Chapter 119: Reluctance

But Peng Min knew the truth. Those people were merely the surface-level culprits. Peeling back the facade to see the essence, the real culprit was Huang Yu’s father—the true mastermind behind the Shengshi Han Palace nightclub in PE City and a notorious drug lord.

From the very beginning, Peng Min understood and believed that the true cause of the tragedy that befell her and Li Jia’s family was none other than Huang Yu’s father.

She could think of this clearly, and Huang Yu had no reason not to. Yet, he had only personally killed those five people, treating it as revenge, never uttering a word about his father’s crimes.

Not only that, he was still squandering the blood money his father had earned, living a life of luxury.

In her eyes, Huang Yu was no longer the perfect and outstanding person she had once admired; she saw him as fundamentally hypocritical, a petty man unable to let go of immediate wealth.

Perhaps Huang Yu was polite and courteous to others, showed no signs of a spoiled heir, appeared highly educated and refined, and claimed his father’s deeds had nothing to do with him.

But were these really unrelated?

Peng Min held her own view: Huang Yu had enjoyed privileged material conditions since childhood thanks to his parents, and the source of that wealth was overwhelmingly the sweat and blood of ordinary people.

Moreover, judging by Huang Yu’s recent change in attitude toward her, she believed that his professed love for Li Jia was not as deep as he claimed; his so-called love was only because Li Jia looked as stunningly beautiful as a celestial fairy.

To put it plainly, it was lust at first sight.

Therefore, when no one was watching, Peng Min would look at Huang Yu with a trace of mockery and disappointment in her eyes.

Even she wasn’t sure what she truly felt toward Huang Yu—love, hatred, or mere dislike.

Her emotions toward him were complicated, but overall, since Huang Yu treated her well, the feeling of affection held the upper hand. Besides, no one is perfect; everyone harbors their selfishness.

True selflessness is not human—it belongs to saints.

So, after spending some time together, although she realized Huang Yu was not as admirable as she once idealized, her affection still prevailed, and she chose to keep many things unspoken.

“Perhaps this is human nature. I’m no different in many ways; I’ve done far worse than Huang Yu. If the roles were reversed and she were Huang Yu, maybe she wouldn’t care about Peng Min at all and would use all kinds of tricks on Li Jia, discarding her when bored. So, from a certain perspective, he really is a rare good man,” Peng Min thought to herself as she quickly withdrew her gaze.

There has never been a perfect person, least of all herself.

It was for this very reason that she grew increasingly fond of him, becoming more reluctant to leave, burying the faint disappointment and dislike deep within her heart.

About half an hour passed.

The doorbell rang. Zhao Qianqian called Peng Min to answer, but Peng Min, suspecting it was her aunt’s family arriving, refused to go.

This was one of the reasons she had hidden in the kitchen since morning—partly to help her mother cook, but mostly to avoid meeting her aunt’s family, choosing to hide in the kitchen.

Peng Hua was the one who opened the door.

Sure enough, it was Peng Min’s aunt’s family—four people in total: her aunt, uncle, Lü Min, and her newlywed husband.

After opening the door, Peng Hua exchanged a few polite words and invited them into the living room, then called Peng Yuying to greet the guests while preparing tea for the aunt’s family.

Compared to staying inside to study, Peng Yuying naturally preferred being outside. After all, the house was lively today, and she was quite curious about what Lü Min’s husband was like.

Meanwhile, Peng Hua sat on the other side of the living room, resuming the unfinished game of Go with Huang Yu.

His expression was serious, clearly contemplating each move carefully; even with a handicap, he felt the pressure.

Peng Min’s aunt’s family knew of Peng Hua’s fondness for Go. Seeing someone playing against him, they gathered around out of curiosity. Though they didn’t understand the game, they found some amusement in watching.

Huang Yu smiled at the four newcomers, greeting them politely before returning his focus to the game.

“Not bad for a young man, able to hold his own against Old Peng,” Peng Min’s uncle remarked, watching Peng Hua’s serious demeanor before turning to Huang Yu with a smile.

“Oh, Uncle, you gave me quite a few stones to balance the game, that’s why it’s even,” Huang Yu replied with a smile.

The four immediately took a liking to Huang Yu, mainly because of his striking good looks, though his face was unfamiliar to them, arousing some suspicion.

Since the two families had arranged to meet in advance, Peng Hua wouldn’t have invited his Go companion over today.

“Xiaoying, who’s this handsome guy?” Lü Min asked Peng Yuying with a smile.

“My sister just came back today, and he’s the boyfriend she brought along,” Peng Yuying answered truthfully as she handed tea to the four guests.

Three of them froze upon hearing this, while only Lü Min’s husband—a modest young man in a shirt—showed no reaction. Instead, he was intrigued by the fact that people still played Go, watching attentively despite not understanding the game.

Peng Min had been away from home for two years, especially with almost no contact over the last year. They all had a vague idea of this.

“Where’s your sister? It’s been years since we last saw her. Why haven’t we met her today?” Lü Min asked.

“She was here earlier; I’ve been in my room most of the time,” Peng Yuying murmured, glancing around.

“She’s in the kitchen. Peng Min, your aunt and uncle are here, why don’t you come out and greet them?” Peng Hua said after making his move, then called toward the kitchen.

Meanwhile, he carefully observed Lü Min’s husband, comparing him silently with Huang Yu. He was quite ordinary, but decent.

In truth, deep down, he preferred young men like Lü Min’s husband—steady and practical, someone who could lead a stable life.

Huang Yu was excellent, yes, but too perfect, giving him a sense of unreality. He always felt such a man was beyond Peng Min’s control.

“Whatever, let her be. I couldn’t control her when she was little, and I can’t now,” Peng Hua thought to himself, then returned his attention to the game.

He was already pleased and satisfied that his daughter had come home today. It wouldn’t do to break them apart just because she had an exceptionally handsome boyfriend.

Peng Min came out wearing an apron, greeting her aunt and uncle in turn, then looked at Lü Min and her husband. Finding him rather ordinary, she felt secretly delighted.

She smiled and chatted briefly with Lü Min, offering congratulations and polite words.

At the big family dinner, the focus was mainly on two men: Lü Min’s husband and Huang Yu.

Both families enjoyed themselves, chatting mostly about how their children had started families and how they themselves had aged in the blink of an eye.

They did not discuss the education or careers of Huang Yu and Lü Min’s husband, comparing who was more outstanding, which left Peng Min somewhat frustrated.

But then she reflected, and realized no one would discuss such things in front of the parties involved.

The meal lasted a long time but eventually came to an end.

Over tea afterward, they chatted leisurely about Lü Min’s wedding plans, whether help was needed, and so on.

Around eight in the evening, Peng Min’s aunt’s family finally left.

“By the way, Xiaomin, besides these things you bought, I heard from Yuying that neither of you brought any luggage back. Are you not planning to stay here?” Peng Hua asked Peng Min after his sister’s family had left.

“Yes, Huang Yu starts work officially tomorrow. We have to hurry back to KM City today,” Peng Min replied.

“Rarely coming home, and you’re leaving so soon? Can’t you stay a few more days?” her mother, Zhao Qianqian, asked with a reluctant expression. It was unusual for her daughter to return but leave without spending even a day.

“Children have grown up. Work is the most important thing for them now,” Peng Hua said beside her.

“Don’t worry, Mom, KM City isn’t far. Huang Yu and I will come back often to see you all,” Peng Min smiled.

“Yes, Uncle and Aunt, once we settle in KM City, you can come visit me anytime,” Huang Yu chimed in.

Around nine o’clock at night, Peng Min’s parents and Peng Yuying watched her get into the car, offering many parting words mostly about being careful on the road.

After seeing Huang Yu drive away, they turned toward the elevator.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Peng Min looked through the rearview mirror at her parents fading from view, still gazing in her direction.

Only then did she realize her parents had truly grown old, and she had truly grown up.

This time home, she had expected her parents to discipline or lecture her as before, but none of that happened.

This meant her parents had accepted that their child had grown up, had her own life and world, and that they could no longer control her.

“If you’re reluctant, you don’t have to come back to KM City with me today. Stay a few days at home, I’ll buy a place there and come get you,” Huang Yu said, noticing the faint sadness on Peng Min’s face and sensing her reluctance to leave home.

After all, he was staying in a hotel in KM City for now.

“No, it’s just a momentary sadness. Besides, I’d miss you more if I stayed,” Peng Min replied with a smile.

Unspoken in her heart was her unease about leaving him alone.

Peng Min knew well that a man needed to be watched closely, especially someone as desirable as Huang Yu—one careless moment, and another woman might slip in.

Most importantly, if she stayed home too long, her drug addiction might be exposed, something she absolutely did not want her parents to discover.

Moreover, her original reason for escaping the nightclub was simply to see her family again, and Huang Yu had more than fulfilled that wish.