Shen Peichuan shook his head and said no.
Sitting across the table, Captain Song took a quick glimpse at Shen Peichuan and then at Song Yaxin. He knew his wife’s words would have affected his daughter, but there was nothing his daughter could do to undo the past, no matter how much she regretted it.
As people always say—never force anything that was not meant to be, because one would never have to force anything that was truly meant to be.
It was true that Captain Song really hoped Shen Peichuan could marry his daughter at one point, but he knew love could not be forced.
That was why he invited Shen Peichuan and Sang Yu over.
It was time he buried his unfulfilled wish, and it was also time his wife and his daughter got over the past.
Now that Song Yaxin had divorced, all Captain Song wanted was for her to get over the hurt and start anew with someone else who would truly cherish her.
Looking at the four of them, Captain Song let out a sigh and collected himself. “Come, let’s dig in. Make yourself at home; there’s not a need to be so constrained. I remember you being quite an eloquent girl,” he said, looking at Sang Yu.
Captain Song really admired the girl. From his first impression of her, she was energetic and courageous.
Upon hearing that, a small and innocent grin spread across Sang Yu’s lips. “I was really worried that you would punish him back then.”
Captain Song chuckled as he thought about how Sang Yu had defended Shen Peichuan last time. “I bet you’re the one who pursued him.”
Captain Song knew Shen Peichuan inside out. He knew that the man would never initiate something like that when he first saw the news.
But Shen Peichuan had quickly interjected and came to Sang Yu’s rescue. “No, it is I who liked her first,” he said softly but surely.
He did not want people to have the wrong idea about Sang Yu.
After all, she was the one who had helped him out.
Captain Song widened his eyes in surprise and laughed heartily. “Ha! I didn’t expect that!”
He had always thought Shen Peichuan to be an honest and dull man.
It never occurred to him that Shen Peichuan would go after any girl. That said a lot about how much Shen Peichuan liked Sang Yu.
It was completely understandable, though. Sang Yu was a beautiful girl in her prime, and she had a fine character. Captain Song could tell that she was someone who had a mind of her own, although she was much younger than Shen Peichuan.
He shifted his gaze to Sang Yu and told her, “Peichuan does not have his family with him here, so you must take good care of him.”
She smiled and nodded her head vigorously as she stole a look at Shen Peichuan.
Sang Yu knew that this was the man she wanted to marry one day.
But Song Yaxin begged to differ. She eyed the couple and said sourly, “Peichuan, look at how nice my dad is to you. Why not you be his son? I’m sure he’ll look out for you at work too.”
Her intention was so obvious that the atmosphere turned awkward around the table.
Captain Song’s piercing glare sank through his daughter the moment he heard what she said. “You may leave if you’re not here to enjoy a meal. Do you think everyone should let you have your way just because you recently went through a divorce?”
Beside him, Mrs. Song shot a quick look at her daughter and figured that she should try placating her husband. “Come on; she’s still recovering from a broken marriage. Understandably, all she can see is her own misery. Don’t be so hard on her.”
But Captain Song still pulled a long papaya face, shooting daggers at his daughter. All he wanted was for her to get over Shen Peichuan. Yet, not only was she refusing to let the past go, but she was also making a fuss and dragging other people into the mess.
Although Captain Song had reprimanded his daughter, Shen Peichuan still felt that it was not a good time to dine with the family today. He felt that he should allow each side some time to recover and readjust. Having made up his mind, he held Sang Yu’s hand and stood up. “I’m sorry, Captain. I still have some work to attend to. I’m afraid Sang Yu and I can’t stay any longer.”
Captain Song nodded quietly as if he expected Shen Peichuan would take leave. “I’m sorry if we made you uncomfortable. I hope you don’t take it to heart.”
“I won’t, Captain. I owe my promotion to you, and I’m altogether grateful for what you’ve done for me,” Shen Peichuan replied cordially with a bow. Regardless of what Song Yaxin said, he knew Captain Song was a kind person, and he appreciated everything Captain Song had done for him.
Nothing would change how much he respected his captain.
“You’re one capable man yourself, else you wouldn’t have gotten promoted. Why don’t we have a meal another day? You should treat me the next time around,” Captain Song suggested.
Indeed, there was no way Captain Song and Zhou Huaihou would agree to promote Shen Peichuan if not for his caliber.
They knew he was a man who took his job seriously.
But still, Shen Peichuan appreciated Captain Song’s kindness. “You should come over to my place next time. I’ll cook you something delicious.”
Captain Song raised his brows in surprise. “I didn’t know you knew how to cook!”
“Well, I’ve been staying alone for a while, so I know how to cook a thing or two. My cooking is not particularly good, but I’m willing to cook you something nice if you don’t mind trying,” Shen Peichuan answered as he clasped his hand nervously with a smile.
“Of course I won’t mind. Till I get to try your cooking then. See you,” Captain Song waved him goodbye as he gestured to send them off.
“We’ll see ourselves out. See y’all around,” Shen Peichuan greeted the captain and Mrs. Song before leaving with Sang Yu.
Right after the couple disappeared around the door, Captain Song turned around and eyed his daughter coldly. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Over at the table, Song Yaxin grabbed her hair in agony. She did not know why she had blurted out such insensitive words either. All she knew was that it surely did not feel good to see Shen Peichuan together with Sang Yu.
“You’re the one who refused to get together with Peichuan last time. I’m pretty sure he cared for you deeply. I knew he would be a good son-in-law, but you didn’t want to listen to us. There is literally nothing you can do no matter how much you regret your decision now. What you just said is so unabashed. I feel ashamed as your father. Also, Shen Peichuan was promoted because he deserves it. It’s not like I show him special favor. Yes, I did nominate him to be the deputy chief, but that’s purely because of his capability. Now that you put it that way, it sounds like I do have an ulterior motive,” Captain Song berated her in a harangue.
Again, Mrs. Song tried interjecting to appease her husband. “But you need to understand her pain too…”
“So you’re saying her pain is a legit excuse for her to inflict pain on others?” he questioned his wife before she could even finish her sentence. To Captain Song, there was no way he would condone such a selfish attitude.
Hearing this, Mrs. Song zipped her lips and stopped talking. Deep in her heart, she knew her husband was right. Shen Peichuan was a good and reliable man—it was their daughter’s fault the two never made it to the end.
Mrs. Song let out a sigh and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me he already has a girlfriend?”
“It’s not like I have to report everything to you, right?” Captain Song replied impatiently.
Now that he was no longer in the mood for food, he left the table without saying another word.
Seeing her husband leave in a foul mood, she turned towards her daughter and questioned her. “I thought you didn’t like Shen Peichuan? What was with that reaction just now? Look at what you’ve done. Your dad is so pissed because of what you said.”
Song Yaxin knew she should not have said such a remark. She smacked her lips and grunted, “I’m so sorry, mom. I really don’t know what’s gotten into me.”
She had always thought that Shen Peichuan was where he was today because of her dad. She thought that he had come today because he wanted to show his gratitude. That was why she thought that they still had a chance. But to her dismay, Shen Peichuan came with his girlfriend, and that devastated her.
“Don’t tell me it hurts you to see him have a girlfriend?” Mrs. Song probed.
She was not sure if her daughter still liked Shen Peichuan at this point. If she did, there was no reason for her to reject him last time; if she did not, there was no reason for her to be so prickly now.
Mrs. Song really could not wrap her head around what Song Yaxin really felt.
“No. Him having a girlfriend doesn’t mean anything to me,” her daughter replied.
Mrs. Song shook her head as she eyed her daughter carefully. She knew that was probably not the case, but she decided to let the matter off. Song Yaxin had just divorced, and Mrs. Song did not want to add to the pain her daughter was going through.
“Whatever. Just go and apologize to your dad. I’m sure he’ll forgive you,” she told her daughter.
“Seriously, mom, why is dad so nice to him? It’s like Shen Peichuan is his illegitimate child,” Song Yaxin joked with a smirk on her face.
“What are you talking about? You’d better not let your dad hear this,” Mrs. Song rebuked.
She knew her husband was a man of principle; he would never do something like that.
“Come on, mom. It’s just a joke. What I mean is he’s way nicer to an outsider than he is to his own daughter. He made things so difficult for me just now,” she complained.
“You know your dad loves you. He was so worried about you he didn’t sleep a wink when you got a divorce. He’s good to Shen Peichuan because he adores that young man. Anyways, go on and apologize to him now. Ask him to come back and eat,” Mrs. Song reminded her daughter.
Song Yaxin stood up obediently and headed for her dad’s room.
Meanwhile, Shen Peichuan started the engine and sped off right after Sang Yu got in the car without saying a single word.
Sang Yu tilted her head and shot him a questioning look. “Are you guys really close?”
At least that’s what I felt back there. But she did not say it out loud.
Shen Peichuan took a glimpse at her and replied shortly, “Kind of.”
“Does she like you? Is that why she’s so…”
“No, she doesn’t. Captain Song and his wife once wanted to matchmake us, but she did not have eyes for me,” Shen Peichuan interrupted before Sang Yu said anything else.
He really did not know why Song Yaxin had been behaving like that just now.
“Really?” Sang Yu replied suspiciously. She had a gut feeling that Song Yaxin liked him.
“Why? You don’t believe what I say?” Shen Peichuan asked.
Sang Yu shook her head and smiled quietly. After all, it was not worth it to make a big fuss out of this. “Where are we going?”
“I’m sending you to school,” Shen Peichuan answered without turning his head.
“You’re not buying me a meal? I played your girlfriend this whole afternoon, and I didn’t even get to eat anything. Don’t you think you owe me a favor?” Sang Yu teased.
“I’m sorry, I totally forgot about that. What would you like to have?”
“I’m fine with anything. You’re the one who’s paying anyways,” Sang Yu teased with a gleeful smile.
“Alright. I’ll choose then,” Shen Peichuan answered. He did not usually frequent fancy restaurants unless he was with Zong Jinghao and Su Zhan. After all, he was just a working-class employee, and those two were way out of his league.
But since Sang Yu had done him a favor today, he decided to pick an expensive restaurant.
He took a turn and headed for the restaurant he had in mind. After parking the car, they made their way into the restaurant and sat down. “Feel free to pick whatever you like; it’s my treat,” Shen Peichuan stated.
“Sure!” Sang Yu was excited to eat some nice food.
“I should treat myself to something nice too,” Shen Peichuan uttered, assuring Sang Yu to order ahead.
This was the first time Sang Yu had come to such a posh restaurant as a customer instead of a waitress.
A waiter came over and handed them the menu as he waited patiently for Shen Peichuan to take a look through it.
“She’ll be ordering,” Shen Peichuan told the waiter as he looked at Sang Yu.
