Chapter 37

"Hello," she greeted him with a smile.

As she descended the stairs, the first thing Pei Qian caught with her eyes was Li Shaoze. It wasn't because he was a guest. Rather because of his striking yet deterred appearance. He was wearing a plain dark green shirt. He seemed to have folded the sleeves just below his elbow. His hair was scattered messily on his forehead, exuding a rough charm from his eyes.

Somehow, Li Shaoze appeared very young and unrestrained. Opposite of his calm and slow temperament. It always made her wonder. How could someone be so contrasting yet it blended with their persona so well?

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Pei," Li Shaoze didn't know what happened but when both Pei Jin and Xu Hua stared at him for a few seconds, he got the idea that something was strange.

"That..." though he didn't know what the problem was.

"Ai... you call us uncle and aunty so you should call Qian'er by her name! What use is Ms.Pei?" Xu Hua corrected Li Shaoze as she laughed.

But Li Shaoze was used by that tittle, how could he change it so suddenly. They weren't so familiar with each other.

"Just call her by her name! She's younger than you so you shouldn't be too polite," after once again being cornered by Xu Hua, Li Shaoze gave up.

He glanced at the unsuspecting soul floating beside him and he concealed his uncomfortable appearance. At the same time, Li Junfeng puckered his lips and stayed silent. He already knew Pei Qian's family would welcome Li Shaoze so enthusiastically like this due to their past ties. So he was aware that Li Shaoze would be 'bullied' once he came over. But he didn't stop him, neither did he give a heads up.

Li Junfeng wanted Li Shaoze to get closer to the Pei's so that they could act as parents to him. He knew Li Shaoze was already too old for such people to appear in his life but it was better to have a parental figure than to have none at all.

Meanwhile, amidst the three pairs of eyes that kept staring holes into him, Li Shaoze had no choice but to admit defeat. He himself wasn't sure why he was so easily influenced by this family.

He gritted his teeth and adjusted, "Uncle Pei, aunty Pei... I'll call Ms.Pei, Pei Qian from now on,"

"Aha! That should do!" Xu Hua became excited and she once again dragged Li Shaoze towards the dining table.

In his head, Li Shaoze could feel his teeth chattering from the intimate and informal tittles he had used towards these people whom he wasn't close with. How did it come to this?

Pei Zeyan appeared not long after they went to the dining table. He saw Li Shaoze and chuckled, "You're finally here,"

How could Pei Zeyan not know Li Shaoze's attitude towards them? He was so observant to the point he could see that Li Shaoze had been sitting on needles right from the very beginning he had stepped into this house.

He didn't know what Li Shaoze had been experiencing in his life that he could be so detached from people. He looked like an uncomfortable skunk who had its territory breached. He also knew that if Li Shaoze didn't like his current predicament then he would have outright deny their hospitality. But Li Shaoze didn't. As if he was trying for someone else.

Last night event at the club also told him the same thing. Pei Zeyan knew Li Shaoze wasn't social but he still invited him to hang out. He was too contrasting with his younger brother Li Junfeng that Pei Zeyan actually thought they might not be related at all.

Soon, the lunch was kicking in a good start. The Pei's gave so much face to Li Shaoze that he soon convinced himself to act natural. He became super well-mannered and would always pay attention to the conversation. He noticed there was a good amount of seafood dishes and knew it must be Pei Qian and Pei Zeyan's consideration from their dinner last time.

Pei Jin saw Li Shaoze's conduct and he was inwardly satisfied. Contrary from Li Junfeng, Li Shaoze was actually more introverted and harder to get close to. He was the type that elders found difficult to like.

But Pei Jin felt it wasn't bad. Youngsters nowadays needed to have some restrain. He also saw a hooded cloud underneath Li Shaoze's eyes and he immediately knew the younger man had faced many hardships to come where he was today.

Pei Jin was reminded of the rumors in the upper circle. He wondered if there was some truth to them. The rumors said Li Shaoze was an illegitimate child of the Li's, he would also bring disaster to the family. He was gloomy and was not sane, he would claim to be able to see ghosts when he was younger.

But when he observed Li Shaoze today, he found the man much pleasing to the eye. He also noticed the watch Li Shaoze wore today. It came from a relatively underrated brand from German. But if one researched about it, a single piece of collection from that brand would cost more than a dozen million dollars. Li Shaoze wore it leisurely and the design he chose was inconspicuous.

It surprisingly matched with his personality so well. He was so calm like a lake in the summer days. As if nothing could shake him.

From this, Pei Jin knew Li Shaoze wasn't simple. He was more than the rumors made him to be.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the front house. Pei Jin and Xu Hua looked over and saw a housekeeper running towards them.

"Sir, madam, there's a guest who insisted to come in. She was told not to disturb as there's a lunch gathering but she didn't want to go away,"

"Who is it?"

"It's madam Li," the housekeeper said as she bowed apologetically.

When everyone heard it, their eyes instinctively went to Li Shaoze. Li Shaoze didn't appear much different and he seemed to not take the housekeeper's words into mind.

Xu Hua stood up and said, "I'll go take a look. It's been a while since she came here so I don't know what she wants,"

Pei Qian also stood up and wanted to accompany her mother.

But soon, everyone was shocked to see Lu Mimi barging in without a slightest care of her own image. She rushed to the dining area and her eyes were blazing red in anger, "Li Shaoze, how dare you come here to the Pei's! You couldn't get a single cent from the Li's and now you're groveling at other's feet instead?! That too with your younger brother's fiancee's family!"

Everyone was too shocked to hear such words coming out of her mouth. She wasn't even the house owner. But she acted like she was.

Li Shaoze was at the center of the crisis but he remained unperturbed. He was the last to stand up as he finished his meals slowly.

"You bastard! Come here and tell me what you're planning!" Lu Mimi was so angry she couldn't hold it in.

Lu Mimi knew her eyes weren't deceiving her. Earlier, she just saw him coming into the house when she was just about to visit the Pei's. It shocked her so much that she failed to react on time and had wasted several minutes standing outside like a statue.