Volume 1, Chapter 157: Rescue

Although Pei Jingmo has Gu Chengde’s blood flowing through his veins, it seems Gu Chengde has never truly understood this son.

Faced with Gu Chengde’s angry interrogation, Pei Jingmo remained calm and composed, a mocking curve playing at the corner of his lips. "The day you handed the company over to me, you should have expected a day like this."

Gu Chengde immediately took out his phone and made a call. Upon hearing the response on the other end, his face turned livid with rage.

"How dare you!"

"When I was a child, I refused to submit to discipline. What makes you think I would listen to you now?"

It was only then that Gu Chengde realized all of Pei Jingmo's previous obedience had been an act.

Taking Xie Liuzheng to play at Jiuhuang Mountain, and obediently accompanying her to try on wedding dresses—it had all been staged for his benefit.

"Hmph, enduring hardships to accomplish a grand ambition. I truly underestimated you."

"No! You simply assumed I would be afraid of Song Qingyu discovering my identity, and that you could use her to threaten me."

Pei Jingmo took out his phone and pulled up a photograph. "Take a look at this."

The photo showed a pregnant woman sitting on a chair beside a hospital bed, quietly gazing at the man lying upon it.

That man was none other to Gu Chengde than Gu Mubai.

In utter disbelief, Gu Chengde’s gaze involuntarily drifted down to the woman’s protruding belly.

"Her name is Pang Yunshang. She is the eldest brother's woman, and the child she is carrying in her womb belongs to him as well."

"No... Impossible..."

There was not a trace of warmth on Pei Jingmo’s face. "How can it be impossible? Do you think the eldest brother would never defy your wishes, or did you simply not expect the son you raised with your own hands to commit such an outrageous act?"

Gu Chengde’s body trembled slightly, as if his beliefs were collapsing piece by piece.

"For all this time, you have never allowed anyone to defy your paternalism. With a single phrase—that you were doing it for the sake of the Gu family and for our own good—you personally destroyed the eldest brother's dreams, and now you still expect to force me into submission."

"You have never dared to display my mother’s memorial portrait openly; isn't it purely because of the guilt gnawing at your conscience?"

"In this lifetime, I love only one woman, Song Qingyu. If you want to force me to marry someone else, you had better prepare yourself for your ancestral line to end with us."

"Ordinarily, you might have been able to fall back on the eldest brother. But now he has become a vegetative state, and his woman is not the daughter-in-law you personally handpicked, so I doubt you will ever acknowledge her or the child in her belly."

For this day, Pei Jingmo had waited a very long time.

He knew the old man's heart was hard as stone and would never grant him his wishes willingly, which was why he needed sufficient leverage in his hands before laying his cards on the table.

Now, the entire Tianqi Group was firmly within his control. Through half a year of relentless effort, he had hollowed out the old man's sphere of influence.

Coupled with the affair between Gu Mubai and Pang Yunshang, he refused to believe the old man would remain unmoved.

"Dad—"

Ever since Pei Shishi passed away, the relationship between Pei Jingmo and Gu Chengde had taken a sharp downward spiral. The number of times Pei Jingmo had called him "Dad" could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

That single word sent a jolt straight through Gu Chengde's heart.

"You should know that I am not as obedient as the eldest brother, blindly following whatever you say. Song Qingyu is my wife. If she loses even a single hair, your Tianqi Group will pay the price for your tyranny. And, of course, you will lose another son."

Gu Chengde clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on the back of his hands bulged.

Pei Jingmo's defiance, Gu Mubai's rebellion, and those chilling words struck his heart like heavy sledgehammers.

He fought to breathe, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

"Everything that needs to be said, I have said. Qingqing is still waiting for me at home, so I'll be leaving now."

As he turned to leave, Gu Chengde’s voice suddenly erupted from behind him.

"Jingmo—"

The moment Pei Jingmo turned around, a vase came crashing down toward his head.

"Crash—"

Fresh blood streamed down from Pei Jingmo’s forehead. He stood unmoving, staring fixedly at the man before him, his gaze as bloodthirsty and cold as a beast.

"You are my son. Did you really think you could threaten me?"

Pei Jingmo was just about to speak when Gu Chenxi suddenly rushed in and shoved Gu Chengde hard.

With tear-swollen, reddened eyes, she glared furiously at Gu Chengde. Seeing her, Gu Chengde panicked inwardly for a fleeting second. "Who let you in? Housekeeper Tang, take Xiaoxi outside."

Housekeeper Tang scurried in. "Xiaoxi, let's head outside first, shall we?"

Gu Chenxi pushed Housekeeper Tang away, grabbed a tissue, and standing on her tiptoes, frantically tried to press it against Pei Jingmo's wound.

"Brother..."

Pei Jingmo's gaze softened instantly as he gently patted her head. "Don't worry, Brother is fine."

Sensing the dangerous atmosphere, Housekeeper Tang immediately tried to smooth things over. "Oh dear, why is there so much bleeding? Let's go get that bandaged up first."

"It's fine."

Pei Jingmo offered Housekeeper Tang a reassuring look. "Housekeeper Tang, please take good care of Xiaoxi. I must be going."

With that, he cast a cold glance at Gu Chengde. "You have made your choice. From now on, consider that you no longer have a son like me."

As Pei Jingmo walked away, Gu Chenxi chased after him in tears. "Brother... Brother..."

Her heart-wrenching cries tore at Pei Jingmo's soul, causing him intense pain.

He halted his steps and pulled Gu Chenxi into an embrace. "Xiaoxi, don't be afraid. You will always be Brother's good little sister. Brother won't abandon you. Just wait for me a little longer; in a short while, Brother will come back to pick you up, okay?"

Gu Chenxi shook her head violently, clinging desperately to Pei Jingmo's arm. "Take me with you right now, Brother. I want to be with you. I don't want to stay with Dad."

Pei Jingmo still had to find Song Qingyu, and he did not yet know how Song Qingyu would react upon learning his true identity, making it impossible for him to take Xiaoxi away with him at the moment.

"Gu Chenxi, get back here this instant!"

Gu Chengde’s frosty voice rang out from behind. "Butler, Housekeeper Tang, pull her back in here."

The old man was furious, leaving the butler and Housekeeper Tang with no choice but to pull Gu Chenxi back inside despite her protests.

Heavy snow began to fall from the sky, drifting silently down.

Pei Jingmo walked away into the howling wind and snow, while Gu Chenxi knelt on the ground, weeping uncontrollably. "Brother, don't leave me behind—"

—

After taking a nap, Song Qingyu woke up to find that it was snowing outside.

She stood on the balcony for a while, holding Dingsheng in her arms as she watched the snowflakes drift down.

Snowy days and hotpot were a match made in heaven.

Just as she was about to send Pei Jingmo a message to ask if he wanted to have hotpot at home tonight, a sudden knock sounded at the door.

Had Pei Jingmo returned?

That was fine too; they could go to the supermarket together to buy groceries and have hotpot.

Full of eager anticipation, Song Qingyu hurried over to open the door, only to find that the person standing outside was not Pei Jingmo, but Chu Xingzhi.

The smile on her face vanished in an instant.

She said coldly, "What are you doing here?"

Dingsheng was extremely sensitive to the scent of strangers. Perhaps sensing danger, the little dog bared its teeth and let out a few growls at Chu Xingzhi.

Yet, being just a small dog, its barks carried no real threat at all.

As Dingsheng kept struggling in her arms, Song Qingyu was nearly caught off guard. In the next second, Chu Xingzhi abruptly snatched Dingsheng from her grasp and violently hurled the pet toward the sofa.

Startled, Song Qingyu glared at Chu Xingzhi in fury. "What are you d—mmph—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Chu Xingzhi pressed a handkerchief over her mouth and nose.

After a brief struggle, Song Qingyu slipped into darkness, while Chu Xingzhi pulled her tightly into his arms, a wild, frenzied gleam dancing in the depths of his eyes.

He lowered his head to kiss her forehead, his voice brimming with excitement and euphoria. "Xiaoxi, my Xiaoxi, I have come to save you!"