Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Shi Miao, where’s Brother Pei? Is he with you?”

The door was pounded with heavy knocks.

Pei Shaoye was wound extremely tight.

I whispered in his ear, “Scared they’ll catch you here?”

Face flushed, Pei Shaoye shot me a glare.

“What do you think?”

I grabbed a piece of clothing and draped it over Pei Shaoye.

“Where are you going?”

“To open the door.”

“Are you insane?! How could you open the door with me like this?”

“Relax, I’ll hold them off.”

I washed my hands, then opened the door a crack.

“What’s up?”

“We can’t find Brother Pei anywhere, just checking if he’s here with you.”

“Obviously not. As you all well know, Pei Shaoye doesn’t like me.”

Perhaps they hadn’t expected me to be so blunt. They paused, a bit taken aback.

“Then let’s go check elsewhere.”

“Yeah, let’s go. Brother Pei is something else, just vanishing without a word.”

The group shuffled off noisily.

Just as I was about to close the door, a pair of hands stopped me.

I recognized him.

Xu Yuzhou, Pei Shaoye’s close friend, with a pair of cool, deep-set, phoenix-slanted eyes.

“Shi Miao, have you ever thought about living a different life?”

I gave him a questioning look. “Such as?”

“Such as leaving the Pei Family residence, getting away from Pei Shaoye, no longer living under someone else’s roof. Or maybe finding a boyfriend with a decent personality?”

“Someone like you?”

Xu Yuzhou raised an eyebrow slightly. “If you were willing.”

I leaned against the doorframe with my arms crossed. “Young Master Xu is certainly persistent. You were like this three years ago too.”

Xu Yuzhou tilted his head. “Three years ago, I was indeed out of line. But now, I still like you quite a bit.”

A loud clatter came from inside the room.

“What was that sound?”

“Probably a toy going off. I’ll go take the batteries out.”

I moved to close the door. “Oh, right. Isn’t Pei Shaoye like a brother to you?”

Xu Yuzhou smiled coolly. “He doesn’t like you anyway.”

…

Closed the door.

Pei Shaoye was still lying back on the chair.

“Out of line? Three years ago, you were 17. Your first kiss was him?”

Pei Shaoye’s gaze clung to me-direct, sharp, and carrying a hint of aggression.

I leaned down, staring into his eyes.

“What’s it to you? You don’t like me anyway.”

“I…”

Pei Shaoye hesitated.

“Hm?”

He let out a cold scoff. “There’s no way I’d ever get involved with a woman who toyed with me.”

“You’d better mean that.”

I unfastened the handcuffs. “You can go back now.”

“And take this piece of clothing with you. It’s dirty now.”

Pei Shaoye held back his anger.

Given how utterly compromised he was right now, he didn’t lash out.

Neck red with fury, he quietly slipped away, seething.