Chapter 29

Back at Yu Hua Mingyuan, Old Master Pei looked at the gift boxes being carried in by the people below and said to Shang Yanci, “You’re still bringing all this stuff back to your own home. Don’t do it next time.”

Shang Yanci: “I understand, Grandpa.”

Hearing his address, Old Master Pei didn’t feel any discomfort. His eldest grandson, Pei Yunzhi, was older than Shang Yanci by one year.

Old Master Pei: “Yanci, come play a game of chess with me. Let those two grandmothers and granddaughter chat.”

Shang Yanci: “Okay.”

Pei Yuning hugged the meowing kitten, rubbing its soft chin and asking, “Jinjin, have you been good these past few days?”

Jinjin: “Meow~ Meow~”

Old Mrs. Pei: “She’s still sleeping in your bedroom. I moved her bed, but she sneaked back at night.”

Pei Yuning felt a pang of sympathy: “Poor little kitty.”

Jinjin: “Meow~”

Old Mrs. Pei chuckled softly: “She’ll come back to stay often on weekends. You two are busy with work, so even if you take her to Wentang Palace, you won’t have time to take care of her.”

Pei Yuning: “Okay.”

Old Mrs. Pei asked, “Have you been comfortable these past few days?”

“It’s been pretty good.” Pei Yuning said, “He’s not used to having outsiders at home, so usually, there’s just an aunt who cooks for us, and she leaves at night. Although it’s just him and me at home, it’s not lonely.”

Old Mrs. Pei: “How are you two getting along?”

Pei Yuning blinked: “Just getting along like that.”

Old Mrs. Pei: “You know what I’m asking. How are you two developing your relationship?”

Although Shang Yanci had suggested that the Pei family elders could add to the contents of the marriage agreement, after everyone knew about the existing terms, no one added anything. Only they, as husband and wife, had seen the complete contents of the marriage agreement.

Pei Yuning extracted the daily routine she could talk about: “We eat breakfast together in the morning, and we spend the day and afternoon in our respective companies. When we get home at night, I wait for him to have dinner together. After dinner, we go for a walk hand-in-hand in the back garden, and then we go back to the bedroom to rest.”

“He exercises in the morning. He’s a person with a regular lifestyle and healthy sleep habits. He doesn’t like me eating too many snacks, so he makes cakes and desserts for me, and he also boils me a cup of vanilla milk before bed.” Pei Yuning added.

Old Mrs. Pei looked at her, her eyes filled with a gentle smile. She felt reassured and hugged Pei Yuning, rubbing her shoulders: “It’s good to be able to live a peaceful and stable life like this. Yanci is a steady and reserved person. I feel very at ease with you being with him.”

Pei Yuning: “Yeah, he’s really good.”

Pei Yuchen woke up from a nap, went downstairs, and saw his beloved sister sitting on the sofa, playing with Jinjin with a cat toy.

He walked over, pinched her face, and teased, “Come on, little pitiful one, let brother see if you’ve cried.”

Pei Yuning slapped his hand away: “Brother, please be a grown-up with boundaries.”

Pei Yuchen sat down beside her and said carelessly with a chuckle, “Even if you ask me to, I won’t. What’s a boundary? I’ve never heard of it.”

Pei Yuning was speechless. She talked to him about something serious: “I was passing by the pantry earlier and heard that there’s a crazy private fan who’s been stalking and retaliating against Xu Wei under the guise of being Qingzhu’s fan. Has this affected Qingzhu?”

Pei Yuchen snorted coldly: “In the entertainment industry, ‘fans’ actions are the responsibility of the idol.’ When it first broke out, people were saying all sorts of nasty things. It turned out that the private fan wasn’t a fan of Qingzhu at all, but a fan of another female star, who was deliberately trying to step on her to rise to the top.”

Pei Yuning sighed: “The waters of the entertainment industry are so deep. Your follow-up explanation work wasn’t done well either. Many people still have preconceived notions and think that the private fan is Qingzhu’s.”

Pei Yuchen chuckled carelessly: “Adult matters, kids shouldn’t worry about it.”

Pei Yunzhi returned home. The hall seemed lively. He lowered his eyes and saw Pei Yuning’s high heels on the doormat, next to a pair of men’s leather shoes.

Walking into the hall, Shang Yanci was playing chess with his grandfather. His father and second uncle were watching from the side. His sister was surrounded by his grandmother and second aunt on the sofa, chatting. Yuchen was standing by the window, making a phone call.

His second uncle saw him first: “Yunzhi is back.”

Pei Yunzhi: “Second Uncle.”

Second Uncle smiled: “Next time, you can try playing chess with Yanci. You two should be evenly matched.”

Old Master Pei nodded in agreement, carefully observing the chessboard layout.

Shang Yanci calmly placed a white piece, looking at Pei Yunzhi: “Then when Big Brother has time.”

Pei Yunzhi was a well-mannered person. He nodded politely to Shang Yanci and said softly, “Okay.”

With the final white piece falling, the outcome of the game was decided.

Old Master Pei put down his black piece, his face flushed with exhilaration and admiration. He said with conviction, “Yanci wins.”

Shang Yanci said modestly, “It was a close win. Grandpa was letting me win.”

Old Master Pei chuckled and didn’t say anything. During the game, Shang Yanci had deliberately let him win a few pieces.

At first, Old Master Pei was a little unhappy. Of course, one should play chess with their true skills, and that’s how you respect your opponent.

But as the game progressed, he gradually realized that from the moment he placed his first white piece, Shang Yanci had been laying out a carefully calculated strategy.

Not only did he arrange his own white pieces, but he also anticipated his black pieces’ moves, subtly guiding him, and then placing his pieces a few steps ahead, leaving a glimmer of hope for the black pieces, so that the white pieces wouldn’t have an overwhelming advantage.

And finally, he surrounded the pieces and launched a coordinated attack, winning the game with a single move.

“Letting pieces fall” is respecting your elders, “winning the game” is respecting your opponent.

From any perspective, Shang Yanci had performed impeccably.

Old Master Pei was not satisfied and wanted to play another round.

Auntie Chen came over: “Everyone, dinner is ready.”

Shang Yanci: “After dinner, I’ll play a few more rounds with Grandpa.”

Old Master Pei laughed: “Okay, okay, okay.”

The group moved to the dining room.

After dinner, they all went for a walk and chatted together.

Blowing the spring breeze, Pei Yuning felt that this moment was called “happiness.”

Back in the hall, Shang Yanci and Old Master Pei gathered the black and white pieces from the chessboard.

Pei Yuning wasn’t paying attention for a moment, and Jinjin jumped off the sofa and curled up at Shang Yanci’s feet.

Shang Yanci stopped what he was doing and looked down at the cute little cat on the carpet.

Jinjin also looked at him: “Meow~”

Pei Yuning walked over, seeing the scene of the man and cat looking at each other, she wanted to laugh: “Her name is Jinjin. She wants you to hold her.”

This was the second time Shang Yanci had come to the Pei family. The first time he came, Jinjin was sent by her second brother to Shen Qingzhu’s place, saying that they were going to shoot an advertisement and borrow her for a day. So this was the first time the man and cat had met.

“Okay.” Shang Yanci reached out and picked up Jinjin.

Jinjin nestled obediently in his arms and curled up. Shang Yanci awkwardly used one hand to groom her fur while continuing to gather the chess pieces with the other.

Pei Yuning felt that his response was just out of politeness. Before she spoke, he was just looking at Jinjin and didn’t reach out to pick her up. She wasn’t sure if Shang Yanci liked her little cat.

Pei Yuning sat on the nearby armchair and watched Jinjin in Shang Yanci’s arms, lest she disturb the two of them playing chess. Fortunately, her little cat was always well-behaved and didn’t move. She just curled up into a small ball, obediently.

After finishing a game, Jinjin fell asleep in Shang Yanci’s arms, the little cat making a soft “purring” sound.

Pei Yuning stood up and said softly, “A Yan, I’ll take Jinjin.”

“Okay.” Shang Yanci withdrew his left hand, which had been grooming the cat’s fur, and placed it on the table. His right hand, holding the white pieces, extended backward, making it easier for Pei Yuning to carry Jinjin.

Pei Yuning bent down, carefully picking up Jinjin. She smelled the crisp, rich woody fragrance from Shang Yanci’s body, and her fingertips accidentally touched the fabric of Shang Yanci’s suit pants.

The fabric was soft, his muscles and bones were hard.

After picking up Jinjin, Pei Yuning immediately turned and went upstairs.

Shang Yanci watched her back until she turned the corner before withdrawing his gaze, then slowly placed a white piece on the chessboard.

Back in the bedroom, Pei Yuning belatedly realized that she was going to sleep with Shang Yanci tonight, in the same bed.