Meng Ruozhao was already extremely annoyed.
Seeing that Du Feng was about to mention Pei Jiangmu again, she raised her eyebrows and stared into Du Feng's eyes.
"I don't know. After all, my mom passed away early, and my dad is unreliable. No one ever taught me."
Her voice was soft, but it was like a knife tempered with ice, precisely piercing Du Feng's most sensitive pride.
Du Feng's face instantly flushed a deep shade of maroon, and his fingers trembled slightly. It was obvious that he was extremely angry.
"You... you unfilial wretch!"
He pointed at Meng Ruozhao, his lips quivering, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.
Seeing this, Du Xixi quickly stepped forward and looped her arm through Du Feng's, pretending to persuade him.
"Dad, don't be angry. Maybe Ruozhao has just been too wild. She doesn't think before she speaks."
"Don't take it to heart."
Although she was saying kind words, there was a hint of schadenfreude in her eyes. She clearly enjoyed seeing Meng Ruozhao anger Du Feng.
Meng Ruozhao watched coldly as the father - daughter duo performed their act in unison. There was not a single ripple in her heart.
She had long since given up any hope for this father - daughter pair.
Any of their reactions were nothing more than the farce of clowns to her.
"Mr. Du, if there's nothing else, please leave. Don't disturb our meal."
Meng Ruozhao issued the order to leave, her tone cold and emotionless.
Du Feng was completely enraged by her attitude. He pointed at Meng Ruozhao's nose and roared angrily.
"Meng Ruozhao! Don't forget your surname! I'm telling you, as long as I'm still your father, you'll never be able to get rid of the Du family!"
Hearing this, Meng Ruozhao curled her lips into a mocking arc.
"I haven't forgotten. It's you who's forgotten. Do you need me to remind you? My surname is Meng, not Du."
Her words were like a sharp blade, stabbing deeply into Du Feng's heart once again.
If it weren't for the influence of the Meng family back then, how could he have agreed to let his child take his wife's surname?
Wouldn't that have solidified his status as a son - in - law living under his wife's family?
Meng Ruozhao's surname was a lifelong stigma for him.
Now being reminded of it to his face, he was so angry that his whole body trembled. He raised his hand and was about to strike Meng Ruozhao.
Meng Ruozhao's eyes flashed with a cold light. She didn't dodge at all. Instead, she looked directly into his raised hand.
As long as this slap landed, she would openly propose to sever the family ties.
Just then, a hand suddenly reached out and firmly grasped Du Feng's wrist.
Everyone looked over and saw that Pei Jiangmu had stood up at some point.
His face was calm, but there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.
"Mr. Du, let's talk things out. It's not right to resort to violence."
Pei Jiangmu's voice was soft, but it carried an undeniable force.
Du Feng, his wrist grabbed by Pei Jiangmu, couldn't move. He could only stare at Pei Jiangmu, his eyes filled with anger and disdain.
"Who do you think you are? How dare you interfere in my family affairs!"
Pei Jiangmu ignored his outburst and simply said,
"It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that you can't hit anyone here."
After saying that, he exerted a little more force. Du Feng felt a sharp pain in his wrist and couldn't help but cry out in pain.
"Ah! Let go of me!"
Du Feng struggled to break free from Pei Jiangmu's grasp, but he found that Pei Jiangmu's hand was like a pair of iron pincers, immovable.
Yi Mo, Ai Gao, and Xu Lin also quickly stood up and blocked in front of Meng Ruozhao, glaring angrily at Du Feng and Du Xixi.
"You've gone too far! How dare you try to hit someone here?"
Yi Mo said angrily.
The other customers in the restaurant were also attracted by the commotion and cast curious glances over.
"I'm telling you, I know quite a few media friends."
"Do you want to be on the news? I'm sure Ruozhao wouldn't mind the disgrace."
"But Mr. Du, can you afford it? If your private life is exposed, can the stock price of the Du Group withstand it?"
Yi Mo knew exactly how to hit people where it hurt.
Seeing this, Du Feng knew that if he continued to make a scene today, he would only lose all his face.
He glared fiercely at Pei Jiangmu, then glanced at Meng Ruozhao, and gritted his teeth and said,
"Fine! Fine! You just wait for me!"
After saying that, he shook off Pei Jiangmu's hand and was about to leave the restaurant in embarrassment with his family.
Unexpectedly, Du Changlin couldn't bear it anymore. He suddenly reached out and pushed Meng Ruozhao.
"Who gave you the audacity to talk to Dad like that?"
"You're just a stray who's been missing for years. Who knows how you've lived all these years."
"Maybe you were picked up by someone as a wife when you were a kid. You've probably been used up already."
"You've even had a miscarriage. Don't act so high - and - mighty with us!"
Meng Ruozhao's face instantly turned deathly pale.
It wasn't because of fear, but because the filthy words made her blood seem to freeze.
She suddenly looked up at Du Changlin. There was a terrifying chill surging in her cold eyes, as if she wanted to torture him to death.
"What do you mean by that?"
What missing for years?
What being picked up when she was a kid?
Pei Jiangmu's eyes also suddenly darkened, and the air around him seemed to drop to freezing point.
The look in his eyes as he stared at Du Changlin was like looking at a dead man. The invisible pressure made the air around them seem to solidify.
Du Changlin shrank his neck in fear under Pei Jiangmu's gaze, but he still mumbled defiantly,
"It's the truth. Otherwise, how could you, a little girl, come back safely after being missing for so many years?"
"You must have been picked up by someone..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Pei Jiangmu suddenly tightened his hand around his throat.
Pei Jiangmu's fingers pressed slightly harder. Du Changlin's face instantly turned bright red. His hands futilely grabbed at Pei Jiangmu's arm, and his feet left the ground. He could only make choking sounds as he struggled.
The Du family was stunned by this sudden turn of events.
Xia Lian, who had been pretending to be indifferent and watching the show, let out a shrill scream: "What are you doing! Let go of my son!"
Pei Jiangmu didn't even lift his eyelids. He just stared coldly at Du Changlin struggling in his hand, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"Some words are not for you to say."
He increased the pressure on his hand a bit more. Du Changlin's eyes began to roll back. It seemed that he was about to suffocate.
Only then did Du Feng react. He quickly stepped forward and tried to pull Pei Jiangmu away: "Let go quickly! You'll kill him!"
Pei Jiangmu tilted his head and glanced at him. His eyes were so cold that Du Feng's movements immediately froze.
"Didn't you hear what he just said?"
Pei Jiangmu's voice was soft, but it carried a chilling murderous intent.
"He's asking for death."
Du Feng never thought that one day, he would be so scared by the look in a young and unknown man's eyes that his back felt cold.
He watched as his son struggled in pain, his face turning maroon.
"He's just talking nonsense. Let him go quickly!"
The fact that Meng Ruozhao had been lost as a child was supposed to be a secret that Meng Ruozhao should never know.
Du Changlin was such a fool. He never thought before he spoke.
But Pei Jiangmu didn't let go. Instead, he continued to look at Du Feng.
"Really? If it's just nonsense, as his father, shouldn't you teach him a lesson?"
He didn't loosen his grip on his hand, and a powerful aura spread out, forcing Du Feng to lower his head.
Du Feng gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and slapped Du Changlin.
"Tell you not to talk nonsense. Apologize to your sister quickly!"