Chapter 35: Are You Crazy?

Pei Heng lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, his expression calm.

“Didn’t you say you were going to have dinner here tonight?”

“I told the chef to prepare it for you later in the evening.”

Gu Jinling: “…”

He looked at the two people standing together—a handsome man and a beautiful woman. They were indeed pleasing to the eye.

But he couldn’t help grinding his teeth, pointing at Pei Heng accusingly:

“Pei Xiao Heng, you’re something else. You’ve totally forgotten your friends for a woman, you—”

His gaze landed on Jiang Yaoyao’s innocent face, and his words became mumbled gibberish:

“#%￥@&…”

The handsome man raised a thick black eyebrow.

Gu Jinling: Married a wife and forgot his mother.

He complained inwardly but didn’t say it aloud.

---

The food today suited Jiang Yaoyao’s taste perfectly.

During dinner, Pei Heng and Gu Jinling chatted about business. She listened in a daze, only noticing how Gu Jinling looked increasingly defeated.

Before long, Gu Jinling poured himself a full glass of wine. The previously cheerful expression on his face faded, replaced with quiet gloom.

Pei Heng clinked his glass lightly against his. “If you insist, you could go down that path.”

Gu Jinling shook his head. “You know my parents only have me. I’ve been relying on their love and playing around for years.”

“My dad is getting old. Even though my mom and a nutritionist take care of him, he was diagnosed with high blood pressure recently.”

“I can’t keep being a useless rich kid hiding behind him anymore.”

Gu Jinling sighed. “Forget it. After I finish this movie, I should go home and take over the family business properly.”

Jiang Yaoyao sat quietly beside them, eating her meal.

Pei Heng occasionally glanced at her and used the serving chopsticks to pick up dishes she liked but couldn’t reach.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside.

Pei Heng’s assistant walked in briskly, glanced at the people at the table, hesitating to speak.

The man with a cool, refined demeanor slowly lifted his eyelids. “What is it?”

The assistant stepped forward, bending slightly as if to whisper something in his ear.

Pei Heng remained expressionless. “No outsiders here. Speak directly.”

Gu Jinling, who was cracking open a crab, perked up his ears, clearly intrigued.

The assistant hesitated before finally speaking:

“Mr. Pei, there’s news from Taihe Hospital—Elder Pei took his wife to the obstetrics department for a check-up.”

As the words fell, Gu Jinling’s crab leg dropped from his hand.

Pei Heng’s strikingly handsome face remained as composed as ever, a faint smile lingering at the corner of his lips. He replied nonchalantly:

“Oh? Isn’t that a good thing?”

The assistant said nothing.

Gu Jinling glanced around, then lowered his voice. “How is this a good thing?”

“Pei Xiao Heng, are you crazy?!”

“Your father is already so biased he could favor someone across the Pacific Ocean. If he and your stepmother have another little brother, won’t that split your inheritance?”

“And seriously, what kind of sorcery did your father use? He’s practically got one foot in the grave, yet he’s still having a kid? By the time that baby is born, he’ll be old enough to call you Dad!”

Jiang Yaoyao froze.

The wheels of fate were turning.

Everything was unfolding just like in the original novel.

She remembered this plotline.

The villainous Pei Heng’s stepmother had a son, flaunted it, and his father planned to take back control. The whole family teamed up against him.

But Pei Heng didn’t care at all.

When the baby was born, he even casually gifted a jade bracelet worth millions.

At the time, everyone thought Pei Heng had lost his mind.

Most of the Pei family’s assets were already in his hands. With the sudden appearance of a baby brother, part of his inheritance would surely be taken away.

Yet the bloodthirsty, psychotic Pei Heng not only allowed the child to be born but even sent a lavish gift for his full-moon celebration.

Not just the people in his social circle—even the readers of the novel were baffled.

Many left angry comments, accusing the author of ruining the villain’s character.

But just a few chapters later, everything flipped—

The stepmother was caught cheating.

The affair was exposed on a big screen.

The baby wasn’t even Pei Linhai’s biological child.

Pei Linhai, who had been grinning stupidly seconds before, was publicly humiliated.

His reputation was utterly ruined, and he disappeared from the public eye for a long time.

As for the stepmother, Wei Rou—she was thrown out of the family without mercy.

Penniless, she returned to her maternal home, only to be despised and cast out by her own brother.

The next time she appeared in the novel, she was homeless—hair a tangled mess, dirt embedded under her fingernails, scavenging food from trash cans.

She had gone completely insane.

Jiang Yaoyao snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Pei Heng again.

So… did Pei Heng already know from the beginning that his stepmother was carrying another man’s child?

Beside her, Gu Jinling was still passionately defending him.

Pei Heng’s eyelids lowered slightly, his faint smile elegant and composed—

Like a noble young master straight out of a novel.

Only his assistant’s mouth twitched.

Whenever Mr. Pei smiled like this…

Someone was definitely about to suffer.

---

Lately, Pei Heng seemed quite busy.

That night, he sent a voice message to Jiang Yaoyao:

“Go to sleep first, don’t wait for me.”

The night sky was deep, scattered with endless stars.

The night breeze swayed the curtains, the tassels brushing gently against Jiang Yaoyao’s fair, slender legs.

She held her phone and replayed the message.

The man’s voice was deep, magnetic, and low.

It made her ears tingle.

There was nothing inappropriate in his tone—it was perfectly polite.

Yet, to Jiang Yaoyao, it felt like he was coaxing her.

Magnetically cool, yet irresistibly gentle.

Like the way a boyfriend would speak sweetly to his girlfriend.

Even the words he said were teasing.

“Go to sleep first, don’t wait for me.”

It was a simple, innocent goodnight message, yet with his alluring voice, it sounded just like…

Like a husband whispering to his wife before bed.

Jiang Yaoyao’s eyelashes trembled violently at the thought.

Flustered, she buried her blushing face under the covers.

---

Meanwhile.

Tall buildings blocked out the moonlight, leaving the surroundings in darkness.

The shadows stretched long under the faint light.

Yet the man walking through them moved at an unhurried pace, his silhouette blending seamlessly into the night.

Reaching a corner, he lifted a hand with elegant precision.

His bodyguards immediately halted behind him.

Once the footsteps stopped, Pei Heng turned the corner and walked deeper inside.

A decayed old villa stood in the darkness, abandoned long ago.

He pushed open the door to the basement.

A bound woman stiffened, her ears straining to listen.

But with her eyes covered, she couldn’t see anything.

“I am Yan Leyao!”

The woman’s hoarse voice screamed, her lipstick long since smudged, and her makeup already streaked and patchy.

“I am Yan Leyao! I have a lot of money! My entertainment company is also very rich!”

“Let me go! Please! Please let me go! I will give you a lot of money!”

“I won’t hold you accountable for these past few days! Please! Please let me go!”

The man who strolled in from the doorway showed a hint of displeasure on his face. The people guarding the room instantly understood his intention and grabbed the woman, whose hands and feet were bound, dragging her out.

Her heavy body scraped against the floor, making a harsh friction sound. Yan Leyao sobbed and wailed, her face drenched in tears.

She had no idea who had kidnapped her.

Over the years, she had offended too many people in the industry.

At first, she thought it was an old enemy seeking revenge.

But her captors only locked her up—they didn’t beat her, nor did they allow anyone to violate her.

So she guessed that they might be holding her for ransom.

However, no matter how she probed, the people who delivered her meals every day remained silent.

As a well-known actress in the entertainment circle, Yan Leyao knew she was beautiful. Her stunning face had always given her an edge.

In her desperation, she thought of a plan.

One day, when the man came to deliver food, she loosened her clothes and leaned against his leg—

He was a burly man, his body packed with solid muscle, clearly used to manual labor.

She used the tricks she had honed over the years to please men, trying to seduce this lowly kidnapper.

Her full chest pressed against his leg, her red lips whispering seductive words.

But the kidnapper remained unmoved.

After kicking her away, he simply turned and left.

Yan Leyao, having failed in her attempt, lay crumpled in the filthy room like a dead dog. She had assumed things would continue as before, that she just had to wait patiently.

But she never expected that from that moment on, everything would change.

The next day, the kidnapper dragged her up. Yan Leyao couldn’t see where she was going, but she knew she was being dragged far away—so far that her dress was torn to shreds.

She was pulled into an elevator and then thrown onto a hard floor.

The man lifted her high into the air, then suddenly let go—

Yan Leyao still remembered the sensation vividly.

She plummeted down, tumbling down the staircase, step by step.

Her head, back, and legs hit the steps painfully. She screamed helplessly, tears streaming down her face.

But that was only the beginning.

The man repeated the process over and over, lifting her up and pushing her down again.

She had no idea how many times it happened.

By the time she was dragged back to her room, Yan Leyao felt like there wasn’t a single patch of unbruised skin left on her body.

Since then, she had faced this torment every day.

Today, Yan Leyao seemed to sense an impending doom. She struggled fiercely, causing her captor to tighten his grip around her throat, fearing she might run into Mr. Pei.

In the chaos, Yan Leyao’s hand brushed against a shoe.

Even though she was blindfolded, the sensation in her fingertips told her this was a pair of expensive handmade leather shoes.

In an instant, Yan Leyao felt a surge of hope. She clung desperately to the man’s leg.

“Please, let me go—”

“Please, I am Yan Leyao! You might have kidnapped the wrong person!”

“Big brother, big brother—”

She pressed her body against him in an overly practiced manner, her movements fluid as if she had rehearsed them countless times.

“As long as you let me go, you can do whatever you want with me! I’ll be your mistress—do whatever you like with me…”

“I used to be with Luan Feng, and Chen Su, and Dong Xingwang—”

She rattled off several names of powerful men.

“They all kept me! If you’re with me, it’ll definitely boost your status!”

The man she clung to did not kick her away, as if her words had intrigued him.

Yan Leyao trembled with excitement.

Moments later, a hand grabbed her filthy hair, yanking her away from the man’s leg. His movements were rough, but in the face of survival, nothing else mattered.

She hurriedly tried to prove herself, and the man seemed interested.

“Oh? Dong Xingwang—the former chairman of Beijing’s business association, Dong Xingwang?”

The man’s voice was cold, carrying just the right amount of curiosity.

Yan Leyao’s entire body shook with excitement. “Yes! That’s him! You know Dong Xingwang too, right?”

“I’ve been with many powerful men before! I even learned how to properly serve them! You should try me—I promise you won’t be disappointed!”

A cold laugh filled the air, chilling to the bone.

“Oh? Then tell me more.”

“I must say, Miss Yan, I do find you… intriguing.”

Yan Leyao spilled everything in one breath.

She spoke so quickly, terrified that if she slowed down, he would change his mind.

The entertainment industry was indeed filthy. The details she revealed made the bodyguards frown in disgust.

Good thing none of them had touched her—who knew what diseases she might have!

Pei Heng had a faint smile on his lips, but it was far from warm. Instead, it carried a sinister chill.

When she finished, he lifted his gaze, his deep eyes filled with mockery.

“I’ve told you everything, sir—”

Yan Leyao clung tightly to his shoe, rubbing her cheek against it. Her voice was sickly sweet.

“Can you take me in now?”

Since she couldn’t see, her sense of touch was heightened.

She could feel the piercing gaze fixed on her, as if it could see right through her flesh and into her very soul.

The next moment, the fingers gripping her skin suddenly tightened, their strength making her wince in pain.

The bodyguard gave her hair a hard yank, forcing her to release the man’s leg.

“Not bad.”

The deep, icy voice carried a hint of approval, as if rewarding her.

“Miss Yan, you’ve done well.”

“Alright then, stay here for one more night. Tomorrow, I’ll have them send you home.”

The unexpected news of her release nearly made Yan Leyao burst into tears.

Footsteps echoed as the man walked toward the door.

The bodyguards followed him out.

Outside, Pei Heng glanced down, looking at his shoe with a trace of disgust.

“Did you get the recording?” he asked.

One of the bodyguards nodded, holding a small recording device in his hand.

The strikingly handsome man remained expressionless, his gaze indifferent as he gave a casual glance.

“Upload it.”