Chapter 51

Song Anan had decided to confess her feelings. But not now, she would wait until after her 18th birthday.

Actually, after realizing her feelings for Pei Kuang, she already had this idea in mind. Maybe it was the influence of the family environment from her two lifetimes, but in Song Anan's mind, liking someone was pure and passionate.

If you like someone, you should let them know. There's nothing to hide.

Her earlier hesitations stemmed mainly from uncertainty about her own feelings. She didn't have experience in this area or anyone to ask.

She was also afraid that acting rashly would complicate their relationship.

Although she would sometimes hear her dorm mates discuss relationship tips, saying that girls can take initiative but shouldn't confess first.

Song Anan thought about it a lot but still didn't really understand. She was the one who developed feelings first, how would the other person know if she didn't say it?

After all, their relationship was different. He had always treated her as a nominal elder, but an actual younger sister.

If this layer of their relationship wasn't clarified, there really would be no chance.

As for why she chose after turning 18, it was because Pei Kuang had said before that underage relationships were illegal!

Although far-fetched, Song Anan didn't want this to become an excuse for him to reject her.

-

After final exams, university students entered winter break. Song Anan returned to City S.

Song Linchuan had been away filming. He rushed back from the crew on New Year's Eve afternoon. Although he had to rush back on New Year's Day, they still got to spend the holiday together as a family.

That night after dinner, the family watched the Spring Festival Gala and stayed up for the new year.

After the clock struck midnight, Song Anan received Pei Kuang's new year blessings.

He had spent the Spring Festival with the crew. Although their crew also had the 30th and 1st off like Song Linchuan's, Pei Kuang chose to stay with the crew.

Song Anan tried inviting him to City S for New Year's, but was declined.

He politely declined, saying he didn't want to impose, but probably felt like an outsider intruding on their family time.

Song Anan didn't insist, afraid to make him uncomfortable.

After winter break, Song Anan returned to school.

She distributed the local specialties she brought back among her dormmates. Then she took out a calendar from her luggage and put it on her desk.

Cheng Ke happened to walk by and couldn't help but say in surprise, "Anan, what's this? 78 days, what kind of countdown is this?"

Song Anan pursed her lips. "Countdown to adulthood."

This was a countdown calendar she had custom made over break.

There were 78 days until her 18th birthday.

And on that day, besides becoming an adult, she had another very important thing to do.

After careful thought, she couldn't really consider this a confession. At most, it was a declaration of her feelings.

After all, didn't confessions expect an immediate response from the other party? But she knew Pei Kuang didn't have feelings for her that way currently.

But that was okay. This was an important first step in changing their relationship, at least in Song Anan's eyes.

As the countdown calendar flipped day by day, Song Anan went through her days harboring this thought.

The first thing she did every morning was flip the calendar excitedly.

She got everyone in the dorm riled up and looking forward to the day's arrival.

Song Anan's birthday was May 20th. But before that, on May 2nd, it was Song Linchuan's birthday.

The uncle and niece had birthdays very close together, and the dates were magically similar. This was something Song Linchuan had always been proud of since childhood.

Look, they really were a close uncle and niece!

That day, Song Linchuan had a small birthday concert organized by his company during the day. This was a must-have yearly event ever since his debut.

Tickets were free. It was sponsored by Song Linchuan as a chance to meet with fans.

Unfortunately, Song Anan was busy with classes that day and didn't make it.

At night, Song Linchuan booked a restaurant private room and only invited Song Anan, Pei Kuang, Jiang Han and a few others to celebrate.

Song Anan was held up by her advisor before coming and arrived close to 8pm. She thought everyone would have arrived already, but didn't see Pei Kuang after entering the room.

Song Linchuan explained, "Pei Kuang just called to say something came up and he can't make it. Told us to start eating first."

Song Anan uttered an "oh", looking unaffected on the surface but very disappointed inside.

The two hadn't seen each other in a long time. Pei Kuang had been away filming for half a year and only returned a couple days ago.

Song Anan tried inviting him to City S for New Year's, but was declined then too.

He politely gave excuses about not wanting to impose, but probably felt like an outsider intruding on their family time.

Song Anan didn't insist, afraid of making him uncomfortable.

After winter break, Song Anan returned to school.

She distributed local specialties she brought back to dormmates. Then she took out a calendar from her luggage and placed it on her desk.

Cheng Ke happened to walk by and remarked in surprise, "Anan, what's this? 78 days, what kind of countdown is that?"

Song Anan pursed her lips, "Countdown to adulthood."

This was a countdown calendar she had custom made over break.

There were 78 days until her 18th birthday.

And on that day, besides becoming an adult, she had another very important thing to do.

After careful thought, she couldn't really consider it a confession. At most, a declaration of her feelings.

After all, didn't confessions expect an immediate response? But she knew Pei Kuang didn't have feelings for her that way currently.

But that was okay. This was an important first step in changing their relationship, in Song Anan's eyes.

As the countdown calendar flipped day by day, Song Anan went through her days harboring this thought.

She excitedly flipped the calendar first thing every morning.

She riled up everyone in the dorm and got them looking forward to the day too.

Song Anan's birthday was May 20th. But before that, on May 2nd, was Song Linchuan's birthday.

The uncle and niece had birthdays very close, with magically matching dates. This was something Song Linchuan had always been proud of.

Look, they really were a close uncle and niece!

That day, Song Linchuan had a small birthday concert organized by his company. This was a yearly event since his debut.

Tickets were free, sponsored by him as a fanmeeting.

Unfortunately, Song Anan was busy with classes and didn't make it.

At night, Song Linchuan booked a restaurant room and only invited Song Anan, Pei Kuang, Jiang Han and a few others to celebrate.

Song Anan was held up by her advisor before coming and arrived close to 8pm.

She thought everyone would have arrived, but didn't see Pei Kuang after entering.

Song Linchuan explained, "Pei Kuang just called to say he can't make it. Told us to start eating first."

Song Anan uttered an "oh", looking unaffected but feeling very disappointed inside.

The two hadn't seen each other in a long time. Pei Kuang had been away filming for half a year and only returned a couple days ago.

But with his relationship with Song Linchuan, something important must have come up for him to cancel last minute.

She wondered if he could still make it and if they'd get to see each other tonight.

However, the Pei Kuang that Song Anan was missing was currently in another restaurant's private room.

There were only two people in this room. Pei Kuang sat casually in his chair, while a middle-aged woman sat across from him.

The woman looked well-maintained and dressed lavishly, but had a hint of sorrow in her brows.

"Go on, what did you want to see me for?" Pei Kuang asked coldly.

Zhang Man's brows furrowed severely, her tone unkind, "What's with this attitude? I'm your mother."

Pei Kuang scoffed, "A bit late to be acting out a deep mother-son relationship, don't you think?"

If he wasn't afraid of disturbing Song Linchuan's birthday, he wouldn't have come at all. But he had no choice, not knowing how she found out about the restaurant Song Linchuan booked.

Zhang Man took a deep breath, truly angered by Pei Kuang's attitude.

Pei Kuang didn't want to see her, and she was no more keen on seeing him either.

"Did you consider what I mentioned last time?" Zhang Man asked. Pei Kuang frowned, racking his brain to remember what she was referring to.

Last time Zhang Man came to see him, she asked him to help Xie Yin. And helping naturally meant fabricating a scandal.

After all, Xie Yin ate this sweet fruit when she first debuted.

Pei Kuang let out a mocking laugh, "To be honest, Xie Yin and I are practically siblings in a way. Having me be in a scandal with her, I'm really curious how the prominent Xie family could accept such a disgrace?"

Zhang Man of course understood the emphasis he deliberately placed on "prominent". The Xie family did have some standing locally in previous years, but had notably declined in recent ones.

To put it this way, the entire Xie family was riddled with holes now, far less well off than Pei Kuang and his celebrity status.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be seeking his help for Xie Yin's matters. If they were really still prominent, they could make her popular by throwing money around.

They also wouldn't be pushing her to find Pei Kuang repeatedly. And these days, Zhang Man's own days in the Xie household weren't easy either.

"Don't give me this rubbish. You must agree to this matter, you owe me this." Zhang Man's expression suddenly twisted malevolently, the image of a lady she usually feigned nowhere to be found.

But Pei Kuang responded as if he'd heard a hilarious joke. "I owe you?"

"That's right!" Zhang Man said resentfully, "If not for you causing your father's death back then, would I have encountered these matters today!"

Faced with Zhang Man's agitation, Pei Kuang remained indifferent. "In that case, you wouldn't have had the chance to marry into a prominent family either. So by this logic, you should be thanking me."

"You, you..."

Zhang Man was so angry she slammed down a set of tableware. But Pei Kuang maintained his breezy attitude.

She calmed down, conceding defeat.

Zhang Man understood too well how cold-blooded and unfeeling Pei Kuang was. These words couldn't hurt him at all. Pushing the matter would only anger herself further.

"Fine, you think you don't owe me anything, is that so," Zhang Man took a deep breath and played her final card, "But you at least owe the Xie family, don't forget it was them who paid for your grandmother's surgery fees back then."

Pei Kuang's eyelids lowered then lifted as he silently assessed Zhang Man. After a long while, he finally responded, "Alright, I'll agree."

When he was 15, his grandmother fell critically ill and needed 200,000 RMB for surgery fees. With nowhere to turn, he begged Zhang Man who didn't have the money either. The Xie family lent the sum in the end.

Later, his grandmother still couldn't be saved. To repay the debt, Pei Kuang signed with his first agency and entered the entertainment industry, using his contract deposit to repay the amount.

But this favor was indeed owed.

Zhang Man nodded. "That's right, it was the Xie family's intention."

Xie Yin had caused a fuss at home and the Xie family was helpless, only able to agree to this scheme for today.

"I remember your grandmother made you promise, on her deathbed, that you would repay the Xie family's kindness, right?" Zhang Man said.

Pei Kuang silently assessed Zhang Man. After a long while, he finally responded, "Fine, I agree."

Zhang Man said he didn't treat her as a mother. When had he ever treated her as his son? If she ever cared about him one bit, she would know idols dating would ruin them.

One wrong move could undo all his years of hard work in the industry.

His promise to his grandmother to repay the Xie family's kindness, only his grandmother and Zhang Man were present at the time. The Xie family had no knowledge of this promise at all.

And Zhang Man also knew what his grandmother meant to him.

"It has to be in this manner?" Pei Kuang asked. "I could help recommend resources for Xie Yin."

Zhang Man was very adamant. "It has to be in this manner."

This was the conclusion the Xie family and Xie Yin's manager came to. A scandal with top star Pei Kuang would generate unmatched hype compared to one or two resources.

And this method saw the fastest results.

Pei Kuang thought for a moment. "Fine. Did you bring people? Where do we need to put on the act? I'll cooperate."

"But I'll say this first, I won't take initiative to acknowledge the relationship."

Zhang Man considered, then said, "Then you need to ensure your team doesn't come out to deny it."

"Three months," Pei Kuang stated.

Zhang Man frowned, "What do you mean?"

Pei Kuang sneered, "Back then, the Xie family borrowed money on the condition to repay within three months. Fairness dictates I won't debunk rumors within those three months."

He added, "After all, I have to make a living. You can't expect to take advantage of me for a lifetime."

Zhang Man didn't immediately agree to this demand. Instead, she made a phone call and agreed after returning.

Pei Kuang slowly put on the coat next to him, "After this incident, whether it's between you and me or the Xie family and me, we're even."

"Best we sever ties completely."

Zhang Man dazedly watched Pei Kuang's departing figure.

She understood clearly that what Pei Kuang said was the truth.

After this incident, neither she nor the Xie family had anything left that could sway him.