Pei Yanzhou walked toward the sofa, and Jian Jinci breathed a sigh of relief—the big Buddha was finally leaving. She lowered her head to continue chopping vegetables.
Pei Yanzhou took off his suit jacket and placed it on the sofa, then returned to the kitchen. He rolled up his shirt sleeves slightly, revealing a section of his forearm.
Jian Jinci glanced up at him. “What are you doing?”
“Helping.”
More like hindering, she thought. Such a refined man—someone who had a butler at home and lived a life detached from worldly affairs—she didn’t believe he was genuinely here to help.
“President Pei, please rest. I’ll handle it.”
The title “President Pei” was a reminder of his status; he didn’t belong in the kitchen.
Pei Yanzhou glanced at the unwashed vegetables in the sink, turned on the water, and began washing them with natural ease.
Jian Jinci stole a look—he actually seemed quite capable.
She kept her head down, focusing on chopping the vegetables. When she finished, she noticed Pei Yanzhou had already washed the greens and was now handling the carp.
He held the knife, slit open the fish’s belly, and cleaned out the innards with practiced skill and elegant movements, as if he weren’t taking a life at all.
Despite her own experience in the kitchen, she found handling fresh carp like this troublesome, yet he managed it effortlessly.
After cleaning the fish’s insides, he turned on the water to rinse off the blood. As she watched intently, Pei Yanzhou said unhurriedly, “If you keep staring at me like that, I’ll think you like me.”
He didn’t look up, nor did he pause in his actions.
Caught off guard, Jian Jinci awkwardly averted her gaze. “I was looking at the fish, not you.”
Once the fish was cleaned and placed on the cutting board, Pei Yanzhou picked up the fruit plate of cherry tomatoes and handed it to her. “Go to the living room.”
“…” Was she being dismissed, or what?
Holding the fruit plate, she looked at him. “I’m the one thanking you and inviting you to dinner. You’re the guest—you shouldn’t be doing this yourself.”
“This meal doesn’t count. Next time,” Pei Yanzhou said.
“But—”
Before she could finish, Pei Yanzhou placed a cherry tomato in her mouth. “Be good, go to the living room.”
Jian Jinci froze in place. That “be good” seeped into her very bones—why did his tone sound so affectionate?
If anyone else had said something so cloying, she would have thought they were ridiculous. How nauseating.
But with Pei Yanzhou’s face and voice… What if she fell for it? Someone needed to pull her back…
It was proof she was a sucker for looks.
“Oh…” She carried the fruit plate to the living room, a silly grin on her face, still lost in the warmth of his affectionate tone.
Even the cherry tomatoes tasted sweeter.
After a few dozen seconds, she finally snapped out of it. Placing the fruit plate on the coffee table, she patted her cheeks. “Jian Jinci! How could you be so pathetic?”
He was just a man—albeit a good-looking one with a pleasant voice.
Yet she couldn’t help the blush spreading across her cheeks, her heart racing. Her face felt hot as she rushed to the bathroom, splashing water on it. Pointing at her reflection in the mirror, she warned herself, “Don’t be so pathetic! Do you hear me?”
After drying her face, she returned to the living room sofa and glanced toward the kitchen. Her eyes met Pei Yanzhou’s in mid-air, and she quickly looked away, avoiding his gaze.
A dozen seconds later, she stole another glance toward the kitchen and caught the curve of his lips—a clear, unmistakable smile.
Only then did she realize he had done it on purpose. She had been teased by Pei Yanzhou, this bad man, all because of that smile.
This man is truly rotten to the core. He had teased her until her face flushed and her heart raced, yet behind her back, he was secretly gloating.
Jian Jinci clenched her fists, suppressing the urge to strangle him.
Even when facing Liang Jinyu and her mother, her emotions rarely fluctuated this much. But now, she felt the urge to silence him for good.
She picked a cherry tomato from the fruit tray and stuffed it into her mouth, biting down fiercely, filled with resentment.
Suddenly, a mischievous smile curled at the corner of her lips. Since he dared to tease her, she would make sure to annoy him in return.
She walked toward the kitchen, pretending to be casual. “Mr. Pei, how old are you this year? Do you have a partner?”
“What?” Pei Yanzhou glanced up at her. “Want to marry me?”
“…”
Who would want to marry him!
At this, Pei Yanzhou retorted, “Don’t you know my age?”
She did know, but she had to keep up the act. “Mr. Pei is twenty-eight this year?”
“Mhm.”
Jian Jinci: “You’re already an old man, and still no partner?”
She stared at Pei Yanzhou for a few seconds. When he didn’t respond, she took it as silent confirmation.
Jian Jinci feigned shock, covering her mouth with both hands. “Could it be that you…”
“Could it be that your sexual orientation is… problematic, and you don’t like women…”
“If it’s not about sexual orientation, then could it be that you have some hidden ailment…”
As soon as these words left her mouth, Jian Jinci clearly noticed Pei Yanzhou’s expression darken. His face looked terrifying, but it didn’t dampen her joy. After all, he was the one who had teased her first.
He brought this upon himself.
Under Pei Yanzhou’s icy gaze, she mustered the courage to continue. “That look on your face…”
“Could it be that I hit the mark? Do you really have some hidden ailment…”
She spoke with feigned concern. “Uncle Pei, having a hidden ailment isn’t shameful. Quit smoking, cut back on alcohol, avoid staying up late, and seek medical help promptly—you’ll get better. I… believe in you! You can do it.”
Jian Jinci could barely hold back her laughter.
Uncle Pei…
Hidden ailment…
Would he die of anger?
She felt a chill run down her spine, as if the kitchen had turned into an ice cellar.
She stole a glance at Pei Yanzhou and saw him toying with the knife in his hand, his eyes dark and icy.
Instinct told her that if she didn’t leave this dangerous place immediately, she might end up bleeding on the spot, dismembered by him right there in the kitchen.
Jian Jinci let out two awkward laughs. “Um… Uncle Pei.”
“No, I mean, Mr. Pei, please continue… carry on…”
“I won’t disturb you anymore.”
Without looking back, she fled the kitchen. This act of revenge felt incredibly satisfying, though holding back her laughter was truly difficult. She sat on the sofa, covering her mouth as she laughed, trying her best to stay silent, especially since there was a devil in the kitchen ready to kill and dismember her.
She laughed so hard on the sofa that she nearly doubled over. Sneaking another glance toward the kitchen, she noticed Pei Yanzhou staring intently at her.
Instantly, she stopped laughing, pursed her lips, widened her eyes, and nodded at him as if to prove she wasn’t laughing.
More than ten seconds passed, and Pei Yanzhou was still watching her. His face was as dark as coal, which only made Jian Jinci find the situation even funnier.
What should she do? She couldn’t hold it in anymore.
She glanced at the cushion on the sofa, buried her face in it, and pretended to be an ostrich.
A hint of amusement flickered in Pei Yanzhou’s eyes as he murmured softly, “Silly girl.”
His tone was exceptionally tender.
How could he not see through her little schemes? He simply wanted to play along.
She was someone who found joy so easily, yet for years, no one had been willing to let her experience simple happiness.
Jian Jinci lay on the sofa, laughing for a long while before finally catching her breath. She whispered to herself, “If I keep laughing, I’ll get crow’s feet.”
But it really was quite funny. She had no idea how she ended up saying things like “homosexual” or “hidden illness.” Originally, she just wanted to mock him for being old and annoy him a little—those words had just slipped out without thinking.