Chapter 49. He fainted completely.
In early May, Qiao Yingxue held a birthday banquet in a private courtyard clubhouse.
This place is usually where the big guys eat and discuss business, and it is not a place that ordinary juniors can set foot in. Qiao Yingxue persuaded her father for more than a month before finally getting her father's approval.
Qiao Yingxue was extremely proud.
Even her brother, Qiao Yingxuan, could tell that her special invitation to Xia Qingwan to her birthday party was largely out of a desire to show off.
On the day of the birthday banquet, Qiao Yingxue went to the club early.
The dozen or so invited friends arrived at the private room one after another. The group chatted and laughed, and as it got later and later, Qiao Yingxue peeked at the door and said, "Xia Qingwan really came?"
Come on.
Lin Xiangyu said, "She told me she was coming."
"Why hasn't anyone shown up yet?" Qiao Yingxue said disdainfully. "Is she still trying to put on airs in front of me?"
"Qing Wan is not that kind of person."
"This is so annoying," Qiao Yingxue complained. "Do I really have to wait for her to come?"
Dinner is about to start.
Qiao Yingxuan leaned lazily against the bar, watching the show. "I'm telling you, Yingxue, you need to change your temper. If you offend someone you shouldn't one day, you'll be in big trouble."
Qiao Yingxue glared at him. "What kind of brother are you? Always trying to put your sister down? I think you've fallen for that little brat, haven't you?"
"Dad is having dinner with Mr. Ye in the next private room. Are you really unaware, or are you pretending not to know?"
"So what?" Qiao Yingxue said, "Didn't you say that after what happened to the Xia family, she might have already been dumped and was just putting on an act in front of us?"
After Xia Changping's verdict was handed down at the beginning of the year, everyone craned their necks to watch the spectacle—
How could someone as meticulous about his reputation as Mr. Ye not kick Xia Qingwan out? He only saw her because she was pretty and fresh; how could he possibly have any feelings for her?
In March, the Xia family split up, and there were rumors that the old house was emptied out, and that Mr. Xia's widow, Mrs. Xia Huiqing, gave most of the property to her eldest son and daughter, leaving Xia Qingwan essentially homeless.
Everyone's desire to laugh at the joke grew stronger: Now, Xia Qingwan is about to face a double blow.
As a result, Qiao Yingxuan's group seemed to be very proud of this and started to talk behind her back, "Will she dare to be so arrogant in the future?"
"Maybe tomorrow she'll come and be humble and beg us to take her in."
When Qiao Yingxue said such a thing, Qiao Yingxuan laughed inwardly and couldn't help but feel a bit amused. He added fuel to the fire, "Fine, let's see how you deal with her."
The more ruthless Qiao Yingxue was in dealing with him, the more he could reap the benefits.
"Just wait and see. I'm going to put a dent in her pride today."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone appeared at the door of the private room, adorned with jewels, smiling broadly, exuding an air of superior intimacy.
It’s not Xia Qingwan, but Pei Meizhu.
Qiao Yingxue was taken aback for a moment, then immediately stood up with a beaming smile and said happily, "Meizhu, you're here."
Pei Meizhu held out a gift box, handed it forward, and said with a faint smile, "Happy birthday."
"Wow, thank you."
Qiao Yingxue walked over, took it with both hands, and talked to her affectionately.
Pei Meizhu took a few steps forward, and the others in the box could see clearly that there was a tall boy following her.
The boy had his hands in his pockets and a sour face, but he had Pei Meizhu's bag hanging on his wrist and followed her closely. The atmosphere between the two was somewhat subtle.
Pei Meizhu and the boy she brought attracted a lot of prying eyes. People whispered among themselves, watching as Qiao Yingxue led Pei Meizhu and the boy to sit down.
Qiao Yingxue felt very proud. Her little follower Jiang Miya also showed an envious expression at the right time, and half-seriously complimented her, "Wow, Yingxue, when did you become so familiar with the eldest daughter of the Pei family?"
Qiao Yingxue glanced at her and said, "You're surprised by what you've seen."
Because of Pei Meizhu's arrival, the originally quiet private room suddenly became lively. Qiao Yingxue hurriedly called the waiter, "Hurry up and serve the food."
"I won't eat here anymore," Pei Meizhu said, "I have something else to do."
"Let's eat together," Qiao Yingxue said. "My dad told me the goose feet here are delicious."
"My cousin is next door, I have to go say hello."
Pei Meizhu had already stood up. The boy who had come with her had been standing by the window looking out. When he caught a glimpse of her movement, he followed behind her without saying a word.
She said "my cousin" very naturally, but in the eyes of everyone in the private room, he was Mr. Ye, whom even their elders had to respect. As a result, after she said that, everyone looked at her with even more fervor. Qiao Yingxue quickly pretended to be understanding and said, "Oh, that's true. You should go quickly."
She escorted him from inside the private room to outside the screen, and then all the way to the door, saying loudly, "Let's have afternoon tea another day!"
After seeing Pei Meizhu off, she returned to the inner side of the private room, where a group of people led by Qiao Yingxuan laughed at her, "Look at you, acting like a sycophant."
Qiao Yingxue's smile froze on her face. She was furious and her face turned red. Lin Xiangyu quickly came over to smooth things over.
Qiao Yingxuan didn't give her any face, "Lin Xiangyu, everyone here knows what kind of person you are. Don't think that just because Sheng Junchi has taken a liking to you you can turn your life around. You better know your own worth."
Lin Xiangyu had no intention of arguing with him. She pulled Qiao Yingxue to sit down on the sofa, handed her a glass of water, and coaxed, "Let's call the waiter to serve the food."
Qiao Yingxue tried to hold it back, but she couldn't swallow it. She stood up, pointed at Qiao Yingxuan's nose and cursed.
The brother and sister started arguing.
A few people nearby were watching the spectacle with amusement.
Jiang Miya covered her mouth with one hand and looked at him with sidelong glances.
It caused quite a commotion.
After arguing for a while, Qiao Yingxuan suddenly stopped talking. Qiao Yingxue, looking angrily, followed his gaze and saw Xia Qingwan appear next to the screen. She had a little surprise on her face, and she was graceful and cool, like the first lotus flower blooming in the gentle breeze in early summer.
Her aloof and detached demeanor gave Qiao Yingxue, who was already furious, an outlet for her anger. Without thinking, she pointed at her and yelled, "What are you looking at?! Xia Qingwan, do you have a penchant for spying on others?"
As she spoke, she approached, raising her voice, "What, did Mr. Ye kick you out too? Are you homeless now? You—"
The words came to an abrupt halt.
As she approached, she saw Mr. Ye standing motionless behind the screen at the entrance to the private room, his hands in his pockets.
A large group of people stood behind him, including her father, Qiao Wu.
Judging from the expressions of these people, Mr. Ye probably came to accompany Xia Qingwan, and they did not dare to neglect him. They all followed behind him and served him attentively and obediently.
Mr. Ye looked at her and said, "Qiao Wu, you are very good at educating children."
Before he could finish speaking, Qiao Wu strode over from behind him, walked to the inside of the private room, and slapped Qiao Yingxue and Qiao Yingxuan on the head several times.
"Useless bastards! What did I teach you? How dare you talk to Miss Xia like that? Are you tired of living?"
Ye Peixiu grabbed Xia Qingwan's waist from behind and held her hand, "Let's go back and eat."
As soon as he said he was leaving, the large group of people who had followed him immediately turned around and followed him back to the next private room.
Seeing that things were not going well, Qiao Yingxuan's friends quietly dispersed. Lin Xiangyu had no choice but to leave the birthday banquet private room, looking back every few steps.
Back next door, Ye Peixiu pulled out a chair for Xia Qingwan to sit down.
The middle-aged men who were having dinner with them also sat down and, as before, chatted and laughed as they continued eating.
Less than two minutes later, Qiao Wu brought his two children over and sternly asked them to apologize to Mr. Ye and Miss Xia.
Qiao Yingxuan and Qiao Yingxue stood side by side, their heads bowed, behaving very respectfully.
Ye Peixiu didn't even lift his eyes, as if he hadn't heard at all.
He simply refuses to forgive.
Qiao Wu's heart trembled. He raised his foot and kicked Qiao Yingxuan and Qiao Yingxue in the thighs, and the two immediately fell to their knees.
"kowtow."
Qiao Wu said.
Qiao Yingxuan was quite skillful and kowtowed several times. Qiao Yingxue cried and refused to do it, so she was scolded again.
Qiao Wu forced the two children to kowtow dozens of times. Qiao Wu then smiled apologetically at Xia Qingwan, "These two little brats are ignorant and offended Miss Xia. I hope Miss Xia will forgive their rudeness and not take it to heart. I will definitely discipline them properly when I get back."
The sound of the kowtow was frightening enough. Xia Qingwan had never seen such a scene before. She was about to say, "That's it," but before she could open her mouth, Ye Peixiu put a mouthful of food into her mouth and said, "Eat your meal."
Xia Qingwan knew he was still angry, so she didn't say anything more.
So, Qiao Yingxuan and Qiao Yingxue knelt on the floor of the box until they finished their meal.
As they left, a large group of people saw them off. Qiao Wu hurried to the front, putting on his most obsequious smile ever. Just as he was about to speak, Ye Peixiu stopped, turned slightly to the side, and asked another middle-aged man with glasses who had been quiet all along, "...Are you Qiao Wu's subordinate?"
"Yes, my name is Wang, and I've been working with Mr. Qiao for two years."
"Mr. Wang," Ye Peixiu said, "For the project we just mentioned in the private room, please talk to my secretary Wang Jingzi some other day and we can discuss it in detail."
Mr. Wang, who was wearing glasses, reacted for a moment. He was flattered, his hands shaking, and he nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, I understand. Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Ye. I will do my best."
-
On the way back.
Ye Peixiu laughed and said, "You still have too good a temper. Why don't you slap her yourself?"
"What happened today has already been enough for her. As a young lady, she probably won't recover for a long time."
"How can she be called a young lady?" Ye Peixiu sneered, and then said, "...To be honest, you are the one who comes from a proper scholarly family."
"Who said that?"
"I said it."
He looked directly into her eyes and said, “So-called background is not just about social status, but also about personal character and qualities. In my opinion, no one can compare to you.”
Xia Qingwan said quietly, "Yes, you have such a grand air about you, it scares me."
Qiao Wu angrily slapped the brother and sister hard, but despite the loud noise, he didn't even raise his eyelids.
Ye Peixiu laughed, "You're still afraid of me? It seems I haven't served you well enough."
He can say it off the cuff.
Xia Qingwan hurried to cover his mouth.
Somehow, he pulled her onto his lap, pinched her chin, and kissed her.
At that moment, she realized that she especially loved his embrace.
Generous and warm.
As they kissed, she could feel his fingers gently caressing her cheeks and earlobes, his other arm firmly around her waist and back, and the calm sandalwood scent emanating from his body with every breath. His body possessed a reassuring and powerful strength.
Even if it weren't for Qiao Yingxue's birthday party today, he would still take her out to eat.
He intentionally took her to more occasions of this kind and had her sit in the main seat, so that she would get used to it and no matter what kind of situation she encountered, no matter how highly she was praised, she would not be timid or surprised, and would be able to speak calmly and at ease.
She understood what he meant and his cultivation.
Everything he brought to her was warm, throbbing and beautiful.
Why are you crying?
Ye Peixiu said in a low voice.
Xia Qingwan raised her hand to touch the corner of her eye, only then realizing that she was crying.
She herself found it strange and said softly, "...How weird."
Ye Peixiu said half-jokingly in her ear, "You weren't really scared by me, were you? Well, I'll have to apologize when we get back."
Xia Qingwan stopped crying and started laughing.
-
Qiao Yingxue felt unhappy for a while after that.
Her father, Qiao Wu, lost a major project, which was taken over by an unknown subordinate named Lao Wang. Naturally, he wanted to vent his anger on her and her brother.
Qiao Yingxuan's life was even worse than hers; she was sent to study in the United States by her father with just a few words.
People in the industry are often fickle, and lately everyone's been inviting Xia Qingwan out to play. Even those who don't know her well will ask Lin Xiangyu to put in a good word for them.
After Xia Changping's verdict at the beginning of the year, many people watched coldly, waiting for Xia Qingwan to stumble. More than two months passed, but instead of Xia Qingwan making a fool of herself, Mr. Ye used the Qiao family as an example to support her.
At this point, all the rumors and gossip ceased and the storm subsided.
Pei Meizhu, however, was not having a good time.
When I was on the phone with Xia Qingwan, I kept sighing and whining, saying I was unhappy.
Is something bothering you?
Xia Qingwan asked.
"Your husband asked me to go to your house," Pei Meizhu whimpered and fake-crying, "I think I'm going to get scolded."
Last week at Qiao Yingxue's birthday party, Pei Meizhu showed up with her boyfriend. When she went next door to greet Ye Peixiu, Ye Peixiu asked her, "Who is this?"
Pei Meizhu remained calm and composed. "My boyfriend."
Where did it come from?
"We met at a friend's gathering."
Ye Peixiu didn't say anything more, but just looked at her with his dark, sharp eyes for a few seconds.
After that, Ye Peixiu didn't contact her. She thought she had gotten away with it, but she didn't know that Ye Peixiu didn't punish her at that time because he was too busy.
I have to settle the accounts with her now that I have some free time this weekend.
In Pei Meizhu's eyes, Xia Qingwan was her real cousin-in-law. When she blurted out "your husband", Xia Qingwan on the other end of the phone blushed.
"Sister Qingwan, can you please help me put in a good word for me when the time comes?"
"……good."
"yeah!"
With Xia Qingwan around, Pei Meizhu felt somewhat relieved.
In the evening, she took a car to Ye Garden.
Xia Qingwan was doing homework in the tea room.
With final exams approaching, she has been staying up late every night to study diligently.
Ye Peixiu stood by the pond, biting a cigarette and feeding the fish.
The sky was clear, a warm and beautiful spring night.
Pei Meizhu greeted Xia Qingwan first, then came outside, put her hands behind her back, and said with a smile, "Cousin, the scenery is so beautiful, please don't scold me, right?"
Ye Peixiu bit his cigarette and turned his head to look at her, "Go to the study and wait for me."
Pei Meizhu felt incredibly guilty, but she insisted on putting on a righteous act, "What? Don't tell your family, or I'll disown you."
Ye Peixiu said nothing and handed the fish food box to the side in the air. She immediately stepped over and took it.
"Go ahead, I'll finish this cigarette."
"Yes, sir!"
Pei Meizhu, being quite unserious, put the fish food box back indoors and deliberately went around to Xia Qingwan's side, making a pleading gesture and giving her a look of apology.
Xia Qingwan mouthed, "I understand. Go ahead."
When Ye Peixiu finished smoking and came in, he went around to the tea room and bent over to kiss her.
"I'll go take care of Mijoo. I'll be right back."
Xia Qingwan said, "You're so imposing. You were showing off last week, and now you're scolding people at home again this week."
She was indirectly speaking up for Pei Meizhu.
Ye Peixiu knew what was going on. He smiled and pinched her cheek, "I'm already a tyrant, so I might as well stay tyrant forever."
Xia Qingwan also knew that he was referring to the discussions among people in the circle after the incident last week: saying that he had made such a big fuss for a little girl from the Xia family, killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, and giving everyone a warning.
She looked up at him, "...Meizhu is still a child, you..."
"Don't worry, I know my limits."
Ye Peixiu laughed and said, "Besides, she is only one year younger than you, and you still think she is a child?"
-
Pei Meizhu, who had been pacing in the study, finally waited for Ye Peixiu to push the door open and come in.
I took the initiative and said, "I'm just making a boyfriend, is that not okay?"
"Can."
Ye Peixiu sat down on the sofa and motioned for her to sit down too.
Pei Meizhu smiled happily, "If that's okay, then there's no problem, right?"
"I won't tell my family, but," Ye Peixiu said calmly, "tell me the truth. Weren't you still in love with Wang Jingzi a while ago? How did you change your mind so quickly?"
"Who likes him!"
Pei Meizhu stood up excitedly and denied it, "I'm not blind!"
She mumbled a lot, all of which were curses at Wang Jingzi.
Ye Peixiu just looked at her calmly.
Finally, she turned around abruptly, met Ye Peixiu's gaze, and couldn't hold back any longer, crying, "Cousin, Wang Jingzi bullied me."
"Take your time."
Pei Meizhu recounted in detail the whole story of how she went to Wang Jingzi to demand an explanation that day.
Ye Peixiu listened quietly and said, "He did the right thing."
"Am I that unattractive?"
Pei Meizhu said angrily, "I don't believe it. He is ignoring me."
“This has nothing to do with your personal charm,” Ye Peixiu said. “It only shows that Wang Jingzi is a decent person.”
Pei Meizhu was slightly taken aback.
Although he understood it in his heart, he still stubbornly said, "...Being able to be like Liu Xiahui is the standard of a good character? You men are too superficial."
As soon as he finished speaking, seeing Ye Peixiu's expression, he immediately apologized, "I'm sorry."
"Think about it yourself."
After saying that, Ye Peixiu got up and left.
Pei Meizhu called out from behind him, "Where are you going? Aren't you going to leave me behind?"
"Make milk tea for your cousin-in-law."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Here we go!
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