Chapter 30
The leaves were falling densely, and the streetlights cast the shadows of the two people together, like a soft scarf.
Wen Sixue held Yun Zhan's wrist, her voice still nasal from crying: "Let's go home, I'll make you loquat soup."
Her fingertips were red from the cold, but she still stubbornly stuffed the crumpled cigarette pack into her pocket, as if that would stop Yun Zhan from smoking.
Yun Zhan lowered his eyes and stared at Wen Sixue, whose nose was red. After crying, Wen Sixue looked like a curled-up little white kitten, obedient and cute... Yun Zhan's heart trembled: From this angle, Wen Sixue really looks so cute, but I will still buy a second pack of cigarettes.
21: They care about you so much, why don't you quit smoking? It smells awful every time you smoke.
"Yun Zhan, come home with me..." Wen Sixue wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and gently tugged at Yun Zhan's sleeve.
She looked up at Yun Zhan, a secret sense of transgression rising in her heart: she actually had ulterior motives... she wanted Yun Zhan to go back with her, selfishly... she wanted to possess Yun Zhan.
The moment Wen Sixue finished speaking, Yun Zhan heard a hurried shout from number 21.
21: Oh no! I've detected Pei Yanxi. She should be nearby right now.
Yun Zhan's body trembled violently. She forced herself to calm down, forcefully ripped open the inside of her pocket, and stuffed the notebook inside.
Ears caught the extremely light footsteps before eyes, the heels of boots crunching through the leaves, the rhythm quick yet restrained.
She turned her head slightly, her peripheral vision piercing through the swirling fallen leaves and dust, catching a familiar black silhouette in the lamplight twenty meters away: Pei Yanxi.
My heart pounded.
Almost simultaneously, Yun Zhan remembered the cell phone still lying in Shi Mingyue's coat pocket. A sense of guilt and nervousness surged up his spine, and Yun Zhan's fingertips instantly turned cold.
Oh no, if Pei Yanxi finds out I'm not at Mingyue Manor and my phone's location is there, then I'm exposed...
Before he could think, Yun Zhan suddenly grabbed Wen Sixue's shoulder and pulled her into his arms.
Wen Sixue gasped softly, but before she could speak, Yun Zhan turned his head and covered half of her face.
From Pei Yanxi's perspective:
The streetlights flickered between the two of them at night. Yun Zhan lowered his head, and Wen Sixue stood on tiptoe. Their hair intertwined, and their lips touched, like a sudden, deep kiss.
Pei Yanxi's steps froze on the spot.
The cold wind lifted the hem of her coat, her knuckles ached from gripping it so tightly in her pocket, and the veins on the back of her fingers bulged.
She saw Yun Zhan's right hand tightly clasped around Wen Sixue's waist, his knuckles turning blue from the force. It was a possessive embrace she had never received before.
Jealousy exploded in my chest, burning my throat with a bitter taste.
But she remained standing there, unmoving, as if if she were to get even an inch closer, the jealousy would burn her to ashes.
The lights shone even brighter.
Yun Zhan's eyelashes were damp with the mist of the cold night, and his heartbeat was so loud it seemed to shake snowflakes down.
She dared not look up, but hugged Wen Sixue even tighter, using her body to block Pei Yanxi's scorching gaze.
After her initial shock, Wen Sixue noticed Yun Zhan's rapid breathing and obediently didn't struggle. Instead, she gently wrapped her arms around Yun Zhan's back.
"Why are you like this all of a sudden? Are you feeling unwell?" She gently stroked Yun Zhan's back and pressed her warmer body against him.
Yun Zhan didn't speak.
Yun Zhan's silence, in Pei Yanxi's eyes, became a response.
In the darkness, the three people stood across a quiet street, like a bowstring stretched taut by fate.
No one moved first, yet it was as if something had quietly broken at that moment.
Pei Yanxi stepped out of the shadows, her long black coat billowing in the wind.
Without any hesitation, she stepped forward and directly grasped Yun Zhan's other hand.
The palm was icy cold, yet the pressure was so strong that the knuckles turned white, as if trying to pin a person to the spot.
Her gaze first fell on Yun Zhan's slightly reddened lips from coughing, then swept over Wen Sixue's fingertips clasped around Yun Zhan's wrist, and her eyes suddenly darkened into a deep well.
"Yun Zhan, come with me."
His voice was extremely low, yet it carried an undeniable tension.
Wen Sixue froze, instinctively tightening her grip on her fingers: "Senior Sister Pei—"
Pei Yanxi didn't look at her, but stared at Yun Zhan, her eyes surging with jealousy that was almost overflowing: "I'm very sorry about what happened yesterday. I have a very good doctor at home. I'll take you to get checked out."
"Thank you for your concern, senior. I'm almost fully recovered." Yun Zhan's voice was still hoarse, and his heart pounded the moment Pei Yanxi took his hand.
"Really? I feel your hands are still cold." Pei Yanxi's fingertips rubbed against Yun Zhan's wrist, as if checking the temperature, or as a silent protest.
The cold wave fell between the three of them, instantly turning into damp, cold vapor.
Wen Sixue lowered her head but didn't let go: "Yun Zhan's lungs aren't feeling well right now, I'll take her back and take care of her, so I won't trouble you, senior..."
“I have the best respiratory doctors and warming agents.” Pei Yanxi’s voice trembled, but she did not budge an inch.
She turned her head and finally looked at Wen Sixue, her eyes filled with sharp scrutiny and restrained jealousy. "You are better able to take care of her than you are."
Yun Zhan was pulled from both sides, and his wrists ached.
She sighed softly, her gaze sweeping over Wen Sixue's red, frozen fingertips before meeting Pei Yanxi's slightly reddened eyes.
In an instant, Yun Zhan had calculated all the possibilities in his mind:
If Pei Yanxi leaves with Wen Sixue tonight, once she calms down, the first thing she will do is check the phone that is still in Shi Mingyue's pocket. Once the chip is exposed, all her plans will collapse.
Yun Zhan lowered his eyes, pressed his thumb very lightly on Wen Sixue's wrist, and gave Wen Sixue a pleading look—I have an unavoidable reason, I have to go back with her first.
Wen Sixue paused for half a second, her eyelashes trembled, and then she nodded slightly.
She released her hands from around Yun Zhan's back, her fingertips sliding into his palm, leaving a silent "okay".
Yun Zhan took a deep breath and pulled Wen Sixue half a step behind him to shield her from the wind.
Then, Yun Zhan raised his eyes and met Pei Yanxi's gaze again. His voice was low but steady: "I am indeed a little cold. Then I will trouble you to take care of me, senior."
That short sentence, like an iron nail falling into the snow, pinned down all of Pei Yanxi's emotions that were about to explode.
Pei Yanxi was stunned for a moment, her knuckles loosened slightly, and the jealousy she felt was extinguished by this sudden obedience, turning into a wisp of white smoke.
Taking advantage of her distraction, Yun Zhan turned his head and whispered to Wen Sixue, "Go home first, see you tomorrow."
The voice was very soft, yet it carried a gentle, comforting quality.
Wen Sixue bit her lip, finally nodded, took two steps back, and turned to walk into the darkness.
She took two steps, then turned back. The turn was so light, yet it seemed to stretch out the entire night.
The wind lifted the hood of her sweatshirt, revealing her ears, which were red from the cold.
She first stole a glance at Yun Zhan's back, then quickly lowered her eyes, as if looking at him for even a second longer would expose her secret.
Her toes etched a shallow arc in the ground. Finally, Wen Sixue bit her lower lip and hid her hands in her sleeves, as if hiding all her reluctance.
The mist settled on Wen Sixue's eyelashes, like tears that refused to melt.
Pei Yanxi's gaze followed that figure until the white mist completely swallowed it.
Yun Zhan stepped forward and took her hand, which was hanging by her side. Pei Yanxi's palm was cold, but her fingertips were trembling.
She rubbed her wrist with her fingertips: "Senior, let's go, it's cold outside."
The cold night melted instantly on the backs of their clasped hands.
Pei Yanxi didn't say anything more, but instead gripped Yun Zhan's knuckles tightly and pulled him toward the black SUV parked on the street corner.
Yun Zhan opened the car door and gently patted her back with his palm: "Senior, wait for me a moment, I'll be right back."
Pei Yanxi's fingers were still clutching the hem of Yun Zhan's coat. She froze upon hearing this, and her eyes suddenly darkened. Yun Zhan walked away quickly, and his "soon" sounded like a perfunctory remark in the snowy night, or even more like a farewell.
The car door closed, and the warm air rushed in, but she felt as if the cold wind was filling her internal organs.
The off-road vehicle was idling in place, with a thin layer of fog covering the windows.
Through the fog, Pei Yanxi saw Yun Zhan's back as he walked toward the 24-hour pharmacy on the street corner.
“That’s the direction Wen Sixue just left in, so… you still can’t bear to part with Wen Sixue?” Pei Yanxi buried her head in the steering wheel.
The neon lights of the pharmacy sign flickered, and red and blue light spots fell on Yun Zhan's shoulder. It was right here that she had just hugged Wen Sixue.
Her heart sank suddenly, and her fingertips unconsciously dug into her palm. It turned out that Yun Zhan still wanted to go back to find Wen Sixue.
Disappointment washed over me like a tide, making even my breath taste bitter.
She leaned back in her seat, lowered her eyes, and her eyelashes cast dappled shadows under the cold white light.
The scene from just now flashed through his mind again and again: Yun Zhan holding Wen Sixue in his arms in the snow; and the bottle of hot milk that Wen Sixue had taken from him.
"If only I had shown up sooner, I would have taken her away directly," Pei Yanxi murmured softly. But there are no second chances in this world...
Pei Yanxi bit her lower lip, tasting a hint of rust—so this is how painful jealousy can be.
Time is stretched out by the darkness of night; ten minutes feel like ten years.
The car door was suddenly pulled open, and a blast of cold air rushed in. Yun Zhan, smelling of medicine, got in.
Pei Yanxi didn't look up, her voice so low it was almost inaudible: "If you want to go back to see Wen Sixue, at least tell me."
Before she could finish speaking, a dark blue medicine bag was handed to her.
"Senior, this is the most expensive probiotic. I remember you mentioned before that your stomach wasn't feeling well, and I just saw you curling up in a tummy, so I bought this. The salesperson said it's the least irritating to the stomach."
Yun Zhan's fingertips brushed against the bag opening, still damp with cold.
Pei Yanxi froze, her gaze falling on the bag of medicine, then on Yun Zhan's knuckles, which were red from the cold.
Yun Zhan placed the medicine bag into her palm, his voice low and soft: "Senior, you must have just finished eating. I can smell coffee on you."
Pei Yanxi's fingertips trembled slightly, and the plastic of the medicine bag made a soft rustling sound. She looked up at Yun Zhan, her vision blurring, and her eyes stinging with tears.
Therefore, Yun Zhan left not for Wen Sixue, but to buy her medicine.
A few raindrops landed on the windshield and instantly melted into watermarks.
Pei Yanxi lowered her eyes and put the medicine bag into her bag.
Yun Zhan: "Let's go home, it's already very late."
Pei Yanxi didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.
On a snowy night, she quietly clenched the medicine bag between her fingers, her heart pounding so loudly it seemed to shake the frost off the car window.
The car headlights came on, like a knife slicing through the night.
Yun Zhan took one last look at the empty alley in the snow and silently exhaled.
I'm truly sorry to Wen Sixue and Shi Mingyue. They both covered for her because of her difficult mission...
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