“Could he really be the one who did it?” Lian Yi tilted his chin toward Wen Shuyu. “Did Tao Wei try to harm him, only to get some payback?”
Pei Jiangchen snorted, his eyes and brows full of amusement.
“Oh, give it a rest. Look at his scrawny frame—who could he possibly beat up? He’s only been training with guns for a few months; his best score is barely a nine. He only managed to avoid getting hurt by that bastard Tao Wei because he’s quick witted and fast on his feet.”
On the night of the incident, Wen Shuyu—as a key person of interest—gave a report to Second Uncle Pei.
Wen Shuyu’s account was airtight: he had noticed someone tailing him as soon as he entered the small woods, so he took a detour to shake the pursuer off, retraced his steps to exit the area, and then returned to the apartment via a different route. He claimed to know absolutely nothing about what had transpired inside the woods.
The testimony of the lackey Tao Wei had stationed at the apartment entrance, along with the building’s surveillance footage, corroborated Wen Shuyu’s story.
Tao Wei and his five or six henchmen had reportedly all been taken down within a minute—a feat only a true expert could pull off.
Yet, Wen Shuyu had only begun his training after joining the Pei family; his shooting and combat skills were still at a beginner’s level. When Pei Jiangchen sparred with him, he had to hold back his punches to avoid sending the young man flying with a single blow.
At the time, Tao Wei’s cousin hadn’t believed it and insisted on testing Wen Shuyu’s skills, swinging a fist straight at Wen Shuyu’s face.
It was Pei Jiangchen who stepped in and caught that fist.
“What’s gotten into the Tao family? Can’t find the real culprit, so you decide to make a scapegoat out of my man?”
Pei Jiangchen maintained a polite smile, yet a dark, menacing shadow gathered between his brows as he twisted the hand he was holding with sudden force.
A sickening crack echoed from the wrist joint, and the man cried out in pain.
Pei Jiangchen added, “Seeing how frantic you all are… is it possible that Tao Wei is actually perfectly fine? Is the Tao family just looking for an excuse to pick a fight with the Peis?”
That was a serious accusation. The elders from both families hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over and pulled their respective children away.
The Tao family returned home in disgrace; despite searching high and low, they couldn’t uncover the true culprit. Meanwhile, news of Tao Wei’s scandal spread across the Suman, and he became notorious as a lecherous degenerate.
In the end, the Tao family patriarch made the final call: acknowledging Tao Wei was at fault for his drug abuse, he banished him to the ancestral home in the countryside to reflect on his behavior.
“Has the Tao family lost their minds?” Pei Jiangchen grabbed a crisp peach and took a loud, crunchy bite. “If the attacker was masked, they certainly wouldn’t come forward and admit it later. With skills like that, it was likely a professional hired gun who’d been keeping an eye on Tao Wei for a while. That whole incident was just a classic case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”
“Whoever it was, I’m grateful they took care of that moron from the Tao family,” Lian Yi said with a grin. “By the way, A-Chen, Elena keeps asking me about you lately; she seems a bit restless. What exactly do you plan to do about her?”
“No plans,” Pei Jiangchen said indifferently. “If you want to pursue her, go ahead.”
Lian Yi’s eyes lit up, his excitement unconcealed. “Oh? So, now that you’ve got a little sidekick, you’re ditching your old flame? You’re making me blush.”
“You actually know what ’embarrassment’ is?” Pei Jiangchen scoffed. “You’re constantly going on about Elena—’Elena this, Elena that’—terrified I wouldn’t notice you’re interested in her. Fine, go chase her. I never slept with her, so you don’t need to feel awkward about it.”
Lian Yi let out a cheerful whistle. “I always felt like you never really liked her anyway. If you’d treated Elena even a tenth as well as you treat your little sidekick, I wouldn’t have stood a chance with her.”
“You can’t compare the two…” Pei Jiangchen suddenly caught something off. “Wait. Have you two already hooked up?”
Lian Yi realized he’d let something slip and fell silent.
“Damn it!” Pei Jiangchen locked Lian Yi in a headlock and rapped his knuckles against the other man’s head. “You little punk, you went ahead and did it without asking me first? What were you planning to do if I hadn’t agreed? And to think I was actually looking out for you—worried you’d feel awkward tagging along just to pick up my leftovers—only for you to turn around and plan on cuckolding me. You two adulterous scoundrels…”
Wen Shuyu walked in amidst Lian Yi’s loud, exaggerated yelps of pain, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Young Master Chen, the motorcade is ready. We can head out now.”
Pei Jiangchen stood up and gave Lian Yi a light kick.
“Right, I’m off to drum up some votes. Take it easy while I’m gone—don’t let that woman drain you dry.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll save the very last drop of my load for you.” Lian Yi scrambled to his feet, snapped to attention, and gave Pei Jiangchen a crisp salute.
Pei Jiangchen kicked him again before walking off with Wen Shuyu.