Chapter 46 Terrace Night "I'll start pursuing you again, okay? ...

Chapter 46:

"Lianlian, can you put the knife in your pocket now?"

These words echoed in her ears once again, like a thin and tough silk thread, wrapped around her mouth and nose, getting tighter and tighter, until she suffocated.

Zhui Lian suddenly woke up from her dream and sat up in an uncertain state of mind. Her long chestnut curly hair fell on her shoulders, covering most of her confused face.

She subconsciously touched the pocket of her nightgown, but it was empty, only soft fabric could be felt.

But the touch of the cold metal from that day still weighed heavily on my fingertips, and my memory uncontrollably returned to the ward at dusk that day.

In the setting sun, she was ready to die together with Pei Zhiyu.

If he was really responsible for Qiao Xunli's death, she would use this knife to kill him, and then end her own life, repaying that life in the most tragic way.

This was the only way she could think of to break this deadlock.

But at that time, Pei Zhiyu looked at her intently. He looked at her as if he saw through all her disguises, but he did not question her, nor was he panicked.

He just calmly and cruelly pieced together for her the truth about Qiao Xunli's death.

He told Zhui Lian that he had returned from England three years ago.

That time, he happened to meet Qiao Xunli, who was going to England, at the airport. The other party seemed very worried about her. He grabbed his arm tightly and refused to let him go, insisting that he tell him where she was.

"Of course I won't tell him, so I said—" Pei Zhiyu sighed softly, "Guess?"

Three years ago was an extremely delicate time.

At that point in time, Pei Zhiyu's possessiveness and desire to control her almost reached its peak.

Zhui Lian could almost imagine the scene—Pei Zhiyu casually shook off Qiao Xunli's hand, as if brushing off some dirt, and then revealed a playful smile: "Guess?"

Pinching her fingertips into her palms, Zhui Lian tried to calm herself down and asked, "And then?"

"He asked me fiercely, where did I take you?"

Pei Zhiyu's tone sounded a little tired, but he continued to repeat what he had said back then calmly. "But the next moment, his eyes suddenly turned red again. He told me that if there was any misunderstanding between us, we could talk it out and not embarrass you."

"Then I told him that we were already engaged, and it wasn't his turn to teach me." He paused slightly, as if recalling Qiao Xunli's reaction at the time, "Then I left."

What happened next, as Pei Zhiyu narrated, happened on the second day.

On the second day, Qiao Xunli followed his memory and found the gate of the Pei family. He did not see Pei Zhiyu, but saw Pei Zhiwei who was about to discuss something.

"My sister recognizes him—your... Bai Yueguang." Pei Zhiyu paused delicately. "He told my sister that he needed me for something, but when my sister called him, I was inspecting some of our properties and couldn't get back for a while."

Some of our own industries -

Many scattered clues were pieced together, finally forming a complete picture. Zhui Lian closed his eyes and asked, "Is this the Emerald Island?"

Pei Zhiyu hummed and continued, "Then I told him that if he really had something to ask me, he could come to Emerald Island and find me."

Emerald Island is an extremely unlucky place, and most people are unwilling to come here. But on the second day, when Pei Zhiyu was about to leave the island, he actually saw Qiao Xunli coming by boat.

Through these old narratives, Zhui Lian seemed to be able to see the scene between the sea and the sky back then - the sea breeze was salty, the sky was gray, and on the dock, two men with very different temperaments were confronting each other.

One is elegant and gentle but can hardly hide her anxiety, the other is beautiful and exquisite but full of coldness.

“That’s how we met.”

Pei Zhiyu's words became brief, and his eyes shifted slightly to the window, as if avoiding something. "But I didn't expect that Pei Qianhuang would also come that day."

"Because he actually bought Emerald Island." The atmosphere around him seemed to grow colder at the mention of this name. "I only took over the island a year ago when Pei Qianhuang entered the sanatorium."

Pei Qianhuang saw Qiao Xunli and noticed the not-so-pleasant atmosphere between them.

As someone who had experienced this, Pei Qianhuang understood something almost immediately.

He saw something he hated in Qiao Xunli. The man who took Pei Zhiyu's mother away also looked elegant and gentle.

"People's hatred is sometimes too subtle." Pei Zhiyu smiled bitterly. "I didn't know he had such deep malice towards Qiao Xunli. At first, I thought..."

"He might just want to teach him a lesson." He took a deep breath, "I didn't expect—"

"He simply orchestrated a car accident."

A long breath came out of Pei Zhiyu's mouth.

He finally gave the final answer -

"Just a few days before you returned home, Qiao Xunli died in that accident." He closed his eyes, and it seemed that it was difficult for him to continue. "Pei Qianhuang said that this was a gift from him to me..."

"A gift to eradicate the root of my troubles."

Tinnitus, a very close tinnitus, piercingly and persistently echoed in Zhui Lian's ears, almost drowning out his last words—

"Okay, this is the truth. If you believe me, Lianlian, can you put the knife in your pocket now?"

At that moment, Zhui Lian realized that his hands were shaking.

The metal handle of the knife in his pocket was soaked with sweat.

*

My thoughts were pulled away from the heavy and suffocating memories, but the words "Can you put the knife down?" were still buzzing in my ears.

Zhui Lian took a deep breath and looked at the floor beside the bed.

There was soft bedding there, and Pei Zhiyu was sleeping on it.

He lay on his side, facing her. The moonlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains and fell on his pale face, outlining a quiet outline and his breathing was shallow.

All this made her feel a strong sense of unreality and trance.

It had been less than a week since the life-and-death disaster at the seaside.

It was only a few days since the dusk in the hospital ward when she held a knife, ready to die with him.

And she, inexplicably, moved into Pei Zhiyu's newly bought house in this seaside town, and even acquiesced to his behavior of sleeping on the floor next to her bed every night.

Everything happened on the day Pei Zhiyu was discharged from the hospital.

The man leaned against the hospital bed, his face still pale, but his tone seemed very sensible and considerate: "I'll go back to S City and won't bother you anymore, Lianlian."

But of course it doesn't end that simply.

After saying this, the man began his perfect performance.

He frowned, his hands still covering his stomach. His eyes raised and drifted to Zhui Lian's face, wet and fragile, like a homeless large dog.

After a while, the eyelashes drooped quickly again and he gasped softly.

It hangs down to the position of your stomach.

"It requires extremely careful and long-term care, and one must not be left alone."

——The doctor’s words echoed in Zhui Lian’s mind once again.

The words "You go back" turned around in my throat for a few times, and when they finally came out, they turned into: "You... in this situation, stay for a few more days to recuperate."

This man knew how to take advantage of her soft-heartedness and heavy sense of indebtedness.

As the old saying goes, once there is a chance, there will be a second time. The day after this man was discharged from the hospital, he came and knocked on Zhui Lian's door again.

He lowered his eyebrows and begged her, "Lianlian, could you please take me in for a few days, just a few days, until I feel better..."

"Ah?" Zhui Lian was caught off guard by him. She was stunned and told the truth, "But my house only has one room, there is no room for you."

Unexpectedly, this person came prepared. He immediately smiled and said, "It's okay. You can stay at my house. I have many guest rooms."

Seeing Zhui Lian hesitate, a "hiss" of gasping breath came out of the throat of the man in front of him.

Zhui Lian sighed, and finally nodded and agreed to Pei Zhiyu's request to stay in his guest room temporarily so that she could "take care" of him.

Recalling this, Zhui Lian couldn't help but think of the second night she moved in.

There was a gentle knock on the door. She opened it and saw Pei Zhiyu standing at the door with a pillow and quilt in his arms, looking innocent.

"Lianlian." His voice was a little pitifully hoarse, "I can't sleep alone. I have insomnia."

In high school, when they were both at Xiting High School, this man often came to her room like this.

Zhui Lian was silent for a moment, trying to maintain boundaries: "Pei Zhiyu, we are no longer husband and wife, it is inappropriate for us to sleep together."

He immediately changed his words, his eyebrows curved, "It's okay, I can just sleep on the floor."

After saying that, without waiting for Zhui Lian's response, he squeezed in with the bedding in his arms very skillfully and began to make the bed on the floor beside her bed. His movements were smooth and natural, as if he had practiced them countless times.

Zhui Lian wanted to stop him, but looking at his slightly pale face and thinking of the bullet he blocked for her, she couldn't say the words of refusal.

She was a gentle person to begin with, and now she felt even more helpless. In the end, she could only close her eyes and let him be.

From then on, he "set up camp" in her room and couldn't be driven away no matter what.

*

Zhui Lian was lost in thought when the person lying on the mat moved.

Pei Zhiyu has always been a light sleeper, and he woke up almost the moment she sat up.

His voice, slightly hoarse from just waking up, came from below: "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

Zhui Lian shook her head, her voice a little hoarse: "No, it's okay, you can continue to sleep."

She lay down again and tried to fall asleep again, but her mind was in a mess. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to find a stable position.

Since she couldn't sleep, Pei Zhiyu naturally couldn't sleep either.

He listened to the subtle sound of her turning over, and after a while, he said, "If you can't sleep, don't sleep. Don't force yourself."

In the darkness, his voice was clear.

Zhui Lian sighed and sat up: "Yeah."

"How about sitting on the terrace?" he suggested.

Zhui Lian did not object.

The two walked up to the second-floor terrace one after the other.

This place is close to the sea, and the night breeze brings with it the salty and cold taste of the sea water, which somewhat dispels the dullness in the room.

The moonlight shone down, illuminating the easel and various paints and brushes placed on the terrace, all of which were things that were in keeping with the identity of "Yu Peizhi".

Pei Zhiyu gently pressed Zhui Lian's shoulders and asked her to sit down in front of the easel.

"I remember when we were in high school, you told me that painting could calm your mind."

He smiled, picked up a paintbrush, handed it to Zhui Lian, and said, "If you can't sleep, paint. Anything is fine."

Zhui Lian held the paintbrush that was handed to her and sat in front of the easel. The blank canvas was like an empty snowfield, and she couldn't find a place to paint for a long time.

Too many images flashed through her mind - the water of Qingjiang River, Qiao Xunli's gentle smile, Pei Zhiyu's crazy eyes, the blood splashed on the beach... In the end, her gaze shifted to the man not far away.

The lights were sporadic, and the sea was a dark blue, almost ink-black, blending vaguely with the sky.

The man was sitting lazily on a slightly elevated platform at the edge of the terrace, his figure looking somewhat thin in the night.

That night the wind lifted the fine black hair on his forehead. He sat sideways, one leg casually bent and the other long leg stretched out, overlooking the sleeping seaside town below.

He was completely immersed in this night scene, hazy yet clear.

Unconsciously, I had already written several strokes of the pen.

The vague outline and figure of the man were outlined on the canvas. Zhui Lian came back to his senses, stared at the canvas for a long time, and finally put down his brush.

After a few seconds, she stood up and walked towards Pei Zhiyu.

"Pei Zhiyu." Zhui Lian called his name.

Hearing the sound, he turned around and looked at her.

Those eyebrows and eyes, illuminated by the distant lights, had a strange feeling that blurred the lines of reality and illusion. "Huh? What's wrong?"

Zhui Lian walked over.

He was sitting and she was standing, which gave her a rare angle to look down at him, bringing a strange sense of freshness.

She just stood there, looking down at him for a long moment.

Pei Zhiyu also looked back at her with a smile, his eyes focused, almost pious, tempting people to involuntarily want to get closer and closer.

His eyes moved down to the other person's lips.

She stared at the other person's lips, her mind was in a mess, with all kinds of emotions intertwined and churning.

Fortunately, a strong cool night breeze blew by, which suddenly sobered Zhui Lian's feverish head a little.

She ended up doing nothing.

She just walked over to him silently and sat down next to him.

The two of them sat side by side, looking up at the sparse but bright stars in the night sky, and no one spoke.

Only the night wind passed tirelessly across the terrace, bringing with it the faint sound of distant waves, a vague and eternal sound of waves.

After a moment of silence, Pei Zhiyu suddenly spoke, his voice breaking the silence: "Aren't you curious?"

Zhui Lian looked sideways at him, a little puzzled. "What are you curious about?"

Pei Zhiyu still looked at the night ahead, and said casually: "How could I find you so quickly that day?"

Zhui Lian lowered her eyelashes and said softly, "I'm not too curious. You always have your own way. It's always been like this."

There was almost silence for a moment.

Pei Zhiyu suddenly burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably, as if he couldn't control his laughter.

He turned around suddenly, pinched Zhui Lian's neck with one hand, and with the other hand, so fast that she had no time to react, he deftly reached into the collar of her pajamas -

He hooked the amber pendant made from Qiao Xunli's ashes on his fingertips.

Swaying gently, swaying.

"Because there's a locator inside..." Pei Zhiyu licked his lips and smiled again, "There's a locator inside."

Zhui Lian actually vaguely guessed it.

From how he accurately found her when she started to escape on Emerald Island to how he appeared on the rocky beach this time, she had begun to doubt.

It's just that she doesn't want to think about it too deeply or face it.

At this moment, the truth was revealed so bluntly by him. She was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to respond.

If she didn't have this locator, she might have really died on that remote rocky beach, but its existence also showed that the desire for control in the bones of this person in front of her had never really changed.

He said he would let her go, but it was clear that she had never truly escaped from his grasp.

But it didn’t matter. Zhui Lian didn’t need to react at all. Pei Zhiyu quickly finished the next act by himself.

His deafening laughter died down in an instant, replaced by a look of sincere apology, and his expression changed at an astonishing speed.

"I'm sorry, Lianlian..."

His hand gently moved around the back of her slender neck, and he lowered his voice, "I will never do this again. At that time... I was too worried about you. I was afraid that something would happen to you, and that I wouldn't be able to find you."

This is another set of green tea rhetoric that uses retreat as a means of advance, showing weakness and pretending to be pitiful.

"I thought that telling you proactively..." He sighed, "maybe you will be more able to forgive me."

The hand that was placed on the back of her neck was a little cold, and it caused a shiver as it touched her skin bit by bit.

But the owner of these hands was doing something very appropriate. He was tying the pendant for her again, his movements delicate and gentle.

Zhui Lian's mind was in turmoil. She knew he was acting, but she couldn't say anything more. What could she say? Curse him, or slap him?

No matter what, this locator did save her life.

She could only say "hmm" tiredly, and was about to say that she would go back to sleep, but Pei Zhiyu suddenly grabbed her wrist.

His dark pupils seemed to be filled with fallen stars, and they shone startlingly: "Lianlian, do you want to drink?"

Zhui Lian was horrified and instinctively scolded, "Pei Zhiyu, are you crazy? Your stomach is in such a state and you're still drinking? Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Pei Zhiyu was stunned by her yelling.

But immediately, he gently squeezed her wrist, his tone soothing: "It's not that I want to drink, but I think...Lianlian, you need to drink a little."

Those eyes were filled with tenderness, and at this moment they were looking at her very intently, only at her.

His voice was low and inclusive: "Lianlian needs to drink to relieve her sorrow."

Zhui Lian pursed her lips, unable to refute immediately.

These days, she was indeed troubled by too many complicated emotions.

The truth behind Qiao Xunli's death, Pei Zhiyu's kindness in protecting him with his life, the hatred and entanglement of the past, and the uncertainty about the future...all these emotions were like a tangled mess, blocking her heart and making her breathless.

Perhaps, alcohol can really bring a moment of numbness?

She was inexplicably tempted to say yes.

Seeing that Zhui Lian seemed to be conflicted and silent, Pei Zhiyu raised his hand and very gently brushed away a strand of her hair that was stuck to her cheek by the night wind, causing a slight itch.

"If you find it difficult," he said, his voice almost whispering, "just move back to your own place tomorrow."

Zhui Lian raised her eyes and looked at him in confusion.

In the moonlight, his expression looked serious and not fake.

She didn't understand why he suddenly changed his personality.

Sure enough, the next moment, she heard the next sentence -

A sentence that is almost cautious and tentative:

"Then, I'll start pursuing you again, okay?"

Zhui Lian was completely stunned.

Her mind was so blank that she could only stare at him blankly.

Pei Zhiyu looked at her stunned expression, a barely perceptible smile flashing in his eyes.

He reached out and held her cheeks with both hands, his eyes moist, but the ending of his words rose, with a siren-like allure:

"Chasing Lian, okay?"

The wind blew, and the words came through more clearly.

Zhui Lian was stunned.

She looked at the face in front of her, a face that was so similar to Qiao Xunli's, yet completely different.

The moonlight shone on his face, and the way he looked at her was so gentle, so gentle that it was almost pious, like a believer kneeling to worship his god.

Reject? His pale and weak appearance after blocking the bullet for her was still before her eyes.

Will you agree? The cage-like apartment in England, the confinement of the Pei family's old house, his deception and entanglement with her over the years, all came flooding back like a tide...

My throat seemed to be blocked by something and I couldn't make any sound.

My mind became even more blank, with only those words echoing over and over again: Start over... Start over...

What constitutes "renewal" between them?

But in the end, under Pei Zhiyu's gaze that was so hot that it almost set her on fire, she turned her face away with great difficulty and avoided his gaze.

"...Give me some time." She heard her own voice, as light as a breeze, "Let me think about it."

Time? Of course.

Anyway, one day, one year, a lifetime, or the next life - he would continue to cling to her, and not even death could separate them.

But his Lianlian's confused and struggling look was so adorable that Pei Zhiyu almost laughed out loud.

Lianlian, you know what? When you start thinking about it, you have already made your choice, my bride.

But of course he wouldn't say what was in his mind out loud.

He still smiled so gently, nodded so gently, and answered Zhui Lian so patiently: "Okay, it's okay, you can think about it slowly."

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The author has something to say: [Cracked] For the next book, I will definitely save a lot of manuscripts instead of running around like this every day.