99: Chapter 99 Is this aunt Song Zhiwei's mother?

Wang Cuihua quickly followed Ruan Shu's lead, striking the pose of an "elder lecturing a junior" toward Song Zhiwei. She deliberately raised her voice so everyone outside the gate could hear: "Zhiwei, stop making a scene! With so many guests here, don't you see how embarrassing this is for Yunxiao? Open the door quickly. Let's go inside to talk; don't let outsiders make a joke of us."

With these words, she deliberately painted Song Zhiwei as an "unruly junior" and portrayed Pei Yunxiao as a "wronged host" in an attempt to confuse the audience.

She emphasized the words "Pei family" heavily, trying to mislead outsiders into believing she was speaking as an "elder," while simultaneously framing Song Zhiwei as "unreasonable and temperamental."

Wang Cuihua's voice still drifted over the stone path of Song Family Manor, but she was already rushing toward the gate in her ill-fitting high heels.

She was certain that even if Song Zhiwei was throwing a tantrum now, she would sooner or later return to revolving around Pei Yunxiao just as before. Right now, the most important thing was to help her son continue playing the part of the "host."

"Zhiwei, don't be willful! With so many guests watching, if you leave Yunxiao in an awkward position, you won't look good either!" She shouted as she ran, fully committing to the act of an "elder advising a junior," even adding a deliberate sense of urgency to her footsteps, as if she were truly worried about the "unreasonable Song Zhiwei."

Song Zhiwei stood where she was, her gaze as cold as ice. Watching Nanny Wang rush toward the gate, she suddenly raised her voice: "Nanny Wang, are you sure you want to open that door? Think it through. Once this door opens, your job at the Song family might be gone."

These words landed like a stone at Wang Cuihua's feet; she stumbled to a halt, nearly tripping on the steps.

As she steadied herself by grabbing the doorframe, she snuck a glance at Song Zhiwei. The young girl stood in the light, her expression calm, but her eyes lacked any of the fawning subservience from the past; instead, they carried an unquestionable sense of oppression.

But then Wang Cuihua thought: No, that's not it. Song Zhiwei just didn't get a good look from Yunxiao, so she's using the job to threaten her! Once Yunxiao coaxes her in a couple of days, she'll have to obediently serve her tea and water again; how would she dare to actually fire her?

"Oh my, we're all family, how can you talk about firing someone?" Wang Cuihua laughed it off, her hand already pressing the unlock button. "Let the guests in first. We can talk things over slowly; don't let outsiders make a joke of the Song family."

With a soft "beep," the gate slowly slid open to both sides. She immediately put on a fawning smile and, bowing, called out toward the outside: "Young Master Pei, please come in! Welcome home, Young Master Pei!"

Watching this scene, Song Zhiwei helplessly turned to look at Zhang Fan beside her, her eyes conveying a look that asked, "Why didn't you stop her?"

Zhang Fan shrugged and leaned close to her ear to whisper: "Miss, this is your family business; it's not appropriate for an outsider like me to intervene! Besides, you should have fired this family of ingrates long ago. Why keep them around to annoy you every day?"

He wasn't wrong. From Zhanghua Mountain Villa until now, the mother and son of the Pei family had never stopped causing trouble. If it weren't for Song Zhiwei wanting to personally expose Pei Yunxiao's fake identity, she should have had Butler Wang kick them out long ago.

Outside the gate, seeing it open, Pei Yunxiao instantly straightened his back, the corner of his mouth curling into a smirk reminiscent of a "crooked-mouth dragon king" from a cheesy short drama.

He deliberately adjusted the collar of his high-end suit and lifted his chin toward Song Zhiwei, his eyes full of smugness: "Song Zhiwei, so what if you deleted my fingerprint? The door still has to open for me, doesn't it?"

After speaking, he turned to wave at the onlookers, his tone filled with a deliberate "magnanimity": "I apologize for the spectacle; it's just a minor hiccup. I usually spoil the servants at home too much, which inevitably leads to her being a bit presumptuous. I'll have a good talk with her later."

"Yes, yes, exactly!" Wang Cuihua immediately stepped forward to chime in, deliberately raising her voice for the crowd: "It's all Zhiwei's fault for being unreasonable and wasting Young Master Pei's and everyone's time. I'll definitely have a good talk with her later!"

With these words, she deliberately blurred the relationship between herself and Song Zhiwei, and called her "Zhiwei" with extra intimacy, as if she were truly Song Zhiwei's elder, and Song Zhiwei was just a junior in need of discipline.

At this, the onlookers were completely confused.

Li Na tugged on Wang Ting's arm and muttered: "Hey, that auntie is Song Zhiwei's mother, right?"

Li Na was the first to lean in toward Wang Ting and Zhao Ya, covering her mouth with her hand. She kept her voice extremely low, yet intentionally loud enough for the students nearby to hear: "My god! So that auntie is Song Zhiwei's mother? Dressed like that, with such heavy makeup... it looks just too... too tacky, doesn't it?"

As she spoke, she deliberately glanced at the ill-fitting cheongsam on Wang Cuihua, her eyes full of disdain.

In her eyes, a real wealthy socialite should be elegant and proper like in the TV dramas; how could she wear something so flashy and bow and scrape before Pei Yunxiao?

Wang Ting quickly agreed, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the cuffs of her dress, her tone carrying a touch of sour superiority: "Exactly! Look at that cheongsam; the fabric looks cheap, and it's all wrinkled. It was probably bought at a street stall. Song Zhiwei usually acts so high and mighty at school; I didn't expect her home life to be like this. No wonder she's always following Young Master Pei; it turns out she's trying to climb the social ladder!"

She had forgotten that she was sponging off Pei Yunxiao's meal at Zhanghua Mountain Villa just a few days ago; at this moment, she only wanted to disparage Song Zhiwei to bring herself closer to "Young Master Pei."

Zhao Ya also leaned in, her eyes wide with gossip: "I knew something was off about Song Zhiwei! Last time at Zhanghua Mountain Villa, she even dared to talk back to Young Master Pei; it turns out it was all an act! Look, even her mother is speaking up for Young Master Pei and saying she needs discipline. Young Master Pei must have given the Song family benefits, which is why Song Zhiwei doesn't dare to truly offend him!"

As she spoke, she snuck a glance at Ruan Shu. Seeing Ruan Shu standing proudly beside Pei Yunxiao, she became even more convinced of the idea that "Song Zhiwei is not as favored as Ruan Shu."

The few students nearby who hadn't said much were also intrigued and leaned in to whisper—

"No wonder Young Master Pei dared to host the banquet here; it turns out Song Zhiwei's mother listens to him!"

"Isn't Song Zhiwei just too pathetic? Even her own mother helps an outsider, and she has to be 'disciplined' by Young Master Pei!"

"I used to think Song Zhiwei really had a temper, but now it looks like she was just putting on a show for us, afraid we'd find out she relies on Young Master Pei for her livelihood!"

Zhao Ya went straight up to Ruan Shu, her tone full of envy: "Shushu, look at how amazing Young Master Pei is; even Song Zhiwei's mother helps him. When you're with Young Master Pei in the future, surely no one will dare to bully you!"

Ruan Shu was overjoyed inside, but she feigned modesty on the surface: "Not at all, it's just that Young Master Pei is a good person, so Auntie Song likes him."

She snuck a glance at Song Zhiwei. Seeing that Song Zhiwei wasn't speaking, she assumed Song Zhiwei had been silenced by her "own mother," which emboldened her further. She stepped forward and said to Song Zhiwei: "Zhiwei, stop making a scene. Young Master Pei isn't holding it against you anymore; hurry up and let everyone in, don't delay the banquet."

Watching this group's "self-directed and self-acted" drama, Song Zhiwei finally couldn't help but laugh—not because she found it funny, but because she found it absurd.