Chapter 113 Admitting Defeat
After learning that Yun Zhan and Wen Sixue were together, Pei Yanxi was greatly shocked and locked herself in her room.
The door wasn't locked. When Xue Qi pushed it open, the first thing that rushed into her nostrils was the strong smell of red wine, mixed with her usual cool-toned perfume, creating a decadent yet glamorous atmosphere.
The room was dark, with only the neon lights from outside the floor-to-ceiling windows filtering in and casting dappled light on the floor.
Pei Yanxi slumped in the leather armchair, her legs casually crossed and resting on the armrests. Three buttons on her black silk shirt were undone, revealing half of her fair collarbone.
Deep red wine dripped down the rim of the glass, landing on the skin of her shoulder like dark, blooming flower petals, sliding down the lines and disappearing into the folds of her clothing, exuding a broken yet alluring charm.
Her long hair was disheveled and fell over her shoulders, with a few strands clinging to her sweaty cheeks, obscuring most of her face, leaving only her reddened eyes and tightly pursed lips visible.
One hand hung limply at his side, his fingertips still clutching an empty wine bottle, while the other hand tightly covered his forehead, his knuckles white, and his shoulders trembled slightly, as if he were enduring an indescribable stinging pain.
"Senior...?"
Xue Qi tiptoed over and was about to reach out to help Pei Yanxi when she heard Pei Yanxi making soft, murmuring sounds…
Her voice was hoarse, lacking its usual coolness, and tinged with the slurred smell of alcohol: "How could it be Wen Sixue?... Clearly... Clearly I met you first..."
Xue Qi paused, looking at her reddened eyes. It wasn't the hazy feeling of being drunk; it was an unconcealable grievance and breakdown. Even when she spoke, her eyes were glistening with tears, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
Another bottle of red wine was reached for her from beside her feet. Her fingers were unsteady, and the wine spilled all over her hands. But she didn't care and tilted her head back to drink it. The red wine dripped down the corners of her mouth and wet her chin, adding to her disheveled and flamboyant appearance.
"Yun Zhan...how could you..."
Pei Yanxi took two gulps, and the bottle was empty again. She slammed it hard onto the carpet with a dull thud.
She covered her forehead, rested her head gently against the back of the chair, stared blankly at the ceiling, and murmured louder and louder, with suppressed sobs.
"What do I lack compared to her... what do I lack compared to her..."
In the past, she was the admired Miss Pei, calm and strong, never letting herself show the slightest vulnerability.
But now, lying drunk in a dimly lit room, disheveled and reeking of alcohol, he looked like someone whose support had been taken away, leaving only resentment and pain hidden in his messy hair and bloodshot eyes.
"Okay, senior... don't be sad. You're so outstanding, you'll definitely meet someone better." Xue Qi rarely comforted people and didn't know how to soothe Pei Yanxi's emotions.
It's terrible... Xue Qi rubbed her temples. She never thought Pei Yanxi would stumble in matters of the heart.
Pei Yanxi's fingertips were still cool from the red wine. When she suddenly grabbed Xue Qi's collar, the force was so great that the fabric crumpled into a ball.
She struggled to sit up straight, her hair disheveled, her bloodshot eyes wide open, staring intently at Xue Qi. Her tone was filled with the stubbornness and resentment of someone drunk, and even her voice trembled.
Tell me! In what way do I fall short of Wen Sixue?
Pei Yanxi's breath, mixed with a strong smell of alcohol, sprayed onto Xue Qi's face.
"In terms of family background, isn't my Pei family better than hers? In terms of ability, I can protect Yun Zhan, can she?"
Pei Yanxi became more and more agitated as she spoke, her fingers clenching tighter: "Even when it comes to my feelings for Yun Zhan, in what way am I any less than her?"
Seeing her like this, Xue Qi felt a pang of pain in her heart. She reached out and gently pried open the fingers that were clutching her collar, then pulled her tightly into her arms.
She could feel Pei Yanxi's stiffness, and touch the lines of her back taut from suppressed trembling. Her voice was soft and gentle.
“We’ve been friends for so long, you’re better than her in every way, even much better than her.”
The person in his arms paused noticeably, their tense body seeming to relax a little, but they were still muttering softly, "Then why... why did Yun Zhan choose her and not me..."
Xue Qi patted her on the back: "But when it comes to love, it's never about who's more outstanding."
Xue Qi paused, gently smoothing Pei Yanxi's messy hair with her fingertips: "No matter how good some people are, they are not the one the other person wants. It has nothing to do with how outstanding they are."
"Okay...that's enough, thank you for comforting me."
Pei Yanxi gently nudged Xue Qi, then turned and sat back down in her chair.
The mahogany desk was stained with red wine, leaving marks of varying shades. Pei Yanxi lay on the desk, her arms tightly wrapped around her head, burying her face in the cool wood grain.
The vulnerability she never showed, no matter how pathetic she was in the past, crumbled with her suppressed sobs.
It wasn't a heart-wrenching wail, but a sob squeezed from deep in the throat, mixed with a heavy smell of alcohol, each sound revealing a broken pain.
She kept a strong facade, from her expressionless face when she heard the news, to her silence as she hid in her room drinking, and then to Xue Qi's persistent questioning when he came in, she never let her emotions completely break down.
But now, with no support in her arms and no comforting words in her ears, the taut string finally snapped. Her breathing suddenly became rapid, her chest heaved violently, and even her shoulders trembled, as if she wanted to cry out all the pride and resentment of the past years along with her tears.
"Go out..."
Pei Yanxi's voice came from her arms, muffled and hoarse, still carrying the lingering sobs, yet she still managed to maintain her last shred of dignity.
"I'll be fine on my own."
Pei Yanxi didn't want anyone to see her like this, not even her closest friend Xue Qi.
Xue Qi wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by her slightly raised head.
Pei Yanxi's eyes were so red they looked like they were about to bleed, her eyes were bloodshot, and the stray hairs on her forehead were wet with tears and stuck to her pale face.
Xue Qi didn't leave...
Pei Yanxi suddenly felt uncomfortable...
She raised her hand to cover her forehead, pressing her fingertips hard against her throbbing temples. She felt dizzy, as if the desk in front of her was shaking. It felt like countless needles were pricking her brain, and the pain was so intense that she could hardly breathe.
"You go first..."
Pei Yanxi repeated it again, her voice even softer, with a slight tremor.
"I'm fine..."
Before she could finish speaking, a buzzing sound suddenly came into her ears, as if something was blocking them. Xue Qi's response and the neon lights outside the window all became indistinct.
She bit her lower lip hard, tasting a hint of blood, which barely suppressed the dizziness. But the dull pain in her chest, the throbbing in her forehead, and the throbbing in her head were like a net, tightly wrapping her up, making even her breathing heavy.
Something's not right...
Pei Yanxi frowned. She had never experienced such a strong emotional fluctuation before... So, was this some kind of somatic reaction?
Seeing how she was trying to hold on, Xue Qi finally gave up and gently pushed the warm water next to her.
"Call me anytime if you need anything."
After saying that, he quietly slipped out and closed the door behind him.
The next day, Yun Zhan and Wen Sixue went to school together.
As Yun Zhan opened the drawer to get his textbooks, his fingertips touched a stiff kraft paper envelope, much thicker than a regular book, and it was pressed heavily at the deepest part of the drawer.
She paused for a moment, then pinched the edge of the envelope with her fingertips and pulled it out. The kraft paper had a cold, hard texture, and there was no signature, only a simple mark lightly pressed with wax at the seal.
Yun Zhan felt a sudden tightness in his chest. He tore open the wax seal with his fingertips, and as soon as he unfolded the document inside, his pupils suddenly contracted.
A thick stack of papers slid onto the table, the top one being a property gift agreement with the address listed as an apartment in the city center overlooking the river.
That is, the villa where I slept together after accompanying Pei Yanxi to play cards.
At the time, Pei Yanxi even said with a smile, "If you want to stay anytime in the future, you can come anytime."
Scrolling down, you'll find the vehicle transfer certificate. The car model is the black sedan that Pei Yanxi often uses, and the key is still in a compartment of the document bag.
Further on, there were certificates of ownership of overseas funds and transfer agreements for stock accounts. Each document clearly listed the amount, and at the end were all Pei Yanxi's neat signatures...
The documents had some water-soaked creases at the end, roughly circular in shape. It was obvious that Pei Yanxi had cried while signing them…
Yun Zhan's fingers froze on the document, and even his breathing slowed down.
She had a vague idea of the value of these things; each one was enough for an ordinary person to live a comfortable life. Yet Pei Yanxi simply wrapped them in brown paper and stuffed them into her desk drawer.
No messages, no explanations, only cold, hard documents…
Wen Sixue, who was beside her, noticed that something was wrong, leaned closer to take a look, and was also stunned: "This is..."
Yun Zhan didn't speak, but simply brushed his fingertips lightly over Pei Yanxi's signature.
In the past, Pei Yanxi always signed documents decisively and with a sharp, forceful stroke. However, at the end of these signatures, the strokes were somewhat messy, and there was a faint tremor in them.
Yun Zhan knew Pei Yanxi's temper all too well.
This gift wasn't a gesture of goodwill, but rather a resolute farewell... Senior Pei gave her everything she could.
Yun Zhan found a neatly folded letter at the very bottom of the pile of documents.
She unfolded the letter, and Pei Yanxi's strong and powerful handwriting leaped onto the page, but it lacked some of its usual sharpness, and had a slightly imperceptible hesitation:
“Yun Zhan, by the time you see these things, the assets should have already been mostly transferred.”
"Don't be surprised. I've been thinking of giving you these assets for a long time. It's not a spur-of-the-moment decision, nor is it compensation for losing."
“I have never felt like I lost. What I, Pei Yanxi, want, I will either get or let go of completely. I will not use ‘losing’ to define everything between us.”
"I just didn't expect that letting go would be so difficult."
"The day I found out you were with Wen Sixue, I drank a lot of alcohol in my room. Looking at the neon lights outside the window, I suddenly felt ridiculous. I had been deceiving myself, always thinking that as long as I persisted a little longer, as long as I gave you the best of everything, you would eventually see me."
“The house, car, and funds in these documents are all I can offer right now. I know you don’t need them, and Wen Sixue can provide you with stability, but I still want to give them to you. Even if these things can only give me some psychological comfort, or a bit of my stubbornness that ‘I gave you everything,’ I’m willing to do it.”
"Don't even think about giving them back. Since I've given them away, I have no intention of taking them back. Consider this my last act of selfishness, and let me put an end to this relationship in the way I'm best at."
"Don't look for me anymore, and don't think about me. I wish you and Wen Sixue peace and happiness."
——————Pei Yanxi
At the end of the letter, a small patch of ink had smudged, a tear that had fallen onto the paper.
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