Chapter 23 This Pei Yumin is definitely not simple...
When Pei Yumin heard him say this, his face turned red. He wished he could kneel down and propose on the spot, then passionately kiss and walk down the aisle, where the two of them could live a happy life behind closed doors.
He licked his dry lips, his voice hoarse with excitement: "Then for a lifetime."
Fortunately, he only wanted to say this to Lu Shangyan, so he lowered his voice considerably. Otherwise, outsiders might have thought that some Donald Duck had come to Z University for further studies.
Lu Shangyan smiled and silently released his grip on his wrist.
Seeing that they were living a peaceful life and only had eyes for each other, Chen's mother wanted to take the opportunity to say some sarcastic things to make things escalate again and help Chen Shuo save face.
But as soon as she opened her mouth, her phone started vibrating like crazy. She hung up once, and as soon as she made a sound, it started vibrating again. When she took it out, she saw it was Chen Hongfei.
In just one minute, they made more than a dozen phone calls, more than they had made in a year of separation!
Chen's mother was extremely annoyed, so she thought she would first scold Chen Hongfei, that coward, until he would shrink back into himself, and then teach Lu Shangyan a lesson.
After the call connected, she launched into a tirade against the person, and before hanging up again, a short laugh came from the other end.
It's a woman.
For some reason, Chen's mother's brow twitched, and then she heard someone on the other end say, "So many years have passed, and Wanfang is still so quick-witted."
Her real name was Xu Wanfang, but for many years outsiders had called her Mrs. Chen. Few people addressed her that way, and the voice that called her carried a tremendous sense of pressure. Her heart skipped a beat; she knew that voice all too well—it was Ms. Yuan, whom she had spoken to on the phone just yesterday!
-
Pei Yumin took another deep look at Lu Shangyan, and when she came to her senses, the class bell had already rung once.
Seeing that Xu Wanfang was holding her phone and her face had turned pale, he told Lu Shangyan to go to class first, and he would handle the rest.
This time, Lu Shangyan didn't refuse or ask why. He turned and left decisively. Xu Wanfang watched him leave with a blank face but didn't dare to say another word.
Chen Shuo was completely unaware of what had happened. Seeing her like this, he immediately said unhappily, "Mom! Why are you afraid of someone like Dad!"
Xu Wanfang turned around and slapped him across the face. Chen Shuo turned his head away, and a bright red finger mark quickly appeared on his face, with half of his face visibly swollen.
Chen Shuo had always been the most spoiled child of hers. She had never even spoken harshly to him, let alone hit him. This slap completely stunned him, and he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.
Xu Wanfang, however, forced an awkward, ingratiating smile at Pei Yumin: "Yumin, you've grown up, you're completely different. Auntie said those things just now because I didn't recognize you. Auntie apologizes for what happened earlier. Could you go and talk to your mother...?"
Pei Yumin interrupted her, "Let's talk in private. There are too many people here, and I don't want to cause any more trouble for Lu Shangyan because of you."
They went to that small milk tea shop. Pei Yumin transferred 20,000 yuan to him and asked him to turn off the camera.
Pei Yumin sucked up a pearl with a straw and chewed it in his mouth: "This matter can't be resolved peacefully."
-
After class, Lu Shangyan saw Chen Shuo standing at the classroom door with red eyes and a swollen face. So he withdrew his foot and planned to leave through the back door to avoid seeing him again and getting annoyed.
But this time, when Chen Shuo saw him, he didn't yell and shout like before. Instead, he ran up to him, bowed deeply at a perfect 90-degree angle, and shouted, "I'm sorry! I was wrong! Please forgive me!"
The sight startled Lu Shangyan, causing the backpack strap on his shoulder to slip down to his wrist, which he then caught firmly.
Chen Shuo is the kind of person who cares most about his reputation. Even if he is wrong, he will not apologize, let alone in public in this way. No matter what caused his personality to change so drastically, his face was still filled with humiliation at this moment.
Lu Shangyan tilted his head and glanced at it: "I don't accept it."
Chen Shuo was sweating profusely: "Then what do I have to do for you to forgive me?"
Lu Shangyan squinted at him. Chen Shuo didn't seem to know he was wrong; he was simply afraid. Lu Shangyan didn't know what he was afraid of, but he knew it wasn't him. If he were to forgive him now, it would be too kind. He had struggled to survive until now, and the so-called survival rules he had learned did not allow him to be kind without limits.
Lu Shangyan ignored him and turned to go downstairs, leaving Chen Shuo standing there alone, letting the alumni who came up to watch say all sorts of nonsense to him and spread rumors that he didn't want to hear.
-
The Chen family went bankrupt seven days later. Chen Hongfei, who had been cautious and prudent for half his life, and had been bent over for half his life, finally straightened up again on the day of the asset liquidation. Now that things had come to this, he actually felt relieved.
A while ago, when he brought Chen Shuo back from outside the police station, he hadn't even had a chance to teach him a lesson on the way when he received a call from Xu Wanfang. Xu Wanfang scolded him, saying that he was a useless husband before and a useless father now!
After finally hanging up the phone, Xu Wanfang had already found the location Chen Shuo sent and blocked his way, picking him up early.
He knew that Xu Wanfang had also been spoiled since childhood. Her upbringing made her fearless and even too lazy to think of cunning schemes. She was usually straightforward.
If Xu Wanfang had known that Lu Shangyan was just a poor student without parents, she probably would have been even more ruthless. So he patiently endured the scolding and went to her to tell her about Pei Yumin, asking her to stop getting involved.
Unexpectedly, she let it go in one ear and out the other, her mind completely consumed by revenge for Chen Shuo, even calling Pei Yumin's mother for advice. Chen Shuo's brainless nature is clearly inherited from her!
Now, because of her affair with Chen Shuo, the Xu family has also been implicated. Before her older brother took over the company, she could do whatever she wanted at home, but not anymore. Her older brother is married now, and she has a formidable sister-in-law.
As soon as the company was implicated, she packed up Xu Wanfang's things and threw them out. Then she visited the Pei family, implying that she had severed ties with Xu Wanfang and asking them to be lenient.
But Ms. Yuan completely ignored her, pretending not to know anything. Feeling foolish, she vented her anger on Xu Wanfang upon returning home. She had long disliked Xu Wanfang, and now she finally had the perfect opportunity to kick her out completely!
She was in the right this time. For the sake of the company, even if Xu Wanfang's older brother wanted to mediate, there was nothing he could do. The Xu family was also in a precarious situation. If Xu Wanfang continued to stay at home, she probably wouldn't last more than a few days!
Xu Wanfang had no choice but to carry her luggage and move back to Chen Hongfei's side.
After Chen Hongfei finished picking up his things, he sat on the sofa and glanced at her: "I don't have much of a business sense, and I'm getting old, so I can't keep up with the pace. I only have some spare money left, and I'm planning to go back to my hometown and open a small shop. If you can't accept that, let's get our divorce certificate today."
When she was young, she thought Chen Hongfei was good-looking, and she cried and made a scene, insisting on marrying him.
After getting married and having Chen Shuo, Chen Hongfei got older, and she felt that he was not presentable enough. However, the two families were already closely connected, and divorce was not the best option. So she found an opportunity to have a big fight with Chen Hongfei and moved out. In the past few years, she has been traveling all over the world and has made countless friends, but now she has nowhere to go, and only Chen Hongfei is willing to accept her.
She couldn't live on her own, so she immediately grabbed his hand and burst into tears. She was terrified: "I'll go with you. I'll follow you obediently from now on."
-
Lu Shangyan had a few days of peace and quiet before he realized that Chen Shuo had vanished without a trace.
His phone isn't very responsive, so he doesn't check the school forum often. He also doesn't have many friends at school, so he's always a bit behind on what he knows about gossip.
He even heard about this from Zhao Jian, and that's when he learned that Chen Shuo had dropped out of school, instead of just being kept at home to reflect for a few days.
Zhao Jian kept nagging in his ear: "The video of him apologizing to you is all over your school! You didn't know at all, did you?"
Lu Shangyan paid the bill for the girl in front of him; he really didn't know that!
He wasn't interested a few days ago, but now, after hearing Zhao Jianyi's words, he's really curious about what Pei Yumin said to Chen Shuo after he went to class that day, which made such a troublemaker completely smooth out and even disappear.
Looking at him, Zhao Jian clicked his tongue a few times: "Judging from this, this Pei Yumin must be no ordinary person! You said before that he was just an ordinary worker, but now I don't believe it at all."
Lu Shangyan lowered his eyelids and pondered, and his brows remained furrowed until Pei Yumin came to pick him up to go home.
After returning home that evening, he waited for Lu Shangyan to bring it up on his own initiative. He also thoughtfully considered that Lu Shangyan was shy, so he only dared to probe cautiously.
But Lu Shangyan acted as if nothing had happened, which puzzled him. Today, he couldn't wait any longer and began to ask directly: "What did you mean by 'a lifetime' four days ago?"
Lu Shangyan peeled the chestnuts he had brought and stuffed them into his mouth. Hearing his words, he mumbled a reply: "Brothers for life."
Pei Yumin's hands were trembling; he had never been so scared in his life: "Are you kidding me?"
He never even dared to imagine his wife turning into his brother!
Lu Shangyan looked at him with clear eyes, not at all like he was joking.
He thought Lu Shangyan had finally come to his senses and was ready to confess his feelings and establish a relationship with him. Little did he know that there was no paper separating them, but an insurmountable wall between them. In this situation, even if he broke his finger, it wouldn't help!
"Good brother" doesn't sound as good as "roommate"!
He was so restless that he couldn't sit still. After holding it in for a long time, he finally asked with difficulty, "Lu Shangyan, can you not just be my brother? I don't want to be just my brother."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
