Chapter 86 IF Line (5): "Yunqing, let's go watch the sunrise at sea together." (The End)
His young age doesn't mean he's easy to fool.
When did my second uncle become so...enthusiastic? I didn't see him like this when we went to see a musical recently.
Pei Nianchu glanced at the video again, at the actress who seemed to take up the entire screen, and suddenly it dawned on her. She quickly patted the person on her left, "Brother Zhao, Brother Zhao, my second uncle seems to have finally figured it out!"
"Enlightenment? Enlightenment in what way?"
Chen Zhao yawned, resting his chin on his hand.
Before she could finish yawning, her face was grabbed and turned around, where she saw her boss, unusually, holding up his phone behind her.
The secret to it is self-evident.
Chen Zhao: "Isn't this a good thing?"
And it's an incredibly good thing.
Pei Nianchu nodded vigorously. It was certainly a good thing, but—"That person in the costume...I feel like I've seen them somewhere before."
"His name is Song Yunqing."
After recording the video, Pei Yanli put down her phone and looked once more at the person on stage with the folding fan in their mouth.
Upon being reminded, Pei Nianchu immediately remembered and turned around to reply, "Yes, yes, that's him... wait, Song Yunqing!"
He suddenly let out a loud howl.
Pei Yanli withdrew her gaze, glanced at him indifferently, and stood up.
The play is also nearing its end and will soon take its final bow.
Pei Nianchu immediately followed and left. Once outside the auditorium, she slowed down and whispered to Chen Zhao, "Song Yunqing, isn't he that genius who was all the rage online a few years ago?"
Before Chen Zhao could speak, he added, "I remember he's only two years older than me, only 17!"
The last sentence was barely out of his mouth when Chen Zhao quickly covered it up.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Pei Yanli had already heard everything she needed to hear, and her steps grew longer and longer with each step.
It's obvious he's not in a good mood.
But Pei Nianchu, being so carefree, even sighed in a mock-serious tone after getting into the car, saying earnestly, "Second Uncle, you mustn't commit a crime."
Song Yunqing was only 17 years old.
What does 17 years old mean? It means you're a minor.
Being a minor is a crime.
"Second Uncle, I'm doing this for your own good."
"Shut up!"
"Okay."
Pei Nianchu manually muted her microphone.
On the way back, no one spoke again.
However, not long after, the "Law on the Protection of Minors" and a thick "Criminal Law" appeared on Pei Yanli's desk.
The perpetrator would also occasionally circle around him, deliberately turning up the volume on his phone and playing videos of various cases involving minors that had occurred in recent years.
"Pei Nianchu, you've finished all your homework, right?"
"I'm just giving a legal education presentation."
Pei Yanli was both amused and exasperated. "Do I look like someone who is ignorant of the law?"
That's true.
His second uncle, aside from everything else, is quite law-abiding.
Pei Nianchu paused the playback, sauntered over to his desk, and first tried to justify her actions: "Wasn't I just taking precautions? Tell me, what if you acted impulsively and made a big mistake? What would Grandpa do? What would I do?"
Then she changed the subject, "Besides, isn't it because my second uncle has been staring at his phone these past two days?"
The only thing he could think of about this behavior was... a pervert.
"Instead of keeping an eye on me, you should be keeping a close eye on your homework." Pei Yanli pulled out the test paper he had hidden, which was covered in red circles and could only be described as a disaster.
Pei Nianchu's eyes widened suddenly, and she hurriedly hugged the test paper to her arms. "Why is there only one? The others... you gave them to my mom!"
Pei Yanli smiled faintly and remained silent.
Soon, a furious roar came from outside: "Pei Nianchu! Get out here and die!"
Despite both Pei Wenxian and Tang Xining being graduates of prestigious universities, their son seems to have regressed to his ancestral ways, having to repeat his third year of junior high school at the age of 15.
Throughout the holiday, Pei Nianchu was forced to endure the oppressive power of her parents, suffering through 1-on-1 tutoring sessions.
Without his constant chatter, Pei Yanli finally had some peace and quiet. But once things quieted down, this man started to overthink.
Chen Zhao entered the study and saw him staring intently at the computer. He initially thought he was looking at emails sent from overseas, but then he didn't see him scrolling up or down.
So, under the guise of putting the document down, he secretly peeked at it.
I had just glanced at a photo when the laptop slammed shut with a loud bang.
The study fell into a deathly silence.
After a long while, Pei Yanli finally asked, "Did you see it?"
How should Chen Zhao respond?
As a good secretary, he couldn't afford to embarrass his boss. So he said, "This year we plan to donate another five million to Peking University, but the doctor has asked me to tutor the young master. What do you think about this..."
Observing his expression, she probed again: "Is it too kind of you, boss, to make this trip in person?"
"good."
…………
The Pei family allocates funds to Peking University every year for talent cultivation. Usually, Chen Zhao or someone else from a lower level would do this; this is the first time Pei Yanli has personally intervened.
He also offered a reasonable explanation: "Last time I came in a hurry, and I didn't have a chance to properly explore Kyoto University."
The school leaders, being shrewd individuals, immediately said, "We'll show you around."
Pei Yanli did not answer, but asked again, "I heard that genius boy is also at your school, so... I don't see him?"
Ten minutes later, Song Yunqing was dragged to the administration building by her mentor, a little old man over seventy years old. Before she could even figure out what was going on, she was pushed directly in front of Pei Yanli.
"This is Second Master Pei, who wants to stroll around the campus." The old man muttered in a low voice, "The research funding all depends on him, you know what I mean."
Song Yunqing seemed to understand, but not quite.
The old man then gave Pei Yanli a heads-up: "The child is still young and doesn't know how to speak very well, so please bear with him."
Pei Yanli took it as just a polite remark.
It wasn't until the two of them walked out of the administration building that they realized the old man's words were too conservative. Song Yunqing wasn't that she didn't know how to talk, but rather that she didn't talk at all, and she kept a good three steps away from him when they walked.
"Song Yunqing".
He suddenly shouted.
Song Yunqing turned around in confusion, and seeing the person getting closer and closer, already beyond the safe distance, she couldn't help but take a half step back.
The movement was minimal, but Pei Yanli saw it clearly. She then stopped, pointed at herself, and said, "Don't you remember me? We met five years ago."
Five years ago, Song Yunqing failed her first college entrance exam. That same summer, her mother took her to the Pei family.
“Back then, you were just a tiny little thing.” Pei Yanli gestured as she recalled, then looked at him again, “Now you’ve grown so much.”
“You too…” Song Yunqing racked her brains, “haven’t changed at all.”
"So you still remember me."
Song Yunqing certainly remembered that it was because of that incident that he made up his mind to do well in the college entrance examination.
"How was your university life?" Pei Yanli asked again, "How have you been these past few years?"
"fine."
"Are you used to the food?"
"I can get used to the food."
"What about accommodation?"
"That's good too."
Basically, you ask a question and get a one-word answer.
At this moment, Pei Yanli suddenly said again, "The cheongsam is nice."
"Thanks……"
Song Yunqing suddenly froze, unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes and lowering her head.
"The girl who bumped into me on the school anniversary, wasn't that you?" Pei Yanli didn't realize it at first, but felt that he was very familiar. It wasn't until the evening's play performance, when she saw him on stage in a costume, that she realized he was the same person as the kid from five years ago.
Those eyes, untouched by any worldly desires, shone exceptionally bright.
"I...I was..."
"Very beautiful," Pei Yanli admitted. "The performance was also good."
Song Yunqing glanced at him and then quickly lowered her head, her slightly reddened ear tips indicating her good mood.
His tense nerves gradually relaxed, and after chatting for a while, he even... took the initiative to start a conversation about the Blue Sky Welfare Home he often visited.
Pei Yanli: "I've donated supplies before, but I've never been there."
“Then let’s go together this weekend! The kids will definitely be happy!” Song Yunqing was so happy that she forgot herself. She turned her head and met the gaze of the person looking at her, but quickly regained her composure. “If you’re not available, then forget it.”
"I can still spare a few hours on the weekend."
Let's take a stroll along the main road and make plans for the weekend.
After that, Pei Yanli would set aside at least one day each week to go to the orphanage, a practice even more regular than going back to the Pei family's old house to have meals with the old man.
"I heard from Chen Zhao that you now have to go to the orphanage once a week?" The old man was exasperated.
With that kind of perseverance, why don't you find a partner?
"You're not planning to just adopt a child from the orphanage later, are you?" The old man instantly imagined all sorts of possibilities and quickly said, "Let me tell you, no way! You absolutely have to..."
"Dad, one grandson is enough for you."
The old man's breathing stopped: "What do you mean? Don't scare me."
"It means that your future daughter-in-law cannot have children."
"If you can't have children..." The old man's focus immediately veered off course, "You have a partner!"
"not yet."
The old man: "..."
No, I've been talking about this for ages.
"He's not an adult yet, but he'll be soon."
The old man's vision went black again and again. So, he didn't want a young lady of marriageable age, but instead took a fancy to an underage girl.
That doesn't make sense either. Even if he wants to wait until the other person comes of age, why is he saying now that they can't have children?
"Could it be that the young girl has some kind of illness?"
“No,” Pei Yanli shook her head. “He is very healthy.”
"How can you say I can't have children if I'm healthy?"
He is... a boy.
The old man's vision went completely black, and he was so angry that he didn't speak to him for three whole days.
"One minute he says he wants to find a pretty one, the next he says he wants to find a minor, and now he's telling me it's a guy! Boss, you ask him what he's really up to!"
Pei Wenxian delivered the message, but when he returned, he only brought back an enlarged photo. The photo showed a handsome young man with delicate features holding a child, his lips curved in a smile that looked like sunshine on him.
The old man glanced at her, snorted, and turned his head away. He glanced at her again... "She is indeed good-looking."
Pei Wenxian couldn't help but laugh.
"I checked, he's the youngest son of the Song family. He'll be eighteen in August after the New Year, and he's already a PhD."
"His family background is so-so." The old man became more and more interested as he listened, but he still tried to suppress his anger and said reluctantly, "Forget it, since he likes it himself, can I tie him down or bind him?"
As parents, all they want is for their children to have a peaceful and happy life in the future. Whether it's a boy or a girl is not that important in today's society.
…………
Having completely moved out of the open, Pei Yanli became increasingly daring in her actions.
Three months before Song Yunqing's eighteenth birthday, they chartered a giant cruise ship owned by the Pei family.
"Boss," even Chen Zhao thought it was too much and gently reminded him, "there are still several months to go."
Pei Yanli: "It's getting late."
If he weren't afraid of scaring Song Yunqing, he would have even proposed to her directly.
It was the first time the iron tree had bloomed, and since it wasn't anything particularly outrageous, Chen Zhao simply let it be and did whatever made him happy.
The secret arrangements took nearly three months to complete.
The night before his birthday, while the Song family was still sending out invitations in Song Yunqing's name, Pei Yanli's car had already pulled up outside.
The weather forecast says tomorrow will be sunny.
Song Yunqing pulled back the tightly closed curtains and looked downstairs. His parents and his older brother, who usually treated him like air, were all gathered around Pei Yanli.
He looked at her with unwavering eyes and extended his hand: "Yunqing, let's go watch the sunrise at sea together."
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The story is now complete. The remaining content will be bonus chapters (mostly featuring our great wingman, Secretary Chen). Feel free to leave comments about which chapters you'd like to see.
Next, I plan to film "He's So Well-Behaved".
I checked and it says May 8th is an auspicious day, suitable for breaking ground and planting.
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