The two of them did not go to the Yu family home after all; they merely pretended to pass by, stole a glance inside, and left.
On the way back, they ran into Qiao Xie returning from town. He greeted them from a distance. Pei Qingyu watched with a faint expression, while beside him, Yu Tingzheng practically leaped with excitement, taller than his usual self as he called out, “Brother Xie! Brother Xie!”
Pei Qingyu knit his brows almost imperceptibly. Before he could pass judgment, Qiao Xie approached and roughly ruffled Yu Tingzheng’s hair. Taken off guard, Pei Qingyu’s face instantly darkened.
“Well now, you’ve only been gone a few days and you’ve already put on some weight. You’ve even grown taller.” Qiao Xie casually draped an arm over Yu Tingzheng’s shoulder and gave his arm a squeeze.
Yu Tingzheng gave a simple, honest laugh. “I… I eat a lot.”
Pei Qingyu let out a cold huff in his mind. Even a pig doesn’t eat as much as he does, how could he not get fat? How could he not grow? He stared fixedly at Qiao Xie’s hand touching Yu Tingzheng, as if trying to bore a hole through it.
“If you can eat, then eat more. The Pei family won’t let you go hungry,” Qiao Xie said, patting Yu Tingzheng’s head again like he was ruffling a dog’s fur.
Even after Qiao Xie left, Yu Tingzheng seemed to linger on the interaction, leaving Pei Qingyu gnashing his teeth in secret while pretending he didn’t care. He was unaware that his stiff, wooden expression made his feelings all too obvious.
“Yu’er… is unhappy?”
“What is there to be happy about?” Since Yu Tingzheng was the one who spoke, Pei Qingyu took the opportunity to vent his pent-up irritation on him. “How could being with you ever make me happy? What do you take yourself for?”
Having been scolded, Yu Tingzheng lowered his head and didn’t dare to speak another word.
Pei Qingyu strode ahead, no longer acknowledging him. He was tall with long legs, and Yu Tingzheng was no match for his pace. Before long, he was left far behind, trudging along with the book boxes to catch up. Panicked that Pei Qingyu might lock him out of the house; he didn’t dare slow his pace for a second.
Fortunately, Pei Qingyu hadn’t gone far. He stood in the twilight, gazing at the reflections in the river with a distant look that betrayed neither joy nor sorrow. Soon, a second figure appeared in the reflection.
Yu Tingzheng stood beside him, huffing and puffing as he caught his breath. He wanted to speak but lacked the courage, his mouth opening and closing several times to no avail.
Pei Qingyu took the book boxes from his hands and said sullenly, “I’ll do it myself.”
They were only a few steps away from the small fenced courtyard. Yu Tingzheng wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but seeing the other’s mood, he could only let go dejectedly.
As the two entered the courtyard gate, they suddenly saw a young man sitting there, drinking tea and chatting with Madam Pei. Seeing the boys, his handsome features lifted in a smile. “You’re back?”
Yu Tingzheng had never seen him before, and his hands immediately tightened. He noticed the man bore a fifty-percent resemblance to Pei Qingyu.
“Father,” Pei Qingyu said, walking over to hand the book boxes to A-Tong, who had run over to meet them. He sat down beside the man. “Why are you here?”
“I missed your mother, so I came.” Master Pei’s gaze traveled over his son. “What, did you think I came to see you?”
Pei Qingyu curled his lip. “I never entertained such a thought.”
Madam Pei called Yu Tingzheng over, as he was still rooted to the gate, and pulled him down to sit beside her. “Why are you back so late today? Did the teacher keep you?”
“The teacher… didn’t keep us.” As soon as Yu Tingzheng sat down, he felt Master Pei’s inquisitive gaze on him. He straightened his back and placed both hands on his knees like a small child, looking utterly ill at ease.
Master Pei retracted his gaze and turned back to his son. After watching him until Pei Qingyu couldn’t help but frown, he said cheerfully, “Your complexion is indeed much better than before. That charlatan truly has some skill.”
Pei Qingyu replied, “I had a high fever just two days ago.” His meaning was clear: he didn’t agree. If Yu Tingzheng were truly that effective, why had he fallen ill?
Yu Tingzheng’s hands twisted together on his knees, his face turning pale.
“I heard it was because you didn’t want to be near Zheng’er,” Master Pei said with a chuckle. “You slept on the innermost side and made him sleep on the edge. You couldn’t win the quilt from him during the night and caught a chill. This was your own doing; what does it have to do with Zheng’er?”
Having his embarrassing secret exposed, Pei Qingyu’s pale lips tightened, and he went silent.
Suddenly, the little stutterer stammered in his defense: “It was… me. I took… Yu’er’s quilt… and made him… catch a cold.”
He’s protecting me.
Pei Qingyu gave him a faint glance and let out a soft huff from his throat. If it weren’t for him, why would I have to suffer a chill and two days of high fever? Wasn’t it all caused by him?
Master Pei had heard from his wife that the boy bought to bring good luck was a stutterer, so he had no reaction to the boy’s speech. He merely said, “How can you be blamed? He’s the one who told you to stay away, yet he couldn’t even hold onto a quilt. He deserved to suffer.”
Yu Tingzheng panicked and instinctively looked at Pei Qingyu. The latter remained expressionless, his eyes drooping as he watched him. Yu Tingzheng immediately pulled his head back like a startled quail.
Master Pei continued, “I also heard that on the first night, he made you sleep on the floor. That’s simply outrageous. Even if the nights aren’t cold, the floor is still hard; it’s no place for a human to sleep. Since you’ve come here, you are part of the Pei family. In the future, you will have a say in the affairs of the household. You aren’t here to be his punching bag.”
Yu Tingzheng nodded weakly. When Pei Qingyu shot him a sharp look, his shoulders couldn’t help but tremble.
Seeing this, Madam Pei gave her son a reproachful look. “Everything was fine; why are you being so fierce toward Zheng’er?”
“When did I scare him?” Pei Qingyu tilted his chin and looked down at Yu Tingzheng. “He’s just too cowardly.”
At the thought that such a cowardly person would one day be the manager of his household, he didn’t hide his disdain, staring until Yu Tingzheng felt like he wanted to vanish into the earth.
“With a temper like yours, who could possibly stand you? Never mind Zheng’er which of the servants who have been with you for years isn’t afraid of you?” Madam Pei said. “The fact that Zheng’er is sitting here isn’t because he needs us, but because we need him. In other words, he is our benefactor. He doesn’t have to be with you. If you keep being fierce and scare him away, we won’t help you find him.”
Pei Qingyu imagined a scene of Yu Tingzheng being so scared that he ran away in the middle of the night. He immediately pursed his lips. He watched the boy even more intently now.
Yet, he still said, “If he wants to leave, then let him. Am I supposed to beg him to stay? I can’t wait for him to leave.”
The boy, whose head had almost disappeared into his collar, looked up and stared at him blankly. Pei Qingyu turned his head away, refusing to look back.
“Very well then,” Master Pei said, clearly enjoying the drama. “Since you dislike him, I will find a good family to send Zheng’er to. It will save him from having to put up with the temper of a young master like you.”
“This—”
Madam Pei was about to protest, but Master Pei gave her a look, and she understood. She followed along: “The illness is in your body. Since you feel that ‘bringing luck’ is useless, then let Zheng’er go.”
Yu Tingzheng’s face turned deathly pale. His twisting hands had unknowingly crumpled the fabric of his robes.
“He has no education or talent, and he stutters. Who would want him?” Seeing the two already discussing who to give Yu Tingzheng to, Pei Qingyu felt a surge of panic. He said discontentedly, “Even if someone took him, how could they treat him well? Even his own parents didn’t treat him kindly; what can be expected of someone with no blood relation?”
Madam Pei sighed. “Then what should be done? You don’t like him.”
Pei Qingyu glanced at the little stutterer. The boy’s eyes were rimmed with a faint red and looked watery, as if he were about to cry.
He bit his lip and forced himself to speak: “The marriage contract is already signed. Where else could he possibly go?”
Master Pei replied, “A signed contract can be nullified. It isn’t a big problem.”
Pei Qingyu glared at them. “He is already a member of our family. Where else should he go? Even if I dislike him, the Pei estate is vast; surely there is a place for him to stay.”