Chapter 60Did you treat Pei Ying like she was part of your big family?
Pei Ying’s family lived on the seventh floor. It was a small, three bedroom apartment, and a row of people were currently seated on the not-that-large sofa in the living room. The house usually didn’t see any relatives, but here they all were today.
With a bright, smiling face, Mrs Pei announced, “Everyone heard that you were coming home, so they made a special trip out to see you.”
Pei Ying simply smiled and nodded. She’d only told her mother that she was coming home, so no one would have known about her return unless her mother told everyone else. Of course she knew what her mother was thinking. She, naturally, wanted to show off to their relatives.
“Xiujuan ah, I haven’t seen you in so many years. You’ve grown up so beautifully.” Her second aunt stood up from the sofa and warmly grasped Pei Ying’s hand. Pei Ying smiled and asked if her aunt was well.
Second Aunt was the wealthiest among their relatives. Usually, she was the one looking down her nose at others. And when she’d invite them out to dinner, she would offer to pay, which was really just her way of showing off. After every meal together, Pei Ying’s mother would be welling up with anger. So, seeing the two women act so close was a bit amusing to Pei Ying.
In all fairness, she did understand her mother’s elation.
Second Aunt looked at Pei Ying rather indifferently, but then she smiled at Song Nanchuan. “This must be Mr Song. h.e.l.lo, nice to meet you. I’m Pei Xiujuan’s second aunt.”
Song Nanchuan leaned back just slightly, maintaining a good distance. “h.e.l.lo.”
Second Aunt had extended her hand for a shake, but after getting no response, she awkwardly pulled her arm back. Pei Ying took this opportunity to tug on Song Nanchuan, and then introduced him to her father. “This is my dad.”
Feeling Song Nanchuan’s gaze land on him, Mr Pei subconsciously straightened his back. “Mr Song, h.e.l.lo.”
His expression was more or less dignified. Song Nanchuan smiled at him and said, “Uncle, h.e.l.lo.” After their simple greeting, Song Nanchuan suddenly recalled something. Although he’d said that this was simply a get together with Pei Ying’s parents, it was still their first meeting, so he’d brought along some gifts. “I brought Uncle and Auntie a few small gifts, but I forgot them in the car. I’ll have the driver send them up.”
Hearing these words, Mrs Pei quickly said, “No need to bother your driver. I’ll have Xiuran go down to pick them up.” She pat Pei Xiuran’s shoulder, signaling him to go find the driver.
When Pei Xiuran brought the gifts up, Mr and Mrs Pei called everyone into the living room for lunch.
At the table, all the relatives moved to ask about Song Nanchuan. They all knew that he’d invested two billion into Universe, so how could they leave such a big gold mine alone?
Pei Ying remained silent as she ate. At first, she’d been thinking that meeting her parents would be troublesome, but now there was an entire group of relatives. Song Nanchuan, on the other hand, seemed to be dealing with things quite well. These people were, after all, no compet.i.tion for his business partners.
“Why are you only eating rice?” Song Nanchuan grabbed a chicken leg and dropped it into Pei Ying’s bowl, not at all courteous. Pei Ying was somewhat taken aback, but then she quietly said a word of thanks before returning to silence to eat the chicken leg.
Though it was just a small action, the entire table had turned to look at the two of them. Pei Xiuran laughed brightly and said, “Brother-in-law is so considerate towards Sis. So, when are you two getting married?”
He’d just been asking casually, so he hadn’t expected Song Nanchuan’s response at all. “I came here today for that very reason, to discuss my marriage to Pei Ying.”
Mr and Mrs Pei’s expressions immediately changed. They looked at each other, and then Mrs Pei, br.i.m.m.i.n.g with happiness, said, “This is wonderful news! It’s the fortune of three generations of our family that allowed our Xiujuan to marry you!”
Song Nanchuan smiled at her. “On the contrary, I feel that it’s my great fortune to be able to have her as my wife.”
Pei Ying, “….”
I suspect that Song Nanchuan is the only one who’d be able to say such words in front of so many relatives without even a change in tone.
While Song Nanchuan remained collected and calm, Pei Ying’s face started to redden. As Pei Xiuran complimented his brother-in-law for his way with words, Pei Ying coughed. She grabbed a chicken neck and gave it to Song Nanchuan and said, “Don’t talk so much while we’re eating.”
“….” Song Nanchuan looked at the shriveled up neck in his bowl, feeling terribly hurt. But Pei Ying had gotten it for him, so he had to eat it.
The food had gone cold by the time lunch wrapped up. Pei Ying’s parents couldn’t wait to speak to Song Nanchuan about his marriage with their daughter, but there were too many relatives present, so they had to sent them off first.
The relatives who finally had a chance to form connections to Song Nanchuan were naturally reluctant to leave. They dawdled around until past 3 in the afternoon, when they saw Mr Pei’s disgruntled expression and decided to take their leave.
Right after they left, Mrs Pei invited Song Nanchuan to sit down on the sofa. The family gathered around and started to discuss the new turning point in Pei Ying’s life.
“Mr Song, when do you plan on having this wedding?” Mrs Pei asked with a bright smile on her face.
Song Nanchuan responded, “We’re making this visit because I’d like to first have the marriage license taken care of. As for the wedding, it will probably be in April, just in time for the flowers to start blooming.”
“Good, good. That sounds good.” Mr and Mrs Pei were both very satisfied. Mrs Pei continued, “So, will the wedding be in A City or shall we have it here? I think it would be best to hold one in each place.”
Song Nanchuan laughed. “I’m planning on having it abroad. Pei Ying told me that she wanted to have the wedding in a castle and by the sea. So I decided to have two ceremonies. The locations are pretty much already settled.”
Mr and Mrs Pei were taken by surprise. Pei Xiuran was the first to call out, “Oh my G.o.d! That means that I’ll be able to go abroad! And twice, at that!”
His shouting brought Mrs Pei back to her senses. “Wouldn’t that cost too much money?”
Song Nanchuan responded, “Auntie, Uncle, you don’t have to worry about the expenses. I’ll be able to take care of both ceremonies.”
“Oh, is that the case… Then, that’s good.”
Mrs Pei nodded. As she was about to say something, Pei Ying cut her off. “Mom, where’s the household registration?”
Mrs Pei looked at her. “We haven’t finished talking yet. Why are you in such a rush?”
Pei Ying frowned. “What else is there to talk about? Hasn’t everything that needs to be said been said?”
“We haven’t talked about the betrothal gifts yet. There are certain rules we have to follow.” (t/n: A dowry is what the bride brings to the marriage, and a betrothal gift is what the groom brings.)
Pei Ying was going crazy. “What century’s rules are those?”
Song Nanchuan grabbed her hand, comforting her. “I have, of course, prepared betrothal gifts. And I’ve already contacted my lawyer to put some of properties and stocks under Pei Ying’s name. Everything should be finished after the New Year celebrations.”
Pei Ying froze. This was the first time she’d heard anything about this. “Why are you giving me properties and stocks?”
Song Nanchuan responded, “Didn’t Auntie say there had to be a betrothal gift? I thought so as well. Originally, the betrothal gifts and dowry were meant to be from the parents to help the new couple start their own family. But I figured that it would be very troublesome to give something to Auntie only to have her give it to you, so I just put it in your name.”
……
The room went quiet for a moment. Mr and Mrs Pei’s faces weren’t anything nice to look at. Song Nanchuan continued, “Oh, and if Auntie has some dowry prepared, you can just give it directly to Pei Ying as well.” He paused, and then finished, “Do you still have any questions?”
Mrs Pei finally came to and looked at Song Nanchuan. “Our Xiuran is in his fourth year of college this year. The school wants the students to intern now, but he still hasn’t found a suitable position.”
She was thinking that, even if she wasn’t able to receive anything from the betrothal gift, as long as Pei Ying got married, Song Nanchuan wouldn’t be able to ignore their family. What was important now was paving a way for Xiuran.
Song Nanchuan naturally understood her implication. He looked at Pei Xiuran and asked, “What’s your major?”
Pei Xiuran replied, “Computing.”
Song Nanchuan’s raised his brow. “Let me see your transcript.”
Pei Xiuran, “….”
He turned to look at his mother.
Catching his signal, Mrs Pei chuckled. “Xiuran is rather playful, so he didn’t put too much effort into studying. But he’s got a smart head, so he’ll definitely be helpful to you.”
Song Nanchuan also chuckled. “Has he pa.s.sed the CET-4 or 6 exams? I looked over his practice exam previously, and the results were really too poor. I suspect that he might not even be able to graduate college.”
Pei Xiuran had just been ruthlessly jabbed at. It was true. He’d failed several courses, and if he didn’t pa.s.s the make-up exams next semester, he really wouldn’t be able to get his diploma.
Mrs Pei couldn’t maintain her smile. “A person’s ability isn’t measured simply by their academic history—”
Before she could finish, Song Nanchuan jumped in, “But it does measure a person’s intellect.”
Mrs Pei, “….”
A new wave of silence fell over the room. In the end, it was Song Nanchuan who broke the silence. He said to Pei Xiuran, “After spending four years in college, using up the money that your parents couldn’t bear to spend on Pei Ying, you won’t be able to graduate. How can I convince myself that you’ll be of help to me?”
After being dealt consecutive blows, Pei Xiuran was provoked into spitting out, “That’s because I didn’t study seriously! Do you actually think that there’s a problem with my intelligence?!”
“That sounds about right, from the looks of it.” Song Nanchuan looked at him with an ambiguous expression. “How about this. If you can successfully graduate, then I’ll give you a chance to intern at my company.”
“Really?” Just as he spoke, his mother’s eyes glowed and she said, “Then I’ll leave Xiuran in your care.”
Song Nanchuan chuckled. “I haven’t finished speaking yet. Auntie, don’t get too happy just yet.” He turned to Pei Xiuran. “During the internship, you’ll have to comply with the company’s requests and undergo training. If, at the end of your internship, your supervisor feels that you are not qualified, then you won’t be able to enter the company.”
Mrs Pei’s enthusiasm was suddenly extinguished greatly. But with a smile still on her face, she said, “Since you’re marrying Pei Ying, everyone will become family. Does a family really need to make things so difficult like this? That feels so distant.”
“Family?” Song Nanchuan laughed a bit mockingly. “Auntie, when did you treat Pei Ying like she was part of your big family?”
Pei Ying, who’d been enjoying the verbal sparring suddenly froze. She hadn’t expected him to be so blunt with his words on this subject. Perhaps because they knew they’d done wrong, or perhaps because Song Nanchuan’s words had been too sharp, Mr and Mrs Pei were rendered speechless.
“I came to meet with you today simply for the reason that Pei Ying still calls you two her parents.” After Song Nanchuan finished speaking, he pursed his lips and finally let out a sigh. “I won’t look into how you treated her in the past. In any case, I’ll be here to take care of her from now on. You don’t have to worry though, because Pei Ying is very sentimental and will definitely continue supporting you. But you shouldn’t expect more than that. As for Pei Xiuran, I’ve already laid things out very clearly. I won’t be giving you a house or a car, but if you have the ability to enter my company, you’ll surely be able to earn enough for those things in a short time. Rather than planning on leeching off your sister for the rest of your life, you should rely on yourself. Just think about it. At the least, you are biologically a man.”
At the least, biologically a man… His final words were rather piercing to the ears, as if suggesting that aside from his physical features, Pei Xiuran was not a man.
His mouth tightened and he frowned. Looking at Song Nanchuan, he said, “Quit looking down on others. I’ll graduate and show you just who isn’t a man!”