Chapter 31.1

The breakfast that Pei Zheng and his team worked together to buy was indeed very lavish. There were fried dough sticks, soy milk, soybean juice, tofu pudding, rice porridge, tea eggs, and pickled vegetables.

Aunt Wu made a cup of milk powder for Huaihuai. Lu Nong, who loved savory tofu pudding, enjoyed it with several scallion fried pancakes. Pei Ji’an, with a preference for lighter flavors, opted for porridge and pickles. Aunt Wu favored soybean juice and tea eggs, while Pei Zheng loved everything and was the one to finish all the leftovers.

Everyone had their own tastes, and the meal was harmonious without any waste.

After breakfast, Lu Nong and Pei Zheng were getting ready to go to school. Pei Ji’an put down his chopsticks and said, “I’ll take you.”

Lu Nong suddenly realized what she had forgotten yesterday—she had failed to inform Pei Ji’an that she had quit her job and returned to school.

Although she and Pei Ji’an were more like a couple living together out of convenience, forgetting to inform her husband about such a significant career change did seem a bit inconsiderate.

Lu Nong studied Pei Ji’an’s expression. His face was as calm as ever. Since she moved in, she had never seen him lose his temper. Yet, Xiao Zhou and Pei Zheng were always well-behaved and seemed to be quite afraid of Pei Ji’an, suggesting that he must have shown his temper in front of them at some point.

Sometimes when Pei Ji’an had a blank expression on his face, they would tremble, obviously realizing that Pei Ji’an was in a bad mood. But for Lu Nong, it was difficult to tell.

Like now, she couldn’t figure out whether Pei Ji’an genuinely didn’t care or if he was hiding his emotions, silently keeping track of things to settle with her later.

Lu Nong sighed. Hoping it wasn’t the latter.

Originally, Pei Ji’an planned to drive himself, but Pei Zheng, worried about his injury, made an excuse about Aunt Wu’s delicious breakfast to call Xiao Zhou and have him come to drive instead.

Soon enough, Xiao Zhou arrived. Rubbing his hands, he smiled and patted Pei Zheng on the shoulder, saying, “Xiao Zheng, I knew you wouldn’t forget me when there’s good food. So, where’s the food?”

Xiao Zhou craned his neck, looking behind Pei Zheng’s hands.

Pei Zheng: “There’s none.”

“??” Xiao Zhou, holding onto his last shred of hope, struggled and asked, “Any snacks?”

Pei Zheng: “No.”

Xiao Zhou: “…”

“Pei Zheng! You tricked me again! How many times have you deceived me? Do you even feel guilty?” Xiao Zhou cried.

Pei Zheng, already almost taller than Xiao Zhou at sixteen, slung his arm around Xiao Zhou’s shoulders and led him to the Jeep. Taking the car keys from Xiao Zhou’s pocket, he said, “Don’t be mad, brother. I’ll treat you to something good at the state-run restaurant next time. Let’s just get to school first, okay?”

Xiao Zhou: “…” I don’t believe you.

At that moment, Pei Ji’an and Lu Nong emerged from the small red building, one after the other. Pei Ji’an opened the car door and calmly said, “Stop wasting time. Get in the car and take them to school.”

With that, Xiao Zhou and Pei Zheng immediately stopped bickering. One obediently started the car, and the other quietly opened the front passenger door and got in. Both behaved impeccably.

“Tsk,” Lu Nong thought. ‘I really don’t command enough authority over the four guards. Look at the real boss. He says one sentence, and Xiao Zhou and Pei Zheng are instantly in line. I need to be stricter as the temporary leader.’

After making up her mind, Lu Nong got into the car as well. Pei Zheng in the car didn’t know that in an instant, his academic and life tasks in the future would become even heavier.

This time, without Aunt Wu and a bunch of luggage in the car, there was more than enough space for Lu Nong and Pei Ji’an to sit in the back seat, and their arms and legs no longer rubbed against each other from time to time.

The car sped all the way to the school gate.

As soon as the car stopped, Pei Zheng coolly opened the door and walked toward the school without looking back. After taking a couple of steps, he suddenly paused. Hesitating for a few seconds, he gritted his teeth and turned back to the Jeep.

…He mimicked Xiao Zhou’s gesture of opening the door for his father sometimes and opened the car door, waiting for Lu Nong to step out.

Lu Nong got out of the car and nodded at Pei Zheng, saying meaningfully, “Not bad, Comrade Xiao Pei. Luckily, you stopped in time. Otherwise, you’d be the first guard to get a black cross.”

Her tone even sounded a bit regretful.

Pei Zheng: “…”

Inside the car, Pei Ji’an called out to Lu Nong and Pei Zheng, “I’ll pick you up in the evening. Don’t be late.”

“Oh, okay.” Lu Nong nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you for taking the time to drive us, Chief Pei.”

She couldn’t help but feel touched. She had clearly misunderstood Pei Ji’an.

Lu Nong thought, ‘It seems he does care about his only son. He probably didn’t accompany Pei Zheng to registration last time simply because he was busy with work. Now that he has some time, even with an injury, he personally takes his son to and from school.’

She couldn’t help but feel fortunate to be riding along with Pei Zheng. In this day and age, even having a bicycle was worth boasting about, let alone being driven by a car. Though Lu Nong didn’t see it as a bragging point, it was certainly convenient—not having to walk to the bus stop herself.

Pei Ji’an glanced at her strangely and asked Xiao Zhou to drive them home.

After the Jeep drove away, Lu Nong looked at Pei Zheng with relief. What a good stepson! Don’t worry, sister will make sure we both go far together.

…

About ten meters away, a well-dressed, elegant woman in her thirties stood at the side of the school gate, watching everything that had just happened. Her expression was complex and uneasy.

Standing not far from the woman was a young girl of around eighteen or nineteen, glaring at Lu Nong and Pei Zheng as they stepped out of the car. Compared to the woman’s complicated expression, the girl’s face was much more straightforward—full of envy and the ambition to take her place.

If one looked closely, they’d notice that while the older woman’s gaze lingered on Pei Zheng for a few moments, she was more interested in peeking into the car, her eyes eager and excited, as if she were sneaking a look at her lover. Her girlish excitement was obvious.

As for when her eyes fell on Lu Nong, the woman seemed confused about who she was. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she clearly disliked the close interaction between Lu Nong and Pei Zheng.

The younger girl, Qian Yu, didn’t have such complicated thoughts.

Qian Yu was deliberately waiting for Pei Zheng here. After she went home that day, the more she thought about it, the more agitated she became.

She had tried many times to obstruct Lu Nong’s future, yet Lu Nong was still living a better life than her, and things were only getting better. Qian Yu resented the unfairness of the world. What was she lacking compared to Lu Nong?

Qian Yu refused to accept this and couldn’t bring herself to be content.

She knew that her own mother, who only served others, was on good terms with Lu Nong. In theory, now that Lu Nong had married into a powerful family, even if she didn’t take her mother to enjoy a good life, she would at least visit her with some gifts. So, with the intention of gathering information about Lu Nong, Qian Yu went to Li Garden.

Unexpectedly, the doors were locked, and the old woman wasn’t home. After going there for three consecutive days, Qian Yu confirmed that her mother had indeed been taken away by Lu Nong.

Qian Yu’s first reaction was joy. She wasn’t shortsighted. The fact that her mother had been taken to the Pei family by Lu Nong had significant implications.

It meant that Qian Yu could also establish a connection with the Pei family. After all, she had ties to both her mother and Lu Nong. With these relationships, combined with her looks and cunning, she believed there was no way she would do worse than Lu Nong.

After her excitement faded, Qian Yu started to worry again. She didn’t know where the Pei family lived or where Lu Nong was staying. Even if she found out, she guessed that the place wouldn’t be easy to get into.

It was impossible for her to get in alone, but those were secondary concerns. The most important thing was first figuring out where they lived. She could think about the rest later.

Qian Yu then remembered the last time she ran into Lu Nong at Peking University. She didn’t believe it was a coincidence and thought that Lu Nong was probably planning to return to school to continue her studies. So, for the past few days, Qian Yu had been getting up early and staying late, waiting at the school gate for Lu Nong.

And sure enough, she finally saw her. As Qian Yu looked at Lu Nong, dressed fashionably and beautifully, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of jealousy. Pei Zheng personally opened the car door for her—what made her so special?

Why? They were both the same, yet Lu Nong was loved and admired wherever she went.

Even Pei Zheng, who usually didn’t bother with anyone, was smitten by her. Was it just because of her seductive looks?

After sulking for a while, Qian Yu made a new discovery. From her position, she could clearly see a man sitting in the back seat of the Jeep. Although his face wasn’t visible, his upright posture and steady movements gave away that he wasn’t some old man in decline.

Qian Yu’s heart raced. Was this the man Lu Nong remarried, Pei Zheng’s father?

She bit her lip and made up her mind. Although the timing wasn’t right yet, she decided to come back later in the evening and secretly follow Lu Nong to figure out where the Pei family lived.