After a Top Idol Married the Sickly Young Master of a Wealthy Family to Bring Him Good Luck - Chapter 25

Ling Suiyao only found out later that his family actually harbored some resentment regarding Pei Xinglu’s “wedding-flush” arrangement to ward off bad luck.

It was always thus—regardless of the reason, the status of an illegitimate son was inherently loathed, and the Ling family’s attitude was no exception.

However, as his condition worsened and they ran out of options, Pei Xinglu happened to be the one the fortune-telling master declared as having the “most compatible birth horoscope.” With the arrow on the string, they had no choice but to fire.

Ling Suiyao was the first to snap back to his senses. “Mr. Jiang, could we step aside for a word in a moment?”

To prevent Pei Xinglu from overthinking, he added, “It’s about my cousin.”

Jiang Yan was currently wallowing in regret over his blurted-out “sickly ghost” comment. Hearing Ling Suiyao speak, he hurriedly responded, “Of course, Young Master Ling. After you.”

“I need to wash my hands first. You go ahead, Young Master Jiang. The west balcony on this floor—I’ll be there shortly.”

“Alright, alright.”

Jiang Yan shot a side-eye at Pei Xinglu, giving him a fierce glare as he passed.

Once he was gone, Ling Suiyao exhaled a sigh of relief behind his mask, his eyes curving into a smile. “Brother Pei, my cousin told me just now that she saw you. I was just about to message you and ask.”

Pei Xinglu looked at him calmly. “Did you hear everything just now?”

“…Um, I’m sorry. I didn’t eavesdrop on purpose. I accidentally knocked over a drink and came this way to wash my hands. Don’t worry, Brother Pei, I won’t say a single word to anyone.”

Ling Suiyao felt that Pei Xinglu’s mood was low, so his voice dropped accordingly.

Pei Xinglu’s lips parted slightly, and he furrowed his brows with a touch of irritability. An indescribable gloom settled over him; he only wanted to leave this place immediately.

He glanced at the fruit stains on Ling Suiyao’s hands. “Go clean up.”

Leaving only that sentence, he walked away in a hurry.

Ling Suiyao was stunned. He waited until Pei Xinglu’s figure disappeared down the magnificent yet icy corridor before going to wash his hands, rinsing away the juice and using a paper towel to dab the stains on his coat.

At the far west end of the sixth floor was an open-air balcony.

After Ling Suiyao followed his cousin into the evening gala, his identity as the rarely-seen young master of the Ling family drew immediate attention. Many people vied for a chance to speak with him. At first, he could handle a few responses, but as the crowd grew, he began to feel stifled. He decided to head to the balcony alone to catch his breath and jot down some inspiration.

Ling Suiyao closed his laptop.

“Young Master Ling, I am terribly sorry for making you witness that scene earlier. I was just being quick-tongued; I hope you won’t take it to heart.”

Jiang Yan’s smile was now entirely different from before—it was the kind of unrefined, purposeful friendliness that Ling Suiyao was all too accustomed to.

Ling Suiyao shook his head. “I don’t mind.”

Rumors in high society claimed that this youngest son of the Ling family had a wonderful temperament. Compared to the rigid, serious Ling Huan and the subtly wicked Ling Jing, he was seen as simple, cute, and entirely without guile. Jiang Yan immediately relaxed and diligently poured a cup of tea, handing it to Ling Suiyao. “Young Master Ling, what was it that Miss Ling needed?”

Ling Suiyao shook his head again. “That was just an excuse.”

“Then…” Jiang Yan had a sudden realization. “Is it because of Pei Xinglu?”

His eyes darted around. “Now that he and the Ling family have signed the ‘wedding-flush’ contract, it’s not convenient for me to say much. However, after thinking it over, I felt I should warn you. Pei Xinglu is an illegitimate child. His mother was a homewrecker who came between my father and mother. Later, after she was kicked out, she kept harassing our family with phone calls, trying to use the child to secure a position.”

Ling Suiyao frowned.

Thinking he was making progress, Jiang Yan continued, “Young Master Ling, what kind of good person can a mistress’s son be? Don’t let his appearance deceive you. To climb the social ladder, he even agreed to this arrangement with you despite being homophobic! He is clearly depraved. Most importantly, he’s a public figure, parading around—think of the terrible influence! Someone like him should be blacklisted to avoid harming the youth.”

Ling Suiyao’s frown deepened. “I think the most detestable person should be your father, President Jiang, shouldn’t it?”

Jiang Yan’s expression froze, and he gave a dry, awkward laugh, unsure how to respond.

“Furthermore, the information I’ve gathered seems quite different from what you’re saying, Young Master Jiang.”

Behind the mask, Ling Suiyao’s voice was muffled, but his articulation was clear. “First, Pei Xinglu’s mother didn’t knowingly pursue a married man. She was deceived; your father used photos of a forged divorce certificate to trick her emotionally. This isn’t the first or second time President Jiang has used such tactics—though a few years ago he slipped up, and things got quite ugly with an influencer.”

“Second, Pei Xinglu has never used a single cent of the Jiang family’s money. In fact, because of this ‘shameful’ identity, he was subjected to school bullying, loathed by his mother and his legal father, and abandoned multiple times. In the end, he only had his grandmother to depend on. It’s fair to say that before this matter of the wedding-flush, you all completely ignored his existence.”

Jiang Yan’s face turned from red to white.

“While I haven’t fully investigated whether you were behind the massive wave of online hate against Pei Xinglu…” Ling Suiyao spoke tentatively, though he was already certain in his heart. “I do not wish to see you harboring such hostility toward him.”

Jiang Yan could no longer force a smile. “What exactly do you mean, Young Master Ling?”

“Effort should be used in the right places. To you, Pei Xinglu is no threat; he cannot compete for the family estate, nor will he shake your position. Instead, your younger brother—who just returned from studying abroad and started an internship at the head office—and his mother, who is skilled at biding her time, are the real threats.”

Jiang Yan was shocked. He hadn’t expected the homebound Ling Suiyao to know such things!

He truly had the Ling family genes. If not for his poor health, he would be no easier to deal with than Ling Huan or Ling Jing.

“You misunderstand, Young Master Ling.” Jiang Yan faked a laugh. “None of that is true. Our families had business dealings recently; we couldn’t possibly have an unpleasant falling out over a celebrity, could we?”

Ling Suiyao stood up and walked to the railing. He pulled his mask aside to sneeze, took a pill from his pocket, and swallowed it.

“I know President Jiang has a project he wants to collaborate on with the Ling family.” He put his mask back on. “However, many people want to work with us, and your father’s project isn’t so perfect that it’s irreplaceable. If my father and eldest brother knew that you were calling me a ‘sickly ghost’ behind my back, I’m afraid this cooperation…”

Jiang Yan was incredulous. “Young Master Ling… didn’t you say you didn’t mind?”

Ling Suiyao smiled gently, his eyes looking beautiful. “I don’t mind, but my parents, my brothers, and my cousin… they mind very much.”

He placed heavy emphasis on the word “very.”

Jiang Yan understood completely.

He had assumed the Ling family was forcing Pei Xinglu into this role merely as a tool. But as long as Ling Suiyao was willing to protect him, Pei Xinglu’s status in the Ling family could never be that of a mere tool.

Jiang Yan swallowed hard and nodded with difficulty. “I understand what you mean, Young Master Ling.”

Ling Suiyao smiled. “Good. Then I won’t see you out. Enjoy the banquet.”

Jiang Yan’s footsteps were panicked, his shoes scuffing the floor with sharp, grating sounds.

Ling Suiyao sat back down in the wicker chair, staring blankly.

It was already 7:00 PM. A gradient of orange and pink clouds stretched across the horizon, and the distant woods looked like dark green specks. Occasionally, the chirping of summer cicadas could be heard.

Ling Suiyao took his phone and opened the WeChat chat with Pei Xinglu. He hesitated for a long time before finally locking the screen and flipping the phone face down on the table.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind him—steady and calm.

Ling Suiyao turned his head, freezing when he saw the person.

“Brother Pei?”

Pei Xinglu had his suit jacket draped over his arm. He pulled over another chair from the side of the balcony and sat down.

Ling Suiyao was surprised. He looked toward the balcony entrance and asked hesitantly, “When did you get here?”

Pei Xinglu casually picked up a glass bottle of soda from the wooden table and popped the cap with one hand. “I’ve been here for a while.”

Ling Suiyao was stunned. “Huh?”

Pei Xinglu took a sip of the cool soda and looked at him. After a long pause, he said, “You eavesdropped on Jiang Yan and me, and I eavesdropped on you and Jiang Yan. We’re even.”

Ling Suiyao was confused. “I didn’t eavesdrop…”

Pei Xinglu found it a bit funny. “Well, I did. Okay?”

“You heard everything?” Ling Suiyao sat up, restless and nervous.

“I really have a new level of respect for you.”

Pei Xinglu leaned back lazily in the wicker chair, gazing at the sunset as he spoke slowly.

Ling Suiyao felt guilty. “Are you angry?”

“What do I have to be angry about?” Pei Xinglu looked at him.

Ling Suiyao shrank back into his chair, not daring to meet his eyes. “The agreement said we wouldn’t pry into each other’s privacy or intervene in each other’s private lives… I seem to have broken the promise.”

Pei Xinglu paused, finding it even more amusing. “No wonder you needed to ‘step aside for a word.’ You were worried about that.”

Ling Suiyao peeked at him. Seeing that he didn’t seem angry, he felt a wave of relief, though he was still a bit uneasy.

“When did you investigate me?”

Like a child who had done something wrong, Ling Suiyao answered truthfully, “After the Yu Zhihan incident, I wanted to know about your past experiences. I’m sorry. What I did was wrong.”

The evening breeze blew past. Pei Xinglu held the glass bottle with two fingers, his index finger lightly tapping the glass, producing a crisp sound.

He took another sip, the sweet and sour refreshment of the soda spreading through his mouth.

“Jiang Qiang used a photo of a fake divorce certificate to trick my mom into being with him. When the truth came out, she was kicked out of the company and went back to her hometown. My mom was beautiful; she had many pursuers who were enthusiastic and attentive. Under the neighbors’ matchmaking, she got together with the son of a factory owner. Less than a week later, that man…”

Pei Xinglu didn’t finish the sentence.

The sunset faded, the twilight grew dim, and the soda bottle in his hand looked almost like a smoldering cigarette.

Ling Suiyao stared at him blankly, feeling a sudden surge of sadness. He asked softly, “What happened after that?”

“They got married later,” Pei Xinglu recounted the past calmly. “Because my mom was pregnant.”

Ling Suiyao couldn’t help but widen his eyes. “Was it you…”

“It wasn’t certain at the time. Regardless, they got married and were affectionate for a while, until I was born and started growing up. I looked nothing like that man, and rumors about my mom’s time in A City began to spread. After that, it’s exactly what you found in your investigation—they fought, it got ugly, and I was abandoned many times. Every time, it was my grandmother who found me and brought me back.”

Pei Xinglu held the narrow neck of the bottle, swinging it back and forth, occasionally clinking it against the table leg. “Later, my grandmother took me to live in a small town. We planted flowers, grew grass, and raised cats and dogs. It was peaceful for a while.”

Ling Suiyao frowned.

In truth, Pei Xinglu’s past had always been turbulent. At eighteen, because his legal father had racked up a massive gambling debt and mortgaged their old house, the high-achieving Pei Xinglu was forced to drop out of school to participate in an idol survival show—because at the time, that was the fastest way to make money.

Then came the framing by Yu Zhihan, the blacklisting, and a massive debt from breach of contract, until The Nine Rings became a hit.

Looking back, his journey was a testament to “bitterness ending and sweetness beginning.”

Ling Suiyao possessed strong empathy. Just imagining such a past made him feel suffocated.

Pei Xinglu felt like having a cigarette. He thought about it, but since the person across from him was frail and likely allergic to smoke, he decided against it and took the last sip of soda.

Turning his head, he suddenly felt a sharp tug deep in his heart.

The white mask covered the lower half of Ling Suiyao’s face; above it were clear, beautiful eyes. Those eyes were filled with a profound sorrow, as if they were speaking.

The sky finally went dark, and the hotel lights shone brightly.

He was feeling distressed—for him.

Pei Xinglu exhaled, murmuring to himself, “Why am I even telling you this?”

Perhaps sometimes emotions reach a tipping point, and there just happens to be a person there to listen.

Pei Xinglu stood up, intending to place the empty bottle in the crate in the corner of the balcony.

As he passed Ling Suiyao, his hand was suddenly grabbed.

Pei Xinglu looked down. Ling Suiyao looked up, and a single tear happened to trace a path down his face. His clear eyes were slightly red.

Pei Xinglu instinctively squeezed his hand back.

The palm was soft and warm.

“Things will be very good from now on,” Ling Suiyao said.

After a long silence, Pei Xinglu smiled and reached out to ruffle the other’s hair.

He didn’t say anything.

He placed the glass bottle in the crate with a clear, ringing clink.

Pei Xinglu leaned both hands on the railing. The stars had come out.