I stared at him blankly, and he let out a cold laugh. “So it was all an act.”
“What?” I was confused.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t love me anymore?” Pei Heng reached out, rubbing the corner of my lips roughly with his thumb, his brow slightly raised. “It seems you were just putting on a show in front of our friends. Xu Zhiyi, have you switched to playing hard to get now?”
So he was testing me, and in such a humiliating way. My rationality quickly returned, and I immediately pulled my half-removed clothes back on, struggling to maintain my composure.
“Is this necessary?” I looked up at him, feeling a mix of sorrow and absurdity. “Pei Heng, I’m not playing hard to get with you. You’re just not used to my indifference right now, like a loyal dog that suddenly stops wagging its tail and following you around. Of course, you’d be a little displeased, but given time, you’ll get used to it.”
“Are you the dog?” Pei Heng asked teasingly, seemingly unaffected by my distress.
“Don’t you already know?” I clutched my disheveled collar, lowering my head as I replied calmly.
Pei Heng was no innocent young man. How could he not know about my feelings for him? Besides, I had confessed to him many times before.
He just never took it seriously. There were so many women who liked him, and the only difference between me and them was that I happened to have the chance to marry him.
Pei Heng let out a mocking laugh, as if he had gotten the answer he wanted. Suddenly in a better mood, he said, “Go take a shower.”
With that, he left the bathroom.
I quickly shut the bathroom door and rushed to the mirror. When I saw my flushed face, I wanted to slap myself silly.
Why was I so weak? Pei Heng had only teased me a little, and I had nearly lost myself.
I spent three minutes recalling all the past events, finally calming down completely. Then, I took a quick shower and returned to the bedroom to sleep.
Pei Heng had already left. I heard the sound of an engine starting downstairs.
Standing by the window, I watched his car disappear into the night, feeling somewhat agitated.
Pei Heng probably wouldn’t be back for a while. Tonight’s incident had confirmed for him that I was still in the palm of his hand, and he could continue to recklessly take my feelings for granted.
To regain my psychological balance quickly, I asked Xiao Li to drive me to the hospital as soon as I woke up.
I even deliberately changed into a mature champagne-colored bodycon dress, opting for an elegant and sexy style. I couldn’t pull off the pure and cute look like Wei Lan, and besides, Qi Zhouyang had probably seen enough of that. There was no need for me to compete.
When I arrived at the hospital, I placed a bouquet of flowers by Qi Zhouyang’s bedside and asked in a soft, charming voice, “Xiao Qi, is your leg feeling better?”
Qi Zhouyang was playing a game but quickly put down his phone when he saw me. “Xu Jie, it’s much better. The doctor said I can be discharged tomorrow and just need to come back in about a week to remove the stitches.”
“That’s good,” I said, sitting by the bed and gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Did your girlfriend come to see you today?”
“She has to work. We’re both working part-time to support ourselves and ease the burden on our families.” Qi Zhouyang had a nice smile, radiating the sunny cheerfulness unique to young men.
I nodded and chatted casually with Qi Zhouyang.
After a while, I took out my phone and exclaimed, “How did my battery run out so quickly?”
“Xu Jie, I have a charger here,” Qi Zhouyang said, pointing to the bedside cabinet.
I opened the drawer and took out the charger. The socket was a bit opposite above the head of the bed. I deliberately bent over and reached out to plug in the charger, my body almost hovering over Qi Zhouyang.
From a bystander’s perspective, this posture was extremely suggestive.
By the time I sat back properly, Qi Zhouyang’s face was already flushed bright red, and he didn’t dare to look me in the eye.
So innocent, I sighed inwardly.
Just then, my peripheral vision caught a figure at the doorway of the hospital room. I turned to look and saw Yu Yifan standing there, his gaze deep and intense as he watched me.
When did he get here? Did he see my charging maneuver just now? That deliberate closeness, that blatant seduction.
This was a bit awkward. I forced a faint smile, “Dr. Yu, what are you doing here?”
“Covering a shift,” Yu Yifan replied indifferently as he walked in. He examined Qi Zhouyang’s injury and gave a few simple instructions.
I stood by watching idly, feeling somewhat guilty.
Yu Yifan was somewhat special to me. In my previous life, our only interaction was when we later joined forces to deal with Pei Heng. Before that, we weren’t familiar at all, and he never did anything to wrong me. In the end, he even helped me seek medical treatment.
“Come out for a moment,” he glanced at me.
“Oh,” I stood up helplessly.
Yu Yifan led me to his office. The other doctors weren’t there. He sat at his desk, flipping through patients’ medical records without looking up as he asked me, “How have things been with Pei Heng lately?”
His jet-black hair was of excellent quality, parted three-seven style. Through his beautiful hairline, I could see his tall, straight nose.
I answered vaguely, “Same as always.”
“Marriages are often like this. That’s why some people seek excitement, but they usually pay a heavy price for it.” Yu Yifan’s voice was just like him – calm yet somewhat distant.
I frowned, “Why don’t you go advise Pei Heng instead?”
“I have. He wouldn’t listen.” Yu Yifan closed the medical record and finally looked up at me properly.
“Then I won’t listen either.” I didn’t even realize my tone had taken on a somewhat coquettish, sulking quality.
A strange flicker passed through Yu Yifan’s eyes, as if surprised by my sudden change in tone.
I quickly returned to my normal voice, “You’re good friends with him. You know better than I do what he’s been doing all these years. I haven’t made a fuss, haven’t caused scenes, and haven’t done anything outrageous. I’d say I’ve been more than generous. That young man earlier – I accidentally bumped into him, so I came to visit him. Nothing more.”
Although I had completely changed my behavior in front of Pei Heng because I wanted a divorce, I didn’t want to lose my composure in front of others. After all, I still needed to live a normal life after the divorce.
Yu Yifan looked at me deeply, as if not quite believing my words.
Just then, the other doctors returned to the office. Yu Yifan withdrew his gaze and waved his hand, “Well, he can be discharged tomorrow. Nothing serious.”
Why was talking to this person even more oppressive than with Pei Heng?
With Pei Heng, I had already given up – the worst outcome was divorce, which was exactly what I was waiting for.
But with Yu Yifan, I felt like I’d been caught red-handed, as if I’d done something shameful that had been discovered.
After leaving Yu Yifan’s office, I had originally intended to visit Qi Zhouyang’s ward to show some concern and reinforce the mature allure from earlier. But I stopped in my tracks and quickly returned to Yu Yifan’s office instead.
“Dr. Yu!” I sat down in front of him, lowering my voice. “Let’s have a meal together? Regarding the matters between Pei Heng and me, I’ve indeed been grappling with some inner conflicts lately and would like to talk with you.”
Talk, my foot. What I really thought was: get Yu Yifan to meet Wei Lan sooner, letting him gain the upper hand before Pei Heng could.