PHM chapter 18

The discussion surrounding “Mrs. Pei” was in full swing.

Many people tried to dig through Pei Yuxing’s Weibo for clues, but the Film Emperor rarely posted anything these days. Aside from the post officially announcing his marriage, his most recent activity was liking a clip of his agency’s artists VIC on Entertainment, Life, followed by his interactions with Yuan Yi.

…No wonder he had reposted her Weibo despite them not having been in contact for so long. Apparently, the keyword “marriage certificate” had triggered something.

Yuan Yi’s Weibo was just as lively. Netizens praised her as a great prophet, saying that the persona she had maintained for so many years had finally collapsed, and they were eagerly awaiting her next rant.

@YuanYiVIVI: First of all, congratulations to Teacher Pei on your marriage and on successfully finding your other half. Secondly, you suddenly pulled something like this on me, and now my variety show is going to be so hard to do! [Crying][Crying]

Yan Xi returned carrying a bag of snacks, just in time to hear Lin Yi loudly reading the post aloud and laughing like a dog.

“Hahahaha! Teacher Yuan Yi never would have imagined that after waking up from a good night’s sleep, she’d go from the queen of rants to the entertainment industry’s watchdog.”

Yan Xi: “……”

He silently placed the things on the table and tried to slip back into his room.

Lin Yi was quick-eyed and grabbed him. “Why did you take so long?” He opened the bag. “Want some sunflower seeds or snacks? Our bro really is thoughtful.”

Yan Xi: “…I just bought whatever.”

Actually, he had not thought much about it. He simply did not want to come back empty-handed.

Somehow, he ended up being pressed onto the sofa and forced to join the “Mrs. Pei” discussion.

“These people are really something. They’ve dug up every last bit of Madam Yin Shanglan’s social media. The comments are amazing.”

Looking at it this way, there had actually been clues all along. Quite a few netizens had previously guessed that he might have brought his partner home, but those theories had all been dismissed as rumors.

In the photos, only a corner of “Mrs. Pei’s” clothing was visible. You could not even tell whether the person was male or female. It was rather strange that Pei Yuxing had hidden even his partner’s gender.

“‘Do we even need to say it? Obviously, he was forced into marriage. Maybe even the public announcement was made under pressure. It was probably some kind of business marriage or something.’ ‘Yin Shanglan, you’ve done nothing but evil. You’ll get what you deserve someday.’” Xia Zefan hissed. “That’s scary.”

“Business marriage is actually pretty likely. Didn’t they say Teacher Pei has a really powerful background? Don’t wealthy families like his usually have arranged marriages?” Lin Yi looked at Yan Xi. “Right?”

He had only said it casually, getting carried away with the conversation, and was not expecting any response.

Yan Xi looked at his teammates, his tone gentle but certain. “False.”

Then he received three sets of eyes staring at him.

“Bro… do you know some inside information?”

Yan Xi choked and avoided their gazes. “…I just think someone as capable as Teacher Pei doesn’t need a business marriage.”

His teammates still looked half-convinced.

Aside from Yin Shanglan, even Wan Zhirong’s social media had not escaped the digging.

As the young master of Wancai Entertainment, although he had never entered the entertainment industry himself, he had more followers than some third-tier celebrities. He often shared his daily life, and the celebrities appearing in his posts were all familiar faces rather than professionally edited official photos, giving his account a very down-to-earth feel.

Pei Yuxing’s fans followed him too. They had no choice. The chances of seeing Pei Yuxing here were even higher than on his own account, and some people even jokingly called it “Pei Yuxing’s alt account.”

Wan Zhirong was not bothered by it. The young master, who loved a life of wine and luxury, was not actually a good-for-nothing. One moment he would be showing off his friend’s abs by the pool, and the next he would drag out a newly signed artist to give them some exposure.

He knew exactly how to leverage his friends’ popularity.

Yet the young master, who usually flaunted his wealth at least ten times a day, was unusually quiet on Weibo today, not even liking a single post.

He seemed afraid that he might accidentally let something slip and make the situation even bigger.

Just how afraid of Pei Yuxing was he?

Celebrities who had connections with Pei Yuxing were also unable to escape the digging, including Liu Xu, the female lead in his first film. With her fiery red lips and stunning figure, she could make many female celebrities step aside when she stood on a red carpet.

Even though she had officially announced a non-celebrity boyfriend last year, netizens still wouldn’t let her off.

After all, the two of them had once been an extremely popular CP—the aloof and wise Grand Tutor and the arrogant, domineering Imperial Princess. How many people had once considered them a perfect match?

The popularity had faded with time, but today it was brought up again.

Even the personal Weibo accounts of the members of VIC, the artists under his agency, were thoroughly dug through.

Of course, nothing could be found.

The only clues were the family photo Yin Shanglan had posted and the airport encounter photos shared by Pei Yuxing’s fans.

But he had been alone, with no one accompanying him.

Yan Xi did come across one Weibo post from the girl who had encountered them at the airport on the day they went to Licheng.

@GuoziGoesHardToday: Hehe, I was organizing my things today and suddenly found this card from Captain Ren. Thinking back, it’s still amazing that it was actually given to me by NEVER’s leader, Yan Xi. He’s really handsome and gentle. Come to think of it, Teacher Pei was also in Licheng that day? Too bad I wasn’t as lucky and didn’t run into him. I was this close to being “at the scene.”

It seemed completely unrelated to the current incident. Only a few VIC fans left comments expressing their envy, and it did not attract much attention. But Yan Xi still got a fright.

He held his phone and nearly covered his face with it.

Could it be that you were actually at the scene?

He was nervous and barely listened to what his teammates were saying, occasionally answering with a sound or two so they would not question him.

The online discussion continued to intensify. He wanted to thank the friendly comments, while the malicious curses did not really frighten him.

Then Pei Yuxing sent him a message.

Pei: Can you take a call?

Yan Xi put down the sunflower seeds Lin Yi had stuffed into his hand and got up to head toward his room. When he met his teammates’ questioning gazes, he simply explained, “Taking a call.”

Click.

The bedroom door closed.

Xia Zefan narrowed his eyes. “Why has Xiao Xi been taking calls behind our backs so often lately?”

Ji Zhou: “Dating.”

Xia Zefan abruptly turned to look at him, his expression blank.

Yan Xi sat at the desk. The man’s voice on the phone was warm and gentle. “Have you been getting enough rest?”

“I’m fine.” Yan Xi asked, “Will handling it this way put you in a difficult position?”

The pressure of public opinion was like a mountain pressing down on him. Just looking at it was enough to make him feel like he could barely breathe.

Pei Yuxing simply laughed, completely carefree. “How could it?”

He had experienced too much. In the early days when the internet was just becoming widespread, information online was completely exposed and transparent. Even when you walked out of a restaurant, paparazzi could shove their cameras right into your face.

Fortunately, many things could no longer be done so easily now. The legal consequences were severe, and Pei Yuxing was no longer inexperienced. His methods had become much more polished.

“Don’t worry about me too much.”

Yan Xi hummed in response.

He did not say much. Although he was a little down, he was not truly fragile, and he would recover after some time.

Pei Yuxing stayed on the phone with him for a while before saying, “How about going back to the Pei family home in a few days?”

Old Mr. Pei Huahou had been holding back for a long time because his grandson insisted on keeping the marriage private. The moment he saw the news that morning, he impatiently called and told Pei Yuxing to bring his partner home.

Yan Xi immediately became nervous.

He had already heard of Old Mr. Pei Huahou before meeting Pei Yuxing. Old Mr. Yan Peili was well-read and experienced, and he often told his grandson all sorts of strange and interesting stories from around the country and the world.

The old man’s story wasn’t particularly entertaining. If you really think about it, it might one day end up in high school civics textbooks after he passes away.

The two of them had been legally married for quite some time, yet Yan Xi had never formally visited the Pei family home. Neither elder had minded, and both had been very considerate toward the younger generation.

He had heard that Old Madam Pei had already prepared a room for the two of them. One entire wall was filled with classics from around the world. The decor leaned toward a dignified, elegant Chinese style, while the balcony had been specially designed as a yoga room. The walk-in closet was so large that it could probably fit both of their clothes for the rest of their lives.

Yet they had been waiting and waiting for their grandson to bring his partner home.

“What should I prepare, then?”

Pei Yuxing was still smiling. “Just bring yourself.”

Yan Xi accused him of being perfunctory, so of course he refused to accept that answer.

After all, it was their first meeting. No matter what, he could not neglect proper etiquette.

Even while listening to him complain, the man continued smiling.

Wan Zhirong swirled the red wine in his hand, silently sighed and shook his head at the sight of his friend acting like a complete henpecked husband.

If someone had traveled back in time to three months ago and told him that the international film emperor Pei Yuxing would become like this, he would have reported them to the police without hesitation and then sent them straight to a psychiatric hospital.

Among his group of friends, he was the first to get married. His relationship with his wife had not started out of love either. Their families had introduced them, their backgrounds matched, and after spending some time together and finding that they got along well, he agreed to the marriage.

Of course, that did not mean his wife was bad. She was beautiful and capable, and she managed both her career and family extremely well. He knew she could have chosen someone better, and since she did not mind him, he had no reason to be picky either.

They had adjusted to married life quite well and were considered one of the luckier couples. Their interests were different, but their values were very compatible.

His wife loved traveling and was rarely home, while he liked hanging out at entertainment venues with his group of friends.

After getting married, he knew where to draw the line and no longer dared to provoke any other women. His friends often teased him for living in a grave, saying that his life had lost all its fun.

Then he would listen to them complain about their families nagging them about settling down, getting into arguments, and dealing with tears, tantrums, and threats to hang themselves, leaving them too afraid to go home.

Wan Zhirong simply smiled.

He was very rational when it came to planning his own life. Rather than reaching a certain age and being hounded by every aunt, uncle, and his parents, listening to them nag endlessly until the household descended into chaos and everyone was miserable, why not make his own plans early?

It was better to make plans for himself early, keep his own fate in his hands, and at least earn himself some praise.

Fortunately, his wife happened to think the same way. Their family life went smoothly, and she did not interfere too much with his fun.

There was always someone waiting when he came home late at night and someone to care for him when he was sick, although he inevitably got several lectures along the way.

How could every part of life go exactly as one wished? Knowing when you had enough was happiness. He was very grateful for his life now.

Actually, he admired Pei Yuxing’s courage.

If Old Mr. Pei had threatened to die, it would only have backfired, and the Pei family naturally understood that.

He had thought his friend would grow old alone. He had even joked that once he had children, he would visit Pei Yuxing more often so the international film emperor would not become a lonely old man.

Instead, his friend had put the shackles on himself.

Just look at the way he fussed over his little partner. His teeth were aching from sweetness.

And he was ridiculously protective, too.

Those people online cursing his friend’s husband had yet to realize how serious the situation was. Their male god’s lawyers letters would probably be going out in bulk again, practically for free.

……

After hanging up, Yan Xi felt much more cheerful.

They had barely talked about anything, yet an hour had disappeared.

Worried that his teammates might overthink things or come up with another shocking theory, Yan Xi hesitated for two seconds before adjusting his expression and leaving the room.

The others seemed to still be sharing gossip, but he could no longer quite understand what they were discussing.

Lin Yi cautiously came over. “Mrs. Pei might be pregnant.”

Yan Xi: “……”

Yan Xi: ^＿^???

“Bro, I’m telling you some gossip. Why are you making that face?”

Yan Xi’s smile vanished instantly. “How did that rumor even start?”

It still originated from Yuan Yi’s Weibo post.

Everyone had assumed Pei Yuxing had reposted it because of the keyword “marriage certificate,” but someone had a particularly unusual perspective.

【Why couldn’t the keyword have been “pregnancy”? [Dog Head]】

One sentence successfully derailed the entire discussion. Even the dog-head emoji could not save it.

It was like playing a mystery game only to discover toward the end that the clues from the beginning were wrong, forcing you to start all over again.

【Think about it another way. So Teacher Pei was probably forced into a shotgun marriage? Maybe they’re waiting until the baby is born before making other plans. And he didn’t reveal his partner because it would make getting divorced easier?】

【That actually makes sense. I trust Teacher Pei’s character. Maybe the other person used some kind of trick to get into his bed, only for Teacher Pei to refuse to make the relationship public. What a joke.】

【But this is all just speculation, isn’t it? There’s no solid evidence, right?】

Then the netizens started digging all over again.

First was Wan Zhirong’s Weibo. They went back through two months of posts and even found three posts from a traditional Chinese medicine account that he had liked:

— Eating Habits Before and After Pregnancy: Are You Doing It Right?

— Ten Things to Keep in Mind for Newborns—All Moms and Dads Should Save This!

— Do These Things While Preparing for Pregnancy, and Your Baby Will Be Twice as Smart.

Someone had asked in the comments whether he was preparing to become a father, and he had laughed it off and denied it.

Next was Yin Shanglan.

Under a promotional post for a new top, someone commented: The cut of this one is super loose too. The hem is big enough to fit a watermelon, but it’s so ethereal and pretty!

@YinShanglanLuna replied: It was intentionally designed that way. Pregnant women can wear it comfortably too. Even mothers have the right to look beautiful.

This was an affordable brand newly developed by Yin Shanglan, mainly targeting young women. Its designs usually emphasized the wearer’s figure, and they had never released anything with a similar cut before.

The design style of a brand could not suddenly change without reason.

The evidence was as solid as Thor’s hammer!

Yan Xi closed his eyes. It took him a long time before he opened them again and said each word slowly, “Mrs. Pei. Can’t. Be. Pregnant.”

His tone was decisive, his teeth clenched.

Lin Yi: “……”

He looked at his team leader, confused. “Why are you so worked up?”

“……” Yan Xi said, “Anyway, those marketing accounts are making things up. Don’t believe them.”

Lin Yi snorted, deciding he had shared his gossip with the wrong person.

He turned around and walked away, still grumbling, “You won’t even believe it when I give you the hard evidence. Fine, whatever.”

He sounded so utterly certain that Yan Xi almost thought he had made a mistake.

He instinctively glanced down at his own stomach.

Then. ?