Chapter 17: Hiring Someone to Secretly Photograph Her?
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No one knew how Huo Yanci had learned that Pei Baoyuan was ill, but he had Huo Ciyue bring her a pot of chicken soup he had ordered specially.
Huo Ciyue praised her brother to the skies. “Sister Baoyuan, you have no idea how worried my brother was when he heard you were sick. He had the chef stew this soup all afternoon, saying you needed something nourishing.”
“He even carried it to the car himself. But then he got out again, saying you must still be angry with him and unwilling to see him, so he had no choice but to send me instead.” Huo Ciyue sighed, then added, “Sister Baoyuan, my brother really knows he was wrong. Can you forgive him?”
A few chopped scallions floated on the surface of the soup, reminding Pei Baoyuan of the meal she and Ke Xianbai had shared at Lianxiang House. It seemed that not a single dish there had contained scallions, cilantro, or anything of the sort.
She picked out the scallions and took two sips, but the soup still tasted utterly bland.
“We’ll see how he behaves.”
Huo Ciyue asked, “Then could you at least remove him from your blacklist first?”
After thinking for a moment, Pei Baoyuan agreed.
“I really am the love security guard for the two of you.”
Pei Baoyuan thought that she certainly was.
She had protected her brother’s affair from being discovered and, to a certain extent, preserved their relationship. Wasn’t that exactly what a love security guard did?
That was assuming she had not learned about the elaborate deception they had all concocted from the barrage of comments long ago.
The moment she removed Huo Yanci from her blacklist, his messages began appearing one after another.
Huo Yanci: Baoyuan, I was wrong. Before I knew the truth, I shouldn’t have slandered you.
Huo Yanci: I’ve already had Huang Zhenyu and Song Yiren come forward to clarify everything themselves. The two of them have broken up, and they’ll never trouble you over this again.
Huo Yanci: Baoyuan, I heard you were sick. Are you all right?
Huo Yanci: Baoyuan, please reply to me. Just let me know that you’re all right.
After reading the messages, Pei Baoyuan felt that her eyes had suffered enough.
[The male lead is living such a miserable life.]
[Not as miserable as our female lead, okay? She sent the male lead photos of the supporting female character and Ke Xianbai at the hospital, and the male lead immediately rushed over to care for the supporting female character without a second thought.]
Pei Baoyuan was somewhat surprised.
So it was Song Yiren who had told Huo Yanci she was sick.
But where had Song Yiren gotten those photographs?
Or had she hired someone to follow her?
Pei Baoyuan could not make sense of it no matter how hard she tried.
If someone really had been following her and taking pictures, she would have to be more careful whenever she went out in the future.
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The person Song Yiren had hired this time had been able to secretly photograph her. Whoever she hired next might do more than merely take pictures.
Madam Song Xuanling had gone out for afternoon tea with her friends, leaving only Pei Baoyuan and the incessantly chattering Huo Ciyue at home. The noise gave Pei Baoyuan a headache.
Near quitting time, Pei Baoyuan’s brother—the man who had practically never come home—suddenly returned.
Pei Baoyuan was surprised. “Brother?”
Pei Zongnian was carrying something in his hand. Seeing that there was a guest in the house, he merely nodded and placed the item on the dining table nearby.
“...”
Huo Ciyue was somewhat afraid of Pei Zongnian. The oppressive aura of a man in authority, combined with eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything, made her afraid to meet his gaze whenever she saw him.
After putting down what he was carrying, Pei Zongnian went upstairs without disturbing his sister and her friend downstairs.
Huo Ciyue, however, could no longer sit still. Her mind was filled with the way Pei Zongnian had looked at her.
Terrifying.
Now that Pei Zongnian was back, what if Pei Jianguo came home as well...
Although Pei Jianguo had retired from the military, he was an even more frightening presence in Huo Ciyue’s eyes than Pei Zongnian.
In a panic, Huo Ciyue hurriedly took her leave.
Pei Baoyuan watched her fleeing figure thoughtfully, then glanced toward the second floor. At last, she knew how to deal with her the next time.
Not long after Huo Ciyue left, Pei Zongnian came downstairs.
He lowered his eyes and saw his sister leaning against the sofa, propping up her head as she gazed at him.
Without breaking stride, Pei Zongnian came down from upstairs and placed a hand on Pei Baoyuan’s head. After finding nothing unusual, he sat down in the armchair.
“I heard you had a high fever. I brought back some supplements for you. You collapsed after only a few days of work. You need to take better care of yourself.” His eyes fell on the chicken soup that had yet to be cleared from the coffee table.
The soup had gone cold, with oil and a few stray scallions floating on its surface.
“Brother, how did you hear that I was sick?”
Why did the whole world know the moment she fell ill?
Pei Zongnian stared at the chicken soup, his tone faintly disdainful. “When you deal with people, you should be more cautious. You have no defenses at all and tell everyone everything.”
Pei Baoyuan did not dare respond and quickly changed the subject. “Brother, why are you home? Isn’t work keeping you busy?”
Her brother was a complete workaholic. When he had first started working, he stayed late every night and returned home around midnight. The Pei residence was far from his workplace, so he left early and returned late, barely getting any sleep. Eventually, he had simply moved into an apartment assigned by the government. Apart from the New Year and other holidays, he rarely returned to the family home without a specific reason.
Pei Zongnian was helpless. “I have something to discuss with Dad.”
“I thought you came to meet your future wife.” Pei Baoyuan waggled her eyebrows at him. “Last night I saw Mom looking through photographs. All the women were beautiful. I wonder which one will become my sister-in-law in the future.”
Pei Zongnian: “...”
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He suddenly felt that coming home this time had been dangerous.
That evening.
After discussing business with his father, Pei Zongnian was pulled aside by his mother to look at photographs of potential marriage partners.
With nothing much to do at home lately, Madam Song Xuanling’s greatest pleasure had become finding a wife for her eldest son, who was well into his thirties and still unmarried.
“This one graduated from the University of Chicago with dual degrees in economics and psychology. She’s the niece of your Aunt Chen.”
“This one graduated from Capital University and is a violinist. She’s twenty-six this year. Your mother has met her—she’s even prettier in person than she is in the photograph.”
“And this one...”
Pei Zongnian rubbed the space between his brows. When he caught sight of his sister watching the spectacle from the side, he felt utterly helpless.
He pressed down his mother’s hand as she passed him another photograph. “Mom...”
His mother’s eyes were filled with expectation and longing. The words caught in Pei Zongnian’s throat dissolved before they could be spoken.
“You don’t have to introduce them. I’ll look at them myself.”
He rapidly finished looking through the photographs in his hands.
“Mom, I think that right now I...”
“Son,” his mother said earnestly, “I think you should get to know them seriously before deciding whether you’re suited to each other. You shouldn’t reject someone the moment you see her photograph.”
Pei Zongnian: “...”
His younger sister was laughing happily beside them.
Pei Zongnian felt that his premonition had been entirely correct. Today truly had not been a good day to come home.
He sighed and picked up the photograph that had been placed in the corner. “I’ll get to know her. Don’t worry.”
[Our robotic brother picked out his future wife at a glance!]
[Before going in, our robotic brother signed divorce papers in advance to protect his wife. But she refused to divorce him. How is that not a case of two people rushing toward each other?]
Pei Baoyuan craned her neck to get a clear look at the photograph in her brother’s hand.
Her future sister-in-law had a graceful, dignified beauty. She came from an excellent family and was highly capable. Even a robotic man like her brother was marrying above his station.
After taking the contact information of his prospective bride, Pei Zongnian hurriedly left. Madam Song Xuanling then turned her attention to her youngest daughter, who had been happily watching the drama unfold.
Pei Baoyuan: “...”
Oh no! The battlefield had shifted!
Run!