Top-tier Auntie in the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 111

Song Anan kept waiting expectantly for Pei Kuang and Song Zhenhui to come out from the study.

She hurriedly went up to meet them when they finally emerged, “Brother, you’re finally out!”

What was with that “finally”? She must be very eager and impatient, afraid that he might make things difficult for others?

Song Zhenhui glanced at Song Anan. He was already unhappy that she only seemed to have eyes for that brat Pei Kuang.

Oblivious, Song Anan bubbled excitedly, “Sister-in-law made snacks. They’re so yummy! Do you want to try some?”

Pei Kuang smiled and nodded, “Sure.”

Watching the two beside him, Song Zhenhui let out a cold snort, “Don’t you see your brother standing right here?”

Song Anan was taken aback. “I... I see you.”

Didn’t she call out to him earlier?

Song Zhenhui said, “Then how come you only asked if he wanted snacks? You should’ve asked me too.”

All you care about is offering it to this lousy brat. She’s obviously biased.

Song Anan was confused. “But Brother, you don’t like sweet stuff, right?”

Song Zhenhui replied matter-of-factly, “So just because I don’t like it, you don’t even bother asking me anymore?”

Without waiting for Song Anan’s reply, he turned and headed for the kitchen to look for Zhao Ya.

Song Anan: “???”

She knew he wouldn’t eat it, so why should she ask? Wouldn’t that be deliberately annoying him?

Song Anan scratched her head in bewilderment. Why was Brother acting so strange today?

Seeing the girl still wrapped in confusion, Pei Kuang helplessly shook his head.

She really was a silly girl. She still hadn’t realized her brother was just jealous.

Though one couldn’t blame Song Anan. Who’d have thought her usually stoic brother would actually feel jealous?

Pei Kuang laughed and ruffled her hair affectionately.

Song Anan turned to him and asked, “What is it?”

Pei Kuang looked at her indulgently. “Still going for snacks?”

Song Anan immediately forgot about Song Zhenhui. She nodded eagerly, chatting happily, “Let’s go to the living room. I picked out some really yummy ones for you just now...”

Song Anan had planned to ask Pei Kuang about what happened in the study when they were alone eating snacks in the living room. But before she could bring it up, Song Zhenhui and Zhao Ya came over.

She didn’t get a chance to speak with Pei Kuang privately until the end of the family gathering, when it was almost time to sleep.

Zhao Ya brought Pei Kuang upstairs to the guest bedroom.

“Little Kuang, I just had Aunt Lee tidy up this room yesterday. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Pei Kuang smiled. “Thanks, Auntie.”

Zhao Ya waved it off. “We’re all family. No need to stand on ceremony.”

She then called for Song Anan and Song Zhenhui, who was standing by the door, to leave.

“It’s getting late. Let’s all turn in.” Looking at Pei Kuang, she added, “Rest early, Little Kuang.”

Pei Kuang politely returned, “Good night, Uncle and Auntie.”

Song Zhenhui and Zhao Ya nodded before stepping out.

Before they left, they gestured at Song Anan to follow them.

Song Anan lagged behind the older couple. When she walked past Pei Kuang, she whispered, “Want me to sneak over later?”

Pei Kuang shook his head at her.

One shouldn’t go against the elders’ wishes, especially not openly. That would ruin their good impression.

“No need. We should obey since they made the arrangements. I’ll video call you later,” he said, holding up his phone.

Song Anan murmured in assent and left, though not without looking back repeatedly.

She had so many questions to ask him!

So the moment she returned to her room, she immediately video called Pei Kuang.

Pei Kuang laughed. “That eager already? I thought you’d freshen up first.”

Song Anan was unabashed. “I wanted to see you!”

Pei Kuang’s brows quirked up teasingly. “Weren’t we together all day?”

Song Anan glared at him. “Don’t pretend. You know what I want to ask.”

Pei Kuang chuckled and decided to stop teasing the little girl. “Like your brother said, just some work matters.”

Song Anan scoffed in disbelief. “Liar! You and Brother could never discuss work together.”

One was in business, the other in showbiz. No overlap at all.

Pei Kuang laughed, “Little girl, don’t underestimate others. I make investments too. Why couldn’t we talk business?”

Song Anan paused. He had a point. She only found out he was quite accomplished in investments after spending years abroad. That was how he could support her without acting.

“Really?” She still had some doubts.

“Of course.” Pei Kuang added, “But we also talked about other stuff.”

Song Anan’s eyes lit up. “What else did you talk about?”

Pei Kuang said with a smile, “About us, and our plans going forward. Your brother asked how we’d arrange work and life in the future, given the nature of our jobs.”

Initially confused, Song Anan soon understood the implication. With her erratic shifts and his long filming schedules, their work situations did pose an issue.

But it wasn’t something they had considered before. Things had been fine so far with mutual understanding and compromise, right? No big deal.

“What did you say?” she asked.

Sensing she hadn’t thought too deeply about it, Pei Kuang simply said, “Just like how we’ve been doing it.”

“Why, do you have other ideas?”

Song Anan shook her head. “No, things are good as they are.”

“I think we can work through any problems in the future too.”

Pei Kuang agreed, “I think so too.”

In truth, after he had broached getting married, Song Zhenhui asked how he planned to coordinate after the wedding.

Like Song Anan, Pei Kuang felt they could resolve any issues.

Besides, he had considered many possibilities, likely more than anyone else.

As if recalling something, Pei Kuang suddenly asked, “An An, don’t you think Auntie was extra warm to me today?”

Song Anan was taken aback. “She was? Seemed normal to me.”

Pei Kuang asserted, “She was.”

Having spent so many years in showbiz, he was fairly sensitive to changes in others’ moods and attitudes. He could tell Zhao Ya looked at him differently today.

She seemed to regard him with heartache and compassion.

Song Anan blurted out, “Oh! My sister-in-law is into looks. She probably thinks you’re handsome.”

Pei Kuang had been suspicious, but her reaction basically confirmed it. This wasn’t Zhao Ya’s first time meeting him. Why would she react so differently now unless something happened that he didn’t know about?

Seeing through her, Pei Kuang said with a smile, “An An, have I told you your eyes wander when you’re not telling the truth?”

Song Anan: “!!!”

Really?

She pursed her lips, hesitating before finally coming clean. In fact, she had only found out today herself. Zhao Ya had randomly searched for Pei Kuang online some time ago and learned of his background. That was why she felt sorry for him now.

Of course, she knew a little about it before, but nowhere near as detailed as what she read online. Especially those sensationalized stories by bloggers aiming to jerk tears.

Lying back on the bed with his hands behind his head, Pei Kuang stared blankly at the ceiling as he digested what the girl had shared.

He had never intended to take advantage of his background and family circumstances. Lee Dong also knew this bottom line and would not leverage it for marketing purposes.

But just because they didn’t, it didn’t stop others from doing so. Especially after the Zhang Man incident had torn open a hole, the media came swarming.

As a result, there was now no shortage of online articles about his past. Lee Dong had tried to get people to take down a few before, but new ones would crop up after deletion. Eventually, they just let it be.

Recalling what the girl said earlier, Pei Kuang couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

In the past, Pei Kuang had probably read those sensationalized articles written by marketing accounts. Anyway, they tried to portray things as tragically as possible and make him seem as miserable as could be.

Yet Pei Kuang never felt that his life was tragic. On the contrary, he felt very fortunate.

Although his parents looked down on him when he was little, he had a grandmother who doted on him.

Later, although he was burdened with a huge debt because his grandmother became ill, he was very lucky to have gotten into the entertainment industry relying on his looks, and quickly earned enough to pay off the debt.

After that, although he was exploited and pressured by his management company, he met Song Linchuan again, who lent him money to pay the penalty fee.

All along his journey, he encountered some misfortunes, but each time he was also lucky enough to turn danger into safety.

But to Pei Kuang, the thing he was most grateful for was meeting Song Anan at the most appropriate time and falling in love with her.

By then, he was no longer shackled and had the ability and confidence to make her happy, as well as the courage to love her. This was what made Pei Kuang most gratified.

However, there was one thing that made him feel very guilty - letting the young girl fall for him first.

Letting her persevere alone for so long, whenever he thought of this, Pei Kuang felt extremely distressed.

But fortunately he still had a chance, and they still had the rest of their lives.

On the other side of the Song family villa, Song Zhenhui and Zhao Ya finished washing up and sat on the bed chatting.

Song Zhenhui roughly recounted what had happened, including Pei Kuang's proposal to publicly certify all his assets to Song Anan.

Zhao Ya was surprised and said, "He really said that?"

Song Zhenhui nodded lightly, "Mm, he even brought over documents of all the assets under his name."

Zhao Ya sighed and said, "It looks like this kid Pei Kuang is really sincere."

Song Zhenhui uncharacteristically did not refute her.

To be honest, if it was Song Linchuan who had done this, they probably wouldn't have been too surprised, after all he had never lacked anything materially since he was little.

Pei Kuang was different. He knew what it felt like to have nothing, and had also experienced destitution. Everything he owned now was earned through years of hard work, and was all he had.

Yet he was willing to give his all.

Zhao Ya sighed and said, "He's a good kid, plus Anan likes him, I really have no objections left."

Most importantly, he also loved Song Anan very much.

Although Song Zhenhui didn't say anything, it could be seen that after tonight's conversation, his attitude had softened a lot.

The couple chatted about some other things.

As if recalling something, Zhao Ya suddenly turned to look at Song Zhenhui and said, "That's right, isn't Pei Kuang's gesture today exactly the same as when you came to propose to me when you were young?"

Song Zhenhui was stunned for a moment, it did seem to be the case.

Back then, when he went to the Zhao family to ask for Zhao Ya's hand in marriage, he also said he would give her his house, car, and all the assets under his name.

Zhao Ya clicked her tongue twice and said, "But you didn't have nearly as much money as Pei Kuang back then. Looking at it this way, Pei Kuang is better than you!"

Song Zhenhui said helplessly, "How old was I back then? He's already this old now. When I was his age now, my net worth was not lower than his."

Zhao Ya thought about it and realized he was right. They had gotten married quite early, right after reaching the legal age.

The couple recalled the past, and suddenly it was as if a conversation box had been opened as they started reminiscing about the past. By the time they realized it, an hour had already passed. So the two quickly turned off the lights and went to sleep.

Tomorrow was New Year's Day, and they still had to get up early to give red packets to the kids.

Song Linchuan returned home early on the morning of New Year's Day.

When he arrived at the Song family, Pei Kuang and Song Anan had just returned from their morning walk.

They happened to run into each other at the door.

After chatting briefly, the three of them walked directly into the Song house, ready to pay New Year's respects to Song Zhenhui and Zhao Ya.

As soon as they entered the villa, they saw the couple coming down from the second floor.

"Uncle, Auntie, happy New Year," Song Anan said first.

Song Linchuan followed closely behind, "Dad, Mom, happy New Year."

Pei Kuang also greeted with a smile, "Uncle, Auntie, happy New Year."

Song Zhenhui and Zhao Ya were clearly prepared as well, taking out three red packets and handing them over.

Song Linchuan and Song Anan were used to it and accepted the red packets directly.

When it was Pei Kuang's turn, he hesitated for a moment.

"Take it, it's a New Year's red packet for good fortune," Zhao Ya said with a smile.

Pei Kuang declined no further and smiled as he accepted it, "Thank you Uncle and Auntie."

Just then, Song Zhenhui waved his hand and said to him, "Don't call us Uncle and Auntie anymore, follow Anan's lead."

Both Song Anan and Pei Kuang were stunned.

By having Pei Kuang change how he addressed them, Song Zhenhui was acknowledging his status.

This was more than just recognizing him as Song Anan's boyfriend, it was tacitly approving that the two would get married in the future.

Realizing this point, Song Anan and Pei Kuang were both very happy.

After all, what better New Year's gift could there be than gaining the approval of family on the very first day?

However, compared to the two's joy, Song Linchuan next to them was completely dumbfounded.

What?!

Letting Pei Kuang address them the same way as his little aunt!

Wouldn't that make him have to call them dad and mom...

Song Linchuan's facial expression was quite interesting to behold.

Only at this moment did he deeply realize that this guy had really become his elder!