Chapter 145 if-Pei Line (19): If you dare to touch her, I will kill you.

A burning pain shot through the back of her hand where the cigarette butt had been extinguished. With a sizzling sound, Pei Yanxi glanced down and saw that the burned area was charred black, leaving a sunken, round hole in her fair skin, which looked quite eerie.

The pain restored her usual calm, but beneath that calm lay an even greater madness and obsession.

Pei Yanxi quietly sat back down at her desk, the conversation in her earpiece continuing.

Yun Zhan doesn't not belong to her, but rather he doesn't belong here.

Pei Yanxi already knew about this, but this knowledge did not deter her; instead, it fueled her fighting spirit.

Not part of this area? That's okay.

If she forges the chains strong enough, even gods can be imprisoned among mortals.

Just then, a sudden cell phone ring broke her thoughts.

Pei Yanxi glanced at the caller ID; it was one of her men who had been sent to track Yun Zhan. She wasn't satisfied with just monitoring and listening; she wanted to keep an eye on Yun Zhan at all times.

Pei Yanxi took off her headphones expressionlessly and then answered the phone.

"Miss."

A respectful but restrained voice came from the other end of the phone.

Pei Yanxi didn't speak, but gently rubbed the small, conspicuous wound on the back of her hand with her fingertips, waiting for the other party's report.

The person on the other end of the phone was clearly nervous, carefully choosing his words: "Miss... Miss Yun and Shi Mingyue have been in a private room at the restaurant for a while now. We don't know what they're doing right now... Do you... should I bring them back directly?"

Bring it back?

Pei Yanxi considered this plan.

Yes, bring her back directly, lock her up, so she can't go anywhere, never see Shi Mingyue again, and never say those words to sever ties again...

The thought grew wildly like a vine, almost escaping my lips.

But as she was about to speak, she suddenly remembered that she had recently promised Yun Zhan that she would not interfere with her choices.

If I interfere with her or force her in this way, will she... will she really hate me?

Pei Yanxi clenched her fists. She could tolerate Yun Zhan's indifference, her aloofness... even her not saying she loved her, but she couldn't bear Yun Zhan's disgusted gaze.

This was the only thing I couldn't face; my mad desire was instantly extinguished by fear.

Pei Yanxi gasped for breath, a broken tremor running through her: "No..."

The subordinates on the other end of the phone were stunned.

Pei Yanxi closed her eyes, using all her strength to make her voice sound less humble.

"Don't pressure her..."

Pei Yanxi said softly, trying to convince herself while also giving an order to the person on the other end of the phone: "I...can't bear to."

I couldn't bear to put her in a difficult position.

I can't bear to see her so tired.

I don't want her to hate me because of this.

The pain from those words "we're not together" was still lingering in her bones, yet she had already begun to find excuses for Yun Zhan saying those words, and even started to feel sorry for Yun Zhan... She was truly hopeless.

Pei Yanxi gave a bitter smile. How pathetic she was, and how laughable she was.

The subordinate fell silent on the other end of the phone; he had never heard his young lady speak in such a submissive tone.

Pei Yanxi forcibly suppressed the surging emotions in her heart, and after restoring her usual calmness to her voice, she still couldn't hide her exhaustion: "Continue to follow her, protect her, and don't let anyone hurt her. Tell me as soon as she gets out."

"Yes, Miss."

After hanging up the phone, the office fell silent again.

Pei Yanxi leaned back in her chair, exhausted, and pushed the tablet aside, no longer having the courage to listen to the conversation inside.

She slowly raised her hand and covered her eyes.

In the darkness, a scalding tear finally broke free from all pretense and silently slid down her cold fingers.

Yun Zhan, what do you want me to do?

...

In the private room

Silence spread, each second feeling like a slow, agonizing torture of Shi Mingyue's heart.

Ultimately, she was driven by selfishness and unwilling to let go.

She mustered all her courage and broke the suffocating silence, her voice hesitant and tentative: "This side... is fine too, isn't it?"

Yun Zhan paused slightly in his coffee cup, looked up at her with calm and unwavering eyes, and waited for her to continue.

Shi Mingyue felt a little flustered under her gaze, but she still forced herself to continue, "If you need anything, I can give you anything. Whether it's material things, a house, a car, everything you want... or anything else... I can..."

Her words became somewhat ambiguous, and her awkward expression revealed her desire to persuade Yun Zhan to stay: "...Do you really have to go back?"

Shi Mingyue looked at Yun Zhan with anticipation, hoping to see even the slightest wavering in his eyes.

However, Yun Zhan remained silent.

The silence was short, but it was enough to make Shi Mingyue's heart sink to the bottom.

After a long while, Yun Zhan finally put down his coffee. The ceramic cup made a crisp, light sound as it tapped on the table.

"I will not stay here because of material conditions."

She is talented and capable, and she also has savings in another world. Although she is not extremely wealthy, it is enough for her to live a comfortable life. Who would stay in a strange world because of money?

Shi Mingyue suffocated instantly.

All her bargaining chips... everything she could think of that could be used to keep someone, became cheap and vulnerable in the face of Yun Zhan's words.

Like Pei Yanxi, these are all she can offer right now. Yun Zhan... doesn't love her.

Yun Zhan didn't even give a direct answer to "yes" or "no"; she simply stated a fact.

The subtext of this statement is: if I stay, it's definitely not because of these things; and if I leave, these things are meaningless.

Shi Mingyue opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Her throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, both sour and astringent. Looking at Yun Zhan's calm face, she suddenly realized: everything they had known and experienced before seemed as unreal as a mirage... What separated them might really be an entire world.

Shi Mingyue lowered her head dejectedly, and after a long while, she finally found her voice. When she spoke the first word, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably:

"So...it's impossible to keep him..."

Shi Mingyue covered her face with her hands, her shoulders trembling violently. Suppressed, desperate cries escaped from between her fingers, sounding exceptionally clear in the quiet private room.

Yun Zhan looked at her, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. She felt guilty and apologetic.

Yun Zhan didn't speak, but silently took a few tissues from the tissue box on the table and gently pushed them to Shi Mingyue's side.

This gentle yet distant gesture only made Shi Mingyue cry even harder.

After an unknown amount of time, the crying gradually subsided.

With red and swollen eyes, Shi Mingyue took the tissues and awkwardly wiped away the tears on her face.

She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

When she looked up again, she forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Okay... no matter what, I support whatever you want to do."

Shi Mingyue paused for a moment: "If... you need me... call me."

This was her last act of tenderness. Since she couldn't keep him... she wished him a safe journey.

"Thanks."

Yun Zhan's response brought the conversation to a close.

After Yun Zhan left, Shi Mingyue stood frozen in place, her gaze unconsciously following the slender figure as it passed through the bright hall, pushed open the heavy glass door, and finally disappeared into the twilight at the street corner.

Throughout the entire process, Yun Zhan did not look back even once.

Shi Mingyue sat alone in the private room for a long time. The dishes on the table had long since lost their warmth, just like her heart, which was slowly sinking... As for whether she cried again later, perhaps only the silent neon lights outside the window knew.

Yun Zhan took a taxi back, and Pei Yanxi followed him back after finishing her eavesdropping, but she arrived a little earlier than Yun Zhan.

As the door lock turned and Pei Yanxi stepped into the entryway, she was immediately hit with the nauseating scent of cologne.

Another annoying person has arrived.

She didn't even bother to change her shoes and walked straight into the living room.

Pei Zhen sat on her sofa, wearing a Zhongshan suit, holding a bottle of her newly bought imported red wine.

"Did you do this to Cheng Nanxing?" Pei Zhen asked bluntly, her tone more of an accusation than a question.

"yes."

Pei Yanxi's answer was devoid of warmth, her face showing undisguised disgust.

Pei Zhen's face darkened, and she threw a photo out of her briefcase and onto the coffee table: "You brought a woman with you? And then you told others that this woman is your fiancée? Ha... Do you know how childish you are? When did you get a fiancée? How come I didn't know?"

The photo shows Yun Zhan's profile, taken without his knowledge. He is wearing the same outfit he wore earlier that day, so the photo was obviously taken just now.

The moment Pei Yanxi's gaze fell upon the photo, the air pressure around her suddenly plummeted to freezing point.

She slowly raised her eyes, her gaze filled with undisguised murderous intent, and asked, word by word.

"You... touched... her?"

"A nobody of dubious origin, good for playing around, but you're the legitimate daughter of the Pei family... an arranged marriage is inevitable..."

Pei Zhen scoffed at her murderous intent, leaning back on the sofa and warning in a condescending tone, "If you dare take this seriously, I have a thousand ways to make her disappear from this world without a trace..."

He hadn't finished his threatening words.

"Click".

A crisp metallic clang.

Pei Yanxi had already pulled a gun out of her bag, and the dark muzzle was firmly pressed against Pei Zhen's forehead.

Her voice was colder than a gun barrel:

"Try saying it again?"

The cold muzzle of the gun pressed directly against Pei Zhen's forehead, the metallic chill spreading throughout her body.

All of Pei Zhen's arrogance and warnings were frozen in her throat at this moment.

Pei Yanxi stared at her expressionlessly, her eyes filled with a deathly coldness, as if she were looking at a dead person with no connection to her, rather than her father.

Every word she uttered was filled with absolute madness: "If you dare to touch a single hair on Yun Zhan's head, I will kill you."

She paused for a moment, then added the second half of the sentence in a calm, factual tone:

"I mean what I say."

“Miss, don’t be impulsive! I took this photo; the gentleman was just looking out for you…”

"Oh? It's you."

Pei Yanxi flicked her wrist, and the gun barrel instantly moved down, aiming at the man's right hand.

"Bang!"

A muffled gunshot rang out, sounding unusually suppressed from the silenced muzzle, yet it clearly shattered the deathly silence in the apartment.

"Aaaaaah!"

A piercing scream tore through the air.

The man's right hand was pierced by a bullet, and blood gushed out instantly.

He collapsed to his knees in agony, clutching his crippled hand tightly, his body convulsing violently from the intense pain.

The hand that secretly took the picture of Yun Zhan is now a bloody mess.

The stench of blood instantly filled the air.

"If you film again, I'll have someone kill you." Pei Yanxi looked away.

Without even blinking, she raised the gun again... and once more, pressed it firmly against Pei Zhen's sweat-covered forehead.

The gun barrel still carried the residual heat of gunpowder, causing a stinging sensation on Pei Zhen's skin.

"Now."

Pei Yanxi's voice was even colder than before, devoid of any human emotion: "Did you understand what I said?"

If you don't understand, then go die.

Anyway, she'll inherit the family fortune if she dies, so she'll just marry Yun Zhan right away.