Accidental Mark

Early the next morning, Pei Shaoze woke up and received a system notification.

[Plot task: Take Cheng Xia home for the new year. Yes/No]

He frowned and asked as he got dressed, “What do you mean by letting me take Cheng Xia home for the new year?”

The system explained it. [The system just publishes tasks according to time. Originally, you should’ve marked Cheng Xia in the first step and he would’ve become your lover. At this point in time, you should take him back to see your parents during the new year. Since the novice mission hasn’t been completed, the plot has gone wrong. Since this task isn’t completed, your player points will be deducted again.]

Pei Shaoze asked, “How much is the deduction?”

[This task is 10 points.]

“Oh, then deduct it.”

The system, “……”

The system seemed to have expected the answer. In any case, Pei Shaoze had always ignored the system’s notifications. This was clearly a love script that cultivated feelings after marking the protagonist. Why did it change to an upgrade stream in the entertainment industry?

[This is a friendly reminder. You only have 35 player points left.]

Pei Shaoze wondered indifferently, “The previous plot task required me to see Lin Qianshu. I didn’t go and had 5 points deducted. I saw him last night. Can these points be added back?”

The system worried about it for a moment before whispering, [The task didn’t have a set completion time limit. It can be added back.]

There was a ding in his head and the player points changed back to 40. It was fine as long as the player points weren’t deducted to 0 points. Pei Shaoze continued to ignore the system task and got dressed. Just after washing, he received a call from his mother Lu Manjing. The woman asked softly, “Shaoze, it is the new year soon. I have prepared your favorite dumplings. Will you come back for the New Year’s Eve dinner?”

“Yes, I’m going home now.”

On New Year’s Eve, he should really go back to spend the new year with his family in this world. As for taking Cheng Xia home on such an important day… he had no reason to bring company artists home, not to mention that Cheng Xia had to accompany his parents.

As the system said, the plot had gone completely wrong so just let it continue to go off the rails. He didn’t like being forced to do things. He would personally control the plot of this world.

Pei Shaoze gave the driver a holiday and drove back in person. As he parked his car in the garage, he saw a very cool red sports car parked next to him. He didn’t know who owned it. Pei Shaoze opened the door doubtfully and saw a teenager around 18 years old lying on the sofa and playing games.

The boy’s hair was dyed red and he applied a lot of hairspray. His hair rose almost to the sky. He had a row of diamond earrings in his ears which shone in the light. There was heating at home so he only wore short sleeves and had a huge brand LOGO and a silver skull metal chain was hung around his neck.

Pei Shaoze’s expression sank. This non-mainstream, chunni appearance belonged to the original Pei Shaoze’s younger brother.

The original novel didn’t have a lot of description about his younger brother except that he was studying in a third-rate university and his grades were bad. He ran and played games every day with a group of friends, following the teachings handed down by his older brother. There was such a pair of useless sons, it was no wonder that by the end of the book, Master Pei’s condition deteriorated and he died bitterly.

Pei Shaoze took off his coat and hung it casually at the entrance. He changed into a pair of slippers and walked into the living room. “Pei Shaoyan, how many subjects did you fail in this final exam?”

Pei Shaoyan stared at the TV screen while playing the game and replied, “It is five or six subjects.”

Pei Shaoze walked in front of him, blocking his vision as he coldly said, “If you fail again, you will withdraw from school.”

The blocked Pei Shaoyan rolled his eyes, threw the controller on the sofa, raised his eyebrow and looked disdainful. “Weren’t you the same as me? Back then, you couldn’t even pass three exams and was sent abroad by my father. At least I passed three exams!”

The former Pei Shaoze was indeed unworthy but now he had changed people and wouldn’t allow his brother to continue like this. He grabbed Pei Shaoyan by the collar. “Come with me.”

Pei Shaoyan might also be an alpha but he was only 18 years old after all. His strength wasn’t comparable to his adult brother. He was still bewildered as he was dragged into the bedroom. “What’s wrong with you today?”

Pei Shaoze pressed him down on the bed, folded his arms over his chest and spoke coldly, “Since you don’t like to study, you will definitely be persuaded to withdraw from school. You have failed so many subjects and it is useless to get the graduation diplomas. After the Spring Festival, follow me and become my assistant to learn how to manage the company. I’ll stop your credit cards and pay you every month depending on your performance.”

Pei Shaoyan’s eyes widened. “W-What?!”

“The red sports car in the garage belongs to you? I will confiscate your keys first.” Pei Shaoze picked up the bunch of keys from the desk, took out a few credit cards from his brother’s wallet and stuffed them into his pocket.

Pei Shaoyan saw that he really meant it and jumped up from the bed. “Damn, why are you caring about me? Mom and Dad don’t care about me…”

Pei Shaoze interrupted him sharply. “Why do you think our parents don’t care about you?! It is because they have been completely disappointed in you! Do you think it is something to be proud of that your parents are so cold to you?”

The man’s eyes were as sharp as a sword, almost piercing several holes in his younger brother. Pei Shaoyan was stared at by these cold eyes and a chill went down his spine. His older brother’s question was too sharp. Pei Shaoyan was stunned and didn’t know how to refute it.

Pei Shaoze stared and enunciated every word. “Pei Shaoyan, our father is getting older and his health is becoming worse. Have you ever thought about what would happen if one day the Pei family is no longer as beautiful as before and you don’t have the protection of our father, can you still be so arrogant? You are 18 years old and should be sensible. Come to work after the Spring Festival. It isn’t negotiable.”

He turned to leave with these words, leaving his brother with only a cold back.

Pei Shaoyan, “???”

The younger brother who was scolded for no reason was at a loss.

Pei Shaoze sat in the dining room, poured a glass of water and drank it calmly, suppressing the anger in his heart.

The Pei brothers in the original novel were really worthless. The Pei family finally fell into trouble. The company was seized by Vice President Cui, Pei Shaoze was stabbed to death by Cheng Xia and his younger brother Pei Shaoyan didn’t have a good ending. Five years later, Pei Shaoyan was coaxed by a group of people arranged by Vice President Cui to speculate in stocks and lose his wealth. He was even lured by his group of worthless friends to become addicted to drugs and he died from an overdose!

Right now, his younger brother was stubborn but there was time to teach him. Pei Shaoze didn’t believe that he couldn’t clean up this chunni teenager.

Pei Shaoyan was in a daze in his room and didn’t know what his older brother was thinking. He just thought his older brother was in a bad mood today and was venting toward him. After recovering, Pei Shaoyan immediately came to the dining room, ran to Pei Shaoze and sat down with a flattering smile. “Brother, who has offended you? I’ll ask my friends to beat them up! My cards…”

“I’ll keep them for you.” Pei Shaoze frowned and glanced at his brother’s messy red hair. “After lunch, follow me to the barber shop and dye your ugly hair back. Also, remove all the earrings.”

Pei Shaoyan shouted, “You don’t understand fashion!”

Pei Shaoyan’s voice involuntarily weakened as his brother stared coldly at him. “Let’s discuss things…”

Just then, Lu Manjing came out of the kitchen and saw her two sons talking in the dining room. A gentle smile appeared on her face. “Shaoze, you’re back. Your father is also here. I’ll cook dumplings for you and there will be a big New Year’s Eve dinner tonight. Today I will personally cook for you.”

Pei Shaoyan immediately went to his mother and acted like a baby. He wanted to put pressure on Pei Shaoze through their mother. Pei Shaoze saw through his careful thoughts and turned to welcome his father, whispering, “Dad, I have something I want to talk to you about.”

Pei Sheng was now pleased to see Pei Shaoze. Recently, there had been many rumors that ‘President Pei had become a workaholic.’ He was very pleased as a father that his son was willing to work hard. Therefore, the moment Pei Shaoze said there was something to talk about, Pei Sheng immediately agreed and took his son upstairs.

Pei Shaoze’s words were simple and straightforward. “I want to stop all of Shaoyan’s credit cards. I will pay for his living expenses in the future. You shouldn’t give him pocket money in private. In addition, after the Spring Festival, let him come to the company to work as my assistant. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t go to a third-rate school. In any case, he hasn’t passed a single course since he went to university.”

Pei Sheng was stunned. He hadn’t expected Pei Shaoze to discipline his younger brother. The brothers used to cover each other and often went out to play together. This caused him a headache. Now that his oldest son was better and willing to take charge of his youngest son, Pei Sheng was so happy that he was grinning from ear to ear. “Good, good. This is a good method. Shaoyan, this stinky boy was spoiled by his mother. You should take charge of him!”

At lunch, Pei Shaoze announced his decision.

Pei Shaoyan looked at his mother with a pained look. “Mom, Brother is in a bad mood. Don’t let him take it out on me! How can I not go to school? Is it reasonable to be his assistant?”

Just as Lu Manjing was about to speak, Pei Shaoze stared at her and spoke in a solemn voice, “Mom, do you want Shaoyan to live like this for the rest of his life? He is 18 years old. If you keep spoiling him, you will only harm him! Go to school? Failing five or six courses and fooling around with his friends every day, is this called going to school?”

Lu Manjing frowned in an unsure manner. Then she met Pei Shaoze’s sharp eyes and her heart trembled. She had to whisper, “Shaoyan, your brother’s words are right. Just listen to him.”

“……” Pei Shaoyan’s face looked like he had nothing left to live for.

After lunch, Pei Shaoze took his brother to a nearby barber shop and told the barber, “Dye his hair back to black and fix it.” Then he sat on the sofa next to them and put on an ‘I will watch your haircut’ posture.

Pei Shaoyan was about to cry. The young man saw the barber standing behind him with scissors and closed his eyes like he was dead…

An hour later, Pei Shaoyan’s red hair was dyed black. His hair was trimmed short and his earrings were also removed. The boy in the mirror looked pretty handsome. Pei Shaoze nodded with satisfaction. “Yes, this is what a person looks like.”

Pei Shaoyan was depressed. “Brother, this hairstyle is too rustic. I will be laughed at!”

Pei Shaoze glanced at him. “It’s fine. You’ll never see that group of friends again to laugh at you.”

Pei Shaoyan, “???”

‘No, is even my personal freedom gone?!’

Pei Shaoze took his younger brother home. Once their parents saw their cleaned up youngest son, they thought that Pei Shaoze’s method was effective. Pei Sheng fully supported him and said he wouldn’t give Pei Shaoyan any money in the future. Pei Shaoze acted resolutely and called the bank on the spot to stop all of his youngest brother’s credit cards. His brother stood tearfully behind him.

It was evening when the New Year’s Eve dinner was about to be eaten and his youngest brother still hadn’t recovered. His head was lowered and he had a sullen expression of ‘I don’t want to live anymore.’ Pei Shaoze was in a good mood. He opened his mobile phone and found there were many blessings in WeChat. Almost all the agents and artists of Group C sent messages and his mobile phone was about to be inundated with blessings.

His fingers moved and he slid down for a long time before finding the chat history with Cheng Xia. The conversation box was stopped on the conversation last night about pastries. The strange thing was that Cheng Xia didn’t send any holiday greetings. What was he busy with? Pei Shaoze put Cheng Xia’s chat record on top so that it would be easier to find later.

At 8 o’clock in the evening, a family of four gathered around the table. This New Year’s Eve dinner was fairly warm. The meal prepared by their mother was very rich. After the meal, everyone sat in the living room to watch the Spring Festival Gala.

The original world might be an ABO world but the novel came from life. For example, Valentine’s Day, the Spring Festival and so on. The people in the novel celebrated it the same. However, he wasn’t familiar with the skits and songs of this world’s Spring Festival. The people on the television were the celebrities of this world, including two Tianxuan signed artists under Vice President Cui.

Pei Shaoze found it dull and simply took out his phone to send blessings to Director Liu, Screenwriter Xu and the author Lemongrass. Toward the early hours of the morning, his younger brother ran to the yard to set off fireworks. Pei Shaoze went to the window and looked out.

Once the TV showed the countdown of ‘5, 4, 3, 2, 1’, countless gorgeous fireworks appeared outside the window. Rong City didn’t prohibit fireworks and the vast night sky was instantly occupied with fireworks and it was much livelier than the city in his original world.

Just then, the phone dinged and a small WeChat message popped up. Pei Shaoze picked it up and took a look.

[I wish President Pei and his family a Happy New Year and all the best! Everything will go smoothly in all aspects!] There was also a New Year’s red envelope attached which said ‘good luck.’ After opening it, there was 66.66 yuan. This was really lucky.

A smile flashed in Pei Shaoze’s eyes.

The fireworks outside the window were brilliant. The sound of firecrackers was deafening and the festive atmosphere was very rich. Today, he received many blessings from WeChat but the moment Cheng Xia’s blessing arrived, Pei Shaoze felt that this year was a complete success.

The blessings were sent at midnight. Cheng Xia’s approach to details always warmed Pei Shaoze. He typed and replied, [I wish you and your family a Happy New Year as well and may all your wishes come true.]

Cheng Xia gave him 66.66 yuan and he sent back 88.88 yuan as a courtesy. Cheng Xia received the red envelope and sent a ‘thank you boss’ emoticon. Then he joked. [President Pei, this number is auspicious. Do you mean to wish me a big fortune in the new year?]

[Yes, I wish you success in your career and great wealth.]

Cheng Xia was extremely happy and sent the ‘thank you Boss’ emoticon to President Pei again.

Bells echoed through the city and the new year officially began.

Proofreader: Cat