The divorce comeback system arrived right after I was born.

The surface of Houhai Lake reflects the scattered lights on the shore, while the noise from the bar street next door is completely blocked by a narrow alley.

Pei Ningxue did not go home, but instead took Chen Zhi to a quiet bar.

In Pei Ningxue's words, "Are you scared?" She continued to provoke Chen Zhi as always.

Chen Zhi understood that she wanted to spend more time with him and enjoy some alone time, so he had no choice but to keep her company.

The resident singer was a middle-aged man with long hair. He sat on a high stool in the corner, half-closing his eyes and playing an old folk song. He sang it weakly and without any skill, but it was all emotion.

Chen Zhi chose the corner booth, and Pei Ningxue sat down and casually flipped through the wine list.

What would you like to drink?

"casual."

Chen Zhi ordered two special cocktails for her and a bottle of mineral water for himself.

Pei Ningxue glanced over: "Aren't you going to drink?"

"I need to stay alert to see your dad tomorrow."

"Getting nervous already?" Pei Ningxue picked up her cup and took a sip. "How pathetic."

Chen Zhi didn't respond, leaning back against the leather back of the booth.

Pei Ningxue drank slowly. After finishing one glass, a thin blush rose on her cheeks. She pushed the empty glass aside and picked up a second one.

"Slower."

"What's it to you?"

She tilted her head back and took another big gulp.

Chen Zhi reached out and snatched the cup from her hand, placing it on his own side.

Give it back to me.

"If you drink too much and show up to pick up your dad tomorrow with a hangover, do you think that's appropriate?"

Pei Ningxue glared at him for two seconds, then stopped arguing.

She leaned towards Chen Zhi, resting her head on his shoulder.

The resident singer changed to a different song, his voice hoarse and deep. Chen Zhi didn't listen carefully to what he was singing. The other customers in the bar sat in twos and threes, each busy with their own things, and no one looked over.

Pei Ningxue leaned on his shoulder and remained quiet for a long time.

"Chen Zhi".

"Um."

"How can you be so fickle?"

Her voice was light and airy, with a hint of frankness that only comes with the effects of alcohol.

"If only you loved only me."

Chen Zhi opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He didn't know how to respond. Saying "I only like you?" would be a lie. Saying "I'm sorry?" would be too cheap.

Pei Ningxue didn't wait for his reply and continued speaking on her own.

"We went through junior high together, finished high school together, and graduated from university together."

"Every day I hold your hand and walk in this alley, then we watch the sunset together. When we get home, you cook and I wash the dishes."

Chen Zhi didn't respond, and Pei Ningxue continued talking to herself.

"I'll give you a son and a daughter later." Pei Ningxue snuggled her face into his shoulder. "Hmm, a son would definitely be naughty, so let's have a daughter first. We can watch them grow up until our hair turns white and our beauty fades."

Pei Ningxue remained quiet for a while.

The melody of an acoustic guitar lingered in the bar. When the resident singer reached the chorus, he lowered his voice, as if afraid of waking someone.

"Let's keep going like this forever." Pei Ningxue's speech slowed down. "Every night you hold me in your arms, and I sleep in your arms. Later, there will be a little one, squeezing in between us, all warm and cozy."

"This is truly blissful."

Chen Zhi stared blankly at the dim overhead lights of the bar.

His mind was replaying Pei Ningxue's words over and over.

Growing old together from junior high school sounds like such a simple thing, but for others, it might really have been a lifetime.

But in his case...

Who is Chen Zhi? A scumbag who cheats on his wife with three women.

He also has two girlfriends: one is a lovestruck superstar, and the other is his childhood sweetheart who grew up with him and is well-behaved and sensible.

Now Pei Ningxue is nestled in his arms, talking about a lifetime commitment, wanting everything from him.

But can he give it to me?

Pei Ningxue waited for a long time, but received no response.

She lifted her head from Chen Zhi's shoulder, her eyebrows furrowed.

Why are you ignoring me?

Chen Zhi came to his senses.

"Don't you like this kind of life? After you got me, you can't even be bothered to appease me anymore?"

She seemed to be both pouting and genuinely angry.

Chen Zhi looked at the face in his arms, flushed from the alcohol. She was completely different when she got angry now than before. Before, she would coldly confront him, but now she was like a cat with its fur standing on end, all blunt claws.

"I'm thinking about a very serious question," Chen Zhi said.

"What?"

"What if I have a daughter in the future, and she grows up to have a birth like mine?"

Pei Ningxue was stunned for a moment.

Then she thought about it seriously for two seconds and nodded: "Then it's better to have a son."

"?"

"If you were born into a family like yours, it would be so tragic," Pei Ningxue said with a look of deep empathy.

Chen Zhi was taken aback by this sudden turn of events, and it took him a while to react: "Oh dear, you still love me?"

"I've already lost to you in this life, there's nothing I can do about it." Pei Ningxue rolled her eyes. "Who told me to bother with you in the first place?"

When the resident singer finished his song, a few scattered claps rang out in the bar.

Chen Zhi put down the mineral water bottle and pulled Pei Ningxue out of the booth.

The two walked back hand in hand along the lakeside of Houhai.

The streetlights cast long shadows of them, one tall and one short, pressed against the stone pavement, swaying with each step.

After walking a short distance, Pei Ningxue turned her head to look at him.

You seem preoccupied today.

Chen Zhi did not deny it.

"Are you scared because my dad is coming?"

Chen Zhi hesitated for a moment, then nodded honestly.

He stole someone else's cabbage.

He also did a lot of inhuman things.

Tomorrow I still have to sit in front of someone's father with a serious face and say "Hello, Uncle".

He still felt a little guilty and scared.

Pei Ningxue took in his expression and gave a haughty snort.

"Even if you're scared, I won't help you."

"..."

"You brought this trouble upon yourself, so you should deal with it."

After she finished speaking, she released Chen Zhi's hand, put her hands into her hoodie pockets, and quickened her pace to walk ahead.

Chen Zhi stood there watching her back.

Wearing a white sweatshirt and light blue jeans, her high ponytail swayed with her steps. The streetlight shone on her profile, revealing a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth.

This girl is in a good mood.

But Chen Zhi was in a bad mood at all.

He quickened his pace to catch up and took her hand again.

"President Pei."

"what?"

"You need to tell me at least what kind of person your dad is, right?"

Pei Ningxue tilted her head and thought for a moment: "My dad, well..."

"Um."

"Do you know what there's a saying in Jiangcheng's business circles?"

"What?"

"Before shaking hands with Pei Dongcheng, count how many fingers you have."

Chen Zhi paused in his steps.

Pei Ningxue added insult to injury: "He hates two kinds of people the most."

Which two?

"The first type is the person who cheats him in business."

"What about the second one?"

Pei Ningxue turned around, took two steps back, and stared at Chen Zhi's face.

"The person who deceived his daughter emotionally."

The air was silent for three seconds.

Seeing his expression, Pei Ningxue finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Look how scared you are."

"I wasn't scared," Chen Zhi stubbornly insisted.

Pei Ningxue finished laughing, turned around and continued walking forward, this time extending her hand proactively.

Chen Zhi grasped it. Her fingertips were cool, and the ring pressed firmly against his palm.

"Don't worry." Pei Ningxue's tone suddenly softened. "No matter how fierce my dad is, he won't really do anything to you."

How did you know?

"Because he will eventually accept my choices." She paused for a moment. "It's always been like this since I was a child."

Chen Zhi looked at her with a mixture of belief and doubt.

Pei Ningxue added, "Of course, provided you don't embarrass yourself too much tomorrow."

The two walked to where the bicycles were parked.

Chen Zhi got into the car and patted the back seat.

Pei Ningxue didn't hesitate this time, straddling him and sitting down, her arms naturally wrapped around his waist.

"Let's go home." She rested her chin on Chen Zhi's back.

"go home."

The bicycle crunched over the stone pavement.

The night breeze passed between the two, carrying away the lingering smell of alcohol in the bar.

Pei Ningxue closed her eyes and pressed her face against Chen Zhi's broad back.

She is very happy today.

But what she didn't tell Chen Zhi was—

Her father, Pei Dongcheng, came to Beijing not just to "see who his daughter was working for."

Last week, her father's secretary called and said, "The chairman wants you to investigate how many girlfriends Chen Zhi of Deep Space Technology has in Beijing."

She stood on the balcony for a full ten minutes, holding her phone.

Finally, he replied with four words:

"I will handle it."

It was nearly eleven o'clock when I returned to Wanliu Academy.

Pei Ning leaned against the wall in the entryway to change her shoes. She put on one slipper and then stopped, tilting her head to look at Chen Zhi.

"What are you looking at?"

"Look at you." Pei Ningxue kicked off her other shoe, walked over barefoot, reached out and grabbed Chen Zhi's hoodie collar, pulling him towards her.

"We'll talk about tomorrow's problems tomorrow."

She stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

Not the kind of thing that's just a fleeting glance.

Chen Zhi took a half step back and braced himself against the entryway cabinet, then reached out to support her waist.

The motion-sensor light in the entryway turned on.

It's dead again.

The two people moved from the entryway to the living room, and then bumped into the bedroom.

I left my clothes lying around the whole way.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights of Beijing shone brightly in the dead of night. A night breeze slipped in through the slightly ajar window, billowing the white gauze curtains.

On the large double bed, two figures were completely intertwined.

This time, Pei Ningxue completely shed her reserve and the burden of being the eldest daughter of the Pei family.

She was as passionate as a fire, her fingers gripping the sheets tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.

"Chen Zhi..."

"Um."

Hold me tight, don't let go.

Chen Zhi bent down and left a mark on her fair neck.

"You'll never escape in this lifetime."

As night deepened, the myriad lights outside the window witnessed this profound union of soul and body.

Pei Ningxue was woken up by her alarm clock.

Her phone vibrated incessantly on the bedside table. She fumbled for it to turn it off and rolled over, wanting to stay in bed for another two minutes.

As a result of this flip, a wave of soreness surged up all over my body.

She gritted her teeth, slowly pulled herself out from under Chen Zhi's arm, and finally sat up, glancing down at Chen Zhi who was still fast asleep.

The person was sleeping quite peacefully, with one hand resting on her pillow and breathing evenly.

Pei Ningxue rubbed her aching back, stepped barefoot onto the floor, tiptoed around the clothes scattered on the floor, and sneaked into the bathroom.

The shower water made a "whoosh" sound.

Chen Zhi's eyelids twitched.

He had actually woken up five minutes earlier. His biological clock, honed from two lifetimes, was more accurate than an alarm clock, but he hadn't opened his eyes yet, wanting to see if Pei Ningxue would wake him up.

As a result, the girl ran away on her own.

Chen Zhi took a deep breath and sat up in bed.

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

A few minutes later, Pei Ningxue came out of the room wrapped in a bath towel, her hair wet and draped over her shoulders, her face flushed pink from the hot water.

"Awake?" She glanced at Chen Zhi, then walked to the wardrobe and started rummaging through clothes.

Why didn't you call me?

"Why did I call you? Afraid you'll run away?" Pei Ningxue didn't turn her head, took out a beige cashmere coat from the closet, held it up against herself, and then changed into a gray one.

She changed her clothes three times before finally choosing a pale yellow knitted cardigan paired with camel-colored trousers. It was simple and neat, but the details showed her restraint. She couldn't be too casual, which would make her father think she was living a rough life in Beijing, nor could she be too formal, which would seem deliberate.

Chen Zhi watched her spin around in front of the mirror twice and couldn't help but ask, "Are you nervous?"

Pei Ningxue turned around and raised an eyebrow: "Why am I nervous? That's my dad, not your dad."

"That's true." Chen Zhi threw back the covers and got out of bed. "I should be the one who's nervous."

"Then why aren't you going to take a shower?" Pei Ningxue gestured towards the bathroom. "What are you dawdling for? The flight lands at nine, and the journey takes at least forty minutes. Are you planning to be late and make a good impression on my dad?"

Chen Zhi stepped barefoot into the bathroom, glanced back at her, and asked, "President Pei, what do you think would be appropriate for me to wear today?"

"That dark gray custom-made suit in your closet."

"Wouldn't this be too formal? Makes me seem nervous."

"You were already very nervous."

"..."

Chen Zhi closed the bathroom door.

Twenty minutes later, Chen Zhi came out of the bathroom, dried his hair, and walked to the wardrobe.

Pei Ningxue had already finished her makeup and sat in front of the dressing table, using a curling iron to slightly curl the ends of her hair. Her makeup was light, and the lipstick color was more subdued, making her look gentle and elegant.

Chen Zhi opened the wardrobe, where the dark gray suit custom-made at Shanghai Hang Lung Plaza hung at the very back. After thinking for a moment, he pulled out a dark blue V-neck sweater and a pair of khaki casual pants.

"Didn't I tell you to wear a suit?" Pei Ningxue looked at him in the mirror.

"Wearing a suit to meet your dad, it's like going to a job interview." Chen Zhi put on his sweater. "I'm not going to his company for a job interview. Dressing casually will at least make me look natural."

Pei Ningxue stared at him for two seconds, then didn't object anymore.

Chen Zhi's choice is indeed reasonable. Dressing too formally would only expose one's insecurity, while dressing comfortably and relaxedly is the spirit that young people should have.

But she wouldn't praise him verbally.

"The neckline is crooked." She put down the curling iron, walked over, and reached out to straighten the neckline of his V-neck sweater.

Pei Ningxue lowered her head and fiddled with his collar, her eyelashes trembling.

"That mark on your neck..."

Chen Zhi lowered his head.

The reddish-purple circular mark left by Pei Ningxue last night is faintly visible.

"Change to a turtleneck." Pei Ningxue said decisively.

"Wearing turtlenecks in March?"

"Then wear a scarf."

Wearing a scarf in March?

Pei Ningxue glared at him: "You want my dad to see the teeth marks on your neck?"

Chen Zhi wisely shut his mouth and obediently changed into a dark gray crew neck sweater, the neckline just covering the "evidence".

Pei Ningxue circled around him, looked him up and down, and finally nodded.

"Alright. Let's go."

The two left home at exactly 7:50.

Old Zhao had already parked the Rolls-Royce in the underground parking garage of Wanliu Academy. Pei Ningxue opened the back door and got in, with Chen Zhi following behind.

As the car entered the Fourth Ring Road, Pei Ningxue kept looking at her phone. Chen Zhi glanced at it; it was a flight status update, scheduled to arrive at 08:55.

It arrived a few minutes earlier than expected.

"We've arrived ahead of schedule." Pei Ningxue locked the screen and turned to look out the window.

Chen Zhi noticed that she was repeatedly rubbing the platinum band ring with the index finger of her right hand.

She was nervous too.

However, her nervousness was different from Chen Zhi's. Chen Zhi was nervous about how not to mess up in front of his father-in-law, while Pei Ningxue was nervous about how much her father had found out.

Silence fell inside the car.

Soon, Lao Zhao took the two to the airport.

The two got off the car.

Chen Zhi stood next to her, an arm's length apart.

A very standard superior-subordinate positioning.

Pei Ningxue glanced at him and said softly, "Don't embarrass me."

Chen Zhi was about to retort.

The automatic doors of the VIP passage slowly opened.

A tall, middle-aged man strode out.

He wore a dark cashmere coat over a well-tailored dark blue shirt. His hair was neatly combed, with a few strands of silver at his temples. His facial features bore a six or seven-tenths resemblance to Pei Ningxue.

Behind him followed a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, pulling a carry-on suitcase, his steps quick and short; he was clearly the secretary.

Pei Ningxue had already gone to greet her.

"dad."

Her tone was much calmer than Chen Zhi had imagined, lacking the excitement of a long-awaited reunion, as if she were just greeting someone at the company.

Pei Dongcheng paused for a moment.

He looked at his daughter for two seconds, his eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly, and then a not-so-warm smile appeared on his lips.

"You've lost weight."

Pei Ningxue did not respond.

Pei Dongcheng shifted his gaze from his daughter to Chen Zhi, who was three steps away.

"Chen Zhi, it's been a long time."

Chen Zhi took a step forward and extended his right hand.

"Mr. Pei, hello."

Pei Dongcheng looked down at the outstretched hand and squeezed it tightly.

The force was so strong that Chen Zhi's finger bones felt a little sore.

"Let's go to the hotel first. On the way, tell me what Deep Space Technology has been busy with lately."

After he finished speaking, he walked straight toward the Rolls-Royce, with his secretary jogging after him.

The three of them got into the car. Pei Dongcheng sat on the left, Pei Ningxue sat on the right, and Chen Zhi had to sit in the passenger seat.

As for the secretary? Of course, she took a taxi.

Old Zhao started the car.

Pei Dongcheng leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, looking as if he was resting.

As soon as the car entered the airport expressway, Pei Dongcheng suddenly opened his eyes and turned his head.

He looked at Chen Zhi.

"How old is Mr. Chen this year?"

"nineteen."

Pei Dongcheng's lips twitched slightly: "Nineteen years old, managing a company valued at over 10 billion."

"Mr. Pei, you flatter me. The company is still in its early stages."

"I wasn't praising you," Pei Dongcheng interrupted him. "I was wondering how a nineteen-year-old allocates their energy."

Pei Ningxue's body tensed slightly.

Chen Zhi's heart skipped a beat.

How is your energy allocated?

These words sounded like they were talking about work, but what Pei Dongcheng looked into his eyes clearly meant more than just work.

"Staying between my studies and the company is really tough," Chen Zhi replied flawlessly. "Fortunately, Ningxue helps me with the company's finances and operations, which allows me to have time to focus on my studies."

Pei Dongcheng's expression didn't change much.

"Hmm," he responded, then closed his eyes again.

The car was quiet for half a minute.

The Rolls-Royce drove smoothly on the highway.

"Mr. Chen."

"President Pei, please speak."

Pei Dongcheng slowly opened his eyes, turned his head, and stared at Chen Zhi's face.

"I'd like to treat you to lunch today. Just the two of us."

He paused for a moment.

"You don't need to come, Xiaoxue."