Chapter 90: Why
His vision grew increasingly blurred, and the gold-leaf characters swayed. In the final second before losing consciousness, the image in Pei Zhouye’s mind was of Wen Yan’s deathly pale face.
“His knees have been ground into wounds and require proper rest, otherwise it’ll be easy to leave lasting issues. Additionally, there’s extreme fatigue and a low-grade fever. Other than that, there are no major problems.”
“Understood.”
After reporting Pei Zhouye’s condition to Pei Father, the doctor left the ward.
Pei Father stood by the hospital bed, looking down at his unconscious son. The man on the bed had the perfect physique of an adult male and well-defined features—cold and mature. Even in a coma, his brow remained tightly furrowed.
The “seed of evil” that destroyed his wife, the child born of deception and desire, had now grown into the heir of the Pei family who could stand on his own.
Yu-nüshi’s pregnancy had been exceptionally painful; she endured almost every possible pregnancy reaction. Her beautiful, vibrant self was eventually tortured into exhaustion and collapse. Her body, which was not suited for childbirth to begin with, was ravaged until she was skin and bones. Due to her special physical condition, she couldn’t even choose a C-section.
After five hours of suffering in the delivery room, Pei Zhouye finally entered the world, only to be immediately shoved onto the medical staff.
To this day, Pei Father couldn’t remember what this child looked like when he was first born.
Pei Father’s gaze flickered slightly, but he eventually turned and walked quickly out of the ward.
“Watch him well. Don’t let him go out,” he instructed the bodyguards at the door.
“Yes, sir.”
Wen Yan didn’t know how to confess to his parents, and he was worried about their situation. Both Wen Father and Wen Mother held traditional professions, didn’t pay much attention to the internet, and had always been proud of him.
Now, he had become like this, having done those kinds of things.
The phone screen lit up, still with no news from Pei Zhouye. The number of reposts on Weibo was staggering, and the comment section had long since exploded.
He had just changed to a new SIM card; after his original number was leaked, the harassment calls hadn’t stopped.
Last night, he released a clarification statement regarding his relationship with Gu Yulan, and the tide of public opinion seemed to have improved somewhat. He was also in contact with a lawyer; everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.
Until he clicked on that hot search topic.
His blood froze instantly.
Numerous photos showed him entering and leaving the villa area and getting into luxury cars. Nanshi, A City—those traces of being with Pei Zhouye were now exposed.
This time, he had no way to refute it. He had indeed accepted Pei Zhouye’s long-term “keeping.” Everything that should have happened had happened—a clear-cut transactional relationship.
Pei Zhouye’s identity was kept strictly under wraps, but marketing accounts were misleading the public into thinking Wen Yan was maintaining relationships with different people. Wen Yan’s application for the postgraduate recommendation was also exposed to the public.
Public opinion flipped again, and overwhelming insults swept in.
[ I knew it wasn’t that simple! Look at the timeline yourself; even after the breakup, he was still frequently entering and leaving luxury villas… ] [ Where did he find so many rich heirs? There’s one in A City and one in Nanshi. This is a seamless transition. ] [ If finding a job was half as easy as him finding sugar daddies, I’d be set. ] [ Requesting a tutorial. ] [ Tutorial +1. ] …
The screen full of “Requesting a tutorial” stung Wen Yan’s eyes.
These three words spread like a virus, as if his life had become a farce for people to spectate. He had never intended to get involved in Gu Yulan and Pei Zhouye’s circle, nor had he ever thought his photos and name would be constantly exposed before the public.
Wen Yan bit his lower lip hard, his breathing becoming increasingly rapid, his chest feeling as if a giant boulder were pressing down on it.
A year ago today, he was still surrounded by elders at his cousin’s wedding banquet, receiving their praise.
“What do you want to do in the future?”
“I just want my family to be safe, to pass the postgraduate exam, and to be a robotics engineer.”
At the time, the room full of people laughed at him for being too smooth-sailing.
Wen Yan gave a bitter smile, his eyes dry and aching as he mechanically scrolled down to another tag.
[Evidence of Postgraduate Recommendation Application! Screenshot from A Da’s Official Website]
[ Holy crap, are they really going to give him the spot in the end? His sugar daddies are so many and so powerful—what does that make those of us grinding for GPA? If you’d said so earlier, I would’ve gone and sold myself too [Dog head] ] [ Capital really is rigging the game. ]
A few scattered comments defended him:
[ But isn’t it unsurprising that WY got the spot? He was first in comprehensive evaluations for three years and has many competition awards. Anyone who’s been to university should know how much weight that carries, right? Leaving everything else aside, these grades are incredible. Being recommended to his own school is normal. ] [ WY’s water army is here already? ] [ Their homepage even reposted his videos. ‘Face dogs’ let their morals follow the facial features. ] [ If you have money, you can keep someone too. If you’re poor, you can only be a loyal watchdog for your master online [Smirk] ] [ If he’s really that amazing, why not take the entrance exam himself? Give the spot to an ordinary person. ] [ Agreed. If his grades are really that good, he’d be able to pass the entrance exam on his own, right? Since he’s so great, why not give the spot to someone else and just take the exam? ]
There were many such comments, each one high and mighty, speaking as if it were a simple matter.
The phone vibrated again, and a message from the Daoyuan popped up.
[ Wen Yan, the school knows your grades have always been excellent, but the current impact of public opinion is too great. It’s suggested that you take a leave of absence to adjust for a while. As for the recommendation, it might be difficult to push forward later; you should be psychologically prepared. ]
With a buzz, his ears rang, and the edges of his vision began to darken.
The phone slipped from his fingers and hit the floor with a dull thud. He slowly squatted down, forehead resting against his knees, an oppressed sob squeezing out of his throat.
Why?
He wasn’t one to complain or blame others, but right now, he really wanted to ask…
Why him?
A few more messages popped up one by one, the phone buzzing several times on the floor.
Shen Yao was both anxious and enraged in the company of his second brother, Shen Li. The fury on his face was impossible to hide.
Wang Shu and Shen Li were both in the office; Shen Li was at the desk, while Wang Shu was on the sofa.
Only Shen Yao was standing, pacing back and forth on the floor, the heels of his leather shoes thumping against the ground. He couldn’t get in touch with Pei Zhouye, nor could he find Wen Yan. The direction of the wind online had long since turned upside down—even spliced fake videos and outrageously photoshopped pictures were spreading like wildfire.
Wang Shu lifted his gaze to look at him, wanting to say “don’t panic,” but the words died in his throat. Saying such a thing at a time like this felt too much like an idle bystander speaking without understanding the pain.
“Sit down for a while. I’ve already arranged for people to handle the PR.” Shen Li tapped on the keyboard a few times. The notification sounds from the computer were irritating, so he simply turned off the alerts.
He naturally understood Shen Yao’s anxiety.
Shen Yao had been pampered by the family since he was a child; he was loyal and simple-minded. When he first saw the gloomy Pei Zhouye at several banquets, he had followed his family’s instructions to avoid him. Later, when a ten-year-old Shen Yao and several others of similar age were racing horses, the malice of the youths was too simple yet bold. Just to win the race, someone had secretly tampered with his horse.
If Pei Zhouye hadn’t risked his life to save him, Shen Yao would likely have died there or been disabled for life.
Now that Shen Yao placed so much importance on Pei Zhouye’s affairs, Shen Li was naturally willing to help.
Shen Li rubbed the space between his brows, the blue light from the screen turning his face a pale hue.
“The hot searches are all being controlled by the Pei family. They’re fighting among themselves internally. Pei Zhouye’s side is suppressing the news, but President Pei is fanning the flames.”
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