Chapter 68: Tang Mi

That second aunt was a master at pushing her children to excel academically; Yu Yuchu had caught wind of it before.

Originally, her poor younger cousin had wanted to choose the humanities, but was forcibly pushed into the sciences instead.

Forget about enjoying the banquet; she probably didn't even have time to take a stroll.

Li Guifang gave a cold snort.

"That's right, what kind of difficulties could a job like yours have? The company must be quite small too, and the pressure certainly isn't as heavy as your eldest cousin's."

Li Shufen withdrew her hand.

Father Yu's expression darkened instantly.

Li Guifang was also brewing a storm; her expression of a gathering tempest was crystal clear.

Yu Yuchu stepped forward a little, suppressing her mother, who was on the verge of erupting.

"Second Aunt truly has a grand vision. A company like Huasheng is considered merely a small company in your eyes. No wonder you 'cultivated' such an outstanding descendant; Yuchu is full of admiration."

"The banquet is about to start soon, Mom. Let's go find a place to sit down."

With that, Yu Yuchu pulled her mother away.

"Chuchu is right, let's go."

Before leaving, Li Guifang cast a glance at the smug Li Shufen. Imagining the look on Li Shufen's face once she found out about Huasheng, she couldn't help but vent a breath of suppressed anger in her heart.

The meal tasted completely flavorless, and on top of that, they had shelled out a few hundred yuan in gift money. Just thinking about it made Yu Yuchu's heart ache.

"Mom, we should go to banquets like this less often from now on."

After the meal, the family of three walked down the street.

"Our family has few members. The chances of us getting back the gift money we send out are few and far between, so why bother spending this money?"

Li Guifang shook her head in disapproval.

"Relatives still need to visit each other often, otherwise you won't even find anyone to help when you need it later on."

Yu Yuchu curled her lips in mockery.

"Find whom? Second Aunt?"

"If you ask me, keeping all this gift money to pay for Dad's medical treatment would be much more practical."

Li Guifang was left speechless by the retort and could only change the subject.

"How are things going between you and little Huo?"

Yu Yuchu sighed.

The mere mention of this made her angry.

"Mom, I really need to have a word with you this time."

Li Guifang looked at Yu Yuchu in bewilderment. "What? Was I trying to do a good thing but ended up messing it up?"

"He came back to his hometown to handle matters, not for a holiday. He has to leave right after finishing his business. Making him wait there for me—don't you know how much time that wastes?"

"He's not like me on vacation; every second counts for him, and his schedule is tight. Sitting in that car today made me feel like I was sitting on pins and needles."

That was a lie.

Huo Fuzhu had taken time off to come back, but Yu Yuchu simply wanted Ms. Li Guifang to stop seeking him out so frequently in the future.

"Well, little Huo didn't tell me he was in a hurry."

Yu Yuchu replied, "That's because he was too embarrassed to refuse you."

Only then did Li Guifang stop arguing stubbornly.

Her eyes rolled, and she came up with another idea instead.

"Such a fine young man! Since we've put him to trouble, you can't just walk away with a simple thank-you!"

Yu Yuchu understood immediately.

Great, she had dug another pit for herself.

Sure enough, Li Guifang's next sentence was, "Another day, no matter what you say, you must treat him to a meal."

Yu Yuchu massaged her temples. "Don't worry, Mom, I know what to do. I won't trouble you to worry about it. Do you really want to marry your daughter off that badly?"

"What kind of talk is that!"

Li Guifang raised her eyebrows, preparing to lecture her again.

Yu Yuchu shrank back slightly and signaled Father Yu for help.

Father Yu gave two dry coughs.

"All right, all right, both of you say less. Let the young people handle their own affairs and develop at their own pace; stop meddling."

"You're the only one who spoils her."

Yu Yuchu stuck out her tongue and pushed Father Yu forward.

Upon returning home, she opened her phone and found several messages from Pei Jiayin.

[Did you arrive?]

[Have you eaten?]

A moment later, another one followed.

[Are you finished eating?]

[Voice Call] indicated missed.

A wave of overwhelming guilt instantly washed over Yu Yuchu.

She had been so busy taking care of her father that she hadn't had time to check her phone. Pei Jiayin had sent so many messages, and she hadn't seen a single one!

Feeling apologetic, she called him back.

The phone rang for a long time before it was finally answered.

"Hello, A-Yin? I'm so sorry, I didn't see your messages. Are you finished with your work?"

"Excuse me."

It wasn't Pei Jiayin's voice, but another clearer, crisper male voice.

What was going on?

Yu Yuchu checked the number she had dialed on her phone screen.

It was correct.

Suspicious, Yu Yuchu asked, "Hello? Who are you?"

Tang Qingli felt that the corners of his mouth were currently harder to suppress than an assault rifle.

He had actually answered the boss's wife's call! Wow, he was leading Wang Lei by ten years.

No!

He also learned the boss's pet name from the boss's wife; that had to be leading Wang Lei by a hundred years.

Tang Qingli wore a sneaky smile, but his voice remained steady.

"Hello, I am Mr. Pei's secretary, my surname is Tang. He is currently in a meeting. Is there anything you need me to relay?"

So Pei Jiayin actually pulled off the general manager act quite convincingly; he even had a secretary.

Yu Yuchu concealed the disappointment in her heart.

"So it's Secretary Tang. Is he still in a meeting this late? ... Since your general manager is busy, never mind then, I don't have anything important."

General manager?

No wonder the boss had previously asked him to arrange that title for him.

However, judging by the tone, Tang Qingli felt a sudden sense of impending doom—the person on the other end was about hang up.

"Cough, well, the thing is..."

"Actually, our general manager was in a very bad mood today, and he's working overtime right now. He hasn't even eaten yet."

Tang Qingli glanced into the conference room. It was hardly a meeting in there; it was entirely a one-sided scolding session.

Just thinking about it made his hair stand on end.

"He hasn't eaten yet? When does the meeting end?"

Hearing this, Yu Yuchu wanted nothing more than to fly back to Beijing immediately.

There was no answer from the other side for a long time.

"Hello? Is my signal bad here? When does the meeting end?"

"It has already ended."

This time, it was Pei Jiayin's voice.

Perhaps because the meeting had just concluded, his voice carried a hint of sternness, along with a trace of faint exhaustion.

Yu Yuchu gave a start and instinctively straightened her posture.

"Oh, it's already over? What about Secretary Tang? Why can't I hear him talking anymore?"

Pei Jiayin cast a cool glance at Tang Qingli, who was diligently staring at his nose and heart, and did not answer Yu Yuchu's question.

"Why are you only calling now?"

Even though there was still a fire burning in his heart, upon hearing Yu Yuchu's voice, Pei Jiayin subconsciously softened his tone.

Tang Qingli couldn't help but shiver, quickly steadying himself.

"I'm sorry, A-Yin, I just didn't have a free moment to check my phone."

Thinking of what Yu Yuchu had said earlier about her father's condition, whatever fire Pei Jiayin had in his heart was instantly extinguished.

Feeling the atmospheric pressure around him suddenly return to normal, Tang Qingli revealed a grateful smile.

The boss's wife was truly reliable.

"So when are you coming back?"

It was genuinely a sentence dripping with tenderness.

Tang Qingli shivered once more.

Only this time, before he could steady himself, he sensed a piercing, icy glare shoot directly at him.

"Pardon the interruption."

Tang Qingli mustered the fastest speed of his life to back out of Pei Jiayin's office, quietly pulling the door shut behind him as he left.