Chapter 77 "Then things will be..."

Her relationship with Pei Shuwen seems to have changed without her realizing it.

But Lin Chaoyue briefly overlooked this change.

On the way back, she spent half the time embarrassed about almost crying, and the other half was spent making quiet arrangements for dinner with Pei Shuwen that day.

Given that this was their first formal dinner together, she put a lot of thought into it.

Once everything is arranged...

Lin Chaoyue's emotions, which had been caught in a tug-of-war, finally settled down.

With 20 minutes left in the journey, Lin Chaoyue finally remembered something else.

"Pei Shuwen, why were you so resistant to that boy just now?"

Now that I think about it, Pei Shuwen seemed to know everything about that boy named Liu Gan, even his whereabouts today, as if... as if he had been watching him the whole time.

While waiting at a traffic light, Pei Shuwen looked at her and asked, "Why do you think that is?"

Lin Chaoyue actually wanted to ask him if he was jealous.

But the behavior of being jealous, when applied to Pei Shuwen, feels incredibly out of place. In fact, the fact that he could date her and say he liked her far exceeded her expectations.

Lin Chaoyue shook her head, immediately dismissing such an absurd idea: "Let me think about it."

"Secretary Wu said that police publicity work is now more standardized, and you are not always there, nor do you always inquire about it."

“Then I guess,” Lin Chaoyue said with increasing certainty, “that Teacher Pei prepared meticulously for teaching me, this slow learner, so he knows Liu Gan.”

"As for what happened next... when I discovered that other men were showing interest in my girlfriend, of course I had to stand up for her."

Lin Chaoyue said with a smile.

Pei Shuwen snorted coldly: "He shared that Ningcheng University of Science and Technology student fraud case. He wasn't the only victim. The amount involved was also obscured for some confidential reasons."

"The tens of thousands of yuan he mentioned being cheated out of is not even a fraction of the total amount he was actually cheated out of."

"Huh?" Lin Chaoyue blinked in confusion.

What does that mean?

Pei Shuwen said slowly, "When Liu Gan was a junior in college, he was determined to make a fortune through investment. He begged his family for tens of thousands of yuan. After that, he started making friends outside the school and inquiring about so-called 'business opportunities to get rich' everywhere."

"The business opportunity you're talking about, is it that project with a 300% return?"

Pei Shuwen: "Yes, but the promised return from the fraud gang was not that much, only fifty percent. They even signed a very formal contract with a shell company."

"Domestic fraud gangs are so professional."

"The fraud gang also delivered the promised 50% return a month later, as agreed in the contract."

Lin Chaoyue was just chatting casually when she heard this, and she sat up straight.

"So, how did the money get stolen?"

Pei Shuwen: "What followed was what he said at the sharing session. After investing the principal and interest for the second time, there was no contract, no 300% return, and all the contacts and so-called friends disappeared. Their names were fake, their identities were fake, everything was fake."

"However, this time the principal included not only his, but also that of more than 20 college students from his class and dormitory. The total amount defrauded was 670,000 yuan."

At this point, Pei Shuwen snorted coldly: "His family is considered well-off. Several college students invested all their family savings and were almost driven to suicide after being scammed. However, because they were also victims, the police could not classify him as a member of the fraud gang. But he did just as much as those scammers did, and most of the students ended up in this situation because of his encouragement."

"So now," Pei Shuwen looked at Lin Chaoyue, "do you still think he's just a simple victim? Or a good person?"

Lin Chaoyue fell silent.

He can't be considered a good person; in fact, he's somewhat of a lose-lose situation.

No wonder Pei Shuwen was so resistant to Liu Gan.

"So you were worried I was being deceived. I thought you were..." The word "jealousy" was left unsaid.

Then there's the thought of her wanting to go public with their relationship, but him not responding.

She felt a tightness and a dull ache running from her throat to her chest.

But she hadn't had time to process her emotions.

Pei Shuwen brought up something else: "Are you this popular abroad too?"

"Huh? I'm not very popular. Foreigners don't really like my looks. Most of the people who are friendly to me are Chinese."

Pei Shuwen nodded, and after a while, Lin Chaoyue heard him say, "If you're worried that our relationship will affect my work, or if you don't know how to handle our relationship at work, then I suggest we can be open about our relationship in private and maintain our current relationship at work."

"Why?" The turn of events came too suddenly, and Lin Chaoyue was still a little confused.

Pei Shuwen said, "I don't really like other people coveting my girlfriend, but she seems to be quite popular. Work is limited to the law firm, and as for other occasions, I don't mind if you make our relationship public if necessary."

"Other aspects? What do you mean?"

Aside from working for Pei Shuwen, Lin Chaoyue had never even been to her own family's company more than twice.

Pei Shuwen: "It's nothing, just remember it."

"Oh." Although Lin Chaoyue didn't show anything, her mood had clearly improved a lot.

I carried my good mood all the way back to Tianhe City.

After getting out of the car, Pei Shuwen naturally took her hand and walked with her: "What do you want to eat for dinner? I'll have the aunt buy groceries. Would you like some sweet osmanthus rice balls?"

Pei Shuwen always tacitly allowed him to cook.

But tonight she wanted to 'show off,' so she refused without thinking.

Lin Chaoyue pressed the elevator buttons for the third and fourth floors: "Come eat at my place today, but I need to prepare first. You go back and rest. I'll call you down when dinner is ready."

Lin Chaoyue had arranged for the house to be decorated in advance.

Although she had already seen the pictures of the setup, she was still eager to confirm it with her own eyes and wait until everything was perfect before calling Pei Shuwen down.

Lin Chaoyue was acting mysteriously.

Upon reaching the third floor, she stepped out of the elevator first, then thoughtfully pressed the close button for Pei Shuwen. Just before closing the elevator door, she made a gesture as if answering a phone call, emphasizing the importance of the call.

"I'll call you later, then you can come down."

Before opening the door, Lin Chaoyue had actually prepared herself mentally, but seeing the cleaned and carefully arranged room, she was still surprised.

She had to admit that even she was pleased.

A sumptuous dinner, decanted wine, candlesticks and flowers, even the indoor lighting was adjusted to the perfect level, a warm yellow that was both cozy and gentle.

Li Cong once said that she had no idea how to date.

Just kidding! She just didn't want to talk about it!

After confirming that dinner was everything she wanted, Lin Chaoyue quickly walked to the wine cabinet. The wines imported from abroad had already been placed inside. Pei Shuwen's downstairs wine cabinet was quite large, but it was just enough to hold all of her treasured wines.

She was extremely happy just looking at it through the glass.

Her most treasured bottles of wine are still there; some of them were auctioned off during Christmas, and the bottles still have Christmas decorations on the necks and the bows on them are still there.

She carefully opened the cabinet door and looked inside, then cautiously put it back.

I leaned against the wine cabinet, snapped a picture, and sent it to Li Cong.

The person you introduced seems quite reliable; the wine arrived.

Li Cong answered a video call instantly: "Yuebao, Mu Qiao told me you had someone decorate your house, let me see it quickly."

Lin Chaoyue casually switched between the cameras, then switched back: "Finished watching? If there's nothing else, I'll hang up."

"No way, you're playing the 'discard the millstone after it has served its purpose' trick too. I didn't see it clearly just now, please let me see it again."

Li Cong persisted: "You can't forget your brothers once you have a man. I've put a lot of effort into getting you some alcohol lately, unlike that Pei guy, you still have to coax him."

The resentment came rushing in from halfway around the world.

Lin Chaoyue reluctantly conceded: "Fine, fine, I'll show you, I'll show you everything."

Lin Chaoyue switched directly to the rear camera this time: "Say it, what do you want to see?"

Let's see what we're having for dinner tonight.

Lin Chaoyue pulled out a chair, sat down at the table, and took pictures of every dish for the evening, even pausing for a few seconds on each one.

Li Cong clicked his tongue twice: "The food at home is so good. Mu Qiao ordered Beishan Private Kitchen for you, right? The plating looks so welcoming. I guess Chef Chen is in charge. But why are there only a few cold dishes? Where are the others?"

"The hot dishes are in the steamer, and we haven't taken them out yet because we're afraid they'll get cold."

"And there's steak, I'll fry it myself later."

"A fusion of Chinese and Western cooking methods? And you're frying it yourself? Aren't you afraid of blowing up Pei Shuwen's kitchen?"

Lin Chaoyue rolled her eyes at him: "Why are you so particular about food at home? If you have something to say, say it. If not, I'm hanging up."

"No, Yuebao."

He was bored at the moment, and having finally found someone to chat with, Li Cong was not about to let Lin Chaoyue go.

But just as his tone changed, Lin Chaoyue's camera panned across the bottles on the dining table.

He screamed, "Ouch! Château Cheval Blanc! You opened your case of Château Cheval Blanc! I begged you for so long to let me try it, and you wouldn't give it to me! And you just opened it and gave it to Pei Shuwen! You actually let him drink it!"

"You value romance over friendship! Lin Chaoyue, you value romance over friendship! You're disloyal!"

Lin Chaoyue's eardrums were practically ruptured. She held her phone away and said, "It's just a bottle of wine, why are you so surprised? Besides, it's not for him to drink, it's for the two of us to enjoy the wine together."

"What's the difference! It's all for him!"

"Is that a bottle of wine? That's your lifeline that you've been hiding for a long time, one that you wouldn't even let me drink. Last time you even told me that this was the only case, and once it was opened, it would be gone, and you wanted to keep it as a collectible antique!"

"Whose antique is this? They just take it out to drink from a casual dinner!"

"When I packed it for you, I made sure to wrap it up very carefully! I was just afraid it would break on the way back! And what did you do! What did you do!"

"Lin Chaoyue, I'm breaking off all ties with you!"

"654123".

"What? Don't change the subject."

Li Cong was truly heartbroken. That was a 1947 vintage of Château de Château Lafite Rothschild, a single bottle of which would cost six figures. Although six figures wasn't a huge amount, he hadn't even had a chance to drink it himself, so why should Pei Shuwen get to drink it?

At this point, changing the subject and reporting numbers is pointless!

Li Cong: "Even if you transfer $654,312 to me right now, I will not forgive you."

Lin Chaoyue rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on: "The password to the collection room in my downtown apartment is 654123."

Even if you give me that apartment, I still won't be appeased!

Lin Chaoyue rolled her eyes: "Don't even think about that apartment. It was a birthday gift from my aunt. But there's a set of ski equipment in the collection room. It's your birthday gift this year. She specially saved it for you before she went back to China. It's the one you've been wanting since last year."

"!!!"

Lin Chaoyue: "I'll give it to you in advance, and you're not allowed to say I'm prioritizing romance over friendship again. Otherwise, you'll have to pay me back the money I was scammed out of and can't get back out of my own pocket."

"I won't say it, I promise I won't bring it up again." Li Cong was already overwhelmed with joy: "Yuebao, why are you so good to me! Is it really the one I want? Didn't Kesley say they would only take one order this year? You didn't give your spot to me, did you?!"

Kesley is an Italian craftsman who was a ski athlete in his youth. After retiring, he opened a small shop specializing in custom-made ski equipment and is very famous in the industry.

A few years ago, Lin Chaoyue was extremely passionate about skiing and went to great lengths to hire this skier. However, Kesley suffered from serious injuries and only took one job a year. Lin Chaoyue paid a hefty sum for two years, but the last opportunity was used up on Lin Chaoyue's birthday last year.

Li Cong was willing to try and negotiate about the alcohol, but he wisely didn't even mention the ski equipment.

Seeing that Lin Chaoyue not only gave him the opportunity, but also after he had caused her to be swindled out of 20 million, he realized that Lin Chaoyue was not only giving him the opportunity, but also after he had caused her to be swindled out of 20 million.

Li Cong was so moved he was almost incoherent: "Yuebao, I think I'm falling in love with you..."

Lin Chaoyue: "Alright, stop repaying kindness with enmity. Go get it when you have time. I'm hanging up."

No, no, no!

"What is it now?"

Lin Chaoyue had been dawdling for a long time, afraid that Pei Shuwen wouldn't be able to wait.

“One last thing.” Li Cong sniffed, finally regaining his composure: “It seems your aunt needs to talk to you. A few days ago, she helped you transport wine back to China, using someone from your aunt’s side. She called me this afternoon, asking about the wine and also asking for your current address.”

Why didn't my aunt come to ask me about it?

Li Cong: "I don't know about that, but your aunt spoils you so much, it's okay if she knows. I just feel like she has something else to say..."

I hung up the phone.

Lin Chaoyue thought for a long time but couldn't figure out what her aunt could possibly want from her.

He took Li Cong's casual remark as nothing more than a casual remark and didn't pay much attention to it.

The chef had prepared eight steaks in the refrigerator. Looking at the fresh meat, she was full of confidence that she would 'cook it herself' later.

Before starting the fire, she sent Pei Shuwen a message, telling her to wait for her for another half hour before coming up to eat.

Pei Shuwen replied: 【Okay.】

Lin Chaoyue began cooking with satisfaction.

The first two pieces were unsurprisingly burnt, but by the third piece, she gradually figured out the stove's quirks: initially, you had to heat it over high heat, and once the oil was hot enough, you could slowly turn the heat down to low.

But before she could even fry her fourth steak, the doorbell rang.

I glanced at the time; only ten minutes had passed. How come Pei Shuwen arrived so quickly?

Looking at the decorations all over the room, she wasn't quite prepared, but she still took a breath and opened the door with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

"Pei Shu... Auntie? What brings you here?"

Lin Chaoyue thought it was Pei Shuwen, but when she saw who it was, her tone was clearly surprised: "Auntie, didn't you go to the Netherlands recently? When did you come back to China? Is my mother back too?"

Zhong Wen was a little tired, but when she saw her niece, she still affectionately patted her head: "Good Yueyue, did you miss your aunt?"

Of course I want to.

Lin Chaoyue adored her aunt. In fact, in the earlier years, when her parents were busy with work, she lived at her aunt's house for a long time.

After being shocked, Lin Chaoyue instinctively gave Zhong Wen a bear hug.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back? I would have come to pick you up. I haven't seen my aunt for almost a year."

The last time we met was when Zhong Wen went to Washington on a business trip and made a detour to visit her. At that time, the two of them only met briefly.

"My return was rather sudden." Zhong Wen's expression was somewhat complicated.

But Lin Chaoyue was busy getting slippers for Zhong Wen and didn't notice anything unusual about her this time.

Zhong Wen composed herself and immediately noticed the room's decor upon entering, but due to the recent turmoil, she paid no attention to these small details.

"Yueyue, how have you been since you came back to China? I heard before I came back that your parents had stopped your credit cards. Your aunt saved some dowry for you. She originally planned to give it to you when you got married, but after thinking about it, she decided to give it to you in advance. The password is your birthday."

The black card with gold foil stamping was simply placed into Lin Chaoyue's hand.

My aunt is always very generous; she usually gives me six or seven figures in pocket money. I knew without a doubt that this card contained a huge sum of money.

“Auntie, I don’t need it. I’ve already recovered some of the money I was scammed out of.” The card was returned to Zhong Wen untouched.

Zhong Wen was somewhat surprised.

But remembering what Assistant Xu said about the significant changes that had occurred in Chaoyue during her months back in China, I felt both surprised and somewhat relieved.

Zhong Wen insisted on leaving the card: "Keep your money as pocket money. This card was opened in your name, and it's a little something from your aunt. I have other things to do later, only twenty minutes, so please don't refuse."

"Auntie, are you leaving so soon?"

Zhong Wen glanced at the time and finally got to the point: "Yes, I have to go back to Europe in three days at the latest. My aunt came to see you this time because I have limited time in China. The company has a batch of goods that I need someone to keep an eye on, and I probably won't have time to finish the finishing work, so I might need you to come."

"Me?" Lin Chaoyue initially thought she had misheard.

Although she was the only child of the Zhong and Lin families, she had almost never been involved in the family business.

When she was in high school, her parents did intend to train her to take over the family business, but after a car accident that resulted in her spending half a month in the ICU, the family completely gave up on the idea.

Should we let her finish up now?

But she knew nothing about it.

Zhong Wen didn't seem to be joking at all: "Yueyue, most of the work will be taken care of before Auntie leaves, but the final signing and acceptance of that batch of goods must be done by someone from our own family."

"Your aunt can trust you, right?"

Lin Chaoyue was still a little confused, but she nodded instinctively: "I can give it a try."

"Then come to the company to see me tomorrow at noon, and I'll discuss the details with you then."

It was clear that my aunt was in a real hurry, but I glanced at her a few more times, still feeling uneasy, before preparing to leave.

Lin Chaoyue: "Auntie, aren't you staying for dinner? I'll finish cooking right away."

Zhong Wen, who had already reached the door, finally noticed the meticulous arrangement of the entire room, as well as the red wine and candlesticks on the dining table.

"Yueyue, you...are you in love?"

"Who is the other party?" Recalling recent news from China, Zhong Wen almost immediately guessed the answer: "Is it Shu Wen?"

Under Zhong Wen's very affirmative gaze, Lin Chaoyue blinked, which was taken as an admission. She thought her aunt would ask more about the details of their relationship, but after a pause, Zhong Wen only mentioned it once.

"Shuwen is a good kid. Now that you're together, has he said anything to you lately?"

"What do you mean?"

He and Pei Shuwen spent a lot of time together, and they always had endless things to talk about whenever they met.

She didn't know what her aunt was referring to.

Seeing her niece's still innocent expression, Zhong Wen breathed a sigh of relief: "It's okay. If your parents and I are not in the country after this, and you have any questions, you can ask Shu Wen. He will help you."

My aunt left without saying that for no apparent reason.

Lin Chaoyue felt that her aunt was acting strangely today, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.

While frying the steaks, Lin Chaoyue kept getting distracted. Just as she was burning the sixth piece of beef, the doorbell rang again.

"Auntie, what brings you back... Pei Shuwen?"

Lin Chaoyue held a spatula in her hand and wore an apron. She hurriedly put her hands behind her back, but when she realized that hiding them was useless, she scratched her head embarrassedly and put the spatula aside.

"Why did you come so soon? My steak isn't even done yet... um."

Only one light was on in the entryway. It was already quite late, and the dim, yellowish light inside the house made the sudden kiss all the more moving, especially in the quiet room.

"Um... what are you doing?"

Midway through the kiss, Lin Chaoyue finally managed to catch her breath.

Pei Shuwen stared at her slightly reddened lips, but didn't think he had done anything wrong. His hand was still tightly wrapped around her slender waist: "Did you prepare all of this?"

“You saw it.”

"Hmm." The room was decorated with flowers, which he noticed the moment he entered.

Lin Chaoyue turned her face away somewhat embarrassedly: "Can you smell the burnt smell?"

Her aunt's sudden appearance had distracted her for half the time, and she had ruined two steaks while frying them. If this continued, she would only be able to eat cold food tonight.

"Give it to me."

As she spoke, she took off her apron and put it on Pei Shuwen.

Pei Shuwen took over the kitchen very naturally. If it were anything else, Lin Chaoyue might have insisted, but her cooking skills were really just average.

Most importantly, there were only two steaks left.

"Thank you for your hard work."

But she didn't leave. Instead, she moved a chair and sat by the kitchen doorway, watching him.

Pei Shuwen seems to be omnipotent, not just in work, but in every aspect of life.

For example, right now, he's focused on the cooking temperature, but he can also keep an eye on her condition.

Pei Shuwen: "Something on your mind? Won't you tell me?"

"Oh, it's nothing, it's just that my aunt came by just now." She was so focused on kissing Pei Shuwen that she almost forgot to mention it.

Pei Shuwen didn't seem surprised, and simply repeated, "Aunt Wen came by?"

"Hmm, it seems like they had something urgent to attend to and left right away."

Lin Chaoyue said somewhat embarrassedly, "My aunt guessed our relationship. Since we agreed that we could be open about our relationship in private, I didn't deny it."

"I hope everything is alright."

It's one thing if your friends know about it in private, but it's quite another if your elders at home know.

Pei Shuwen hesitated for a moment, then asked about something else: "Besides this, did Aunt Wen say anything else?"

"What do you mean?" Why is everyone asking the same question today?

Lin Chaoyue's intuition alerted her, but with limited information, she was completely baffled: "Did I miss something?"

I didn't miss it.

Almost no one in the industry knew about Teng Hui Group's overseas tax crisis and Simei Bio's near-collapse of its cash flow.

His ability to glean some insight stemmed from his own keen insight, coupled with his close commercial and legal cooperation with both companies.

Both families intend to protect Lin Chaoyue, so she has little access to more specific details.

Pei Shuwen: "It's nothing. I was just wondering why Aunt Wen suddenly returned to China. She must be very busy with her work abroad."

Lin Chaoyue agreed with this: "It's quite busy. My aunt and I haven't seen each other for a long time. We barely exchanged a few words just now. But my aunt said she's going back to Europe in the next couple of days because she has a shipment that she needs me to keep an eye on. We can meet again tomorrow at noon and have lunch together."

Pei Shuwen thought for a moment, then didn't ask any more questions, only saying, "If you need any help, feel free to contact me anytime."

My aunt's side mainly deals in medical aesthetic equipment and skincare products. The company has been operating for many years and has many well-established processes. It doesn't involve any legal issues, so there are very limited scenarios where Pei Shuwen could help.

But Lin Chaoyue still sweetly replied, "Then I'll have to ask my boyfriend for help."

After several twists and turns.

The two finally had dinner. The steak was cooked to perfection, Lin Chaoyue's favorite medium-rare, and the side dishes were also made with the finest ingredients, preserving the original flavor of the food.

"I wanted to drink red wine, so I paired it with steak, but I was worried you wouldn't like it, so I also ordered some private dishes. Although it's not formal, I really value today's meal."

"Very good, I like it very much."

If you like it, that's fine.

Lin Chaoyue lit the candlesticks with great ceremony and poured the decanted wine into a stemmed glass.

The clinking of glasses produced a crisp, pleasant sound. As the wine slowly entered my mouth, its rich and mellow flavor was a long-lost taste.

"Did the wine arrive safely?"

"You saw it."

Pei Shuwen was far more knowledgeable than Lin Chaoyue had imagined. He guessed the type and vintage of the wine after tasting only a little. He was only looking at the wine cabinet to verify his guess.

When Pei Shuwen pointed it out, Lin Chaoyue felt a little guilty, because she did indeed have 'impure motives' when she asked Li Cong to help transport all the wine back to China.

But suppressing her guilt, what remained was more self-righteousness: "Look, I'm a little rich woman again now, and I didn't leave. If you give me a failing grade at work today, then I can at least earn some respectable points in my relationship today."

Lin Chaoyue was clearly still bothered by Pei Shuwen's words during the day.

"Ninety-eight points."

"And what about the rest?"

I'll tell you later.

Dinner continued, and the alcohol slowly fermented in the body.

A crescent moon climbed into the night sky, and it should have been a very peaceful and beautiful night, but Lin Chaoyue felt more and more aggrieved. She had put so much effort into it, and it still didn't get a perfect score.

Lin Chaoyue's spoiled princess temper rarely kicked in; she pouted and sullenly.

But the feeling of being suspended in mid-air the next moment almost made her cry out: "Ah... Pei Shuwen! What are you doing! Put me down!"

"I'll give you the remaining points."

The agreed-upon two-point split was initially thought by Lin Chaoyue to mean two separate times, but it wasn't until she was so exhausted that she fell asleep again that she realized she had fallen asleep twice.

Having achieved a perfect score, she was completely immersed in the dream.

Pei Shuwen stroked her soft, long hair with longing, and after a long while, he quietly got up, went to the balcony, and made a phone call.

"Help me check the shipment..."