Pei Ran didn’t care how Jiang Han viewed him. Given Jiang Han’s actions, “Pei Ran” probably wasn’t considered his friend anyway.
Perhaps in the beginning, “Pei Ran” might have genuinely been his friend. After winning the lottery, maybe he truly hadn’t intended to share the money with him.
But as time passed, from being a relatively naive and innocent student to stepping into society, “Pei Ran” became President Pei, with his family’s assets gradually increasing.
And what about Jiang Han? No matter how well “Pei Ran” treated him, he was still just an employee.
How much could he earn in a year?
What would people say when they saw him?
["Your buddy 'Pei Ran' is really loyal. Even after getting rich, he didn’t forget to bring you along."]
["Thanks to 'Pei Ran,' you have such a good job and high income now."]
["You really should thank 'Pei Ran' properly."]
But how did “Pei Ran” get his money?
Wasn’t it from winning the lottery, falling from the sky?
Wasn’t it because of his one sentence that he bought that lottery ticket and got the initial 8 million?
“Pei Ran,” on the other hand, said he wouldn’t share the money and truly didn’t give him a single cent.
Sure, he gave him a job, but he also contributed to the company, didn’t he? It was only right for him to get paid.
Everyone said “Pei Ran” was righteous, but he couldn’t see where Pei Ran’s righteousness lay.
Jiang Han felt he owed Pei Ran nothing. In fact, it was “Pei Ran” who owed him, yet everyone thought he was the one indebted.
It annoyed him.
After being annoyed for so long, he even wished that “Pei Ran” would one day fall into misfortune and lose all his wealth.
Then no one would owe anyone anything.
The current Pei Ran didn’t know what Jiang Han, the original owner’s childhood friend and close companion, was thinking, but he could guess it was about eighty to ninety percent accurate.
The two went to eat the Japanese cuisine Jiang Han had mentioned.
During the meal, Jiang Han had already reverted to his usual demeanor, reminiscing with Pei Ran about the past and bringing up the lottery incident once again.
He made sure Pei Ran was reminded of his own “good deeds.”
Pei Ran maintained a faint smile throughout, neither warm nor cold, neither distant nor close.
By the end, it was Jiang Han who couldn’t smile anymore.
“Pei Ran” was acting strange.
Jiang Han had felt this way from the first moment he saw him in the morning, and after a lunch together, the feeling grew even stronger.
What was wrong with “Pei Ran”?
Had he gone mad?
Looking at the meticulously calculated smile on the face before him, Jiang Han couldn’t help but feel a chill.
Pei Ran would never smile like this!
No matter how much a person changed, they couldn’t suddenly become a completely different person overnight.
Possessed by a ghost?
Taken over by a transmigrator?
Reborn from the future?
…
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became. Every possibility seemed to hint that Jiang Han had ulterior motives and that his little schemes had already been seen through.
And every bit of insight seemed to spell disaster for him.
By the end of the lunch, Jiang Han just wanted to go home.
Pei Ran, on the other hand, was relaxed and at ease. After eating and drinking his fill, he patted his hands and waited for Jiang Han to pay the bill.
After freeloading off the original owner so many times, it was time for him to return the favor a few times.
Jiang Han: “…”
In the end, he had no choice but to swipe his card under the increasingly stiff smile of the waitress.
So, this definitely wasn’t “Pei Ran”!
"Pei Ran" never let him pay the bill.
Returning to the company in the afternoon, he dealt with a pile of tasks and instructed Secretary Jin to have the HR department start recruiting.
Since the company had fired a bunch of people, the vacancies needed to be filled. Additionally, extra overtime pay and bonuses had to be issued to other employees during this transitional period. With fewer people but the same workload, overtime was inevitable.
Some ongoing projects also needed adjustments.
For example, the live streaming segment.
That was a business Pei Yucai had been determined to launch. Though it operated under the name of a subsidiary, it was never truly independent. Since its establishment, it hadn’t earned a single penny—on the contrary, it had drained quite a bit of funds.
Without a second thought, Pei Ran decisively cut off this venture.
After all, that live streaming platform had been set up to serve Pei Yucai’s ulterior motives.
It was filled with heavily made-up faces, posing seductively in front of the camera and shouting, "Thank you, top donor, for the gift!"
By the end of the day, Pei Ran was genuinely busy and truly exhausted.
If it were up to him, he really didn’t want to take on this mess.
Even finding a job and starting from scratch would be better than this.
But what could he do?
He tried to psych himself up, and even when he returned home, he appeared energetic.
"You seem quite pleased?"
As soon as he opened the door, Pei Yucai’s greasy face appeared before him.
Pei Ran glanced at him and thought, Sure enough, he hasn’t reached the end of his workday yet.
"I am quite pleased. Today, I fired a bunch of parasites at the company, which means the company can survive a few more years. It’s practically worth celebrating with a drink."
Pei Yucai, being one of the parasites, was clearly not pleased at all.
"You brat, what kind of talk is that? I’m your father. You made me lose face in front of the company’s employees. Do you think that makes you look good? Even a fool knows not to air dirty laundry in public. Couldn’t you have discussed this with me at home?"
Pei Ran was quick to seize the key point: "Dirty laundry?"
It seemed this person wasn’t entirely without merit—at least he had some self-awareness.
Pei Yucai: "…"
What had he just said? He was so angry he was confused. But that wasn’t the point; he couldn’t be bothered to argue with his son over such trivialities now.
Suppressing his anger, he said, "Did your mother tell you to keep an eye on me?"
After being kicked out of the company today, Pei Yucai spent a long time thinking at home but couldn’t figure out how he had "offended" his son.
In the end, he could only conclude that within the entire family, there was only one person who wanted to make life difficult for him—his wife, Yu Mei.
His naive son must have been pressured by his mother, which was why he had taken such harsh measures against him.
Pei Ran entered the house, and the Old Butler quickly came over to ask if he had eaten dinner and if he wanted something to eat.
He was indeed a bit hungry, but since it was already evening, he didn’t plan to eat too much to avoid feeling overly full.
He simply asked for a bowl of noodles.
The Old Butler’s efficiency was top-notch. Within minutes, he brought over a bowl of noodles.
Clear broth noodles with a few shrimp, thinly sliced fish so thin it was almost transparent, and a sprinkle of scallions. The aroma alone was savory and delicious.
Pei Ran ate with great satisfaction. Even with Pei Yucai constantly nagging beside him, like a monk chanting sutras, he could tolerate it.
Throughout the entire meal, Pei Yucai had repeated his marital relationship with Yu Mei over and over, trying to convince Pei Ran that there was no longer any affection between them as a couple—they each did their own thing.
He never interfered with his wife’s affairs.
So, she shouldn’t interfere with his either.
“Then why don’t you just get a divorce?”
Pei Ran thought that if there was no affection left, why stay together?
And to openly discuss such matters in front of their child—this father was quite shameless.
Since Pei Ran wasn’t their biological son, he had no psychological burden saying this.
Moreover, his own biological parents were divorced, so he had no trouble accepting it.
Pei Yucai: “…”
Divorce was definitely out of the question. Not only would Yu Mei never agree, but he also had to save face and maintain the illusion of a harmonious family in front of others.
Seeing that his son had finished his noodles and was about to return to his room to rest, Pei Yucai quickly stopped him.
“No, son, no matter what, your mother and I have been through so many years together. We still have a foundation of affection. We plan to grow old together. Even if love has faded, we still have family bonds. And besides, we have you and your brother. We can’t let you grow up in a single-parent household.”
Pei Ran: “Then isn’t it better that you don’t have to go to work now? You can spend more time rekindling your relationship with her and also have more time to care for Pei Jie.”
No matter how he put it, it felt like dropping a rock on his own foot.
Pei Yucai was already feeling at a loss for words. After pleading with his son so earnestly for so long, what more could he do?
He was the father, after all!
“You little brat, you think you’re all grown up now? I’m your father! I order you to go to the company tomorrow and reverse the personnel decision. It’s our family’s company—how can I not be allowed to work there?”
Pei Yucai’s final move was one Pei Ran knew all too well.
Using family bonds to pressure him, using his status as a father to assert authority.
If it were anything else, Pei Ran might have needed to think of a countermeasure. But this method was like a rehearsed routine he had practiced countless times.
He didn’t even need to think to respond.
He took out his phone and called Secretary Jin, who should have been off work by now.
“Hello, Secretary Jin, I need you to do something for me right away. Please freeze all the credit cards under my name—yes, the ones meant for family use.”
Perhaps the Pei family was truly naive. Ever since “Pei Ran” won the lottery, the money, though never explicitly stated, was essentially used by the whole family.
Another naive aspect was that after “Pei Ran’s” entrepreneurial success brought in more and more money, they never asked for a share.
Instead, all the money remained under “Pei Ran’s” name.
When Pei Yucai and Yu Mei needed money, they would simply ask their son for it.
“Pei Ran” had conveniently given them supplementary cards linked to his bank account.
Now, it made things easier for Pei Ran. With just one phone call, he cut off the financial lifeline for the Pei couple.
Hearing his words over the phone, Pei Yucai’s face turned pale.
This was no joke. Not going to the company was one thing—he was just a middle-aged man with only a high school diploma, and his presence there was merely for show.
Being fired was just a matter of pride.
But cutting off their finances was an entirely different story.
This concerns his entire future life!
Everything!
Before Pei Yucai could react and snatch the phone, Pei Ran had already finished discussing matters with Secretary Jin and hung up.
He glanced indifferently at Pei Yucai, who was lunging toward him.
Pei Yucai immediately froze in his tracks.
If he caused any more trouble, his son might really throw him out of this house!
"Son, your dad just acted impulsively. Listen to me, we’re father and son—what can’t we talk about? Have you been under too much pressure lately? How about we go on a family trip? What do you think?"
The ingratiating smile was utterly useless in Pei Ran’s eyes.
What a pity Pei Yucai had stopped making a scene.
If he had kept it up, Pei Ran could have just kicked them out to cool off.
They were all adults—they should learn to stand on their own two feet. What kind of person spends all day "mooching" off their son?
About an hour later, Pei Ran was in the original owner’s study, flipping through some company-related documents.
Pei Yucai, looking miserable, had been shut outside the door and had been quiet for a while.
Just as Pei Ran thought the man had finally calmed down, the study door was suddenly slammed from the outside.
Had Pei Yucai come up with a new trick?
"Xiao Ran, open the door!"
The voice that followed immediately revealed the person’s identity.
It was Yu Mei.
The original owner’s mother had arrived.
Pei Ran stood up—this was a good opportunity to deal with both of the couple’s issues at once.
To be fair, the original owner’s mother didn’t have any major problems, aside from her daily schedule packed with expensive activities and social engagements, as well as her frequent cosmetic procedures to alter her appearance.
She also doted excessively on her younger son, spoiling a child who had just started elementary school into a little tyrant.
Unfortunately, among the people this little tyrant bullied at school was the female lead’s only younger sister.
Yu Mei had been out shopping at the mall late into the night. It wasn’t until she tried to pay that she was told her card couldn’t be used.
After complaining about how unreliable the network was these days, she tried all her other cards, only to find none of them worked. It was then that she belatedly realized it wasn’t the network that was the problem—it was her.
Leaving her purchases behind, and under the shop assistant’s complicated gaze, she rushed home in a fury, humiliated.
On the way, she had already called Pei Yucai. He didn’t dare tell her that he had angered their son, which had led to her cards being frozen.
He only dared say that their son was in a bad mood, and he wasn’t sure what was going on either—he was at home trying to talk to him.
When Yu Mei arrived home, she didn’t even glance at her useless husband and headed straight for her son’s study.
After slamming the study door heavily, there was no response from inside.
Just as she raised her hand to slam it again, the door suddenly opened from within.
Pei Ran stepped out.
Dressed in a full three-piece suit and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, he exuded an air of refined yet unscrupulous sophistication.
He looked like someone not to be trifled with.
【Author’s Note】
Pei Ran: Whoever puts food on the table is the real dad~