Chapter 87
The next day.
The morning sunlight streamed in through the French windows, falling on the carved coffee table in the center of the living room.
Yun Zhan wasn't there; he'd gone to get some documents. Only Shi Mingyue and Pei Yanxi remained in the living room.
Pei Yanxi sat opposite Shi Mingyue, a long black dress wrapping around her slender figure, the hem of the dress cascading down naturally like the flowing night.
The woman's long, curly hair fell down her back, swaying gently with her slightest movements, as if it were alive.
Her eyebrows and eyes were delicate yet assertive, with a slight upturn at the corners, exuding a natural arrogance and confidence. Her beauty was aggressively alluring, much like that of a noble cat.
Shi Mingyue was wearing light-colored home clothes, her hair was casually tied up, and her face was clean and bare, yet she still couldn't hide her innate beauty and elegance.
She took a sip of coffee, her fingertips lightly tracing the inside of the cup, her gaze subtly sweeping over Pei Yanxi, yet her knuckles tightened slightly.
I felt inexplicably nervous...
Even though Yun Zhan was already with her, at this moment, facing Pei Yanxi's flamboyant and confident beauty, Shi Mingyue couldn't help but feel a little uneasy...
Pei Yanxi is indeed very beautiful, with a beauty that is almost aggressive.
Shi Mingyue lowered her eyes, concealing the fleeting wavering in them.
She knew she was good too, but faced with Pei Yanxi's beauty, which seemed to be born to be noticed, she couldn't help but secretly compare them in her heart.
Her unease didn't stem from distrust of Yun Zhan, but from how much she cared about him—so much that she couldn't tolerate even the slightest wavering.
She couldn't help but compare herself to Yun Zhan's previous suitors.
Shi Mingyue lowered her eyes; she didn't know why she felt this way...
As Yun Zhan walked into the living room carrying the documents, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, falling between the coffee table and the sofa.
She glanced subconsciously in Shi Mingyue's direction, only to see the other woman taking a sip of coffee with a calm expression, as if she hadn't noticed her arrival.
However, just as Yun Zhan was about to walk to another empty seat, Shi Mingyue suddenly reached out and gently placed her fingertips on the back of the chair that she was about to pull out. The movement was small, but it was guiding.
Shi Mingyue didn't look at Yun Zhan or say anything. She simply pulled the chair closer to her, a movement so light it was almost unnoticed, yet enough to make Yun Zhan pause.
Then, Shi Mingyue tapped her fingers lightly on the edge of the chair back, in a short, quick rhythm.
Shi Mingyue sat opposite Pei Yanxi. When she finally raised her head and her gaze fell on Yun Zhan's face through the dappled sunlight streaming through the French windows, her eyes were brighter and deeper than usual, holding a subtle invitation.
Yun Zhan paused for a moment, then understood and quietly sat down next to Shi Mingyue.
The two were less than a fist's width apart, their clothes occasionally brushing against each other, making a very soft rustling sound, like a curtain quietly closing in the night.
Throughout the entire process, Shi Mingyue did not say a word or show any obvious emotions. In that brief exchange of glances, Yun Zhan clearly sensed that Shi Mingyue wanted her to sit there.
Pei Yanxi lightly tapped the center of the frame with her fingertip, pushing the gold-rimmed glasses up slightly with a refined and restrained gesture.
She lowered her eyes, neatly arranged the compiled documents on the table, her fingertips leaving the paper with extreme lightness.
Pei Yanxi raised her eyes, her gaze passing over the table and landing on Shi Mingyue. She didn't look directly at Yun Zhan the whole time. The man was sitting to Shi Mingyue's right, their shoulders touching, so close that they could almost hear each other's breathing.
The emotion that flashed in Pei Yanxi's eyes was fleeting, so fast that her eyelashes didn't even tremble before it was concealed by the calmness behind her glasses.
"I've reviewed most of the materials and roughly sorted out my network of contacts."
Her voice was steady, and her pace was unhurried, as if she were conducting an ordinary meeting: "Shi Mingyue, is it convenient for you to go see your grandmother now?"
These words were directed at Shi Mingyue. She used "you" instead of "you all," deliberately avoiding mentioning Yun Zhan's presence, as if he were merely a quiet background figure in the air.
Pei Yanxi turned slightly to face Shi Mingyue, her glasses reflecting a cold white light that blurred all the emotions in her eyes.
She used politeness and restraint to build an invisible wall around herself.
"Okay, I'll arrange a car right now."
Yun Zhan had barely sat down when he had to stand up again.
Yun Zhan looked at the two of them and whispered to 21 in his heart: "Don't you think... the relationship between them is a little subtle?"
21 hummed a few times: "After all, they were rivals in love before. They only sat down and talked calmly because they considered you. Before... in this world, Pei Yanxi and Shi Mingyue's relationship really wasn't good."
There were even some private conflicts due to family reasons...
The car was in the underground parking garage. Shi Mingyue had arranged a driver, but Pei Yanxi locked the car first and sat directly in the driver's seat. Her movements were swift, but she deliberately didn't turn around.
"I'm driving, so I won't sit in the back."
Through the rearview mirror, Pei Yanxi saw Yun Zhan behind her.
She lowered her eyes...
She was already Shi Mingyue's woman...
It's not appropriate for her to sit next to her.
The Shi family probably doesn't have a rule about guests sitting in the front passenger seat, so I'll have to drive myself.
Shi Mingyue stood two steps away, her gaze sweeping over the passenger seat and the back seat. She tapped her fingertips lightly on the bag strap twice before taking a step.
Shi Mingyue didn't rush to get on the car. First, she lowered her head and patted off non-existent dust from her skirt, then casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
The passenger seat should have been occupied by the assistant. If she continued to act like a spoiled young lady and sat in the back with Yun Zhan, it would be tantamount to isolating Pei Yanxi in the front, which would be somewhat inappropriate.
She knew in her heart that Pei Yanxi had liked Yun Zhan, and if she were to sit next to Yun Zhan, Pei Yanxi would definitely not feel good...
In a split second, Shi Mingyue made her decision.
She nodded slightly to Pei Yanxi, her voice gentle: "Thank you for driving."
"Grandma's villa is a bit hard to find, I'll sit in the passenger seat and give you directions."
Shi Mingyue opened the passenger door, and the seat was pushed forward a notch, instantly creating more legroom and reducing the number of people in the rearview mirror.
The track that moved forward emitted a very soft "click," like a heartstring being quietly tuned.
Pei Yanxi caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of her eye, her fingertips lingered on the steering wheel for half a second, she didn't say anything, but simply turned the car's interior lights to their dimmest setting.
In the rearview mirror, her eyes were mostly obscured by the lens, but her gaze softened slightly in the darkness, like solid ice being touched by warm water, the cracks small but real.
Yun Zhan was the last to board the bus.
She neither argued nor backed down. She paused for a moment with her hand on the doorknob, her gaze sweeping over the shoulders of the two people in the front row before she slipped into the back row.
Yun Zhan leaned against the window without leaning forward, gently placing his backpack at his feet. His fingertips touched the metal buckle of the bag strap, and the coolness crept up his skin, only to be quickly melted away by the car's heater.
"Host, isn't it inappropriate for you to sit in the back alone?" 21 chatted with her in the back.
"Two young ladies sit in the front, one as the driver and the other as the guide, while you sit in the back like a king."
Yun Zhan was so angry at these words that she laughed. She put her hands in her pockets and said, word by word, "There are only two seats in the front. Am I supposed to sit on their heads instead of in the back?!"
"You...!"
"I was wrong! I'll sit in the back with you."
The engine hummed softly, and the air conditioning vents emitted a very faint white noise.
Pei Yanxi shifted gears and pressed the accelerator very lightly. The car slid out of the underground parking garage, like a silent fish swimming into the night.
She focused on the road, her knuckles tapping lightly on the steering wheel, but the rhythm was a beat slower than usual. Shi Mingyue turned her head to look out the window, the streetlights passing by, casting very short shadows on her eyelashes, like rapidly turning pages of film.
No one spoke, but no one felt awkward either.
A kind of considerate silence flowed slowly in the narrow space.
The blue bricks in front of the old house gleamed from the rain, and several antique-style lanterns hung from the eaves, their warm yellow glow spreading in the morning mist.
Pei Yanxi slowly backed the car into the garage. As soon as the engine stopped, Grandma Xu, leaning on her ebony cane, came to greet her at the steps. Her silver hair was neatly combed, and although her steps were slow, she exuded the solemnity of a noble family.
Her gaze swept over Shi Mingyue and Yun Zhan, who had just gotten out of the car, but she did not greet them immediately. Instead, she stopped restrainedly in front of Pei Yanxi and extended her hand to the new head of the Pei family in a kind voice.
"Miss Pei, it's been a long time. You've become even more beautiful."
She held Pei Yanxi's hand, her face showing kindness.
"I heard you've inherited the position of head of the Pei family. I'm too old to go and congratulate you in person."
As she spoke, she leaned slightly forward, her back of her hand facing up, gesturing for Pei Yanxi to hold her hand—a gesture almost entirely traditional to wealthy families, yet performed with natural grace.
Pei Yanxi immediately knelt down to make her eyes level with the old man's, and gently grasped his hand, which was marked by the passage of time: "I have received your gift. I came here to visit you."
After exchanging pleasantries, Grandma Xu turned to the two girls below the steps.
She first took Yun Zhan's hand, her fingertips gently stroking the young man's slightly cool palm. She looked him over repeatedly with kind eyes, her smile melting like spring water: "Good boy, you are so beautiful. I was worried that Mingyue would be deceived by some bad boy in high society, but I never expected her to bring back such a beautiful and well-behaved girl..."
Shi Mingyue smiled and stepped forward to take her grandmother's arm, leaning close to her affectionately: "Yes, I also think Yun Zhan is especially good."
After saying that, she glanced at Yun Zhan, a hint of smugness in her eyes...
Yun Zhan and Shi Mingyue accompanied their grandmother to retrieve the roster from when she was in office, while Pei Yanxi was first arranged by the housekeeper to stay in the backyard.
The tea smoke curled up, forming a white mist above the stone table before dissipating in the wind.
Pei Yanxi sat alone under the shade of a tree, her fingertips tracing the rim of her cup. Her gaze, however, pierced through the gaps in the leaves and landed on three figures standing side by side in the distance. Laughter occasionally drifted over, like lights on a distant bank, bright yet untouchable.
She leaned back in her chair. In the distance, Shi Mingyue was holding Yun Zhan's hand, their laughter carried on the wind. Nearby, birds hopped on the branches, dappling the stone steps with sunlight.
Everything seemed so warm and perfect.
She lowered her eyes, blew away the steam from the tea, and took small sips. The bittersweet taste melted on her tongue, but her throat felt inexplicably warm.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling her shoulders like scattered gold dust, while her long shadow stretched obliquely across the grass, revealing only her silhouette.
"If I get married, will it still be like this...?"
wrong...
She heard her own voice and was momentarily dazed.
It seems... he said something strange.
The wind swept by, the leaves rustled, and the figure in the distance moved, but she remained in the same position, like an observer frozen at the edge of a picture frame.
The air was filled with the aroma of tea, and the sunlight was warm and gentle, yet she unconsciously tightened her shawl, as if suddenly realizing that it was too quiet all around, so quiet that she could hear her own heartbeat.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
