Chapter 127: Too Deep Into the Role

The car drove away from the teaching building.

It wasn't the first or second time he'd sat in this black Bentley, but this was the first time only Shu Lingchen and the 'human trafficker' were inside.

The boy wasn't as at ease as he usually was when his mother and sister were with him.

He kept his backpack on his shoulders, knees together, his dark eyes darting around but never toward the front seat, as if avoiding eye contact with the person ahead.

Watching the scenery rush past outside, Shu Lingchen realized and exclaimed, "The school doesn't let private cars in—you must have sneaked in while the guard was napping, right?"

"... Sneaked in?"

Pei Du's hand, joints prominent on the steering wheel, gave a slight pause; in his memory he had never needed to sneak into anywhere—he never had to, and countless people would willingly step aside for him.

The word "sneak" felt rather novel.

"I made a call on the way over," the man said in a calm tone.

?

"Heh, putting on airs—someone who didn't know might think you owned the school."

He couldn't help muttering to himself, unaware that his thoughts slipped out aloud.

Shu Lingchen: "……!"

"Damn mouth!"

"Why not wait till after getting out to speak? He's still in the trafficker's car—if the guy gets mad and sells him, what then?"

Shu Lingchen was feeling a bit embarrassed.

"The school isn't mine to run." Pei Du didn't mind; as if he hadn't heard the jab, he simply said, "I've made a donation."

Shu Lingchen snorted: "Oh, lots of people have donated to our school."

"So it's not just you who donated; you're only one of many donors—don't expect me to be impressed and then start worshiping you!"

/????? \

"It's trivial," Pei Du said. "I only donated once; although it was for the gym, the project is huge, so it probably won't be usable anytime soon—so my donation makes no real difference; it's hardly worth mentioning."

"!!!"

"What the heck?"

Shu Lingchen's eyes widened.

"A gym? The money to build that must be… a fortune!"

Pei Du wasn't trying to show off; for San Zhong, funding a gym might be a big deal, but for him it was nothing.

He said that merely to agree with Shu Lingchen.

The boy's point was that he had nothing to be proud of.

So he isn't proud.

Shu Lingchen then remembered something—

Earlier, the girl named Zhang Lu had once insulted his sister, and then he heard someone from Class 1 yell:

"……Do you know what position Pei Muyin holds? Her family donated a gym to the school—you're going to get criticized!"

The speaker talked too fast, and since he was focused on getting Zhang Lu to apologize, he thought he'd misheard; later he vaguely recalled it, but assumed Zhang Lu's usual conduct had annoyed his classmates, so he was just boasting to scare her.

In short, he didn't give it much thought.

As it turned out, the gym donation was real.

But what Shu Lingchen suddenly recalled wasn't just the gym; some minor details he'd overlooked earlier, at key moments, seemed linked like beads on a string.

For example, when his sister just transferred to An Shi San Zhong, the new apartment on the upper floor, unit 1702, originally meant to be a wedding home, was bought outright.

For example, the car his sister uses for outings has consecutive license plates—a Rolls-Royce.

"……"

Thus he concluded that, materially, the "human trafficker" was generous toward his sister.

Since it was good, why had his sister previously endured so much unhappiness?

His sister had said it was due to a misunderstanding; now the misunderstanding is cleared, but even so, it can't hide the heinous fact that the trafficker abducted his sister!

Shu Lingchen asked Pei Du: "Why did you donate a gym to our school?"

Pei Du said: "Muyin studies here."

It was no surprise; Shu Lingchen asked rhetorically, not to hear that answer but to set up what he'd say next.

His aim was to admonish the human trafficker!

The boy cleared his throat, put on a solemn face for serious talk, and said to Pei Du: "Mr. Pei, you're so wealthy—what kind of child couldn't you raise? Why do this?"

Why become a human trafficker!

Pei Du: "?" What did he do?

Shu Lingchen spoke earnestly: "Muyin is well-behaved, excellent, sensible, sincere, with correct values, good character, and kind—oh, you're happy, but have you ever thought that elsewhere someone would be devastated over this, crying all day, heartbroken?"

Pei Du: "……?"

Pei Du got the first half and agreed, but the second half…… what did it mean?

However, Shu Lingchen was clearly getting carried away; the boy affected a deep tone: "Mr. Pei, why not, while it's not too late and everything can still be fixed, early on plunge into the sea of suffering, turn back to shore?"

Hurry up and return his sister to them, then vanish into the crowd forever!

"……"

Hearing that, the man's usually stern face twitched at the corner of his mouth.

He couldn't help wondering whether the school's curriculum updates were now so…… artistic.

After listening, Pei Du simply didn't grasp what Shu Lingchen was trying to say.

Could this be the adult‑child generation gap?

"What do you want to say?"

While speaking, Pei Du deliberately slowed the car without changing his expression; the man leaned in to listen, trying his best to understand the boy's meaning.

Shu Lingchen took a breath, speaking word by word to Pei Du: "What I want to say is, if you like raising children, just have your own; why would you want to raise someone else's child—"

The boy glanced out the window, saw there was still some distance to home, and swallowed the words 'struck by lightning' that were about to come out.

They're being smart!

While trying to persuade the trafficker, one must also avoid angering them—otherwise, what if the trafficker's defenses break?

"……"

Shu Lingchen felt she had expressed herself clearly enough; surely Pei Du would understand this time!

The car interior was silent for three seconds.

Then Shu Lingchen heard the man's stern voice from the front: "I don't have a habit of raising other people's children; Muyin is my child; I only raise my own child."

Also only take care of—

Pei Du frowned, didn't finish the second half of the sentence, only lifted his eyelids, revealing a pair of dark, cold eyes; through the rearview mirror, he saw the teenager in a school uniform sitting in the back seat with a defiant expression.

Hearing Pei Du say that, Shu Lingchen let out a silent laugh, then said in a sarcastic tone: "Mr. Pei, can your car play music? Can you play a song 'Too Deep in the Role'?"

The trafficker is just too deep into the role, to the point of truly treating the kidnapped sister as their own child!

＜(｀^′)＞

He advised in vain.