At lunchtime, once everyone and Xuu Peiyi had placed all the dishes on the table, Old Master Xuu opened a bottle of premium baijiu without hesitation. He glared at Chen Fei and grunted, "You little brat, if you don't have a few drinks with this old man today, that just won't do. Fill it up, fill it up."

Obviously, he was often bored and lonely at home, and opportunities to drink with someone were few and far between. Now that Chen Fei had visited, he naturally wasn't going to miss this chance.

"Honestly, Dad, drinking in the middle of the day?" Xuu Peiyi rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Mr. Chen, here, this is the braised pork with preserved mustard greens I made myself. There's also roast duck from Quanjude, specially delivered. Try it and tell me what you think." She picked up some of her homemade pork and some duck meat with her chopsticks and placed them in Chen Fei's bowl.

"Thank you, Aunt Xuu. This braised pork with preserved mustard greens is delicious, almost as good as my mom's," Chen Fei said with a smile as he ate a piece of the pork.

"Your mom?"

Hearing this, Old Master Xuu paused for a moment before saying thoughtfully, "You little brat, whenever you have time, you should bring your mother to Capital City so we can all have a meal together. The more, the merrier, don't you think?"

"That's true, but... my mom probably wouldn't want to come to Capital City," Chen Fei said, his chopsticks hesitating in mid-air.

"Doesn't want to come to Capital City?"

At Chen Fei's words, Old Master Xuu's chopsticks clattered into his bowl. His aged eyes gazed deeply at Chen Fei as he couldn't help but ask, "You little brat, you know?" With his worldly wisdom and devilish cunning, he had already deduced a great deal from that single sentence. Not wanting to come to Capital City? Why? It had to be because of that incident all those years ago. She and her son had been driven out.

"Old Master, know what? You're speaking so cryptically. How could Mr. Chen possibly understand what you're talking about?" Xuu Peiyi initially thought her father's words were too mysterious for Chen Fei to grasp. But as she spoke, her gaze inadvertently drifted to Chen Fei's darkening expression, and the words died in her throat.

"Yeah, I know. And it seems you've known for a long time, Grandpa Xuu?" Chen Fei shoveled a large mouthful of rice into his mouth without looking up, his voice muffled.

"Uh..."

Now it was Old Master Xuu's turn to look embarrassed. Setting down his bowl and chopsticks, he looked at Chen Fei and said slowly, "This is your family's affair, after all. As an outsider, how could I just speak out of turn?"

"Dad, Mr. Chen, what are you two being so cryptic about? I don't quite understand," Xuu Peiyi couldn't help but ask.

"If you don't understand, then just eat quietly. Stop asking so many questions," the old master immediately scolded her. If this kid really knew, then this matter was a scar on his heart. How could his daughter just ask about it so casually? That was just asking to offend someone.

"It's okay, Grandpa Xuu."

However, Chen Fei just shook his head and managed a faint smile for Xuu Peiyi. "Aunt Xuu, I only found out recently myself. It seems our family... has some connection to the Chen Family."

"The Chen Family? Which Chen Family? It couldn't be..." Xuu Peiyi froze, then gasped sharply, her hand flying to her mouth. The Chen Family? Could it really be the one they all knew in the circles of Forty-Nine City? One of the three great Red Nobility families?!

"I told you to be quiet."

Old Master Xuu shot his daughter a reproachful look before turning back to Chen Fei. "You little brat," he said slowly, "is it really alright to speak of such matters so casually?"

"Don't worry, Grandpa Xuu. It's not that big of a deal when you think about it. Isn't it just that they abandoned my mother and me all those years ago?" Chen Fei said with a laugh, then picked up the liquor cup in front of him and downed it in one go. The burning, stinging alcohol slid down his throat, finally making him feel a little better.

"The Chen Family abandoned you and your mom? Dad, what on earth is going on?" Xuu Peiyi hesitated for a long moment before whispering her question.

She truly hadn't expected to hear such a bombshell dropped in the middle of lunch. The Chen Family?

"What's going on? You know Chen Zhenguo, right? This kid is Chen Zhenguo's son," Old Master Xuu glanced at Chen Fei, who was drinking sullenly, and then pursed his lips helplessly at his second daughter, Xuu Peiyi. He had said he wanted the kid to drink with him today, but who knew it would turn out like this... Honestly...

"Chen Zhenguo!?"

Xuu Peiyi almost cried out. Of course, she knew who Chen Zhenguo was—he was one of the Twin Tigers of Chen Family from her generation! He was now the deputy director of a certain special operations bureau, a post at the vice-ministerial level. And Mr. Chen was his son?

"Grandpa Xuu, you're wrong about that. I have never acknowledged him as my father, and I am not his son," Chen Fei interjected coldly.

"Whether you acknowledge it or not is another matter... Ah, forget it. What do you plan to do now?" Old Master Xuu had started to offer some advice, but seeing the chilling coldness and firm resolve in Chen Fei's eyes, he wisely shook his head and changed the subject.

"What do I plan to do? I don't know yet," Chen Fei replied after a slight pause, the look in his eyes fleeting and uncertain.

But what kind of man was Old Master Xuu Dongtian? His insight was as sharp as ever. Seeing through the kid's disingenuous act, he rolled his eyes and chided with a smile, "Still trying to play mind games with me? Come on, spit it out. Just treat it as idle chatter over dinner. What are you really thinking?"

"Alright."

Chen Fei gave a tight, awkward laugh. "Grandpa Xuu, to tell you the truth, I came to Capital City specifically to find you. Dealing with those two guys was just something I did along the way."

"You came specifically to find me? Wait, you're not thinking of..." Old Master Xuu suddenly froze, a hint of indignation and unease rising within him. Was this little scoundrel trying to drag his old bones into trouble again?

"Heh heh."

Chen Fei chuckled and gave Old Master Xuu a thumbs-up. "Grandpa Xuu is truly a man of great wisdom, sharp as a tack, seeing right through my little schemes."

"Nonsense! Are you trying to pull a fast one on me again?" Old Master Xuu rolled his eyes, his expression turning serious. "Don't tell me you're planning to make a move against the Chen Family? I can understand your sense of grievance and anger, but kid, you need to understand something. They are the descendants of my old comrade-in-arms. If they haven't done anything wrong, who would risk universal condemnation to go after them?"

"Then why did they come to me? They want me to ask you to step in and help the Chen Family get out of its current predicament," Chen Fei said, looking confused. If the family was truly untouchable, why would that bunch of hypocrites come begging him for help?

"They came to you?" Old Master Xuu's eyes flickered in surprise.

"Mhm. Some arrogant fool showed up and started harassing my mom, so I had him locked up in the Flying Leopard Prison to count mosquitoes. Oh, right, the guy is apparently Chen Huaqin's son. He even went to the Celestial Group and tried to pull rank, ordering me to release the guy, but I ignored him," Chen Fei said with a nod.

"Chen Huaqin?" Old Master Xuu murmured the name. It felt vaguely familiar.

"Dad, I think he's from the older generation of the Collateral Branch of the Chen Family. The son of Elder Master Chen's brother," Xuu Peiyi, who had been quiet, suddenly chimed in.

"Oh, so it's him."

At his daughter's words, Old Master Xuu clapped his hand as the memory clicked into place. He turned to Chen Fei with a look of resignation. "You really have some nerve, kid. Ordinary people keep their distance from a family like that, but you? You went and antagonized both father and son at once! Now that Old Man Chen has passed away, their generation probably holds the decision-making power in the Chen Family."

"I had no choice. The guy was so full of himself, acting like I couldn't survive without crawling back to the Chen Family on my knees," Chen Fei said with a dismissive curl of his lip. Even now, he could recall how arrogant and utterly brain-dead that idiot was.

Hearing this, Old Master Xuu's heart skipped a beat, and a bitter smile touched his lips. He shook his head at Chen Fei and said, "Alright, kid, what exactly do you want my help with? But let me be clear, I won't be able to help you if you ask for too much. The Chen Family is a special case, after all."

For Old Master Xuu to speak so candidly showed that he truly considered Chen Fei one of his own—a very close confidant. Given his status as one of the Republic's last three towering figures, his every word and action were scrutinized under a magnifying glass. If these words were to get out, the resulting storm would be immense.

Chen Fei understood this perfectly and said with sincere gratitude, "Grandpa Xuu, thank you."

"What's there to thank me for? If it wasn't for you, this old bag of bones would have gone to meet Marx a long time ago. Besides, what Old Man Chen and the rest of the Chen Family did back then was truly dishonorable," Old Master Xuu said, waving his hand. He wouldn't go to such lengths for a simple "thank you."

"So, tell me. What are you really thinking?" he pressed, his gaze fixed on Chen Fei.

"Alright, then I'll tell you, Grandpa Xuu."

Chen Fei's dark, clear eyes twinkled, and he suddenly smiled. "Originally, I was going to ask you to step in and help my mom and me get a little payback. But I've changed my mind. There's no need to lower myself to the level of those hypocrites. I've decided it's better to just cut ties completely. Living our separate lives without ever crossing paths again... that sounds pretty good, actually."

"In that case..." Old Master Xuu's eyes flickered, and he let out a subtle sigh of relief. He was surprised the kid had this much perspective, which was a good thing.

If Chen Fei had really asked him to make a move against the Chen Family, it would have put him in a very difficult position. After all, he and Old Man Chen had once been good friends.

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