Chapter 19: Pei Youning
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Early morning.
Everyone in the Pei family was dressed in black.
Pei Baoyuan wore no makeup. The birthmark at the corner of her eye had gradually faded over the years. In a black dress, she stood outside the house, staring blankly as people carried box after box indoors and loaded them into the cars.
At exactly nine o’clock, the Pei family’s cars slowly drove into the cemetery.
When Pei Baoyuan got out, she was somewhat dazed. Pei Zongnian was the one who brought her back to herself.
The eldest brother held his little sister by the wrist and followed their parents ahead of them, walking forward step by step.
They stopped before a gravestone.
The inscription read:
Grave of Our Beloved Son, Pei Youning
Born June 8, 1997
Died May 14, 2005
The Pei family had two sons and one daughter: the eldest, Pei Zongnian; the second son, Pei Youning; and the youngest daughter, Pei Baoyuan, who was his twin.
In 2005, the Pei family was at the height of its power, and therefore a target for envy and attack. The transfer of power was underway, with countless hidden conflicts and deadly struggles unfolding in the shadows.
It was then that the Pei twins, both newly enrolled in elementary school, were abducted one afternoon after classes ended.
The kidnappers had planned everything meticulously. In those days, there were no high-definition cameras everywhere, no big-data tracking, and no facial recognition. Once the two children had been taken, they vanished without a trace.
Eight hours after the twins disappeared, the Pei family received a call from the kidnappers.
They did not want a ransom. They had only one demand.
During this transfer of power, the Pei family had to withdraw completely from the competition.
Otherwise, both of their children would die.
At that point, only three days remained before everything was settled.
Everyone knew that if the Pei family withdrew now, there would be no hope of survival in the future.
And it would not be only the Pei family. The Song family, joined to them by marriage, and everyone standing on the Pei family’s side would suffer as well.
The future.
No. None of them would have a future anymore.
The Pei family could not retreat.
But neither could they lose both children.
Whether they should sacrifice an arm or a leg, the Pei family needed time to make a choice. For the moment, they could only stall for time, search for another solution, and find out where the twins had been taken.
On the second day after receiving the kidnappers’ call, the Pei family found their younger daughter, who had escaped and made her way back.
From her frightened, incoherent account, they pieced together the location where the kidnappers were hiding.
By the time the police arrived, the kidnappers had already fled. All that remained was Pei Youning, tortured to death and hung high from a ceiling beam.
Two days later, the struggle for power came to an end. The Pei family stood securely at the very center of power.
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The price was one son.
As for the fortunate little daughter who had escaped home with her brother’s help, she began years of psychological treatment.
People often say that time can heal all wounds. But when someone has truly experienced darkness and pain that cuts to the bone, the darkness follows like a shadow forever.
Standing before the gravestone, Pei Baoyuan could not stop her tears from falling.
Her vision blurred with tears until she could barely make out her brother’s name on the stone.
Before Pei Youning’s grave, they placed the foods he had once loved to eat and the toys he had once loved to play with. With reddened eyes, Mrs. Song burned the peace talisman she had obtained from a temple.
“Youning, Mom went to the temple a couple of days ago and prayed for a peace talisman for you. I hope everything is well for you over there, that you’re safe, healthy, and at peace. Or perhaps you’ve already been reincarnated...”
At last, Pei Baoyuan could bear no more.
Overcome with grief, she relived everything that had happened back then, as though a film were being rewound and played over and over again inside her mind.
A cry of pain escaped her.
Her usually taciturn elder brother silently pulled his little sister into his arms and gently patted her back.
Burying her face against her brother’s chest, Pei Baoyuan no longer cared about her tears or runny nose. She simply sobbed aloud.
The rest of the Pei family remained silent.
Pei Youning’s death was the Pei family’s eternal, indelible wound.
By the time Pei Baoyuan’s eyes were swollen from crying, she had soaked most of her brother’s shirt as well.
[Waaah... Why do I feel like crying too when I watch the second female lead cry?]
[The brother is great! The sister is awful!]
[Little Song! Little Song is filming here today!]
Pei Baoyuan stopped in her tracks.
Following the direction indicated by the comments, she looked west.
To the west lay a cemetery that had not yet been developed or put into use. A crowd had indeed gathered there, complete with cameras, reflectors, and other equipment. In the middle of it, Pei Baoyuan saw Song Yiren.
Pei Zongnian, who had been watching his sister closely, stopped as well. Seeing her staring blankly in one direction, he asked, “What is it?”
Pei Baoyuan shook her head. Her voice was hoarse from crying so hard. Taking his arm, she said, “Brother, let’s go home.”
Pei Zongnian was still worried. Before leaving, he glanced twice in the direction Pei Baoyuan had been looking.
—
Pei Baoyuan shut herself away at home for two days, and her mood improved considerably.
At that moment, she was watching a television drama with Mrs. Song Xuanling.
The tangled romances in the show tugged at Mrs. Song Xuanling’s emotions, and from time to time she even cursed the woman who had interfered in the female lead’s relationship.
Several messages appeared on Pei Baoyuan’s phone in quick succession.
She assumed they were more pointless messages from Huo Yanci, but then she saw the name attached to them.
Ke Xianbai.
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Ke Xianbai: Didn’t you say you wanted to thank me?
Ke Xianbai: Pei Baoyuan, have you gone missing? Could you at least show some initiative when dealing with your benefactor?
Pei Baoyuan: “...”
She replied: I haven’t gone missing. What do you want to eat?
Ke Xianbai replied almost instantly—
Six o’clock tonight. Lotus Fragrance Pavilion.
Pei Baoyuan glanced helplessly at the time.
Good. She still had time to get dressed and do her makeup.
Under Mrs. Song Xuanling’s teasing gaze, she hurried upstairs to change and put on her makeup.
To match the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion’s antique, classical decor, Pei Baoyuan deliberately wore a qipao that evening. She pinned her long hair up behind her head with a hairpin.
Ke Xianbai had apparently given instructions to the staff at the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion. When Pei Baoyuan arrived, they led her straight to the “Su Muzhe,” where they had dined that day.
Ke Xianbai was sitting in his place playing a game on his phone. At the sound of approaching footsteps, he lifted his eyes—and froze at the sight of her.
The sapphire-blue Suzhou-embroidered qipao looked astonishing on Pei Baoyuan, making it impossible to look away. Her waist, especially, was slender enough to fit in one hand; even the slightest difference would have ruined the perfection.
At some point, the character in the game on his phone had been struck down in a single blow.
Pei Baoyuan raised her brows at him.
Ke Xianbai turned off his phone and tried to conceal what he had just done with a cough.
Pei Baoyuan slid the menu toward him and said generously, “Order whatever you like.”
Ke Xianbai pushed it back toward her. “Tonight, I’ll defer to the host.”
Pei Baoyuan was speechless.
She quickly ordered several dishes she liked, then asked Ke Xianbai whether there was anything he avoided eating.
After looking over the order, Ke Xianbai said with satisfaction, “Little Sister Baoyuan really understands me. Every dish you ordered is one of my favorites. Looks like you truly meant to thank me properly.”
Pei Baoyuan: “...”
What a master of wishful thinking. How could he be so conceited?
After the meal, Pei Baoyuan paid the bill and headed outside. Ke Xianbai followed her all the way to her car.
Pei Baoyuan opened the door. “Goodbye.”
Ke Xianbai smiled. “There’s no need to say goodbye.”
Then he opened the front passenger door of Pei Baoyuan’s car, climbed in, fastened his seat belt in one fluid motion, and casually gave her an address.
Pei Baoyuan stared at him as if she had seen a ghost. “Why are you getting into my car?!”
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