Chapter Fifty: The Age Gap

Why on earth was her own cousin-in-law trembling and walking on thin ice at the company every single day?
What was wrong with this world?
Gu Taotao wept silently. Was her internet surfing speed just too slow?
If Yu Youchu knew what was going on in her head, she would definitely retort that Gu Taotao should have inherited her own family business instead of making her own cousin her boss.
Wasn't this sheer self-inflicted torture?
However, from Gu Taotao's perspective, the most dangerous place was the safest place. That was why she felt safe and bold enough to work at Huasheng, believing her parents would never imagine she was working under her cousin's command.
Pei Jiayin pulled the soul-drained Yu Youchu into the car, then turned his head and said, "Sit in the back yourself."
He was not yet an elder who would leave his cousin stranded on the street in the middle of the night.
Gu Taotao hopped obediently into the back seat, though inwardly she thought that since they were both runaways from home, why did she have to hide around like this? It was so unfair!
As soon as she got into the car, Yu Youchu lapsed into a state of intense tension.
I wonder what kind of impression I left on Gu Taotao?
It should be pretty good, right?
Nobody had told her what to do when meeting the guy's cousin on the very first day of a relationship. She desperately wanted to post a message on her Moments to ask for outside help.
An eerie silence filled the car.
Biting the bullet, Yu Youchu broke the awkwardness between the three of them. "Um, Gu... well... Sister Taotao..."
Before Yu Youchu could finish, the other girl cried out in horror, "Don't! Don't call me sister!"
If she really was her cousin-in-law, calling her sister would completely mess up the family hierarchy, wouldn't it?
Yu Youchu's face flushed a deep crimson as well. She and Pei Jiayin had only been dating for a single day! Could this cousin please not treat the situation like she was bracing for a major battle...
Gu Taotao looked somewhat embarrassed. "You... how old are you?"
Yu Youchu thought that the age gap between the two of them probably wasn't that big, and she felt there was nothing to hide.
"Twenty-three. What about you, Sister Taotao?"
What?
Gu Taotao was struck dumb, feeling thoroughly battered from the inside out.
Twenty-three?!
So her cousin had gone for a cradle-snatching romance!
Wrong! The main point was that her cousin was actually in a relationship! Ever since she had started dating herself, her only impression of Pei Jiayin was that he was the ultimate golden bachelor.
She had even suspected her cousin's sexual orientation at one point.
His first girlfriend—meaning his cousin's first love—he must have taken her quite seriously, right?
Gu Taotao frowned. "I'm four years older than you..." Her hand unconsciously touched her sleeve as she spoke, keeping a close eye on Pei Jiayin's expression, ready to shut her mouth at the slightest sign of movement.
"Well, Youchu, do you know how old my cousin is?"
Yu Youchu was jolted.
Right, she hadn't even considered that question yet.
She had actually started dating Pei Jiayin without even knowing his age!
One look at Yu Youchu's expression told Gu Taotao that this younger girl had completely lost her bearings, thoroughly charmed and fooled by her cousin. She glanced stealthily at her cousin's face in the rearview mirror from the back seat.
Still, it had to be admitted—with this face right here, age didn't matter anymore.
As if sensing Yu Youchu's eager gaze, Pei Jiayin cast a warning look at Gu Taotao in the back seat and then answered, "Six years older than you. Is the age gap too big?"
Yu Youchu quickly shook her head, feeling a wave of relief inside. What if the age gap had been too wide for her mother's approval...
Wait!
Was she already considering things so far into the future? A wave of heat rushed across Yu Youchu's face.
Seeing that Yu Youchu didn't reply and was lost in her own thoughts, Gu Taotao let her mind wander.
Judging by Pei Jiayin's acceptance of that "cousin-in-law" remark just now, Gu Taotao became even more determined to latch onto this powerful connection.
"Actually, age isn't an issue; family generation is what matters more. My cousin's younger sister is your younger sister too, so it's totally fine if you call me younger sister."
She sneaked a peek at her cousin, and sure enough, her cousin's expression had cleared up considerably.
The look he had earlier—as if she were interrupting their world and he wanted to devour her—was gone, and Gu Taotao breathed a sigh of relief.
The panic of being caught red-handed by an elder also faded significantly.
Pei Jiayin was the eldest son of the eldest uncle's household, and the family had always pinned high hopes on him. He had been raised personally by his maternal grandfather since childhood, and he had suffered no small share of hardships growing up.
Among all the cousins, he was the only child who had grown up by his grandfather's side.
Affection develops through companionship.
Even though her cousin shared an unbreakable blood tie with his parents, spending so much time by his grandfather's side naturally distanced his relationship with his parents quite a bit.
He had lacked affection since childhood, and coupled with his grandfather's stern nature and practice of oppressive education, growing up under such suffocating discipline had made him far more outstanding than his peers, but it had also fostered a rather gloomy disposition.
To put it bluntly, among all the cousins in the family, Pei Jiayin had practically detached himself from the group. To them, he felt more like an elder, following the rules step by step within this massive cage, acting according to his grandfather's instructions and expectations.
He was his grandfather's proudest masterpiece.
Gu Taotao felt that her cousin's life resembled a second version of his grandfather's life.
It was like the transition between a slowly rising morning sun and an impending sunset, ensuring that the Pei family would never experience a freezing night.
Right now was the awkward transition period. Pei Jiayin had not yet fully matured into his role, while his grandfather was no longer able to shoulder the crushing workload of the Pei Corporation.
The present Pei Corporation was firmly under the control of the eldest uncle.
She knew that her grandfather was unsatisfied with the current state of the Pei Corporation.
For no other reason than that her grandfather was the pioneer of the Pei Corporation—radical and relentlessly driven—while the eldest uncle was a conservative. A self-contained, stagnant Pei Corporation would only be slowly devoured in such a rapidly developing era. Her grandfather saw it all and felt the anxiety burning inside him.
The current achievements of Huasheng had already proven Pei Jiayin's talent to his grandfather.
That was why his grandfather, having already determined the next successor, wanted this next ray of sunlight to shine upon the Pei Corporation as soon as possible.
And the quickest way to achieve this result was through a strategic political marriage.
Once the eldest uncle completed his mission at the Pei Corporation, the enterprise would usher in its next golden age.
As for what the Pei Corporation would evolve into, it all depended on the man driving the car right now.
Regrettably, this cousin who resembled a living doll had suddenly found his own soul in the year he was about to turn thirty, committing the most rebellious act of his life—running away from home.
Perhaps for the children of ordinary families who had long been independent, this was completely normal.
However, moving out of the old family estate meant that, for Pei Jiayin, he was essentially opting to voluntarily forfeit his right to inherit the Pei Corporation.
What kind of courage and determination did it take to make such a decision?
If it were her, having followed the rules for nearly thirty years, she would have long since been domesticated into a sheep inside a pen.
Gu Taotao's thoughts drifted far away.
Perhaps her cousin sometimes felt conflicted himself—whether this management mindset, so similar to his grandfather's, was his shackle or his capability.
Without his grandfather, he wouldn't have had his current shackles, nor would he have the ability to shatter them.
Gu Taotao gazed blankly into the rearview mirror, completely ignoring Yu Youchu, who had practically been turned to stone.