Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Lu Zixuan was a little surprised too. He hadn’t expected their relationship to have failed to stay hidden. Not that he cared. Honestly, he had never understood Pei Xiaobei. Why did dating someone have to be so sneaky?

Still, he was worried. If her father even knew about her changing majors, did he know anything else?

Feeling guilty, Lu Zixuan glanced at Pei Yuming, then lowered his head and picked up Pei Xiaobei’s chopsticks for her. But Pei Xiaobei didn’t dare take them, so he could only set them beside his own hand.

“Dad… what are you talking about?” Pei Xiaobei was so frightened she didn’t dare look her father in the eye, let alone admit anything. Any other time, it would have been one thing. At worst, she would get scolded. But in the current situation, she was genuinely afraid her father would come over and beat her to death.

At that moment, Pei Yuming could no longer keep calm or listen patiently. He slammed the table hard twice, with the same forceful manner he had used countless times before when reprimanding his daughter.

“Say it. Why didn’t you listen?”

Pei Xiaobei bit her lip. Tears swam in her eyes, but she still struggled to keep them from falling.

Seeing her daughter so terrified, Bai Xue got up, walked over, and stroked her hair in comfort.

“Why are you taking it out on her? We’re talking about your problem right now. Why drag her into it?”

“My problem?!”

For some reason, that accusation from Bai Xue seemed to shatter Pei Yuming’s composure completely. His face flushed red as he stood up, pointed at everyone, and roared, “What problem do I have? It’s clearly all of you! You’re the ones doing filthy things behind my back, and now you all want to throw the blame on me? Let me tell you, not a chance!”

Perhaps no one had expected Pei Yuming to suddenly explode. Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded. That only made it harder for Pei Yuming, who already cared deeply about how others saw him, to bear. It was as if he had become the villain on television, once again standing against everyone else, as if from beginning to end, he was the one making a scene.

But things shouldn’t have been like this.

He looked coldly at Bai Xue and sneered, “You think I’m being unreasonable? Ask your daughter where she went before she came home just now. How could it be such a coincidence that she ran into Lu Zixuan downstairs?”

The moment he said that, Pei Xiaobei’s tears were scared right back. Unconcealable panic spread across her pale little face, as if she couldn’t believe it. Did her father even know about her pregnancy?

Lu Zixuan’s eyes shifted uneasily. He had a bad feeling, as though things were heading in a troublesome direction.

Pei Yuming took in the panicked expressions on the two kids’ faces. When he looked back at Bai Xue, there was clear triumph in his eyes.

Bai Xue glared at him, then lowered her head and asked her daughter, “Where did you go just now? Don’t tell me… you went on a date with Lu Zixuan?”

Bai Xue’s words were tactful, but everyone present understood the other meaning behind them.

Pei Xiaobei lowered her head, avoiding her mother’s probing gaze, and bit her lip hard. It was as if she had made up her mind that no matter what anyone asked today, she would not say another word.

When Bai Xue saw that her daughter still wasn’t responding after a long while, she shoved her impatiently. “Say something!”

Pei Xiaobei lowered her head even further, folded her arms around herself, and refused to speak.

Bai Xue began to panic. From the successive reactions of this father and daughter, she sensed that whatever her daughter was hiding might not be a small matter.

But what major thing could happen to a young girl? Bai Xue could figure it out with her toes. Even so, she still held on to a sliver of hope. After all, the child’s father still looked relatively calm for the moment, so it probably wasn’t that serious. Otherwise, he would have already been hopping mad with rage.
“Zixuan, you tell me.” Bai Xue couldn’t get anything out of her daughter, so she threw the question at Lu Zixuan across from her. “What exactly are you hiding? Don’t worry. As long as you say it, whether this has anything to do with you or not, I absolutely won’t blame you.”

When Lu Zixuan saw that Bai Xue had turned her attention on him, he looked troubled too. He forced a smile and said, “Aunt Bai, I really don’t know. Xiaobei and I just ran into each other at the entrance. She never told me anything.”

“Then why did your Uncle Pei say that?” Bai Xue refused to let him off. “Tell me the truth. Don’t worry, I keep my word. Whether it’s you or Xiaobei, as long as one of you tells me the truth, I’ll consider this matter over. I absolutely won’t pursue it.”

Lu Zixuan licked his lips, clearly wavering. Although he was a year older than Pei Xiaobei, in some ways he was less mature than she was. He felt that since Bai Xue had made that promise in front of so many people, she definitely wouldn’t go back on her word. So… should he say it?

Just as he hesitated, Su Jin, who had not spoken since the argument began, suddenly opened her mouth. Her gaze was fixed on her son, never once meeting Bai Xue’s eyes, as if Bai Xue didn’t exist at all.

“Lu Zixuan,” Su Jin said sternly, “tell us everything you know right now. I’m warning you, if this ends up becoming impossible to clean up today because you helped Pei Xiaobei hide something, then don’t come home during breaks anymore. Stay overseas. I’ll have your uncle find you a part-time job there. Earn your own money and spend your own money. It will be a good chance for you to learn how to stand on your own two feet.”

Lu Zixuan was visibly anxious when he heard his mother’s threat. His family was the exact opposite of Pei Xiaobei’s: a strict mother and a gentle father.

In his family, his mother had absolute authority. If he was punished for disobedience, even if his maternal grandparents came to plead for him, his mother would not compromise.

His mother said she would make him get a part-time job, but what she was really doing was threatening his allowance. He had no doubt that if he dared say the word “no,” his mother, who always followed through on what she said, would cut off his funds next semester.

Lu Zixuan glanced awkwardly at Pei Xiaobei across from him. Seeing her gently shake her head at him, he was about to harden his heart and say he didn’t know. Perhaps Pei Yuming saw through his intention, because he added darkly from the side, “Since I’m asking, it means I’ve already looked into it. Think carefully before you answer.”

Lu Zixuan shot him a resentful look, then looked at his mother. He turned his head and cursed silently before finally gritting his teeth and saying, “Actually… Xiaobei is pregnant.”

“What?”

“Whose is it?”

Bai Xue and Su Jin asked at the same time.

Bai Xue glanced at Su Jin. Seeing that Su Jin was still deliberately refusing to look at her out of spite, Bai Xue was just about to continue asking when Su Jin beat her to it.

Su Jin asked, “Whose child is it? Tell me the truth.”

Under everyone’s probing, scrutinizing gazes, Lu Zixuan wished he could crawl under the table. He wiped a hand over his face and said, “Mine.”

Crash!

This time, it was the sound of a cup hitting the floor.

It turned out that Su Jin, too shocked to control herself, had swept the glass beside her straight onto the ground.

Bai Xue was stunned too. Her hand pressed tightly on her daughter’s shoulder until Pei Xiaobei couldn’t take it anymore and softly reminded her. Only then did Bai Xue hastily pull her hand away.

At that moment, however, everyone, including Pei Yuming, had their attention on Su Jin, because her expression looked truly awful.

Then, before anyone could react, she walked over to Lu Zixuan, swung her arm wide, and slapped him across the face.

Smack!