Hearing Si Jinnian brazenly refer to him as his husband, Pei Shuchen was stunned for a moment, as if time had frozen right then and there.
Yet the very next corner of his mouth twitched upward, revealing a faint, disdainful smile.
Since Si Jinnian already knew his true identity, there was no need for him to keep hiding it either.
Raising his gaze, Pei Shuchen looked at Si Jinnian with deep, sharp eyes that seemed capable of piercing straight through a person’s soul.
“Now that you know my true identity, are you still sure you want to go head-to-head with me?”
If Si Jinnian knew when to back down and offered a truce, he wouldn’t bother bickering with him.
However, if Si Jinnian refused to reason and kept looking for trouble, he wasn’t afraid of him in the least.
Pei Shuchen’s voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable dignity.
Taken aback by this sudden counter-question, Si Jinnian stared at the man smiling with such cunning charm, a trace of doubt inevitably rising in his heart.
“What do you mean?”
Pei Shuchen hooked the corners of his lips, a smile hanging at the edge of his mouth like a sly fox watching its prey fall into a trap.
Si Jinnian found himself growing somewhat nervous under Pei Shuchen’s gaze.
“Young Master Si wants me to pay for his medical expenses. It’s only normal to pay for medical bills after hitting someone, but…”
Before Pei Shuchen could finish his sentence, the secretary walked in carrying a cup of coffee for Si Jinnian, placing it respectfully on the table in front of him.
Glancing sideways at the secretary for a moment of thought, Pei Shuchen turned his gaze back to her, his tone calm yet filled with calculation.
“Secretary Sun, go tally up how many of our employees young master Si injured just now, and take them to the hospital for a detailed medical checkup and injury assessment report.”
“Next, tally up all the damaged property, organize everything, and log it item by item.”
“Finally, go to the finance department and the legal team, have them carefully calculate the total costs for the employees’ medical expenses, emotional distress compensation, lost wages, and nutritional supplements, and put together a detailed list to be delivered straight to the chairman’s office of the Jingcheng Group.”
Seeming to feel that his instructions weren’t thorough enough, Pei Shuchen paused briefly before adding, “Oh right, I almost forgot.”
“All economic losses at Night Encounter Bar caused by this conflict, along with the operational losses that might occur over the next few days, must also be factored in and included in that list. Remember, do not miss a single item.”
Hearing Pei Shuchen’s detailed and complicated instructions, the secretary nodded repeatedly.
“Understood, President Pei. I will handle it according to your instructions right away!”
With that, the secretary turned around, ready to carry out the task.
“Wait, hold on a second.”
Hearing what Pei Shuchen had said, Si Jinnian’s heart skipped a beat as an inexplicable wave of panic instantly rushed over him.
Reaching out to block the secretary’s path to tallying the losses, Si Jinnian turned his head to glare at Pei Shuchen with a deep frown.
“Pei Shuchen, what are you playing at? This is a personal grievance between the two of us. Why are you dragging my dad into this? Are you a toddler?”
Si Jinnian glared angrily at Pei Shuchen, his tone filled with fury and accusation.
Faced with Si Jinnian’s anger, Pei Shuchen smiled slightly and unhurriedly replied, “Originally, this was indeed our personal grievance, but the situation is different now.”
“Young Master Si barged aggressively into my company with so many people, not only injuring my employees but also destroying company property. This matter is no longer just a simple personal grievance.”
With that, Pei Shuchen kept a smile on his face, his calm and collected demeanor making Si Jinnian’s teeth itch with frustration.
“Besides, my godmother and godfather gave me instructions before to keep an eye on you. Now that you’ve caused such a huge mess, I thought about it and decided they have to know about this. Otherwise, as an outsider, I won’t be able to cover for you!”
“Who the fuck asked you to cover for me?”
Furious, Si Jinnian had no idea when his parents had ever asked Pei Shuchen to keep an eye on him.
“Besides, when did my parents ever ask you to look after me? How come I didn’t know about it?”
Unflinching and completely composed, Pei Shuchen replied, “If you don’t know, you can go back and ask godfather and godmother. Coincidentally, godmother called this afternoon asking me to go back for a casual family dinner tonight. Why don’t we head back together later?”
At these words, Si Jinnian looked as if someone had suddenly grabbed him by the throat, opening his mouth without being able to utter a single word.
Staring viciously at Pei Shuchen, Si Jinnian felt an unspeakable stifled frustration and annoyance rise in his chest.
Si Jinnian had always been a fearless character who feared nothing in heaven or earth, as if nothing in this world could scare him.
Yet, despite being such a fearless person, he possessed one fatal weakness: he was exceptionally terrified of his parents.
Although his parents usually indulged him to the extreme and spoiled him rotten, turning a blind eye to whatever wild stunts he pulled outside and rarely interfering forcibly, there was a major prerequisite to all of this.
That prerequisite was that he had to be capable of handling his own messes and tidying up his own aftermath, and absolutely forbidden from dragging the family into it, especially without bringing even the slightest bit of financial loss or negative impact to the family business.
Otherwise, what awaited him would be the complete and utter cutoff of all his financial sources!
To make matters worse, this bastard Pei Shuchen was his parents’ godson. Even though he had practically never met Pei Shuchen in person before, growing up he had heard Pei Shuchen’s name from his parents countless times.
His parents’ fondness for Pei Shuchen was no less than their affection for their own biological son, especially his mother.
If she found out now that he had bullied people all the way to Pei Shuchen’s doorstep and even implicated the company, his good days were probably coming to an end.
The more Si Jinnian thought about it, the angrier and more stifled he felt.
Could it be that he was really going to swallow this bitter pill today?
No, absolutely not.
When had he, Si Jinnian, ever suffered such humiliation? It’s just that right now wasn’t the right time for revenge.
As the saying goes, a gentleman takes his revenge ten years later. He refused to believe he couldn’t find Pei Shuchen’s weak spot.
“Pei Shuchen, you are truly despicable and shameless.”
Si Jinnian growled through gritted teeth, staring at Pei Shuchen with eyes splitting from rage.
“I don’t want the medical fees anymore. This damn business ends right here. From now on, you’d better stay far away from me. If you ever dare provoke me and make me unhappy again, I swear I’ll make you pay for it dearly!”
After dropping this fierce threat, Si Jinnian turned around, preparing to flick his sleeves and storm off.
Just as he was about to step out of Pei Shuchen’s office door, however, Pei Shuchen’s slightly mocking voice drifted from behind him.
“The grievances between us can indeed be written off, but as for the losses to my friend’s bar, I still hope Young Master Si can settle the compensation.”
Hearing this, Si Jinnian’s footsteps instantly froze in place.
He whipped his head back, his eyes fixed dead on Pei Shuchen, the raging fire within his gaze looking as though it could burn the other person into ashes.
“Pei Shuchen, don’t push your luck!”
Faced with Si Jinnian’s angry reprimand, Pei Shuchen chuckled nonchalantly, the corners of his mouth curving upward into an exceptionally handsome arc.
“If Young Master Si is unwilling to pay compensation, that’s fine too. Then I’ll just have to go visit godfather and godmother tonight.”
“I’m going to!”
No longer able to contain his inner fury, Si Jinnian burst out in a roar.
In the next instant, he lunged forward in a single bound right up to Pei Shuchen, grabbed him fiercely by the collar, and glared with wide-open eyes. “Pei Shuchen, don’t think that just because you’re my parents’ godson I wouldn’t dare touch you! Push me too far, and see if I don’t make you regret ever coming into this world!”