Chapter 481: The Exclusive Interview
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Some media companies even wanted to shoot photos of them together.
Pei Ziheng was unwilling initially, but a reporter said, “Mr. Pei, your family of three is so blissful together, don’t you want to let the world see this? Everybody would be envious.”
Pei Ziheng wavered.
He nodded his head. “Alright.”
The location of the interview was the villa.
The sun shone splendidly on the garden, where Xia Ling was seated in her comfortable home attire, carrying her child. Pei Ziheng was right beside her and was pouring her some tea when the baby began blabbering and smiling.
The reporter took a series of photos.
This was a family of exceedingly good looks — the head of the household was a gorgeously handsome man, while the mistress was an elegant and sweet lady with an alluring charm. Even the infant wrapped in his blanket had beautiful features and eyes full of life, like an angel on earth.
The garden was dainty with a different vibe from most others. The tables and chairs were made of only the best and sturdiest wood, the porcelain utensils were created by hand by a renowned craftsman, while the cakes, fruits, and tea added a wonderful finish to this picture-perfect scene that would be the envy of anyone who laid their eyes on it.
With the best photographer and reporter around to capture the necessary materials for this special feature, it proceeded smoothly and was completed in no time.
That particular issue for the magazine sold out in a mere few hours, and prices skyrocketed in the second-hand market.
Talks of Pei Ziheng’s happy family were in every street and alley, and many who initially felt that Ye Xingling’s humble background deemed her unworthy of him had since changed their mind. Looking at the photo of them together, the couple appeared extremely compatible.
Xia Yu was so angry that she ripped the magazine apart.
The other person who the same was Li Lei.
Li Lei was intensely annoyed by Pei Ziheng’s gentle expression in the picture and did not think twice before tearing the page in half. He threw the half with Pei Ziheng’s face into the bin, and only kept the other half with Xia Ling and the infant on it.
She seemed to be living blissfully.
Li Lei straightened the page and meticulously trimmed along the edges, giving himself a perfect picture to keep. In the picture, there was a gentleness in her eyes that he had never seen before, and he figured that this warmth she exuded was a beautiful byproduct of being a mother.
So, she actually could live happily even without him.
Li Lei felt a bitter ache, but he forced himself to give her his blessings — if this were Heavens’ will, that he could not be by her side, then he would at least give her a strong enough partner like Pei Ziheng to protect her.
To give her happiness.
Li Lei’s fists were clenched tightly.
He told himself the same thing time and again, but there was still a sense of indignance he could not suppress.
He still entertained the thought of dashing into the Pei household and getting her out, and it was alright even if she wanted to bring the baby along — as long as it did not include Pei Ziheng. He could not tolerate her being with Pei Ziheng!
His feelings were so strong that he found it hard to breathe through the thickness of jealousy.
Li Lei scrutinized the picture and noticed that Xiao Ling’s warm, tender demeanor was only directed towards the baby — she was not looking at Pei Ziheng.
Li Lei felt a spark of hope and flipped through several other pages with their photos on them. In the other photos, Xia Ling’s expression was still endearing, but in none of them was she looking at Pei Ziheng. Li Lei had a surge of mixed feelings upon noticing this. On the one hand, he was slightly stumped to realize that they were not as close and loving as they appeared to be. On the other hand, he could not be happier that she did not love Pei Ziheng as much as he had thought.
Maybe, he still had a chance.
If only there weren’t the baby.
Li Lei’s eyes landed on the baby who was smiling happily in his mother’s arms. For reasons unknown to him, Li Lei could not seem to detest the baby, and instead, he found himself drawn to him.
There was a knock on the door, and Tan Ying entered.
Li Lei said, “Am I hopeless? I actually find Pei Ziheng’s child cute.”
Tan Ying glanced at the magazine on the table, and could not think of any words of comfort. Instead, he said, “She’s already married with a child, why don’t you find another woman to love instead? This child is going to be the successor of Imperial Entertainment. If you don’t have anybody to pass Skyart on to, how are you going to beat that father-son pair?”
Li Lei laughed ironically. “What kind of child can Pei Ziheng even raise?”
Tan Ying shook his head and truly thought that his boss was a hopeless case. However terrible a person he thought Chairman Pei to be, surely he was capable enough to groom a successor. It was a known fact that the Pei family had bred and groomed elites generation after generation and each of them was successful in their careers. Li Lei must have done too much wishful thinking even to consider the possibility of an incapable Pei successor.
Li Lei knew he was being too naive, and his smile quickly faded. He gazed at the picture distractedly. “If this child is capable enough to ruin Skyart for good, I’ll resign myself to it.” He looked at the little one and muttered, “If he’s that capable, at least I’ll know that his mother is in good hands.”
Xiao Ling was innocent and came from an ordinary family. If Pei Ziheng ever got tired of her one day and left her, at least she would have a son to take care of her.
But Li Lei had another concern. “No, no, this child better not turn out to be too capable, he should just live an ordinary life…” If he were too powerful, there was no way Li Lei would have a chance at winning her back even if Pei Ziheng left her someday.
Li Lei’s heart was in turmoil.
Tan Ying felt bad for him. This boss appeared carefree and laid back all the time, but deep down, he was an utterly devoted man. He was genuinely worried that Boss would never fall for another person in this lifetime.
He had been hurt way so deeply.
Tan Ying shook his head and sighed. What kind of ill fate was he suffering?
He felt sorry for Su Tang, who was still longing for the day Li Lei would have a change of heart. He thought of the soup that Su Tang had personally boiled for Li Lei in the company’s kitchen. His heart went out to the soup… It had been sitting on his desk for hours and was now cooled, and Boss had not even had a sip of it.
Tan Ying felt lucky to have married at a young age — he was free from such complicated affairs of the heart.
Over at Xia Ling’s side, the days were peaceful and well.
Talk of the exclusive feature had spread like wildfire, and countless people were eagerly awaiting a second chance at seeing the family of three together. However, Xia Ling did not want the baby to be showered with too much public attention, and hence, rejected all other interviews as she raised him at the comfort of their home.
Even Pei Ziheng was a little surprised, “You don’t want him to receive too much attention?” His impression of Xiao Ling was one who loved the limelight, and who was more than happy to share any little happening with the world. In her previous life, her public account was updated on a daily basis, never short of things for the public to view.
But now, she did not even want to publicize something as major and celebratory as having a child.