No reconciliation, no forgiveness! Mr. Pei leaves with nothing.

"My future daughter-in-law!"

Song Qingran, standing behind Xia He, looked at her with a look of astonishment. In an instant, her heart was in her throat. Song Qingran had no idea when she had become Xia He's daughter-in-law.

Thinking of what Director Xu had told her about Mr. Pei's identity, Song Qingran's heart began to beat faster for no apparent reason.

Is Mr. Pei really the heir to the Huo family?

But why did Mr. Pei hide his identity and stay in the Jiang family? What was his purpose?

Sister Zhou Yan said that A-Xu was killed by the Jiang family. Is Mr. Pei staying in the Jiang family to avenge that girl named A-Xu?

Song Qingran's mind was suddenly filled with all sorts of external information, making her feel somewhat confused and unable to see clearly.

She was at her wit's end and wanted to ask Bai's mother for help when she happened to run into Xia He, who had just returned from abroad.

Xia He knew what had happened, so she brought her here.

Seeing them arguing, Song Qingran felt a pang of guilt and wanted to stop them, but seeing Mr. Pei angry made her a little scared.

She timidly hid behind Xia He, not daring to say anything.

Pei Zhan's gaze was piercing, and the entire office was filled with a strong sense of danger. Xia He, however, was completely unmoved by this atmosphere. She was his birth mother. Could it be that... he still wanted to disobey her for the sake of the Jiang family?

Just then, the phone on the desk rang, and the caller ID showed it was Jiang Hua.

Pei Zhan's anger subsided somewhat. He picked up his phone, walked to the French windows, and answered, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Hua had just retrieved her phone from her room. Holding onto the stair railing, she made the call to him as she walked downstairs. "What are your plans for dealing with Xue Ruyao and the others?"

Pei Zhan: "Prosecute the lawsuit as usual."

Song Qingran: Who is he talking to on the phone?

Upon hearing those four words, her heart jumped.

Jiang Hua said, "Let's withdraw the lawsuit."

Pei Zhan's eyes narrowed. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"As for why, we'll talk about it when you get back. Just do as I say now, understand?" Jiang Hua commanded him.

Pei Zhan's deep black eyes radiated a cold and sharp light, giving people an immense sense of oppression, until he heard Jiang Hua's voice coming from the phone again.

Jiang Weiguo: "Perfect timing, I caught a crucian carp. I'll cook you some soup myself later. It's been a while since I've seen you. How have you been lately?"

Shen Yebai: "Thank you for your concern, Uncle Jiang. I am fine."

"You're not feeling well, so there's no need for you to cook. I'll just eat whatever's available."

Jiang Weiguo: "How could I let you do whatever you want? You are a distinguished guest of the Jiang family. From now on, whenever you come, your uncle will cook soup for you every day."

Jiang Hua happened to be walking downstairs when she saw her father returning with a fish in his hand. Hearing no response from the person on her phone, she called out, "Pei Zhan?"

Did you hear what I said?

Pei Zhan snapped out of his thoughts and replied calmly, "I understand." His sinister aura lingered. After hanging up the phone, Pei Zhan's sharp gaze fell on Song Qingran. "Get out."

Xia He immediately defended her: "Why are you being so fierce! Can't you talk things out properly?"

Pei Zhan: "I told you to get out!"

Song Qingran had never been treated so harshly by him before. This was the first time in so many years, and the girl immediately felt wronged and uncomfortable as she walked towards the office door.

When Zuo Xiangnan saw the person running out, he was momentarily at a loss. When Song Qingran saw him, she immediately adjusted her expression, pretended that nothing had happened, and called out, "Brother Xiangnan."

Zuo Xiangnan: "Ms. Song, just call me Assistant Zuo as usual."

"There's a lounge next door; Miss Song, you can go in and rest for a while."

Zuo Xiangnan didn't say anything more and left her side. She didn't see Song Qingran either. A moment of disappointment flashed in her eyes. She seemed to sense that everyone was distancing themselves from her.

Did I do something wrong?

Xia He: "What's the matter?"

"Have you forgotten your own surname? Let me tell you, no matter what, I will never agree to you being with Jiang Hua, and I will absolutely not acknowledge Jiang Hua entering our Huo family. I will not allow you to fall into the Jiang family's hands like your father."

"Ah Zhan, don't blame me."

"Blame it on her mother, Jiang Qingcheng!"

"She's a member of the Jiang family!"

"What do you think you can use to interfere with my decision now?" Pei Zhan stood in front of the lady, his eyes dark and deep, as if he wanted to devour the threat in front of him. "I have said that no matter whether I inherit the Huo family or not, Jiang Hua will always be my wife."

"Moreover, I'm the one who calls the shots in the Huo family now. Everything you enjoy right now, I can take it all back with just a word from me!"

"I'm telling you one last time, sit still in your current seat!"

"Don't use the Huo family's money to help an outsider."

"If there's a next time, I'll leave you penniless."

Pei Zhan's words and the emotions he displayed suggested that he was genuinely angry.

Xia He was incredulous yet deeply disappointed in him. "You are my child, Zhan... For the sake of the Jiang family, are you going to disobey me?"

“I know your father decided to return to the capital to make amends. He couldn’t help Jiang Qingcheng back then, and she died tragically at the hands of the Wang family. She was the only one he ever thought about.” Xia He’s eyes glistened with tears. “I’m your mother! You should side with me, not her…”

"I did all this for your own good! Back then... you were taken away from me by the enemies of the Huo family. I was depressed for nearly thirty years because of you. I kept my breath, hoping to find you and reunite with you."

"Is this how you treat me?!" Xia He clutched her chest in anguish.

"What's wrong with Qingran!"

"I'm telling you, even if it's not Qingran, it can be any other woman, but... it absolutely cannot be someone from the Jiang family."

"You want me to acknowledge Jiang Hua?"

"impossible!"

“Her identity doesn’t need anyone’s recognition.” Pei Zhan’s sharp gaze fell on her. “Now that you’ve returned from the capital, behave yourself. Otherwise, stay in France and never come back.”

"To teach Mrs. Huo a lesson, I will suspend all the cards under your name. The Huo family's money is not so easy to take away and help an outsider. When you understand what you should do, I will restore all your privileges."

"I'll keep this card for you for now."

Pei Zhan picked up his phone, dialed a few numbers, and gave the order, "Take Mrs. Huo back. From now on, she is not allowed to see anyone without my permission."

"Pei Zhan! How dare you!"

Within minutes, several bodyguards suddenly arrived.

Bodyguard: "Madam, please come back with us."

Xia He saw that he was serious and looked at him with eyes full of disappointment, "You are just like your father, blinded by the women of the Jiang family."

...

Dusk, like a huge gray cloth, pressed heavily over the Huo family's old mansion, and a pungent smell filled the entire night.

The Huo family mansion cost billions to restore to its original appearance. Everything here represents the foundation laid by the Huo family in the past. Every inch of land here is precious, and its existence bears witness to the glory and honor of a family.

As he looked into the magnificent hall, Pei Zhan simultaneously heard that voice in his mind, "I despise every single member of the Huo family."

"As expected, the Huo family is no good either."

"The Huo family almost killed my father. This matter will never end, and I will never forgive them..."

"...Even if I get divorced, I could never love your son. I've said it before...I don't like anyone in your Huo family."

"Is the Huo family... so great?"

Indeed... it's nothing special.

To gain one thing, you must give up another; Pei Zhan understood this principle…

That night, a huge fire broke out at the Huo family's old mansion, with thick smoke billowing into the sky and obscuring half of the sky.

When Pei Zhan returned to Yulong Bay, Jiang Hua was still awake, applying body lotion in front of her dressing table. Her long hair was styled in a bun on top of her head. She glanced at the person who entered the room. The man didn't say a word, took off his suit jacket, and said, "Come here for a moment."

Pei Zhan stepped forward, and Jiang Hua grabbed his suit jacket and sniffed it. "What do you smell like?"

"You're back so late, where have you been gallivanting around again?"

Pei Zhan reached out, and Jiang Hua's slender fingers poked at the man's abdomen, pushing him away. "I just took a shower. You're dirty, so don't touch me, or all that showering will be for nothing."

Jiang Hua's long hair, tied up beside her, exuded a youthful charm, much like when we first met her. However, as time passed, the wildness in Jiang Hua's eyes had diminished.

Pei Zhan looked at her without much emotion in his eyes, but said in a tired voice, "I'm going to take a shower."

Jiang Hua's keen sixth sense detected that something was wrong with the man. She watched his back as he walked towards the bathroom, her eyes filled with confusion.

When Pei Zhan came out, Jiang Hua was already lying on the bed reading a book without saying a word. The man went to the study again. At this moment, Jiang Hua could clearly feel his attitude. Seeing him go to the study, Jiang Hua did not say anything. He had been like this for a long time.

Jiang Hua picked up her phone, deliberately turned the volume up to the maximum, and sent a message to her contact.

have you slept?

Shen Bao'er felt her phone vibrate. She secretly glanced at Shen Yebai, who was sitting at his desk looking at documents. She quietly took out her phone, took a picture of her homework, and replied with a crying and wiping-tears emoji.

Jiang Hua: I don't want to open my studio in the school's incubator. Do you know any other suitable places?

Shen Bao'er: If you're not at school, then I won't be able to see you anymore, right? Waaah~

Jiang Hua: Bao'er, I'm just looking for a location for my studio, not that I'm not coming back.

Shen Bao'er: But you haven't come to see me in so long.

Shen Bao'er was living with Shen Yebai in Bai Ze. Now that Shen Yebai has a family, if she were to go to Bai Ze's house like this, even if they didn't say anything, the servants would gossip.

Jiang Hua: I know a good Japanese restaurant. Shall we go together for lunch tomorrow?

Pei Zhan heard messages coming from the bedroom while he was in his study, and his suspicions made his eyes narrow.

Shen Bao'er looked up at the oppressive figure looming over her. She looked up with her big, doe-like eyes wide open, staring at Shen Yebai, who had appeared silently in front of her without her noticing. She thought to herself: I'm doomed!

Shen Yebai confiscated her phone.

Woo woo woo...

Hua Hua.

Jiang Hua looked at the incoming call and answered, "Bao'er?"

To everyone's surprise, it was Shen Yebai's voice that came from inside, "Looking for a studio location?"

To Jiang Hua's surprise, she still answered his question, "Well, I don't think it's appropriate for the school to continue operating after what happened there. So... we might as well go outside."

"If you have any requests, please let me know."

Before Jiang Hua could even speak, the man who came out of the study abruptly hung up her phone.

"What's wrong with you so late at night?"

"Have you taken care of the work you brought back?"

Jiang Hua reached out to him, "Give me back my phone, you haven't finished talking yet."

Pei Zhan: "Mrs. Pei, do you think I'm dead?"

Jiang Hua smiled and put her hand down. "What's wrong with you so late at night?"

The call ended, and the phone screen was still showing the message reply to Shen Bao'er.

Pei Zhan glanced at it before handing the phone back to her. "If you wanted to find the studio address, why didn't you tell me?"

Jiang Hua: "President Pei is so busy, how could I dare to let you worry about such a small matter?"

The concept of Yin and Yang, once spoken aloud, immediately takes on a different meaning.

The atmosphere between the two began to become strange.

Jiang Hua put down her book, threw back the covers, and thought she would go downstairs for a drink of water. Just as she was about to step outside, Pei Zhan grabbed her wrist. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's not that something's wrong with me, it's that something's wrong with you?"

"Why can't you just say it clearly? Why do you have to keep such a long face?"

"I'm really puzzled. The lawsuit has been withdrawn, and the issue that Song Qingran wanted to resolve has been settled. Is Mr. Pei still not satisfied?"

Pei Zhan's gaze sharpened, his eyes momentarily unreadable as he said, "Song Qingran? Not because of Shen Yebai?"

"These were all decisions made by you and Chairman Jiang. I just followed them. Was that wrong?"

Jiang Hua glanced to the side, probably feeling somewhat guilty, "I already know the purpose of that phone call during the day without your explanation."

"This is your decision, and I have no right to interfere, but... Huahua, before we made these decisions, did you ever think about discussing them with me?"

Jiang Hua: "Isn't this better?"

“Song Qingran’s desperate pleas to you have now been dropped by the Jiang family, so she should be happy.”

Pei Zhan: "So that's what you think?"

Jiang Hua: "Otherwise what?"

Pei Zhan: "Then so be it. From now on, I will only take care of the Jiang family's affairs. Since I have no right to interfere in other matters, I will not interfere."

"Is Mrs. Pei satisfied now?"

Jiang Hua: "Can you stop being so unreasonable? Hasn't the Shen family helped the Jiang family enough? You gave me a hard time as soon as you came back. I don't owe you anything."