The divorce comeback system arrived right after I was born.

The two got into the car, and Lao Zhao drove back to Wanliu Academy. Pei Ningxue looked out the window and didn't say much along the way, and Chen Zhi didn't take the initiative to start a conversation either. It wasn't until they entered the house and changed their shoes that Pei Ningxue turned around.

"My dad is the kind of person who never finishes a sentence at once."

Chen Zhi chimed in, "I've noticed that saying half a sentence and leaving the rest unsaid is more troublesome than holding a meeting."

"That's not called making trouble, that's called giving you a way out." Pei Ningxue walked to the sofa, sat down, and crossed her legs. "Lunch was just a preliminary assessment, dinner is the main course."

Chen Zhi stood in the middle of the living room, suddenly feeling a little uneasy.

"What do you think your dad's up to tonight?"

Pei Ningxue sneered: "What else could it be? Ask how many other people you're keeping on the side."

"What should we do then? Won't our scheme be exposed?"

Pei Ningxue glanced at him. "It's not 'we,' it's you. Your affair has been exposed, what does that have to do with me?"

He sat down at the other end of the sofa, rubbing his knees with both hands, his mind racing.

"What if your dad doesn't approve of me marrying you?"

Pei Ningxue said expressionlessly, "Unless something unexpected happens, my dad definitely won't agree."

Chen Zhi immediately switched to a mask of pain, clutching his chest with his hand, "I will miss you, my lover whom I cannot have."

"Get out of here!"

Pei Ningxue grabbed the remote control from the coffee table and threw it at him.

Chen Zhi dodged to the side, and the remote control slammed onto the back of the sofa with a "smack," sending the battery cover flying two meters away.

"You're really not even willing to put on a perfunctory excuse now, are you?" Pei Ningxue's face flushed with anger. "My dad's leaving tomorrow, and tonight's the most crucial meal of the night, and this is the attitude you're taking?"

Chen Zhi quickly put away his playful smile and became serious:

"What should we do then?"

Pei Ningxue took a deep breath, sat up straight again, and regained the composure she had when negotiating as a CFO.

"It's very simple."

She looked at Chen Zhi and said, word by word:

"No matter what evidence Pei Dongcheng presents, you insist that you will only marry me in this lifetime."

Chen Zhi was stunned for a moment.

"What if he produces a photograph?"

Pei Ningxue raised her chin, her neck forming an elegant curve.

"Then tell him it's just an act."

She paused, her voice softening slightly, but still clear.

"I don't care, as long as you marry me in the end, I, Pei Ningxue, can tolerate those other cats and dogs outside."

Chen Zhi looked at her face.

These words sounded domineering, but Chen Zhi always felt that Pei Ningxue was using her father to manipulate him as well.

But he had no evidence.

And now is not the time to pursue this.

"Okay." Chen Zhi nodded. "We'll do it your way."

Pei Ningxue gave a satisfied "hmm" and got up to walk towards the bedroom.

"Go change your clothes and be there before seven. Don't be late."

……

China World Hotel, rooftop Chinese restaurant.

It's the same private room we used at noon.

When Chen Zhi pushed open the door, Pei Dongcheng was already sitting in the main seat.

Unlike at noon, the dishes on the table were much more plentiful. In the corner stood a bottle of Moutai, with a handwritten year label on it.

But Chen Zhi's gaze did not fall on the dishes.

He stared at something in the center of the table.

A yellow kraft paper bag.

It was bulging and the opening was sealed with two loops of white thread.

Pei Ningxue followed Chen Zhi in and saw the paper bag at first glance.

Her steps faltered for a moment.

Pei Dongcheng looked up, glanced at his daughter, then at Chen Zhi, and gestured with his chin to the two empty seats opposite him.

"sit."

The two pulled out chairs and sat down. Chen Zhi deliberately asked Pei Ningxue to sit between him and Pei Dongcheng, but Pei Ningxue plopped down in the seat further away from her father.

The waiters filed in and began setting the plates and pouring the drinks.

Pei Dongcheng personally unscrewed the cap of the Moutai bottle and poured more than half a glass into Chen Zhi's cup. The liquor was clear and had a rich, savory aroma.

Chen Zhi quickly picked up the cup with both hands and caught it.

"Thank you, Mr. Pei."

"Xiaoxue doesn't drink alcohol, pour her a glass of juice." Pei Dongcheng instructed his secretary, who was standing by the door, without turning his head.

After pouring the juice, the secretary quietly slipped out, closing the door to the private room behind her.

With a "click," the door lock engaged.

Only three people remained in the large private room.

And that brown paper bag.

Pei Dongcheng picked up his wine glass: "Here, have a taste. This is something I brought from Jiangcheng."

Chen Zhi clinked glasses and downed half a glass in one gulp.

The burning liquid poured into his stomach, and he almost coughed it up.

Pei Dongcheng watched his little actions without saying anything. He took a sip, put down his wine glass, picked up his chopsticks, and took a piece of lion's head meatball.

"Please eat, don't be shy."

Pei Dongcheng ate a few bites of food, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and looked up at Pei Ningxue.

"Minor Snow".

"dad."

"I've seen the latest situation at Deep Space Technology." Pei Dongcheng's tone was as flat as it was at noon, revealing no hint of praise or criticism. "You've done a very good job as CFO."

"Thank you, Dad."

Pei Dongcheng picked up another piece of fish, put it in his mouth, and slowly chewed it.

Then he put down his chopsticks.

"But is the CEO competent?"

His gaze slowly shifted to Chen Zhi.

"That's not necessarily true."

Chen Zhi's grip on the chopsticks tightened slightly.

I can't respond to that.

So he chose to keep quiet.

Pei Dongcheng didn't rush to continue. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and kept his gaze fixed on Chen Zhi's face, past the rim of the teacup.

"At noon you said that Xiaoxue was your partner."

"right."

"Then let me ask you another way." Pei Dongcheng put down his teacup and placed his hands crossed on the table. "Besides being your partner, what else is she to you?"

He glanced at Pei Ningxue, but she didn't look at him; instead, she stared down at her fingers on her knee.

"She's my girlfriend." Chen Zhi turned around and looked at Pei Dongcheng. "She's also the person I'm going to marry in the future."

Pei Dongcheng's expression remained unchanged.

He simply reached out and pulled the yellow brown paper bag from the center of the table in front of him.

The white thread sealing the opening was slowly untied.

Pei Dongcheng pulled a stack of things out of the paper bag and neatly spread them on the table.

Chen Zhi looked down.

It is a stack of high-resolution printed photos.

The top picture is a side profile photo of him and Lin Wanwan kissing on a pedestrian overpass.

The second picture shows him hugging Lin Wanwan backstage at "Singer".

The third one—

Chen Zhi and Li Zhiyi walked side by side at the entrance of Renmin University, their fingers intertwined.

Pei Ningxue's body stiffened.

Pei Dongcheng flipped through the photos one by one, moving very slowly, as if giving the two of them enough time to process it.

He stopped when he turned to the last page.

"Chen Zhi," Pei Dongcheng's voice was neither loud nor soft, "you just said you wanted to marry my daughter."

"Yes."

"Then what are these?"

Pei Dongcheng tapped the photo on the table with his finger.

Before Chen Zhi could speak, Pei Ningxue suddenly spoke up.

"dad."

Pei Dongcheng looked at his daughter.

Pei Ningxue raised her head, her back ramrod straight.

"I know these things."

Pei Dongcheng's expression finally cracked for the first time.

He frowned.

"You know?"

"I know everything." Pei Ningxue's voice was surprisingly calm. "Lin Wanwan, and the other one, I know everything."

Pei Dongcheng stared at his daughter for a long time.

"Knowing you still—"

"I accept the person I chose," Pei Ningxue interrupted her father.

Pei Dongcheng did not respond.

He slowly gathered up the stack of photos and stuffed them back into the brown paper bag.

Then he picked up his glass and downed it in one gulp.

The empty cup clattered onto the table.

"Chen Zhi".

"President Pei."

Pei Dongcheng stared at him, his voice turning somber.

"I'll just ask you one question, so think it through before you answer."