Early the next morning.
When Lu Jiayan woke up, he found that Pei Zhiwen was not in the apartment.
He rolled over and reached out to touch the empty bed beside him, finding that the temperature of the bedsheet had already gone cold, leaving no trace as if no one else had slept there.
If not for everything that happened last night and the silver suitcase sitting right at the foot of the bed, he would have thought he was hallucinating.
Lu Jiayan took out his phone to check the time.
7:25.
Did he leave this early?
According to Pei Zhiwen’s past habits, he would definitely drag things out until the very last moment before getting up.
Whether studying or working, he particularly loved to sleep in and even liked to hold him while lying in bed together.
Once woken up, his morning temper was extraordinary, and if he didn’t get enough sleep, his expression would remain overcast with a few dark clouds all day long.
Pei Zhiwen seemed a bit different from before.
Well, then again, people always grow step by step through the tempering of time, and their current state will update based on their living environment. By bravely and proactively changing the status quo, one’s emotions and personality will also change with the passing years.
Lu Jiayan turned off his alarm before it rang.
He lifted the blanket, got up, and just as he bent over, a spherical hollow pendant slipped out from his collar, swaying gently and emitting a faint, crisp sound.
Seeing this, he paused, reached out to cup the slightly heavy pendant swaying in the air in his palm, and discovered that something was housed inside.
Lu Jiayan hooked the chain with his finger and pulled it upward. Taking a closer look, it turned out to be a silvery-gray mini USB flash drive.
Wasn’t this the USB drive Pei Zhiwen had shown him at the club last time?
At that time, the two of them had used a shooting match to make a bet.
This USB drive was one of the stakes.
Lu Jiayan understood the contents inside better than anyone else.
Because all those videos were recorded by him, and he had thoroughly cleaned them out when he left, he had no idea where Pei Zhiwen had managed to get another copy.
And now the man had turned it into a pendant and hung it around his neck.
What on earth was Pei Zhiwen playing at?
Lu Jiayan picked up his phone, took a photo of the pendant, and then edited a text message to send over along with the picture.
y: What is the meaning of this?
The person on the other end replied instantly: [A gift for you, do you like it?]
Did he like it?
Lu Jiayan didn’t know how to answer.
Naturally, getting the USB drive back made him happy.
After all, if the contents inside were to leak out into the hands of people who disliked him, coupled with fabricated and made-up scandal rumors, it would be enough to ruin his reputation and make it impossible for him to face society.
But what was the significance of Pei Zhiwen turning it into a pendant and hanging it around his neck?
It felt as though he was being treated like a captive little pet, hung with a bell to mark him, just short of having a sign that read “Exclusive to Pei Zhiwen” written on it.
[insomnia]: Wear it properly, you are not allowed to take it off.
[insomnia]: I want to wear it with you while we do it.
Lu Jiayan knew that Pei Zhiwen had a wicked streak.
He sent a period over to signify that he understood.
No other choice.
Who told him to be someone who honors a bet when he loses.
Besides.
Lu Jiayan reined in his thoughts, gripping the pendant tightly and feeling the warmth in his palm.
Without wasting any more time, he hurried to wash up, get dressed, and head to work.
Sitting in his office, Pei Zhiwen saw the period sent by Lu Jiayan, and the corners of his mouth lifted uncontrollably.
He took out another phone from his drawer, skillfully inserted a new SIM card, and then typed out a string of numbers he knew by heart, sending an ambiguous text message so explicit it could only be called obscene.
Just as he finished doing all this, Liu Yan knocked on the door and entered the office holding some documents.
“President Pei.”
“This is the project file regarding Qingyuan’s ongoing coordination with Qifeng that you asked me to find, along with Mr. Lu’s background data from the past three years.”
Looking at the stack of materials Liu Yan placed on the desk, Pei Zhiwen picked them up and briefly flipped through a few pages.
“Who is the liaison on Qifeng’s side?”
Liu Yan replied: “It is Mr. Lu.”
With a calm expression, Pei Zhiwen closed the file. “You can head down first.”
Liu Yan knew that the Pei family’s shares and power were not entirely in Pei Zhiwen’s hands; Elder Pei still controlled a portion, the purpose of which was to check and rope in other members of the Pei family.
Having followed by Pei Zhiwen’s side for only a year, he didn’t know much about Lu Jiayan’s affairs.
Anyone capable of making his boss transfer from Beijing to Jiangling must be a formidable figure indeed.
Additionally, Liu Yan knew that Pei Zhiwen’s trip to Jiangling wasn’t a genuine banishment; since there was a sustainable development project here, he had simply come to try his hand at it.
Even if ninety percent of the reason was for Lu Jiayan.
Seeing that Pei Zhiwen had no reaction to the investigative materials, Liu Yan asked: “Regarding the project, should we give Mr. Lu some special consideration?”
Before he could finish his sentence, he heard Pei Zhiwen, who hadn’t even raised his head, firmly interrupt him with two words:
“No need.”
The sound of document pages turning rang out, followed by a brief pause and an added sentence:
“Everything will be executed according to the original arrangement. There is no need to step in and manage Mr. Lu’s affairs.”
Liu Yan lowered his head. “Understood.”
He closed the door on his way out.
Inside the office, the project documents were pushed aside by Pei Zhiwen, who instead picked up the dossier concerning Lu Jiayan’s movements over the past three years.
Every single item had been investigated in meticulous detail.
It detailed almost everything about Lu Jiayan over the past three years: his social network, work projects, places he had lived, and restaurants he had visited, right down to the exact frequency and timestamps.
Tucked inside the document were also a few five-inch matte-laminated photos.
On Lu Jiayan’s face, a speck of cream was smudged. Facing the camera with his eyes narrowed, the corners of his lips curved into a smile.
Clean, clear, and relaxed, with emotions that were genuinely and from the bottom of his heart joyful.
It was a completely different situation from his time with the Pei family in Beijing.
After leaving him, every single day of Lu Jiayan’s life had been carefree.
Pei Zhiwen curled his fingers slightly, his thumb rubbing against the smiling face in the photo as he muttered to himself:
“Is this the freedom you wanted?”
Clearly, Lu Jiayan was the one who initiated things with him, and he had provided the shelter and opulent lifestyle the other person needed, so why did the person still run away?
Without the Pei family and him as a backup, Lu Jiayan could still live a leisurely and carefree life alone in an unfamiliar city.
The projects he had handled at Qifeng over the past three years, along with the rich domestic atmosphere and his strong mental and physical health in the apartment, were the best proof of that.
However.
Pei Zhiwen simply wasn’t willing to let go so easily.