"But why?" the woman questioned softly.
"What do you mean by that? This is his home too, Mother..." Pei Qinshan reminded her gently.
However, his words irked the woman in front of him. "No! This is not his home," she refused angrily and glared at her son. "Qinshan, this is my home. This is your home. You are the rightful owner of this mansion, not him. This can never be his home. He is just a bastard who was forced into this home by his greedy dying mother."
"I am telling you, Qinshan. You might think of him as your younger brother, but he can never become my son. I will never let him have a single percent of this property or the family business. You are the rightful owner. That's it!"
"Mother!" Pei Qinshan was in complete disbelief.
He stared at the woman in front of him with shock in his eyes. This woman, Ruan Suqing was his mother. She was a strong, stern, and intelligent woman. After his father's death, his mother not only raised him to be a strong man but she also looked after the family business exceptionally well.
Under her care, their family business only continued to grow.
However, every time, when it came to Pei Xingcheng, he would see a different form of his mother. To everyone else, she was a great woman of wisdom, patience, and love but when it came to Pei Xingcheng, he would only see hate and disgust in her eyes.
He took a deep breath and looked at his mother. "Mother, I am telling you this for the last night. Xingcheng wants nothing to do with our family business. He is an actor and he loves his work. He is my brother. All he wants for us, from you especially is acceptance and love."
Ruan Suqing snorted coldly. "Humph! Acceptance and love? Really? What era do you think this is? Even in ancient times, brothers from the same mother used to fight for property, position, and family business much less a bastard who is born from another woman."
"Qinshan, that boy can fool you with his facade but he can't fool me. I am telling if you keep on trusting him like that, keep on pampering him, he will backstab you one day. Then don't come running to me, crying that you lost everything because you trusted someone who wasn't supposed to be trusted."
Listening to his mother's words, Pei Qinshan had enough. He had not taken a good sleep for the past two days, and these words simply added to his frustrations.
"Okay, that's enough, Mother," he stood up from the couch and threw his hands in the air.
"There is no use in telling you or trying to change your mind, Mother. You will continue to hate Xingcheng because of your ridiculous thoughts, but I won't. He is my brother and this relationship is never going to change," he said.
"Qinshan, one day you will regret your decision." Ruan Suqing warned her son.
"We will see, Mother. " Pei Qinshan smiled at her.
"So, what's the deal with him? Why did you lie to him? Why did you stop me from mentioning her?" she asked.
Pei Qinshan sighed at the question. Recalling the doctor's words, he told everything to his mother and warned her to not mention 'her' or even talk about 'infront' of Pei Xingcheng.
Ruan Suqing raised her brows in surprise, after knowing that only a little of what happened in these past three years was supposed to be told to Pei Xingcheng. Moreover, she was shocked to know that someone wanted to kill Pei Xingcheng.
Though she hated that boy, she never thought of killing him.
But, did she want him to die? Oh, definitely yes!
She wanted that boy to be gone for good. In that way, her son would finally be free from the burden of having a so-called younger brother.
Also, who was this person? And, why did he want to kill Pei Xingcheng?
"Mother?"
Suddenly, Pei Qinshan called out to her, interrupting her thoughts. Ruan Suqing raised her eyes and looked up at her son. "What?"
Pei Qinshan took a deep breath, hesitating slightly.
"What is it? I am your mother, Qinshan. You don't hesitate to speak to me," she smiled gently. At this point, the housekeeper had already come back and stood by his earlier position. Noticing him, she waved her hand and motioned him to pour her another cup of tea.
The housekeeper poured tea into the cup and gave it to her.
Ruan Suqing took the cup and sighed. "Qinshan, what do you want to ask me?"
"Mother, are you the one behind these attacks?"
Ruan Suqing's body froze. She looked at her son in disbelief, and complete shock. The smile on her face was long gone and all that remained was hurt. Her heart shattered to see the doubt and suspicion in her son's eyes. She was in complete despair to see that the love Pei Qinshan had for Pei Xingcheng overpowered the love and trust her has in his own mother.
Even Housekeeper Xu was shocked to hear Pei Qinshan's question. How can Elder Young Master ask such a question to his own mother? Though Madam Pei hated Second Young Master, but she would never do anything to harm him.
"Are you doubting me?" she asked, her voice cold and her eyes devoid of any mention.
Seeing that, Pei Qinshan immediately realized his mistake. "Mother, I -"
"No," Ruan Suqing raised her hand, interrupting him. Her voice sounded hurt but her face was expressionless. "Qinshan, I am your mother. Do you think so low of me?"
Pei Qinshan knew he had hurt his mother. He should have known better and thought about these things instead of asking her this question. How could he think that his own mother would try to kill Pei Xingcheng? She was his mother, and she was not evil.
"Mother, I am sorry. I-I... I didn't think it through," he apologized immediately and lowered his head.
Ruan Suqing stared at her son and chuckled bitterly. "When it comes to that boy, you never think straight, Qinshan. How disappointing!"