Chapter 13
"Now that you've finished your work, can you rest?" Yun Zhan poured Pei Yanxi a glass of warm water.
The bright light shone on the girl's profile, making her delicate skin appear snow-white. Pei Yanxi gripped the water glass in her hand... and couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.
"There are still some things to take care of..." Pei Yanxi took a deep breath, feeling a tingling sensation in her heart whenever she talked to Yun Zhan...
Yun Zhan (thinking to himself): Oh well... I'll see this through. It'll be too much trouble for her to handle alone...
"Then I'll help you finish dealing with it."
Yun Zhan poured himself a cup of hot coffee, the rich aroma of coffee beans filling every inch of the office.
The aroma of coffee, familiar to countless times, felt especially special tonight, because of Yun Zhan's presence; I was no longer alone...
Pei Yanxi's fingers, which were typing on the keyboard, paused silently. Her eyelashes fluttered. She admitted that she was a little selfish. In fact, she could have let Yun Zhan go back to sleep, but she didn't.
The office was quiet; Pei Yanxi could only hear the soft rustling of pages turning.
Yun Zhan was writing a proposal on a draft paper; the sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper was soft and rhythmic. The jet-black ink seeped into the pure white paper...
Late at night, Yun Zhan couldn't stay awake any longer. She had intended to rest for a while, but before she knew it, she had fallen asleep on the sofa.
Pei Yanxi turned off the light and gently covered Yun Zhan with the suit she had worn, while she used a flashlight to finish reading the remaining documents.
"Senior?" The office door was suddenly pushed open. Yan Ji looked around the dimly lit office, thinking that Pei Yanxi had already left.
"Shhh."
Pei Yanxi stopped Yan Ji at the door, placed her slender index finger to her lips, and stared intently at Yan Ji in the darkness with her cat-like eyes.
"Oh, is the junior student asleep?"
Yan Ji's voice trailed off, and he turned his head slightly, barely managing to make out the person lying on Pei Yanxi's sofa.
“Senior, why don’t you let her sleep at my place? I have an empty bed. You haven’t been getting enough rest lately… Why don’t you let me have her?” Yan Ji suggested.
“It’s okay, I’ll take good care of her,” Pei Yanxi refused.
After Yan Ji left, Pei Yanxi, by the moonlight, slowly focused her gaze on Yun Zhan's face.
Yun Zhan was sleeping very well... Pei Yanxi's gaze first carefully fell on her eyelashes, as if afraid of disturbing her, and she even slowed down her breathing.
Then it slid down inch by inch, past the tip of the nose, and stopped on the pink lips.
In the darkness, the slender young woman bent down gently, her long, delicate arms wrapping around Yun Zhan's neck, pulling him into her embrace.
"Come to my bed and sleep with me, okay?" Pei Yanxi's voice was very soft and gentle, as if she were coaxing a child.
"Okay." Yun Zhan agreed in his sleep, even in his dream.
Pei Yanxi carried Yun Zhan all the way, and finally placed her on her snow-white and soft bed.
Yun Zhan was soft on the bed, clutching the blankets like a kitten. Pei Yanxi stood by the bed, her lingering gaze fixed on Yun Zhan's collarbone, which rose and fell slightly with her breath, a place that held an allure she dared not look directly at during the day.
At this moment, she let herself indulge, her eyes as deep as the night tide, yet she dared not utter a single sound, only using the softest whisper to quietly send a sigh, low as dust, into her dream.
Soon, Pei Yanxi also took off her clothes, leaving only a pure black lace camisole. The bright moonlight fell on the beauty's body, cutting out an extremely thin arc along her collarbone. The black satin slid down her shoulder line and suddenly gathered at her waist, as if someone had gently pinched out a sigh with their fingertips.
She only slept for three hours, and should wake up before dawn, so Yun Zhan wouldn't see her like this.
Pei Yanxi lifted a corner of the blanket and slipped into Yun Zhan's warm and cozy bed.
She moved closer to Yun Zhan, but quickly withdrew just as their skin touched.
"Seriously, what am I doing..." Pei Yanxi was lying down, covering her eyes with her arm, and a sigh echoed in the room.
...
During the day, Yun Zhan woke up to find himself lying in bed.
"I remember working with Pei Yanxi last night... how did I end up in bed..." She was still a little dizzy, grabbing her hair as she tried to recall what happened last night.
Out of the corner of his eye, Yun Zhan saw the thermos cup by the bed.
Pei Yanxi: I got you some hot water. Drink some when you wake up. Breakfast is at the table outside.
After reading the note, Yun Zhan grumbled and lay back down on the bed: "I took care of so much work for her last night, so I guess she has some conscience after all..."
There's one day left on the holiday. Wen Sixue has an event this afternoon, and Yun Zhan wants to go see it. It's not for any other reason than simply wanting to watch a play.
I had a simple lunch, and in the afternoon I tidied up a bit and went to the theater.
Today, Wen Sixue wore a light pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) embroidered with light-colored lilies and magnolias. The simple dress accentuated her beautiful features and fair skin.
Yun Zhan looked at Wen Sixue, and Wen Sixue quickly noticed her as well.
After exchanging a quick glance with Yun Zhan, Wen Sixue stood in the center of the carpet. The tassels on her shoes trembled, causing the petals to quiver. As she turned, a section of a moon-white underskirt was revealed beneath the pleats, with extremely fine red thread along the hem, like a plum branch winding through the snow.
Yun Zhan had developed a slight smoking habit during her last mission and suddenly felt like having a cigarette. As she was lighting her cigarette, Wen Sixue gently turned her head, her water sleeves partially obscuring her face, and glanced at the cigarette Yun Zhan had lit out of the corner of her eye.
Yun Zhan extinguished the fire between his fingers with a "hiss," but forgot to shake off the gray matchstick.
The performance ended smoothly. Wen Sixue sent a message to Yun Zhan, asking him to wait for her at the back door.
Wen Sixue removed her makeup, like rolling up a scroll of meticulous peony paintings and putting it away, leaving only a plain sheet of Xuan paper.
A long cotton-linen dress, oatmeal in color, swayed gently below her knees, like lake water rippled by a morning breeze. There were no buttons at the waist, only a thin, matching belt, casually knotted, highlighting her already slender figure. The neckline was small and square, revealing a section of her straight collarbone, still slightly damp with the coolness of makeup remover.
She casually tucked her hair behind her ears, her smooth, black hair cascading down her back like a waterfall, with a few stray strands clinging to her temples. When she saw Yun Zhan, her eyes lit up for a moment, and shallow dimples appeared on her face.
"Why did you come so suddenly today? You didn't even tell me beforehand." Wen Sixue walked side by side with Yun Zhan, and as she tossed her hair, a faint jasmine fragrance wafted out.
"You've come all this way, let me take you home."
It is now dusk.
As mentioned before, Wen Sixue's place isn't very safe... Yun Zhan glanced at the girl for a while, and thought, "Hmm... she's very pretty. I really need to take her home to feel at ease."
When Wen Sixue heard Yun Zhan say he would take her home, she froze for a moment, pursing her lips without replying for a long time.
"Yun Zhan, my place isn't very nice...you'd better not go." Wen Sixue bit her lip, her fingertips constantly intertwining.
That place is dirty and dilapidated, and Yun Zhan is a student at Mington School... how could he go to a place like that? It's also dangerous, and Yun Zhan is handsome too.
The thought of those men's faces made Wen Sixue's stomach churn. She was used to the harassment and could handle it flexibly. But what about Yun Zhan...?
She didn't want Yun Zhan to be treated badly by others.
"I know, that's why I'm taking you back." Yun Zhan seemed indifferent; if those people bothered Wen Sixue again, she would take direct action.
"Yun Zhan, please listen to me, they really went too far." Wen Sixue stopped and grabbed Yun Zhan's hand.
Yun Zhan: "I served in the army, so I can easily take on three or five people."
Yun Zhan stopped and stared at Wen Sixue, his expression calm.
Wen Sixue: "..."
In the end, unable to resist Yun Zhan's persistent pleading, Wen Sixue took her back.
Wen Sixue lived in the last row of old red-brick buildings in the west of the city. It was on the third floor. The iron gate at the entrance to the stairwell had long since lost its lock, and it creaked loudly when pushed. The paint on the walls was peeling badly, and it was common for grayish-white plaster to rub against one's shoulders. The stair railings were rusty, with rainwater and cigarette butts accumulating in the cracks, and a metallic, musty smell filled the air.
In front of the building, there was a small patch of open space, and tenacious weeds grew from the cracks in the broken bricks. They were run over by thugs' motorcycles at night, but the next day they were still crooked and green.
At seven o'clock in the evening, the neon lights of the hair salon across the street lit up first, the reddish-purple light shining on the mottled wall. Several young men with dyed yellow hair squatted at the entrance of the convenience store, smacking beer bottles between their teeth with a crisp "pop", and the foam flowed through their fingers into the manhole cover.
Yun Zhan's expression was not good. She turned her head to look at Wen Sixue beside her.
It's really hard to imagine... such a beautiful girl living in a place like this for a long time. Luckily, it's a city with a relatively high level of legal protection, otherwise... she really wouldn't dare to imagine it.
Pushing open the door felt like shutting out the rusty smell from outside. The room was only about twenty square meters, and you could see the whole thing at a glance: on the left wall, a row of old opera boxes were stacked into a wardrobe, and on the top shelf was an upside-down basin, with traces of light pink water from last night's makeup removal still on the bottom. Under the opposite window, there was a single wooden bed, with half a faded opera costume sleeve tied to the headboard as a curtain.
At the foot of the bed was a small folding square table, its surface peeling and gleaming after being polished. Against the wall near the table, seven copper nails held her headdress: kingfisher feather inlay, rhinestones, silk flowers…
The room was small, but very clean, and the air was always filled with three scents: the cleanliness of soap powder, the refreshing coolness of mint leaves, and a hint of pine fragrance emanating from the costumes.
"I'm sorry... Yun Zhan, I don't have anything to offer you. This is some tea I bought last time." Wen Sixue brewed him a cup of hot tea and gave him the only cushioned chair in the house.
She had never felt so embarrassed before. Her dark hair covered the girl's blushing profile... Yun Zhan was really wronged by her.
It was late at night when the door suddenly slammed shut—someone had walked through the darkness of the corridor to Wen Sixue's door.
"Little Wen... Wen Sixue... I... I'm here to support you... Open the door for me..." The voice, tinged with the sourness of beer, squeezed in through the crack in the door. First came clapping, then punches, the rhythm a jumbled mess of a drunken heartbeat.
The paint on the iron gate peeled off in a rustling sound, like old makeup being ripped off by fingernails. Two, three taps, and the bolt trembled, the brass lock clicking against the wooden board like a small gong being struck in a hoarse voice.
Even in front of Yun Zhan, Wen Sixue trembled several times, clenching her palms in fear, her pale face impossible to conceal.
Yun Zhan's face darkened, and he walked to the door without saying a word, his lips pressed together.
"Yun Zhan...don't open the door." Wen Sixue was extremely flustered.
"Go hide in your room and lock the door. I'll deal with him."
Yun Zhan pushed open the door, and the smell of alcohol seeped in through the bottom of the door, mixed with the stench of cigarettes and sweat, making people feel nauseous.
The moment the door opened, the dim, motion-activated light in the corridor suddenly lit up, casting a tall and sharp silhouette.
Yun Zhan rolled up his white shirt to his forearm, revealing clean-lined forearm muscles, his finger bones slightly white from exertion.
She took a half step forward, gripped the door frame with her left hand, and with her right hand, as if lifting an empty wine bottle, precisely grabbed the drunkard by the back of his collar—before he could even utter the words "Wen Sixue" in one breath, he was lifted off the ground by his toes.
"Thump!" A muffled sound rang out as the drunkard's back slammed against the mottled gray wall opposite, sending dust and plaster flying.
"Ahhh!"
Before the drunkard could react, a sharp pain shot through his arm. The pain pierced his heart, making him grimace, and he sobered up almost instantly.
Yun Zhan swiftly and decisively dislocated one of his hands.
"I just dislocated your hand. If you don't want to be crippled for life, kneel down and apologize to Wen Sixue. If it's too late, I can't guarantee your hand can be put back on." Yun Zhan's voice was chilling, and he was gripping the drunkard's neck so tightly that he almost suffocated him.
"...I just enjoy watching her perform. I'm her loyal admirer. I like her and just want to see her." The drunkard began to beg for mercy, his feigned innocence disgusting Yun Zhan.
"Like it?" Yun Zhan raised an eyebrow, then scoffed.
"Coincidentally, I also like Wen Sixue. I like her terribly. I was just released from jail for injuring someone. If you come again, I don't mind going back in."
Yun Zhan looked crazed, grabbing the drunkard and saying that he liked Wen Sixue too much and couldn't stand anyone getting close to her.
His sickly appearance instantly sobered the drunkard, who scrambled away from the scene.
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