Chapter 35 Ship (1)
The path was narrow and the three people could only pass each other for a moment.
Yun Zhan stood half a step to Shi Mingyue's right, and the dappled sunlight after the rain fell on her eyelashes like shattered glass.
Pei Yanxi's voice was extremely low; Yun Zhan only caught the last syllable of her breath, but in that half-second, he clearly saw the shape of her lips—
"well...."
He must have said four words, his mouth movements were clear, but Yun Zhan couldn't be completely sure what the last two words were.
Yun Zhan's fingers tightened slightly, but he remained silent.
After Pei Yanxi finished speaking, she turned and left, her steps still straight, but in the instant she brushed past Yun Zhan's gaze, she raised her eyes very slightly.
That gaze was like the last lamp in the dead of night, flickered by the wind, and then extinguished in the lapel of the trench coat.
There was no pause, no turning back, yet a silent "goodbye" was clearly hidden within.
Ginkgo leaves fell silently, Yun Zhan lowered his eyes, and clenched his palms.
That subtle farewell was like a snowflake falling into the palm of your hand; before it could melt, it had already chilled your fingers.
Yun Zhan suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation, as if a stone was pressing on her chest. She covered her left chest with her palm, and even her breathing felt somewhat sluggish.
"21, what did Pei Yanxi just say?" Yun Zhan asked hurriedly, her gaze following Pei Yanxi's back, and even after the person disappeared from sight, she did not look away.
"She said 'Treat her well'..." 21 was also startled after understanding the lip movements. Why would Pei Yanxi say something like that out of the blue?
21 believes that letting go has never been Pei Yanxi's style.
Therefore, these inexplicable words made it seem like a matter of life and death.
"Is she sick? Does she have some incurable disease...?" 21's voice trailed off...
"Don't talk nonsense." Yun Zhan rarely lost his temper with 21.
Yun Zhan turned around, and she looked up, her gaze passing over the arc of falling ginkgo leaves and landing on Shi Mingyue's profile.
The afternoon light was pressed into a leaden gray by the clouds, but at this very moment a beam of light peeked out, slanting across the moon's eyelashes.
Shi Mingyue didn't look at Yun Zhan, nor at Pei Yanxi who had gone far away. She only stared at the dust floating in mid-air, her eyes as deep as a well, causing the edges of her pupils to turn into an almost invisible blue.
Yun Zhan noticed that Shi Mingyue's jaw was taut and her lips were pressed into a thin line; she seemed uneasy as well...?
Upon noticing Yun Zhan's gaze, Shi Mingyue's tightly pursed lips trembled slightly in the next second, like a shallow ripple on the surface of a lake stirred by the wind.
Her lips curved slightly, revealing a suppressed tenderness—so tender that Yun Zhan could almost hear the soft cracking of ice.
A ginkgo leaf slipped off her shoulder, brushing against the second silver button on her uniform with a very soft "tap".
Shi Mingyue's fingertips twitched, as if she wanted to grasp the leaf, or perhaps something else.
In the end, she simply lowered her eyelashes, concealing all the turmoil within, leaving only a sliver of her gaze fixed on Yun Zhan—
That glimpse of light carried warmth, yet remained half a step away, like the last lamp in a snowy night, its brightness restrained, its distance restrained.
Shi Mingyue looked at Yun Zhan, her tone still gentle: "Why are you looking at me? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, it's just that I feel like Senior Pei is acting a little strange, there's something about her that I can't quite put my finger on. Actually... I'm a little uneasy."
Yun Zhan lowered her head, and although the dappled sunlight under the trees fell into her eyes, it was unexpectedly quiet and dark.
She was thinking of Pei Yanxi... Shi Mingyue lowered her eyes; of course she knew.
Gentleness and tolerance are her inherent qualities, but that doesn't mean Shi Mingyue doesn't have a competitive spirit.
She held Yun Zhan's hand tightly, no longer caring about the distance they deliberately maintained: "Don't worry, no matter what, I'll always be by your side."
Back in the classroom, the sound of the bell felt like a dull knife cutting into my nerves.
Yun Zhan sat by the window, her knuckles unconsciously tapping the edge of the table. On the seventh tap, she suddenly stood up.
"I'm going to the restroom."
The voice was soft, yet carried an urgent tone that left no room for hesitation.
When Shi Mingyue looked up, she only had time to catch the curve of the hem of her trench coat brushing past the crack in the door.
The corridor was still damp after the rain, and footsteps echoed in the empty space.
Yun Zhan bypassed the blind spot of the surveillance cameras and pushed open the heavy side door of the administration building.
At the far end of the third floor, the door to the board of directors' office was ajar, and a ray of warm yellow light shone into the corridor.
She paused for half a second, then raised her hand to knock on the door—her knuckles had barely touched the door when her finger bones went numb from her pounding heart.
"Come in."
Pei Yanxi's voice was low and hoarse, coming from behind the door.
Yun Zhan pushed open the door, and the figure under the lamplight was even thinner than he remembered.
Pei Yanxi stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, her back to the light source, a cigarette between her fingers, the body of the cigarette slightly bent.
Hearing the noise, she turned her face to the side, her eyebrows and eyes sharpened by the light, but her lips were pale.
"What is it?" Pei Yanxi asked casually, as if she were asking about the weather.
Yun Zhan immediately noticed the lingering redness in her eyes and the cigarette trembling between her fingers.
"What you just said,"
Yun Zhan's voice was very low, yet it struck Pei Yanxi's eardrums directly, "What do you mean?"
Pei Yanxi paused, and the cigarette fell to the floor with a very soft "tap".
She lowered her eyes, her eyelashes casting a thin shadow beneath them, like the last line of defense in the snowy night.
After a long while, she raised her eyes, her gaze sweeping over Yun Zhan's eyebrows and landing on the empty corridor behind her.
"It doesn't mean anything."
Her voice was as soft as a sigh, yet tinged with self-mockery, "It's just... I'll be away on a business trip for a while, and I probably won't be able to help you much at school. Shi Mingyue comes from a very good family, so perhaps... she can help you."
Yun Zhan's heart tightened suddenly, and his fingertips clenched into fists in the pocket of his trench coat.
Pei Yanxi suddenly smiled, a smile tinged with a cool tenderness.
“I know what you’re investigating. You’re from a fallen noble family, and there’s no information about your parents… Luckily, I found out about you. I will keep your information confidential.”
After saying that, Pei Yanxi turned around and took out a document from the drawer: "This is a Spanish training course specially offered by Mington School. I've reserved a spot for you. Sign it and study hard in the second semester. In this school, failing Spanish means repeating the year."
Pei Yanxi placed the document on the table and shoved the pen in Yun Zhan's palm. Yun Zhan was completely absorbed in Pei Yanxi's nonsensical words and had no interest in the document.
"Tell me clearly first, where are you going on this business trip?" Yun Zhan asked anxiously. She didn't even look at the document and reached out to grab Pei Yanxi's arm.
"Does the school board member need to report to you when he goes on a business trip? Yun Zhan, I worked hard to save this spot for you. Study Spanish well and don't let me down." Pei Yanxi calmly shook off Yun Zhan's hand and shoved the pen back into his hand.
“If I go to the training course, you have to tell me what you’re going there for.”
“Okay.” Pei Yanxi nodded.
I've signed it.
Pei Yanxi turned around, her back to Yun Zhan, and said in a voice so low it was almost inaudible, "Let's go back, we have class soon."
Yun Zhan stood there, the lamplight stretching her shadow long, like a line that refused to be drawn back.
"Where are you going on your business trip?" Yun Zhan asked anxiously, his throat tightening.
"This is a confidential matter and I cannot disclose the details."
Yun Zhan was chased out by the security guard at the entrance.
She watched Pei Yanxi's retreating figure, her throat tightening, but ultimately said nothing.
The door closed gently, and the corridor returned to silence, with only the unlit cigarette on the floor, like a sigh swallowed back.
...
On the third floor of the administration building, the door at the end of the corridor was half-closed, but the lights were off.
Yun Zhan was so restless that after finishing his evening self-study, he pushed open the walnut door for the second time, only to find Xue Qi inside.
Xue Qi sat in the high-backed chair where Pei Yanxi often sat, a fountain pen between his fingers, as if guarding an empty city.
Where is Pei Yanxi?
Yun Zhan's voice echoed in the dark office.
Xue Qi looked up as light streamed in through the blinds: "They left half an hour ago, and they should be boarding the ship soon now."
She paused, then pushed the neatly folded document on the table toward her; "The 'training class list' that Pei Yanxi asked you to sign—actually, it's a confirmation of inheritance."
The edges of the paper still carried the faint scent of Pei Yanxi's perfume.
Yun Zhan turned to the first page; the lead type was cold and hard.
Beneficiary: Yun Zhan
Total assets: Pei Trust 27%, Pei Foundation 19%, 6 properties, cash accounts...
The fingertips instantly lost their temperature.
Under the light, the ink stains looked like cracked black seams, inside which Pei Yanxi had written her farewell long ago.
Xue Qi's voice was so low it was barely a whisper:
"She said that if she doesn't come back, at least you won't have to depend on others for the rest of your life."
Yun Zhan's breathing suddenly stopped.
"Why did she write this? Is she really sick?" Yun Zhan gripped the document tightly, his legs felt weak, and beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead.
"She went on a business trip to North Sentinel Island, sent there by her family. It's a place where warlords control the area, and the government doesn't even have full sovereignty. The Pei family has a jewelry and gold business there, but... recently the island's military had a falling out with the Pei family."
"...So, your senior Pei went to a trap." Xue Qi sighed with her head down. She really couldn't help Pei Yanxi with this.
"Are you kidding me? Isn't she an only child? How can you let your only child take such a big risk?!" Yun Zhan didn't understand. Pei Zhen only had this one daughter. How could she dare to let her go to the island alone?
"You're too naive. How could a wealthy family only have one daughter?"
“Pei Zhen has a lot of illegitimate children, so what does the death of Pei Yanxi matter? Besides, he never liked Pei Yanxi in the first place, and this time he was just blatantly sending her to her death…” Xue Qi’s voice was low and hoarse, as if it was squeezed out from the deepest part of his chest, with a hint of dampness.
As the last word faded, Yun Zhan's fingers suddenly tightened, and the pen made a soft "click" sound.
The sound was shrill and jarring in the empty office, like a snapped string.
Xue Qi's voice began to tremble, but she stubbornly continued, "Trusts, accounts, real estate, even all the jewelry she had on her... all with her fingerprints. It's all yours, Yun Zhan."
Before leaving, Pei Yanxi didn't even say "If I could come back," only leaving the words, "Tell her to live well and take good care of herself."
"I won't let her die..."
Yun Zhan turned and rushed into the corridor, his footsteps making a series of dull thuds on the old wooden floor.
The stair railing was burning hot from being rubbed against her palms, but she felt no pain.
The security guard on duty at the school gate only had time to see a figure in a black trench coat pass by the turnstile.
At 11:30 p.m., the lights on the intercity expressway receded into a bright white line.
Before leaving, Yun Zhan only took Pei Yanxi's car keys. He gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white, and his palms were covered in sweat.
The navigation kept updating, showing "Binhai International Cruise Terminal 12km".
"21, quickly help me find out where Pei Yanxi is?" Yun Zhan's voice was strained as he gasped for breath in the driver's seat.
“You haven’t boarded the ship yet. If you drive at 120 km/h, you can catch up.” 21 urgently retrieved Pei Yanxi’s location information.
The port lights floated in the rain and mist.
Yun Zhan rushed into the waiting hall, her high heels making a cracking sound on the marble floor.
The ticket gates were empty, and the turnstile screens were flashing a countdown of two minutes.
In the distance, at the berth, the white cruise ship resembled a silent island, its gangway being retracted.
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