Chapter 68
Chapter 68
The crisp smack was enough to jolt even Pei Yuming, who had been watching coldly from the side, into action.
Seeing that Su Jin was about to strike again, he strode over, grabbed her arm, and snapped, “Stop!”
This time, it was not only Bai Xue who was stunned. Lu Zixuan and Su Jin, the people at the center of it, froze as well, along with Lu Dong, who had been reaching out to stop her.
“Let go of me!” Su Jin struggled hard against Pei Yuming’s grip. She looked half-mad as she roared at her son, “How many times have I told you to stay away from that mother and daughter? Why wouldn’t you listen? Why?!”
Aside from Su Jin herself, the only person in the room who knew why she was so agitated was Pei Yuming.
So when Lu Dong saw Su Jin like this, even he, the person who understood her best, was completely baffled. He could not understand it. Even a moment ago, when she had found out he had cheated, Su Jin had not cursed him once. Why was she reacting so violently now?
In his memory, Su Jin had never once raised a hand against their son. She was not hot-tempered, and hysterical shouting or quarrels had never been her style. As Lu Dong saw it, even if Zixuan and Xiaobei’s genders were reversed, even if it were their daughter who was pregnant, Su Jin probably would not be this angry. She would calmly soothe the child first, then step in to help resolve the problem.
The men were all focused on Su Jin’s attitude. Only Bai Xue noticed what she had actually said.
Though Bai Xue also found the truth difficult to accept, and hardly dared look at Pei Yuming’s expression right now, she immediately objected to the contempt and insult in Su Jin’s words. “Su Su, what do you mean by that? What do you mean, stay away from us mother and daughter? What did we ever do to you that made you guard against us like that behind our backs?”
“Heh.” Su Jin finally looked Bai Xue straight in the eye, but in the next second, she turned to Lu Dong, her tone mocking. “Isn’t it obvious? You seduced my husband, and your daughter seduced my son. How do you still have the nerve to ask me that? But it doesn’t matter anymore. This is all retribution. Retribution!”
Su Jin looked calm, but the words coming out of her mouth were nothing like her usual self. They even sounded a little deranged.
Seeing this, Lu Dong hurried over to support her. He felt that if they stayed any longer, the situation would completely spiral out of control. “Honey, let’s go home first. I’ll explain everything to you one by one once we’re home, okay?”
But Su Jin flung his hand away without even bothering to look at him. Instead, she turned to Pei Yuming, whose expression was complicated, and said, “Yuming, do you think I’ve gone crazy? I’m telling you, if you knew the truth, you might not be any calmer than I am right now.”
As she spoke, she took Lu Zixuan’s hand, then turned and took Pei Yuming’s, placing their hands together. Softly, she said, “Actually, Zixuan is your son.”
The moment those words came out, everyone was struck dumb again. From a distance, every face wore the same stunned expression.
Only, on closer inspection, that shared shock was not quite the same.
Pei Xianyu, the eldest present, stood the farthest away. He had already sighed countless times in silence that he could not understand the world of young people anymore, but when he heard that Lu Zixuan might be a grandson of their Pei Family, not only did he show no displeasure, a hint of joy even appeared on his face.
Beside him, Pei Yucheng looked full of admiration. He had never expected his elder brother to quietly pull off something this big.
But across from Pei Yucheng, Lu Dong’s expression was nowhere near as pleasant. Perhaps he was simply too furious, but the humiliation on his face made his entire body seem to radiate a faint black aura. Seeing Lu Dong’s sullen, bottled-up look, angry but not daring to speak, Pei Yucheng could not even bring himself to mock him in his thoughts.
The strangest expressions belonged to Bai Xue and Pei Xiaobei, mother and daughter. Somehow, both of them had smiles on their faces.
But on closer look, they were different. Bai Xue’s smile was closer to one of relief, while Pei Xiaobei’s carried a sad, screw-it-all edge, as if she wished everyone would just go down together.
Under everyone’s stare, Lu Zixuan pulled his hand back and looked at his mother in disbelief. When he turned to Pei Yuming, his face actually showed something like humiliation.
Pei Yuming had already seen his attitude when he learned the truth, but seeing him reject him so openly still stung.
He deliberately spoke first. “Su Jin, what are you talking about? How could Zixuan be my son? From his looks to his personality, he doesn’t resemble anyone from the Pei Family at all.”
Su Jin had probably not expected him to be so cold. She froze for a moment. In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through her mind. Did he not want to acknowledge this son? Or was he afraid things with Bai Xue would become irreparable?
Just as the dining room fell into a brief silence, Pei Xianyu, who had been sitting upright off to the side, suddenly spoke. “Well, Xiao Su, you say this child is my son’s flesh and blood. How can you prove it?”
Bai Xue looked at her father-in-law in disbelief and laughed from sheer anger. “Dad, what do you mean by that?”
Pei Xianyu gave his daughter-in-law a guilty smile. “I just figured Xiao Su wouldn’t say something like this casually. If this boy really is Yuming’s, then in the end, he has to be brought back into the family line.”
“But that isn’t what you used to say. Didn’t you say having a girl was fine, and that Xiaobei was enough as your only granddaughter?” Bai Xue never would have imagined that her father-in-law, who was usually so quiet and unassuming, could change his tune so quickly at a moment like this.
Pei Xianyu seemed displeased by his daughter-in-law’s aggressive questioning. He waved a hand. “Don’t interrupt yet. Let Xiao Su speak first.”
“You…” Bai Xue was about to say more, but her daughter suddenly tugged at her arm. Pei Xiaobei glanced at the old man so fixated on having a grandson and said mockingly, “Mom, stop. You’re the only one who believed what Grandpa said. Why don’t you think about how he usually treats me? Every time he comes to our house for dinner, has he ever talked to me? When I greet him, he can’t even be bothered to answer. Even my dad can tell he doesn’t like me. How can you not see it?”
Of course Bai Xue could not see it. As someone who put all her attention on herself, her greatest demands of her daughter were that she be fed, clothed, and do well in school. In some ways, she was actually the same as Pei Yuming, habitually ignoring Pei Xiaobei’s emotional needs.
Pei Xianyu glared at his granddaughter. “Xiaobei, how can you think that? I don’t talk to you because I’m afraid you young people will find an old man like me long-winded. Tell me yourself. Whenever you asked Grandpa for money, did Grandpa ever refuse you? When your youngest uncle asks to borrow from me, I won’t even lend it to him. In this whole family, aside from your mother, you’re the one who spends the most of my money.”
“Dad, when have I ever spent your money?” Bai Xue held down her daughter, who was about to speak, and argued, “Wasn’t that the food allowance you insisted on giving me? Five hundred yuan a month. It isn’t even enough for groceries and taxi fare back and forth, and you have the nerve to bring it up?”
“Bai Xue!” Pei Xianyu was shouted into silence by his daughter-in-law, but Pei Yuming across from them would not stand for it. “Watch your tone. Who talks to an elder like that? Xiaobei turned out like this because she learned it from you!”