After rescuing the desperate girl, I have no way to escape.

She raised both hands, gesturing as she spoke first: "That means taking off all your clothes, right? So, do you think your brother Pei is planning to use a few bottles of drinks to lure you into bed?"

Now she didn't care about anything anymore, and she couldn't even hide her straightforward personality, which she was ashamed to show in front of Pei Xingyan. She felt that she should remind Pei Xingyan to be careful that he might be tricked into a dark room by this green tea girl one day.

Lu Yan's gestures were straightforward, clearly explaining everything. Sui Xin exclaimed "Ee—" and quickly covered her face, hurriedly apologizing to Pei Xingyan, saying that she didn't mean it that way.

Pei Xingyan could only laugh awkwardly and brush off the issue.

He thought to himself, "This conversation is hopeless. Why am I running into trouble at every turn tonight?"

……

When they returned, it was just him and Lu Yan. Lu Yan was standing very close; it was unclear whether she had been pushed along by the crowd or if there was some other reason.

"Hey, does that girl from high school have a crush on you? It's pretty obvious," Lu Yan whispered in his ear.

"Don't talk nonsense..."

"Really? Can't you tell?" she asked in surprise, afraid that Pei Xingyan was really a slow-witted guy.

"Even if you can see it, you can only pretend you can't..." Pei Xingyan lowered his head dejectedly, his voice deep.

Lu Yan thought for a while, then suddenly felt a surge of joy. This was undoubtedly great news. Even she knew that if one person in a relationship was pretending to be oblivious, then no matter who the other person was, they wouldn't be able to achieve their wish...

"Hehe~"

"Stop grinning like an idiot, let me ask you a question... You said there are several companies listed jointly, so which ones are there?"

"I don't know. I'm not like Da Lu, I can't be by Lao Lu's side all day managing these things." Lu Yan shrugged and said, but in order not to make Pei Xingyan feel that she was being perfunctory, she racked her brains and came up with another piece of information that was almost useless. "But I did hear the two of them say that they were going to the duplex villa area in the north of the city sometime, saying that people live in that area."

Pei Xingyan thought to himself, "This information is really useful, no less than if you had told me your father's surname is Lu and your sister's surname is also Lu..."

But then he suddenly remembered the time he took Lin Xiaoyu home—

Her family happened to live in that area, and it was the only duplex apartment in the area that matched what Lu Yan described...

He suddenly felt a few drops of cold sweat dripping down his back.

No way... It can't really be like Lu Yan said, that things in this world are just too coincidental to be true...

Chapter 229 Whose business will you be managing?

“Um, Xiaoyu…” Pei Xingyan didn’t know how to voice his question, and he was even more afraid that his question would come true.

But the girl in front of him certainly didn't have such concerns.

Lin Xiaoyu blinked, quietly waiting for him to ask the question he wanted to ask. She always had endless patience in front of him, and she was willing to wait for him no matter how long he didn't speak.

"Actually, I was just asking what your family does. I suddenly realized that we've known each other for so long, and I don't seem to know anything about it..." Pei Xingyan hoped that his voice wouldn't tremble when he spoke, so that the girl in front of him wouldn't see that he was guilty.

Lin Xiaoyu made a "hmm" sound, then smiled mischievously.

She had never had such a vivid smile on her face before, not that she couldn't smile like a zombie, but that she had never had the opportunity to do so.

When I first met her, she always looked worried and cautious, afraid of making a mistake. Later, she managed to control her stress, but she still seemed anxious and insecure, afraid of upsetting the person in front of her. Later still, she did start to smile, but it was a quiet smile, the kind of gentle smile a girl gives you when she looks at you quietly.

She has indeed changed somewhat; at least for now, the word "death" seems to have temporarily left her behind.

"Xingyan, why did you suddenly start caring about this kind of thing? You're not thinking... hehe, starting to think about long-term plans for the future, are you?" She covered her mouth and chuckled mischievously, teasing the boy in front of her for the first time ever.

Similar to Su Shanshan's self-assured "destiny," Lin Xiaoyu seems to have unlocked a second stage since she "took a brave step" last time. She started to casually take Pei Xingyan's hand, holding it tightly even when her hand was trembling with nervousness; she started to whisper words that hinted at a happy future for them; she started to frankly tell him where she wanted to live, how she wanted to decorate the house, and that she wanted to set aside a room in the house to place neat musical instruments—she said she wanted to play with someone, to be in perfect harmony.

That person was Pei Xingyan, of course. Even if she didn't say his name, her eyes would only reflect one person's image when she said those words.

She added, "Don't worry about it. Our family is small but has some resources. At least we won't starve. We can manage even if we don't have to work."

Pei Xingyan thought to himself that he had known this all along, otherwise, if the family had no money, sending their child to study philosophy would have been a recipe for starvation.

But that wasn't the answer he wanted. He chuckled softly and retorted that even if someone is very capable, they still need to find something to do, otherwise they'll become a lazy bum who doesn't do any physical work.

He then asked, "I'm just curious about what your aunt and uncle do for a living. It's kind of interesting when I think about it. Look, they know Lu Yan's dad, right? I'm wondering if there's some kind of connection between us?"

From Su Shanshan, Pei Xingyan came to an infallible conclusion—girls are very susceptible to the idea of ​​"fate," not the kind of bold statement like "fate is in my hands" that boys make, but rather the sweet, romantic notion of "heaven has ordained that I love you."

Just as he expected, Lin Xiaoyu's eyes immediately showed a hint of barely suppressed excitement. She suddenly grabbed his arm tightly, as if she wanted to confirm what he had said.

"Uh... I'm not entirely sure how the family business operates, but it's probably in the biopharmaceutical field... I often hear my parents talking about this." Lin Xiaoyu pondered, now only regretting that she hadn't paid more attention to this matter.

Pei Xingyan kept laughing like an idiot, thinking to himself, "Damn it! God is really funny!"

There shouldn't be any mistake; the company that Lu Yan mentioned "lives in the duplex villa area in the north of the city" should be closely related to Lin Xiaoyu.

Looking back now, it seems surprisingly reasonable. Although people in the business world say that having more friends makes things easier, sending your daughter to perform at someone else's daughter's welcome party probably indicates a very close relationship...

These signs were all foreshadowed.

Gradually, Pei Xingyan's silly smile turned into a bitter smile. He couldn't help but lament how life could be so cruel, how the three families had to be connected, and how it had to be intertwined with his own family's problems.

Wouldn't that mean he'd be completely trapped?

"Why are you laughing like that? Is it because the weather is too hot?" Lin Xiaoyu pretended to scold him for his unpleasant laughter, but gently took out a wet wipe from her pocket and wiped the sweat from his head.

Pei Xingyan kept forcing a bitter smile, one after another, as if he were having a fit of madness.

The girl's gentleness was already hard for him to bear, and it was even more so in this situation.

He's even starting to have wild thoughts now. What if those parents suddenly pointed to the sky and said, "Sigh! Let the kids get together." And then everyone pulled out their phones to call the same person? Would it be more dignified for him to commit suicide on the spot, or would it be more dashing to offer his neck for execution...?

In any case, they can't escape death.

However, he couldn't possibly tell Lin Xiaoyu these thoughts. To avoid making himself seem like a fool in her eyes and causing her worry, Pei Xingyan had no choice but to continue the topic, "Biopharmaceuticals... that's quite impressive. I didn't expect you to be a rich young lady?"

Lin Xiaoyu's face flushed red again. Feigning anger, she lightly patted Pei Xingyan's arm and whispered a retort: ​​"What rich lady? She's just from an ordinary family!"

But she was just being modest; there are few fools like Emperor Hui of Jin in this society today.

Lin Xiaoyu then added, as if she had planned it all along, "Xingyan... if you can't find a job in the future, you can... you can... you can ask me for help..."

She clearly wanted to say more than just that, otherwise she wouldn't have blushed so much that her face was burning and she couldn't even speak clearly.

"Then, we can go see Mom and Dad together..." She finally revealed her true intentions and poured out everything she wanted to say.

Pei Xingyan couldn't answer, and could only keep grinning foolishly.

In contrast, he felt that Lu Yan's intentions were very pure. Lin Xiaoyu's conversation showed no sign of considering work at all; she was only focused on personal matters.

Another vivid scene appeared before Pei Xingyan's eyes:

Then, Lin Xiaoyu's parents suddenly saw their daughter bring a young man she didn't know home, telling them that she had decided to get married and that she planned to manage the family business with her husband after the marriage.

At that time, Lin Xiaoyu's parents probably didn't even have time to think about it; all that remained in their minds was doubt.

They'll definitely ask: Whose business is this guy going to manage?

Chapter 230 Old Deng's Gold Coins Explode?

"Let's discuss this further..."

Pei Xingyan could only ruthlessly interrupt Lin Xiaoyu, who had already begun to fantasize about a wonderful life. He really didn't want to face the cold gaze of a girl's father, even if it was just in her imagination.

"Mmm," Lin Xiaoyu nodded repeatedly, not giving up on the fantasy, but just putting it aside for the time being.

No one doubted that one day she would bring this up again...

The girl's sweet, soft voice rang out and then fell silent. She held the boy in front of her and talked for a long time before reluctantly leaving.

Pei Xingyan sat there and waited for only ten minutes before another girl arrived.

……

This wasn't an accident or a stroke of luck; it was simply that he had planned their schedules and times in advance, ensuring their meetings were spaced out. He had now completely mastered "time management," and aside from some self-reproach, everything else was wonderful, especially in terms of safety...

Su Shanshan ran without caring about her image, shifted her gaze to look for the baby, and then pounced on him, burying herself in his arms.

Then came the sweet nothings she had said thousands of times, yet almost never repeated. Su Shanshan buried her face in his stomach, her body swaying like an eel, trying to burrow inside him.

"Baby, I really want to graduate! Classes are so boring, and you won't even let me skip them!" Su Shanshan said pitifully. "I think about you the whole time I'm in class. I feel like my body is going to break down if you don't pat my head."

Don't talk like you've quit...

Pei Xingyan thought to himself, but he could only go along with Su Shanshan's wishes and gently stroke her head twice.

Su Shanshan changed her gloomy expression, stretched out in his arms, and suddenly yawned, wanting to take a nap.

"Shanshan... Come to think of it, it's been so long, and I still don't know what your family does..."

Pei Xingyan repeated the question he had asked another girl.

He felt that not only had the other girls changed, but he himself had changed somewhat. Now, he no longer felt guilty about saying such things or doing such shameless things...

"Hmm?" Su Shanshan groggily raised her head and forced herself to sit up straight.

She repeated Pei Xingyan's words in a soft, animal-like murmur, "What does your family do? They're in business..."

As she finished speaking, it was as if a resounding bell had struck her, jolting her awake and causing her to shudder violently. She exclaimed, "Baby, are you short of money, so you're planning a kidnapping to make us plunder some of the gold coins in our house?"

This time, it was Pei Xingyan's turn to tremble. Although he was used to dealing with this kind of situation when talking to girls with such unconventional thinking, he just couldn't get used to it...

No, how did she even think of that?!

Su Shanshan feigned fear, saying in a weak voice how naughty the baby was, but excitedly snuggled into his arms, almost straddling him. Her face was mostly filled with excitement, and she said with a mischievous smile that she was indeed short of money right now, and getting some gold coins from home was definitely a good thing.

Pei Xingyan could only silently mourn the misfortune of his family for Aunt Li, whom he had already met, and Uncle Su, whom he had yet to meet.

He delivered a heavy chop to Su Shanshan's head, shattering her wild fantasies, and sternly corrected her, "Don't have such wicked thoughts!"

Su Shanshan's enthusiasm was dampened, and she became dejected again. She sighed and said that she hadn't taken on any manuscripts for a while and didn't have much money to spend, but she still had to make some money.

Pei Xingyan could only say that if it wasn't good enough, he had more here, since he didn't need it for the time being.

Unexpectedly, Su Shanshan, who had been looking as listless as a wilted eggplant, suddenly perked up and pouted, exclaiming, "Baby is so good!"

Pei Xingyan could only continue asking questions with his cheek covered in lipstick marks, "Okay, okay, you haven't answered my questions properly yet. Can you please pay attention to my curiosity?"

"The question... is it about what your family does?" Su Shanshan finally calmed down and explained slowly, "To be honest, I'm not really sure, because I'm not very interested... But if I had to say, it could be divided into two areas. One is medical devices, and the other is probably related to pharmaceuticals, but it's more downstream, not really involved in research and development..."

Although she said she wasn't interested, she was actually extremely professional, at least compared to the other two girls.

The closer something is to the finished product or its direct sale to consumers, the more it is generally considered a downstream industry. The fact that she could say this shows that she wasn't completely ignorant of this aspect like Lin Xiaoyu.

"What's wrong, baby? Is there anything else you're curious about?" She changed from her serious tone when introducing the baby to a playful expression, gazing at her baby with a look of adoration.

She joked, "If you change your mind and want to get some more coins, don't worry about it. They'll be mine anyway, and of course, they'll be yours too."

She spoke with extreme ease, as if she were talking about a small amount of money, perhaps four or five figures, rather than a multi-million dollar business.

Even though he was used to her eccentricities, Pei Xingyan didn't dare to talk to her easily now. He could only laugh it off and say that if her parents heard such words, they would definitely beat her to death.

Su Shanshan kept grinning mischievously, as if she really had some bad idea.

“However, the friend who came to see me last time, that is, Lu Yan, seems to have a family business in this area. Maybe your two families know each other…” Pei Xingyan thought it over and decided to give a heads-up in advance, so that he wouldn’t have to bring up this matter with Su Shanshan in the future.

Su Shanshan became sullen again, muttering things like "Baby has no friends" and "Baby can't have friends," which sent chills down one's spine.

Pei Xingyan quickly changed the subject, discussing their upcoming graduation internship.

Su Shanshan suddenly perked up and, as if on a whim, begged Bao Bao to let her do an internship together. They could just get their parents' approval and not actually have to work. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

This was the second thing Pei Xingyan wanted to mention. He felt that directly infiltrating Lu Qingyun's side was still somewhat unsafe—most importantly, there was a risk of exposure—although it was the most effective route, avoiding alerting her was also something he needed to worry about now.

In contrast, things would be much more stable if he could be in a higher position in the "cooperation" they are seeking, without having to directly engage with the other party.

As for Lu Yan, he certainly wouldn't give up. Just like Lu Yan said, he only needed to keep the title and didn't have to embarrass himself in front of that woman every day.

"Okay, we'll see how the school arranges it..."

He readily agreed, which made Su Shanshan cheer again.

Pei Xingyan suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation. Although this was completely devoid of romantic feelings and only involved his personal interests, the fact that he was trying to achieve his goals by keeping it a secret from several girls still gave him the illusion that he was juggling multiple relationships.

He only hopes that he can go as far as possible.

Chapter 231 Is Weiwei going to work day and night?

Although the series of major news events left Pei Xingyan feeling dizzy and disoriented, he knew that things wouldn't happen immediately, so he still had plenty of time to plan, strategize, and even investigate.

To put it bluntly, they came to consult with Ye Ziwei, or simply to ask for her advice.

Even though he had his own preparations and ideas, such as using Su Shanshan's side to gather information, that wasn't enough; he needed a more robust plan...

Therefore, he needs to see Ye Ziwei, and predictably, this will become more and more frequent.

Although he was very reluctant to admit it, and even more reluctant to rely on Ye Ziwei for everything, this obsessive girl was already his best help.

He sat on a bench on the sidewalk next to Ye Ziwei's school, waiting for the girl with mobility issues to arrive.

This is a trap, without a doubt.

Pei Xingyan knew this better than anyone else. Ye Ziwei might have already planned to make him gradually become dependent on her when she first told him what she wanted to do for him. But even knowing it was a trap, Pei Xingyan had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk into it.