Chapter 70 His Gaze Toward Her Was Far From Innocent

Pei Jiayin followed the address and arrived at the county where Yu Yuchu was staying.

Once in the city, he first stopped to get gas, never expecting to run into Huo Fuzhu here. He found it rather peculiar.

He had originally intended to leave right after fueling up, but to his surprise, the other man stepped forward and initiated a conversation.

"President Pei, I didn't expect to see you here."

A flash of light reflected off Huo Fuzhu's glasses, and his lips maintained that same gentle smile, though the incident at the previous banquet had left him somewhat disliking this man.

Whether it was his imagination or not, he always felt that the way Huo Fuzhu looked at Yuchu was less than innocent.

"Indeed. Same here, I certainly didn't expect to see you in a place like this."

Pei Jiayin fiddled with his car keys. Since the other party had spoken first, there was no need for him to be overly rude.

Huo Fuzhu chuckled lightly. "My hometown is around here. What a coincidence that it happens to be the same hometown as Miss Yu."

As soon as those words fell, the atmosphere between the two men instantly turned tense.

Pei Jiayin narrowed his eyes dangerously, his long, narrow gaze shooting a chilling glare straight at Huo Fuzhu.

Yet the other man showed very little reaction of fear.

"How did you know?"

The gas station attendant had finished filling the tank, but seeing the two men like this, neither dared to speak up.

Huo Fuzhu's car had also been filled. He took out cash and handed it to the attendant.

He could have said that he was dropping Yu Yuchu home, but thinking that such a provocation might make Yu Yuchu's situation more difficult, he merely shrugged and said, "This county is so small, of course I saw her when I was coming back. What on earth is President Pei thinking?"

With that, he smiled and got into his car.

"I have matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. President Pei, do enjoy your stroll."

Having said that, he drove away.

Naturally, Pei Jiayin didn't linger either; he started his car and continued on his way toward Yu Yuchu.

Upon reaching the entrance of her village, he drove no further. Instead, he sent Yu Yuchu a message.

[What are you doing?]

Scarcely had he sent it when a reply came back from the other end: [Just finished eating. Is the capitalist about to exploit the wage slave?]

She followed it with a cute little emoji.

It instantly lifted Pei Jiayin's mood considerably.

He picked up his phone, his slender fingers typing out a reply.

[But I haven't eaten yet.]

Yu Yuchu: [Why didn't you eat? Is Auntie's cooking not to your liking?]

The smile on his lips remained unwavering. Seeing this, he replied: [I missed you, and I want to eat the food you make.]

***

At the Yu family's dining table, Yu Yuchu's face was flushed, glowing as if she were harboring budding romantic feelings, though she seemed lost in thought.

Li Guifang sensed something was amiss, but she didn't probe too deeply, assuming that after meeting Huo Fuzhu, her daughter had found him to be quite acceptable.

With this thought, she smilingly brought up the subject.

"Chuchu, how are things going between you and Fuzhu? That young man should be your type, right? If you're getting along well, when will you bring him home for us to see?"

Yu Yuchu felt somewhat awkward, never expecting her mother's thoughts to run in that direction.

She gave a light cough and let her gaze dart away.

"Mom, don't meddle in this."

For a moment, she didn't know how to explain her relationship with Huo Fuzhu, so she could only ask her mother not to interfere in their affairs.

Li Guifang simply assumed she was being shy and repeatedly said, "All right, I won't interfere in you young people's business. As long as you get along well."

"You've got it all wrong, nothing is set in stone yet. I wasn't chatting with Mr. Huo just now; I was talking to a friend."

Yu Yuchu said with a trace of displeasure.

Yet, contrary to her expectations, the moment she finished speaking, Li Guifang's expression changed.

She put down her rice bowl and looked at Yu Yuchu with a serious expression.

"Chuchu, Mom thinks you shouldn't get too close to other men right now. After all, you and little Huo have already met, and it seems neither of you is dissatisfied with the other. You should just focus on getting along properly, especially that roommate of yours. Our backgrounds differ too much, and we don't know his true character—don't let money blind your eyes."

The more she spoke, the more vehement she became, completely ignoring Yu Yuchu's unsightly expression on the side.

"Is being with a wealthy person the same as being blinded by money? Mom, when are you going to drop these archaic mindsets!"

Unable to bear her mother's relentless badgering any longer, Yu Yuchu stood up and spoke with a stern face.

Li Guifang narrowed her eyes as she looked at her daughter.

This girl is acting strange.

"Are you and that... Pei fellow... dating?"

"Mom—"

"Enough!" Mr. Yu's voice cut through the mother and daughter's quarrel.

He disagreed with his wife's views as well, but whenever he tried to speak, his wife would dismiss him by saying he was a man who didn't understand.

However, he didn't care to understand such notions; he only knew he didn't want his daughter to marry someone she didn't love simply because of some vague concept of "suitability."

"And you, don't meddle in the young people's affairs. If they can converse well, let them date; if it doesn't work out, it just means they lack fate."

Mr. Yu's words displeased Li Guifang.

"What kind of tone is that? I'm doing this for Chuchu's own good. Little Huo is suitable in every aspect. If she doesn't marry such a prime, high-quality man, is she supposed to marry that roommate of hers instead? The world of the wealthy is not one we can afford to play in."

In truth, Li Guifang merely possessed a somewhat overbearing personality, but her intentions were well-meaning.

The reason she was reluctant to let her daughter have excessive contact with Pei Jiayin was precisely out of fear that her daughter's heart would be toyed with.

***

Yet she was simply accustomed to speaking with authority, which inevitably made her appear far too forceful.

Both Mr. Yu and Yu Yuchu understood this, yet every time this topic was broached, it inevitably erupted into a massive argument.

"For Chuchu's good, for Chuchu's good—it's always the same old line."

"Have you ever stopped to think whether your so-called 'suitability' is actually suitable for Chuchu?"

Li Guifang was left speechless. She opened her mouth, but ultimately let out a sigh and said nothing more.

"Fine, fine, I get it. I shouldn't have been meddling in other people's business."

Possessing a sharp tongue but a soft heart, she didn't press the matter further and turned to walk into the kitchen.

Only then did Yu Yuchu remember to check her phone.

It dawned on her that she hadn't yet replied to Pei Jiayin's messages.

[I'm outside your village. Shall we meet?]

[Are you busy?]

[Missed voice call.]

[......]

Several messages popped up in succession, prompting Yu Yuchu to reply in a flurry.

[I'm so sorry, I was caught up with something just now and only just saw your message.]

[Are you still outside the village? I'll come find you right now.]

After exhaling the final puff of her cigarette—wait, his cigarette—Pei Jiayin gazed into the pitch-black night and replied with a single character: [Mn.]

On second thought, he added another line of instruction: [It's cold outside, wear more layers.]

Yu Yuchu's face blossomed with sweet smiles as she pulled on her coat and hurried out the door.

"You child, where are you off to this late at night..."

Li Guifang asked anxiously, watching her retreating figure.

"Just stepping out for a bit, don't worry. I'm going out to hang out with a friend."

Mr. Yu watched his daughter's departing back thoughtfully, smiling slightly a moment later without saying much. Oh well, children have minds of their own; as parents, respect was all that was needed.

"What are you smiling at? The daughter ran off so late and you aren't even going to manage her, such a father you are."

Though Li Guifang uttered words of complaint, her hands did not stop moving as she used a warm towel to wipe him down and gently massaged the somewhat stiff muscles in his legs.

Mr. Yu looked at his wife with a sense of lingering guilt, raising a hand to stroke her cheek.

"I'm sorry, I've made you suffer."