The more Si Jinnian thought about it, the more agitated he felt. His chest heaved violently with a sudden urge to beat someone up.
Li Shuhe and Si Yanchuan were even more astonished, never expecting that Pei Shuchen actually had someone he liked.
Staring at Pei Shuchen, Si Jinnian’s parents were momentarily left speechless.
After all, it was Si Jinnian who had rejected the marriage first, followed by Pei Shuchen canceling it later. No matter how dissatisfied they felt in their hearts regarding Pei Shuchen’s attitude, they had nothing to say for the moment.
Yet seeing their son’s reaction, they felt a bit worried.
Pei Shuchen naturally observed Si Jinnian’s reaction as well. In his eyes, however, Si Jinnian was acting so furious simply because his scheming plot had likely failed to succeed.
Pei Shuchen stood up and bowed to Li Shuhe and Si Yanchuan.
“I am sorry, Dad, Mom. I have let you down. Although we cannot become husband and wife with Jinnian, I will always be your adopted son. If you need anything in the future, just say the word, and I will be at your beck and call.”
With that, Pei Shuchen lifted his head, forced out a faint smile, and continued, “Let’s leave it at that for tonight. I still have some matters to attend to, so please excuse me first.”
After saying his piece, Pei Shuchen turned and walked away. Li Shuhe and Si Yanchuan exchanged a blank look for a moment, and just as they were about to say something, Si Jinnian suddenly sprang up from his seat like a spring and shouted toward Pei Shuchen’s receding figure, “Wait a minute!”
Hearing Si Jinnian’s cry, Pei Shuchen’s body paused slightly. For a brief second he hesitated, but then, as if having made up his mind, not only did he not stop his steps, but he actually quickened his pace.
Seeing this, Si Jinnian burned with anger. Raising his voice, he roared at Pei Shuchen’s back, “Pei Shuchen, don’t be ungrateful. Didn’t you hear me tell you to wait a second?”
Before Si Jinnian’s voice had even faded, a crisp slap echoed through the air as Li Shuhe delivered a heavy blow to the back of his head.
Caught off guard, Si Jinnian staggered and nearly pitched forward face-first onto the ground.
“You brat, is that any way to talk to Shuchen? With an attitude like that, you still expect to marry Shuchen? Keep dreaming!”
As soon as Li Shuhe finished speaking, another slap landed.
“Mom, go easy on me. You’re going to knock my brains out. I’m your biological son!”
“If you weren’t my biological son, I would have beaten you half to death ages ago!”
Rolling her eyes at Si Jinnian, Li Shuhe reined in her actions slightly, though her gaze remained filled with sternness and dissatisfaction.
A moment later, a hint of suspicion crossed Li Shuhe’s face as she looked at Si Jinnian and asked, “You brat, give it to me straight. Do you actually like Shuchen, or are you just taking a fancy to his looks because you want to play around with him?”
Hearing this, Si Jinnian almost coughed up a mouthful of blood.
They really weren’t kidding when they said nobody knows a son better than his mother.
Si Jinnian felt a guilty conscience, yet refused to show weakness on the outside.
“Of course I truly like him! Never mind, I won’t talk to you guys anymore, I’m going after him.”
With that, Si Jinnian turned and sprinted away.
Pei Shuchen sat inside the car, his expression somewhat dazed, as if he were still immersed in what had just transpired and had yet to snap back to reality.
After quite a while, he gently shook his head and let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
Si Jinnian had practically issued harsh threats and warnings against him, so how could he possibly genuinely like him?
If that guy really liked him, pigs would surely fly.
Turning his head to see Si Jinnian standing outside the car window, Pei Shuchen hesitated for a moment before rolling down the glass and looking at Si Jinnian with a cold, aloof expression.
“What on earth do you want?”
Si Jinnian curled his lips into a smile laced with contempt and disdain, then spoke to Pei Shuchen in an extremely arrogant tone, “Pei Shuchen, you surely don’t think I actually like you, do you?”
Twitching the corner of his mouth slightly, Pei Shuchen let out a cold snort.
A trace of disdain flashed within his eyes, which were as cold as winter stars.
“Whether it’s true or false, what does it have to do with me? Anyway, I won’t like you back.”
Pei Shuchen counterattacked without a shred of mercy, his words acting like a sharp dagger piercing straight into Si Jinnian’s heart.
This remark hit the nail right on the head, leaving Si Jinnian frozen in place instantly.
“You…”
Si Jinnian widened his eyes, his face full of astonishment and fury.
“What gives you the right to dislike me? Where am I not good enough for you that you won’t like me?”
“Pei Shuchen, let me tell you, don’t even talk about you not liking me. Even if you liked me, there is no way in hell I would ever like you back!”
“I, Si Jinnian, will put it out here today. Even if I end up lonely and old all by myself, or if every other man in the world dies off and you are the only one left, I would still never take a fancy to you!”
“Who do you think you are, saying you don’t like me? Let me tell you, there are plenty of people who like me, who do you think you are?!”
Driven mad with anger by Pei Shuchen, Si Jinnian blurted out whatever came to mind, rational or not, just to salvage his wounded pride.
Faced with Si Jinnian’s tirade, Pei Shuchen let out a cold snort, started the engine, and slammed his foot down on the accelerator.
Accompanied by the roar of the engine, the car sped away like an arrow released from a bow, leaving behind only a cloud of dust lingering in the air.
Caught completely off guard, Si Jinnian stumbled backward a few steps and nearly took a tumble onto the ground.
By the time he finally managed to steady himself, Pei Shuchen’s car was already far enough away that only a faint glimpse of its tail lights remained.
Staring at those receding tail lights, Si Jinnian turned green with rage, his chest heaving violently. A moment later, he cursed furiously at the tail lights of Pei Shuchen’s car, “Pei Shuchen, you just wait for me, we are far from finished!”
The back of his head was suddenly struck by another slap. Si Jinnian spun around to find Li Shuhe standing behind him with a dark, livid expression.
“Mom, what on earth are you doing?”
Clutching his aching head, Si Jinnian felt both exasperated and speechless.
“I should be asking what on earth you are doing!”
“Give me an honest answer right now. Do you actually like Shuchen, or were you just lying to us?”
Li Shuhe stared straight at Si Jinnian, her piercing gaze looking as though it could see right through his soul, making Si Jinnian feel deeply guilty.
“I… of course I truly like him! But you guys heard him just now, he has someone he likes, and he’s dead set on that person. Your son is totally out of the game.”
He absolutely could not let his mother find out that everything he had just pulled was a lie to fool them. Gritting his teeth, Si Jinnian forced himself to keep up the charade.
To convince his mother that he genuinely liked Pei Shuchen, Si Jinnian deliberately put on a heartbroken and dejected look.
Seeing Si Jinnian’s dejected appearance, Li Shuhe felt a sense of helpless frustration, wishing she could hammer some sense into him.
A moment later, her eyes rolled around in thought as she spoke up, “If you really like Shuchen, Mom can help you out!”
Si Jinnian’s eyes lit up. He looked at his mother with a face full of curiosity, “You’ll help me? How?”