Chapter 145

(1)

Shu Lingchen didn't ask Pei Du, "Why did you and my mom break up?"

Although Pei Du was handsome, strong, good at making money, good at cooking, and emotionally stable, in Shu Lingchen's subconscious, someone already so excellent and rare still couldn't compare to his mother.

In his view, no matter when or where, his mother's status was above all else—this required no hesitation.

So he directly asked:

"If you're so great, why did my mom dump you?"

Shu Lingchen crossed his arms over his chest, imitating those powerful protagonists from TV dramas, deliberately pointing his finger at his arm with an air of profundity, his jet-black eyes sharply fixed on this dad who had just "come back from the dead" five minutes ago.

Still bearing a hint of youthful handsomeness, his face read—no disguise could escape the keen eyes of his little fire‑turkey baby!

Opposite him.

Pei Du fell silent for a moment.

He had to admit, his son's question really put him on the spot.

"Actually, I want to know the answer even more than Lingchen does."

Pei Du did not rebut the wording his son used.

Because he also agreed that he must have done something wrong, causing Yinyin to decide to leave him.

"What do you mean?" Shu Lingchen scratched his head in confusion and asked, "You're one of the parties involved—how could you not know?"

"I was in a car accident; after waking up, I lost all my memories from before." Pei Du lifted his gaze and said, "I think your sister must have mentioned some of this to you—my accident happened when she was four."

This—

Pei Muyin had indeed told Shu Lingchen that, after clearing up the misunderstanding with her father and returning, Shu Lingchen had seen her eyes red and thought she'd been bullied, and she had told him everything in full.

But at that time.

Shu Lingchen scoffed inwardly, thinking, "That kidnapper is really sly, even fabricating a melodramatic car‑accident amnesia excuse as a shield to deceive his pure‑hearted sister."

Pah!

So, clever and quick‑witted as he was, he didn't believe a word of it.

"... Well, this, this is really the first I've heard of it; my sister must have told my mom, anyway... I don't know." Shu Lingchen raised a hand to rub his nose, feigning surprise, then suddenly realized something and replied, "Hey, wait a minute—if you've lost your memory, how can you still recognize my mom?"

"Hmph, don't tell me it's just intuition—this kind of plot only happens in idol dramas."

Pei Du said nothing, only his gaze quietly meeting his son's.

Everything was already conveyed in silence.

"..."

"..."

Shu Lingchen clicked his tongue: "Holy shit, no way..."

It really was just intuition.

So cute, pia.

A living‑person version of radar.

Shu Lingchen: "Then you never asked my mom directly?"

Pei Du: "I did."

Shu Lingchen curious: "What did my mom say...?"

A slight pause.

Pei Du's voice low and light repeated what Shu Shu had said that day: "Mom said our feelings had faded, we no longer liked each other, so we split."

Shu Lingchen blinked, not knowing why, he sensed a feeling of grievance from this person, and felt he should follow up with: "And then, what do you think?"

Pei Du: "I believe fifty percent."

Shu Lingchen: "Huh? Which fifty percent don't you believe?"

Pei Du opened his lips: "Regarding the part about us no longer liking each other, it's my side."

"..." Shu Lingchen fell silent for three seconds, looked at his resurrected dad with a penetrating gaze, then let out a soft hum: "You've probably been secretly scrolling those love‑quote sites all the time, huh."

Pei Du momentarily didn't understand: "What."

"Nothing."

…

Then the atmosphere grew quiet again.

Shu Lingchen began staring at Pei Du in various ways.

Looking left, looking right.

Pei Du's brows and eyes were cold and clear, he sat calmly, allowing his son to size him up.

Before, when Shu Lingchen regarded Pei Du as an imagined enemy, he often sized him up this way, but back then Pei Du's role in his eyes was that of a hateful kidnapper.

Now, however, it's different.

He now needs to view Pei Du with a different gaze and different standards, but this behavior does not mean that, upon learning Pei Du's identity, he readily accepted him as his father.

Knowing and accepting are two different things.

Shu Lingchen doesn't know what happened between his mother and father, nor does he fully understand his mother's specific attitude toward his father.

But his inner scale, without doubt, leans toward his mother's side.

But.

But.

This person must have known they were father and son long ago, so picking him up without an umbrella in the rain, bringing him along to the science museum and even preparing breakfast weren't just incidental—they were deliberate acts of concern and care.

As for other aspects, it seems there's nothing more to say.

It's only been a few hours since this person blocked a ball for him this afternoon and stood up for him to seek justice.

Shu Lingchen spoke from his conscience; he could find nothing wrong with Pei Du.

The teenager's turmoil was all written on his face.

Pei Du seemed to understand the son's thoughts and said, "Lingchen, you don't need any mental burden over this. Just keep the state you thought was comfortable before you knew, and continue as you wish."

"Being frank, I absolutely don't mean to force Lingchen to accept or choose one of two; I just want to clear up the misunderstanding so you can relax—I won't do anything bad to Mom, Sis, or you."

Shu Lingchen huffed, "I really have to wonder if you planted a surveillance device in my stomach!!"

Upon hearing that.

Pei Du tugged at the corner of his mouth, giving a silent, light laugh.

After Shu Lingchen finished huffing, he also felt it was natural—this person has a good head, and—his mother wouldn't like someone with a bad head.

After Pei Du said all that.

Shu Lingchen's little bit of turmoil vanished in an instant.

Just like that.

The father who had returned from the dead was back, right before his eyes.

He unconsciously wondered whether he should call him Dad, how he would face him from now on, how they should get along sharing the same space, and whether it would be awkward, etc.

And Pei Du's words were like a reassuring pill, frankly telling him he could do as he wished, putting his own feelings first.

All right.

Considering how thoughtful this person is——

Shu Lingchen gave a light cough twice, then said to Pei Du, "Although I don't know the true reason you and my mom split, I can help you rule out one possibility."

(2)

One must admit, this sentence successfully "tempted" Pei Du.

Even if it was just ruling out one of the possibilities, he was quite willing to listen.

Pei Du immediately nodded: "Then, thank you, Lingchen."

So, what is it?

Shu Lingchen again put on his serious-face-for-important-matters and said a few words to Pei Du: "That is, you've been unfaithful."

That is.

The reason Shu Shu and Pei Du split wasn't because Pei Du cheated.

"……"

Pei Du furrowed his brows, not denying Lingchen's claim, but he was still curious what supported the son's inference, and asked, "Lingchen, how do you know that?"

"This is simple," Shu Lingchen said. "My mom has an especially severe emotional cleanliness; when she watches dramas or reads novels, if any character does something disloyal to their partner, no matter how exciting the plot, she will immediately and without hesitation drop the show or the book."

Before the age of four, Shu Lingchen often did odd jobs for his mom.

Whenever Mom got teary-eyed watching an idol drama, he would stand beside her holding a tissue box and hand her tissues to wipe her tears.

He still remembers that back then there was a drama that turned two so‑called amateur stars into nationwide sensations; Mom would religiously follow its update schedule, and if there was no new episode she'd stay up late to rewatch the previous ones twice.

Then one day, suddenly, the latest episode had aired halfway through, and Mom was still lounging on the sofa, leisurely scrolling on her phone.

He reminded Mom, "The show's on."

Then he heard Mom's lazy voice say, "Change the channel to whatever cartoon you want to watch—I'm not watching any more."

Little Shu Lingchen asked why.

Shu Shu put down her phone, pointed at a man on the TV, and snorted irritably.

"That big oaf finally got together with the person he liked, but then his childhood sweetheart returned, fell ill, and right before the movie started he dumped his girlfriend to go care for his first love."

Little Shu Lingchen: "Huh, Mom used to call him Mingge and say he was awesome, really smart, didn't she?"

"Being talented and smart doesn't excuse his moral decay; no one demands he stay with one person his whole life, but at least he should be faithful within a relationship."

Seeing her son's clueless look, Shu Shu simplified her words.

"What I mean is, he has the right to choose between his girlfriend and his first love, but once he picks someone he must wholeheartedly treat that person; if he knows his girlfriend will feel hurt and upset yet still goes after someone else, that's what we call a scumbag."

"Shu Lingchen, if you dare to be a scumbag." Shu Shu clenched her fists: "Watch how I'll deal with you."

Little Shu Lingchen piped up in a childish voice, declaring firmly, "I won't, Mom, don't punish me."

Shu Shu hurriedly rubbed her son's soft little cheek: "This is my good kid."

After a while.

Little Shu Lingchen asked again, "Mom, what's a first love?"

Shu Shu: "A first love is just the first person you ever liked."

"So, was Mom's first love a scumbag?"

Shu Shu paused her phone‑fiddling and replied, "No."

Little Shu Lingchen blinked and exclaimed, "Mom, you're so sure!"

"If she weren't sure, you wouldn't exist."

Back then, Shu Lingchen was still young and didn't understand the meaning of his mother's last words.

Only later, when he grew up, did he understand.

Mom's first love was his dad, and his dad isn't a scumbag, because if his dad were a scumbag, he wouldn't exist in this world.

Mom's emotional cleanliness is truly severe.

As described, the situation in that drama is no different from blatant actual infidelity.

Mom also despises emotional infidelity; she doesn't like either partner wavering mid‑relationship or having uncertain thoughts, which she considers an unqualified love.

Although Shu Lingchen doesn't know the exact reason Shu Shu and Pei Du split,

he can still see that his mother doesn't feel that utter aversion toward his resurrected father.

This shows that his father hasn't committed the principle‑violating error that would offend his mother.

Shu Lingchen explained his analysis in detail.

"First, love."

Pei Du lowered his eyelids, stunned, and lightly repeated those two words.

"?" Shu Lingchen glared instantly, almost wanting to go crazy: "No, did you just hear those two words in your ears?!"

He had spoken so much his mouth was a little dry.

This person only heard "first love"?!?!

Too much!

If that's the case, he'll definitely lose points!

Pei Du curled his lips: "No, I'm really grateful for Lingchen's good memory and meticulous logical analysis."

This. Still. Not. Much.

?????

Considering Pei Du's frankness.

Shu Lingchen temporarily withdrew in his mind the little note of giving Pei Du a demerit.

But he clearly felt the "impact" those two words "first love" had on this dad.

The downstairs audio-visual room.

Shu Shu accompanied her daughter to watch a movie.

It's a niche foreign old film; the story tells how an ordinary girl who learned violin from childhood gradually rose to the international stage, the plot has no contradictions, the narrative is straightforward, only violinists can empathize with the girl's perseverance and hardship.

Pei Muyin watched it very attentively.

Light and shadow from the curtain flickered across her eyes, illuminating her focused expression.

Pei Muyin came to An Shi, bringing her violin as well.

When Shu Shu was at home, she had heard her daughter play violin, she could clearly sense her daughter's love for violin, then she suddenly recalled that time she went to Jing Shi for an audition with an international orchestra, looking for her daughter, but didn't find her.

Afterwards she looked it up; this orchestra's prestige is not low, it has an alias that any music student would not want to miss.

"Muyin, do you know the Berlin Su Orchestra?"

Pei Muyin paused, looked at Shu Shu, and nodded obediently: "Yeah, I know; I previously went to audition for a violinist."

The daughter indeed also had intentions toward Berlin Su.

Shu Shu asked gently: "Then, how did the audition turn out?"

Pei Muyin shook her head: "I passed all the previous auditions, but because I was late… I missed the final round."

Shu Shu: "!"

The daughter went to the final round audition.

In other words, her trip to Jing Shi wasn't in vain; she just missed her daughter.

"Sister, why suddenly ask this?"

"Nothing."

Shu Shu pulled the blanket, letting it wrap around herself and her daughter, narrowed her eyes, and said: "I just feel grateful to heaven for letting me and Muyin have such a special affinity."

"Let me not miss you a second time."

Upon hearing that, Pei Muyin blushed and smiled, couldn't help but hug Shu Shu back, inhaling the fresh, light scent reminiscent of fresh orange on Shu Shu's body.

"Me too~"

If it were the past Pei Muyin, mentioning the Berlin Su Orchestra would make her feel down, but now she thinks it's just a trivial matter.

She won't easily feel sad anymore, because now she has lots and lots of happiness.

Shu Shu contentedly held her daughter and continued watching the movie.

At this moment.

The phone beside her lit up; she freed a hand from the blanket and tapped the screen.

"Huojizao Baobao: 'Ma! You! Again! Trick! Little! Kid!'"

From these seven exclamation marks one can feel the son's protest, anger, and collapse.

Shu Shu raised an eyebrow.

She guessed the father-son situation upstairs was about done.

The movie ended.

Shu Shu and her daughter left the audio-visual room, preparing to go back to their rooms to sleep, then they ran into Pei Du, who was also heading upstairs.

Their rooms are all adjacent in a row.

Pei Muyin voluntarily said: "Dad, good night."

Pei Du stood at the doorway, using his height advantage, he looked at his daughter while his gaze naturally slid to Shu Shu beside her; in his dark pupils floated a faint, rarely seen smile, his voice low and resonant: "Good night."

Shu Shu: "?"

"What are you laughing at, you're so happy."

"The son called him dad?"