Chapter 99: Chapter 99

Shen Jianian stood by the car door, one foot already lifted, about to step inside. The wind blew strands of her hair onto her face, and she tucked it behind her ear with her hand, inadvertently raising her eyes. All movements were suddenly paused.

The wind stopped, and the cars passing by on the road disappeared.

Shen Jianian stared blankly at the entrance of the bar, with lights so dazzling, the man who was once as serene and luminous as the moon, now lay on the ground in a state of disarray and defeat.

On this cold night, temperatures had dropped to minus nine degrees. He wore only a thin white shirt, his figure lean, like a crumpled piece of paper that would be blown away by the wind.

Someone came out of the bar, kindly helping him up, but he couldn’t support himself and fell heavily again, his head hitting the steps as if he couldn’t feel the pain.

His hair was disheveled, yet the exposed half of his face remained handsome, despite the dense blue stubble on his chin.

Shen Jianian’s nose tingled with a sourness, and she didn’t know when her eyes had reddened.

Beicheng isn’t too big, but not too small either. She thought that even if she returned, she wouldn’t encounter Pei Che, but didn’t expect fate to play such a joke.

On the very first day of her return, she met him.

Others naturally recognized Pei Che as well.

Ye Xu, straightforward as always, spilled everything he knew: "I heard he gave up the Pei Family inheritance, ran away from home, spent his days frequenting bars all over Beicheng, drinking himself into a stupor, and even raced cars on Ling City’s so-called ’Eye of Death’ mountain roads. Isn’t he risking his life? All for a woman..."

Chen Jinhui coughed with his fist against his lips, reminding him to stop talking.

Looking at Fu Da’s expression again, it was indeed extremely unpleasant.

If someone covets the treasure he holds, it’s no wonder he looks that way.

Ye Xu didn’t think he misspoke. He simply looked down on Pei Che’s cowardly and escapist behavior, sneering, "In the midst of fortune and not knowing it, which of us lives more comfortably than him."

This was a truth indeed.

Among those present, family members all had a large number of direct and collateral relatives, their relationships intricate and contentious, fighting for inheritance from birth, and even if they couldn’t snatch it, they wanted to secure a larger share. With many brothers and sisters, they had to guard against illegitimate children appearing unexpectedly, often smiling on the surface but stabbing in the back.

Family was never a safe haven, but a gladiatorial arena, where winning and losing, life and death were the norms, not an exaggeration at all.

How can it compare to Mr. Pei’s situation? His grandfather had only one son, his father, and when it came to his father, there was only him left as an heir, without any need to fight, everything belonged to him.

What else is there to be unsatisfied with, to fall to such a state?

"Make a call to the Pei Family." Zhou Zhizhen flicked the ashes from his cigarette, the gray and white ash fell away, and the smoke he exhaled blurred his face. "No matter what, we’ve known each other, it’s not right to just watch him die."

In Pei Che’s current state, if no one intervenes, it’s not impossible for him to freeze to death by the roadside.

"Let’s go." Fu Jichen seemed not to see that person, patting Shen Jianian on the shoulder, urging her to get in the car.

Shen Jianian’s fingers, hidden in her coat, dug into her palm, unable to feel the pain, only a sense of suffocation in her heart. She lowered her eyes, letting no one see the emotions in her eyes.

But Fu Jichen saw her slightly trembling eyelashes, his hand exerted force on her shoulder, maintaining a calm facade, but his voice was somewhat low, "Get in the car."

Shen Jianian regained her senses and got into the car, her hands resting on her legs, fingers intertwined and clenched tightly, forcing herself not to look back out of the window.

The car started, leaving the bar and the person at the bar entrance far behind.

In her ears was the sound of the north wind howling, and occasionally the sound of horns, Shen Jianian’s mind unable to settle, replaying the scene of Pei Che lying thinly clad on the ground, and the bits of information revealed by Ye Xu’s words in her mind.

He said he was willing to give up the entire Pei Family for her, and it was true.

He said he was willing to trade a life for a life, and it was true.

Pei Che was atoning for his sins to her by consuming his own life...

Thinking of this, Shen Jianian’s heart felt as if gripped by an invisible hand, the wounds that had barely healed were torn open again, bleeding profusely, causing her to struggle to breathe.

Zhou Zhizhen said he would call the Pei Family to come over, Pei Che should be taken away by then, right?

Shen Jianian must admit, even now, though she hated the Pei Family so deeply, she never thought of letting Pei Che die.

Suddenly, a hand came over, wrapping around her tightening hands.

Shen Jianian was startled and looked up to meet Fu Jichen’s deep, dark eyes. He was suppressing, enduring, yet said nothing, just held her hand, momentarily interrupting her chaotic thoughts.

Fu Feibai sat in the car driven by the family chauffeur, returning to the old residence just past ten-thirty.

As soon as he entered, he was stopped by a suddenly appearing gray-blue figure, making him take a step back in fright. He stopped to see that it was Fu Yuling and sighed helplessly, "Sis, why are you wandering around the living room instead of sleeping at this late hour? You scared me to death."

Fu Yuling wore a long gray-blue gradient sweater, with the hem extending two inches below her knees, exposing slender, tight, and fair calves, holding a long-haired ragdoll cat in her arms. She narrowed her phoenix eyes, staring intently at the returning man, "Brother’s missing, and you’re missing too. Are you two up to something behind my back?"

"What bad things could I do with Brother?"

Fu Feibai took off his hat, mask, and sunglasses one by one, plopping onto the sofa with his long legs spread wide, his posture lazy.

"You guys really went out without me," Fu Yuling threw the cat from her arm, her eyes hurt, "Why didn’t you invite me?"

Fu Feibai knew his sister’s nature all too well, a spontaneous and reckless child’s temperament, and hurriedly raised his hands in surrender, "It’s not that I didn’t invite you, it’s that you always said you don’t like joining men’s gatherings. Tonight I was having dinner with Brother and Jing Hui."

Whenever he stayed at home without filming, occasionally called out by his good buddies for dinner, he would ask her if she wanted to go, but she showed no interest, even saying she disliked gatherings full of men, finding their topics unbearably dull.

So, for tonight’s gathering, he didn’t invite her. Who would have thought the young miss would be upset?

"How is this the same?" Fu Yuling angrily pounced, grabbing his arm and pounding it, "How can eating with you and Brother compare to those smelly men?"

"Alright, alright, my fault, sis, stop hitting me." Fu Feibai dodged as he pleaded, "I didn’t know Brother would bring his girlfriend tonight, if I knew I would’ve called you, you two girls could’ve been companions."

Fu Yuling’s movements suddenly paused, she lifted her head, incredulously looking at Fu Feibai, "What did you say?"

Seeing her surprised expression, Fu Feibai burst into laughter, "Were you also surprised? When Jing Hui and I first saw Brother holding a girl, we had the same shocked expression as you do now, we were stunned."

Fu Yuling slightly twisted her lips, emotionless as she said, "Was it Shen Jianian?"

"Of course it was her, who else could it be?" Fu Feibai poured himself a glass of plain water, chuckling, "She even said she watched the movies I starred in and praised my acting, you and Brother haven’t watched any of my movies, have you?"

Fu Yuling chose to selectively ignore those latter words, only asking, "You’re back, where’s Brother?"

"Sis, not to criticize, but at your age, you should also be considering a relationship," Fu Feibai smiled with deep implications, "Brother has so many places to stay, of course he’s with his girlfriend, unless you think he’d come back to play cards with us two?"

Fu Yuling gave him a sideways glance, "You seem to have a good impression of her?"

"Who? You mean Shen Jianian?" Fu Feibai pondered, objectively evaluating, "She’s quite nice. Beautiful, with grace, and she matches very well when standing with Brother. If you haven’t seen it, Brother’s protectiveness over her at the dinner table, not letting her drink, not letting her eat spicy food, only allowing nourishing soup. I’ve never seen Brother being so considerate to any girl."

Listening to his description, Fu Yuling’s face grew stiffer, saying, "Don’t forget we still have Grandpa at home. Do you think he’ll allow Shen Jianian through the door?"

"Not necessarily," Fu Feibai was not questioning the elder’s authority, he was simply unconditionally trusting in Fu Jichen’s ability, "If Brother truly sets his mind on something, there’s nothing he can’t achieve."

Fu Yuling stopped talking and got up to head upstairs.

After climbing a few steps, she suddenly halted, resting one hand on the stair railing, and turned back, saying, "Ask Brother where he’s staying for me."

Fu Feibai asked puzzled, "What are you going to do?"

Fu Yuling lifted the corners of her lips into an innocent smile, "You’ve seen Sister-in-law, now I should meet her too, or else it’d be too impolite."