Chapter 35 Adopted Brother [VIP]

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The two stayed at Grandma Pei's place for a day.

On Saturday afternoon, Pei Xu received a call from his mother, saying that she and his father had returned from their business trip and asked them to pick up his grandmother and take her home for dinner.

When they arrived home, they discovered that not only Pei's parents were there, but also some of Pei's relatives.

Speaking of relatives, Pei's father was an only child, and Pei's mother was from out of town, so the Pei family didn't actually have many direct relatives.

But the late Grandpa Pei had many brothers and sisters.

These brothers and sisters had many children, but none of them could compare to Pei's father, who was an only child. From starting out with a small shop to now having large supermarkets all over the country, he had long since transformed into a wealthy man.

As the saying goes, "If you become rich and powerful, don't forget your friends."

When these relatives heard that Pei's father had returned, they all gathered at Yongjing Villa to express their concern, and the reasons were readily available.

"Old Pei, the college entrance exam is just around the corner. Have you decided which school and major to apply for?"

At the dinner table, a man of the same generation as Pei's father, whom Pei Xuhui should call his paternal uncle according to seniority, spoke up.

Upon hearing Pei Xuhui's name, Qingran turned her head and secretly cast a look of anticipation at the person next to her.

As an outsider fostered in the Pei family, he had little presence among these relatives. On the contrary, Pei Xuhui was always used as an excuse.

Pei Xuhui, the person being discussed, remained calm and unmoved, as if he wasn't the one being talked about.

Only when faced with Qingran's enthusiastic gaze did his expression waver, and he gave him a subtle glare.

"Haha, my child has been precocious since childhood. He has never caused us any worry about his studies. He probably knows which university and major to choose himself. We parents have never interfered much."

Pei's father chuckled and urged everyone, "Eat your food, eat your food, don't just keep talking."

If anyone, oblivious to the subtle cues, asked Pei Xu to turn around, Pei Xu would simply reply, "I haven't thought about it yet."

After finally waiting for Qingran to finish eating and put down his chopsticks, she immediately apologized and left, pulling him upstairs.

The boy was tall and had long legs. He took a few steps up the stairs, opened the door, and pushed the person into his bedroom.

"Are you deliberately stalling for time?" Pei Xuhui said irritably as he turned on the light.

I've never seen such a gloating person. Not only do I not share his hatred, but I also deliberately delay, leaving him to suffer downstairs.

He never imagined that if he wanted to, he could simply go upstairs without waiting for Qingran.

"What did you say? I just thought the food was pretty good tonight and ate a couple more bites."

Qingran skillfully used the technique of feigning ignorance.

The boy's bedroom is simple and bright with little decoration, but there is a half-person-high green snake pillow on the clean and tidy bed.

Qingran grabbed the cushion and casually ruffled it: "You still kept this doll?"

He saw the doll when he and Pei Xuhui were shopping at a home furnishing mall. He bought it and gave it to Pei Xuhui because he felt that it was similar to his real self.

Unexpectedly, Pei Xuhui stayed on the bed as a pillow.

"Which of the things you gave me that I didn't keep?" Pei Xu replied.

Qingran pretended to bite him with a pillow: "Don't you like kittens? I hear you talking about them all the time."

Pei Xuhui lazily tilted his head to the left and right to dodge, with a hint of nonchalance: "I like it, kittens are so cute."

The cutest are those that will deliberately stick their head into your palm and act cute.

Qingran raised an eyebrow: "Aren't little snakes cute?" Even though he's not small.

Pei Xu replied, "Kittens can be affectionate, but what can snakes do?" He then glanced at Pei Xu's actions and asked, "Will they bite me?"

"Hmph, it won't just bite you, it'll cling to you."

Qingran threw away the pillow and snorted, her expression and tone no different from when she lost interest in the past.

Pei Xuhui somehow sensed that he was a little unhappy, and leaned closer to ask, "Are you angry?"

Qingran: "No." She turned her gaze away from him.

Although it's unclear why he's taking this so seriously, it doesn't stop Pei Xuhui from trying to appease him.

He reached out and pulled the person who was deliberately turning away from him into his arms, nuzzling his chin against Qingran's neck.

"If it were a small snake like you that could cling and bite, I don't know if others would like it, but I would."

Qingran glanced back at her sideways: "Weren't we talking about cuteness? Who asked you if you liked it or not?"

Pei Xu smiled and said, "Mind your own business, I like it."

After saying that, he secretly scratched the ticklish spot on his subordinate's body.

Aoran let out a short cry when her sensitive spot on her waist was touched.

But the culprit was completely unaware.

"Pei Xuhui, you're finished." He squinted and probed the sensitive spots on the other person's body.

The two were playfully chasing each other in the room, occasionally letting out muffled groans or the boy's low, hoarse warning sounds.

"Where should I touch?"

"Don't move your knees!"

"Hiss, Yu Qingran, stop right there!"

When the social gathering downstairs ended and Pei's mother went upstairs and opened the bedroom door, she found the two of them entangled in bed.

To be precise, Pei Xuhui's legs were restraining Qingran's flailing legs, and Pei Xuhui's hands were suppressing Qingran's wandering hands.

"Ahem," Mother Pei cleared her throat while holding the fruit platter, "There's a limit to how much you can play around. Look how badly you've bullied your brother."

Look at that little face, all red, and her eyes are so watery they look like she could cry.

Who's bullying whom here? Pei Xuhui's forehead twitched.

However, when she came to her senses and saw the person beneath her with eyes that were intoxicated and brimming with affection, her heart skipped a beat uncontrollably.

He pulled out the claws from under his clothes, got out of bed, and straightened his clothes and pants.

"Mom, why didn't you knock before you came in?"

"Oh, I forgot." After placing the fruit plate on the table, Pei's mother pulled out a chair and sat down.

She said, "What's wrong with boys looking at things? I'll know to be careful when you get a girlfriend."

Pei Xu replied: "?"

He pulled Qingran out of bed, somewhat speechless: "Other parents are always telling me not to date too early, but you and my dad remind me every now and then to let you know if I get a girlfriend."

"That's right, your father and I are so open-minded." Pei's mother said with great pride.

Because Pei Xuhui had always had good grades, she and Pei's father were not worried at all that his early romance would affect his grades; they were only worried that it would affect other people's grades.

However, from junior high to high school, Pei Xuhui never seemed to get close to any girl.

All he knows is to spend all his time revolving around his younger brother.

The two brothers had a good relationship, which pleased their mother, who then gave Qingran some instructions.

"Ranran, if you have a girl you like, you don't need to hide it. Your father and I don't mind. Just don't let it affect the girl's grades or make her do things that she shouldn't be doing at her age."

“He doesn’t have anyone he likes,” Pei Xuhui said calmly from the side.

Here we go again. I know you two are close, but do you have to show off all the time?

Pei's mother glanced at him impatiently: "I'm talking to Ranran."

Pei Xu shrugged: "Okay, you can talk." He knew everything about Qing Ran.

Qingran smiled sweetly at Pei's mother, feigning curiosity, and asked, "Pei's mother, what kind of partner do you want my brother to find?"

After thinking for a moment, Pei's mother said, "A girl should be a good person with sound values; as for other things, she can choose whatever she likes."

He deliberately avoided mentioning the gender, but Pei's mother subconsciously said it was a girl.

That's true; usually, parents wouldn't think their child is attracted to the same sex.

Qingran frowned.

He had been in this world for four years. During these four years, although Pei's parents were often away on business trips, they treated him no differently than their own son, Pei Xuhui.

He didn't want to hurt the two of them unless absolutely necessary.

"Shouldn't you ask me about this yourself?" Pei Xuhui interjected.

Qingran felt something was off when he and his mother were discussing what kind of girlfriend he would find.

But his excuse for interrupting was clearly not good enough, because Pei's mother immediately followed up by asking him, "So what kind of person are you looking for?"

Upon noticing Qingran's gaze, Pei Xu's mind went blank for a moment, leaving only the image of the person sitting on the bed quietly watching him.

"Say it already," Pei's mother urged.

With his mind blank, Pei Xu replied, "...I don't know, I have no idea."

Mother Pei rolled her eyes: "It's unnecessary to ask you."

Just then, Pei's father, who had seen the guests off, poked his head in and asked, "How did the talks go?"

"Slap!" Pei's mother slapped her forehead and said to Pei Xu, "Oh dear, I almost forgot. I originally came to ask if you had decided on the school and major you wanted to study."

"You haven't said it yet? Then I'll come in and listen too," said Mr. Pei as he walked in, standing beside Mrs. Pei.

In any other family, it would be perfectly normal for the whole family to participate in discussing university and major, but in the Pei family, everyone was waiting for Pei Xuhui to speak.

That's not surprising.

On the one hand, Pei Xuhui is opinionated and knows what he wants for the future.

Secondly, it's also because Pei Xuhui is opinionated. If other people make decisions for him that suit his taste, that's fine, but if they don't, he'll just turn around and leave.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Pei Xuhui briefly explained his plans.

Because of his achievements in the competition, three top universities in China extended offers to him early on, promising that he could choose any major he wanted.

Pei Xuhui's idea is to go to Tsinghua University to study mathematics and computer science; he is quite interested in artificial intelligence.

"You don't want to study management?" Mr. Pei was stunned. Who would inherit the vast business he and his wife had built?

His gaze drifted toward Qingran.

Qingran got up and hid behind Pei Xu as he turned around: "I just want to eat, drink, and have fun. Let my brother handle the work and making money."

Pei Xu glanced at him speechlessly. "You want to play, but I don't?"

He turned to his parents and explained, "Mom and Dad, you are still so young. You are in your forties, which is the time to work hard. It's not too late to talk about retirement in twenty years."

Pei's father retorted, "If your mother and I work for another twenty years, what will you do during those twenty years?"

Pei Xu put his arm around Qing Ran's shoulder like a good brother and said, "Study first, then travel the world with Qing Ran after you graduate from university. After you've had your fill of fun, we can come back and figure out what to do next."

So, they work themselves to the bone to earn money, while you take your brother around the world to enjoy yourself?

Mr. and Mrs. Pei were almost laughing in anger.

However, after feeling helpless, I didn't say anything against it. Anyway, I'm still relatively young, so I might as well endure the hardship.

After seeing his parents off, who had received their answers, Pei Xu closed the door, stretched, and relaxed on the bed.

Qingran stood by the bed looking at him, her eyes gleaming: "Around the world?"

The boy had his arms behind his head, his unruly face full of longing for freedom: "The world is so big, don't you want to travel and see it?"

If it weren't for the common societal perception that minors should focus on studying, and if he didn't want his parents to worry, he would have run away from home with his New Year's money back in junior high school.

Qingran gently kicked his leg that was dangling by the bedside: "Aren't you interested in artificial intelligence? Don't you want to make something of yourself first?"

No rush.

He probably subconsciously knew that making money was not difficult for him, and his career was never the top priority in Pei Xuhui's life plan.

His parents and family gave him the confidence to be free, so he preferred to travel and enjoy life with the people he cared about.

As she spoke, she hooked the leg that had been provoking him, causing him to lose his balance and fall onto the bed.

The mattress jolted, and Pei Xu reached out and pulled the fallen person close to his chest.

He stroked the smooth, delicate skin on her chest with his fingers, murmuring to himself, "Wow, how come you're only two years younger than me?"

He will have two more years before he can continue attending the same school as Qingran.

Pei Xuhui never mentioned his choice of school and major to his family, but he had discussed it with Qingran more than once.

"What's your nickname for 'good boy'?" Qingran wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her ear against his chest, where his heart was beating.

Pei Xu smiled and lowered his head to gently rub the top of his head with his chin: "I don't know, I just wanted to call you that."

Sometimes he even wants to call her "baby," "darling," or some other more intimate term of endearment.

But it seems too cheesy.

He always felt it wasn't enough, he was never satisfied, but he didn't know where he was lacking or what was insufficient.

All I could do was close my eyes, turn around, and hug the person tightly, breathing in the faint jasmine scent.

It was as if only in this way could the nameless emptiness in my heart be filled.

A note from the author:

Thanks for watering! *kissing*

Reader "Tree Without Thoughts" watered with nutrient solution +1