"Aunt is aunt, no matter what others say about her, it's their loose tongues. How could you believe them?"
"Go, apologize to your aunt, let her forgive you, and help you more in your work later. If you're disrespectful and spout nonsense again, even if Aunt doesn't hold it against you, I won't let you off."
Just like that, Pei Zongrui was pushed out as cannon fodder.
He was very displeased in his heart but dared not say much.
He sat there with insincere apology to Pei Kexin.
"I'm sorry, I was in a bad mood just now and my mind went blank, so I talked back to you. You're a magnanimous aunt, please don't hold it against me."
His apology was unwilling, and Pei Kexin was equally unwilling to forgive.
She couldn't be bothered with him, so she turned and touched her husband's face.
"Do you want to go up and sleep first? You've been taking care of Dad alone in the hospital during the day, and you have to accompany me to entertain clients at night. You must be exhausted."
"You're tired from accompanying me to take a scolding after entertaining clients late at night. You've worked hard, my husband."
Zhan Jingchen was in a good mood because he enjoyed watching her scold her nephew. He looked at her and smiled cooperatively.
"It's not as hard as you are. You work hard day and night, and you have to teach the younger generation a lesson when you get home at night. Look how thin you've become. It really makes your husband's heart ache."
Everyone, "..."
Pei Kexin lightly punched him with a hint of shyness. After making Pei Zongrui wait long enough, she continued.
"Zongrui is not young anymore. Since he knows he will eventually take over the company, he should seize the opportunity to learn some real skills, lest he be embarrassed when he takes over himself."
"You chose to join the technical department yourself. It's been several months now, and you can't just talk on paper. You need to start practical operations."
"Coincidentally, the company just received a batch of customer complaints yesterday, DNH190. Due to the climate in Harbin, a technician is needed to go there for on-site after-sales service."
"No matter who the technical department sends this time, you'll go with them. Besides you, everyone else in the technical department is an old timer. It will be beneficial for you to gain experience by going with them."
"DNH190? I didn't participate in the design. Why should I go for after-sales service when there's a problem? And Harbin? That godforsaken place..."
Pei Zongrui's face clearly showed his displeasure as soon as he heard the name.
He turned to his father to complain.
"Dad, this is no different than firing me. She's supposed to be arranging work for me, but what is she arranging? It's clearly a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for me!"
"Harbin is a place with an average altitude of five thousand meters. The climate there, altitude sickness will surely affect me. And they expect me to do after-sales service for someone else's product..."
Pei Kexin couldn't be bothered to listen to his complaints. She nudged Zhan Jingchen and tilted her chin towards the stairs, signaling him to go to bed.
Zhan Jingchen stood up, and Pei Kexin followed, interrupting Pei Zongrui's woes.
"Alright, it's getting late, and we have to work tomorrow. Don't think too much about it. Go rest first."
"Don't think of yourself as too weak, and don't think of me, your aunt, as too wicked. Discuss with your parents whether you want to be trained or not, and give me your answer at the company tomorrow."
After speaking, she didn't bother to look at everyone else's expressions and left arm in arm with Zhan Jingchen.
Back in the room, Pei Kexin kicked off her shoes, shed Gu Wei's suit, tugged at her damaged evening gown, and lazily sank onto the sofa, asking Zhan Jingchen.
"Are you tired?"
The bedroom door was broken, and the second bedroom had no bed. It seemed they had no choice but to share a room again tonight.
Zhan Jingchen's gaze fell on her fair skin, and he couldn't help but have some improper thoughts.
"What's wrong?"
"If you're not tired, come and do something for me."
There was a laptop on the coffee table that Pei Kexin usually used for watching dramas. It was not password protected, so she turned the screen towards Zhan Jingchen.
"Open it."
Zhan Jingchen looked puzzled. Why would she want to open the computer in the middle of the night?
Pei Kexin, like a superior ordering a subordinate, leaned back on the opposite sofa and watched him open it.
"Can you make spreadsheets?"
Zhan Jingchen: "?"
"It doesn't have to be too advanced, just the most common type."
"...I think so."
"Then I'll tell you what to do, and you'll do it according to my requirements. In the first row, center the title, merge the cells first, and the title should be 'Exit Application Form'."
"??"
"In the second row, divide it into three cells and fill in the basic information: name, age, and profession."
"..."
"Are you done? If you're done, continue. In the third row, fill in the reason for applying to go out and supplementary details. You can make the length longer, widen it, use it horizontally or vertically, whatever you think is best."
Zhan Jingchen's hands stopped unconsciously, and he looked at her with a bewildered expression.
Pei Kexin continued to direct, "Don't stop, keep going..."
Zhan Jingchen simply pushed the computer away. "What do you mean 'whatever I think is best'? Ms. Pei, I have to submit an application form to you just to go out? Am I sold to you?"
Seeing that he was objecting and didn't want to do it, Pei Kexin glanced at him and pulled the computer back herself.
While typing furiously, she explained.
"There's something going on at the company, and I might have to go on a business trip soon. Once I'm gone, your role in this family will be fully realized."
"Anything I can't do in front of Dad, you must do it for me. If you have private matters to attend to during this time, you need to request leave from me in advance. This form is for your leave application."
"Once it's filled out, you can send it to my email or WeChat. You can only leave the sanatorium after I approve it. If I don't approve and you dare to leave without permission, our contract will be voided at any time."
Zhan Jingchen listened to these troublesome and unreasonable terms.
"Can't I just tell you directly if I need to take leave? I still have to fill out a form. Isn't that troublesome?"
Pei Kexin: "It's not troublesome. If you just tell me, what if I'm busy and can't answer the phone? If you decide to leave whenever you want, what about Dad? You must report in advance and develop the habit of planning your time reasonably. Otherwise, don't even think about asking for leave."
"..."
Zhan Jingchen couldn't help but curse her in his heart. Huang Shiren, too ruthless and inhumane. No wonder Pei Zongrui is annoyed with you.
"When do you plan to go on the business trip?"
"It's not certain. It might be tomorrow, or it might be the day after tomorrow. I'll notify you when it's planned."
"Where are you going?"
"Harbin."
"The place you just sent Pei Zongrui to? Are you going with him?"
"Don't inquire about my work. Take care of yourself."
She refused to say any more about her work, but Zhan Jingchen knew that no matter how much she disliked Pei Zongrui, she would help him for the sake of their grandfather's expectations.
He didn't know what to say to her.
Pitiable, she brought it upon herself. She's capable but doesn't go out and start her own business, choosing instead to endure insults in their home every day.
Hateful, yet she also has a sense of loyalty. The kindness of upbringing is greater than the sky. Perhaps only when the old man truly leaves will she be able to truly let go.
"But I have something to do tomorrow, and I need to take leave now."
Pei Kexin: "You've only been married to me for two days, and you already want to take leave?"
Married to me?
Zhan Jingchen savored these three words and found it a bit amusing.
"Well, I can't help it. I'm human too, and I have emergencies. You wouldn't be so inhumane as to not let me go home when there's a family emergency, would you?"
Pei Kexin had a premonition that he didn't have anything major to do. She glanced at him. "What are you up to?"