I Know It All

The two got into the car, and Lao Zhao drove them back to Wanliu Academy. Along the way, Pei Ningxue looked out the window and hardly spoke, and Chen Zhi didn't take the initiative to start a conversation. It wasn't until they entered the house and changed their shoes that Pei Ningxue turned around.

"My dad never finishes what he has to say all at once."

Chen Zhi chimed in, "I noticed. Speaking half a sentence and leaving the rest hanging is more exhausting than a meeting."

"That's not exhausting; that's giving you an out." Pei Ningxue walked over to the sofa and sat down, crossing her legs. "Lunch was just to test the waters. Dinner tonight is the main course."

Standing in the middle of the living room, Chen Zhi suddenly felt a bit uneasy.

"What do you think your dad is going to pull tonight?"

Pei Ningxue sneered. "What else could it be? He's going to ask how many other women you're keeping on the side."

"Then what should we do? Doesn't that mean our secret is exposed?"

Pei Ningxue glanced at him. "Not 'our', 'your'. Your secret is exposed. What does that have to do with me?"

He sat down on the other end of the sofa, rubbing his knees with both hands, his mind racing.

"What if your dad doesn't agree to let me marry you?"

Pei Ningxue remained expressionless. "There is no 'what if'. My dad definitely won't agree."

Chen Zhi immediately switched to a pained expression, clutching his chest. "I will miss you, my unattainable love."

"Get lost!"

Pei Ningxue grabbed the remote control from the coffee table and threw it at him.

Chen Zhi dodged to the side. The remote smacked against the back of the sofa with a loud crack, sending the battery cover flying two meters away.

"You're not even willing to humor me now, are you?" Pei Ningxue's face turned red with anger. "My dad is leaving tomorrow. Tonight's dinner is the most crucial one, and this is the attitude you bring?"

Chen Zhi quickly dropped his playful grin and got serious:

"Then what should we do?"

Pei Ningxue took a deep breath, sat up straight again, and regained the calm demeanor she used during CFO negotiations.

"It's very simple."

She looked at Chen Zhi and enunciated every word clearly:

"No matter what evidence Pei Dongcheng brings out, you must firmly insist that I am the only one you will ever marry in this lifetime."

Chen Zhi froze for a moment.

"What if he brings out photos?"

Pei Ningxue raised her chin, the line of her neck forming an elegant arc.

"Then you tell him it was just playing around."

She paused, her voice a bit softer but no less resolute.

"I don't care. As long as I'm the one you marry in the end, I, Pei Ningxue, can tolerate those random nobodies on the outside."

Chen Zhi looked at her face.

Her words sounded domineering, but Chen Zhi could not help feeling that Pei Ningxue was using her dad as an excuse to conveniently get him under her thumb as well.

But he had no proof.

Besides, now was not the time to look into that.

"Alright," Chen Zhi nodded. "We'll do as you say."

Pei Ningxue hummed in satisfaction and stood up to head to the bedroom.

"Go change your clothes. Be there before seven. Don't be late."

...

China World Summit Wing, top-floor Chinese restaurant.

It was the same private room from lunch.

When Chen Zhi pushed the door open, Pei Dongcheng was already sitting in the seat of honor.

Unlike lunch, the dishes on the table were much more lavish. A bottle of Moutai stood in the corner, with a handwritten vintage label stuck on the bottle.

But Chen Zhi's gaze did not fall on the food.

He stared at something in the center of the table.

A yellow kraft paper envelope.

It was bulging, the flap secured by a white string wrapped around it twice.

Pei Ningxue walked in behind Chen Zhi and also spotted the envelope at first glance.

Her footsteps faltered for a second.

Pei Dongcheng looked up, glanced at his daughter, then at Chen Zhi, and used his chin to point at the two empty seats opposite him.

"Sit."

The two pulled out their chairs and sat down. Chen Zhi intentionally tried to let Pei Ningxue sit between him and Pei Dongcheng, but Pei Ningxue plopped down in the seat further away from her dad.

Waiters filed in, beginning to set the plates and pour the wine.

Pei Dongcheng personally twisted off the cap of the Moutai and poured Chen Zhi's glass more than half full. The liquid was clear, with a rich, savory aroma.

Chen Zhi quickly held his glass up with both hands to receive it.

"Thank you, President Pei."

"Xiaoxue doesn't drink, pour her a glass of juice," Pei Dongcheng instructed the secretary standing by the door without looking back.

After pouring the juice, the secretary silently backed out, pulling the door to the private room shut from the outside.

With a click, the lock engaged.

In the massive private room, only three people remained.

And that kraft paper envelope.

Pei Dongcheng raised his glass. "Come, try this. I brought it over from Jiangcheng."

Chen Zhi clinked glasses and tossed back half of his drink.

The fiery liquid burned down into his stomach, making him almost cough.

Pei Dongcheng watched his little reaction without saying a word. He took a sip himself, put down his glass, and picked up his chopsticks to grab a piece of Lion's Head meatball.

"Eat, don't be polite."

After taking a few bites, Pei Dongcheng wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked up at Pei Ningxue.

"Xiaoxue."

"Dad."

"I've looked over Deep Space Technology's recent situation," Pei Dongcheng's tone was as flat as it had been at lunch, giving away neither praise nor criticism. "You've been very competent as the CFO."

"Thank you, Dad."

Pei Dongcheng picked up another piece of fish, put it in his mouth, and slowly chewed it.

Then he set down his chopsticks.

"But as for whether the CEO is competent..."

His gaze slowly shifted onto Chen Zhi.

"...That's debatable."

Chen Zhi's grip on his chopsticks tightened slightly.

There was no way to respond to that.

So he chose to keep his mouth shut.

Pei Dongcheng wasn't in a hurry to continue either. He picked up his teacup and took a sip, his eyes fixed on Chen Zhi's face over the rim of the cup.

"At lunch, you said Xiaoxue is your partner."

"Yes."

"Then let me ask it differently." Pei Dongcheng put down his teacup and rested his crossed hands on the table. "Besides being your partner, what else is she to you?"

He tilted his head to glance at Pei Ningxue. She didn't look at him, keeping her head down and staring at her fingers resting on her knees.

"She is my girlfriend," Chen Zhi turned back, looking at Pei Dongcheng. "And the woman I'm going to marry."

Pei Dongcheng's expression didn't change at all.

He simply reached out and pulled that yellow kraft paper envelope from the center of the table over to himself.

The white string securing the flap was slowly unwound.

Pei Dongcheng pulled a stack of things from the envelope and spread them out neatly on the table.

Chen Zhi looked down at them.

It was a stack of high-definition printed photos.

The top one was a profile shot of him and Lin Wanwan kissing on a pedestrian overpass.

The second was a shot from behind of him hugging Lin Wanwan backstage at The Singer.

The third—

Chen Zhi and Li Zhiyi walking side by side at the entrance of Renmin University, their fingers intertwined.

Pei Ningxue's body stiffened.

Pei Dongcheng flipped through the photos one by one. His movements were very slow, as if giving the two of them enough time to digest it all.

When he reached the last one, he stopped.

"Chen Zhi." Pei Dongcheng's voice was neither high nor low. "You just said you're going to marry my daughter."

"Yes."

"Then what are these?"

Pei Dongcheng tapped his finger on the photos on the table.

Before Chen Zhi could make a sound, Pei Ningxue suddenly spoke up beside him.

"Dad."

Pei Dongcheng looked at his daughter.

Pei Ningxue lifted her head, her back ramrod straight.

"I know about these things."

Pei Dongcheng's expression finally showed its first crack.

He furrowed his brows.

"You know?"

"I know everything." Pei Ningxue's voice was unusually steady. "Lin Wanwan, and the other one, I know about them all."

Pei Dongcheng stared at his daughter for a long time.

"You know, and yet you still—"

"I stand by the man I chose," Pei Ningxue interrupted her father.

Pei Dongcheng said nothing.

He slowly gathered the stack of photos and slipped them back into the manila envelope.

Then he picked up his glass and downed his drink in one gulp.

The empty glass clunked heavily against the tabletop.

"Chen Zhi."

"President Pei."

Pei Dongcheng stared at him, his voice dropping low.

"I am only going to ask you one question, and you had better think it through before you answer."