“What are you doing?” An impatient female voice sounded from the other end of the phone, sharp with immediate criticism. “Taking forever just to answer the phone—no wonder you can’t get a single thing right.”
“…” Pei Muyin listened silently, long used to it.
Mrs. Song did not care about Pei Muyin’s feelings at all, just as she didn’t care in the slightest how she would fare transferring to a completely unfamiliar place like An City. She simply barked her order: “This weekend, come back to the capital. Old Mr. Xu of Hong Kong is hosting a grand banquet for his ninetieth birthday. You’re coming with me.”
Old Mr. Xu of Hong Kong? Who was that?
Having been kept away from the interpersonal politics and social circles of elite families since childhood, Pei Muyin had no prior interactions with them. Hearing this unfamiliar name for the first time left her completely baffled. She replied hesitantly, “…Grandma, I don’t know them. Do I have to go?”
“Of course you do.” Hearing Pei Muyin’s refusal, Mrs. Song’s tone turned even harsher: “Are you planning to hide at home for the rest of your life and never show your face in public? Look at kids from other families who are even younger than you—every single one of them is sweet-talked and accomplished, bringing honor and a great reputation to their families. Now look at you!”
Pei Muyin remained silent; she simply didn’t want to go.
After a moment, Mrs. Song’s voice turned cool and haughty, suddenly dropping her aggressive stance: “Whatever. Go or don’t go, it’s up to you. Either way, your father will be attending that day.”
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“Pye? Pye okzz cl vblal?” Vlk Ywukd’p lulp zkv wr yzxspv kdpvydvzu.
“Zlp.”
Ekvbswv y plnsde vbswtbv, Vlk Ywukd ytalle: “Mbld Qaydexy, R’zz ts.”
…
Gqvla bydtkdt wr vbl rbsdl yde pvlrrkdt swv sq vbl cleassx, ekddla oyp yzalyeu plahle.
Fbw Fbw yde Fbw Nkdtnbld olal pkvvkdt yv vbl ekdkdt vyczl. Mball wdvswnble csozp sq obkvl aknl pyv sd vbl vyczl. Tlyakdt xshlxldv, Fbw Fbw vwadle bla blye yde nyzzle swv, “Ywukd, nsxl lyv!”
“Xjyu.”
Vlk Ywukd oyzjle shla iwknjzu yde pyv esod.
For his very first move with his chopsticks, Shu Lingchen picked up a chicken foot and placed it into Pei Muyin’s bowl. Pei Muyin whispered softly, “Thanks, Brother.”
“Don’t mention it.” Shu Lingchen picked one up for himself as well. The chicken foot was steamed until tender, deeply infused with the flavor of the fermented black bean sauce. As he chewed contentedly, he asked with his mouth full:
“Muyin, have you decided yet? This weekend, do you want to watch Brave Rabbit, I Am a Race Car Driver, or both? If you want to see both, we can go on Saturday and Sunday.”
A couple of days ago, Pei Muyin mentioned that she had never been to a public movie theater before. In the past, she had only watched movies in her family’s private screening room—a vast, dark, and empty space where she sat all alone.
Upon hearing that, Shu Lingchen immediately proposed that all three of them go to the cinema on the pedestrian street this weekend.
Pei Muyin had happily agreed at the time, but then she received that phone call…
The girl gently squeezed her chopsticks, a look of guilt washing over her face: “Sister, I won’t be able to go to the movies with you guys this weekend. I need to go to the capital.”
Shu Shu and Shu Lingchen stopped eating.
Pei Muyin explained that the phone call was from her grandmother, who was taking her somewhere to attend the ninetieth birthday banquet of a certain Old Mr. Xu—an extremely important birthday celebration.
Old Mr. Xu? Shu Shu raised an eyebrow: “The Xu family of Hong Kong?”
Pei Muyin froze, surprised: “Yes! Sister, how did you know?”
“…Oh, I saw a news report with that name on TV.” Shu Shu made up a story on the spot without batting an eye.
If Pei Muyin had any exposure to elite circles, she would know that the Xu family of Hong Kong kept a notoriously low profile and rarely made public appearances in the media.
Shu Shu said in a gentle voice: “It’s alright. If we can’t watch the movie this weekend, we can just go next weekend. You don’t need to apologize.”
Shu Lingchen chimed in: “Yeah, exactly.”
“Mhm.”
Pei Muyin let out a breath of relief, yet she still seemed somewhat preoccupied.
Noticing this, Shu Shu asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I just feel very surprised and bewildered.” Pausing for a moment, Pei Muyin voiced her confusion: “In the past, Grandma never offered to bring me along to these kinds of occasions or banquets. This is actually the very first time.”
Recalling what her daughter had said when she transferred to No. 3 High School—that her family didn’t care about her at all—Shu Shu asked thoughtfully, “Muyin, how is your relationship with… your grandmother?”
Pei Muyin lowered her eyes and remained silent.
The answer spoke for itself.
Shu Shu was not surprised at all.
Song Yunqiu, the former matriarch of the Pei family, was a person who favored those she loved and utterly despised those she hated. From her daughter’s reaction, Shu Shu could clearly tell how Song Yunqiu treated her.
Dislike, or to put it more bluntly—hatred.
Why the hatred?
Shu Shu’s gaze rested on her daughter’s almond-shaped phoenix eyes.
Even before Shu Lingchen knew that Pei Muyin was his younger sister, he had once remarked: “Whoa, if you look closely, your eyes and brows look so much like Pei Muyin’s! No wonder you two get along so well—isn’t this what people call fate?”
A trace of mockery surfaced deep in Shu Shu’s eyes. Second Miss Song, now the old matriarch of the Pei family, had an intensely competitive personality. Ever since marrying into the Pei family, she walked around holding her chin up as high as the sky.
Back then, Shu Shu had shoved Song Yunqiu’s head into a toilet bowl right in front of all the servants, utterly destroying the dignified composure she so desperately tried to maintain as the matriarch. Song Yunqiu had been so enraged that she looked like a lunatic, practically wanting to charge forward and kill her.
Song Yunqiu hated Shu Shu to her core, so that hatred naturally extended to her daughter, who shared her facial features.
Which means… Song Yunqiu knows that Muyin is my daughter?
In that case, Song Yunqiu is very likely an insider who knows exactly how my daughter ended up in the Pei family in the first place.
…
Pulling her thoughts back to the present moment.
Shu Shu noticed her daughter’s internal conflict: “Muyin, you don’t actually want to go to this birthday banquet, do you?”
Pei Muyin nodded.
Shu Shu continued: “But you have a reason why you absolutely must go?”
Pei Muyin nodded again, marveling at how remarkably well her sister understood her.
Shu Shu curved her lips into a gentle smile and said, “If you’d like, I can accompany you to Hong Kong this weekend.”
Pei Muyin was stunned at first, but in the next second, visible joy washed over her face. She asked in disbelief, “Really? Sister, can you really come with me?”
Pei Muyin despised social gatherings like banquets and knew she wouldn’t fit in. It was easy to imagine how uncomfortable and out of place she would feel at the venue.
The thought of it stripped away all her sense of security.
Even though the weekend was still two days away, she had been feeling anxious ever since hanging up that call.
Hearing that Shu Shu was willing to accompany her to Hong Kong, her lingering dread vanished instantly.
Shu Shu confirmed: “Yes, I’ll go with you.”
“Okay!” Pei Muyin smiled, her eyes crinkling into sweet crescents.
“Ah, so if you both go, I’m left home alone for the weekend? How miserable for me! I want to go play too!” Shu Lingchen protested, his primary motivation being to go have fun.
Shu Shu shot him a glance: “Somebody promised me he would study hard, yet his revision progress has been completely stalled lately. The monthly exams are coming up soon—are you going to go back on your word?”
Shu Lingchen changed his tune in a split second: “I’ll stay home and read my books this weekend!”
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