Chapter 88: I’m Sorry
Inside the main hall of the residence.
When Pei Zhouye pushed the door and entered, Lin Seran stood up abruptly from the sofa, instinctively leaning closer to Pei’s father. His fingers curled slightly, and his eyes were red, as if he had suffered a massive grievance.
“Seran, sit down.” Pei’s father’s voice was majestic and carried a heavy pressure. “I want to see what he thinks he can do.”
Pei Zhouye didn’t rush forward. He stood his ground, his gaze cold as it landed on Lin Seran. “Lin Seran, do you think I can’t find out, or do you think I don’t dare move against you?”
Lin Seran looked delicate, innocent, and pure. He lifted his tearful eyes to look at Pei Zhouye, his tone still sounding like he was acting spoiled: “Brother Zhouye, I truly didn’t know it would be like this. I just… didn’t want you to be tricked…”
“You didn’t know?” Pei Zhouye let out a low laugh, his eyes filled with a forest of frost. “You didn’t know about the foul things Gu Yulan did? How did Wen Yan get in your way that you had to have the PR firm spread rumors?”
He stepped forward slowly. Several servants instinctively wanted to block him, but they froze the moment they met his gaze, not daring to actually step in. Lin Seran backed away, tripped by the sofa behind him, and stumbled into it.
Pei Zhouye didn’t step further. He leaned down slightly, staring into Lin Seran’s eyes. “Or are you so used to these methods that you can’t even be bothered to hide them anymore?”
Lin Seran’s face turned pale, and his lips trembled, but no words came out.
Pei’s father stood up abruptly and roared, “Pei Zhouye! What kind of attitude is this? How did you promise your Uncle Lin on his deathbed?!”
Pei Zhouye straightened up, his eyes chillingly intimidating. “I will go to Uncle Lin’s grave to plead for forgiveness, but as for today’s matter, it’s not over.”
“Bastard!” Pei’s father was enraged, his face turning red with anger as he slammed the table. “For an irrelevant person, you’re going to ignore the debt of gratitude you owe your Uncle Lin?!”
He barked an order: “Where is everyone? Lock him up! I’ll personally take you to repent at your Uncle Lin’s grave!”
Four bodyguards rushed in from the corner, all in black suits, yet no one dared to truly lay a hand on Pei Zhouye.
Caught under his father’s sharp glare, the leading bodyguard looked troubled. “Young Master…”
Pei Zhouye lowered his gaze. After a long while, he spoke: “I’ll go.”
On the phone.
Wen Yan listened to Shen Yao’s somewhat rushed tone on the other end: “Wen Yan, Brother Pei really didn’t know about this.”
“You don’t need to tell me these things.” Wen Yan’s tone was weary and bored; he didn’t want to hear explanations anymore. Everyone’s explanations were just excuses. Gu Yulan had given him many explanations in the past, and they were all lies. In the end, the harm was real, like a whip lashing his body, leaving bloody wounds that were hard to heal.
He continued: “In a little while, I’ll leave the lounge. Once the internet stuff is over, I’ll handle things myself. I’m already grateful enough that you aren’t making things harder for me anymore. There’s nothing to explain. I’m hanging up. Shen Yao, I’m not the same kind of person as you guys. Your relationship is so good, so stop forcing me into the middle of it.”
The relationship between Shen Yao, Pei Zhouye, and Lin Seran was so good that Wen Yan had heard it from many different people. The harm Lin Seran caused couldn’t be compensated for, and it was done using Pei Zhouye’s influence.
Wen Yan truly was about to hang up. Shen Yao didn’t know how to explain and was becoming frantic. “Wen Yan, listen to me! Lin Seran and Brother Pei aren’t what you think… Lin Seran was adopted by the Lin family, and later, Uncle Lin died saving Brother Pei. Brother Pei has always felt he owed him, which is why he’s always been so indulgent…”
Hearing that the call wasn’t disconnected, Shen Yao breathed a sigh of relief, though his heart felt even more oppressed. He found it difficult to speak, but he had to cherish the time Wen Yan was being patient.
“But Brother Pei truly doesn’t have those kinds of feelings for Lin Seran!” Shen Yao realized what he had said and hurriedly explained, trying to find evidence from his memory. “Brother Pei stayed in Nanshi for a whole year in high school, and then he was abroad for university. He didn’t have much private contact with him. Lin Seran said he wanted to be a star, so Brother Pei found people to pave the way. The PR firms and managers were all prepared for him, but Brother Pei never managed them. Brother Pei had no idea about Lin Seran stealing resources or buying press releases, and the people on Lin Seran’s team wouldn’t tell him those things.
But he’s different with you! He truly likes you; all his attention is on you. He’s busy every day—I can’t even find time to see him—but he keeps going to find you…”
“Are you done?” Wen Yan asked him flatly.
Shen Yao didn’t react. “Huh?”
Wen Yan’s voice carried an undisguisable exhaustion. He said, “Shen Yao, stop explaining for them. It’s meaningless. I have nothing to do with your affairs. Don’t come looking for me again.”
The sound of the call disconnecting rang once before Shen Yao snapped out of it. It seemed they really had brought more negative influence into Wen Yan’s life. Shen Yao hung his head, wondering if he had messed things up.
Pei’s father arranged for five bodyguards to escort Pei Zhouye to the cemetery. It took two hours to drive there, and it was completely dark by the time they arrived. Pei’s father and Lin Seran didn’t come.
Rows of tombstones were arranged in order. Every stretch of road had a streetlamp, its glow diffusing into yellowish halos in the thick mist, illuminating the cold inscriptions on the stones. The entire cemetery was a dusty gray, solemn and heavy.
The cemetery caretaker saw the group approaching, and upon seeing the cold-faced man among them, he felt a chill down his spine. Why would a normal person come to a cemetery in the middle of the night? Furthermore, the cold aura and expression on that man made him look like he had crawled out from underground.
“Sorry, it’s past visiting hours. Please come back tomorrow.” The caretaker ran over with an emergency light, the beam sweeping across the group’s hard faces.
As the bodyguards were about to call and find a way to enter, Pei Zhouye spoke up. “Pei Zhouye. Here to see Lin Zheng.”
Lin Zheng was the name of Lin Seran’s adoptive father.
The caretaker was stunned for a moment, searching for those two names in his memory. It was written in the employee handbook. Before he could recall it, the phone in his pocket rang. After a few instructions on the other end, the caretaker hung up, his tone becoming more respectful.
“Please follow me this way…”
The late-night cemetery was freezing, the cluster of tombstones turning a greenish-gray under the moonlight. Pei Zhouye finally stopped in front of one stone.
[ Grave of Lin Zheng ]
The bodyguards and the caretaker kept their distance, waiting nearby.
Pei Zhouye didn’t hesitate. He bent his knees, his kneecaps hitting the granite sacrificial platform with a heavy thud. The people in the distance couldn’t hear what he was saying.
Pei Zhouye heard himself say:
“Uncle Lin, I’m sorry. I will not forgive Lin Seran on Wen Yan’s behalf.”
Translator’s Note:
A few things to keep in mind:
- 1: In Chinese internet culture, replying with “1” is a quick way of saying “received,” “yes,” or “I’m here.” It’s very low-effort, which perfectly shows Wen Yan’s current attitude toward Pei Zhouye.
- Xuechang (学长): This is the honorific for a male senior student. Even though Wen Yan is being slandered, his junior fans still call him this.
- Engagement: In high-society novels, a formal engagement is a powerful PR move. It turns “illicit affair” into “future marriage,” which is why Pei Zhouye keeps pushing it.
- The Debt of Gratitude: This is a huge trope in C-novels. Because Lin Seran’s father died saving Pei Zhouye, the Pei family feels they can never truly punish him. Pei Zhouye kneeling at the grave is his way of saying, “I’ll honor your sacrifice, but I won’t let your son hurt the person I love.”
See you in the next chapter!
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