to everyone. “He said he’ll be here any minute. No need to wait for him. We can eat first.”

“Right, let’s eat first. The vegetables won’t taste as good once they get cold,” Bai Xue said.

Pei Yuming looked at the table full of exquisite dishes. Everywhere he looked, there was something he loved to eat, yet he had no desire to pick up his chopsticks at all.

Still, he had already made up his mind. This time, he had to have a proper talk with them, so he could only force himself to rally and play along.

Lu Dong was used to social occasions. Seeing that Pei Yuming was in low spirits, he took it upon himself to liven up the atmosphere, and with a few witty remarks, he soon had everyone at the table laughing.

Pei Yuming looked at the smiles on everyone’s faces, and for a moment, his feelings were unbearably complicated.

If only none of those things had ever happened.

Pei Xiaobei and Lu Zixuan appeared right on time. Pei Yuming, his mind heavy with worries, stared at the two of them as they took their seats, which made Pei Xiaobei look obviously guilty.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” she asked nervously, chopsticks in hand.

Pei Yuming swallowed against the bitter taste in his mouth and asked, “How did the two of you come back together?”

Pei Xiaobei repeated the explanation she had prepared. “We happened to run into each other at the entrance to the neighborhood, so we came up together.”

“Is that so?” Pei Yuming asked deliberately, staring at the two kids across from him. Sure enough, he saw panic flash across both their faces.

“Yes, yes…” Pei Xiaobei gave a twitching sort of smile. Just when she thought her father might have discovered something and was about to interrogate her, Pei Yuming suddenly withdrew his gaze and let her off.

“Eat first.” Pei Yuming lowered his head and took a bite of bitter melon, while his mind stayed fixed on how he should begin.

The atmosphere at this gathering was, if anything, even better than the first time. Everyone seemed happy and relaxed. If it were not almost six o’clock, he truly would have liked to linger a little longer in this warm, harmonious mood.

“Oh, right.” Bai Xue suddenly looked at Pei Yuming. “Honey, open and decant the two bottles Lu Dong brought. By the time we finish this dry white, those should be ready.”

Pei Yuming obediently got to his feet. Bai Xue had said the same thing that time too. He remembered it clearly. Back then, he had been the only one who touched the two bottles and the decanter.

Cao Lei had also said that whether it was the wine bottles or the decanter, the only fingerprints they lifted were his. Looking at it now, that was simply far too abnormal.

Lu Dong had brought the wine. How could his fingerprints not be on it?

And later, when the wine was poured, Pei Yuming had already gone back to the bedroom for a nap. One of them must have poured it, yet the only fingerprints on it were still his. That was downright eerie.

Unless something supernatural had happened, like the “Flashback” that had happened to him, then it had to be just as he had previously suspected: someone had deliberately framed him for all of it.

Otherwise, there was no explaining why his were the only fingerprints on everything.

But who on earth hated him that much, enough to use a method that hurt themselves just to hurt him?

Pei Yuming looked at the family and friends around the table, all talking and laughing, and felt as if every face concealed another face underneath. He could neither see through them nor grasp the truth. Any one of them could be the murderer.

With his back to the dining table, he decanted the wine and set it on the counter to the side. After sitting back down, he took a deep breath and exhaled the stale air trapped in his chest. Finally, he gathered his courage, cleared his throat, and said to everyone at the table, “I’d like to say a few words-”

He had only just begun when Lu Dong put down his chopsticks and led the table in two claps. “Quick, everyone, pause for a second. Lao Pei is about to say something sweet to his wife. Don’t miss it, folks.”
He was clearly using the alcohol as an excuse to stir things up on purpose. Pei Yuming’s face flushed despite himself, and he explained, “No. I have something serious to say.”

“Ohhh, serious sweet talk.”

Pei Yuming had no interest in playing along with his back-and-forth routine. Looking at Bai Xue, he said decisively, “What I’m about to say is for everyone at this table.”

As soon as he said that, the faint look of anticipation on Bai Xue’s face vanished. Even her earlier smile disappeared.

She and Pei Yuming had been husband and wife for twenty years. From his tone alone, she could tell whether what he was about to say would be good or bad.

She had a bad feeling.

Pei Yuming licked his lips and said, “Since everyone is here today, there are actually a few things I want to ask. But before I say them, let me make one thing clear. I’m not trying to accuse anyone. I simply want to hear your most honest thoughts. You all know I’m not good with words, and I rarely take the initiative to have a heart-to-heart with anyone. All these years, I’ve never had the patience to sit down and talk with you about what was really on my mind. Especially you, Xiao Xue…”

At this point, a trace of shame appeared on his face. But the apology that should have followed would not come out no matter what. Even though he seemed to have realized the shortcomings in his past behavior, deep down, he still believed those were only minor issues. In a sense, they were practically insignificant. And everyone sitting here, for every single thing they had done, ought to be saying “I’m sorry” to him.

Because of his sudden pause, the atmosphere went awkwardly cold. Lu Dong glanced back and forth between Pei Yuming and Bai Xue several times before finally deciding to break the silence.

He laughed and tried to smooth things over. “Today’s supposed to be a good day. Lao Pei, drop that stern department-head expression. You’re making this feel like an office meeting. What a mood killer!”

By then, Bai Xue seemed to have sensed something. She set down her chopsticks and quietly waited for Pei Yuming to continue.

“A while ago, Xiao Xue and I had some conflict. Everyone knows what it was about, so I won’t drag it out again,” Pei Yuming said. “What I want to ask now is this. Xiao Xue, why was it Lu Dong? You two had clearly already broken up back then, so why did you get back together behind my back afterward? Did you realize after marriage that you were each other’s true love after all?”

“Hey…” Lu Dong froze for a brief moment when Pei Yuming exposed the matter so bluntly. Once he reacted, he immediately denied it. “Lao Pei, what are you talking about? Did you drink too much?”

Listening to that familiar quibbling, Pei Yuming sighed. “I just want to hear the truth. Do we really have to go to the property office together and pull the elevator surveillance footage?”

At that, Lu Dong instantly fell silent. He stared at Pei Yuming as if he had seen a ghost, his mouth hanging open for a long time.

Pei Yuming shook his head and looked at Bai Xue. “Xiao Xue, you tell me.”

Bai Xue clutched the cream-white napkin, her gaze sweeping over the others at the table. When she saw Su Jin, she quickly looked away.

She bit her lip. Thinking of how considerate Pei Yuming had been today, she finally said after a long while, “I… Lao Pei… I didn’t mean to. I was just confused for a moment-”

As she spoke, she pointed angrily at Lu Dong and defended herself. “It was him. He was the one who seduced me. He knew perfectly well I couldn’t resist jewelry, shoes, and bags. Every time, he found some excuse to give them to me and deliberately made me misunderstand. I was stupid too. I actually agreed to it. You know how this kind of thing is. Once there’s a first time, there’s a second. I didn’t dare refuse him. I was afraid he’d say all kinds of things to you. You know too, even though I kept talking about divorce, I actually never wanted one…”