Purely Accidental - Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Xu Jingshu leaned against the wall, motionless.
Pei Lanqing's sudden appearance had caught her completely off guard, filling her with both surprise and confusion.
Why would Pei Lanqing show up at Miss Yue's house out of the blue?
What kind of relationship existed between these two women?
Superior and subordinate, or perhaps...
A startling, unprecedented suspicion suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Xu Jingshu grew even more silent, pressing against the wall in deep contemplation.
—What was the surname of her never-met fiancée's father again?
Meanwhile, Pei Youshan was busy dealing with her mother's unexpected visit.
That Pei Lanqing would cut her vacation short and come over late at night shocked her more than anyone.
Who could have predicted that the eight-hundred-year-old warning of "come back early" would actually materialize one day?
Caught completely unprepared, she marveled at how her mother had become the ultimate subverter of the "cry wolf" trope.
All she hoped for now was that her little lover would stay hidden.
She wasn't ready for Pei Lanqing to discover her lover's existence, nor did she want to drag her into the mother-daughter standoff.
That's why her first instinct upon recognizing Pei Lanqing's face on the monitor had been to hide Xu Jingshu away.
Touching her earlobe, she turned to pour water for Pei Lanqing, her eyes full of puzzlement.
"Weren't you supposed to have a few more days left on your month-long vacation? What brought you back so suddenly?"
Pei Lanqing reclined on the sofa, lazily lifting her eyelids as she replied with calm amusement, "Didn't you say you were so busy you were about to split apart? I came back to stitch you up."
Pei Youshan: "..."
Thanks, daughter is truly touched.
Pei Lanqing pointed to the gift bag by her feet. "Here, I picked out a present for you. See how you like it."
With someone still hiding in the apartment, Pei Youshan's anxiety made her wish her mother would leave quickly—she had no mood to appreciate gifts now.
After a perfunctory glance, she replied dismissively, "Yeah, it's nice. Anything else?"
Pei Lanqing tsked. "You call that looking properly before saying it's nice?"
Pei Youshan answered mechanically, "Didn't you tell me to trust your taste?"
Pei Lanqing chuckled. "So now you trust my taste?"
Her scrutinizing gaze suddenly landed on Pei Youshan as she seized the opportunity to settle scores: "Then why didn't you go meet Jingshu when I asked you to?"
Pei Youshan: "..."
Damn it, why did I have to bring up the exact topic I wanted to avoid!
She silently prayed her little lover hadn't heard anything—or at least wouldn't recognize who "Jingshu" was if she had!
Pei Lanqing sat firmly like a mountain, clearly with no intention of leaving anytime soon.
Her visit tonight wasn't just about seeing her daughter and delivering gifts—she also planned to get to the bottom of why Pei Youshan had stood up Xu Jingshu.
Pei Youshan disliked this topic, her tone growing increasingly impatient and irritable. "I just didn't want to meet her! I just don't like her, okay?!"
"You don't like her?" Pei Lanqing narrowed her eyes. "What did she ever do to you? You've never even met!"
Pei Youshan faltered, the rumors she'd heard resurfacing in her mind.
Ugly, promiscuous, changing lovers like changing clothes...
Every point danced perilously on her pet peeves, making it impossible to feel anything but aversion toward the unseen Xu Jingshu.
—They'd both be better off going their separate ways. She couldn't handle that kind of misfortune.
Stiffening her neck, she declared with righteous indignation: "She has terrible character!"
Hearing this, Pei Lanqing crossed her arms and leaned slightly forward, her sharp gaze sweeping over her daughter's bright eyes like a blade.
With a composed smile, she stated as a question: "You've been listening to some nonsense rumors, haven't you?"
Pei Youshan stood firm. "Never mind what I've heard. Bottom line—I won't meet her, and I definitely won't marry her!"
Unexpectedly, Pei Lanqing's attitude shifted. She took Pei Youshan's hand and had her sit beside her, speaking earnestly:
"People used to say my rivalry with Xu Yingru stemmed from secret affection—that I loved her but couldn't have her, so love turned to hate. The stories sounded convincing, but you'd never believe them."
"Why? Because you know how deeply I loved your father."
"So don't trust rumors. Seeing is believing, hearing is doubtful. You can't judge someone you've never met based on others' words—that kind of assessment is bound to be distorted."
"I know you understand this principle."
Of course Pei Youshan understood.
She thought it was her mother who didn't get it.
Her resistance wasn't fundamentally about Xu Jingshu's character—it was that no one had ever asked if she consented, treating her as a bridge between family interests rather than a person with feelings.
As for Xu Jingshu's looks and personality? Just additional factors that didn't really matter either way.
"Mom." Pei Youshan sighed heavily. "You still don't understand—I dislike you interfering in my love life."
"Can't you let me choose for myself?"
Children grow up and eventually spread their wings. Parents should have learned to let go long ago.
Pei Lanqing smiled, gently pinching her cheek. "No, you have terrible taste."
"Besides, don't you like good-looking people? She's very attractive."
Here it comes—the miraculous medical aesthetic sense strikes again!
When it came to taste, mother and daughter were probably equally hopeless!
Pei Youshan: "Mom, you calling her pretty only makes people believe she's actually unattractive..."
Pei Lanqing: "Nonsense! Wasn't your father handsome? And I chose him, didn't I?"
Pei Youshan: "Maybe love's power saved your miraculously bad taste."
"—Don't blame me, Dad thought so too!"
"..."
Pei Lanqing: "Then a mother's great love can save it again by finding you a beautiful wife."
Waving her hand, she added: "Enough idle talk. Just listen to me this time—I guarantee it's the right choice. Be good and stop being stubborn."
Pei Youshan: "..."
She knew her mother wouldn't give up so easily!
Crossing her arms in a huff, Pei Youshan declared: "No! I'm twenty-five—I'll decide my own affairs!"
Just then, Pei Lanqing's phone rang, interrupting their argument.
After a brief call, she prepared to leave.
Still angry, Pei Youshan couldn't even muster the courtesy to see her out.
Pei Lanqing remained composed, patting her head with rare gentleness.
"Shanshan, I'd never harm you."
"Remember—everything I do is for your own good."
Pei Youshan smiled coldly. "From childhood till now, you've said that at least eight hundred if not ten thousand times. My ears have grown calluses."
Pei Lanqing shrugged. "Then our President Pei will just have to hear it once more."
She then sent a string of numbers to Pei Youshan's WeChat.
Pei Youshan: "?"
"What's this?"
Pei Lanqing picked up her handbag. "Jingshu's phone number. Didn't you ask me for it before?"
Pei Youshan: "..."
She was speechless.
If she had it all along, why not just give it to her directly?!
"Seeing is believing. I still hope you'll try getting to know her—she might just be your type."
Pei Lanqing patted her shoulder.
"Also, don't forget to apologize for standing her up last time."
"After that, how you proceed—whether to chat or meet—is up to you two. We parents can't control everything."
Pei Youshan froze slightly, suddenly unable to decipher her mother's last statement.
It sounded like if they truly had no chemistry after interacting, their parents wouldn't force them to marry.
Or perhaps it meant nothing at all...
She looked down at the phone number.
This was Xu Jingshu's. All she had to do was call...
—Wait!
She suddenly remembered—Pei Lanqing had just called her "President Pei." If her little lover heard that, it'd be disastrous!
With the fire at her heels, Xu Jingshu's matter would have to wait!
After confirming Pei Lanqing had truly left, she hurried anxiously toward the room where Xu Jingshu was hiding, praying fervently along the way.
—Oh Fuxi and Nüwa, this faithful maiden vows a lifetime of balanced meat-and-vegetable diet in exchange for my secret identity's safety—may my little sparrow have heard nothing! PLEASE!!
Entering the room, she found Xu Jingshu sitting casually on the nightstand, arms crossed—not hiding or fleeing, but seemingly waiting for her arrival.
The faint smile in her leisurely gaze unsettled Pei Youshan, giving her a foreboding sense of calm before the storm. The tension made her heart race wildly, leaping into her throat.
Biting her lip, she clung to one last hope as she slowly asked: "Xu Ge... did you hear anything?"
Then she heard Xu Jingshu say with a smile: "Not much."
"Just a little."
Pei Youshan's barely settled heart was instantly thrown back onto the flames.
"...What little?"
Xu Jingshu leisurely stood and approached, gently brushing the hair at Pei Youshan's temple: "Your marriage candidate..."
Pei Youshan's breath caught.
No way—she couldn't have heard who my blind date was and also know she's Blue Ocean Capital's CEO, right?!
"...has terrible character," Xu Jingshu finished.
Pei Youshan blinked: "?"
"That's it?"
Xu Jingshu nodded, lying flawlessly: "And that you don't want to meet her."
"That's all."
Pei Youshan exhaled in relief, her shoulders slumping as she buried her face against Xu Jingshu's shoulder, exhausted as if she'd run a kilometer.
Thus she failed to notice how her usually perceptive lover didn't ask "what's wrong" this time.
Xu Jingshu lazily combed through her wavy hair, stroke after stroke, as if petting a cat.
But her thoughts were already far away.
She'd heard everything.
Every single word, crystal clear.
Her emotions now were indescribable—just profoundly complex and peculiar.
Her sugar mommy wasn't actually surnamed Yue...
And that perverted stalker her sugar mommy guarded against wasn't surnamed Lan either...
Who could have imagined.
She truly never expected—
—Her sugar mommy was her fiancée, and the pervert was herself!
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