Chapter 129: Criminal Record

After yesterday's failed "admonition," Shu Lingchen felt there was no need for him and Pei Du to continue speaking.

He decided to stay silent all the way to the destination.

The person in the driver's seat also seemed to be a person of few words; after saying those two sentences when getting in the car, he hadn't spoken at all.

Pei Du gripped the steering wheel; the cold, smooth watch face occasionally flashed reflections across his smooth jawline, and from the side he appeared composed and restrained.

Shu Lingchen glanced unintentionally, and each time he did, he muttered a complaint in his heart.

—He was a human trafficker who looked respectable.

The atmosphere inside the car was quiet.

Shu Lingchen leaned against the back seat, turning his head to stare boredly at the scenery outside; before two minutes had passed, a scent of food drifted to his nose.

Ah, it was grilled sausage, fried egg, and chicken cutlet…

The boy's sense of smell was like a radar, precisely tracking the odor; he turned his head and saw a paper bag on the small table beside the seat, and through the transparent part of the bag he could see the sandwich inside.

Shu Lingchen hadn't eaten breakfast, and the combined visual and olfactory impact instantly stirred the hunger worm in his stomach.

He was hungry.

But this was a trafficker's car, so the food surely belonged to the trafficker.

Shu Lingchen forced himself to look away from the sandwich.

But it really smelled good.

?????

Most importantly, he had eaten this sandwich before, and the taste immediately came to mind.

The more he recalled it, the hungrier he became.

Shu Lingchen couldn't help but sneak glances at the sandwich, looking once, then again, and again.

Upon seeing it for the fifth time, his eyes met a pair of dark pupils in the rearview mirror.

"!"

He was caught.

Shu Lingchen reflexively sat up straight, assuming a soldier's posture, and blurted: "I didn't steal it!"

The boy's eyes widened, his face saying, "My innocence and your sandwich are as far apart as the Milky Way."

"……" Pei Du spoke lightly: "That was originally yours; you can eat it as you like."

So there's no need to "steal."

The placement of the sandwich was a minor miscalculation on Pei Du's part.

Whether it was yesterday when he came to school to pick up Shu Lingchen or the previous few pickups, Shu Lingchen always sat in the left rear seat, so Pei Du assumed sitting on the left was his habit and thought he would likely do so today as well.

Therefore he also placed the sandwich on the left.

Hearing Pei Du say that, Shu Lingchen froze: "... Give, give it to me?"

Before Pei Du could answer with an "uh," the doubtful, wary voice from the backseat boy came again:

"Your sandwich contains nothing but a sandwich, right? Nothing else? The kind where, once you eat it, you start feeling dizzy, then drowsy, then lose consciousness, and when you wake up you find yourself deep in the mountains, unable to get out."

"Then you have to work twenty-four hours a day; if you don't work you get beaten, and even after the beating you still get no food."

Pei Du: "……?"

What, with, what.

He said: "It's just a sandwich."

Seeing Shu Lingchen still not taking the paper bag, after a brief silence Pei Du said: "This is Mu Yin's request that I prepare breakfast for you; she guessed you might leave early and forget to eat."

Almost as soon as his words fell, the sound of the paper bag being quickly torn open came.

"Oh, I see, chew chew chew." Shu Lingchen said with bulging cheeks, speaking around a mouthful: "Then I can relax, chew chew chew, Mu Yin is really thoughtful, chew chew chew..."

Toward, hostility.

Pei Du received a third kind of feedback from the boy.

Distrust.

He trusted Mu Yin's words completely, even if only her name was mentioned.

He did not trust himself.

The red light ahead came on, and the Bentley slowed to a stop before the line.

Pei Du looked at Shu Lingchen in the back seat through the rearview mirror, his expression unchanged, and asked: "You seem to be very worried about what I might do to you."

Shu Lingchen's chewing motion paused; he pretended to be earnestly eating, not hearing the question.

But Pei Du could tell at a glance from the boy's expression.

He seemed to be "saying"—you just need to know.

Know, know what?

"I have no other intention."

Pei Du's voice remained low, calm, and unremarkable, yet inexplicably carried a tone of patient persuasion.

"I'm just curious—you're Mu Yin's good friend whom she often mentions, someone who treats her well; as… as Mu Yin's father, we've hardly met a few times."

"Could there be some misunderstanding of which I'm unaware that has caused your bias against me? If so, we can speak frankly and communicate."

Upon hearing the phrase "you're Mu Yin's constant mention…", Shu Lingchen already felt elated.

Hehe.

His sister often mentions him.

Thus, the boy's guard lowered a notch; he cleared his throat, lifted his chin, and spoke firmly: "We haven't met many times, but there's no misunderstanding here, nor anything to discuss—because you have an indelible criminal record!"

"Oh?"

At that moment, morning light rose; as the green light turned on, the Bentley resumed moving, and a shaft of light swept across Pei Du's cold, composed face, causing him to narrow his eyes and conceal the inscrutable emotion in his depths.

"I'd like to hear the details—what kind of past record do I have?"

Shu Lingchen hummed twice, gritting his teeth as he said: "Exactly, Mu Yin!"

Little sister, that's your human trafficker's "past record"!

Pei Du's brows furrowed slightly from puzzlement; for a moment he couldn't understand why his daughter was his own past record.

Is it because he has amnesia?

As soon as that thought arose, Pei Du rejected it.

No, it's not that.

Because from Shu Lingchen's perspective, the youth seemed to know something, and thus he also showed extraordinary concern and regard for Mu Yin.

But as Mu Yin's father, if it were because his own amnesia made his daughter upset, the youth would have some dislike toward him, occasional sarcastic remarks, but it wouldn't be this kind of absolute, unyielding direct accusation.

After all, he and his daughter have already cleared up the misunderstanding.

Pei Du thus felt that, in the youth's eyes, he was probably an unforgivable wicked person, someone he had excluded from the camp… a stranger.

…

Pei Du's thoughts were turning.

Then Shu Lingchen spoke again: "Mr. Pei, I feel I need to play music in your car again—this time, two songs: one 'Don't Pretend,' and one 'Mutual Understanding.'"

Thus, Pei Du found himself continuing to ponder all the details while listening to the music of 'Don't Pretend' and 'Mutual Understanding.'

After a drive of over two hours, the Bentley arrived smoothly near the science museum where the competition was being held.

Pei Du drove the car steadily.

So steady that, after eating and drinking his fill, Shu Lingchen grew half-asleep, and then he really did drift off into a dazed sleep leaning against the seat.

If he hadn't opened his eyes and seen that they had arrived at the science museum, he would really have suspected that the sandwich had a problem.

A bell chimed, waking Shu Lingchen—