Chapter 61 Heart's Desire

The game of chess has been decided, and Master Pei lost.

Pei Yuning passed the strawberry plate over and said, "Three of you, have some strawberries."

Master Pei shook his head and threw the black chess piece into the chess box: "I am old now. No one can win the game."

Pei Yunzhi took a wet towel to wipe his hands, picked up a strawberry, and said calmly: "Grandpa, you taught me how to play Go, so it doesn't matter who wins."

Master Pei snorted softly. He had his say but would not give up a single step in the game of chess.

Pei Yuning took a strawberry and fed it to Shang Yanci: "It's very sweet, taste it."

Shang Yanci put it in his mouth and took a light bite. The strawberry juice flowed out. It was so sweet that his brows wrinkled slightly.

Master Pei saw this, poured him a cup of tea, and said with a smile: "Yanci, drink some tea to calm down. Strawberries are too sweet. Only the three siblings are used to eating them."

Shang Yanci took the teacup with both hands: "Thank you, Grandpa. It's OK."

This kind of strawberry is indeed sweeter than the strawberries on the market. Pei Yuning finds it acceptable and quite delicious.

Pei Yanzhi reached out and took another strawberry. He only accepted the sweetness of the strawberry.

Master Pei made way for him and said, "Come on, Yanci, sit here with me."

"Okay." Shang Yanci stood up and sat opposite Pei Yunzhi.

Pei Yuning ate strawberries and asked, "Do you want to play a round?"

Pei Yunzhi: “Yeah.”

Master Pei: "Ningning, who do you think will win?"

As soon as these words came out, Shang Yanci and Pei Yinzhi, who collected the black and white pieces respectively, looked at her at the same time.

As a master of balancing the two, Pei Yuning did not choose any of them: "I don't know, I don't know much about Go."

Auntie came over with her fluffy tail wagging, and wrapped her arms around Pei Yuning's slender white ankles: "Meow~ Meow~"

Pei Yuning put down the strawberry, picked up the kitten, and combed its hair: "Auntie, have you gained weight?"

Auntie's tail drooped down: "Meow~"

Pei Yuning coaxed it: "Being fatter is more adorable, aunt, you have transformed from a pretty kitten into a cute kitten, it's amazing."

Hearing this, Shang Yanci's mouth curled up, impressed by her adorable train of thought.

Pei Yuning held the kitten in her arms, walked to the sofa, took out a beautiful ribbon from her bag, and tied a beautiful bow on her aunt's tail.

Auntie was meowing, her little cat was the most vain.

At noon, Shang Yanci and Pei Yunzhi were still fighting on the chessboard. They had been playing for three hours and it was hard to tell who would win. Old Master Pei was so excited watching from the side that he was eager to try.

Aunt Chen, the housekeeper, came over and invited everyone to have dinner in the restaurant.

The game is suspended.

Everyone sat at the table. Pei Jinyan was not there. She had gone to the nursing home to see Xu Han. She would probably be back soon. Pei Yuchen's parents were not there either. They had gone back to their parents' home to celebrate their elders' birthdays.

Pei Yuning was drinking the soup, and she couldn't tell whether she was in a good or bad mood.

After lunch, everyone went back to their rooms for a nap.

After entering the bedroom, Shang Yanci saw that Pei Yuning was not in a good mood, so he held her in his arms, patted her shoulders gently, and asked in a gentle voice: "What's wrong, Madam?"

Pei Yuning was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: "Ayan, maybe after a while, we won't come back here often on weekends."

Shang Yanci knew the reason, but Pei Yuning needed a reasonable opportunity to tell it at this moment, so that he would not feel uncomfortable keeping it in his heart.

So he asked, "Why?"

Pei Yuning pondered: "My father is married for the second time. His current wife is in a nursing home. She will be back soon. I hate her."

Shang Yanci gently counseled: "Madam, there is no such thing as a cuckoo occupying a magpie's nest in this world. This is your home, and the people who live here are your closest family members, except for the one you mentioned, of course. You live in Wentang Palace on weekdays, and only have time to come back here for a short stay of two days on weekends. I can see that your family misses you very much. It is not worth it to alienate your family for such an insignificant person."

Pei Yuning: "But I just hate her and don't want to see her at all."

Shang Yanci ruffled her hair, kissed her forehead, and said softly, "Then Madam, just look at me more and ignore her."

Pei Yuning closed his eyes: "I'll think about it again."

Shang Yanci raised his finger to smooth her slightly frowned brows and said softly, "Okay."

After Pei Yuning fell asleep, Shang Yanci picked up his phone and sent a message to Gu Yu, asking him to verify some things.

The Pei family and the Xu family had very different family backgrounds. Logically, even if Pei Jinyan was a second marriage, she couldn't marry Xu Han. It was a little unreasonable that she had been childless for so many years and yet she had secured the position of the first lady of the Pei family.

In the afternoon, bright sunshine shone in from the window. The gentle breeze blew the spotless white curtains, bringing in bursts of fragrance from the back garden.

A light-colored wooden chessboard, black and white jade chess pieces, two people playing chess against each other, fighting back and forth in silence and peace.

Pei Yunzhi said calmly: "I heard that you went to City A."

Shang Yanci placed a white chess piece slowly and calmly: "Well, let's go see Ningning."

Pei Yunzhi: "A marriage by agreement does not need to go this far."

Shang Yan Ci: "It has nothing to do with agreements, it is what the heart desires."

Pei Yanzhi raised his eyes and glanced at him: "Ningning is young, she can't tell the difference between novelty, liking, and love."

Shang Yanci said slowly: "I have enough patience for her. I can wait for her to slowly figure out the difference between these three."

Pei Yunzhi stopped talking and returned his mind to the chess game.

Pei Yuning woke up from her nap. It was already three o'clock. Thinking of the matcha cake in the refrigerator, she went downstairs and saw Shang Yanci and Pei Yunzhi playing chess opposite each other by the window.

Both of them sat in a very upright posture, one was gentle and dignified, the other was cold and reserved. Both were calm and composed superiors, ambitious people who planned and strategized.

Pei Yuning walked over and asked, "Brother, Ah Yan, do you want to eat matcha cake?"

They both said in unison: "No."

Shang Yanci placed a white chess piece and looked at Pei Yanzhi: "Brother, please wait a moment."

Pei Yunzhi said "hmm".

Shang Yanci led Pei Yuning into the kitchen, took out the matcha cake, unwrapped it, and asked, "What flavor do you want to try first?"

Pei Yuning: "I want the one with raspberry filling."

"Okay." Shang Yanci found the marked place, cut a piece of matcha cake with raspberry filling for Pei Yuning, put a fork on it, and handed it to her.

Pei Yuning took it and took a bite. His bad mood instantly disappeared: "It's delicious! Ah Yan, try it."

Shang Yanci opened his mouth and ate the spoonful of matcha cake she fed him, then pushed the fork away with the tip of his tongue and said softly, "In clockwise direction, from the raspberry center to the right, there are mango, cherry, and lime. Cut whatever flavor you want yourself. I'm going to play chess with my brother."

Pei Yuning would be a little clingy when she just woke up, but Shang Yanci got up first and didn't give her the chance to be clingy.

At this moment, she raised her eyes to look at Shang Yanci. Just when she was about to act coquettishly and intimately with him, she saw a little cream on the corner of his mouth.