Chapter 12: A Prestigious Family’s Past — As If Full of Love and Passion

The video cut out, returning the screen to the briefing page.

Su Mingzhu laughed, “Spending his wife’s money, relying on his father-in-law’s power, and keeping a starlet on the side—President Li has really set the bar for ‘kept men.’”

“But… why would Yuntian Entertainment work for someone like President Li?” Zhong Yang asked, a bit confused.

“Yin Qi is Qin Shan’s newly adopted godson,” Pei Yunzhe replied blandly as he toyed with the pen in his hand. “That night I agreed to dine with them as a favor to Qin Shan.”

Zhong Yang blinked and suddenly understood.

This tangled web of relationships had now come full circle. Fate truly worked in strange ways…

At that moment, Assistant Zhang cleared his throat twice, pulling everyone’s attention back and switching the screen.

“Regarding the intimate photos in the car, we can confirm that the man is merely an ordinary employee at Jin Xun Real Estate. He is currently single. The user who claimed to be his wife had an IP address from Yuntian Entertainment, and her posts on Weibo were entirely fabricated.”

“What we haven’t found yet are staged photo evidence or any solid proof connecting He Muya and others to the photo incident.”

Su Mingzhu grasped the key point: “So even if we do the best PR job imaginable, we can only prove Zhong Yang doesn’t have a sugar daddy and wasn’t a mistress—but we can’t prove the photo is fake or expose He Muya and her accomplices?”

Assistant Zhang nodded. “That’s correct. We’ll keep digging and try to obtain solid evidence soon.”

Pei Yunzhe lifted his eyes to glance at the photo still frozen on the screen—two people in the dark, pressed so closely together, it looked almost like a romantic moment.

He reached out and pressed the button to turn off the projector. Then he asked Su Mingzhu, “If you were in charge, what would you do?”

“Fight public opinion with public opinion, of course.” Su Mingzhu smiled faintly. “It’s not a bad thing if the evidence comes late. A proper buildup makes the impact stronger.”

Pei Yunzhe nodded and pushed a USB containing the investigation report, along with a contract, toward Zhong Yang. “Qiguang Media—Pei Corporation’s newly established subsidiary. This is an artist contract. Whether you sign or not is up to you.”

Only now did Zhong Yang realize why the CEO of Qiguang Media was sitting here.

With Pei Corporation behind it, the strength of the company was beyond question. But she had just canceled her last contract and was now being offered a new one so soon… She hesitated. “Alright, thank you, Mr. Pei. I’ll think about it.”

Seeing the hesitation on Zhong Yang’s face, Su Mingzhu said warmly, “Can I call you Xiao Yang?”

“Of course.”

“Let’s add each other on WeChat, okay? You scan me.” Su Mingzhu offered her phone.

“Sure, sure.” Zhong Yang added the gentle CEO of Qiguang Media on WeChat.

Pei Yunzhe, left sitting quietly to the side, sipped his tea while listening to the two women chat back and forth.

“Um…” Assistant Zhang raised his hand, hesitating. “My PowerPoint isn’t done yet, President Pei… why did you turn off the projector…”

Pei Yunzhe paused mid-sip. “No need for slides. Just speak.”

“Okay.” Assistant Zhang was used to following orders and continued, “Last night’s trending search? That was Yuntian Entertainment’s doing too.”

Zhong Yang had already guessed as much. She was practically unknown these days—how could she randomly appear on the hot search?

She thought it through—this had to be Zhang Yue. Thinking she’d been dumped and left homeless after working part-time jobs, Zhang Yue had jumped at the chance to kick her while she was down.

9:00 PM.

Pei Yunzhe put down the last document, glanced at his watch, and made a call. “Hey, awake?”

“…Just sat up in bed,” came a hoarse, sleepy male voice from the other end. “Bro, what’s up?”

Pei Yunzhe asked, “When are you coming back to China?”

The person on the phone laughed slightly, “Next Wednesday, 10 a.m. Be sure to pick me up in person, okay?”

He deliberately emphasized the words “in person.”

Pei Yunzhe’s lips curved up in a rare smile. “Okay, in person.”

Before Pei Yunzhe could ask more, Pei Shize launched into a rambling explanation of his return plans. “I wish I could teleport straight to the grasslands right now! I’ve been preparing for this film for three years. I’m aiming for the Feisto Award. The script alone went through 25 revisions. God, please let filming go smoothly…”

Pei Yunzhe listened patiently before saying, “About what you mentioned last time—I initially planned to invest in an experienced production company. But I couldn’t find the right fit. So, I started a new one—Qiguang Media.”

“Bro, was that really necessary?” Pei Shize was stunned. “I just wanted a smoother process for domestic approvals and filings… Waaa, bro, you’ve really worked hard!”

Pei Yunzhe cleared his throat and changed the topic. “Have you cast your actors yet?”

“Not yet. First thing I’ll do when I get back. I just hope I find the perfect girl to play Jibuchu.”

“Save one audition spot for me.”

Pei Yunzhe still remembered Zhong Yang’s second request.

“Huh? Bro, you want to act? Why even bother auditioning? You’re the investor—if you want the male lead, I’ll give it to you!” Pei Shize burst out laughing from the other side of the world. He couldn’t imagine his ever-serious brother acting—it’d probably be surreal.

Pei Yunzhe wasn’t annoyed. “…Not for me. It’s for a female actress.”

“When did you start knowing people in showbiz?” Pei Shize sniffed out some gossip. “Which actress?”

“Zhong Yang.”

Pei Shize thought seriously. “Uh… never heard of her.”

Pei Yunzhe said, “Mm. Her time in showbiz has been pretty miserable.”

“!!!” Pei Shize stroked his chin. Something’s up. Something’s definitely up!

Two days later, LAKE reopened, and Zhong Yang went back to work, taking the subway as if nothing had happened.

Except now she wore a mask and a hat.

The subway roared along, screeching against the tracks. Zhong Yang rubbed her ears and reached for her headphones.

Just then, she heard two men chatting beside her.

“Hey, Wang-ge, the stock you told me to buy went up again—awesome!”

“Not my doing. Tuowen Tech’s been rising fast these last two years, even started making cars. No way it wouldn’t go up. Tsk, tsk, gotta admire Pei Corp’s current chairman. Ruthless—maybe even sharper than his dad.”

Hearing the familiar name, Zhong Yang perked up and subtly leaned closer to eavesdrop.

“Really? I’ve heard of Pei Yunzhe, but not his dad.”

“You don’t know? Pei Yonghua was the former chairman. All those companies with ‘Hua’ in the name? He built them from scratch. Built a business empire, married a beautiful wife, had two sons—Pei Yunzhe’s the eldest.”

“Damn, guy had it all!”

“Right? But who’d have thought… he was so busy working, he didn’t even notice he was being cheated on! Guess who with?”

“No way! His wife had it good—why cheat? Come on, spill it, Wang-ge!”

“Not just anyone—she was with Pei Yonghua’s own younger brother, Pei Yongming!”

“F*ck, that’s enough to kill a man…”

“Exactly. And it’s not unrelated to his death. Maybe it was love turned to hate—Pei Yonghua pretended to attend a banquet one day, but actually drove his wife and brother onto a mountain road. Halfway through, the adulterous couple realized something was off—but it was too late. The car went straight off a cliff. Everyone…”

Another screech drowned out the rest of the sentence.

Zhong Yang sat there, stunned. That’s Pei Yunzhe’s family background?

Xu Youyou had mentioned he was raised by his aunt. So that means…

“Ugh, these old subways need an upgrade… Wang-ge, go on.”

“Pei Yonghua really valued family. His sister and two younger brothers weren’t as capable, so he gave them money and shares. Treated Pei Yongming especially well—endless benefits. Never imagined his own brother would betray him. Tsk, tsk.”

“The kids were still young when it happened—Pei Yunzhe had just started primary school. As for the younger one… people don’t even know if he was Pei Yonghua’s real son.”

“And why do they say Pei Yunzhe outshines his father? Because he’s heartless. Ruthless. Took all his younger brother’s shares and exiled him abroad, never letting him return. At a young age, he secured control of the Pei Corporation in just five years.”

“Then he kicked all the freeloading relatives out of the company—didn’t give them a single cent. Even the aunt who raised him and his brother! He’s colder than his dad—no mercy for anyone.”

“Wow, learned something new today. How do you even know all this, Wang-ge?”

“You’re too young. That cliff accident made national news—it was huge. But some of the details? Those I heard from my second uncle’s cousin’s fifth nephew’s wife—she used to be a maid at Pei Corp…”

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