Pei Buxian, seething with anger, was the first to point the finger at Pei Mu and Pei Ci: "Is it you two? You twisted twins!"
Pei Mu and Pei Ci widened their eyes in disbelief, retorting in unison: "You’re calling us twisted when you’re the one who’s twisted? Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black!"
"If it were me, I wouldn’t say a word!" Pei Buxian turned to his brothers: "Who was it? Confess now!"
The men exchanged wary glances.
Pei Youchuan crossed his arms, unable to hide his irritation: "It definitely wasn’t me!"
Pei Fengnong declared with an air of righteousness: "Not me either."
Pei Che shot a sharp look at Pei Yuan: "It wasn’t me."
All eyes turned to the eldest brother, Pei Yuan.
Pei Yuan scoffed dismissively.
He turned and walked into the restroom in the lounge: "Even Qiao Chuchu herself can’t tell if it was a dream or reality, yet you’re all taking it so seriously."
He squeezed a generous amount of hand soap into his palm and meticulously scrubbed his fingers: "It seems none of you have any brains."
Pei Buxian was stunned, starting to doubt himself: "So it was just a dream Qiao Chuchu had?"
"Of course it was a dream," Pei Yuan dried his hands and leaned against the sink: "If it wasn’t any of you, who else could it be? Me?"
His expression was calm as still water: "I’m the head of the Pei family. Are you all seriously going to suspect me?"
Pei Buxian faltered, frowning and muttering: "Well, I wouldn’t suspect you, big brother…"
The other brothers exchanged glances.
They wouldn’t suspect their eldest brother either.
Pei Yuan smiled with satisfaction, walking up to Pei Buxian and patting his shoulder: "You need to work on that temper of yours. You’re in your twenties and still acting like a child, flying off the handle at the slightest thing and even crying. Look at your brothers—none of them are as quick to anger as you. Use your brain when something happens."
Pei Buxian hugged his plush toy, looking like a scolded cat, his entire demeanor deflated: "Fine."
Pei Yuan smirked and walked past his brothers.
Second brother Pei Che glanced at his retreating figure, his deep eyes swirling with complex thoughts: "Big brother, where did Qiao Chuchu’s pink diamond go?"
Pei Yuan paused, turning back calmly: "I’ve put it away for safekeeping."
Pei Che’s expression instantly darkened as he stepped forward to confront him: "That was my New Year’s gift to her. What do you mean you’ve ‘put it away’?"
"Can’t I?" Pei Yuan blinked in confusion, asking earnestly: "Qiao Chuchu has always been careless and forgetful. You worked hard for that money. What if she lost a pink diamond worth over a hundred million? Wouldn’t that upset you?"
Pei Che’s lips curled into a sinister smile: "But I heard you bought a four-billion-yuan pink diamond ring. Are you planning to give it to Qiao Chuchu?"
Pei Yuan’s face darkened.
Pei Che sneered: "Are you trying to compete with me, big brother? Is this some kind of rivalry?"
"Why would you use the word ‘compete’?" Pei Yuan raised an eyebrow, looking baffled: "We’re family. Qiao Chuchu is our sister whom we raised together. The gifts we give her are just to make her happy. There’s no ulterior motive."
Pei Che’s smile faded: "Then why did you hide my ring?"
"I told you, I’m keeping it safe for you," Pei Yuan’s tone turned icy: "I have no hidden agenda."
"Right, the more someone insists they’re innocent, the more guilty they are," Pei Che extended his hand, his expression mocking: "Give me back my ring."
Pei Yuan: "I’ve had my assistant put it in my safe."
Pei Che: "?"
Pei Yuan smirked confidently: "If you know the code to my safe, feel free to go get it, second brother."
Pei Che’s face turned ashen: "Pei Yuan!!"
Pei Yuan chuckled and walked away.
Pei Che was fuming, his breathing ragged: "You’d better keep an eye on that new ring of yours! I might just lock it in my safe too!"
Pei Yuan waved dismissively without looking back.
Pei Che clenched his fists, seething with anger.
The other brothers looked on in confusion.
Pei Buxian hugged his plush toy: "I think I smell gunpowder in the air."
Pei Mu and Pei Ci nodded dumbly: "Agreed."
Pei Fengnong looked puzzled: "Don’t we always give New Year’s gifts together? Why didn’t anyone say we were all giving rings this year?"
Pei Youchuan’s face was a picture of confusion: "? Fourth brother, is it possible that the rings weren’t a group gift but had a special meaning?"
Pei Fengnong was clueless: "Isn’t it just jewelry? What special meaning could it have?"
Pei Youchuan: "…It’s a diamond ring. Do you know what it means to give someone a diamond ring?"
Pei Fengnong: "Yeah, it means Qiao Chuchu has another ring."
Pei Youchuan: "Huh?"
Pei Mu: "Huh??"
Pei Ci: "Huh???"
Pei Buxian: "Huh???"
Pei Fengnong said earnestly: "Qiao Chuchu doesn’t look good in jade, she only suits jewelry. Since we’re buying her something, it has to be a rare diamond. After all, if we’re giving her something, it should be the best, right?"
Pei Mu: "…"
Pei Ci: "…"
Pei Buxian: "…"
Pei Youchuan: "…"
Pei Fengnong continued sincerely: "So we’ve decided to buy diamond rings this year, right?"
Pei Youchuan sighed in exasperation, covering his eyes with his hand, looking as if he were in pain: "Yes, buy diamond rings. Let’s all buy diamond rings."
He patted Pei Fengnong’s shoulder: "As long as the eight of us have a good New Year, that’s all that matters."
With that, he walked away, still covering his eyes.
Pei Fengnong stood there, baffled.
Pei Buxian solemnly shoved his plush toy into Pei Fengnong’s arms: "Fourth brother, you need this more than I do."
Pei Fengnong: "?"
Pei Mu and Pei Ci patted his shoulder, speaking in unison: "Fourth brother, next time big brother and second brother argue, stay out of it. I’m afraid you’ll just make things worse."
Pei Fengnong: "?"
Why did he feel like they were treating him like an idiot?
He walked out of the lounge, only to find all six brothers peeking through the small window of Qiao Chuchu’s hospital room.
Each of them was sneaking glances inside.
He walked up, still holding the plush toy: "Is Qiao Chuchu changing clothes in there?"
Pei Youchuan shot him a look of disdain: "Are you crazy? If Qiao Chuchu were changing clothes, would we be peeking in? Of course there’s someone in there!"
Pei Fengnong was startled. He squeezed past his brothers and pressed his face to the glass, looking inside.
Lin Shen, dressed in a black cashmere coat with a tailored suit underneath, clearly dressed to impress, was sitting by Qiao Chuchu’s bedside, his hands resting on his knees as he looked at her with concern: "How are you feeling?"
Qiao Chuchu leaned against the headboard, smiling shyly: "I’m fine."
[Ugh, why does Lin Shen always show up when I’m not wearing makeup? At least let me brush my hair and put on some lipstick. Last time it was cake all over my face, and now I’m sick. I must look so haggard.]
Lin Shen was momentarily taken aback.
Qiao Chuchu did look quite pale.
Her reddish-brown hair was loosely tied into a side braid, and she was wearing a light blue hospital gown. Her fair complexion had a faint grayish tint, and even her lips were pale.
Yet, even so, she had a fragile kind of beauty.
Like snow trembling on a red plum blossom.
He smiled slowly: "Qiao Chuchu, I’ve noticed that you’re beautiful in every moment. Even when you’re sick, you’re still a beauty."
