36: She always thought he would steadily hold her back, no matter how much she acted foolishly, how much she acted willfully, or how much she would make him angry.
A muffled clap of thunder boomed outside the window, startling Shang Zhi so much that she shrank back and instinctively moved closer to him.
"Did you take some gunpowder today?" His deep voice was tinged with weariness. Shang Zhi didn't answer. Her nose tingled with a bit of grievance. She silently composed herself, turned around, and was stopped by his arm.
He was like an impenetrable wall, his slender fingers stopping just beside her, trapping her perfectly.
"Why are you avoiding me?"
"A good dog doesn't block the way, move aside."
But after walking only a few steps, her lips turned pale. Her stomach ached, and she felt nauseous. She had wanted to go to the company to avoid him, but she had no strength at the moment and could only go back and snuggle in the blankets. Pei Yanxiu saw that she was not feeling well, but didn't say anything. He simply instructed the servant to make red date and ginger tea and bring it to her side.
He placed his hand on her lower abdomen, gently circling it. The technique was one he had learned four years ago to help her relieve menstrual pain, and Shang Zhi couldn't help but let out a soft moan. She knew he was truly good to her; whenever she needed it, he would learn to do things for her, like massages, cooking, or laundry. She had never understood why he was so good to her, so willing to take care of her, and so always ready to serve her.
Was it all planned? Was the ultimate goal not her, but Ruikang? If his goal was Ruikang, then it had been like this since four years ago, right?
Tears fell from the corners of his eyes onto his arm.
She suddenly realized that all these years, she had never truly understood her. Perhaps people were right; love really is a false illusion, and she had always been too naive.
Over the years, she had been angry with him and hated him, but she had never doubted him. She always thought that he would steadily hold her back, no matter how she acted foolishly, no matter how willful she was, and no matter how much she would anger him.
"Xixi, are you alright?" Pei Yanxiu stopped moving, looked down at her, and his eyes held a variety of indescribable emotions.
"What happened?"
Shang Zhi shook her head. She didn't know how to talk to him, nor did she know if he was someone she could trust.
She can't afford to gamble.
"It's nothing, just a little tired." She glanced at the rain outside the window; the sea and the city were shrouded in mist, beautiful yet desolate. The dampness seeped through the glass, bringing the scent of the rainy night into the room, making the air heavy.
"Aren't you going to the company today?" She looked at him, clearly indicating she wanted him to leave. Pei Yanxiu was both amused and exasperated. He couldn't understand what he had done to offend her so much today; she didn't even want to see him. For a moment, he felt like the divorce papers were beckoning him.
"Do you really want me to go to the company? You're not feeling well, wouldn't it be better if I kept you company?" he asked tentatively.
"No need, you go about your business. There are servants here, you don't need to worry about me." Shang Zhi turned her head away, refusing to look at him. He was somewhat displeased by her words. Could servants compare to him? How could they possibly take better care of him?
He desperately wanted to turn her head away, press her against the foot of the bed, and kiss her warm lips fiercely until she cried, until she trembled and shuddered.
"Okay, I'll go to the company first, and then I'll come back to keep you company."
"Um."
-
Pei Yanxiu felt extremely uneasy on his way home. Xixi's reaction today was strange, very strange. They had argued and had disagreements before, but this time was different. In the rain and mist, he turned around, deciding not to go to the company, but to find A-Wang and find out what exactly happened last night.
At first, A-Wang refused to tell him, but after being yelled at a few times, he was frightened and told him everything. Pei Yanxiu was also somewhat shocked when he saw the information A-Wang had obtained.
"Brother, you really didn't know about this?"
"I don't know." A sharp pain shot through his chest; he now knew the reason for Xixi's unusual reaction.
She began to doubt him.
"You didn't know? How could you not know? I thought..."
"Brother, what are you going to do now?"
"What can I do? Tiancui is Xixi's life. I have to do my best for her. If there are problems, I'll find a way to solve them."
“If you go against the old man’s wishes like this, he will be unhappy.”
"I don't care whether he's happy or not."
“I mean, Sisi.”
Pei Yanxiu understood Pei Wang's implication, and a chill ran down his spine. Although the old man had retired from the limelight, he had never been a very gentle person. He was always determined to accomplish what he set his mind to, no matter the cost.
"Xixi is his daughter-in-law, he shouldn't..."
“He barely cares about his own son anymore, so why would he care about his daughter-in-law? Anyway, you'd better watch out.”
When Pei Yanxiu arrived home, the room was empty. His heart tightened, and he braved the rain to go downstairs to look for her. Fortunately, she hadn't gone far. Not far downstairs, he saw the figure of her staring blankly into the distance by the lake.
"Tomorrow I'll have Mingyu and the others come and pack our things. We'll move to the house halfway up the mountain." When he took her hand, she was stunned; her fingers were icy cold.
"Why?" She seemed to only come to her senses when she heard this.
"Why are we moving?" she asked again, sounding a little anxious.
“The houses over there are bigger and quieter; I think we should move to a different environment.”
Shang Zhi had a bad feeling. He brought her there to better control himself. The houses halfway up the mountain had a high level of security; if you wanted to keep people out, you couldn't get in or out.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"I'm not going."
"I'm not discussing this with you. You only need to bring what you absolutely must bring. It doesn't matter if you don't bring anything. You can prepare whatever you need once you get there."
His voice was icy in the darkness.
"Pei Yanxiu, what do you take me for! Do you think you can do whatever you want with me?" Shang Zhi raised her hand and slapped him across the face.
What exactly do you want?
She looked at him with suspicion, and that gaze pierced his heart. But he couldn't tell her; he wasn't sure about the situation either, and telling her would only make her panic and frighten her. The house halfway up the mountain was very safe; even Pei Qing'an couldn't get in without his permission. He was at ease knowing she was there.
I'll think about how to tell her these things when I find the right time.
"Xixi, be good."
"You're dreaming! I'm not leaving, I said I'm not leaving, and that means I'm not leaving!" She raised her hand and slapped him again, the handprint on his face clearly visible. She gasped for breath and took a step towards the door, but he grabbed her back and pushed her down onto the sofa.
"This is not up to you." His eyes were frighteningly dark, and he suddenly gripped her wrist. This time, Pei Yanxiu didn't try to discuss it with her. Instead, he tore off his tie and bound her hands and her struggles together in the night.
"Pei Yanxiu, are you crazy?" Shang Zhi didn't react for a moment, her eyes wide with surprise, and she scratched marks on his arm with her fingernails.
At this moment, she felt like a drifting leaf in the rainy night, as if he were taking her to an unknown prison.
"Save your energy, baby. You were the one who disobeyed first, so there's nothing I can do." Pei Yanxiu raised his hand and gave her a light slap on the bottom.
"Be good, don't make me go get the ruler."
"Uncle Pei, please let me go, please, I'll be good, I'll do whatever you say."
"Really good?"
"Really, I promise!"
"Then don't move, just stay here. I'll untie you when we get halfway up the mountain."
"You old bastard! Control freak! You're insane! I want a divorce! I'm going to use your money to find my new husband and get revenge on you!"
"Xixi, you're not being good at all." Before she could finish speaking, he suddenly pushed her down onto his lap. Shang Zhi knew exactly what he was going to do and started to writhe wildly.
But it was to no avail.
"Uncle Pei, I was wrong, I was really wrong."
"If you're wrong, just accept it." His large, bony hand landed on her buttocks, and the pain instantly spread through her back. The thin fabric covering her body was no match for the heat of his palm.
He made a show of force, but didn't hit her hard. When he checked afterwards, there was only a faint pink mark on her skin, while she cried as if a human tragedy had just occurred. He scooped her up, carried her to the bed, loosened the tie on her wrist, and gently applied some ointment. She sobbed herself to sleep.
Pei Yanxiu was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door. The maid rushed in to report that there were police officers outside.
Shang Zhi jumped out of bed.
It turned out she had been awake for a while.
"Officer, it was him, he's the one who abused me!" she cried, pointing at him.
"Officer! I need to request habeas corpus!"
"Excuse me, officer, this is my wife. We had a little disagreement last night, and I'm sorry to have troubled you." He spoke languidly, putting his arm around her shoulder and glancing at her sideways.
"A minor unpleasantness? Officer, he abused me!"
"Xixi, stop it. There's not a single sign of abuse on your body, from head to toe."
"You said you were abused, then, where?"
Shang Zhi blushed and paused. She couldn't very well tell the police officer that she had been spanked. If the media found out, they would probably write about it extensively and put it on the front page.
"Excuse me, officer."
Pei Yanxiu lived in a place where top-tier bigwigs gathered, and since family matters were inherently complicated, he made a few notes and left.
The moment the door closed, Shang Zhi felt like crying again.
Why is this woman so stupid? It's giving me a headache just looking at her!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
