Chapter 36: The Old Lady Loathes the Eldest Young Lady

Hearing Madam Song's praise, Shi Qing's lips curved into a faint smile: "Aunt, as long as you like it."

At that moment.

Shi Yao walked over from the dining area, her tone light: "Grandma Pei, Mom, the dishes are ready, we can serve."

"Oh, okay."

Madam Song immediately set down her teacup and, with Shi Yao's support, rose to her feet.

Shi Qing suddenly remembered and asked: "Has Muyin not come down yet?"

Madam Song, who had been smiling warmly, let out a cold snort: "No need to bother with her, having to be urged three or four times just to eat—no manners."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shi Qing noticed Pei Muyin on the stairs, immediately turned her head, and said softly: "Muyin, hurry down, it's time to eat."

Madam Song didn't even glance at Pei Muyin, affectionately linking arms with Shi Yao as she walked toward the dining room.

…

The Pei family is large and prosperous, yet the main branch has few members.

Madam Song's original husband, Old Master Pei, died in an accident when she was young, and the couple had only one son.

That is the current head of the Pei family, who simply rarely returns home.

Usually, in the sprawling main residence, only Madam Song and Pei Muyin are the masters of the house.

…

Four people sat at the dinner table.

The atmosphere was starkly polarized.

Madam Song doted on Shi Yao with concern and chatted happily with Shi Qing.

Meanwhile, Pei Muyin, who was clearly sitting at the same table eating, ate in silence, her presence so faint she seemed almost invisible.

"Yao Yao, I heard you were accepted by the Berlin Symphony Orchestra?" Madam Song asked with a smile.

Shi Yao nodded: "Yeah, I went for the audition this morning and just got the orchestra's acceptance notice."

"Oh, our Yao Yao is truly amazing. To celebrate your acceptance, pick whatever gift you like, and later Grandma Pei will reimburse you."

"Thank you, Grandma Pei."

"No need." Madam Song then asked Shi Qing: "Xiao Qing, when are you going to bring Xiao Jin back to Jing Shi? Letting a child study all the way out in An Shi, such a poor, remote place—how could they get used to it? You really can't bear to part with them?"

Shi Qing smiled faintly and explained: "Aunt, this is Xiao Jin's own request; he said he wants to temper his will, learn independence. He's grown up and has his own ideas, so as his mother I can only support him."

Upon hearing that, Shi Yao's chopsticks paused mid-air, and she gave her mother a furtive, complex glance.

Madam Song looked affectionate: "Oh, Xiao Jin is already so sensible, such a good child. If anything in An Shi is inconvenient for him, just tell me—his lodging, travel, whatever—I'll make the arrangements."

"Aunt, I thank you on Xiao Jin's behalf for your kindness." Shi Qing said, as if noticing the neglected Pei Muyin across the table, and gently asked: "I heard Muyin also went to the Berlin Symphony Orchestra's recruitment today?"

Before Pei Muyin could answer, Shi Yao hesitated: "No, it seems Muyin was late and missed the audition; I was the last to go on stage, and I didn't see Muyin in the theater."

"Missing it is actually good." Madam Song's eyes showed disdain: "She just sits there like a block of wood all day; tell her to stop playing the violin, stop playing the violin—she won't listen. When she goes out and embarrasses herself, it'll be the Pei family's face that's lost."

Pei Muyin's grip on her chopsticks tightened, and for a moment the skin on her fingers lost color.

She lowered her head further, the hanging hair casting a sizable shadow across her forehead, obscuring her expression.

Shi Yao paused, then spoke in a defensive tone: "Grandma Pei, Muyin plays the violin very well; many professors have praised her talent."

Madam Song still had no pleasant expression: "Even if she plays well, what good is it? She's gotten so fat she can't be seen in public—it's also a disgrace to the Pei family's reputation!"

"Sizzle—"

A chair scraped across the floor.

"I, I'm full."

The feeble female voice seemed to sink down to the dust.

Pei Muyin put down her bowl and chopsticks, then rose and fled upstairs.

The rice in her bowl remained untouched—she had barely taken a few bites; how could she possibly be full?

Yet no one at the table tried to stop her.

…

Returning to her room, returning to her own turf.

Only then did Pei Muyin feel she could breathe again.

She sat dazedly on the carpet before the bed, remaining thus until night fell, Shi Qing and her daughter left, and the night grew deep and quiet.

The room had no lights on, plunged in darkness.

Pei Muyin, taking advantage of the moonlight, hauled a big pile of snacks onto the balcony.

—Whenever she's in a bad mood, she binges on snacks.

Potato chips, chocolate, cream cake…

When her mouth tasted sweet, her heart felt sweet too.

She was just opening a bag of potato chips.

From the garden below came the servants' idle chatter; one who seemed a new servant in the Pei household, full of confusion, asked:

"How come it feels like the old lady doesn't take a liking to the Eldest Young Lady? Just now at the dinner table, those who didn't know might have thought Miss Shi Yao was the biological granddaughter, while the Eldest Young Lady was picked up."

"No need to feel, it's just that." Another, more experienced servant sighed: "The old lady simply doesn't like the Eldest Young Lady; one could even say she loathes her."

"Why?"

"Because of the Eldest Young Lady's birth mother, you see—rumor has it that the Eldest Young Lady's birth mother was formerly a lowly maidservant in the Pei household, who shamelessly hooked up with the then Eldest Young Master, Mr. Pei, and that's how the Eldest Young Lady came to be."

"Ah, really?!"

"Yeah, and I also heard that Mr. Pei, in order to be with that maidservant, quarreled irreconcilably with the old lady; the old lady hated that maidservant to the core, so how could she possibly look favorably on that maidservant's child?"

"What about that woman? Where is she now?"

"She's long gone from the Pei household; I guess she ran off with someone. Anyway, as those older than me say, back then this matter caused a huge scandal, the whole Pei household was in an uproar, and now whenever anyone thinks of that maidservant, the old lady flies into a rage—so, in the future, you'd better be careful in everything you do."

"……" Pei Muyin's eyelashes twitched, and she shoved a large piece of chocolate into her mouth.

"Oh oh." The new servant asked again: "Isn't there a gathering at the main house on the fifth of each month? Why haven't we seen Master Pei return?"

"You just came, you wouldn't know, but Master Pei hasn't returned for over ten years, always living outside. Didn't we just say that? The Eldest Young Lady's birth mother ran off with someone, so Master Pei is naturally angry, and he certainly doesn't want to see the Eldest Young Lady, lest he feel annoyed."

"Over these many years, Master Pei has been busy with the group's business, and he has paid no attention to the Eldest Young Lady."

"In this household, the Eldest Young Lady is merely a title in name only; her personality is dull and strange, and no one wants to get close to her."

"……"

The servants downstairs probably never imagined that their conversation would carry all the way up to the ears of the person on the balcony above.

Upon hearing those words "no one wants to get close to her," Pei Muyin turned her head, as if self‑inflicting punishment, and looked at her reflection in the full‑length mirror opposite—