Chapter 47

After Wang Hongmian finished speaking, Lu Nong observed the expressions of those present. He noticed that besides Mother Shen, who was so shocked she couldn’t speak, everyone else wore varying degrees of understanding on their faces.

Shen Yiming turned his head away, while Father shen’s face turned red with embarrassment. Both his sister-in-law and Pei Su maintained neutral expressions, clearly already aware of the situation.

Even Pei Mingxia, who trusted Shen Yimei the most among the Pei family, had a look of disbelief on her face, followed by a look of sudden enlightenment, as if she had thought of something.

Father and Mother Pei looked at Shen Yimei with pained expressions, as if she had deceived them and betrayed their trust.

Strictly speaking, she indeed had betrayed them. Lu Nong thought about how much better Father and Mother Pei treated Shen Yimei compared to their own son.

Pei Zheng had said that he had told his family the truth about his mother’s infidelity more than once. Since even Pei Zheng knew about it, it was clear that Pei Ji’an had no intention of hiding the fact that he had been cheated on. So why did Father and Mother Pei choose to believe Shen Yimei over their own son?

In this whole drama, the only one kept in the dark was Mother Shen, while the three members of the Pei family were foolishly deceiving themselves.

Putting the Pei family aside, Lu Nong found the Shen family’s reasoning even more baffling. Since they knew that Shen Yimei had been unfaithful, why did they allow her to pretend as if nothing had happened and continue to play the devoted daughter-in-law at the Pei family?

What was Shen Yimei thinking, being able to perform such a heartfelt drama in front of the Pei family? Did she have that strong a mental fortitude?

And how could Shen Yiming have the audacity to think that Pei Ji’an had wronged his sister?

Pei Mingxia was even more perplexed than Lu Nong. She tugged at her hair, standing up from the sofa and launching herself at Shen Yimei. “Why did you lie to me!? I asked you if it was you who cheated that led to your divorce from my brother, and you vaguely said it wasn’t like that. You said you didn’t cheat, and I believed you! After more than twenty years of friendship, you couldn’t even tell me one truth. Shen Yimei, do you have a heart?”

Lu Nong: “…”

2333333 What a twist of fate! Just a moment ago, Shen Yiming had questioned Pei Ji’an’s heart, and now that same question was directed right back at Shen Yimei.

Pei Mingxia continued to question her, suddenly realizing, “I said every time I brought this up, you would cry and say you were wrong, that you were sorry for my brother. I thought it was because you neglected Pei Zheng, throwing him at home while you went out to play, nearly causing him to lose his life. I thought that was why my brother divorced you. I thought you and my brother had mutual feelings for each other and that he didn’t marry because he was waiting for you…”

“Ha ha, how stupid I was! Now that I think about it, even the so-called mutual feelings were just your words. In the end, your so-called feelings were just deceitful tactics. You’ve been acting in front of me for more than ten years, turning red every time I mentioned my brother.”

“Yes, really stupid.” Lu Nong spoke frankly.

Pei Mingxia: “…”

“That’s not how it is, Mingxia! Please listen to me…” Shen Yimei grabbed Pei Mingxia’s hand, trying to defend herself.

Pei Mingxia shook off Shen Yimei’s hand, unable to understand. “I don’t get it. If you were unfaithful, why continue to come back and act so deeply affectionate? You waited for my brother for over ten years, asking for nothing, doing nothing, even avoiding disturbing him, wholeheartedly being filial to his parents. I even stood up for you, and my parents were moved by you. What were you really after?”

Mother Pei opened her mouth, bitterly smiling. “Yes, you treated us like parents for over ten years—not just ten days. At first, we were skeptical. Even Pei Zheng said you were the one who cheated. We knew that Pei Zheng was not close to you, and we were afraid that he would lie because you almost killed him. We believed your words over our son’s. Later, as you treated us so well, we became even less suspicious… only to find out that the truth from back then was also a lie.”

Pei Ji’an frowned when he heard this, finding it unbelievable. He thought that he and Shen Yimei had ended more than ten years ago. At the beginning, he first reported Shen Yimei’s cheating to the organization, and then informed Shen’s family. Finally, because the front line was extremely urgent, he took Pei Zheng to his parents’ home for foster care and told them the reason for the divorce.

Otherwise, how could Uncle Shen have easily agreed to his divorce report?

He thought his parents and siblings knew about this, but it turned out they had never believed him.

It was absurd to the point of being laughable.

Over the years, Pei Zheng rarely returned to his grandparents home. He was aware that Father and Mother Pei were close to Shen Yimei, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it. Since he returned to his current home in his youth, Father and Mother Pei had never stopped being close to Shen Yimei. Sometimes, Pei Ji’an even suspected that Shen Yimei was their biological daughter.

In the past few years, Father Pei, Mother Pei and Pei Mingxia never mentioned Shen Yimei in front of him, let alone the so-called “always waiting for Shen Yimei”.

It wasn’t until Father Pei suddenly mentioned the idea of remarrying Shen Yimei that Pei Ji’an realized his parents had this notion. He firmly refused and married Lu Nong to sever their hopes.

If it weren’t for Shen Yimei’s performance today, who knew how long this absurdity would have continued.

“That’s not how it is, Mingxia, Mom and Dad! I didn’t mean to deceive you. I was just momentarily confused. Really, it was just a moment of confusion! I didn’t want to deceive you, but I also didn’t dare to tell you the truth. Please believe me.”

Shen Yimei cried and explained, what was she asking for? She wanted everything to have never happened. She wanted to claim she hadn’t had an affair. She wanted Pei Ji’an to know that after more than ten years of silent devotion, he would be touched once and they could return to the way things were, starting anew.

Pei Mingxia ignored her, breathing heavily as she walked over to her husband. She only wanted to hide away, not daring to look at her second brother’s expression for fear of hearing Lu Nong mock her stupidity.

Mother Pei remained silent, while Father Pei spoke hoarsely: “Don’t call us mom and dad, we can’t bear it.”

Shen Yimei’s gaze dimmed, realizing everything was over.

“What about the child?” After all, she was Shen Yimei’s mother, and Mother Shen was more concerned about Shen Yimei and the child she bore.

Shen Yimei froze… the child. The memories she most wanted to forget suddenly resurfaced.

Being with someone who seemed to see through her selfishness or her clumsy act terrified Shen Yimei. He always scrutinized her, and she could see no love in his eyes. She was unwilling to accept this.

She, Shen Yimei, was the best girl in the compound. Why didn’t Pei Ji’an love her?

So, after Pei Ji’an was transferred away from Beijing, Shen Yimei deliberately flirted with someone else and then wrote him a letter, telling him how many men were infatuated with her. She had only wanted to play around.

But in the midst of playing, she ended up losing her true feelings. She fell in love with a man completely different from Pei Ji’an.

Su Shiliang was a man whose name carried the weight of karma and fate. He was not less handsome than Pei Ji’an. He knew how to charm her, whisper sweet nothings, brave the rain to buy her roasted sweet potatoes, and take her on outings to the countryside, doing everything Pei Ji’an would not do for her.

When he told Shen Yimei, “My name is Su Shiliang, and you are my destiny,” she completely fell for him, falling madly in love and surrendering herself to this man.

Not long after, Shen Yimei discovered she was pregnant. She wrote to Pei Ji’an, asking him to return.

At first, Pei Ji’an ignored her. However, after something happened to Pei Zheng, Pei Ji’an finally came back. She begged him for a divorce, wanting her freedom.

Shen Yimei confessed to Pei Ji’an that she was pregnant and loved Su Shiliang, pleading with him to let them be together.

Shen Yimei still remembers the look in Pei Ji’an’s eyes when he looked at her, which made her feel terrified and confused. Just when she thought Pei Ji’an would not agree, he was silent for a while and finally asked for Pei Zheng.

Shen Yimei was overjoyed. She had a new lover and the fruit of their love, and she naturally did not care about Pei Zheng, the son who had caused her so much hardship. They smoothly divorced.

Strangely enough, the divorce did not bring Shen Yimei the happiness she had imagined. She found herself still thinking about Pei Ji’an. She could not let go of him.

Fate has a funny way of playing tricks on people. A month later, while accompanying her to the hospital for a check-up, the doctor informed them it was an ectopic pregnancy. Not only would the child be lost, but it would also harm her ovaries, potentially preventing her from ever having children again.

After that day, Su Shiliang, who had promised to be with her for a lifetime, vanished, leaving her love in ruins.

It was her brother and Wang Hongmian who took her to the hospital to terminate the pregnancy.

Shen Yimei woke up from her infatuation, realizing she had lost everything. One day, as she gazed out at the white plum tree, she suddenly became acutely aware that she still loved Pei Ji’an.

It did not matter whether Pei Ji’an was scrutinizing her or seeing through her; what difference did it make? If he could easily see through her, he could also see through her love. In time, he would surely be touched by that love.

She realized she was wrong to have resorted to such extreme measures against Pei Ji’an. She needed to make amends.

But how could she rectify her mistake?

Shen Yimei treated the divorce as a new beginning. She did not dare to appear before Pei Ji’an again, but she could win over his family. With him often busy and rarely home, she quietly took care of his parents, silently giving everything without him knowing, even hiding when she wanted to see him.

She believed that little drops of water could penetrate stone, and over time, when he found out, he might be moved by her actions.

As long as Pei Ji’an did not marry, she would still have a chance. Shen Yimei kept telling herself this.

A miracle truly happened—Pei Ji’an remained unmarried for a year, two years, and even more than a decade. Pei Mingxia said Pei Ji’an had been waiting for her.

Shen Yimei wanted to believe that. Last year, she could no longer hold back and hinted to her parents and Pei Ji’an’s parents that she still liked him. Sure enough, Uncle Pei went to find Pei Ji’an.

But she never expected Pei Ji’an to marry another woman without any warning, making her years of waiting seem like a joke.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. She should not have shown up, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted to see if Pei Ji’an treated his new wife as coldly and distantly as he treated her… She wanted to use her closeness to Aunt Pei to hurt the person who took her place.

Unfortunately, she was the one who was hurt in the end. She watched Pei Ji’an holding the woman’s hand intimately. She was not afraid of him at all. She dared to interrupt him when he was talking. She had no scruples, and Pei Ji’an would just look at her and smile.

It’s really strange, why would Pei Ji’an smile? He should be cold, distant, and superior. His eyes shouldn’t show indulgence, and the corners of his mouth shouldn’t show doting.

Shen Yimei felt a surge of jealousy and could not contain herself. After more than a decade of deep love, he smiled at someone else. How could she bear it? How could she bear it?

It truly felt like a futile effort.

Snapping back to reality, Shen Yimei wiped away her tears and said, “The child is gone. I terminated the pregnancy.”

“You!” Mother Shen clutched her chest, stumbling back a few steps, supported by Father Shen.

“Mom, are you alright?” Shen Yiming and Wang Hongmian rushed forward to help Mother Shen.

“Pah…”

Mother Shen slapped Shen Yiming across the face. “How can you still blame Pei Ji’an? Do you think you are worthy of being friends with him?”

Shen Yiming’s face changed, and then his whole demeanor dimmed. He knew that he was not worthy, so he could only be Pei Ji’an’s enemy. He could only tell himself that it was Pei Ji’an’s fault, and they would be enemies for life.

If he could not even be an enemy, he wondered what was left for him. Gu Weiguo was dead, and Pei Ji’an looked down on him, there was no turning back.

“Shen Congnian, you know exactly what role you played in all of this. Your son and daughter take after you—bold and reckless, capable of anything. I will report to the organization for a divorce. You should be investigated as well.”

Mother Shen, who admired Father Shen’s disregard for trivial matters when they were young, later realized that this carelessness could sometimes lead to disaster. For the sake of her children, she had endured it, but now she understood that her children had long since become unrecognizable. She could no longer endure.

Father Shen was typically hot-tempered, but today he was unusually silent. Mother Shen knew she had not blamed the wrong person.

“Ji’an, I am sorry for your family. Rest assured, I will give you an explanation. I guarantee it with my party member status,” Mother Shen said, bowing deeply. In an instant, she seemed to age ten years, her previous attitude gone.

Pei Ji’an remained noncommittal. In his eyes, the Shen family was like a swarm of flies that had buzzed around him for over a decade. Just when he thought he had finally shaken them off, someone told him they had not given up; this time, they had even subverted his family.

Pei Ji’an felt he owed it to himself to take a swing at the flies after being slandered for so long. Just as Mother Shen said, he did not believe there was no collusion from Father Shen and Shen Yiming. No matter what explanation Mother Shen offered, he would ensure he provided himself with one.

You don’t know the pain until you are beaten. He has been accumulating enough evidence against the Shen family for a long time.

After Mother Shen took Shen Yimei and the entire Shen family away, the Pei family exchanged glances. Mother Pei hesitated to speak, but Father Pei cleared his throat, asserting his authority as a father. “Ji’an, come to my study. I need to talk to you about something.”

Pei Ji’an raised his hand and said calmly, “No need, Dad. It’s unnecessary. What happened today is already clear. I hope you won’t interfere in my affairs anymore, just like you haven’t for the past thirty years, twenty years, or even ten years.”

Once Pei Ji’an finished speaking, Father Pei and Mother Pei turned pale, their expressions grimmer than when they realized Shen Yimei had deceived them.

When Pei Ji’an mentioned the past ten years, Pei Mingxia felt a wave of anxiety. She remembered how she used to tease and mock her brother when he first returned home, insisting he was not her real brother and that he didn’t deserve the title. Over the years, she had avoided reflecting on those memories.

After their eldest brother died, she felt even more afraid. She had only one brother left, and she worried he would abandon her, so she desperately tried to bring Shen Yimei and her brother together.

In the end, everything turned out wrong. She had made another mistake. Her second brother had never forgotten the past. He resented their parents and surely held a grudge against her as well.

Pei Ji’an had no idea what Pei Mingxia was thinking. Even if he knew, he probably wouldn’t care. He held onto Lu Nong’s hand and said, “Let’s go home.”

Lu Nong squeezed his hand back, smiling brightly like sunshine breaking through clouds. “Sure, let’s go home.” 

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Author’s Note:

Did I not explain clearly, my dear readers? Here’s a consolidated explanation:

1. Regarding the divorce, Pei Ji’an had mentioned it, thinking the Pei family believed him. Pei Zheng also spoke about it, but the Pei family didn’t believe him and didn’t tell Pei Ji’an that they didn’t believe him. (I hope this logic is clear.)
2. As a powerful figure, no one dared to say anything to Pei Ji’an’s face about him being heartless. Even his own sister only hinted that he had “always been waiting for Shen Yimei,” and that was only after Lu Nong appeared and she became agitated. Mother Pei was not close to her son and certainly didn’t dare to criticize him.

This led to a situation where everyone’s understanding of the situation was disconnected. Pei Ji’an had long moved on, while Father Pei and Mother Pei believed their son had ruined her reputation and wronged Shen Yimei, so they tried their best to treat her well. Meanwhile, Pei Mingxia believed in the perfect love story between her brother and Shen Yimei, thinking they had been waiting for each other all along.

3. Shen Yimei didn’t dare to face Pei Ji’an and admit she still had feelings for him. Instead, she secretly tried to win over the Pei family, hoping to take the “I’ll wait for you my whole life” approach. The fact that Pei Ji’an remained unmarried gave her hope.
4. When Pei Ji’an found out about his parents’ intentions, he got married. After seeing Shen Yimei and his mother behaving like the perfect daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, he decided to reveal the truth. But he didn’t expect Shen Yimei to suddenly play the role of the deeply devoted lover, and everyone just accepted it as normal. (In short, Shen Yimei slowly manipulated the situation, convincing everyone. If Lu Nong hadn’t appeared, she might have eventually made Pei Ji’an recognize her quiet dedication.)
5. The Shen family knew their daughter had set her sights on Pei Ji’an for life, so they turned a blind eye, thinking, “Let’s see if she can succeed.” Since Pei Ji’an wasn’t married, they hoped that on a whim, he might remarry their daughter, whether for the sake of their child or some other reason.
6. Shen Yiming knew it was wrong to have drugged Pei Ji’an and that his sister’s affair was a mistake. But seeing how deeply she loved Pei Ji’an, waiting for him and seeking redemption for over a decade without ever receiving his love, he felt it was unfair. He thought, “You may have lost a leg, but she lost love,” reflecting a mindset common in that era. (I’ve seen a lot of TV shows with this kind of thinking.)
7. As for the rumors, think about who would have spread them. It was definitely Shen Yimei and her friends. They could never reach Pei Ji’an, only possibly getting to Pei Zheng. However, Pei Zheng wasn’t close to his father and feared him, which might not have been clearly explained at the beginning.

Everything changed with the arrival of Lu Nong, disrupting the balance. Shen Yimei’s waiting strategy could no longer continue, and Pei Mingxia’s beautiful CP fantasy was shattered. Pei Mingxia couldn’t hold back anymore and revealed it in front of her brother. That’s when Pei Ji’an realized what everyone had been thinking all along. He didn’t understand, but he was deeply shocked.

Then there’s Shen Yimei, who can be a bit obsessive.