Chapter 174: Not Interested

During this time in Jing Shi, Shu Shu was bored and kept a pot of literati orchid.

It was when she took the two kids to stroll the nearby night market that Shu Lingchen won the prize from playing the ring-toss game.

The potted plant was brought back and watered for several days, but its leaves remained wilted.

At first Shu Shu worried she couldn't keep it alive, but unexpectedly it grew better and better, even sprouting several stems of pale pink flowers, lively and pretty.

Shu Shu thus assumed this flower belonged to the kind that could sustain itself with just water.

Until one morning she rose early alone and caught a glimpse of Dao Qingjun's figure on the living room balcony.

The man in loungewear slightly bowed his broad shoulders, wearing gloves, lowering his eyes as he carefully spread a bit of damp moss into the pot.

Shu Shu was not surprised to see Pei Du.

He also has a room here, though he only stays briefly; this person has seemed busier lately, either on a business trip or on the way to one.

Sometimes the three of them could only tell he had returned from the breakfast prepared on the table, the fruit in the fridge, and the snacks on the coffee table.

Noticing something, Pei Du stopped his motion, turned around, and his gaze met Shu Shu's.

"Morning."

"... Morning."

Shu Shu's gaze fell on Pei Du's hand, and she instantly understood the real reason this flower could grow so well.

Ghostly self-sufficiency.

She suddenly realized this master of hers was not doing a good job, so she pointed at the pot of literati orchid and suggested to Pei Du: "Otherwise, why don't you just take it to care for?"

Pei Du is definitely a responsible good owner.

Then, Shu Shu was refused.

"I'm not interested in growing flowers."

"It's not like you're growing it well, is it?" Shu Shu felt he was speaking nonsense with his eyes open, and she silently pointed out: "I just saw how meticulously you were tending it; this flower was practically about to wither."

And this is called "not interested"?

"Because it's your flower." Pei Du spoke in a low, light tone, looking at Shu Shu, with no intention of deliberately creating ambiguity, simply stating the fact: "I only do this for your flower; I won't bother with anyone else's."

"……" Shu Shu unnaturally averted her gaze, trying to keep her expression and voice as calm as possible: "Oh."

Actually, when Shu Shu first had her cover blown, she had speculated in various ways about Pei Du's subsequent actions.

Then she discovered.

Pei Du went to such trouble to strip away her disguise, seemingly just to appear aboveboard in their lives, openly resolving in advance any possible trivial matters that might arise.

Just as he said.

He said that Shu Shu could let down her guard, no longer needing to avoid him, and that was all.

…

Not long after, the two kids got up.

This time Pei Du's business trip lasted nearly a week; from the moment he returned yesterday morning, Shu Lingchen immediately became his little shadow, following him around and calling him "Old Pei" over and over.

Human feelings are quite wondrous; they can let your affection for someone accumulate unnoticed, and once you realize it, it has become an instinctive reliance.

Shu Lingchen's feelings toward Pei Du are exactly like that.

Pei Du was making breakfast in the kitchen, and Shu Lingchen toddled after him, chattering away, not knowing what he was saying to Pei Du.

In short, there were many topics.

Pei Du replied to him in a leisurely manner.

Meanwhile, Shu Lingchen, while talking, reached out and snatched a slice of the chopped tomato on the cutting board to eat.

But before he could put it in his mouth, Pei Du took it away.

"Unsanitary."

Pei Du frowned in reminder, then put down the knife, took a whole tomato, washed it, and handed it to Shu Lingchen: "Eat this."

Shu Lingchen took it with a giggly smile.

"Mom?"

A doubtful voice came from his daughter's ear.

Shu Shu came to her senses, realizing she was still helping her daughter fasten a hair clip; she sat on the living room sofa, drew her gaze back from the kitchen, and gently pressed the clip down.

"All right."

Pei Muyin affectionately hugged Shu Shu's hand; the newly recognized daughter had many curious questions for her mother: "Dad said my name contains Mom's name, but isn't Mom's name Shu Shu?"

"Shu Shu is my current name."

Shu Shu smiled at her daughter and told her her former name.

Xie Shuyin.

Pei Muyin solemnly repeated these three characters in her mind, feeling that her mother's name also sounded nice.

So——Pei, Mu, Yin.

That is the origin of her name.

Pei Muyin unconsciously glanced toward the kitchen, and after a few moments of thought, she looked at Shu Shu.

"Mom, I happened to find your voice recorder in a book beneath the shelf in Dad's study when I was little, but Dad doesn't know about its existence."

"Oh, that? I just put it down casually; without Muyin, I myself would have forgotten." Shu Shu blinked, then relaxedly curled the corner of her mouth: "It's nothing important; Muyin doesn't need to worry too much."

Pei Muyin nodded.

It seemed she understood something from Shu Shu's words.

But the secret hidden in the voice recorder, identical to a confession, really isn't something important, is it?

To Pei Muyin, both Dad and Mom are especially important people to her.

No one would not wish for completeness.

But she doesn't know the full course of events, so she has no right to comment on the present outcome; she wasn't a party who experienced it firsthand, and she certainly can't demand others change according to her own ideas.

Afterwards, Pei Muyin no longer mentioned the recorder.

She had breakfast.

She greeted everyone with a smile, slung her bag over her shoulder, and went to the Grand Theatre to practice violin.

"…May I ask who you are?"

Only after getting in the car did Pei Muyin notice that a stranger woman was sitting in the front passenger seat.

The woman had neat short hair and a somewhat brisk demeanor; she gave Pei Muyin a friendly nod and said, "Eldest Young Lady."

The female driver beside her introduced this as the new driver arranged by Director Pei; from today on, the two of them would take turns driving Pei Muyin.

Dad?

The way to the Grand Theatre is short; we don't need both drivers.

Pei Muyin was puzzled; after arriving, she got out of the car, and the "new driver" also got out, following her all the way to the classroom door before leaving.

This made Pei Muyin feel embarrassed; after finding her seat and sitting down, she heard someone nearby discussing something.

"It's already time; why hasn't Shi Yao come yet? She won't be skipping class today, will she?"

Too.

Yes.

Shi Yao has missed the Grand Theatre for two full days straight, which is unusual; after all, since she joined Berlin Su, even when the orchestra collectively rests, she has never missed a day of coming to practice violin.

Everyone was puzzled, not knowing what had happened.

Until noon that day, the Berlin Su Orchestra issued an announcement internally.

The announcement read:

A few days ago, the accident in which the steel frame of the west side of the Grand Theatre stage collapsed was investigated and found to be the doing of Shi Yao, a member of the Youth Violin Youth Group; given Shi Yao's serious violation of discipline, effective immediately, the Berlin Su Orchestra formally expels Shi Yao!

As soon as the announcement was released, it caused an uproar, and not long after, word came that Shi Yao is currently under police control.