indoor.
The old light bulb, which hadn't been replaced in a long time, flickered dimly. To the side of the living room sofa, Pei Jin had one leg slightly bent, his long arm casually resting on his knee, while his other long leg dangled on the ground.
He drunkenly held bottle after bottle of beer, tilting his head back to drink it down.
His thin lips parted slightly, and a few drops of beer, instead of flowing down his delicate jawline, dripped onto his hard pectoral muscles.
Upon hearing Yu Qiao's voice, Pei Jin was taken aback at first, then lifted his eyelids, glanced at her indifferently, and remained silent.
Those dark, gloomy eyes gradually turned scarlet, cold, and filled with resentment.
Time passed by, second by second.
Pei Jin heard Yu Qiao push the door open.
He looked down at Yu Qiao's slender shadow on the ground, suddenly chuckled, raised his hand, and touched her shadow.
A while later, Pei Jin felt a sharp pain in his head. Two white, intertwined bodies flashed into his memory. His stomach suddenly spasmed, and a strong wave of nausea rose to his palate, making him gag.
"Pei Jin, I'm coming in." Yu Qiao heard Pei Jin's movement and quickly walked in, only to see Pei Jin slumped down next to the sofa, surrounded by a pile of empty wine bottles.
Pei Jing pressed his long fingers to his chest, breathing heavily with his back against the sofa. He looked up and his dark eyes fell on Yu Qiao's calves and waist as she walked towards him, finally settling on her beautiful face.
"What are you doing here?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
"Coming to see you?" Yu Qiao always liked to add some interjections when she spoke.
She squatted down in front of Pei Jin, her bright, watery fox eyes fixed on him. Without needing to make any expression, she exuded a natural charm: "Pei Jin, do you want me to keep you company?"
Despite asking the question, Yu Qiao showed no intention of leaving, regardless of whether Pei Jin refused or agreed.
"..." Pei Jin lowered his eyelashes, his fingers gripping the wine bottle with a slight force. In the vast darkness of the night, perhaps due to the alcohol, his voice was hoarse: "No need."
"Really?" Yu Qiao leaned closer to his handsome face and saw through his insincerity and vulnerability that was so incongruous with his tall and mighty image. She smiled silently, raised her hand, and her cool fingertips touched his long, hot neck as if by accident. Her eyelashes trembled as she supported herself on the sofa next to Pei Jin's head with one hand.
The tone became ethereal and ambiguous.
Pei Jin's Adam's apple bobbed as he suppressed his wildly beating heart. With a defiant air, he asked in a steady, low voice, "Yu Qiao, want to talk?"
Hearing his serious tone, Yu Qiao's heart tightened. Thinking of what Cheng Su had said to Yu Lingze, she guessed that Pei Jin might be about to confess to her.
Yu Qiao stared into his eyes, her expression calm: "Okay."
Time passed by, but Pei Jin's voice didn't come through. He must be preparing. Yu Qiao didn't urge him, but just looked at him quietly.
After an unknown amount of time, Pei Jin lowered his head and said, "Cheng Su is my half-brother. My mother's name is Xia Weiyao, and my father's name is Pei Xianxun. Cheng Su's father was a gambler named Cheng Baiwan."
He has never had a strong desire to confide in anyone, nor did he know who to talk to. This is the first time he has ever told someone about his own experiences.
Pei Jin found it difficult to talk about, after all, these things were not honorable to talk about, and could even be considered shameful.
However, Pei Jin thought that Yu Qiao wouldn't give up on him at the moment. Only when she knew how terrible he was would her illusions about him shatter, or she would distance herself from him and hate him.
Pei Jin's eyes were dark, but his tone suddenly became calm. He casually tore open the scar, letting the blood flow freely: "From the time I can remember, Xia Weiyao has never liked me. The most memorable thing is that when I was three years old, I wanted to win her favor, so I learned to knit a scarf from my grandmother and gave it to her. I accidentally broke Xia Weiyao's cup. I only remember that she was angry and made me kneel on the broken pieces to apologize."
“My father is very busy with his business, so he doesn’t know about these things.”
"It wasn't until I was five years old that I found out why Xia Weiyao hated me. She and Cheng Baiwan were childhood sweethearts and had agreed to get married after graduating from university."
“My father fell in love with Xia Weiyao at first sight. At the time, he did not know that Xia Weiyao was engaged, so he pursued her intensely.”
"Xia Weiyao ultimately chose my father because Cheng Baiwan had gambling debts and owed five million yuan in high-interest loans. In order to pay off Cheng Baiwan's debts, Xia Weiyao asked my father for a five million yuan dowry, and the two got married."
"My father was overjoyed, thinking he had moved Xia Weiyao. Despite my grandmother's strong opposition, he immediately married Xia Weiyao, and I was born a year later."
“She doesn’t like me, she always hits me, and she resents me and my father. She thinks that my father broke us up and seduced her, but she can’t bear to give up her wealth and luxury. On the other hand, she still has to use my father’s money to support Cheng Baiwan’s gambling.”
“Xia Weiyao would often bring Cheng Baiwan home when my father was away, and in front of me, she would agree with him, or even conspire with him to…abuse me.”
“I wanted to tell my father, but Xia Weiyao wouldn’t let me talk to or see him, so I had no chance.”
“Until Xia Weiyao became pregnant, my father never returned home that year, and that child was Cheng Baiwan.”
"That night, my father came home drunk, which was unusual for him. He held me as we fell asleep. In the middle of the night, I woke up with a start. I felt sticky on my body and smelled a strong stench of blood. I turned on the light."
Pei Jin's voice gradually became choked with emotion: "The lights were all red, the whole bed was soaked in blood, and the floor was covered in it too. Oh, and there was some on the headboard as well."
“I don’t know when my father died. He cut his own carotid artery, and by the time I found him, he was already dead.”
"I was so scared that I cried. Xia Weiyao was attracted by my crying, but her face was full of joy. She slapped me and touched her eight-month pregnant belly, laughing wildly and shouting that the Pei family's property all belonged to Cheng Su."
Yu Qiao's lips moved slightly, her eyes widened in disbelief, and she raised her hand to wipe away the tears from Pei Jin's eyes.
"My father died, and my grandmother presided over his funeral."
“He didn’t want to live. Before he died, he gave all his property to his grandmother. As a result, Xia Weiyao harbored resentment and hated me even more.”
"But in order to get the money, she had no choice but to keep me by her side."
“She gave birth to Cheng Su, who is five years younger than me.” Pei Jin paused for a moment, then continued, “I had a pretty tough time during that period.”
"So I followed my father's example and committed suicide by cutting my wrists."
“I was ten years old at the time, and I was discovered by Cheng Su, who was five years old. Cheng Su called the police, and I didn’t die.”
“After she found out I wanted to die, Xia Weiyao threatened me with my grandmother, saying that if I died, she wouldn’t get the money and she would have someone kill my grandmother. I was young at the time and didn’t understand, so I could only do what she said.”
“In that house, Xia Weiyao and Cheng Baiwan never cared about me. They did it in front of me, insulting my father and cursing that my father had broken them up. They transferred their anger towards my father onto me.”
"Oh, right, at first I would fight back, but every time, Cheng Baiwan, who is taller and bigger than me, would pin me down and beat me. Xia Weiyao said that as long as I didn't kill him, it was fine."
Pei Jin suddenly laughed, his eyes even colder: "Later, when I grew up, on the day of my college entrance exam, my grandmother died. She committed suicide, saying she was going to be with my father. She also transferred her property to me."
"I've almost forgotten what I was feeling that day."
"After arranging my grandmother's funeral, I didn't want to live anymore, so I jumped off a building."
"It was Cheng Su who called the police again and saved me."
Pei Jin said with a self-deprecating tone, "Xia Weiyao and Cheng Baiwan were strict with his upbringing, but under the influence of those two idiots, Cheng Su's personality has become more and more like mine. However, he hates me and believes that Xia Weiyao and Cheng Baiwan were separated by my father, and that my existence makes his birth dishonorable."
“I donated all of those assets, not a single penny to Xia Weiyao. She cursed me and told me to die, asking me why I did this.”
“Pei Jin…” Yu Qiao’s eyes were dry, her throat was tight, and a feeling of heartache welled up in her chest.
"What?" Pei Jin chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Scared?"
"No." Yu Qiao sniffed and asked, "What happened next?"
"Later, I returned to my father's hometown and lived a relatively peaceful life for the past few years. But people always have to start a new life, so I came to City A and became a boxer."
"Unexpectedly, fate had other plans, and I ran into Cheng Su again."
“Over the years, Cheng Baiwan’s gambling addiction has grown stronger and stronger. He sold Xia Weiyao to an old butcher for a dowry of 300,000 yuan, and Cheng Su is still unaware of it.”
Pei Jin lifted his eyelids, his eyes dark: "I know where Xia Weiyao is, and I know what kind of life she is living now, but I didn't go to her. I won't help her. I hope she dies in pain, just like my father."
"I'm done speaking." Pei Jin chuckled lightly, feigning ease, but a sinister smile lingered on his face. Looking at Yu Qiao's reddened eyes, he asked, "Are you scared yet?"
He tried to downplay these things as much as possible, but in reality, they were far more cruel than that. For example, he said that he was forced to jump off the building by Xia Weiyao, his own mother.
"No." Yu Qiao gently shook her head, her gaze falling on Pei Jin's face, watching the tears hanging in his eyes and rolling down his high nose.
He had a red mole on the bridge of his nose, which was now almost burning red.
Detective Yu leaned closer, her red lips slightly parted, and finally, a warm kiss landed on the red mole on his nose.
Long, black hair cascaded down onto Pei Jin's hand. Pei Jin's dark, scarlet eyes widened suddenly as he stared at Yu Qiao, who was standing right in front of him.
Her eyes were closed, her face showing worry and heartache, but no fear or disgust.
Pei Jin lost sight of his original intention and couldn't help but raise his hand to embrace her slender waist.
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