Prove your innocence

cousin?

Before she could react, Pei Songsheng lowered his head and laughed at himself, "I knew it. How could my sister-in-law stay here just for me? She even lied to me about an affair. It's obvious that she didn't want to leave just because of him."

He looked as if Cheng Yayin had done something very wrong to him, and Cheng Yayin suddenly felt overwhelmed.

She remembered that she had indeed written about the character of her cousin in "The Locking Hairpin and Ring". This person grew up with Yao Wanniang and they had a deep relationship. Before Yao Wanniang got married, the two families had discussed and made a marriage contract. However, later something happened to the Yao family, and she was married into the Yang family.

As with all storybooks, this character naturally wouldn't have any real emotional entanglement with the heroine; his existence was simply to further the development of the hero and heroine's relationship. But Cheng Yayin hadn't expected that such a minor character, who only briefly appeared in the original book, would now jump out and cause trouble for her.

Cheng Yayin recalled what she had just said to Xue Zhi, "No matter where I am, I will always be thinking of you in my heart," and "Only when you are doing well can I feel at ease." Suddenly, her eyes darkened and she felt even more confused.

But looking at Pei Songsheng's expression, it seemed that if she didn't explain, he would commit suicide.

Cheng Yayin exhaled deeply, walked over to him and said gently: "You misunderstood, he is not my cousin, but a friend who came to see me for something."

Pei Songsheng raised his head, his deep eyes filled with pain, his eye sockets reddened. "Sister-in-law, why do you have to lie to me? You don't have any friends here, only a cousin who came all the way here just for you."

"No, there's really nothing going on between him and me..." Cheng Yayin didn't know how to explain. She wanted to laugh as she said these words. Isn't he just like a ungrateful man who was caught cheating by his wife but still tried to deny it?

She did what every unlucky man would do—she pointed to the heavens and swore, "I swear, he's really just my friend, and he didn't come to see me today. I was just meeting him on his behalf. I stayed at the Yang family just for you. In my eyes and heart, you're the only one."

Cheng Yayin thought her words were sincere, but Pei Songsheng was not moved at all. Instead, he looked even more miserable. His red eyes stared at her and he said painfully, "Sister-in-law, do you really think I am so stupid that I can't even tell whether you have feelings for me?

"My affection for my sister-in-law is evident to all, so I know that liking someone isn't like this. If you truly like someone, you won't avoid them every day, or just say sweet nothings to get by if you can't avoid them. When you're alone with them, you won't just play chess and talk poetry. If you truly like someone, how can you keep your feelings hidden?

"These days I've figured out that my sister-in-law has no feelings for me at all. The so-called affair is just a delaying tactic to appease me. But I can't bear to expose it. Even if it's just a lie to coax me, I still want my sister-in-law to talk to me a few more times."

Cheng Yayin felt as if she was being criticized to her face, with three words carved on her forehead - unfaithful man.

But she couldn't explain this. She had truly been lying to him. Pei Songsheng's speechless expression only confirmed her guilt of deceiving an innocent boy. He smiled bitterly and said, "Sister-in-law, why do you have to put yourself in such a difficult position? I will fulfill your wish, no matter how difficult it may be. I will immediately go to my parents and ask them to grant you a divorce. From now on, you can be with the one you truly love."

Cheng Yayin was shocked when she heard this and immediately grabbed Pei Songsheng who was about to leave. His force made her stumble and almost fall. Although Pei Songsheng was angry, he subconsciously turned around and supported her.

As he supported her, he touched her arm and felt the outline of the book in her sleeve. He paused, a sharp pain spreading through his heart. He forced himself to speak, "What is this? A love letter? My sister-in-law said that there was nothing between you and that guy. Why don't you let me see how sincere your feelings are with someone else, so that I can give up completely."

Cheng Yayin immediately put her hands behind her back and said in panic, "No."

"Sister-in-law is so protective of that man that she won't even let anyone touch his letters?"

"That's not what I meant." Cheng Yayin was so anxious that she almost jumped up. "Anyway, you really misunderstood. I have no feelings for him, and this is not a love letter. This was originally meant for you, but I can't show it to you now."

"If you want to give it to me, why can't you show it to me now?"

"Don't worry about it. If you can't, you can't."

Pei Songsheng seemed to have lost the strength to even smile bitterly. He staggered and spoke with all his strength: "Sister-in-law is perfunctory to me now. Are you not willing to find a decent excuse?"

"No, I..." Cheng Yayin stamped her foot in anger, "What do you want me to do to make you believe me?"

"It's fake, how can I believe it?"

Pei Songsheng turned and left. Cheng Yayin clenched her fists and looked at his swaying back. Several thoughts were clashing in her mind. Finally, she made up her mind and shouted at him, "Stop right there."

Pei Songsheng paused, but did not turn around.

Cheng Yayin walked over quickly, each step was firm and powerful. When she was behind him, she grabbed his sleeve, forcing him to turn around. At the same time, she stood on tiptoe and raised her lips to him.

As soon as the soft lips touched his cheek, Pei Songsheng's blood, which had frozen due to despair, suddenly began to boil and rushed to his head. However, the tenderness that was separated from him in an instant made his limbs weak, and stars appeared in front of his eyes. He could not even see anything in the world.

When he regained consciousness, the light and shadows in front of him gradually dissipated, and he could see clearly that the woman in front of him looked no better than him. Her jade-like face was covered with red clouds. She had just walked over to kiss him with a heroic attitude, but now she lowered her head and didn't even dare to look at him.

After a long time, Cheng Yayin finally raised her head. Her eyes, watery, perhaps out of shyness or anger, looked at Pei Songsheng and said, "Is this all right?"

The pounding heartbeat still pounded in his ears like a drum. Cheng Yayin's voice reached his ears, but Pei Songsheng couldn't understand what she meant. He asked stiffly, "What?"

"I say, this proves my feelings for you, right?" Seeing Pei Songsheng still didn't react, Cheng Yayin became anxious and took a step forward and said anxiously, "I'm a girl after all, so I'm naturally a little shy. Do you have to let me offer myself to you before you believe my feelings for you?"

"No, no..." Pei Songsheng reacted and apologized incoherently, "How dare I offend my sister-in-law like this? I was wrong. I shouldn't have been suspicious."

The situation was reversed, and Pei Songsheng became the one who apologized nervously, but Cheng Yayin did not feel relieved at all that the crisis was over. She glanced at him and left without looking back. Her steps were very fast, and it was obvious that she was really angry.

Pei Songsheng was a little at a loss and wanted to follow her, but his unreasonable behavior had already annoyed her first, and he was afraid that if he rashly followed her, it would only add fuel to the fire. He didn't know whether to walk or follow, and he turned around in circles several times in a hurry. Finally, he touched the place on his face where she had kissed him and was in a daze for half the afternoon.

Jian Zhu, who was passing by, thought his master's condition had worsened and hurried to find his wife. However, his wife was acting strangely today and had been locking herself in her room. Even Lan Yue and Yi Xing were confused as to what was going on.

That night, Pei Songsheng waited anxiously for the time they'd meet, intending to apologize to Cheng Yayin. But when he reached the courtyard, he saw Lanyue guarding the window. She looked confused and simply followed his instructions, saying, "Madam is feeling unwell tonight and has gone to bed."

Pei Songsheng became even more anxious now, but since Cheng Yayin didn't want to see him, he had no choice but to leave.

Cheng Yayin, who was in the room, heard Lan Yue inform her that Pei Songsheng had returned to his room. She breathed a sigh of relief, wrapped herself in the quilt, and sighed deeply while hugging the quilt.

In fact, she was not very angry, but she was worried that Pei Songsheng would be angry with her after he woke up. After all, she had been disrespectful to him today.

But then she thought, if he hadn't been so unreasonable, she wouldn't have resorted to such a desperate measure. Did he think she was really willing to kiss him? It was hard to say who was taking advantage of whom. If he really blamed her, she would say so.

Besides, it was just a collision between two pieces of flesh. It was no big deal. Pei Songsheng shouldn’t be so petty.

Cheng Yayin comforted herself in this way, but in her heart, she subtly changed from hoping that Pei Songsheng would wake up soon to trying to avoid this outcome.

Unfortunately, the weather was not good. By the time she hoped Pei Songsheng would recover later, the cabin had been repaired.

In the evening, Cheng Yayin was flipping through the letter given by Xue Zhi when Lan Yue came back carrying the wooden house.

The wooden house had been renovated and repainted, and it looked exactly the same as before. Lan Yue asked if she wanted to give it to Pei Songsheng now.

"Not yet." Cheng Yayin looked over and over, her fingers carefully stroking the eaves and columns. "I don't think it looks that much like before. Besides, there used to be a few puppets here, but now they're gone. This wooden house lacks the most crucial charm. It may not still be functional."

"The missing items must still be in the orphanage, but can such a small thing still be found? Miss, do you plan to go there again?" Lan Yue asked.

"I'll make another trip when I have time and send some more things over."

Cheng Yayin asked Lanyue to put the things away while she was thinking about what she would buy next time she went to the orphanage. Suddenly, something seemed to flash through her mind. She was stunned for a moment, then immediately opened the notebook again. After reading it carefully for a while, she stood up and called Lanyue.

"Prepare the car, we are going to the Salesian Home now."