Chapter 5: A Visitor—It is the Young Master of the Gu Family, Gu Chuanzhou. Part 1
Pei Wang had no idea what his friends had been whispering about with that little beggar.
He only saw them all smiling and laughing, looking like they had already become one big group. Especially Yu Xi, who was sitting in the middle; the initial restlessness on his face had long since vanished. He would occasionally chime in, his lips curling up to reveal a bit of his canine teeth, smiling very sweetly.
This was the exact opposite of the scene Pei Wang had wanted to see.
The sparkling wine in his hand tasted like a mix of complicated emotions. When he saw them actually lining up to add Yu Xi as a friend, Pei Wang could finally no longer contain himself and stepped forward.
“What on earth are you guys…”
Before he could finish, someone immediately pulled him aside, afraid he would ruin the current harmonious atmosphere.
“We’ve already tested him for you.”
Pei Wang frowned. “And?”
“He doesn’t have any issues. Don’t overthink it in the future.” Seeing that Pei Wang still wanted to say something, the person tugged at his arm. “Xiao Xi is a good kid, he doesn’t have any bad intentions. Don’t you trust our judgment of people?”
People whose families have reached a certain level, even if they are “useless” second-generation rich kids, are all shrewd individuals. They have seen all kinds of people, and they can tell at a touch what kind of intentions someone has when approaching them.
They had seen plenty of sycophants and hypocrites. Someone like Yu Xi… was quite a rarity.
It was truly strange; he made people want to like him at first sight.
“So, be a bit nicer to him and stop bullying him, do you hear me?”
“…”
Pei Wang gave a non-committal “Oh.”
At that moment, someone walked back in from outside, acting all mysterious. “Family, guess what I just discovered!”
This didn’t manage to interrupt the crowd gathered in the corner sofa area. Their attention was still on the youth sitting in the center, arguing incessantly about what color clothes suited him best.
But the person who entered didn’t lose interest and continued excitedly, “I saw a waiter waiting outside the door of the Cloud One private room!”
This sentence finally caught some people’s attention.
“Cloud One? Is there someone inside??”
The person who entered said, “Definitely. I saw someone bringing in wine and a fruit platter.”
Someone let out a “Wow.” “Did you see who was inside?”
“I don’t know about that…”
“I bet it’s the Sheng family twins. After all, no one else is back yet.”
“True. Lin Shuhuai is abroad, and Zhang Xingkuo is still in another province for a competition… As for the one from the Gu family, you might not see him once a year, so it definitely isn’t him.”
Yu Xi, who hadn’t understood the topic and was zoning out, suddenly looked up. His eyes, pure and bright like obsidian, opened wide as he pricked up his ears to listen.
The person who discovered the news suggested, “Do you think we should go to that room and say hello?”
“Huh? Are you serious?”
“If you want to climb the social ladder with them, I suggest you put that thought to rest. Their circle isn’t something you can just intervene in casually.”
“Greeting them elsewhere is fine, but don’t even think about entering that room. Only their closest friends have the right to go in.”
Clearly, no one thought it was a good idea.
“Sigh… although everyone’s family is well-off, there’s a world of difference between rich people. Just take this club for instance; who besides the one from the Gu family could start it? And he’s only a few years older than us…”
“Don’t even compare yourself to the one named Gu. He’s basically not human, okay? You won’t find one in a thousand who can reach his height.”
“Exactly. He’s long been sitting at the same table talking to our parents’ generation. Except for those few he grew up with, I haven’t seen him get truly close to any peer.”
The praise and admiration in their words were undeniable, and Yu Xi heard every bit of it.
He lowered his long eyelashes, hiding the emotions in his eyes.
The topic passed quickly and wasn’t mentioned again, and the previous atmosphere returned, but Yu Xi remained somewhat distracted after that.
“Are you a bit tired? Should we head back early?” Da Jin spoke up at the right time.
“Ah, going back so early? I was thinking of having dinner with Xiao Xi.”
The others weren’t happy either, even suggesting that everyone should just go to the Pei house for dinner since Pei Wang’s mother wasn’t home.
Listening to them make decisions for themselves, Pei Wang was a bit speechless. “Hey…”
“What? Not happy? Don’t get it wrong; we want to see Xiao Xi home and then accompany him for lunch. You can go wherever you want to play.”
Even though he knew it was a joke, Pei Wang was still quite annoyed.
However, as luck would have it, speak of the devil and the devil appears. The door to the private room was suddenly pushed open with a “bang” from the outside, followed by the crisp, decisive sound of high heels.
This sound immediately awakened a conditioned reflex deeply ingrained in Pei Wang’s blood. Before he could even turn to look at the newcomer, his skin tightened as a mental alarm went off.
Sure enough, the next second, he heard that nightmarish voice.
“Pei! Wang!”
At the same time, his ear was yanked up by a hand, twisted a full three hundred and sixty degrees.
The pain made Pei Wang lose all his “young master” airs. He shrunk his neck and pleaded with the newcomer, “I was wrong, I was wrong! Let go, my ear’s going to fall off! Mom—”
The newcomer was Pei Wang’s mother, who was supposed to be abroad—Pei Lexin.
She was still wearing a crisp, serious business suit, looking travel-worn as she hadn’t even taken off her coat. She had rushed over directly from the airport, sweating from the anxiety.
This small but formidable woman possessed no small amount of strength. With just one hand, she made her son plead for mercy repeatedly. “What did I tell you before I left? I told you to take good care of Xiao Xi, and you brought him here instead!”
Pei Lexin was very famous in her circle. In her youth, she enjoyed the world and had a vast network of friends. After her parents’ health failed, she took over the family business as the only daughter. Relying on her own ability, she carved out a world for herself, strengthening and expanding the small family business bit by bit.
At first, during a business dinner, her counterpart slighted her gender and spoke flippantly, “advising” her that a woman shouldn’t be too strong and should find a man to take charge. She immediately froze her face and left the table, naturally ending the cooperation. Afterward, she used her vast network to repeatedly sabotage or intercept the other party’s deals, leaving them no way out until the man finally lowered his head and came to her door to apologize. Only then did she let it go.
After that battle, no one in the industry dared to underestimate her because of her delicate appearance. A reputation spread that one could provoke anyone but “Daughter Pei,” as her decisive, straightforward, and vigorous personality became well-known.
Now, the juniors in the room looked like mice seeing a cat, instinctively straightening their postures and lowering their heads, not daring to make a sound.
Only one person spoke up softly: “Auntie Pei…”
“Sigh.” Pei Lexin responded immediately, her face changing instantly as she gave Yu Xi a gentle smile. “Don’t worry, Xiao Xi. I’ll teach this unfilial son a good lesson for bullying you.”
As she spoke, she increased the pressure on the ear, and Pei Wang howled even louder.
Yu Xi quickly grabbed Pei Lexin’s other hand and shook it. “Auntie Pei, he didn’t bully me. He brought me out to play. Please let him go.”
Pei Lexin didn’t quite believe him. She knew her son’s nature best; bringing him here was definitely not with good intentions. But seeing Yu Xi was truly anxious, she huffed and let go. “I’ll let him off for now for your sake. Come on, let’s go home.”
…
Pei Lexin came like a whirlwind and left just as quickly, leading the two boys away, leaving the room full of people staring at each other.
And everything that happened here from beginning to end was captured by the cameras installed in the four corners of the ceiling, projected flawlessly onto a wide electronic screen.
In a private room separated by several walls, called “Cloud One.”
The thick curtains were tightly closed, letting not a single ray of light leak in. The dark environment allowed the only glowing screen to perfectly present ultra-high-definition quality, showing four different angles of surveillance footage in minute detail.
On the long table where the monitor was placed, a well-defined hand rested.
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