Chapter 17 "You should run away from the wedding! I..."

Pei Shuwen finally said "no" and then ignored her.

Lin Chaoyue had originally planned to have some fun on the weekend, even if it meant staying home and relaxing.

But she hasn't felt any relief these past two days.

Every time Lin Chaoyue thought about Pei Shuwen holding her 'little weakness', she felt an indescribable irritation, and in the end, even the Japanese food she ordered didn't taste good.

Lin Chaoyue thus endured a difficult weekend.

I felt a bit listless when I went to work on Monday.

Even Meng Yuzhi noticed that something was wrong with her.

Meng Yuzhi: "Chaoyue, what's wrong? Are you sick? Why do you look so listless?"

"I'm sick."

He was paranoid, always worried that Pei Shuwen would reveal his glorious past.

"Oh? What's wrong? Do you have a fever? Should we take a day off and go to the hospital?"

Lin Chaoyue shook her head, lying on her workstation: "No need, my illness is psychological, hospitals can't cure it. I saw in the group chat that we're going out to follow up on a project today, but where are we going? Can I go now?"

If I hadn't seen the message in the group chat this morning saying that she didn't have to work at the office today...

She might take the day off and not come today.

Pei Shuwen is coming back today, and she wants to stay as far away from him as possible, so that both she and Pei Shuwen can forget about this.

Meng Yuzhi shook her head firmly: "No, for this kind of work arranged by the institute, we all have to go together. I asked the administration this morning, and they said that Attorney Pei arranged a car for us, and we'll all leave at ten o'clock."

"How many of us?"

Lin Chaoyue sat up and looked around: "Besides you and me, who else is there?"

Meng Yuzhi pointed to the two empty seats opposite: "Nie Jingjing and Yuan Liya are also there, but they should already be waiting downstairs. Should we go over now?"

"Walk."

Lin Chaoyue didn't hesitate for a moment; she grabbed her bag and headed straight for the elevator to the basement.

If she hadn't seen the message while sitting at her workstation, she definitely wouldn't have gone upstairs today.

Even if she arrived early and waited in the car, she would still leave at 10 o'clock! She wouldn't leave any possibility of meeting Pei Shuwen face to face.

When Lin Chaoyue came downstairs, the car sent by the administration was already waiting on the basement level.

Pei Shuwen took his car to the 4S shop for maintenance, and the black minivan was parked in Pei Shuwen's parking space.

One of the car doors was open.

Nie Jingjing and Yuan Liya were indeed there; they had already chosen two business class seats at the front to sit down.

Besides the empty front passenger seat, there was a row of seats left in the back. Lin Chaoyue gave the front passenger seat to Meng Yuzhi and sat in the back herself. But Meng Yuzhi quickly followed her into the car and sat in the empty seat next to her.

Lin Chaoyue asked in confusion, "Why don't you sit in the front? The lighting in the back isn't very good. Didn't you say you wanted to look at more documents on the way?"

The two people in front of them snorted in unison.

Although he was disdainful, he didn't say much because the law firm's driver was also in the car.

Meng Yuzhi shushed her and whispered, "The front seats are reserved for Pei Lu; he'll probably be here soon."

"Oh." Lin Chaoyue didn't pay attention at first. She saw that there were pillows and blankets on the back seats. All she could think about was that she didn't have to drive and could take a nap in the back seat later.

She hasn't been sleeping well these past few days.

But she had just pulled the blanket out of her hand and hadn't even draped it over herself when she belatedly realized it was too late.

"Who? Who did you say?"

Lin Chaoyue was clearly incredulous, her eyes wide open. She hadn't even had time to shut her mouth after she finished speaking. She was half shocked and half suddenly tense.

Meng Yuzhi did not expect Lin Chaoyue to react this way.

Subconsciously, he repeated, "The front seats were reserved for Lawyer Pei. He's working on a merger and acquisition project and is short-handed, so a few of us were temporarily reassigned to help. Lawyer Pei said this is part of his performance evaluation."

"How come I didn't know about this?" Lin Chaoyue was still very surprised.

Meng Yuzhi: "It was announced in the group chat yesterday. Didn't you see the group chat? I thought you knew."

She didn't know!

She spent the entire day yesterday in bed playing video games and didn't even check the group messages.

Lin Chaoyue felt like she was about to cry. Just what she feared had come to pass. Was it too late for her to get off the bus now?

Meng Yuzhi comforted her by sharing half of the documents in her hand: "Don't think about it. I'll give you a copy of the documents. Take a good look at them too. I recently heard that working with Lawyer Pei makes it easy to be randomly questioned by him. There might be one today too. I'm a little nervous."

Lin Chaoyue thought to herself that she had been nervous for several days, but what was coming was finally going to happen.

She took the documents listlessly, spread them out, and pressed them against her face.

"Zhizhi, don't mind me, let me have some peace and quiet. When Pei Shuwen comes, just pretend I'm asleep."

"Oh, okay." Meng Yuzhi thought Lin Chaoyue was also a little nervous because she was afraid of being asked random questions.

Lin Chaoyue is currently suffering in silence.

I can only close my eyes and slowly digest it.

But she hadn't slept more than a few hours recently. While digesting the information with her eyes closed, she became sleepy and fell asleep immediately.

I even had a dream halfway through.

After calling Lin Chaoyue for the third time and still receiving no response, Pei Shuwen pulled the paper covering her face away.

Lin Chaoyue was half asleep when she felt someone snatch something from her hand. She mumbled, "Don't touch my comics, I haven't finished reading them yet."

She tried to reach out, but instead grabbed a hand with distinct knuckles. Compared to her cold little hand, the palm of that hand was warm, and she could clearly feel the texture of the palm.

The person immediately opened their eyes, fully conscious.

"Pei... Pei Shuwen? What are you doing here? Where are Zhizhi and the others?"

Lin Chaoyue peered out the window, thinking she had overslept and arrived, but when she saw the familiar underground parking garage, she realized she was still at Juntian Liangmu.

Pei Shuwen: "There wasn't enough room in one car, so they moved to another one. Are you driving to work today?"

Lin Chaoyue nodded mechanically: "Mm."

Pei Shuwen: "Drive me there. We need to go to another place along the way. I'll use the navigation later."

Lin Chaoyue nodded mechanically as before.

But actually, her mind had stopped working.

It wasn't until Pei Shuwen returned the piece of paper he had taken from her face and reminded her that she could let go.

Lin Chaoyue only came to her senses as if she had been electrocuted.

Let's explain it face to face.

"I...I really didn't read that comic, I just accidentally clicked on it."

Pei Shuwen recently went to Yuncheng, firstly to deal with Lin Xiao's matter, and secondly for another important project; the process of resolving the two matters was not complicated, but there were many details to handle afterward.

He was busy with work and didn't pay much attention to many unimportant things.

But since Lin Chaoyue brought it up so 'proactively,' he naturally immediately knew what she was talking about.

Pei Shuwen: "Really? Then remember to be careful next time, and be careful when you post complaints about your boss."

Lin Chaoyue: "..."

Feeling guilty and in the wrong, she promptly shut down her microphone.

He obediently followed Pei Shuwen out of the car and got into his own little Mini.

Lin Chaoyue brought up the car's navigation system: "Where to?"

Pei Shuwen: "Yujing Garden".

Lin Chaoyue paused her navigation. She recognized the place; she had been there a few times with her parents back in China. It was a rather distinctive Cantonese restaurant.

Lin Chaoyue: "What are we going there for? Aren't we going to our client's company to work on a merger and acquisition case?"

Pei Shuwen: "Okay, we'll go after lunch. Let's go to Yujing Garden now."

"oh."

Lin Chaoyue felt depressed.

Pei Shuwen is the kind of person who will answer you with a question, but sometimes his answer may not be to the point.

Through this period of time together, she gradually became more sensible.

Without asking any more questions, I drove silently.

--

Yujingyuan is near Tangwan. When Lin Chaoyue drove there, she glanced at her former home from afar.

I was thinking of going back to visit when I had some free time.

Before she went abroad, she planted a cherry tree in her yard. I wonder if it has ever borne fruit all these years.

But then she thought about Ms. Zhong's attitude and gave up the idea.

Ms. Zhong was determined to reform her, and based on her understanding of her mother, she estimated that she wouldn't even be able to get through the gates of Tangwan now.

Despite having houses all over Ningcheng, she had nowhere to live.

Lin Chaoyue felt that if she posted her thoughts online, she would be chased and scolded by netizens for miles around.

"What are you thinking about?"

After crossing that street, Pei Shuwen clearly sensed that Lin Chaoyue's mood was a bit off.

Lin Chaoyue: "Ah, it's nothing. I just feel a little uncomfortable that I've only seen my parents once since I came back to China."

Pei Shuwen glanced at her but didn't say anything.

Lin Chaoyue assumed that the atmosphere in the car was too quiet and that he was just asking casually, so she didn't take it seriously.

She's become quite skilled at driving in China lately; the next intersection is Yujingyuan.

It's exactly 11 o'clock.

Lin Chaoyue got out of the car and skillfully handed the keys to the waiting service staff.

"Hello, are you Mr. Pei and Ms. Lin?"

"Yes." Lin Chaoyue nodded and then casually asked Pei Shuwen, "Are we in the main hall or a private room? Should I go in with you?"

Pei Shuwen: "Together, we booked Mingyue Pavilion today."

Is it Mingyue Pavilion?

This isn't the private room that Ms. Zhong always reserves? Lin Chaoyue suddenly had a bad feeling.

how?

Is today the second installment of a trap?

Or was it a trap she had no idea about and was completely unprepared for?

Her sixth sense proved to be very accurate.

When she followed the staff to the entrance of Yuemingxuan, Lin Chaoyue knew she had guessed correctly.

Because the Phalaenopsis 'Fushan' displayed at the entrance is Ms. Zhong's favorite variety, the owner of Yujingyuan always prepares it in advance before she comes.

Before Lin Chaoyue could even go inside, her steps became unusually heavy.

She swallowed nervously, then tugged at Pei Shuwen's sleeve and whispered, "Are you here to see my mother today?"

"Yes. Aunt Zhong needs to see us today."

My heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died.

Lin Chaoyue's expression also broke down: "Then, why didn't you tell me in advance? I could have prepared in advance."

"Aunt Zhong said that you don't need to prepare in advance for this kind of thing, she wants to see the real you."

Lin Chaoyue looked down at her unkempt clothes, chosen for comfort at work, and realized how genuine they were.

She took a breath and pushed the door open to go inside.

Ms. Zhong seemed to have just arrived as well, chatting with her assistant about work. When she saw her and Pei Shuwen come in one after the other, she waved to them.

"Shuwen has arrived. He and Chaoyue have come to sit down. Since we didn't know your tastes, we ordered a little bit of everything. See if there's anything else you'd like to eat and we'll add more later."

Pei Shuwen smiled politely: "Aunt Zhong, you've gone to so much trouble. I can eat a little bit of anything, so there's no need to order anything extra."

Lin Chaoyue thought to herself, "Keep pretending."

She's been anxiously browsing forums more often lately.

They have already figured out quite a bit about Pei Shuwen's background.

She has obsessive-compulsive disorder, is a perfectionist, is a picky eater who doesn't eat mushrooms, and only drinks unfermented green tea, never touching black tea.

It's not that they're not picky eaters.

Lin Chaoyue was lost in thought and it was quite a while before she realized that Ms. Zhong was looking at her.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she called out, with a mix of guilt and ingratiation, "Mom."

Zhong Ling doesn't see her daughter often, and what she knows is mostly her playful side. But after all, she's her own precious child, and she still softens when she sees her acting cute.

Zhong Ling: "Have you caused any trouble for your brother Shuwen lately?"

Lin Chaoyue thought to herself, this isn't a question for her, it's clearly a question for Pei Shuwen.

"No," Lin Chaoyue replied weakly, then looked at Pei Shuwen with a clear pleading expression.

Although they only spent a week together, Lin Chaoyue left several pieces of evidence in Pei Shuwen's hands during that week.

She couldn't even manage a smile anymore; her smile was forced as she looked at Pei Shuwen.

Fortunately, Pei Shuwen still had some conscience and didn't expose her secrets on the spot: "Chaoyue has been working hard lately. The legal system abroad is different from that in China, so she may need to spend some more time getting used to it."

Pei Shuwen paused for a moment as she spoke.

Lin Chaoyue was afraid that he would say something else, so she quickly added, "I will spend more time studying later. Brother Shuwen is very capable at work, and I can learn a lot from him by observing him."

Zhong Wen has some judgment about whether her daughter has put her heart into her work.

She didn't mind and chatted with Pei Shuwen about work with a smile.

According to Ms. Zhong, Juntian Liangmu has recently taken on not only her father's company's business, but also her mother's medical aesthetics company's legal business needs.

We've come to discuss serious matters.

That put her at ease; it seemed they weren't after her.

Lin Chaoyue ate her meal in peace. She didn't really like the dishes at Yujingyuan. The flavors were too bland. The chicken soup, though, was quite good, but she could only taste it briefly.

Some of the recently updated Cantonese pastries taste quite good.

She ate two small plates and secretly asked the restaurant staff to pack a few more for her to take to Meng Yuzhi later. Meng Yuzhi had been taking on a lot of work lately, so she had to reward this hard-working girl.

Zhong Ling and Pei Shuwen talked for a long time.

Towards the end of the dinner, the conversation returned to Lin Chaoyue.

Zhong Ling: "I heard from Shu Wen that you're going out to work today? Since you're already working, you can't be as casual as you are when you're in school. I'll have my assistant send some clothes in your size this week."

Lin Chaoyue seized the opportunity: "Mom, I can buy it myself."

Just give her more pocket money.

But there's definitely no pocket money.

Ms. Zhong didn't give her a choice at all. She took out a card and handed it directly to Pei Shuwen: "Your brother Shuwen and I have already agreed that your daily living expenses will be paid by him. He will pay for reasonable expenses. He will refuse any unreasonable ones."

"Mom..." Lin Chaoyue exclaimed excitedly.

Zhong Ling: "Alright, Yueyue, I've made up my mind about this. I have a document here for you to sign. I'm taking a flight to see your father this afternoon, and I won't be back for at least two months unless something unexpected happens."

Lin Chaoyue was already out of her body when she signed the document.

He wrote down his thoughts without even reading the contents of the document.

All I can think about is: Is today some kind of Black Monday?

One piece of bad news after another kept coming, and she felt like she was about to faint.

The dinner party ended.

Lin Chaoyue carried a bag of packaged pastries, but there was no smile on her face.

Pei Shuwen and Ms. Zhong walked ahead talking, while she followed silently behind like a little shadow.

When Pei Shuwen went to answer a phone call, Lin Chaoyue quickly walked to Zhong Wen's side.

"Mom, do you and Dad really want me to be with Pei Shuwen?" This question had been lingering in Lin Chaoyue's mind.

Before she returned to China, her parents never mentioned Pei Shuwen.

Is it really because he was so disappointed in her by the rumors he'd heard that he wanted her to get married as soon as possible?

Zhong Ling fell silent for a moment. Pei Shuwen was standing not far away. She had arranged the dinner party suddenly, but the Pei family girl remained calm and composed.

She has been working in business for many years and has a strong ability to judge people.

Knowing that he has good character, his future achievements will go far beyond this.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have felt comfortable leaving her only daughter with him to be raised.

Although it was just banter among adults before, it now seems that Pei Shuwen is indeed a good choice for Yueyue.

Zhong Ling neither admitted nor denied it.

They simply said, "Yueyue, your parents can only spend so much time with you. If you can't stand on your own two feet, your parents will eventually have to find someone suitable to be your protector."

“Your brother Shuwen is a very good candidate.”

Pei Shuwen saw Lin Chaoyue talking to her mother but didn't go over.

When Lin Chaoyue arrived, he simply said, "You drive," and got into the passenger seat.

This is the first time she's been this tough this week.

But what she was thinking was actually very simple.

In her current condition, let alone driving, she'd easily end up in the pond if she rode a bicycle. For her and Pei Shuwen's safety, he should drive.

Pei Shuwen didn't have any objections.

He'll drive if you tell him to.

Lin Chaoyue felt a little better after that.

Li Cong, being rather cheeky, sent himself a video of himself going skiing.

He even asked her what she was doing.

Yao Yao is currently performing and is looking for a place to vent her frustrations.

"Gone with the tide" posted a meme of "[sent into the bridal chamber].gif".

She replied, "My mom is pressuring me to get married, so I've completely given up on pocket money."

Li Cong made a phone call right away, and the car stereo automatically connected.

The volume was turned up so loud it was deafening.

"Yuebao, what did you say! Your mother really wants you to marry that Pei Shuwen! How will you survive? Run away from the wedding! I'll support you in spirit! But I have no money!"

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A word from the author: A little tip for surviving in the workplace: Don't talk about your boss in front of them! Because you'll actually get caught!