Pei Yu carried Shen Lishu on his back for who knows how long, until Shen Lishu was rubbing her eyes drowsily, when a black car suddenly pulled over slowly by the roadside.
“Little Shen Lishu.”
“Little Pei Yu.”
“Would you like to consider getting in the car? I’ll have my husband give you a free ride.”
In a low-key yet luxurious Rolls-Royce Phantom, the window on the roadside slowly rolled down, revealing a bright and captivating face.
Shen Lishu froze for a few seconds before reacting, then immediately called out timidly, “Auntie.”
Although Yu Qingqing hadn’t returned in recent years, she and Father Pei had exchanged letters from time to time, so she had long known about the existence of this little sweet pea, Shen Lishu.
Seeing her today, she was even more adorable than described in the letters—delicately pretty, with a soft and gentle voice.
“Ah!” Yu Qingqing responded with a beaming smile.
Shen Lishu and Pei Yu got into the car together.
On the way home, Shen Lishu leaned against Pei Yu’s shoulder and, unable to hold on any longer, fell into a deep sleep.
The car was very quiet.
After arriving home, Yu Qingqing picked up Shen Lishu and carried her upstairs to her room. Pei Yu followed closely behind, watching eagerly.
A servant quickly brought a basin of hot water, and Yu Qingqing used a cloth to gently wipe Shen Lishu’s body bit by bit.
After settling Shen Lishu, the “three-way interrogation” was about to begin in the living room downstairs.
Father Pei and Yu Qingqing sat side by side, both silently watching Pei Yu, who was starving and eating.
As soon as he put down his chopsticks, a servant immediately stepped forward to clear the dishes.
Pei Yu sat up straight, his voice calm: “Is there anything you want to scold me for?”
Since he had dared to take Shen Lishu away without regard for everything hours earlier, he naturally feared no consequences.
Even if it happened again, he would still do the same.
Yu Qingqing suddenly smiled, pushing the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose as she praised, “You did very well.”
Then, she added seriously, “But did you consider more?”
Pei Yu was slightly taken aback.
“No matter how mature and steady you claim to be, leaving aside other factors, what if human traffickers had targeted you?”
“Once abducted into a car, how would you protect Lili? With your small frame that an adult could easily kick down, or with…”
Just on this point alone, Yu Qingqing could clearly and cruelly tell Pei Yu about the various fates of girls after being trafficked.
After delivering a well-reasoned and logical speech, Pei Yu’s expression grew increasingly somber.
Yu Qingqing lowered her gaze slightly. “Being trafficked is even one of the lighter consequences.”
First, the Pei family held a high position and had many enemies.
Second, Yu Qingqing’s identity and profession were sensitive.
Third, the Pei family’s collateral branches had long been eyeing Pei Yu’s position as the heir.
Yu Qingqing continued, “Knowing how to protect those you care about is a good thing. As a mother, I’m happy to see the sense of responsibility you possess at such a young age.”
“But I hope that next time, you’ll act more steadily and safely.”
Pei Yu fell silent.
He wasn’t strong enough yet.
Only by becoming stronger could he better protect Shen Lishu.
This incident concluded with Pei Yu writing a self-criticism that satisfied Yu Qingqing.
.
The next day.
The various collateral branches of the Pei family brought their children to apologize to Shen Lishu.
The innocent and naive Shen Lishu was very magnanimous, lightly choosing to forgive them.
The gifts sent by various families were accepted under Father Pei’s discretion.
In the afternoon, the two children sat on the carpet, unwrapping gift boxes.
Over the past few days, visitors had been streaming into the Pei household, though most came specifically to see Yu Qingqing.
To others, Pei Yu appeared largely uninterested.
That was until today, when a boy around fifteen or sixteen arrived, wearing a windbreaker and looking somewhat sickly.
Beside him was a girl slightly younger than him.
The girl seemed rather shy, clutching the boy’s sleeve tightly the entire time, her eyes lowered, not daring to look around.
Accompanying them was an elderly man with white hair, a renowned figure in the mathematics world.
As Yu Qingqing continued to explain, the old man’s face was filled with excitement.
The old man sighed with emotion, “The younger generation truly is formidable.”
Yu Qingqing smiled calmly, “We juniors are merely standing on the shoulders of esteemed predecessors like you.”
The old man laughed heartily.
His purpose in coming today was not solely to seek advice from Yu Qingqing.
“Changshu, come here.”
The boy in the windbreaker immediately walked over and nodded respectfully to the old man.
“Qingqing, this is my only grandson. He has some talent.”
Yu Qingqing naturally understood that the old man’s mention of “some talent” was far from just “some.”
Ye Changshu greeted politely, “Aunt Yu.”
Yu Qingqing gave a slight nod.
The old man looked at Ye Changshu, his eyes filled with pride, though his words carried a hint of regret. “He has been frail since childhood. Last year, he accidentally fell into the water, was unconscious for nearly half a month, and almost didn’t make it.”
“His grandmother somehow heard of a method, saying that a wedding could wake the child.”
“At the time, I scolded it as feudal superstition, but Changshu actually woke up. Recently, his health has been improving…”
Yu Qingqing glanced at the girl not far away, her expression timid and fearful.
“Children and grandchildren have their own blessings.”
With the most important introduction of the day completed, the old man allowed Ye Changshu to step back and continued discussing other matters with Yu Qingqing.
Ye Changshu returned to the girl’s side and asked softly, “Would you like some water?”
The girl instinctively licked her lips, then gently shook her head.
Seeing this, Ye Changshu sighed, picked up a teacup nearby, and brought it to the girl’s lips.
The girl drank in big gulps, not stopping until the cup was empty, clearly parched.
As soon as Ye Changshu set down the teacup, he caught sight of Pei Yu also feeding Shen Lishu water.
After drinking, Shen Lishu opened her moist eyes and said sweetly to Pei Yu, “Thank you, Pei Yu.”
Pei Yu put down the water cup and happened to meet Ye Changshu’s gaze, letting out a light snort.
Ye Changshu narrowed his eyes slightly.
From then on, whenever Ye Changshu fed the girl pastries, Pei Yu would feed Shen Lishu fruit.
When Pei Yu helped Shen Lishu change the small sweat towel on her back to absorb moisture, Ye Changshu would reach out to wipe cake crumbs from the girl’s mouth…
A strange sense of competition was ignited between them, with each trying to outdo the other, making it impossible to determine a winner.
Here, after Pei Yu helped Shen Lishu look up the meaning of an English word and noticed Ye Changshu hadn’t made a move for a while, he flashed a triumphant smile at him.
Ye Changshu narrowed his eyes again.
The next second, he suddenly turned his head and kissed the girl on the cheek.
Pei Yu froze.
Pei Yu was stunned.
After regaining his composure, Pei Yu also leaned in to kiss Shen Lishu’s cheek.
“Pei Yu!”
Coincidentally, Father Pei returned from an errand outside. As soon as he entered the door, he saw this scene and rushed over, swiftly scooping Shen Lishu up in his arms.
Pei Yu kissed nothing but air.