Chapter Seventy-Nine

The next day, You Yi went to the company, while Yi Xiaoyu slept until noon. He ordered takeout, and had just finished eating when someone knocked on the door.

Yi Xiaoyu never expected Pei Xiang would come to find him.

His stepmother, in name only.

“Can we talk? Just ten minutes,” Pei Xiang said.

She wore no makeup; her face, in Yi Xiaoyu’s memory, seemed to have aged as quickly as his father's. Once a star, now it was hard to find traces of her former allure.

Yi Xiaoyu remembered that ever since this woman stepped into his home, more than twenty years ago, he had spoken to her fewer than ten times.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Yi Xiaoyu’s indifference was unmistakable.

Pei Xiang’s expression grew desolate; she spoke almost in a pleading voice, “It’s really just ten minutes. I only have a few things to say, and then I’ll leave.”

Yi Xiaoyu hesitated for several seconds before stepping aside. “Only ten minutes.”

Pei Xiang sat on the sofa in the living room. Yi Xiaoyu poured her a cup of tea and set it in front of her, his tone cool. “What is it?”

Pei Xiang’s gaze dropped to the table before the sofa. “Ever since you and your brother fell out, your father has been very downcast. He looks exhausted every day, and his health is much worse than before. He’s always hoped for harmony between you brothers, for the family to be whole and happy.”

“Do you think this is my fault or your son's?” Yi Xiaoyu found it laughable. “Your son stripped me of most of my assets, and apart from him, you seem the least qualified to say this to me.”

“My fault,” Pei Xiang said softly. “I always hoped to change my position in the Yi family through Xiaoyu. When he was young, I constantly told him to do whatever it took to surpass you. Only if we were economically superior to you would we have a foothold in the Yi family; otherwise, we’d be looked down upon by those relatives. When Xiaoyu returned to the country, I was the one who asked him to work at your company, hoping he’d have a chance to take it from you.”

She spoke calmly, her gaze steady, as if confessing her crimes.

“Why tell me this? Are you trying to take all the blame for your son’s actions?”

“Yes. I just want to say, all of this was my doing. Xiaoyu was only trying to fight for his mother, that’s why he acted against you.” Tears flickered in Pei Xiang’s eyes. “Honestly, I just wanted to have more confidence in front of those relatives, so I wouldn’t be mocked by them all the time. But… but now I regret it deeply. I achieved my goal, but my family feels shattered. You don’t come home anymore, Xiaoyu’s relationship with his father grows worse, and every day I face your father, haggard and silent, smoking alone all day. Now my only wish is to see more smiles on your father’s face. If he can live more easily and happily, I’ll be satisfied.”

“You think I’ll believe you?”

“I don’t ask for your trust. I’ve already told Xiaoyu to go home and take over his father’s clothing company. He’s gotten everything from you, and I convinced him to let go. I truly have no demands anymore. No matter how others see me, in my heart, as long as I can stay with your father until old age, I’m content. I only hope… hope you’ll visit him often. He misses you terribly.”

Yi Xiaoyu said nothing, his gaze coldly fixed on the floor.

“I know you’ve always hated me and your father because of your mother’s affairs,” Pei Xiang sighed gently. “I’ve wanted to explain to you so many times, but you never gave me the chance to speak to you face to face.”

“What do you mean?”