Chapter 147 IF - Pei Line (21): You didn't cut your nails last night, it hurts...
From that day on, time seemed to be accelerated, and for Yun Zhan, this period of time was unbelievably peaceful.
Those competitors who had been openly and secretly trying to get close to Pei Yanxi and cause her trouble have quietly withdrawn one by one.
Several trending topics have appeared on social media. Some companies have suddenly been exposed for scandals, some executives have suddenly been arrested for crimes, and many people who were familiar with us in school have vanished overnight as if they had disappeared without a trace.
Yun Zhan knew that Pei Yanxi was behind all of this.
The system's task progress bar also moved steadily forward in this calm, which meant that... she would soon be able to leave this world and return to where she belonged.
This should have been something to celebrate.
However, Yun Zhan was not happy at all. She rested her chin on her hands and looked out the window at the city lights coming on, but an indescribable melancholy filled her heart.
The evening breeze slipped in through the half-open window, carrying a hint of coolness as it gently brushed against her cheek... stirring up subtle ripples in her heart.
"We're almost home," Yun Zhan murmured expressionlessly.
"Shouldn't you be happy? You look... not so excited." 21 stayed by her side, and when the mission was complete, it too would leave.
The separation came so suddenly. 21 never thought that she and Yun Zhan would really be separated one day.
"I don't know why I can't be happy, what's wrong... I feel a bit empty and lonely."
Yun Zhan lowered her eyes, thinking of that place she had been longing for day and night... But why did her chest feel heavy, as if something was blocking it?
Tsk, I'm reminded of Pei Yanxi again...
Yun Zhan rubbed his temples hard, and what kept appearing in his mind was no longer his hometown, but Pei Yanxi's deep, dark eyes; the stubbornness beneath her seemingly indifferent demeanor; and her clumsy yet irresistible gestures of goodwill.
The mere thought of the word "leave" makes my heart clench inexplicably, and I feel inexplicably sad.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door twice.
"Tap, tap."
Yun Zhan snapped out of his reverie and replied, "Please come in."
The door was pushed open, and Pei Yanxi appeared in the doorway.
She had clearly just taken a bath, wrapped in a dark silk bathrobe. The neckline was slightly open, revealing her delicate collarbone and a small patch of pale skin. Her damp hair was still dripping water, sliding down her slender neck and into the depths of the collar, adding a touch of languor and sexiness.
Pei Yanxi leaned against the door frame, her gaze fixed on Yun Zhan. These past few days, she had been living in fear, afraid that once Yun Zhan completed his mission, he would disappear without a trace... leaving no trace at all.
This feeling of impending loss of control made her restless and unable to eat or sleep.
Pei Yanxi cleared her throat and spoke in as calm a tone as possible, as if it were a spur-of-the-moment suggestion: "Want to have a drink together tonight?"
As she spoke, she shook the two bottles of red wine she was carrying; the elegant Spanish labels on the bottles gleamed dimly under the light.
"Someone gave me two bottles of wine; it's no fun drinking them alone."
The crisp sound of clinking glasses echoed in the quiet room.
Pei Yanxi was clearly not there to taste the wine.
The transparent stemmed glass became an outlet for her emotions, and she hurriedly poured the deep red wine down her throat, one glass after another.
She didn't say anything, just silently drank... Soon, her usually icy face was flushed with a beautiful blush from the alcohol, spreading from her ears all the way down her slender neck.
The misty air blurred her deep eyes, making her originally sharp gaze appear hazy and vulnerable.
She would occasionally turn her head to gaze at the deep night outside the window, her jawline outlining a perfect curve under the light.
That profile shot was stunningly beautiful, yet also heartbreaking.
Seeing her like this made Yun Zhan feel a little uncomfortable. She reached out and pressed down on Pei Yanxi's wine glass, which she had raised again. Her fingertips inadvertently touched the other's slightly cool hand.
"Senior, you drank too fast."
"You'll get drunk very easily, and you won't feel well when you wake up tomorrow."
This seemingly ordinary expression of concern completely broke Pei Yanxi's defenses.
Pei Yanxi paused, slowly raising her hazy eyes to look at Yun Zhan. Her eyes held surprise, grievance, and a hint of embarrassment.
She abruptly pulled her hand back, her body swaying slightly, the wine glass in her hand shaking as the crimson liquid traced alluring arcs on the glass's surface.
She laughed, a soft laugh, yet one filled with an overwhelming sadness.
A few slightly damp strands of hair clung messily to her flushed cheeks, and her full red lips, moistened by the alcohol, appeared even more luscious and tempting.
She exuded a decadent yet extreme sexiness, like a rose blooming wildly in the dark night, only to wither away.
She abandoned all pretense, softly slumped onto the table, turned her face to the side, and gazed at Yun Zhan in a half-drunk, half-awake state, her voice hoarse and sticky.
"If I get drunk... will you feel sorry for me?"
Tell me, do you feel sorry for me?
She paused, mustered all her courage, and laid bare the deepest fear in her heart, displaying it bloodily before Yun Zhan.
"I'm feeling unwell... can you please stay?"
This problem was too heavy. Yun Zhan could clearly feel her heart pounding. Now, every word she spoke would become a heavy shackle. She could neither make a promise nor tell a resolute lie.
After a long silence, Yun Zhan managed to utter four words: "I don't know."
"I don't know" implies uncertainty, suggesting that she never considered staying as an option.
The last light in Pei Yanxi's eyes was completely extinguished. A crystal tear slid down her cheek without warning, seeped into her hair, and finally disappeared.
"I haven't even learned how to love you yet, how could you leave..."
Pei Yanxi was both crying and laughing, her voice filled with childlike accusation and grievance: "Yun Zhan, you're so mean..."
She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, and the words that followed broke in her throat, turning into suppressed sobs.
"You came into my world, barged into my life, made me fall in love with you... and then you had to push me away with your own hands."
In the darkness, she murmured to herself, her voice so soft it seemed it might shatter in the wind at any moment.
"I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the sun."
"Senior, go back and rest."
Yun Zhan had also drunk quite a bit, so this topic was no longer suitable to be discussed.
Alcohol is both a catalyst and a magnifying glass.
It amplified the feelings that Yun Zhan had suppressed for so long, feelings that he himself dared not delve into, until they overwhelmed his reason.
She didn't know when she got drunk, only remembering Pei Yanxi's eyes filled with shattered starlight and that straightforward and intense accusation.
An overwhelming, piercing discomfort washed over me.
When Pei Yanxi raised her tearful eyes and poured her another cup of wine, Yun Zhan did not refuse and drank it all in one gulp.
The spicy liquid slid down her throat, burning her esophagus and igniting a hidden fire in her blood.
Vision began to blur, the world spun upside down, the edges of the table softened, and the lamplight transformed into warm, hazy halos.
She seemed to hear Pei Yanxi sigh, and then a cool hand reached through her arm and helped her up.
"You're already drunk... Yun Zhan."
Pei Yanxi carried the fresh scent of a bath and a faint smell of alcohol, the two scents intertwining to create an atmosphere that was both comforting and inexplicably intoxicating.
Yun Zhan practically draped his entire weight over her, his steps unsteady, letting her lead him step by step toward the place shrouded in darkness, which was Pei Yanxi's bedroom.
The door was gently closed, isolating it from the outside world.
The room was dark, with only moonlight streaming in through the huge French windows, casting a cool, silvery glow on the floor.
Pei Yanxi led her to the bedside, but did not let go immediately.
The two faced each other in the moonlight, their breaths mingling, a dangerous and heavy silence filling the air.
Yun Zhan raised her head, her eyes glazed with drunkenness. She was almost completely intoxicated... Just then, she met Pei Yanxi's unfathomable gaze.
The senior's eyes... were churning with too many complex emotions—pain, longing, reluctance, and a hint of desperate madness.
There's too much; Yun Zhan is almost overwhelmed...
The next second, Pei Yanxi bent down.
A kiss, tinged with the rich aroma of wine and the salty bitterness of tears, fell without warning.
Unlike usual, it wasn't filled with plunder and possession, but rather with extreme tenderness and devotion. Her lips were gently held, caressed, and rubbed, while her tongue carefully probed in, tracing the contours of her mouth, almost pleading, drawing in her breath.
Yun Zhan's body stiffened instantly, but the expected resistance did not materialize.
The alcohol numbed her brain, but honestly amplified her physical sensations. She didn't push her away.
This silent acquiescence became the last straw that broke Pei Yanxi's rationality.
The kiss suddenly deepened, becoming hot and intense.
"Yun Zhan, making a mistake and then compounding it isn't your style... Since you've chosen to remain silent, I have reason to assume you're willing..."
Pei Yanxi gripped the back of her head with one hand and tightly wrapped her waist with the other, her grip so strong it was as if she wanted to meld her into her very bones. The immense strength and her out-of-control emotions caused them to lose their balance and fall backward together.
The heavy blankets swayed under their weight with a dull thud. Yun Zhan was pressed beneath them, her hair disheveled on the pillow. Moonlight outlined her bewildered profile. She stared at the face of the person on top of her, so close yet so beautiful, made even more radiant by passion. She offered neither resistance nor response.
Everything is done by default.
They tacitly accepted this downfall ignited by tears and alcohol.
The next morning.
The first rays of dawn pierced through the clouds, awakening the sleeping city.
Pei Yanxi was awakened by a series of sharp, stinging sensations.
The pain came from my lower back and back, like something sharp was slicing through me... It was burning and very uncomfortable.
She frowned subconsciously, but did not open her eyes immediately. Instead, she tightened her arms and pulled the warm body in her arms closer to herself.
The realistic touch, the warm body temperature, the steady breathing... all of this made her feel incredibly at ease.
Last night was not a dream.
Not long after, the person in her arms stirred, their long eyelashes trembled, and then they slowly opened their eyes.
Yun Zhan's consciousness was still somewhat hazy, and the hangover headache made her frown.
When she saw the magnified face before her and the two of them embracing tightly, the uncontrolled, passionate, and crazy moments from the previous night flooded her mind like a tidal wave.
With a "boom," the color drained from Yun Zhan's face, which was then flushed red with embarrassment and panic.
Her first reaction was to run away.
She felt sorry for her senior.
Almost instinctively, Yun Zhan frantically tried to break free from Pei Yanxi's embrace, throwing off the covers to get out of bed.
Just as her feet were about to touch the cold ground, a hand reached out from behind and precisely grabbed her wrist with great force; Pei Yanxi had used all her strength.
"Don't go..."
Pei Yanxi's voice, hoarse with the characteristic huskiness of early morning, was full of pleading.
Yun Zhan stopped moving.
Pei Yanxi propped herself up, trying to get out of bed as well, seemingly to stop her from leaving.
However, the moment Pei Yanxi's toes touched the carpet, her expression twisted instantly, her body trembled violently, she groaned, and almost fell due to exhaustion.
This sudden turn of events made Yun Zhan forget her embarrassment. She quickly turned around to support Pei Yanxi and asked with concern, "What happened?"
Pei Yanxi leaned against her, and it took a while for the sharp pain to subside slightly.
She looked up at Yun Zhan, her eyes filled with grievance and accusation, and said in a weak voice, "You didn't cut your nails."
She paused for a moment, then added.
"Last night...it hurt a lot when I scraped myself."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
