0090 99 East Wind Shoots at Horse's Ear
Pei Zhiyu slowly straightened up, exuding a chilling aura, and looked down at Zhou Xiye.
"I do not understand."
Zhou Xiye looked up at him. How could he understand? Who could understand? A cell phone rang from the bag next to the single sofa. Zhou Xiye looked at Pei Zhiyu, took out her phone with her other hand, and answered it without even looking at who was calling.
"Zhou Xiye, it's me."
Ye Rouxin's voice was tired, yet very tender.
"What is it?" Zhou Xiye met Pei Zhiyu's gaze. She had never looked closely at Pei Zhiyu's eyes before. They were handsome, with sharp corners and amber-colored pupils.
"I might... never be able to go back..."
Zhou Xiye hummed in agreement. "No rush, I'll wait for you."
Ye Rouxin laughed heartily, her voice a little hoarse, "Busy, huh? Well, I have to give you a few words of advice. It's fine to love your work, but look at all those grand empires that come and go, all vanishing in the blink of an eye. Yes, you think it's worth it, but look at yourself now, are you happy? The point of life is to be happy. It's so late, and you're still busy..."
"That's really long-winded," Zhou Xiye took a breath and interrupted him, "Is there anything else?"
"..."
Ye Rouxin paused, then gave a dry laugh, "It's alright, it's alright... Oh, right, you have to remember, we haven't made love yet."
"Okay," Zhou Xiye hung up the phone, put down his phone, and took a drag of his cigarette.
Perhaps because of this phone call, Pei Zhiyu had lost her patience. "Why?"
Zhou Xiye bent down and threw the cigarette into the wine glass, then laughed in exasperation. He said slowly and deliberately, "How dare you ask me why?"
Looking at Pei Zhiyu's face, which was as cold as ice, the fire in her heart suddenly surged to the top of her head. She was furious and stood up, baring her teeth and claws as she shouted, "You stole what should have been mine! The mayor of Hangzhou, that's my position! It should be mine! How dare you take it without consulting me?! How dare you!"
Pei Zhiyu closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and took a step back. "Zhou Xiye, calm down. I don't want to argue."
He's the one who went too far, so why don't I even have the right to be angry? Zhou Xiye found it amusing, crossed his arms, and softened his tone, but it was still sarcastic, "Arguing? Is this how you talk about getting along as a couple? Let me ask you, Pei Zhiyu, you treat me like your wife, and knowing that I'm the mayor of Hangzhou, you still wanted to take my place. Why didn't you discuss it with me? I'm your wife, why didn't you say so?"
“I don’t want to be separated from you. If you insist on going to Hangzhou, I will go with you,” Pei Zhiyu said with deep affection in her eyes. “If you are in Hangzhou and I am in Beijing, how will we live?”
"Then why did you steal my things?"
"What's mine is yours. It doesn't matter to me who's the mayor, you or me."
We've come full circle again.
"The same thing?" Zhou Xiye grinned maliciously. "Since the same thing, why not let me be the one?"
Pei Zhiyu looked at her. The person in front of him was not unfamiliar at all. He had seen her like this on the debate stage, showing no mercy to her enemies.
“I am more suitable to take the position than you. This is not a decision I can make on my own; it was Teacher Hua and the others who asked me to go.”
"Then just refuse. Is it so hard for you to say 'inappropriate'?"
“Xi Ye, some things are beyond our control, and there are many things in life that we cannot control…” He took a step closer to Zhou Xi Ye, “Even if it’s not me, someone else will take your place as mayor of Hangzhou. Am I better than anyone else to be the mayor?”
Completely a logical trap. Zhou Xiye shook her head. She didn't want to dwell on the past. "Since that's the case, don't stop me from going to Kunming. I got there by myself."
"I won't let you go."
Pei Zhiyu said coldly, "I don't want to be separated from you, and I will not be separated from you unless I die."
Hearing this, Zhou Xiye burst into laughter. "Someone else said that to me before, and guess what happened to him?"
Pei Zhiyu looked at the somewhat deranged Zhou Xiye, raised her hand, grasped her arm tightly, and pulled her into her embrace.
"...In the end, he died."
Pei Zhiyu nodded with her eyes closed, "We'd rather die together."
Before the engagement party was over, the male and female protagonists disappeared. Pei Wei'an came out of the office and, after hearing the information reported to him by his secretary, just smiled and didn't say anything.
Once in the car, Pei Wei'an didn't want to go back to the Pei family's old house. "Let's go to Dongwenchang Hutong."
Her own home.
Halfway there, the secretary received a phone call and turned to Pei Weian. "Chairman, there's been a problem at the engagement banquet. District Chief Pei took Zhou Xiye away from the banquet and went to the Central Villa District. The two of them seemed a bit off the whole way."
Pei Wei'an shook his head. "Going home, I want to sleep. I have a meeting tomorrow morning."
Zhou Xiye was imprisoned by Pei Zhiyu in the villa area, without a telephone, cell phone, computer, or tablet. Cut off from all outside information, the only person Zhou Xiye could contact each day was Pei Zhiyu.
"I want to leave, and you can't stop me."
One afternoon, Zhou Xiye woke up from her nap and saw Pei Zhiyu by her bedside, so she said these words.
But Pei Zhiyu didn't care at all, "You're sleeping in my bed now."
After saying this, he took off his clothes, climbed into bed, and hugged Zhou Xiye. "The wedding is in two days. How about being a beautiful bride?"
Zhou Xiye closed her eyes, thinking that she had reached the end of her term and had to go during that time. Now her only chance was at the wedding. She had to find a chance to escape.
She hasn't shown any dissatisfaction with Pei Zhiyu in the past few days, as if the argument between the two had never happened.
Pei Zhiyu had the wedding dress and rings moved into the villa, where guards kept watch 24 hours a day. Zhou Xiye wasn't in a hurry either, conserving his energy by sleeping when he needed to, watching TV when he wanted to, and doing yoga and boxing when he had free time, keeping his blood flowing with energy.
On her wedding day, Zhou Xiye wore a beautiful wedding dress, as white as if she had lost her father, without any life in her eyes. The blue diamond around her neck sparkled. The sky was overcast, and it was said that it would rain.
In the wedding car, Pei Zhiyu held Zhou Xiye's hand tightly, his lips not smiling, but it was still clear at a glance that he was in a good mood.
"My secretary should have told you about the wedding process. If you're tired, I can finish early and take you home to rest."
Zhou Xiye nodded, looking at the two people's tightly clasped hands, and felt it was absurd.
Behind the white extended Lincoln was a Hongqi sedan, a row of cars driving around the mountain, with a few birds gliding across the gray sky.
Ling Xingzhi turned his gaze away from the window and tapped his fingers a few times on the chair. "What time does the wedding start?"
"Very early, I entered at 10:40."
Ling Xingzhi nodded. "Have you prepared what I asked you to prepare?"
Li Qingshan pointed to the suitcase in the back row, "It's inside, please take a look."
Ling Xingzhi opened the box, carefully inspected it, and then closed the lid. "Hmm, everything is complete... I'll be leaving after the wedding. Is that Old Ling's private jet over there?"
"It's a private jet."
"Okay, thank you for your help."
The car drove for a long time, the mountains shrouded in a layer of green gauze, spring was not yet in full bloom, but it was still full of life. About half an hour later, they arrived at the wedding venue. "You wait for me here," Ling Xingzhi said, then got out of the car with his suitcase, straightened his collar, and walked towards the wedding venue.
People came and went, all smiling, but the way they looked at him clearly held a different meaning. The Pei family wedding was attended by the wealthy and powerful, people of high social standing. Ling Xingzhi was used to this kind of scene. Pei Zhiyu's friends greeted guests at the entrance. Ling Xingzhi didn't stop walking, but as he passed the area for giving gifts, he paused and stopped.
"Why didn't we see the bride come out to greet the guests?"
The bookkeeper quickly smiled and said, "The bride is shy, and her dress is difficult to change, so she didn't come. Secretary Ling, how much do you plan to give as a gift?"
Ling Xingzhi smiled. "Don't call me Secretary Ling anymore, I'm not the secretary anymore." He glanced at the ledger. "What's the most money you've given as a gift?"
"They're all bank cards, starting at five figures. The gifts over there are also very valuable," she said, pointing to the gift storage area next to her. There were calligraphy and paintings, a pure gold birdcage, and many more gifts whose contents were not yet apparent.
Ling Xingzhi nodded. He did not give a gift, nor did he put the gift aside. He simply walked away.
This was something they hadn't expected. Ling Xingzhi actually refused to give a gift? But they didn't dare to stop him. Ling Xingzhi had been transferred, but his father had been promoted to a high-ranking official.
Walking further in, they reached the banquet hall. Ling Xingzhi, carrying his suitcase, sat down in his proper place. Several familiar faces looked over, smiling and greeting him. Seeing Ling Xingzhi's unperturbed demeanor, their smiles held a hint of disdain.
"Judging from his appearance, he's not just suspended from his post, he's clearly going to be promoted. His father is now in the cabinet, the third-highest-ranking official. He's no longer going to be the Party Secretary of Beijing, he's probably going to be promoted."
"Promote him again? How high can he go? Go any higher? People always need to lay low. The former emperor's son is still in Hainan, isn't he?"
Ling Xingzhi heard all the chattering, but he didn't care. He had only one thing to do at Zhou Xiye's wedding today.
Not long after, the wedding began. Ling Xingzhi was almost sick of hearing the wedding march; he couldn't even remember what the background music was when Wei Luochen walked him down the aisle at his own wedding.
Then, Zhou Xiye emerged from the darkness, arm in arm with Pei Zhiyu, as the light shone on her.
The moment she slowly walked up to him, Ling Xingzhi was mesmerized.
Zhou Xiye saw Ling Xingzhi, and the two looked at each other without a smile on their faces.
When she walked onto the stage, Ling Xingzhi realized his rudeness, raised his hand to touch the tip of his nose, and adjusted his posture.
The bride and groom exchange greetings, vows, and rings.
A simple ring, yet when light flashes by, it emits a red glow that can be seen on the surface.
The ceremony ended quickly, but it felt like an eternity to Ren Xingzhi. He checked his watch several times, and only when the bride and groom came off the stage to change did he carry his suitcase backstage.
Halfway there, an uninvited guest bumped into him, making Xingzhi impatient and unwilling to talk to Yi Chenling any longer. "Move aside, I have something to do."
"Excuse me, do you know where Zhou Xiye is?"
Ling Xingzhi, of course, had no idea. He just chuckled and said, "I have something to do." After saying that, he walked around Yi Chenling. Yi Chenling followed him for a few steps and then called out to him loudly, "I have a video of the bride here. I'm going to go backstage and show it to everyone here so they can see how lewd she is."
Yi Chenling's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it reached Ling Xingzhi's ears perfectly.
He stopped, turned back to look at him, a mocking smile on his lips, and shook his head. But after taking two steps, he suddenly stopped again, turned back to look at Yi Chenling, and said, "Good idea, but why did you tell me?"
Yi Chenling opened his mouth, but in the end, his face darkened. "I know you and she are having an affair."
Ling Xingzhi chuckled, took a step forward, and ignored Yi Chenling.
The originally festive and lively banquet hall was suddenly silenced by a few soft moans. Everyone looked at the big screen and saw a clip of a man writhing on top of a woman.
I can't see the face clearly.
Within two seconds, the video and audio disappeared. The banquet hall fell silent; the guests exchanged glances.
They chuckled inwardly, then turned back to continue their conversation, their eyes now filled with curiosity and gossip.
Is this a video of the bride and groom? Or a video of the groom with another woman? Or a video of the bride with another man? Or a video of someone else present at the scene?
After the storm passed, the guests did not see the bride during the second round of speeches by the bride and groom.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
