"Can I refuse?"
Li Sisi stared at the silent Pei Yanli. Her dark eyes made it impossible for her to see his emotions. She clenched her hands behind her back even tighter.
"Then I'll think about it? I really can't agree to that right now."
Li Sisi was thinking about what Li Nian had taught her, and tried to speak: "Actually, I mistook you for a prostitute that day..." Her voice got smaller and smaller.
Nian Nian's idea was good, but she didn't dare to say it to Pei Yanli! Just saying this made her feel guilty.
Pei Yanli snorted coldly and said carefully, "Okay, I'll give you some time to think about it."
Li Sisi felt greatly relieved when she heard his agreement.
Suddenly, Li Nian's voice came from outside the house: "Brother Pei, you're here!"
"Well, I have to go back to the military camp tomorrow, so I came here today to check your pulse." Pei Yu'an's voice was still as gentle as the spring breeze, floating into the study, inexplicably blowing away some of the quiet atmosphere in the room.
Li Sisi quickly took the opportunity to run out: "Boss, you go back first, I'll go see Nian Nian."
Pei Yu'an heard Li Sisi's voice coming from the study. Does her words imply that she is with her eldest brother at this time?
No wonder I didn’t see my eldest brother and Sisi at the Shen family funeral today.
Pei Yu'an paused for a moment and continued walking towards Li Nian's room.
The door was not closed, and Li Nian took the lead and sat down at the table: "Xiaoying, go make tea for Brother Pei."
"Okay," Xiaoying responded and went to prepare.
Li Nian usually likes to teach Xiaoying some things when she is bored at home, and tea ceremony is one of them.
After Li Sisi entered the house, she pulled a stool and sat aside. She saw from the corner of her eye that Pei Yanli had left the house and she breathed a sigh of relief.
The midday sun cast a bright warm light in from outside, covering the area at the door.
Pei Yu'an reached out to feel Li Nian's pulse. After a moment, he withdrew his hand and said gently, "The pulse is stable. But you are already advanced in pregnancy, so you can't stay at home all the time. You need to move around more to keep healthy."
Li Sisi echoed, "Niannian, did you hear that? You just lack exercise. You just want to lie at home all day. You need to walk around more in the future. If you don't want to go out, just walk around the yard a few more times."
Pei Yu listened quietly to her voice, which was still lively and cheerful as usual, and his originally tense brows softened unconsciously.
Then a sour bitter feeling spread in his heart, so he stood up in embarrassment and said goodbye in a hoarse voice.
Li Nian noticed his strange behavior and hurriedly said, "Sisi, go see Brother Pei off."
"Okay." Li Sisi stood up and followed Pei Yu'an to send him to the gate.
There was no conversation along the way. Li Sisi inexplicably felt that because of her relationship with Pei Yanli, her relationship with Pei Yu'an had become awkward.
Pei Yu'an stopped at the gate and said, "I'm going to the military camp tomorrow." He was clearly determined to ask Sisi how she felt about him, and whether she had been moved by their previous interactions. But the words were swallowed back in his throat.
Now that Sisi and Big Brother have such a relationship, wouldn't it make everyone embarrassed if I continued to say these things?
Li Sisi was stunned for a moment and said, "Then be careful on the road. I wish you all the best in the barracks."
Pei Yuan looked at her bright face and listened to her frank tone. A bitter taste stuck in his chest and was hard to swallow: "You...you are well too."
What was he asking? The scene at the restaurant that day was still vivid in his mind. If it weren't for the depth of his love, how could he have been so overwhelmed? The answer was already obvious.
But the unwillingness in his heart was still like a thorn, firmly and stubbornly stuck there, making him unwilling to give up.
After saying goodbye, Pei Yu'an went home and went straight to find Pei Yanli.
He stared straight at her and asked, "Brother, what started it with you and Sisi?"
"Me and Sisi?" Pei Yanli looked up unexpectedly, not knowing what Yu'an was referring to. Could it be that Sisi had just said something to Yu'an?
Pei Yanli frowned slightly. According to Sisi's current attitude towards him, Sisi herself was not sure about anything, so she should not mention it to Yu'an.
Pei Yuan looked at his eldest brother's hesitation and thought he was still trying to hide it from him, so he said bluntly: "I saw what happened between you and Sisi in the restaurant that day."
Pei Yanli was startled and silent for a moment before speaking coldly, "I love Sisi. I was drunk that day and lost my manners. I will take responsibility for her."
His eyes were filled with subtle complexity as he spoke clearly, "Yuan, I have expressed my feelings to Sisi."
Upon hearing this, Pei Yu'an suddenly realized that he had missed her after all. If he had expressed his feelings to Sisi earlier, would the outcome have been different?
This is good. My elder brother is on duty in the government office, so he is more worthy of being entrusted with life than him, who is in the military camp and whose life and death are uncertain.
————
Warm spring has arrived, but the coldness in the northwest does not seem to have faded much. The refugees who have lost their homes have begun to migrate south.
Some refugees stayed in Dong'an City like a broken jar, unwilling to move even a step.
The arrival of the New Year did not seem to bring new hope to the city. The successive defeats had made the people prepared to lose their homes again.
The Pei family was bustling with activity because the imperial examination was approaching.
In the Pei family's courtyard, the hibiscus tree has sprouted new buds, symbolizing new hope.
Beneath the tree, Aunt Pei's face was not happy at all: "Yanli, just listen to your mother's advice and don't take the exam, okay? Look at you, you'll be 23 after the New Year. If you have the time to take the imperial examination, you might as well get married and have children soon."
She slowly advised, "Although your current position may not be high, it is stable and secure. Many people would beg for it but cannot!"
Li Nian stood beside Aunt Pei and also echoed the advice: "Brother Pei, with your current official position, you can live a stable life in Dong'an City in the future, which is actually quite good."
Recently, the relationship between Brother Pei and Sisi has eased a little, and Sisi is no longer as afraid of him as before.
Brother Pei seemed determined to quit and hadn't contacted Sisi for a long time.
It's good to live like this now.
Now Brother Pei says he wants to go to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination. If Brother Pei really goes to Beijing, then his relationship with Sisi will definitely be severed.
Pei Yanli sighed slightly, looked down at Li Nian, and explained, "You have seen the current situation. We have suffered defeats year after year, and the court has done nothing. The role I can play in my current position is too weak. Therefore, I can only enter the capital through the imperial examination and gain a seat in the court. Only then can I truly contribute to this country."
Thinking of his previous failure, Pei Yanli could not hide his loneliness: "Maybe my ability is shallow, but I will never be willing to give up if I don't try."
Li Nian looked at him in surprise and said quickly, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect that this was the reason you insisted so much."
Pei Yanli heard this and asked casually, "Why? Did you think I was so persistent because I was greedy for fame and fortune?"
Li Nian looked a little embarrassed, feeling quite ashamed. She really thought so.
Pei Yanli chuckled: "You're right to think so. After all, in this world, which man doesn't want to achieve success and fame?"
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