Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Bai Xue was so furious she laughed. “Isn’t that just perfect? Only blood relatives count as family!”
She patted her daughter on the shoulder, pointed at everyone present with the surname Pei, then pointed at Lu Zixuan. “See that? They’re the real family. You and I are outsiders.”
To everyone else, it sounded like Bai Xue was speaking in anger, deliberately trying to rile up Pei Yuming and his father.
But Pei Yuming did not take it that way. Su Jin’s words earlier had already made him suspicious about Xiaobei’s parentage, and now that Bai Xue had brought it up herself, he finally could not hold back. “What do you mean? What outsiders? Xiaobei could never be considered an outsider!”
“Right, she isn’t an outsider. I am!” Bai Xue suddenly snapped, pointing at Su Jin and Pei Yuming. “I can’t stay in this family anymore. You, and your newly acquired son, can all live together! Now you don’t have to worry about having no one to carry on the Pei Family line.”
As she spoke, she yanked Pei Xiaobei up hard, signaling for her to leave with her.
Pei Xiaobei glanced at her father and Lu Zixuan across from her, then rose reluctantly. Seeing that her daughter still would not stand on her side, Bai Xue was bitterly disappointed. She sneered, “What, you can’t bear to leave?”
Pei Xiaobei looked at Lu Zixuan and said, “No.”
How could Bai Xue not see what her daughter was thinking? Exasperated at her lack of sense, she jabbed a finger against her forehead. “Use your head. If this boy really is your father’s illegitimate son, then the two of you are brother and sister. Do you seriously still want to be with him?”
Pei Xiaobei bit her lip in grievance and turned her head away from her mother’s prodding finger. “Is that my fault? I just wanted to date someone and study a major I liked. What did I do wrong? You’re the ones who made mistakes, so why are you all blaming me?”
“Who is blaming you? Me?” Bai Xue said. “Pei Xiaobei, can you have a little conscience? From the moment I found out you were pregnant, did I say one word against you? Do you even understand how serious this is? Never mind the fact that you pulled something like this before even starting college. If Lu Zixuan really is your brother, have you thought about what you’re going to do from now on? Can you handle that? And do you know how much damage an abortion can do to your body?”
After her mother said all that, Pei Xiaobei burst into tears. It was not that she had no sense. In fact, the moment she heard Su Jin say Lu Zixuan was her father’s son, her whole mind had gone blank. If she had already eaten, she probably would have thrown up on the spot.
Pei Yuming frowned as he watched his daughter wipe her tears. He kept feeling that there was more behind Bai Xue’s words, and once again he could not stop himself from asking, “What do you mean? Are you saying Xiaobei isn’t my…”
He stopped halfway through when he saw his daughter staring at him in shock, as though she could not believe those words had come out of his mouth.
Pei Yuming realized he had been too anxious and had completely failed to consider his daughter’s feelings. He hurried to explain. “No, Xiaobei, Daddy didn’t mean it that way. I just…”
“See? That’s your biological father,” Bai Xue said mockingly. “Aren’t you just hoping Xiaobei isn’t really yours? That way, even if that boy is your biological son, you won’t have to feel guilty about Xiaobei’s pregnancy, right?”
“I am not!” Pei Yuming denied. “Stop trying to drive a wedge between us. You still haven’t explained what happened between you and Lu Dong. Don’t use the children to change the subject.”
“Ha.” Bai Xue rolled her eyes at him in disdain. “You should explain what happened between you and Su Jin first. And you have the nerve to talk about me? At least I didn’t produce a grown son and let him call another man Dad!”
With a single sentence, she rendered all three people across from her speechless. Bai Xue swept her gaze over Pei Yuming, Lu Dong, and Su Jin one by one, feeling more vindicated than she had in months.
Pei Yuming looked at her smug face and wanted nothing more than to go over there and tear apart that silver tongue of hers. But the moment his eyes shifted, he saw his daughter’s tear-streaked face, and the rage burning inside him was instantly doused cold. He didn’t understand. He had clearly come here at first intending to talk to them calmly, so how had it ended up turning into another confrontation?
He shook his head, wiped a hand over his face, and said in disappointment, “Forget it. I was thinking too simply. Let’s leave it at this today. Everyone go.”
He had thought that once he said that, he would return to the interrogation room. But after waiting for more than ten seconds, the Flashback still didn’t happen.
The people around him, all wearing different expressions, did not disperse the way he had imagined either. Everyone looked at one another, each of them holding a thick fog of unanswered questions in their hearts. Still, it was obvious that no one wanted to be the one to start the next round of conversation.
Just then, Pei Yucheng, who had long since removed himself from the center of the conflict, took advantage of his brother not paying attention and grabbed the bottle of red wine that had already been opened to breathe from the rack, secretly pouring himself a glass.
Then he silently edged back toward his seat. Before he could sit down, his father beside him kicked him under the table.
His father glanced at his own glass, signaling for him to share some.
Pei Yucheng curled his lip in displeasure and muttered something under his breath, but in the end he still poured half a glass for his father.
A crisp clink came from the end of the table. Pei Yuming looked up at the sound and saw that his father and his own younger brother had actually started eating as if no one else were there.
He watched as his brother raised his wineglass, signaling for their father to drink with him. In such a grave and tense atmosphere, their actions seemed utterly absurd… and also just a little off.
But for the moment, he couldn’t figure out what exactly was wrong.
He watched helplessly as his brother brought the glass to his lips. Suddenly, alarm bells went off in Pei Yuming’s head. Looking at the deep red liquid in the glass, he finally remembered what was wrong!
“Don’t drink it!” He shot to his feet and roared, nearly scaring the glass out of Pei Yucheng’s hand.
Pei Yucheng froze mid-motion and stared blankly at his older brother, not understanding what he meant. What, just because they’d had a fight, he couldn’t even drink his family’s wine anymore?
“Wh-what’s wrong?” Pei Yucheng couldn’t help asking.
Pei Yuming stood and started toward him, shouting as he walked, “Put it down!”
It was that same commanding tone. Pei Yucheng knew it well, and hated it just as much. He muttered, “You’re insane,” then, under his brother’s shocked gaze, tipped his head back and drained the red wine in his glass.
Pei Yuming’s outstretched hand froze in midair. He could only watch as his brother smacked his lips in satisfaction and set down the glass.
“A wine this good? What a waste that would’ve been!” Pei Yucheng said in an exaggerated tone, clearly trying to provoke his older brother on purpose.
But at that moment, Pei Yuming didn’t care about his attitude. Instead, he asked with concern, “Are you all right?”
Pei Yucheng gave his brother a strange look. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Pei Yuming glanced at his watch. It was almost seven. Back then, he had gone to the bedroom to sleep at 7:05. Could it be that before then, the killer hadn’t poisoned anything yet?
But just as he breathed a sigh of relief, Pei Yucheng, who was sitting in his chair and cracking a crab open with his bare hands, suddenly let out a muffled groan. Then, under Pei Yuming’s and everyone else’s stunned gazes, he collapsed straight to the floor, his whole body convulsing violently.