40: She's like a cat that can never learn to behave; she's always thinking about running away, and only remembers him when she's cold or hungry.
When Shang Zhi was awakened by the sunlight in the early morning, she had forgotten how long she had argued with him last night. She only felt a headache. The glaring light shone on her lace nightgown, reflecting a faint color.
"Where's that old man?" Shang Zhi asked the maid who was preparing breakfast for her, her voice filled with resentment.
"You mean the gentleman? He left early this morning."
Shang Zhi pulled her wrist a little while speaking. She looked down and realized that she might have been injured during her struggle with him yesterday.
"I'll go get you some medicine to apply," Aunt Zhao said quickly.
"Qing is really amazing. Should Madam call a doctor to take a look?"
"Never mind, it's okay."
"Aunt Zhao, can you do me a favor?"
"Madam, please speak."
"I want to go out. Give me the keys, and you know where my car keys are, right? Please help me this once and give them to me. I really can't stand him anymore."
"But the master said..."
"Aunt Zhao, please help me! You saw what happened last night. He's sick, he's really seriously ill! I can't stay here any longer. I need to get some fresh air and think of something! If he keeps me locked up here, he'll kill me!"
Shang Zhi gripped Aunt Zhao's arm tightly, trying to gain her sympathy and feigning pitifulness. Aunt Zhao actually believed her. The way the two argued last night really made people think that Pei Yanxiu had done something to her. In addition, he always had a cold face, so the servants were already quite wary of him. Shang Zhi's exaggerated words really matched Pei Yanxiu's usual image.
Very fierce and violent, inhuman and cold-hearted.
"Aunt Zhao, please help me this once, just one day, just one day. I promise I'll be back before he gets home tonight. Please, we're all women. You know how difficult it is for a woman to be wronged at home after marriage, right? I just want to get some fresh air."
Aunt Zhao's heart also wavered. Looking at the young girl in front of her, she felt a sense of understanding as a fellow woman. Aunt Zhao had worked for the Pei family for many years, and the reason she hadn't been home for so long was because she had a good-for-nothing husband who was an alcoholic and abusive, and who never earned a penny. Shang Zhi's pitiful words to her stirred up some unpleasant memories, causing her to sigh repeatedly.
Please.
“The small door on the west side of the villa is a blind spot for the surveillance cameras. Please exit from that side. The car keys are in the cabinet behind the door,” Aunt Zhao took a deep breath, turned to the side, and lowered her voice to Shang Zhi.
"You must be back before your husband gets home! Don't let him find out."
"Don't worry."
Shang Zhi grabbed her keys and drove off during the few minutes the maids were changing shifts. She drove straight to Lu Xingqi, who had always suspected Pei Yanxiu of tampering with her phone. Xingqi said she knew a friend who could help.
"Xixi, where are you?" Pei Yanxiu looked at Shang Zhi's movements on his phone, his eyes clouding over even more. He knew she wouldn't stay home. She felt like a cat that could never learn to behave, always wanting to run away. She would only remember him when she was cold or hungry, and once she was full, she would wag her tail and run off again, without even glancing at him.
I'm at home.
He looked at her reply on his phone and was so angry he laughed. Over the years, her lying skills have become more and more sophisticated; she's not even afraid of hurting herself.
“You seem to really like sweet soup lately, Xingxing.” Lu Xingqi got into Shang Zhi’s car, bringing four or five different kinds of sweet soup.
"It's delicious, you should try it. I don't know what's wrong with me lately, I've been eating so much sweet soup every day." Lu Xingqi smiled sweetly.
"Azhi, what's going on between you and President Pei lately?"
"That old man is always trying to harm me. Xingxing, you seem to have gained a little weight these past few days."
"It's strange, I've had a really good appetite lately, and I can hardly control it myself."
Shang Zhi turned on the music in the car. When they passed a speed bump, the car jolted. Shang Zhi frowned slightly. The car seemed to be slightly different from usual today.
Perhaps she's overthinking it.
But when they got to the downhill slope, Shang Zhi realized something was wrong. There was a problem with the brakes. At first, she thought she hadn't stepped on them properly, so she pressed down hard, but the car still didn't respond. Fear instantly overwhelmed her. She tried her best to control the car, but she still crashed straight into the car in front of her.
The sugar water was spilled everywhere, and Lu Xingqi let out a wail.
Shang Zhi trembled with fear. She looked at Lu Xingqi and saw that there was a lot of blood on her white pants, flowing down the car seat.
"Stars, stars!"
Lu Xingqi fainted. Shang Zhi was so frightened that she ignored her own pain and quickly called for an ambulance.
-
The doctors at the hospital gave the two a full examination. Actually, neither of them was seriously injured, but Lu Xingqi was hit and miscarried.
When Shang Zhi heard the news, her mind went blank, and she was so guilty that she couldn't speak. She went to the ward, took Lu Xingqi's hand, and kept apologizing to her.
Lu Xingqi was pale. When she saw Shang Zhilai, she just smiled, rubbed her head, and told her it was okay. Maybe it was all fate.
"Is this child... Dr. Shi's?" Shang Zhi asked cautiously.
"No, it's Awang's."
“Actually, I hadn’t decided whether to keep her or not. Now, it’s all up to fate. Xixi, don’t blame yourself. I know it’s not your fault. I just heard from the insurance company that someone tampered with the car’s brake pads. They must have completely failed when we were going downhill. The brakes couldn’t stop the car, which is why we lost control.”
"I think what you need to think about now is what exactly happened to the brake pads. Since that person could tamper with your brake pads, they could naturally tamper with other things as well. Xixi, you have to be careful." Lu Xingqi's eyes were full of worry.
"Who else could it be? It must have been that old bastard! He resorted to such despicable tactics to intimidate and threaten me!"
"You mean President Pei? Xixi, don't get excited. I don't think so. Although President Pei sometimes acts a bit too aggressively, I don't think he's the kind of person who would do that. Although he can be a bit controlling at times, he still cares about you."
“Things are different now than before,” Shang Zhi sighed softly.
"In the end, it's all my fault, Xingxing. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been hurt, and you wouldn't be in such a terrible state."
"Who else could it be but that old man? He definitely wants to teach me a lesson through this method, to keep me firmly imprisoned in that villa, to make me obedient to him, to make me afraid to go out, to make me unable to move an inch. To make me afraid to do anything, that's his goal."
"Why don't you have a good talk with him? I think there's some misunderstanding between you and President Pei."
"There was indeed a misunderstanding; the love between us was a misunderstanding."
"Forget it, let's not talk about these unpleasant things anymore, Xingxing. I know that saying sorry won't help, but that's all I can say right now. If you feel unwell during this time, please contact me anytime."
"Um."
Pei Yanxiu came in from outside the door. Lu Xingqi gave Shang Zhi a wink, but Shang Zhi ignored him when she saw him.
"This is a hospital, it's not convenient to talk here. Get in the car with me." He said coldly, and when he saw her standing there, jumping around and gossiping about him from behind, his expression turned even colder.
Shang Zhi didn't want to argue with him here and disturb Xingxing's rest, so she could only follow behind him.
"Tell me, what exactly do you want? Why can't you just listen to me? Why do you always have to go against me? I told you to protect yourself and be careful, why didn't you believe me? Now you're happy! Today is fortunate that there are no serious consequences, and Xingxing's body will recover with some rest. But what if there are serious consequences? Have you thought about that?"
"What are you pretending for? The insurance company said there's something wrong with my brake pads, and you did that, didn't you? To scare me, to keep me by your side, you're resorting to these underhanded tactics now, aren't you!"
"Shang Zhi, do you know what you're saying?" Pei Yanxiu was furious as he watched Shang Zhi yell at him.
She was young and didn't understand things. Usually, when she argued with him or didn't understand him, he would just laugh it off.
He's eight years older than her, so it's only right that he's tolerant of her.
But in the end, she doubted him.
"Get out." His eyes were terrifyingly dark, and the bulging veins on his hands revealed his anger. But he regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. How could he bear to let her leave? Where could she go? She was so irrational; he couldn't go with her.
Just as Shang Zhi was about to open the car door, he grabbed her back and she instantly fell onto him.
"Let me go. Didn't you just tell me to get out?" Her breath was on his ear, her voice sounding a little aggrieved. She struggled to leave, but he held the back of her neck firmly.
Brainless
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