Chapter 66
Chapter 66
“Pei Yucheng!” Pei Yuming was livid. He shot to his feet and started toward him, looking as if he meant to drag him over and beat him.
Seeing his two sons fighting over the question of supporting him in his old age, Pei Xianyu’s aged face filled with sorrow.
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself up and rushed over to stop his burly eldest son. In a hoarse voice, he shouted, “You both think I’m a burden, fine. From now on, I don’t need either of you to support me. I’ll live on my own, and neither of you should come see me!”
Pei Yuming had never seen his father so worked up. Startled, he lowered the hand he had already raised over his younger brother’s head and asked helplessly, “Dad, what are you talking about? You’re almost seventy. How are you supposed to live alone? Besides-”
At this point, Pei Yuming glanced at his younger brother, who was crouched with his head in his arms to avoid him. A flash of vindictive satisfaction crossed his eyes. “Besides, my brother mortgaged your house, and your savings were all swindled away. You only get that tiny pension every month. What are you going to live on?”
There was so much information packed into that one sentence that the people involved did not react right away. Instead, Bai Xue, who was standing off to the side, cried out, “What? Dad’s house and savings are both gone? How is that possible?”
Logically speaking, when Pei Xianyu heard that his house had been tricked away and mortgaged, he should have had an attack on the spot. This sort of thing had nothing to do with how many times the Flashback happened. It was purely a matter of his personal ability to withstand the shock.
But this time, perhaps because the matter of his savings had been exposed along with it, he felt somewhat guilty deep down. That guilt offset the blow brought by the mortgage. Although his expression still looked terrible, at least he did not collapse.
Pei Xianyu stole a glance at his eldest son, puzzled. He could not understand how Pei Yuming knew that all his savings were gone. Had he secretly checked his account behind his back?
But why did he say they had been swindled? He had clearly done it to save Cuihua.
Besides, Cuihua had said she would definitely pay him back later. She had two properties in her hands. Once this matter passed, selling either one would be more than enough to repay him.
“In any case, it’s none of your business,” Pei Xianyu said, pushing his eldest son farther away. “Besides, you never cared anyway. The food I eat is made by Xiao Xue. The one who checks on me during holidays and festivals is Xiao Xue too. As for you and your brother, I can’t count on either of you. One of you is so busy all day that no one ever sees you, and the other sleeps during the day and drinks at night. We live under the same roof and barely exchange ten sentences in a week. And like this, you still have the nerve to say you’re taking care of me? What exactly have you taken care of? You’re all filial with your mouths, but in reality, you won’t even spend a few minutes on me. I admit it, I can’t keep up with this era anymore. I’ve already been left behind. You young people have your own ideas, but I’m still alive, aren’t I? As long as I’m alive, I’ll have thoughts of my own. But there is already no one willing to listen. Ah…”
Only those closest to you knew exactly where to stab to make it hurt the most. For Pei Xianyu to accuse Pei Yuming of being unfilial so bluntly in front of outsiders was more devastating than an attack on the heart.
Pei Yuming tried several times to open his mouth and defend himself, but he realized that no matter what his true thoughts were, he had no way to refute anything his father had said.
The fact was, aside from money, he really did rarely show concern for his father. Most of it was handled through Bai Xue. Even the physical exam every six months was something he had Bai Xue arrange.
In truth, he could easily have mentioned it to Su Jin and brought his father over himself. Not only would there have been no need to wait in line, even the examination fees could have been waived.
But he was too stubborn, too protective of his own reputation. He wanted to remain perfect in other people’s mouths forever, or at the very least, he could not allow anyone to find fault with him.
To maintain that perfect persona, he often sacrificed his personal time without hesitation. The most obvious example was that he rarely turned down requests from outsiders, even complete strangers. Yet when it came to the people closest to him, he was exceptionally harsh and cold.
His professional excellence had badly warped his understanding of himself. He was confident, and deep down he believed that aside from work, every decision he made in life or in relationships was also correct and authoritative.
Only now did he realize how completely wrong he had been.
His father’s words struck him like a blow to the head, leaving him reeling.
His gaze swept over every face in the dining room. All at once, he discovered that the people who seemed closest to him, the ones who surrounded him every day, were in fact the greatest strangers. Even face-to-face, he could no longer read their thoughts. Or rather, he no longer dared to.
Finally, his eyes settled on his daughter, who had been staring at him the entire time. Softly, he asked, “Do you think Dad is a failure too?”
Pei Xiaobei was so startled that she quickly shook her head. Her eyes showed obvious confusion and fear. She had no idea how, when everything had been fine a moment ago, the topic had suddenly landed on her.
Of course, what she did not know was that Pei Yuming had just had the glittering shell of a successful man stripped away from him by his family and friends one layer after another, leaving his truest, most fragile self almost exposed. He desperately needed someone present to give him some new affirmation. Even a single positive word would help him regain a little confidence.
So he chose his own daughter. The act itself was somewhat contemptible, because he knew exactly how much Xiaobei had feared his authority as her father since she was young. But it was the only thing he could do, and he did not spare even a thought for how inappropriate it was to drag his daughter into this whirlpool of a conversation at that moment.
Seeing her father keep staring at her, Pei Xiaobei could sense that he wanted her to say something. But in this atmosphere, she truly did not know what would be appropriate.
All her life, she had been taught that when adults were speaking, children should not interrupt. At home, her role was to obey, not to speak.
She could talk freely with her peers outside, but at home, all she needed to do was follow her parents’ instructions. Voicing an opinion was the same as being rebellious. Besides, neither of them would take a child’s opinion seriously anyway.
Neither of her parents knew how to listen. Her father disdained listening, while her mother did not need to listen. She only wanted to keep expressing her own thoughts, and what she needed even more was for her daughter to listen to all the confusion and pain in her life.
“Dad, I think you’re very successful. I really admire you.” After racking her brains for a long time, Pei Xiaobei finally forced herself to say something.
But Pei Yuming was not satisfied. Of course he could see the strained, awkward expression on his daughter’s face as she said it. It was practically the final blow to his fragile pride.
He glared coldly at his daughter, even unconsciously venting on her the anger born from his father and younger brother’s accusations earlier. Without mercy, he tore through the thin layer of warmth between father and daughter.
“Then why don’t you listen to me? Not only did you date Lu Zixuan behind my back, you even secretly changed the major you applied for. Are you trying to piss me off on purpose? Or is it that whatever I tell you not to do, you insist on doing?”
Pei Xiaobei’s expression went straight from awkward to shocked. In her panic, she knocked the chopsticks beside her off the table, but she did not dare lower her head to pick them up.