The air in the hall once again fell into a tense silence.
Everyone looked at Pei Liang, carefully scrutinizing her expression.
The girl had never stood out much in the family before, and the elders had never paid her much attention. Everyone knew that.
But as members of the Pei family, they naturally assumed that she must feel a sense of belonging toward the family.
When one member of a family made something of themselves, it was naturally a good thing for the entire clan. Elders always viewed the younger generation through their own self-righteous lens, thoughtlessly dismissing matters and positions that seemed important to them.
As a result, the entire family still could not believe the true meaning behind Pei Liang’s attitude.
They merely assumed that the girl had been suppressed for too long and was now taking advantage of her sudden rise to settle old scores. She was refusing to let even the smallest matter go.
It was just like a poor person becoming rich overnight and forgetting their own name—utterly contemptible.
Quite a few members of the Pei family were displeased by the way she was taking jabs at everyone, but with the Valen family watching them like a tiger stalking its prey, they still had to coax the girl into a good mood first.
Thus, Elder Uncle Pei smiled and tried to smooth things over. “A-Liang, you really know how to joke.”
He then turned and scolded Fourth Cousin, “You’re her older brother, and several years older than A-Liang at that. How can you joke around with your sister without knowing where to draw the line? Is that something you should say to a member of your own family?”
“Apologize to your sister at once.”
Fourth Cousin looked humiliated, but under the pressure from the elders, he could only lower his head.
He was just about to apologize when that dear little sister spoke up.
“A joke?”
“When Fourth Cousin said that, Elder Uncle was there too, wasn’t he?”
Elder Uncle Pei had no memory of such a thing. He was keenly aware that this girl harbored an intense grudge against certain members of the family.
So rather than brush her off, he said, “Your uncle wasn’t there at the time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let your brother say something so outrageous.”
Pei Liang nodded. “Exactly. Since Elder Uncle wasn’t there, you don’t know the circumstances, tone, or expression behind what Fourth Cousin said. What makes you so certain he was joking?”
As the head of the Pei family, Elder Uncle Pei had never been interrogated so relentlessly by a junior. He was displeased, but he could only continue coaxing her.
“Although your uncle wasn’t there in front of you at the time, I know that everyone in our family is a good child. You brothers and sisters—”
Before he could finish, Pei Liang looked at him with an amused, mocking smile, like someone playing a monkey for entertainment.
“No, Elder Uncle was right there in front of us.”
“After Fourth Cousin said that, I was about to roll up my sleeves and fight him. But Elder Uncle stopped me by saying, ‘Your brother was only joking. How can you lose your temper and try to beat up a family member over that?’”
Only then did Elder Uncle Pei realize that he had been played.
But he truly could not recall the scene.
With his status, why would he care about the feelings of a junior—especially one who seemed incapable of achieving anything? A casual rebuke to take sides had not even been important enough to remain in his memory.
Pei Liang’s aggressive questioning made the atmosphere even more awkward. Quite a few people lowered their eyes and pretended not to see anything, while others looked at Pei’s father, signaling for him to deal with his daughter quickly.
Pei’s father understood perfectly well that if he spoke up now, his daughter would probably kick the issue right back at him.
But he had no choice except to swallow his pride and take the humiliation. A child throwing a tantrum was one thing, but when it came time to negotiate with the Valen family, the girl’s attitude would be crucial. They absolutely had to placate her now.
So he spoke in an intimate yet reprimanding tone. “You win one competition and suddenly your tail’s in the air. You even dare to make fun of Elder Uncle.”
Elder Uncle Pei truly lived up to his reputation as a politician. He knew how to put down his pride and pick it back up again. When profit was at stake, he had no hesitation about bowing his head.
Thus, after Pei’s father spoke, he immediately adopted a respectful and equal attitude toward Pei Liang.
“A-Liang, your uncle was in the wrong. I failed to take your feelings seriously and treated your grievances as nothing more than ordinary squabbling between siblings. I tried to smooth things over instead of dealing with the matter properly.”
“And all of you.” He glanced at the younger members around him. “Over the years, I’ve been busy with work, and so have your parents. Although we’ve done our best to provide for you materially, we’ve neglected your emotional needs.”
“The companionship of your elders, a willingness to listen, and a fair and equal attitude—these are things we’ve probably overlooked all along. A-Liang has reminded us of that today. From now on, your parents and I will reflect on our actions and do better.”
His words were polished and perfectly composed, and Pei Liang was delighted.
It meant that these parents understood everything perfectly well. They simply chose who was worthy of being treated that way.
If it had been the original owner, she probably would have used this opening to back down. But Pei Liang was different.
Something was clearly wrong. Given how self-righteous the Pei family elders were, the moment she demonstrated her worth, they should naturally have assumed that her value belonged to the Pei family.
Yet after she had provoked them several times, they were still being extremely cautious. Every time she advanced, they retreated, as if they had no bottom line at all.
That did not fit their usual logic. After all, the original owner had never had any major conflict with the family, nor had she ever shown any intention of breaking away from it. There should have been no reason for the elders to feel this anxious.
So Pei Liang decided to test them once more.
She gave Elder Uncle Pei a moved smile. “Elder Uncle, I misunderstood you. I always thought you were a stubborn patriarch, but I never expected you to reflect on yourself like this or blame yourself for neglecting the needs of the younger generation. I’m truly proud that the Pei family is led by someone like you.”
Elder Uncle Pei was just beginning to feel pleased that Pei Liang’s attitude had softened.
But in the next second, the little beast continued, “Although, Elder Uncle’s memory really is terrible. I actually made up that whole story about you taking sides just now. How could you believe me without even stopping to think?”
Elder Uncle Pei: “…”
The veins on his forehead visibly throbbed several times. If it had been anyone else—even an official who held power over the entire empire—he would have flipped the table by now for daring to toy with him again and again.
But could he do that now?
Elder Uncle Pei could only force himself to calm down and think about the enormous profits ahead, about the future his family had never even dared to imagine.
At a time like this, let alone allowing a junior to play him for a fool, Elder Uncle Pei would have been willing to call her “Father” without the slightest hesitation if it meant securing that future.
Pei Liang continued, “But Elder Uncle, don’t be angry. I’m not deliberately making things difficult for Fourth Cousin. I just dislike the way you treated a promise so casually.”
“I’m not deliberately picking on him. But I had already been accepted into the Imperial Military Academy, and Fourth Cousin is also a cadet there. When he said those things, he was making a prediction about my future.”
“It was a promise between soldiers, one tied to honor and dignity. We may be siblings, but some matters have to be judged separately. I never expected that Fourth Cousin, who comes from the same family and is already a soldier himself, would have so little sense of contractual obligation.”
“Does that mean that from now on, any promise I make to the family can be broken whenever I feel like it?”
“How can you put it that way?” One of the Pei family elders’ eyelids twitched. He hurriedly cut in. “Your Fourth Cousin didn’t mean—”
The elder wanted to smooth things over, but the younger generation was different. They had not yet reached an age where pride could simply be crushed beneath the weight of profit.
Fourth Cousin could no longer bear the humiliation and interrupted the other person directly. “Stop dressing it up with all that self-righteous bullshit.”
“Aren’t you just taking advantage of your newfound fame to dig up old scores?”
Everyone assumed Pei Liang would come up with some excuse to defend herself, but the smile on her face simply vanished.
She leaned forward slightly. Though she was still seated, she somehow carried herself with an air of looking down on everyone present.
Turning to her Fourth Cousin, she said, “You already know the answer, so why ask?”
She had actually admitted it outright.
“You were already an adult back then. Adults are responsible for the things they say. If you can’t do something, don’t make promises. You treated people like children, toyed with them, and then acted like a spoiled brat when they came to collect. Is this how you deal with your superiors and colleagues in the military?”
“Are you my superior? Do I need to follow through on every word I say to you?”
“You will be sooner or later. Why take the chance?”
Pei Liang pointed toward the bathroom. “Fourth Cousin, please.”
When he remained standing there without moving, Pei Liang continued, “It doesn’t matter if you refuse to keep your promise now. I’ll remember it.”
“For the moment, you can bully me because I’m young and inexperienced, and use your seniority in the family to pressure me. I really can’t force you to keep your word just yet. But you should understand this: sooner or later, I’ll have the ability to make you do it.”
“It’s embarrassing enough that you’re doing this in front of the family. If something like this happened in the military in the future, it wouldn’t look very good for you.”
Fourth Cousin was so mortified he wanted to die. He was only a few years older than Pei Liang, and the two of them could practically be considered peers.
When the children of the family had gathered together in their childhood, he had been the one who bullied and humiliated her the most.
But bullies, once they grew up and graduated, often moved on to begin entirely new chapters of their lives. When they looked back on the sharpness and cruelty of their youth, they might smile helplessly at their own immaturity.
What they forgot was that the person they had hurt might never be able to escape those memories for the rest of their life.
Admittedly, the original Pei Liang had not been a good person, and the current Pei Liang had no intention of seeking justice on her behalf.
Still, there wasn’t a single person in the Pei family, from top to bottom, who gave her any reason to think better of them.
The only thing that could be said was that the original Pei Liang had been born and raised in this environment. When the people at the top were crooked, those beneath them naturally grew crooked too.
Pei Liang simply sat there, radiating pressure as she looked at everyone, forcing them to make their positions clear.
The force of her presence was completely different from before.
It was nothing like what they had seen through a screen. Even without her mecha or combat uniform, the aura of a powerful person was unmistakable.
Everyone realized that unless they took a stance today and offered the child some comfort for the grievances she had suffered in the past, there was no way they could proceed to the next stage.
Thus, Elder Uncle Pei stood up and made a decisive announcement. “Order a serving of golden pellets from Interstellar Express.”
Golden pellets were the droppings of a canine-like animal found on Medicine King Star.
In fact, there were quite a few animals throughout the universe whose feces were fit for human consumption. Eating them was not considered particularly shameful.
But judging by Pei Liang’s attitude, there was clearly no way Fourth Cousin was going to get off too easily.
So they had to compromise and choose something with an absolutely awful taste but at least some medicinal value—something that could barely preserve his dignity.
Sure enough, the moment Fourth Cousin heard this, his face turned green.
He had no desire to serve Pei Liang, that smug little bastard, but under the pressure of the family elders, he had no way to resist.
In the end, the entire family moved to the dining table. Everyone had a delicious feast in front of them.
Everyone except Fourth Cousin, who had a lump of golden pellets on his plate.
The sight made the Pei family’s scalps crawl. The food on their own plates suddenly became difficult to swallow, and they didn’t even feel like drinking water.
Their only option was to look toward Fourth Cousin.
And so, under the eyes of the entire family, Fourth Cousin was forced to eat a golden lump of you-know-what, suffering humiliation to the fullest.
Then came the sound of a camera shutter.
Fourth Cousin stared at Pei Liang in disbelief. “What did you do?”
“Of course I took a picture of such a memorable moment. It’s rare for all the elders of the family to be here at once. We haven’t taken such a complete family photo in years.”
She then called out to Pei’s father and Elder Uncle Pei beside her. “What do you think? Isn’t this a great shot?”
“A warm family meal in a large household, with everyone’s eyes focused in the same direction. Following their gazes, we find the person in the center eating shit. It even has a bit of a Last Supper vibe.”
“I’m a genius.”
The Pei family fell silent.
Pei Liang was admiring the photo when a call came in.
It was from Pei’s mother. Since Pei Liang had been showing the photo to Elder Uncle Pei and the others, the caller’s name was clearly visible to them as well.
Both men’s expressions changed.
By then, Pei Liang had already answered the call.
Pei’s mother’s elegant, charming voice came through the receiver. “What are you doing?”
“I’m having dinner at Elder Uncle’s house. Why didn’t you come?”
Pei’s mother usually attended family gatherings. After all, it was one of the few marital obligations she actually fulfilled.
But today, she had not declined the invitation. The Pei family simply had not invited her at all. After several rounds of probing, Pei’s father and Elder Uncle Pei had determined her position.
She was deeply displeased by Pei’s father selling off his daughter, and had even sided somewhat with the Valen family.
The Pei family therefore did not want her to come and disrupt things.
So Pei’s father and Elder Uncle Pei were both on edge.
Pei’s mother merely replied, “I didn’t feel like going. All the elders of the Pei family must be there, and just looking at that bunch of old fossils gives me a headache.”
“And what are you doing now—”
“On a date with Lance and Valen.”
Pei Liang felt a profound respect for her bargain-bin mother and Mr. Valen alike. She asked, “Lance’s father is dead, isn’t he?”
“Mr. Valen wouldn’t happen to be—”
Pei’s mother nodded on the other end. “He does have that idea. He was even trying to get Lance to call him ‘Dad’ just now. He made Lance angry, though, and Lance is still sulking.”
Pei Liang fell silent.
She could easily imagine what her little black cat of a younger brother had looked like at the time—his fur probably standing on end as he glared at Mr. Valen.
Still, the Pei family was genuinely much easier to get along with than Pei’s mother’s side.
Although Pei’s mother was also an irresponsible parent, she did not view her children in terms of profit and utility.
As long as one was sufficiently shameless and didn’t take anything too seriously, getting along with someone like her was actually very easy, without any burden at all.
Fortunately, Pei Liang was exactly that kind of person.
It was a pity that their ages were too far apart. If they had been peers, those two human wrecks probably would have gotten along quite well.
Pei’s mother continued, “I was a little worried when you and Lance ran into me at the competition before.”
“I never expected the two of you to get along so well. Mom is so touched.”
“Since the opportunity is rare, why don’t the three of us have a meal together sometime?”
Wanting her children to get along and provide one another with some emotional support as blood relatives was probably one of the few wishes Pei’s mother had that came from genuine maternal feeling.
But if the children refused to cooperate, she would not make any unnecessary effort. She would simply let it go.
Pei Liang nodded. “Sure. You pick the time.”
They agreed on a time, then hung up.
When Pei Liang looked up, she found the entire Pei family staring at her nervously.
She smiled. “Does Fourth Cousin look bad eating shit? Why are all of you staring at me?”
The Pei family fell silent again.
What a mouth this child had.
By then, however, Fourth Cousin had nearly finished eating, and the Pei family assumed Pei Liang would know when to stop.
One of the elders smiled and asked, “Was that your mother calling just now?”
Pei Liang nodded. “She invited me to go out and get together with her and my brother.”
From the one-sided account of the conversation they had overheard, everyone could more or less guess what had been arranged.
They immediately grew anxious. Her mother alone was enough to put them on high alert. Now there was also that illegitimate son, and Valen might even show up uninvited.
They couldn’t let this child be coaxed away.
Aunt Pei put on a worried expression and said, “Your mother really has no sense of propriety.”
“She behaved disgracefully herself, yet ignored your position and feelings and actually brought an illegitimate son into the world. And now she’s forcing you to get along with him?”
Pei Liang shook her head. “She didn’t force me. I actually like Lance. He’s adorable.”
Everyone remembered how obsequiously that illegitimate son had fawned over her at the arena. He had probably been given his orders by that woman long ago and had already melted Pei Liang’s heart.
Damn that Valen. And he still had the nerve to claim he hadn’t known about this beforehand.
Pei’s father hurriedly said, “Don’t let him fool you. Have you forgotten how you reacted a few years ago, when your mother brought him to meet you without permission? You’ve only reunited recently, yet your opinion of him has changed so drastically. Don’t you think that child is awfully scheming for someone so young?”
“No. No matter how deep his schemes are, how could they compare with mine? I still remember a casual argument from years ago, after all.” She looked over at him. “Right, Fourth Cousin?”
“Blegh!”
Damn it, was she really never going to let that shit go?
Pei Liang continued, “Speaking of what happened back then, I was indeed in the wrong. Lance had just lost his father, and his mother could barely see him a few times a year, so she couldn’t offer him much comfort.”
“Before coming here, I was probably the only relative he thought he could get close to. Yet he ended up being met with cold words from me. And even after all that, he was still willing to forgive me. What a softhearted child.”
The Pei family members felt like vomiting blood. This idiot had clearly been brainwashed.
One of the elders hurriedly said, “Then think about it. Why would he suddenly become so affectionate toward you for no reason?”
“Your mother may have signed a prenuptial agreement, but the existence of that illegitimate son still threatens your interests.”
“Do you know how much property your mother controls? Your maternal grandfather’s family has no Alpha heir, which means that the assets and connections of that enormous family will all be inherited by your mother. That illegitimate son may come from a prominent family on Neptune, but his position is awkward, and his biological father was killed in battle.”
“That family has countless children, so naturally, the resources he receives can’t compare with what your mother’s side has to offer. But according to the agreement, those things should have belonged to you. Don’t be dazzled just because he’s willing to lower himself and flatter you. All of this comes at a price.”
Pei Liang nodded. “I know. Both my parents have already approached me about it. I told them long ago that they could give more of the inheritance to my brothers and sisters outside the marriage. After all, being born to my parents is already a form of punishment.”
“But even so, I have to clear Lance’s name. He’s a rare accelerated student at a military academy. You all know what that means.”
“Even though he’s two years younger than the others in his class, his performance in the mecha league is still good enough to rank among the top five. That means he’s unquestionably the best in his year—not just at Poseidon Military Academy, but in the entire Empire.”
“A genius like that would receive priority resources not only from Lance’s family, but even from the imperial family. So there’s no need to make him sound like some sinister person who’s pretending to be affectionate just to snatch a paltry inheritance.”
“On the contrary, I remember that your side’s younger son has hinted at quite a few things in front of me.”
The illegitimate son on Pei’s father’s side also attended the Imperial Military Academy, one year below Pei Liang as a first-year student.
His aptitude was actually better than the original host’s, and his performance was considered above average for his year. It was said that after advancing to the second year, he would have a chance of becoming a substitute player for the league. Following that trajectory, he would likely become a starting player in his third year.
That already counted as excellent. Most people followed that kind of progression. Students like Arnold, Teresa, and Lance, who had become starting players as first-years, were the true exceptions.
Because the other boy was talented—and because Pei Liang’s birth mother also had an illegitimate child outside the marriage—the original host had no real advantage in terms of status when facing Pei’s father’s illegitimate son.
They also saw each other constantly at school, so conflicts between them had been far from rare.
The Pei family immediately understood that Pei’s father’s indulgence had allowed that illegitimate son to become so smug. Judging from his words, the adults present could guess roughly seven-tenths of what he had said.
Everyone glared at Pei’s father, looking at him as though he were someone who could accomplish nothing but ruin things.
Pei’s father hurriedly said, “Don’t worry. He’s already transferred to Ares. That boy doesn’t respect his older sister and has no understanding of his own position. He needs to wake up.”
Pei Liang waved her hand. “No, no. If he goes to Ares, how is he supposed to take over your business, Father? It would be more convenient for you to teach and train him if he stays here on Imperial Capital.”
Pei’s father and Elder Uncle Pei both sucked in a breath and stared at Pei Liang as though they had seen a ghost.
She smiled. “Why are you looking at me like that? That younger brother of mine was practically saying it outright. Besides, several sensitive businesses and positions under Father’s name have already been given to that brother’s maternal uncle.”
“So isn’t your father’s arrangement obvious?”
Amid the Pei family’s growing dread, Pei Liang was the most relaxed and carefree person present.
She crossed her legs and drawled, “When I said those things to my father and mother, I was being completely sincere. I really don’t care about any of this.”
“On the contrary, Lance can inherit my mother’s property and my maternal grandfather’s political connections. As for my father’s side, I almost—no, I mean, I care even less about that. But no matter what, it’s still the result of everything my father worked his whole life to build.”
“Wouldn’t it be perfect if that younger brother inherited it? Then neither side would have any obligations to me, and I could pursue my own ideals. There couldn’t be a better arrangement.”
“So, Father, trust me. I mean every word I’m saying. There’s not the slightest hint of sarcasm.”
Yet the more she insisted on this, the more nervous the Pei family became.
Especially since she had just fed her cousin a lump of shit over an argument from years ago. Who would believe that she was being so magnanimous now?
Pei Liang continued, “Still, Father, you can make the arrangements openly. I won’t just cooperate—I’ll even help persuade Mother.”
“But the way you’re sneaking around now makes it look quite a lot like you’re transferring marital assets. That’s not very honorable.”
“After all, the two of you may have cheated, but when it comes to matters of principle, my mother has always conducted herself properly.”
“Besides, since Father has secretly been planning to have that younger brother inherit your legacy, I wonder what you originally intended to do with me.”
“I’m a grown adult and a legitimate child, yet I have no future secured for me and my right of inheritance has been stripped away. However you look at it, that’s unreasonable. With the Pei family’s reputation, you wouldn’t leave behind such an obvious weakness for people to criticize.”
Although Pei’s father and mother had already given people plenty to criticize.
No—only Pei’s mother. For a noble Alpha like Pei’s father, cheating was practically to be expected.
In their eyes, then, the few blemishes on the Pei family’s reputation all came from Pei’s mother.
Yet the resources under Pei’s mother’s control were far too valuable to abandon. The Pei family had no choice but to endure her presence. Still, a family that prided itself on its bloodline and heritage would never do anything that could give others leverage against them.
Pei Liang looked at Pei’s father with a faint, mocking smile. “Since Father has already begun making arrangements for that younger brother and his maternal relatives, surely you haven’t failed to consider how to arrange things for me, a grown person?”
“Or have you already made arrangements? You simply haven’t told me.”
Cold sweat broke out on Pei’s father’s forehead. Elder Uncle Pei looked equally grim as he gazed at the child with a complicated expression.
He suddenly realized that his little performance earlier had itself been a mistake. Pei Liang forcing her fourth cousin into submission had not merely been a child lording her advantage over another.
She had been probing them, seeking confirmation—and now she had her answer.
Sure enough, she continued, “Even if Father doesn’t tell me, I can more or less guess. There are only a few truly perfect solutions.”
“The most likely one—for example, having me adopted into another family?”
