WBSGVS Chapter 37

As the dial tone of “beep—beep—” echoed through, Pei Mingjiang felt an unusual tension.

He had made several decisions out of personal selfishness regarding Fu Qingli, leading to the current passive situation.

As a businessman known as the “smiling tiger,” Pei Mingjiang was always friendly, even willing to spend an entire night laughing and drinking to seal a deal, never losing his temper with anyone who could bring him profit.

Fu Qingli was an unexpected surprise, a byproduct of his success and fame.

Pei Mingjiang waited quietly, the numbers and rankings still fresh in his mind, filled with jealousy, hatred, and regret.

Why was heaven so generous to Lin Hengzhi?

It granted him such extraordinary talent, and even the girl he had once liked ended up favoring Lin Hengzhi. Now, it seemed they were giving him a granddaughter with equally formidable gifts!

He had never doubted the accuracy of the numbers. He knew Fu Qingli’s character—sensitive and delicate, with a strong sense of pride. Yet, because she lived under someone else’s roof, she had to please others, which made her pride in other areas even stronger. The Pei family’s kindness toward her was merely superficial, and she would never admit it or do anything like this.

Moreover, the school’s monitoring systems were fully operational; anyone caught cheating would be punished and have their scores completely revoked.

For the school to send a message to the parents, it had to be thoroughly verified. It was likely that the repeated confirmations delayed the notification, which only arrived on his phone after dinner.

Pei Mingjiang took a deep breath, his chest still tight with pain. He felt frustrated that the school hadn’t notified him sooner; otherwise, he could have stopped Fu Qingli!

Just then, the call was unexpectedly connected, and the familiar, cheerful voice came through without a hint of gloom: “Grandpa Pei!”

Pei Mingjiang smiled and gently said, “Ah Li, your teacher just sent me your exam results.”

Qingli seemed surprised. “Oh, I completely forgot to tell the teacher to update my contact person. No wonder I didn’t receive the message. Grandpa Pei, could you please forward the text to me?”

Pei Mingjiang naturally agreed and added, “Child, why would you change your contact person? Grandpa is your guardian; you can’t just switch that. And why didn’t you tell me you did so well in the exam? Come home directly after school tomorrow afternoon. I want to celebrate with you.”

Qingli laughed lightly. “No need for that, Grandpa Pei. Let’s just communicate by phone when we have matters to discuss. I’ve already received my celebration in my own way.”

Pei Mingjiang maintained his smile but also offered an apology. “It’s my fault; I misspoke earlier. How did you remember that? I thought you must be busy with school. Otherwise, I could take your uncle and aunt, and Ah Yue, with me tomorrow to celebrate with you?”

“No, Grandpa Pei, I still have studying to do. I won’t say any more. Goodbye.” With that, she hung up without waiting for his response.

Again, the “beep-beep-beep—” sounded, this time more hurriedly, making Pei Mingjiang feel a bit flustered. He quickly pulled the phone away and took a couple of deep breaths, realizing it wasn’t enough. He opened his drawer and took some medication to calm his nerves.

Several minutes passed before he felt more comfortable, but the tightness in his heart remained, and various complex emotions stirred within him, with no one to ease his burden!

After a long moment, Pei Mingjiang took a deep breath, opened an unlisted phone number, and began to edit a message. He copied and pasted the information he had just received and sent it, typing: “I told you Ah Li would come around, didn’t I? Look, her scores have suddenly improved! The teacher just sent me the news. It’s a pity that the girl is so focused on her studies that she wouldn’t even accept my offer to celebrate.”

In a hospital room:

An elderly man with thinning, graying hair lay in bed. Even lying down, he still wore a troubled expression, his face marked by age spots, and his half-open eyes were cloudy as if he were nearing the end of his days.

He shouldn’t look this old; he was still not yet seventy. However, the weight of his worries had aged him quickly, and his breathing was shallow.

Hearing the phone ring, the nurse nearby quickly picked it up and opened it for him to see.

In the past, he would have done this himself, as he disliked bothering others. Even when his superiors had suggested he remarry for someone to care for him, he had refused.

But now, he was unable to do so and had to rely on others. The nurse glanced at the message, paused for a moment, and read it aloud, smiling as she said, “You said your granddaughter wasn’t doing well academically. But in Yingde High School, achieving these results is already quite impressive. If she is nurtured well, she might become just as talented as you.”

Lin Hengzhi was stunned, and hoarsely replied, “Please read that again!”

The nurse was surprised but complied, reading it once more. After finishing, she asked, “Is there a problem?”

Lin Hengzhi furrowed his brow. “Is there any possibility that there’s been a mistake with the results from Yingde High School? Did they send the wrong information?”

The nurse chuckled softly and explained, “That’s impossible. As you know, this school is very rigorous in its teaching. It has many wealthy students who have donated a lot of money, and its facilities are among the best in the country. In the southern province, countless families are eager to get their children enrolled there, so it’s unlikely that such an error could occur.”

Lin Hengzhi took a deep breath, and the dullness in his gray eyes brightened slightly. The usually serious expression on his lips involuntarily curved into a smile, and he even felt a hint of moisture in his eyes.

His granddaughter had truly grown up; she was beginning to take responsibility for her own life!

This realization made him feel more at ease.

Over a decade ago, he had encountered health issues, but instead of opting for rest and treatment, he had chosen to continue his research. His health had deteriorated, yet he had no regrets.

It was only when he learned that his superiors had found the child his wife had taken away after their divorce that he began to feel a sense of regret. His wife had remarried and moved away, making it impossible to find them. The only reason he had managed to locate her now was due to a car accident that had matched genetic records.

His daughter-in-law had died in the accident while desperately trying to protect his granddaughter.

At that moment, he began to regret his past decisions. He was already halfway through his research and couldn’t bear to abandon it. Then Pei Mingjiang contacted him, hoping to purchase one of his previous studies.

Most of his research had focused on military aircraft, which he had donated to the state. He couldn’t give the same to private companies, but even if he changed the form, it would still be unmatched in the country at the time.

Initially, he hesitated because he didn’t want to waste time on this transaction. However, his granddaughter’s situation made him change his mind.

His wife had left him because of his obsession with research, which had dealt him a huge blow. Looking at his granddaughter’s photo, he felt too afraid to meet her.

He had heard enough stories about left-behind children becoming rebellious due to a lack of care, and he feared repeating the same situation that had befallen his wife. After some hesitation, he had a change of heart and agreed to the deal with Pei Mingjiang.

He even offered to dedicate a year to improving his research results for ordinary vehicles, provided the Pei family adopted his granddaughter and treated her as their own, giving her a real home.

He believed that the Pei family, being well-off, would provide better care for her than he, a solitary old man, could.

Pei Mingjiang was always warm-hearted and had once been saved by Lin Hengzhi in his youth. He immediately agreed, even reminiscing about their past jokes and suggesting they could continue their plans for an arranged marriage for their grandchildren.

Lin Hengzhi didn’t immediately consent, but the deal was eventually struck.

Pei Mingjiang took the child back to the Pei family to raise her. To show his sincerity, he would report to Lin Hengzhi every week.

Lin Hengzhi didn’t rely solely on Pei Mingjiang’s words. Although he was consumed by his research and somewhat naïve about the world, he understood that people could be unpredictable, so he made his own inquiries.

Yet year after year, the results of his investigations remained consistent.

The Pei family treated his granddaughter very well. Every three months, they would hire professionals to make her clothes in various styles. She attended the same school as Pei Mingjiang’s biological grandchildren and had dedicated transportation to and from school.

They presented her to outsiders as the child of an old friend and their future granddaughter-in-law. Even when others belittled her, the Pei family would defend her.

However, the child had suddenly lost both parents, which had been a heavy blow. Initially, she had been very low-spirited and lost weight, but later she became slightly more lively, though she still hadn’t gained any weight.

Some of the information from his investigations came directly from his granddaughter, adding to its credibility.

Seeing that his granddaughter was living well with the Pei family, Lin Hengzhi gradually immersed himself back into his research. After that, the frequency of updates he received about her began to decrease.

Time was running out for him, and he wanted to produce results quickly. Consequently, the time he could dedicate to his granddaughter dwindled, which was also why he had hesitated to bring her back home.

He wasn’t a god; he didn’t have the energy to conduct research and care for his granddaughter.

Lin Hengzhi still kept an eye on his granddaughter’s academic performance. He would check the messages periodically, as he was an academic himself. He had once considered that his granddaughter might follow in his footsteps in research, and perhaps one day they could meet again under a different identity. However, as she grew older, her grades began to decline.

Fortunately, he wasn’t overly fixated on her grades. Though he felt some disappointment, he eventually let it go, focusing instead on her future.

Even though the Pei family treated her well, he knew that such care was based on mutual interests. He couldn’t be certain how they would treat her after he was gone.

Lin Hengzhi had not told anyone about finding his granddaughter, except for his superiors and the person who had initially helped him investigate the Pei family situation.

Due to the setbacks he had faced in his earlier years, he had become a peculiar old man at the research institute, rarely discussing his personal life and focusing solely on his work.

Just a couple of days ago, he had fallen ill and was now hospitalized, unable to conduct any research, which unexpectedly gave him a bit more free time than usual. He even managed to chat with Pei Mingjiang about his granddaughter, learning that she had recently become quiet, partly due to being bullied at school.

Pei Mingjiang apologized for not considering this issue regarding the child. However, the girls who had bullied his granddaughter had since transferred to another school. As a result, his granddaughter started waking up early every morning to exercise, which he considered a positive change.

Lin Hengzhi hadn’t expected such events to unfold, but he couldn’t blame Pei Mingjiang. His granddaughter, Arli, had a reserved personality. If she had been bullied, she surely hadn’t confided in her friends, which explained why he had only just found out.

Hearing about her newfound motivation for exercise made him happy. He had always worried about her health, and now he felt relieved. Even in the hospital, he found himself more willing to stay there, and it was at this moment that the nurse realized that this seemingly lonely old man had a granddaughter. Due to past events, the two had never met.

Seeing him like this, the nurse was puzzled and asked, “If you care so much about this child, why don’t you stay by her side?”

She had been taking care of Lin Hengzhi for a long time, but until now, her responsibilities had mostly been limited to preparing his meals and reminding him to take his medication. Their conversations had been few and far between.

Lin Hengzhi trembled slightly and shook his head with a bitter smile. “I don’t have the right.”

He felt he had no right to have a family or keep anyone at home, especially when he might not see them for months at a time. When he was working, he often lost track of everything, and how could he take care of a child who had just lost her parents?

The nurse quickly tried to reassure him. “It’s okay; even now, it’s fine. This child is exceptional. You should take care of your health. Who knows, she might end up in the research institute one day, especially with such good genes like yours.”

Her words struck a chord with Lin Hengzhi. Even though he knew that doing research wasn’t easy, a glimmer of hope flickered in his heart, and the sadness in his eyes began to fade, replaced by a sense of anticipation. “If that happens, I’ll ask Dong Qing to take her!”

Dong Qing was one of his closest students, and he intended to entrust her care in the future.

However, that time hadn’t come yet.

Given the relationship between him and Pei Mingjiang, along with their mutual interests, as long as he was alive, his granddaughter wouldn’t be bullied by anyone.

The nurse naturally knew who Dong Qing was and smiled. “That would be great! Do you want to speak to him now?”

Lin Hengzhi quickly shook his head. “No, no, it wouldn’t be right. What if he pulls some strings? Research requires genuine skill; we’ll talk about it once she’s able to come here.”

“She’ll be able to get in!” The nurse provided him with encouragement but refrained from saying more, fearing it might upset him. Lin Hengzhi wasn’t the type to chat freely; it was only about his granddaughter that he seemed a bit more lively. Noticing the joy on his face, she softly said, “The soup for lunch is still warm; would you like some more?”

Lin Hengzhi nodded. “Sure, that would be great. Thank you.”

He wanted to take care of his health, just in case his granddaughter truly pursued research, so he could guide her along the way.

The nurse was pleasantly surprised and quickly replied, “It’s no trouble at all!”