Chapter 82
Chapter 82
In the end, he shook his head and set the red wine down. Deep down, he strongly disagreed with Cao Lei’s earlier suggestion that Lu Dong might have tampered with it ahead of time.
Even if Lu Dong was wealthy, poisoning it in advance would still be difficult.
Besides, the bottle and packaging were all uniformly designed and came with anti-counterfeit markings. If he really had faked one, the police should be able to find out very quickly afterward.
Seeing him shake his head, Lu Dong thought he disagreed with what he had said and couldn’t help asking, “What? You think there’s something wrong with the wine?”
“No, no,” Pei Yuming said with a smile, explaining, “It’s good wine. I like it a lot.”
Hearing that, Lu Dong was finally satisfied. He demurred modestly, “Not at all. The main thing is that we can drink it together. If you like it, then it was worth the trouble I went through to find it.”
After Lu Dong’s younger brother arrived, Pei Yuming handed Lu Dong over to him to entertain, while he wandered around the dining table and the edge of the kitchen. From time to time, his gaze swept over Su Jin, and he kept replaying her earlier conversation with Bai Xue in his mind. He had the nagging feeling that something was on the verge of becoming clear.
It was another lavish dinner. It was obvious that, aside from Pei Yuming, everyone at the table was genuinely enjoying the moment.
He smiled as he accepted the soup Su Jin handed him. After saying “thank you,” he set it aside without drinking it.
He studied Su Jin’s expression but found nothing unusual. Could Cao Lei have guessed wrong?
Was the sleeping pill not in the soup, but somewhere else?
He picked up the glass filled with dry white wine and examined it carefully. Bai Xue noticed and asked, “What is it? Is something wrong?”
Pei Yuming shook his head and quickly found something to say as cover. “No. This steamed fish is very good.”
Bai Xue smiled and winked at him. “I made it specially for you.”
Pei Yuming took another couple of distracted bites. He could not even tell whether the food was salty or bland. Thinking of the fierce argument that had broken out during their last meal together, he suddenly lost even the desire to speak.
Clearly, hoping to lay everything out calmly and peacefully was impossible. He had already stopped thinking about it. In any case, the result would be going back to the interrogation room.
Then why was he sitting here now?
For a moment, he sank deep into thought, his gaze resting on Su Jin, until Bai Xue kicked him under the table. “What’s wrong with you? Why do you keep staring at Su Su?”
Pei Yuming snapped back to himself. “Nothing. I spaced out.”
“You can’t even stay present during a meal.” Bai Xue sounded displeased, though it was hard to tell whether it was because he had been distracted or something else.
Pei Yuming coughed awkwardly and buried his face in his plate. Seeing this, Lu Dong took the initiative to smooth things over. As Pei Yuming listened to the cheerful laughter around him, his chest felt unbearably tight.
“…Why don’t we have Yuming decant the wine…”
A soft voice suddenly drifted into Pei Yuming’s ears through the laughter. He looked up and met Bai Xue’s eyes just as she glanced over.
“Honey, go decant the wine. There’s not much left on the table,” Bai Xue said.
Pei Yuming stared at her blankly. Once he was certain it had been Su Jin who reminded Bai Xue, he was almost too shocked for words.
“Honey?” Bai Xue called again.
“Oh, right,” Pei Yuming said, immediately grabbing his napkin and standing. “I’ll go now.”
Mechanically, he poured the wine into the decanter, his eyes sweeping over the kitchen island and the entire kitchen. If the murderer wanted to poison it, the poison must have been hidden in advance, and it had to be hidden somewhere nearby. Otherwise, there was no way they could have slipped it in without a sound.
Pei Yuming set the decanter aside, pulled out a paper towel, and slowly wiped his hands. Without drawing anyone else’s attention, he quickly checked several drawers and cabinets within reach, but found nothing.
When Bai Xue saw that he still had not come back to the table, she called out, “Honey, are you done?”
“Mm.” Pei Yuming answered while casually pulling open another drawer.
“What are you looking for?” Bai Xue asked.
With his back to her, Pei Yuming had no idea how to answer. After a long pause, he finally said, “I remembered you always like chili sauce with your meals, so I thought I’d grab it for you while I was up.”
“I already brought it over!” Bai Xue laughed. “Stop dawdling and come eat. The food’s going to get cold.”
Pei Yuming had no choice but to sit back down again.
He was eating the ribs Bai Xue had placed in his bowl when Su Jin, beside him, said, “Yuming, have some soup first. Once mushroom soup gets cold, it starts to smell fishy and won’t taste good anymore.”
The uncertain thought that had been hovering in the back of his mind since earlier finally began to take shape. Pei Yuming looked up in shock and stared straight at Su Jin. “You…”
“What is it?” Su Jin looked at him in surprise.
Pei Yuming’s heart shook violently. No wonder. When he had heard Bai Xue say earlier that Su Jin was the one who told her to invite his father and younger brother, he had felt something was off.
Given the hostility Su Jin had shown toward Bai Xue the previous times, how could she possibly be so considerate, even thinking through tiny details like this for Bai Xue? Unless she had another purpose.
Unless she…
Pei Yuming glanced at the bowl of soup and answered blankly, “Okay. In a bit. I’ll let it cool a little more, then drink it.”
Bai Xue looked at her husband strangely. “What, are you tired? You seem distracted.”
Pei Yuming did his best to hide how abnormal he was acting. He shook his head and finally forced a smile at Bai Xue.
This time, Pei Yuming noticed. Su Jin went to the kitchen three times in total to help refill other people’s soup. All three times, she passed by the kitchen island. The last time, she lingered there for quite a while, saying she was looking for a spoon. As for what she was actually doing, Pei Yuming could not see clearly from his angle.
Bai Xue, sitting beside him, kicked him hard under the table and complained in a low voice, “What are you doing? Why have you been staring at Su Su all day?”
Pei Yuming had no way to explain it to her. By the time he looked back, Su Jin was already carrying the soup over.
Seeing him stare at her the whole time, Su Jin could not help asking, “Yuming, do you want some soup? I think your bowl must be completely cold by now. How about I ladle you another bowl?”
Bai Xue’s displeased gaze moved between the two of them, her thoughts unreadable.
Pei Yuming moved his lips, then suddenly stood up from his chair.
He took his own wineglass and went to the kitchen alone, poured out the remaining wine inside, then, under everyone’s astonished gaze, picked up the decanter and was about to pour himself some wine.
“What are you doing?!” Su Jin was the first to stop him. She was so anxious that her voice even cracked a little.
Pei Yuming licked his lips and said, “I want to taste this wine.”
By then, Su Jin had already pushed her chair back and was hurrying over. Because she moved too abruptly, she even knocked her chopsticks onto the floor, but she acted as if she had not seen them at all and came straight for Pei Yuming.
“You can’t drink that!” Su Jin’s expression was tense, though it was clear she was doing her best to control herself. “It hasn’t breathed long enough yet. If you drink it now, you won’t get the proper flavor.”
“It’s fine.” Right in front of her, Pei Yuming poured himself a glass. “I’ll taste it first, then savor it properly later.”
“No!” Su Jin reached out directly to snatch his glass, the panic on her face impossible to suppress now. “Don’t drink it yet. Good wine should be enjoyed by everyone together.”