WBSGVS Chapter 39 V1

Did Qingli agree?

Of course not.

She didn’t have time!

October was likely to bring a seven-day holiday, coinciding perfectly with the end of the league, and Qingli needed a good rest.

As for the engagement banquet, she didn’t care.

Anyway, she hadn’t agreed to it.

Three days later, the results of the Olympiad preliminaries were released. As expected, Qingli ranked thirteenth, with Xu Nianhan taking first place. The preliminaries were a provincial competition with many participants, allowing the top fifty to advance to the league for further selection.

For someone like Qingli, who had never studied Olympiad mathematics and had only a short time to prepare, achieving thirteenth place was already remarkable.

Teacher Chen was overjoyed; when he announced the results, his smile reached from ear to ear. Out of the forty students he had taught, nearly thirty qualified for the league, which meant a significant bonus for him!

He then promptly prepared a pile of advanced Olympiad problems for Qingli to take home and study, aiming for her to win first prize in the league!

On the other hand, after making that phone call, Pei Mingjiang found himself calling Qingli almost every day, much more frequently than before. Initially, Qingli patiently dealt with his calls, but eventually, she just switched her phone to airplane mode.

So Pei Mingjiang brought Uncle Wei with him to deliver warmth to her.

After being enraged enough to end up in the hospital twice, Pei Mingjiang looked noticeably older. His originally graying hair had turned completely white in a short time, as he had expended a great deal of energy worrying over those incidents.

He had already been in poor health due to years of stress from managing the family business.

Having traveled through time multiple times, Qingli had never forgotten her medical skills. Just through observation, she could sense how Pei Mingjiang’s health had deteriorated, which was part of the reason she chose to move out.

Qingli welcomed them into her place, smiling politely to thank them before starting to enjoy the food they had brought.

Pei Mingjiang looked around, satisfied with the cleanliness of the room. He remarked, “You’re just a child, and you need to focus on your studies while taking care of yourself. It’s such a waste of time! I’ll have Aunt Xu come over to take care of you.”

Aunt Xu was someone who had a very good relationship with the original owner of this body.

Qingli nodded with a smile. “Sure!”

Pei Mingjiang felt even more relieved. It seemed the barriers between him and the Pei family weren’t that deep anymore, and he waved his hand.

Uncle Wei took out a booklet and laid it in front of Qingli. “These are some well-known dress designers, with their works next to them. Look and see which style you like.”

Qingli sipped her soup and feigned confusion. “What’s this for?”

Pei Mingjiang smiled widely. “Of course, it’s for your engagement banquet! This is a major event in life, so we need to prepare well.”

Qingli laughed and said, “An engagement? Does this mean I have to marry that person in the future?”

Pei Mingjiang already knew that she had passed the Olympiad preliminaries and, considering her short learning period, was able to perform comparably to those who had studied for much longer. His heart swelled with pride as he nodded immediately. “Of course! You’ve grown up before my eyes, and becoming a real family is more important than anything else!”

But Qingli pouted and shook her head. “No, no! I think things are as good as they are now. Marrying into the Pei family? Historically, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships are the hardest to handle. She never liked me; she’ll look down on me in the future and may even make things difficult for me. And then there’s my aunt’s family; they hate me even more! So I don’t want to get married. I’m happy being alone without a mother-in-law!”

Pei Mingjiang feigned anger, glaring at her fiercely. “Who dares! Don’t worry; Grandpa will protect you!”

Qingli covered her mouth and whispered, loud enough for Pei Mingjiang to hear, “But look at your age! You might be in the ground before I even get married; how will you protect me?”

Pei Mingjiang: “???”

He paused, then forced a smile. “Aren’t you cursing your grandpa?”

Qingli looked surprised. “But aging, illness, and death are natural! You’ve been in the hospital twice in the last half-month. I worry that the third time you might not come out!”

Pei Mingjiang: “!!!”

Since Qingli moved out, he had enjoyed over a month of peaceful living, but just a few sentences from her made his heart sink again, and his face turned sour.

What do wealthy people fear the most?

Of course, it’s being unable to enjoy the luxurious life that their hard work has brought them!

He didn’t want to die!

Pei Mingjiang couldn’t get angry with her; he took a few deep breaths to regain his composure and said seriously, “That won’t happen! Even if something happens to me, you still have A-Yue to protect you!”

Qingli scoffed. “I don’t believe that unless he can hit his mom first to show me.”

Pei Mingjiang held his chest, feeling overwhelmed. He thought if he continued this conversation, he might vomit blood. Uncle Wei skillfully handed him a pill and some water.

After taking the medicine, he felt a little better, but his complexion had turned slightly pale, and he felt exhausted, his mind dulled. Indeed, Fu Qingli was a person who made others age prematurely. It was a wise decision for him that she had moved out.

With fatigue, he stood up and sighed. “I understand that you have misunderstandings about your aunt and your aunt’s family because of what happened before. A-Yue was indeed a bit mischievous before, and it’s normal for you to feel unhappy about it. I’ll make sure you know that in their hearts, you are already a part of our Pei family!”

His voice was weary and hoarse, yet especially sincere, and his gaze was gentle, with keywords revolving around “family.”

If Qingli hadn’t already known the darkness within this person’s heart, she might have been swayed, as the original owner deeply longed for acknowledgment of her family.

But she never received it, even until her death.

Now, to win her over, Pei Mingjiang incessantly used this word to entice her.

He was shameless!

Qingli blinked innocently and said, “Speaking of which, Grandpa Pei, I just remembered that my household registration book is still with you. Could you please have someone bring it to me later?”

Was that it?

Pei Mingjiang nearly had another spike in blood pressure from anger!

After all the effort he put into cultivating emotions and trying to influence her, she didn’t budge at all and instead started talking about her household registration book?!

Pei Mingjiang’s lips trembled a few times, but he managed to maintain his composure and smiled as he nodded. “Alright, I’ll have Uncle Wei personally bring it over to you later.”

Qingli smiled brightly and said, “Thank you, Grandpa Pei!”

Pei Mingjiang nodded, eagerly turning to leave. As Uncle Wei supported him, when he closed the door behind him, it felt as if Pei Mingjiang had aged several years, and his entire spirit dimmed.

In the elevator, he muttered, “She used to be so easy to manage; how did she become so slippery now?”

Uncle Wei didn’t dare speak; he was one of the people who had, intentionally or unintentionally, offended Fu Qingli.

If Fu Qingli held a grudge against the Pei family, she wouldn’t let him off easily.

He had sensed that Pei Mingjiang only pretended to treat Fu Qingli well, so he also acted superficially toward her. When the children in the family played and bullied her, he would comfort her with a few words, and the matter would pass. That child always had a keen ability to sense when adults wanted to smooth things over and would compromise.

Now that he thought about it, after enduring so much unfairness, if he were that girl and guessed that there might be ulterior motives from the Pei family behind her, he would probably resent the Pei family deeply.

Now, Pei Mingjiang was praying that Fu Qingli didn’t know what her identity truly meant.

Pei family.

In the study on the third floor, He Yue, who had never shown anger before, suddenly interjected sharply, “Impossible! I don’t agree!”

At this moment, Pei Mingjiang’s son and daughter, along with their spouses and children, as well as Pei Mingjiang’s two younger brothers and their families, were all in the study. The room was crowded, making the originally spacious study feel slightly oppressive.

Just moments ago, Pei Mingjiang announced that he would officially arrange the engagement of Pei Xiyue and Fu Qingli at the banquet in October.

He Yue was the first to voice her objection, her expression grim. Apart from Pei Rong and Pei Xiyue, as well as Pei Mingjiang, the head of the family, everyone else wore disapproving expressions.