Chapter 73 [VIP]

“My brother…he…” Pei Xingzhi’s lips trembled. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t utter a single word.

What could he possibly say?

He has already left that home and chosen never to go back. What can he do even if he knows this? It will only add to his useless worries.

Chu Ling was right to choose not to tell him.

Just as Pei Yuan could not control his thoughts and decisions, he could not control Pei Yuan's choices.

"Which faction does he belong to?" He, too, couldn't remain completely indifferent.

"I don't know," Chu Ling answered truthfully. "I'm not as resourceful as you think. I don't know much more than you do. I'm not very familiar with your brother or his faction. At most, I've heard some rumors, and that's all I know."

“Oh, I see…” Pei Xingzhi murmured, taking a half-step back absentmindedly. His hands, which he raised subconsciously, reached for his waist but found nothing. He looked down and then remembered that he had already given his coat to Chu Ling when he came in.

"What are you planning to do now?" Seeing that Pei Xingzhi seemed distracted, Chu Ling cut to the chase. Chu Ling was terrible at reading the room; he didn't know what Pei Xingzhi was planning, so he had to ask directly. "Are you going back? I can help you. But there's not much I can do to help you."

Chu Ling's words made Pei Xingzhi's thoughts flash through his mind, but his rationality immediately made him reject the idea.

“No…I don’t want to go back.” Pei Xingzhi shook his head, then looked up at Chu Ling and smiled. “I don’t want to go back right now.”

As Pei Xingzhi spoke, he turned his head and glanced outside through the glass window. The snow in Ningbei always came in a fierce manner. When Pei Xingzhi arrived, there was only a thin layer of snow outside, but now the snow on the road outside was already up to his calves.

Such weather is rare in the capital; even when it snows, the temperature isn't cold enough to keep people indoors. Spring has already arrived where Pei Xingzhi works, but Ningbei is perpetually gripped by howling winds.

"But I might have to stay here tonight."

Morning comes early in Ningbei. Pei Xingzhi felt like he had only been in bed for a short while when it was already dawn outside. The heavy snow last night had made the roads difficult to navigate, and since his department hadn't had much work lately, he wasn't in a hurry to go back. So he simply took a few days off and stayed with Chu Ling.

The two brothers hadn't reached a conclusion about what happened last night, and this morning they were still discussing the same topic. The already somewhat chaotic scene was further complicated by Pei Xingzhi's interference, making breakfast at the Chu Ling family's table quite lively this morning.

"I want to go to the capital!" Huo Miao said.

"No," Chu Ling refused.

“I’m going to the capital too,” Pei Xingzhi said.

"No..." Chu Ling's denial was only halfway through when he belatedly realized that the person who had just said that wasn't Huo Miao, but Pei Xingzhi. He glanced at him with a hint of confusion, then ignored his words and looked up to lecture Huo Miao.

"I made myself very clear yesterday. There's no rush for you two to meet. You can always meet again another time." Chu Ling's refusal was still quite obvious. He couldn't possibly let Huo Miao, an Omega, take such a risk.

"Why do you always restrict my freedom? I didn't ask you to take me! Xingzhi-ge can take me too!" Huo Miao didn't ignore Pei Xingzhi's words. He grabbed Pei Xingzhi's arm like a lifeline and pleaded with him. "Xingzhi-ge, you can take me, right!"

"Huh? Did I say that?" Chu Ling's gaze swept over, and Pei Xingzhi pulled his arm away from Huo Miao's hand and began to play dumb. "You must have misheard me. When did I say that?"

"No one has agreed to go with you, so you can't go."

"Brother Xingzhi, you!" Betrayed by her comrade, Huo Miao turned her attention to the "easy-to-bully" Pei Xingzhi. "You just said you could go, aren't you free lately? Will you come with me? For our years of friendship, Peipei~"

Pei Xingzhi: "..."

"Even if you beg Pei Xingzhi, it won't work. I won't let you go."

"What I'm asking for is none of your business!"

Seeing that the brothers' fight was about to break out again, Pei Xingzhi, who no longer wanted to be the target of the attack, quickly took advantage of the fact that the two brothers were focused on fighting and had no time to pay attention to him, and secretly slipped upstairs.

Although the world had quieted down, Pei Xingzhi still felt a little uneasy.

He cut off all contact with everyone in that family, including Pei Yuan. Before leaving, Pei Yuan told him that since he had decided to leave, he should completely disappear from their lives and never go back. But now, only two years later, he was finding it hard to control his emotions.

He's clearly not suited to doing things impulsively.

Pei Xingzhi wiped his face and opened a game to try and distract himself.

Although he hates to admit it, being at a pumpkin party does make him feel relaxed.

Pei Xingzhi logged on, but it was too early; most of his friends list was offline.

With no one to chat with, Pei Xingzhi stared at the screen, a sudden, indescribable sense of loss washing over him.

He closed his eyes to stop the tears that were about to well up in his eyes, and for the first time felt a little lost about everything he was going through.

Did he really get what he wanted?

He didn't know.

Didi

The screen flickered twice, and Pei Xingzhi looked up to see a cute little sprite flapping its wings and slowly flying to his side.

【Pumpkin Party】: peipei~ Why are you online so early~ Did you stay up all night~

[Pumpkin Party]: This is not good! I have to give you a stern reprimand!

【peipei】: Shouldn't I be asking you that? Why are you awake so early?

【Pumpkin Party】: Because I haven't gone to sleep yet~ How can I log off when you're still online?

【Pumpkin Party】: As a qualified husband, how can I let my wife stay alone at home!

【peipei】：mental disorder

【peipei】: You're talking nonsense again.

Pei Xingzhi looked at the screen and chuckled a little foolishly.

[peipei]: Um...

【Pumpkin Party】: What?

【peipei】: It's okay.

Pei Xingzhi's finger hovered in mid-air, hesitating to send the few words in the chat box.

Meet the Pumpkin Party...

Let's forget about it.

His current state doesn't seem suitable for him to have any unnecessary contact with others; he's fine as he is now.

【Pumpkin Party】: peipei~ Aren't you really going to the offline event? I heard from Kuro that Black Cat is going, and a lot of other people in the gang are going too. If you go, we can have a team building activity. Are you really not going?

[Pumpkin Party]: Even if you don't want to see them, it would be nice to sneak over and see me.

I miss you.

【peipei】: Not going.

【Pumpkin Party】: Why? I'm very handsome, I won't make you feel ashamed.

【peipei】: It's because I'm too ugly that I'm embarrassed to see people.

【Pumpkin Party】: Even if you're ugly, I won't dislike you, Peipei. Can we meet?

【peipei】: Not going.

【peipei】: I'm logging off now.

Chu Ling and Huo Miao should have finished arguing, and he needed to go downstairs to clean up the mess.

【Pumpkin Party】: Why is it ending so soon? You haven't spent much time with me lately.

【Pumpkin Party】: peipei, I miss you so much.

Pei Xingzhi, I miss you so much.

[Pumpkin Party]: Lately, I've been playing games alone all the time. I wait for you to come online every day, but you never do. I message you, but you always reply very late. Pei, I miss you so much.

【Pumpkin Party】: peipei, don't you care about me at all?

He was the only one left in the dormitory. He couldn't see Pei Xingzhi, nor could he abandon everything to go find him like Pei Xingzhi had. The journey from the capital to Pei Xingzhi took ten hours. Xie Nanyi had been thinking about it for two years, but he hadn't even stepped out of the capital's borders. He couldn't be as carefree as Pei Xingzhi, and he wasn't sure if Pei Xingzhi still wanted to see him.

Will Pei Xingzhi still be willing to meet with me? Will he be angry after he finds out that I was behind the Pumpkin Party? Will he completely hate me?

Xie Nanyi didn't know.

Xie Nanyi was also afraid to find out.

The presence of the mark prevented him from leaving Pei Xingzhi, but Pei Xingzhi did not belong to him, and he had no way to influence Pei Xingzhi's decisions.

He just... just wanted to see Pei Xingzhi one more time.

That's all.

Ningbei is really cold.

Xie Nanyi looked out the window. The temperature difference between indoors and outdoors created a layer of white mist on the window. Xie Nanyi got up, walked to the window, and slowly wrote the character "Pei" on the window.

He didn't have the courage to confront Xie Nanyi directly, so he chose to come to Ningbei first. Chu Ling was here, and Pei Xingzhi would come sooner or later; he could catch a glimpse of him from afar.

but……

Pei Xingzhi also came here.

Xie Nanyi wiped the window clean and stared blankly at the red-haired boy staring at the computer screen in the opposite building.

There was some distance between the two buildings, but fortunately, Xie Nanyi, as a high-quality Alpha, had some physical advantages. Although it was a bit of a struggle, it was enough for him to see Pei Xingzhi's expression at this moment.

He bit his finger, somewhat bewildered by the sudden question from the Pumpkin Party.

Doesn't he care about the pumpkin party?

The answer is, of course, no.

He simply didn't know how to express his feelings, and he hated this kind of problem.

Pei Xingzhi scratched his messy long hair, slammed his hands on the keyboard, and typed out a string of gibberish. After a few seconds, Pei Xingzhi looked up, deleted the text in the chat box, and solemnly gave his reply.

【peipei】: It's not that I don't care about you, I'm just a little afraid to see you...

【peipei】: Sorry, my thoughts are a bit scattered right now. Can we talk about this later...?

After sending the message, Pei Xingzhi logged off without waiting for a reply from Pumpkin Party.

He was afraid of others having too high expectations of him, afraid of letting them down. He was just an ordinary person, unable to consider everything perfectly. He was afraid of connecting with people, afraid of interacting with others. He truly didn't know how to respond to the enthusiasm of the pumpkin party.

He was terrified, so he could only run away.

The two brothers downstairs were quiet. When Pei Xingzhi came downstairs, the two were sitting in two corners. One was typing away furiously, while the other was waving a fork in his hand and venting his anger at the air.

It is clear that Chu Ling has won this battle.

"Are you done arguing?" Pei Xingzhi asked awkwardly.

"Hmph." Huo Miao turned his head away and refused to speak to him. Chu Ling glanced at him and shook his head helplessly.

"Alright, alright." Pei Xingzhi glanced at the two brothers and silently sat down next to Huo Miao.

"Then Huo Miao should stay at my place for a few days, so you two won't argue again if you live together." Pei Xingzhi couldn't persuade anyone, so he simply chose to keep them away from the war. "I'm going back this afternoon. Huo Miao is on vacation these days, and it's not that cold where I am. Stay with me for a few days, and you two can calm down."

Chu Ling had no objection to Pei Xingzhi's suggestion, and Huo Miao reluctantly agreed. The two packed their things quickly and left in the afternoon.

The streets were deserted, empty, and even a little desolate. Pei Xingzhi was actually a little afraid to come to Ningbei. It was alright during the day, but the wind picked up at night, making the windows and doors rattle and bang.

Fortunately, he didn't choose to come here with Chu Ling.

Pei Xingzhi stood at the doorway, hunching his shoulders and breathing on his hands to warm them. Huo Miao came out with a pout and handed him a glove. Pei Xingzhi thanked her, gave a soft snort, turned around, and walked ahead. After a few steps, he turned back and shouted upstairs.

"I'll be back in a few days, don't even think about making me change my mind!"

Pei Xingzhi: "..."

"Alright, my little darling, don't make your brother angry!" Pei Xingzhi hurriedly shoved Huo Miao into the car and turned to see if Chu Ling was peeking. His peripheral vision accidentally swept across the opposite building, and for a moment, he felt as if he had made eye contact with someone. But when he looked again, the opposite building was empty.

"What are you doing? Aren't you leaving yet!" Huo Miao muttered in dissatisfaction when he saw him staring blankly at the sky.

"Huh? Ah! I'm leaving, I'm leaving..." Pei Xingzhi touched his slightly hot neck, thinking that he probably got sick from being cold.

There's only Chu Ling's family living in this area; the building opposite is practically empty, so how could there be anyone there?

"Let's go." Pei Xingzhi sat down, and the driver started the car. The car swayed and bumped along the snowy road and drove away, leaving only two winding curves in its wake.

Silence returned downstairs, and Xie Nanyi peeked out again to look at the empty street.

His mark still aches faintly.

Is Pei Xingzhi thinking about him too?