Chapter 52 Bitter Moon "We are too greedy and have tasted all...
The wedding preparations continued in an orderly manner.
Zhui Lian seemed to have really put in a lot of enthusiasm. She designed the invitation herself, with pale golden irises outlined on the plain white card paper.
Pei Zhiyu half leaned on the table, tilted his head and looked at her painting seriously, and asked her why she didn't paint daisies anymore. Zhui Lian looked up and said seriously, "Don't you like irises?"
Pei Zhiyu was also stunned and said nothing. He just stood quietly beside her and started mixing the paint for her.
Zhui Lian also asked Pei Zhiyu to write the guests' names on the inner pages together.
After abandoning his imitation of Qiao Xunli, his handwriting also returned to his own style, vigorous and unrestrained, frivolous and uninhibited. Zhui Lian would laugh out loud when he stroked the handwriting.
Pei Zhiyu put down his pen, looked up at her, and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
"It's okay." Zhui Lian shook her head and said, "It's just that I haven't seen you write like this in a long time, and I remembered something..."
"Something from the past."
What happened in the past? At that time, they were both still studying at Xiting High School. Zhui Lian had been Pei Zhiyu's study partner for a while and found the job difficult.
The young master was incredibly handsome, with a pair of affectionate, peach-blossom eyes, but he was also ruthless, often taking pleasure in tormenting her. Xiting High School also accepted students from poor families with outstanding academic performance, and even established scholarships for this purpose. Zhui Lian wondered if she could get one of these scholarships, wouldn't she no longer need to rely on the Pei family for support? And she wouldn't have to stay with this moody young master anymore!
So she worked harder and harder to attend classes, do homework, and take exams, which made her seem out of place among the other rich kids in the international class who were all waiting to go abroad after graduation.
It was a Friday, and she happened to be on her period. The pain in her lower abdomen was so severe that she felt completely powerless.
At noon, she wanted to lie down on the desk to rest for a while, but suddenly remembered that she had not finished a math exercise book that was due in the afternoon.
She could only get up and write while sweating all over her body.
The tip of the pen moved slowly and stubbornly on the open exercise book. She felt that she was about to lose her grip on the pen. Pei Zhiyu came at this time.
As usual, Pei Zhiyu would go to the fencing hall at noon every Friday, but today he seemed to have left something behind and had to turn back.
He walked to her desk with his striking blond hair and a frown, casting a tall shadow over her.
He glanced at her draft paper. She was clearly doing a problem, but there was no calculation formula on it, but a line of crooked big characters -
"It hurts so much, Auntie, go to hell!!!!!!!!!"
It can be seen that the owner of the handwriting is really in pain and is also really excited.
Pei Zhiyu turned his gaze back to Zhui Lian and asked coldly, "Are you looking for death, Zhui Lian?"
Zhui Lian was in so much pain that her vision was blurry. She managed to raise her head and said weakly, "It's okay, Master. I'm fine... Don't worry about me. Just go."
Pei Zhiyu glanced at the half-finished exercise book in her hand, then looked at her face, which was as pale as paper, and said in a worse tone, "Can't you do it tomorrow?"
"No..." Zhui Lian breathed, trying to concentrate, "Today...I have to hand it in."
As she spoke, she raised her finger and dragged over a piece of draft paper, wanting to continue writing.
Pei Zhiyu stared at her for two seconds, then suddenly threw the thing in his hand onto the empty table next to him. He tutted irritably and held out his hand: "Give me the pen."
Zhui Lian was a little dazed and didn't react before he snatched the pen away from her.
"Okay, you take a rest." He pulled out a chair next to him and sat down. His tone was firm, his eyes already on the topic. "I'll write it for you."
Zhui Lian opened her mouth and for a moment almost forgot the tearing pain in her lower abdomen.
She asked foolishly, "Master, are you not going to the fencing hall?"
Pei Zhiyu didn't even raise his head, but the tip of his pen was already scratching on the paper. He replied unhappily, "Don't ask, don't ask!"
Zhui Lian could only say in frustration: "...Oh, okay."
Pei Zhiyu calculated the problem for her smoothly with one hand, and took off his school uniform jacket with the other hand, then threw it on her head without even looking.
The coat fluttered all over her face and arms, and the boy's unique aura instantly enveloped her, cold, yet extremely aggressive.
Then his voice came through the fabric muffled: "Here you go."
“…Oh.” Zhui Lian quickly straightened the clothes and held them in her arms.
"No!" Pei Zhiyu seemed to take a deep breath and said word by word, "Zhui Lian, are you stupid? I asked you to put it on!"
Then the final outcome of this incident was that Pei Zhiyu's handwriting was too special. Even though he tried his best to imitate Zhui Lian's handwriting, he was still recognized by the teacher.
When the homework was returned, Pei Zhiyu's own exercise booklet was blank, but the teacher had written a line of comments on it in a teasing manner:
It’s rare to see that Pei is willing to help others!
The more I think about the past, the more I want to ask myself how the two of them ended up in such a dead end today?
Zhui Lian looked at herself in the mirror wearing a wedding dress and sighed softly in her heart, but did not show it on her face.
She was wrapped in layers of white gauze and satin in a classic strapless wedding dress with a wide hem at the bottom, embellished with fine diamonds.
The halo under the light flowed softly, making her neck look even more slender and her collarbone more prominent.
The sales assistant next to her was praising her: "Miss Zhui is so beautiful, she looks good in anything she wears!"
Zhui Lian looked at herself in the mirror. Her extremely pure face became even more charming after putting on makeup.
It is very beautiful.
But I always feel like something is missing.
At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the mirror.
Pei Zhiyu had quietly walked behind her at some point, put his arms around her from behind, and gently held her waist.
His chin rested on the top of her head, and his eyes met hers through the mirror.
"So beautiful," he whispered, his warm breath brushing against her ear.
Zhui Lian's body stiffened unconsciously for a moment, then relaxed and leaned into his arms. She looked at the two of them hugging in the mirror and said softly, "Really? But I don't like this one."
Pei Zhiyu said gently, "Then let's change it. I'll ask them to modify it according to your preference."
Zhui Lian shook her head: "I don't like anything they designed."
She turned around and looked up at Pei Zhiyu, her eyes clear and bright. "I want to design one myself, is that okay?"
Pei Zhiyu lowered his head and looked at her, his eyes deep. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking: "Okay, of course."
He paused, with some subtle temptation: "But in this case, the wedding may have to be postponed."
Zhui Lian's long eyelashes drooped.
Her vision was blocked and she couldn't see what was hidden in her pupils.
She was silent for a moment before she said, "Then postpone it." Her voice was low, as if she was trying to convince herself, "For this unique occasion like a wedding, I still want to wear the wedding dress I like."
Pei Zhiyu gently touched her hair, his fingertips running through her hair, with endless attachment: "Lianlian, there is no need to do this. Maybe there will be another chance in the future?"
Zhui Lian didn't answer, but stretched out her arms to hug his waist, buried her face in his chest, and asked again in a muffled voice: "Are you okay?"
Pei Zhiyu lowered his head again and looked at the figure leaning on him in his arms.
His eyes were even darker than before, so dark that they seemed to contain thousands of words.
But in the end, he just tightened his arms, hummed softly, and said, "Okay."
"I went to see that venue this morning, and I didn't like it either." Zhui Lian nestled in his arms and continued, "Can we redesign this as well?"
"And that menu, there are a lot of dishes I don't like, can you replace them all?"
"Also, for the ring exchange, I don't want the bridesmaids to bring it up. I want... a white bird to fly over with the ring box in its beak." She gestured, "It'd be best if it looked like the one you gave me in England."
…
The nitpicking revision suggestions came one after another.
"Okay, everything is fine, as long as you are happy." Pei Zhiyu kissed Zhui Lian's forehead and said softly, "You can do whatever you want..."
The wedding preparations were almost finished, but now so many things were going to be scrapped. The Pei family elders were furious and cursed. Even Pei Zhiwei frowned and asked Pei Zhiyu what he wanted to do. But Pei Zhiyu didn't care about the waste and hassle of the fuss. He only cared about whether Zhui Lian was happy at the moment.
Like he said, as long as she is happy, she can do whatever she wants.
Time is like a thin and transparent thread, entwining the two of them. A silent and infinite sadness permeates the seemingly calm preparations.
But the silk thread is not a red thread, it will eventually run out and cannot bind two people together forever.
No matter how many revisions are made, there will always be a moment when all revisions are exhausted, and the wedding is finally coming.
Wedding Eve.
After the tenderness, an ambiguous atmosphere still remains in the air.
The two of them lay side by side, their skin touching, but both were conscious.
Zhui Lian looked at the vague shadows on the ceiling and suddenly whispered, "Pei Zhiyu, I'm a little scared."
Pei Zhiyu turned his head and looked at her in the darkness: "What are you afraid of?"
"Tomorrow." Her voice was nasal and muffled. "Thinking of so many people and such a big scene, I feel... a little panicked."
Pei Zhiyu was silent for a moment, reached out, found her hand under the quilt, and held it tightly.
His palm was warm, wrapping around her fingertips.
"How about..." he began, his voice soft but remarkably clear, "We just don't do it?"
Zhui Lian suddenly fell silent.
The silence stretched across the dim bedroom, so heavy it almost stifled her breathing. She felt the hand holding hers tighten uncontrollably, tighter and tighter.
A long, long time.
It lasted so long that the night outside the window seemed to become thicker.
She finally moved her lips, but answered the question irrelevantly: "... Pei Zhiyu, I want to drink."
Pei Zhiyu chuckled softly, his laughter was so low that no emotion could be heard.
"good."
"Where to drink?" he asked.
After a while, Zhui Lian finally spoke: "Let's go to the viewing room."
She needed some voice.
Some voices other than her and him, to dispel inappropriate thoughts and strengthen the necessary decisions.
The two of them stood up and walked into the villa's viewing room without turning on the lights, relying only on the faint moonlight coming in from the corridor window.
Pei Zhiyu brought the wine glass and wine and poured two glasses.
The screen in the viewing room was large and bright, reflecting the faces of two people, each with their own thoughts.
"What are you watching?" Pei Zhiyu asked her casually, holding the remote control. "Are you still watching Happy Together?"
Zhui Lian was stunned for a moment: "No."
"Look..." She seemed to be thinking, trying to think of a suitable movie, but she couldn't come up with an answer.
"Then let's take a look at this—" Pei Zhiyu took the lead in making a decision.
The screen lit up, and it was the most famous clip from "Bitter Moon" -
In the dilapidated cabin of the ship, dim light enveloped Oscar who was sitting in a wheelchair. His voice was filled with both bewitchment and despair as he recounted the love between him and Mimi that would burn them both to death.
The light and shadow of the movie flow down frame by frame in such a strange way.
Pei Zhiyu and Zhui Lian sat on the sofa, looking at the big screen and drinking one cup after another, no one spoke.
The liquid in the cup was shaking, and the golden absinthe slid into the throat, bringing a brief burning sensation, but it could not dispel the chill in Zhui Lian's heart.
She suddenly asked, "Pei Zhiyu, what do you imagine our wedding to be like?"
Pei Zhiyu paused with his hand holding the wine glass.
Oscar on the screen was still speaking in a tone that sounded almost dreamy: "We are too greedy. We have tasted all the pleasures, and all that is left is... pain."
After finishing this sentence, he finally turned to look at Zhui Lian, the outline of his face a little blurry in the dim light.
"Grand."
Pei Zhiyu spoke in a calm and warm voice, "It would be best if there was a huge projection screen where everyone could see our photos... so that everyone would know that you are my wife."
Zhui Lian's heart skipped a beat, and the hand holding the wine glass tightened instantly.
His description... was so similar to the scene Pei Zhiwei hoped she would tell him... This was exactly why she asked him for the right to participate in the design -
Make sure that the content she wants to play can be played on the big screen on site.
Silence, silence, silence.
The entire viewing room was filled with silence, with only the faint sound of breathing.
Pei Zhiyu smiled, reached out and held her wrist, and asked softly: "What about you, Lianlian? What do you imagine it to be like?"
Zhui Lian reluctantly pulled the corner of her mouth. She heard her own voice, but it felt like it shouldn't be her voice at all: "Almost the same as yours."
Pei Zhiyu looked at her quietly for a long time.
But his eyes seemed to have penetrated her and saw the moon on the movie screen, which symbolized decadence and pain.
Finally, he said "hmm" very softly, tilted his head back and drank the remaining wine in the glass.
"Okay." The voice was deep and clear. "It will be as you wish."
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The author has something to say: [Cracked] My friend asked me why I wrote it so cruelly, is that true? Actually I didn’t feel it was very cruel (pointing fingers)
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