CH 36

Warm breath fell on the side of his neck, causing a familiar numbness.

Bo Yueming felt that he was on fire, but couldn’t suppress the heat coursing through him. “Pei Yi?”

His response was an indecipherable nasal whimper.

Bo Yueming lowered his head slightly and brought Pei’s hands together again.

With an uncontrollable impulse, he lightly rubbed the corner of his lips against that fragrant soft hair and didn’t move for a long time.

It wasn’t until he confirmed that Pei Yi’s breathing gradually went steady that Bo Yueming adjusted his posture and got up, carrying the sleeping man back to the bedroom with ease.

Inspector had already returned to the cat nest when it couldn’t get dried fish, and poked its head out when it heard movement. “Meow?”

“Be quiet.”

Bo Yueming stopped it from making noise. He placed Pei Yi on the bed and looked at him for a moment under the dim light—

There was still a drunken blush on his fair face, and the color of his lips was stained with a seductive luster of wine.

His features were soft and lovely.

Bo Yueming suddenly thought of Pei Yi’s occasional cunning when he was “playing the fool,” and the corners of his mouth rose unconsciously. He always felt that was more in line with his temperament, and also more likable.

Bo Yueming was not oblivious to his feelings. He had already realized Pei Yi’s favor and weight in his heart.

Therefore, no matter why the other party chose to play the fool, or why he was willing to accept this marriage and stay with the Bo family, he was willing to give him enough space and freedom until the other party confessed.

Pei Yi didn’t want to speak, so he wouldn’t ask.

After all, it was interesting to “pretend to be blind” and accompany Pei Yi in acting every day, and it was also quite interesting to see him inadvertently reveal his kitten tail.

Bo Yueming chuckled, then bent down to cover him with the quilt.

The sleeping Pei Yi seemed to sense something, and suddenly tugged at Bo Yueming. “Don’t mess with it, come and sleep.”

Most of the bathrobe had loosened, and from his cheeks to his neck and down, there was a very beautiful crimson color.

“…….”

It’s you who wants me to stay.

Bo Yueming’s eyes darkened a few degrees, and he held Pei Yi’s “restless” hand.

He lay down on the other side of the bed and pulled the other person directly into his arms without saying a word, covering up with the quilt again.

Perhaps because of the familiar smell of the quilt, the sleeping Pei Yi clung hard and hummed twice, continuing to slumber.

There was no rejection of this sudden embrace.

Bo Yueming slowly unloaded the big rock on his heart, sighing deeply and contentedly. “Good night, kitten.”

. . . . . . .

Bo Yueming’s biological clock was always accurate, and when he woke up, his arms were once again filled with a familiar numbness.

Their quilt was nearly kicked off by Pei Yi, but the culprit was still pressing against his body from head to foot, sleeping soundly and sweetly under the influence of alcohol.

Bo Yueming had the rare urge to stay in bed, but it was quickly suppressed by his reasoning.

Staying in bed now was fine, but he feared Pei Yi would be shocked and dazed when he woke up, and he still wanted to play games with the kitten. It was no good to reveal his secrets too soon.

Bo Yueming resettled Pei Yi, then quickly got up and left the bed.

He put the previous day’s wine back on the bedside table and exited the room, pretending he hadn’t found anything.

Compared to “forcing him to remove his disguise,” Bo Yueming was looking forward to the day when Pei Yi took the initiative to reveal the truth. Since the kitten loved to act, he would continue to accompany him.

The door closed softly.

What followed was a surprised, “Second Young Master?”

Bo Yueming looked over and found Uncle Kai standing in the hallway by the door.

Uncle Kai had originally wanted to see if Bo Yueming had gotten up, but didn’t expect to accidentally come across such a scene. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to advance or retreat.

He really couldn’t hold back his concern as an elder, and asked, “Second Young Master, why are you here?”

“It’s nothing, Pei Yi was drunk last night.”

Bo Yueming quickly took a few steps outside in order to avoid waking the person in the room, and lowered his voice, “Just act as if we don’t know about Pei Yi’s drinking. You prepare some hangover fruit and honeyed water in advance, and wait for him to wake up.”

Uncle Kai was stunned for a few seconds and suddenly didn’t understand the little games going on between these two young people, but he still chose to agree. “All right.”

“What does Second Young Master want to eat? I asked the kitchen to prepare porridge.”

“En, porridge is fine.”

Thinking of Pei Yi’s situation, Bo Yueming felt helpless. “Pei Yi probably won’t get up today, so have the kitchen prepare an early lunch. I’ll go back up to the room to wash up and come down later.”

“Okay.”

. . . . . .

It was soon lunchtime.

Pei Yi sat at the table dejectedly. The meal was more or less useless, but he still kept peeling grapes and stuffing them into his mouth. He couldn’t wait to drive away the remaining alcohol in his body.

He hadn’t drunk to his heart’s content in too long.

Last night, he couldn’t hold back when there was no oversight, and decided to only drink a third of it. As a result, the more he drank, the drunker he got. He completely lost his senses, and fell asleep until the sun was warming his ass.

Realizing this, Pei Yi glanced at Bo Yueming across from him with some guilt.

The other party’s eyes drooped down faintly as he slowly ate the food Uncle Kai had prepared, completely unaware of his drunken state. He probably didn’t notice that he drank yesterday.

Pei Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

Thanks to his good behavior after drinking, nothing happened.

Inspector at the corner of the table jumped up on the chair. Standing upright, it sniffed the grapes in Pei Yi’s hands and begged for them in a spoiled manner. “Meow-wu~”

“No.”

Pei Yi stopped it with a whisper and stuffed another peeled grape into his mouth.

No matter how uncomfortable he was at the moment, he had to pretend that nothing was wrong, and he dared not ask for hangover medicine. Fortunately, grapes also had the effect of relieving hangovers, so he could eat more without revealing his suffering.

Pei Yi peeled and ate one by one, his cheeks occasionally bulging.

Bo Yueming sneaked a peek at him when the other wasn’t paying attention, and helplessness flashed through his eyes—

This time, it was better to cruelly not give him hangover medicine.

So that the kitten could remember for a long time that if he couldn’t drink well, he shouldn’t mess around.

“Second Young Master.”

Uncle Kai returned from outside. After approaching the dinner table, he reported, “Third Young Lady has returned from abroad.”

Bo Yueming raised his eyebrows slightly. “Bo Jiao is back?”

When Pei Yi heard this while eating grapes, he automatically pricked up his ears and recalled the character “Bo Jiao”—

The other party was Bo Wang’s twin sister and Bo Yueming’s half-sister, ranking third in the Bo family.

Bo Jiao had lived in the Xue residence since she was a child, and grew up under the knees of her grandparents. She had chosen to study overseas since high school, so her personality was relatively more courageous and independent.

Pei Yi remembered that apart from Old Mrs. Bo, Bo Jiao was the only person in the original text who was not prejudiced against Bo Yueming. But after all, they were half-siblings, and their relationship was not very close.

“She just returned yesterday.”

“The servant who sent the message relayed that the Third Young Lady said it has been a long time and she misses everyone, so she wants to invite everyone to get together tonight at the main house.” 

Uncle Kai glanced at Pei Yi, who was still eating grapes, and told them everything he had learned. “Second Young Master, will you go?”

Pei Yi really wanted to meet the Third Young Lady, but he wasn’t invited, and it was even more difficult for him to make decisions for Bo Yueming.

“I’ll go.”

Bo Yueming gave it some consideration, and glanced at the opposite side. “Pei Yi is also going with me.”

Between the main branch and the second branch, there may be a performance to watch tonight.

That being the case, it was fine for him to take the curious kitten to get involved.

. . . . . .

Six p.m.

When Bo Yueming and Pei Yi arrived at the main house in a timely manner, the atmosphere of the dining room, which was originally quite lively, froze for a moment.

During the silence, Pei Yi quickly scanned the people at the long dining table—

Old Mr. Bo, the head of the family, sat in the main seat. On his left and right were the eldest son Bo Lihui and the second son Bo Lihong, also known as the “main branch” and “second branch” in the outside world.

Xue Min sat next to her husband, looking at Bo Yueming with the usual displeasure in her eyes.

Her flirtatious and affectionate husband had an affair before marriage, and gave birth to a son before her. Who could feel good about such a thing? What’s more, Bo Yueming was deeply favored by Old Mrs. Bo, and was directly compared to Bo Wang!

Xue Min’s expression became even uglier at the thought that her youngest son had suffered an accidental fracture and could only rest in bed.

If Bo Yueming hadn’t caused trouble at the banquet, would Bo Wang have gone to drink at the bar? Would he have been accidentally injured? It was all the fault of this bastard without a sense of proportion!

With his eyes hidden beneath the guide glasses, Bo Yueming saw the situation clearly. Ignoring the cold hostility, he lowered his eyes to limit his field of vision and approached slowly with his guide cane.

Pei Yi followed beside him, also pretending to be cautious and nervous.

Footsteps came from behind, and Bo Guancheng’s familiar voice sounded, “Yueming is finally here, ah. I was preparing to have someone call you.”

Bo Yueming and Pei Yi simultaneously felt a hint of disgust, and quickly hid it.

Bo Guancheng approached and patted Bo Yueming’s shoulder. “Is it convenient for you to sit? Shall I help you?”

Bo Yueming declined politely, “Don’t worry about it, Dage, Uncle Kai can lead the way.”

The two exchanged a few words of “brotherly respect” and then took their seats.

The Mrs. of the main branch didn’t come, so Bo Guancheng and his father, Bo Lihui, sat next to each other. As for Bo Yueming and Pei Yi, the two of them sat a seat down from Xue Min, at the very end.

Bo Guancheng smiled and looked across. “Second Aunt, is Xiao Wang’s leg injury better? I contacted a very good orthopedic specialist, who can conduct a more specific inspection of Xiao Wang if needed.”

He had always been able to disguise himself as someone who spoke and behaved with integrity.

Concerned about her son’s leg condition, Xue Min immediately burst into a smile upon hearing this. “Ai, thank you for taking the trouble, Guancheng.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Bo Yueming beside her again and then muttered, “They are also brothers, so why is there such a big difference?”

Bo Lihong tugged at his wife to signal her to keep her mouth shut, but Xue Ming cast him a sharp glance.

Pei Yi covertly took in this scene, looked at the tranquil Bo Yueming, and thought to himself—

One brother pretended to “show favor” while the other brother was the mastermind behind the “fracture.”

How could the difference not be big?

Bo Guancheng pretended not to notice the small conflict between the second branch couple, and went on to ask with a smile, “What about Jiaojiao? Wasn’t it agreed that we would welcome her home tonight? Now that almost the whole family is here, where is she?”

Old Mr. Bo, who was sitting in the head seat, failed to suppress a sigh when he heard this.

Xue Min quickly rationalized, “Dad, wait a little longer, Jaiojiao’s jet lag didn’t go away for a while and she slept too much this afternoon. And she’s a girl who likes to dress up beautifully……”

Bo Lihong answered, “I urged her to come right away.”

“It’s fine to wait,” Old Mr. Bo said.

He looked at the servants and the steward standing beside the dining table and said, “Except for Lao Shen, everyone else should leave, ba. It’s just a small family dinner, there’s no need for so many people to stand and wait.”

Uncle Kai frowned worriedly when he heard this. “Sir, the Second Young Master’s eyesight is inconvenient, I…..”

Old Mr. Bo frowned. “When you are told to leave, then leave. Lao Shen is still here as the chief steward. Will I let my grandson starve and be unable to eat?”

“…….”

Bo Yueming whispered, “Uncle Kai, I’m fine.”

Uncle Kai knew of Bo Yueming’s real situation, and he couldn’t retaliate against Old Mr. Bo, so he gave a slight nod and stepped back.

As if to ease the silence and embarrassment, Bo Guancheng suddenly spoke, “Grandpa, didn’t you say you had a bad appetite some time ago? I brought some good hawthorn herbal tea, which is both appetizing and warming.”

“Since Jiaojiao hasn’t come yet, shall I ask my subordinates to brew some for everyone to taste?”

For Bo Guancheng, the eldest grandson, Mr. Bo always favored and treated him preferentially: “All right, let’s taste it.”

Bo Guancheng gave A-Kai, the servant beside him, a look. He understood, and walked straight toward the water bar outside the kitchen.

Within five minutes, the other party returned with a tea tray.

The servant A-Kai began to serve tea to Old Mr. Bo in the head seat, and then handed it out one at a time in the order of left to right.

Bo Guangcheng gazed at the herbal hawthorn tea steaming in the cup, and had A-Kai hand over a cup to Pei Yi.

“Little Young Master Pei, your tea.”

Pei Yi tilted his head silently and met the gaze of the servant A-Kai. “Hot.”

A-Kai stared at him nervously for a moment, then responded, “Yes, Little Young Master Pei, please be careful.”

“…….”

Bo Yueming watched all of this silently through the cover of his glasses, and keenly guessed that something was wrong—

Was this servant new here?

He had never seen him by Bo Guancheng’s side before.

As he thought, servant A-Kai picked up a cup of steaming tea and carefully handed it to Bo Yueming. “Second Young Master, your tea.”

Bo Yueming instantly sensed something and pulled his right arm back slightly. Sure enough, A-Kai’s cup “accidentally” tilted.

The hot tea splashed all over the table and onto the silverware.

Bo Yueming quickly covered his right hand and let out a muffled sound of pain. He got up in a panic and backed away, but accidentally knocked down the chair and created another loud noise.

A-Kai panicked. “Second Young Master, I’m sorry! It was me who didn’t hold it steady!”

To the side, Pei Yi’s eyes suddenly changed—

Didn’t hold it steady?

Did he really take him as a fool?

How dare he attack Bo Yueming right under his nose?

Pei Yi decisively picked up his own cup of tea and poured it fiercely and accurately onto A-Kai’s arm, pretending to be crazy as he shouted, “Too hot, won’t drink!”

A-Kai beside him didn’t expect that Pei Yi would suddenly “go crazy,” and the heat on his arm instantly penetrated.

“—Hiss!”

The false panic on his face cracked and was replaced by true pain. 

Following this sudden turn of events, everyone’s eyes converged one after another, all with different thoughts.

Bo Lihong was a little surprised, but didn’t care about his son’s injury at all, and Xue Min let out an inaudible laugh. It had nothing to do with her.

Bo Guancheng looked at Bo Yueming, who still maintained an expression of pain, and a dark light flickered in his eyes as the doubts in his heart were dispelled.

It was he who chose this dinner on purpose and asked his servant to perform a trick, just to test the condition of Bo Yueming’s eyes in front of all the elders—

Normal people would definitely dodge the moment they realized that hot tea was about to spill, but Bo Yueming didn’t react just now. Even when the tea was poured on him, he got up and dodged belatedly.

Hadn’t Pei Huan said that when he saw Bo Yueming appear at G.M., he thought that the other party’s eyes had improved?

See, ah, it had been almost four months, and he was still blind!

Just as he wanted.

Bo Guancheng judged the situation, and at the same time, the sound of high heels stepping across the floor sounded—

Bo Jiao appeared in an exaggerated and flamboyant red dress.

As soon as she arrived at the gate of the main house, she noticed the situation inside. Before anyone could open their mouths, she criticized Steward Shen.

“Standing there stupidly after something went wrong, why don’t you hurry up and apply an ice pack for Second Brother?”

“Grandpa dearly loves my Second Brother, who couldn’t react. Why don’t you have any emergency measures? How did you become Chief Steward? Are you relying on your old face?”

The words were very blunt, and didn’t save any face for Steward Shen.

“……..”

The old steward looked embarrassed. He belatedly noticed the Old Sir signaling with his eyes, and turned around to get an ice pack.

Pei Yi was temporarily not in the mood to pay attention to the Third Young Lady who had appeared onstage. Taking the opportunity to rush to Bo Yueming’s side, he wanted to check the condition of his right hand. “Er-ge, hand.”

In fact, at that moment, Bo Yueming had taken a brief precaution.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he didn’t dodge too abruptly, in order to avoid revealing his secret.

However, Bo Yueming managed to avoid the more dangerous part of the wrist, and only the fingertips and the back of the hand suffered a little. As for the exaggerated reaction just now, he used it to deceive everybody.

Pei Yi saw Bo Yueming’s reddened and even blistered fingers, and his breath shook. “Hot, does it hurt?”

Bo Yueming had always been able to tolerate pain very well, and this burn was completely under control. But when he saw Pei Yi’s rare worry, he craftily changed his words. “En, a little bit.”

As soon as he spoke, he saw the longed-for worry in the kitten’s eyes.

At this moment, Bo Jiao was standing at the end of the messy dining table and glaring at servant A-Kai. The exaggerated red eyeliner made her eyes sharper.

A-Kai didn’t know much about the Third Young Lady, so he thoughtlessly said, “Third Young Lady, it, it was my fault.”

Bo Jiao scoffed, “Of course it’s your fault, otherwise, whose fault would it be? You can make the most basic mistake when pouring tea?”

“Da-ge.” She glanced at Bo Guancheng and asked with a smile, “Why did you bring this kind of person with you? The main branch shouldn’t be short of money right? You can’t even recruit better servants?”

“……”

Bo Guancheng was stuck for a moment.

Bo Lihui next to him suddenly felt that he wouldn’t be able to keep his face, and coughed lightly. 

Xue Min saw that her daughter was talking all over the place as soon as she arrived, so she quickly stood up and motioned, “Jiaojiao, it’s normal for servants to make mistakes at work occasionally, so don’t talk nonsense.”

Pei Yi resisted the urge to roll his eyes—

It was normal to make mistakes at work occasionally? How could she pretend to be a good person? Daring to feel that if this cup of tea scalded Bo Wang’s hand, it would not be a mistake!

If it’s not your family, you don’t feel distressed or get angry!

Xue Min continued, “Quickly, greet your grandfather.”

Bo Jiao looked at Old Mr. Bo and apologized with a smile. “Grandpa, I’ve been abroad for a long time, and I like to be straightforward when I speak. Don’t mind me.”

She was his only granddaughter, after all, so Old Mr. Bo was quite tolerant. “It’s fine, let’s all sit down.”

Bo Jiao glanced at Bo Yueming, who had already applied an ice pack, and gestured to A-Kai with a smile. “What are you still doing here?”

“You hurt Second Brother by making a mistake, and you also made Little Young Master Pei unhappy. With this little injury, you’re not waiting for us to call an ambulance for you, right?”

“…….”

A-Kai’s expression became extremely embarrassed.

He glanced at Bo Guancheng, who was unresponsive, and walked out while holding back his anger and frustration.

Steward Lao Shen had learned his lesson just now, and without waiting for Old Mr. Bo’s instruction, he quickly cleaned up the mess at the end of the dining table and took the initiative to help Bo Yueming and Pei Yi take their seats again.

Seeing this, Bo Jiao pursed her lips and sat beside her mother, Xue Min.

The food was served.

Pei Yi’s mind finally came back to life, and he secretly watched Bo Jiao as he ate—

The other party was wearing a strapless dress, and there was a string of English letters tattooed on her collarbone. Her hair was coiled on top of her head, fully revealing her bright and delicate features.

Old Mr. Bo looked at his granddaughter whom he hadn’t seen for a long time, and glint of disapproval for her style of dress flashed through his eyes, but he didn’t mention it. “Jiaojiao, why did you suddenly want to come back home to China?”

“I was tired of being abroad.”

Bo Jiao pushed away the hawthorn tea in front of her and raised the champagne glass next to her, drinking half of it before saying, “Grandpa, I also want to work for the Bo family. You can arrange a manager position for me in the group.”

“…….”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone around fell silent.

Bo Yueming pressed the ice pack, and suddenly felt that he had underestimated this long-unseen sister.

For a company as big as the Bo family’s, and involving Bo Lihui and Bo Lihong, any position placement or change may affect the future direction of power.

It was easy for Bo Jiao to say this, but it carried a lot of weight.

Pei Yi also heard this layer of meaning, and waited for Old Mr. Bo’s answer with great interest.

“Xiao Jiao, it’s fine for a girl to use the family’s money to eat, drink, and have fun. Why bother with this?”

Old Mr. Bo evaded seamlessly, and motioned to his second son, Bo Lihong, “If you really can’t take it easy, then ask your dad to arrange an easy job for you in his branch.”

“The workload at the group headquarters is so heavy, how could you bear it?”

“When grandma was in charge of the family, she always promoted equality between men and women. Our family doesn’t favor men over women, does it?” Bo Jiao retorted, and drank the champagne in one gulp.

“Grandpa, I won’t get too tired. As for which person gets which position, isn’t it just a matter of you saying so?”

Old Mr. Bo’s eyes changed slightly.

Xue Min sensed that the atmosphere wasn’t right, and quickly stopped her daughter with her hand under the cover of the table.

Bo Jiao set down her wine glass and said with a seemingly harmless smile, “Isn’t that right? I heard a lot of gossip out there, saying that Grandpa prefers Uncle and Da-ge.” 

Bo Guancheng glanced at Old Mr. Bo and asked, “Jiaojiao, where did you hear that?”

“Is that not the case?”

Bo Jiao looked around the dining table. “Presently, the director of the group is Uncle, and the general manager is Da-ge. We have so many children in the second branch, yet what do we have aside from a branch office? Oh, by the way, Uncle also manages a branch office, right?”

In this way, the second branch didn’t gain any benefits at all.

Old Mr. Bo stopped eating. “You are young, don’t talk nonsense about things you don’t understand. Yueming’s eyes are injured, so I had no choice but to dismiss him and temporarily hand over management to Guancheng, and your Da-ge is also working hard.”

Hearing this ridiculous remark, Bo Yueming silently held down the nearly-melted ice pack.

Pei Yi also mocked in his heart—

It’s really extraordinary to be able to speak of partiality in such a high-sounding manner.

“Working hard?”

Bo Jiao pondered this vocabulary, concealing a trace of targeting, “If you are ambitious, you will naturally work hard. Since it is temporary, then replace him.”

—Pa!

Old Mr. Bo slammed down his chopsticks with obvious anger.

Bo Lihong frowned. “Jiaojiao, don’t say such words!”

Bo Guancheng kept his smile steady and tried his best to smooth things over, “Jiaojiao, you have been abroad for a long time and don’t know the Bo group’s situation for the time being. If the job arrangement is not appropriate, people may criticize you. Grandpa is only thinking about you.”

“Is Grandpa thinking about me, or about Uncle and Da-ge’s family? Some people are let off lightly when they pretend to feel wronged.”

Bo Jiao was worried that she would not have the opportunity to denounce Bo Guancheng, so she immediately opened her mouth again—

“When Grandma was at home, how many projects did Second Brother do, and how much money did he make for the group? Even the Yuandi project, which was praised a while ago, he also grabbed with one hand. Isn’t that right?”

“Da-ge, let alone picking up and eating what is ready-made, I heard you also handled the German business project? How much trouble has this project gotten into? How much did the group suffer? You should know this best.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Bo Guancheng couldn’t keep the smile on his face.

Bo Jiao still seemed to be puzzled. “Grandpa, Second Brother’s eyes are not well, but it’s not as if he can’t speak or hear, or his brain isn’t working. Why should the position be taken from him?”

“You don’t want the person who should be used in our second branch, but you don’t care about the main branch making a mistake?”

“Both are surnamed Bo, and both are your grandchildren. If this is not partiality, then what is?”

“…….”

Old Mr. Bo’s chest heaved. He wanted to scold her, but didn’t know where to start. A junior lost face for him in public, but what she said was still true.

Silence spread in the dining room.

Except for Bo Yueming, who was still calm, the expressions of everyone present were varying degrees of ugly.

Pei Yi had a panoramic view of this scene, and couldn’t help but applaud from the bottom of his heart—-

Third Young Lady Bo, I truly can’t agree more, ah!