Curious as I was, I didn't ask Hugh Pei. He would never tell me anyway.
At some point, I drifted off to sleep. I hadn't slept well at all last night and just wanted to catch up now.
When I woke up, I wasn't in the car anymore, but in a bed. Looking at the decor, this was Hugh Pei's room.
I held my forehead, unable to remember how I had gotten here. Thankfully, Hugh Pei came in just then. He asked, "Slept enough? If you have, come down for lunch. Mom and the others are waiting for you."
"I'll be right up!" I answered, feeling a bit awkward.
Hugh Pei then left the room.
Just then, my phone rang. It was my mom. The gist of it was that today was her mother-in-law's birthday, and she had already called my mother-in-law to wish her well. This call was to remind me to flatter my mother-in-law a little more and make her happy today.
Usually, on their parents' birthdays, they would just send a simple text message or a large red envelope. Gift-giving was left to us, the younger generation.
I readily agreed, not daring to tell my mom that the whole family downstairs was waiting for me, who had just woken up, to eat.
After hanging up, I hurried downstairs. The moment I reached the dining room, I felt like crawling into a hole.
Besides Hugh Pei and my in-laws, his aunts, uncles, and their spouses were all there, completely filling the large, eight-seater table.
When they saw me, everyone turned to look.
Except for my wedding day, I had never seen all his close relatives at once like this.
"Zoe, come quickly!" My mother-in-law, dressed in a red qipao, looked incredibly elegant and graceful. Her face was wreathed in a gentle smile, showing no sign of displeasure at my tardiness. She beckoned me over. There was an empty seat next to her, saved for me, with Hugh Pei on the other side.
The aunts and others smiled at me. We didn't see each other often, so we weren't very familiar.
Once my head was on straight, I quickly put on a smile and sweetly greeted all the elders one by one. Everyone at this table was a significant figure, all prominent in the business world.
In my past life, when Hugh Pei brought my family down, these relatives had naturally played a part.
Of course, I didn't resent them. It wasn't them who forced Hugh Pei to divorce me and marry Lila Wei. It was Hugh Pei who forced them to help. Blood is thicker than water, and Hugh Pei and I didn't have any children. Anyone would have chosen to help their own nephew.
I wasn't stupid. If I held a grudge and tried to get revenge on them now for things that couldn't be changed from my past life, it would only make them wary and disgusted with me.
They all acknowledged me one by one, and I said to my mother-in-law, "Mom, the gift is still in the car. I'll go get it!"
"Hugh Pei brought it down for you. I'm already wearing it!" my mother-in-law said with a beaming smile. She turned her head to show me. A delicate hairpin was tucked into her traditional bun. It was adorned with a cluster of flowers made from jade beads. Each bead was hollowed out and filled with precious spices, so a gentle movement from the wearer would release a subtle, elegant fragrance.
Compared to the previous jadeite, this hairpin wasn't particularly expensive, but its elegant and graceful design and heart-refreshing scent were things my mother-in-law naturally loved, or she wouldn't have put it on immediately.
"Mom, it's beautiful. It matches your qipao perfectly today!" I praised her sincerely.
My mother-in-law's smile widened. "You have such good taste, child. I love everything you buy for me. Come, sit down and eat."
I nodded and quickly took my seat.
Then, my mother-in-law instructed the servants, "Serve the dishes."
Sixteen courses were quickly brought out, a feast of delicacies from land and sea, a treat for all the senses.
I remembered my mission to gain weight and ate while occasionally serving my mother-in-law, chatting with her, and sometimes asking about my father-in-law's health, urging him to remember his annual check-ups.
When the other elders chatted, I would chime in appropriately on any topic I knew about.
Hugh Pei sat next to me, relatively quiet.
After the meal, the servants cleared the table, and my in-laws accompanied the relatives in the living room, eating fruit and discussing business. Among them, an aunt was playing with her grandson. She smiled at my mother-in-law and said, "It's time for Xiaohang and Zoe to have children too. Jianqing is so busy; having a grandchild at home for you to look after will surely keep you fulfilled."
Jianqing was my father-in-law.
My mother-in-law immediately glanced at me, then at Hugh Pei, her eyes filled with reproach. "I want to hold a grandchild too, but Hugh Pei isn't up to the task. It's been better recently, with fewer scandals, but was he acting like a decent person before?"
I was drinking water and nearly choked.
Hugh Pei's face darkened. He probably didn't understand what he had done wrong. What was wrong with a few scandals? He hadn't produced an illegitimate child.
My father-in-law agreed. "That's right. Zoe has been married to him for five years, waiting for him at home every day, but he's never home. How can they have a child?"
"Xiaohang, you're getting on in years too. Don't you want to hold a baby?" the aunt asked.
Before Hugh Pei could answer, his uncle spoke up. "Look at your older brother and sister-in-law. Their second is almost here. If he wasn't accompanying your sister-in-law for a check-up today, he would have come too."
Now his aunt chimed in, "That's right. Your parents only have you as a son. You can't be DINK, can you? Your cousin Chenyu has a girlfriend and is planning to get married and have kids right after graduation. Your aunt and I have met the girl; she's very nice."
"Oh, Chenyu is in a relationship?" My mother-in-law's interest was piqued, and everyone eagerly discussed this new topic.
Hugh Pei, still smarting from his parents' criticism, looked annoyed. Seeing the conversation had shifted away from him, he went out into the courtyard for some fresh air.
I followed him out. The living room was very warm, and I was already feeling a bit hot in my thin sweater. A bit of cool air would be nice.
Neither of us spoke. We just looked at the snow-covered ground, lost in our own thoughts. Hugh Pei lit a cigarette and smoked alone, his back to me.
Soon, I started to feel cold and was about to go back inside when Hugh Pei's phone rang. I had a strong feeling it was Lila Wei.
Hugh Pei never avoided taking Lila Wei's calls in front of me, but I didn't want to listen. It would only annoy me, and I didn't want my mother-in-law to notice anything was wrong.
So I quickly opened and closed the door, shutting his voice outside.
"Zoe, come here for a moment," my mother-in-law said when she saw me return. Then she headed upstairs.
I quickly followed, a little uneasy, wondering what she wanted to talk to me about.
Once upstairs, my mother-in-law took my hand and asked in a low voice, "Zoe, did you get the prescription I gave you last time? Did Hugh Pei drink it?"
The last prescription, wasn't it something like an aphrodisiac? But later, I had Eva Liu ask a relative to buy a few different medicinal concoctions. The night Hugh Pei drank it, the potent effects were on full display.