Xia Zhi lived on Fuxing Middle Road, in a standalone two-story Western-style house. Though not particularly large in area, it was exquisitely refined and had a distinctly bourgeois charm.
It was a property her father had specifically bought for her when she returned to S City for her studies.
Truth be told, the Xia family was wealthier than many of the local old-money families.
But there was no helping it—this was S City, where old-money families simply carried more prestige and style than the nouveau riche.
Of course, it wasn’t as if the young lady truly lived alone. The household included a live-in auntie, a personal assistant… it was actually quite lively.
…
“Darling,”
Early in the morning, Sisi knocked and entered, waking Xia Zhi from her slumber.
“Your boyfriend is here.”
“Who?”
“Young Master Pei.”
“…Oh.”
Xia Zhi sat up, taking a few seconds to fully wake up.
Glancing at the time, she saw it was not even seven o’clock yet.
What was Pei Yuhuan doing here so early?
“Rere!”
Seeing Xia Zhi come downstairs, Pei Yuhuan immediately rose from the sofa and moved to hug her.
Xia Zhi dodged him with distaste.
“What are you doing here so early?”
“Rere, it’s been three days since that birthday party night. I haven’t seen you. I came looking for you, but no one was home…”
Pei Yuhuan wore an apologetic smile as he followed Xia Zhi to the sofa and sat down.
“You wouldn’t answer my calls or reply to my messages…”
Xia Zhi was listless.
“I went back to the UK to handle some school matters… it was a very tight schedule. I only got home in the early hours of the morning.”
“Handle school matters?”
Pei Yuhuan was stunned. “Rere, why didn’t you take me with you back to the UK?”
“I won’t be going back to the UK anymore,”
Xia Zhi explained. “My family arranged an exchange student program for me. I’ll be studying back in S City. Classes start in three days…”
Pei Yuhuan was so shocked he was momentarily speechless.
That night, at the birthday banquet, he knew Xia Zhi was angry.
After the party ended, he had wanted to apologize to her, but never got the chance to meet.
He never expected that now, when he finally saw her again, Xia Zhi’s attitude toward him would be worlds apart.
Moreover, she had even handled her return to the country entirely on her own.
Immediately after, Xia Zhi spoke, uttering the words he had already guessed were coming.
“Yu Huan, let’s break up.”
Pei Yuhuan looked utterly bewildered.
“Rere, you want to break up with me over such a trivial matter?”
Xia Zhi nodded.
“Yu Huan, you know I’ve never had to endure any grievances since I was little, and I can’t bear even the slightest bit of grievance. If I continue being with you, I feel… I might have to endure even more grievances in the future. I’m not willing to do that.”
Pei Yuhuan shook his head. “Rere, that night, my mother didn’t mean to…”
“No, she did it on purpose,”
Xia Zhi had no patience for playing guessing games and laid it out plainly.
“You might not be aware, but my father isn’t actually Grandfather’s biological son. He’s an adopted child of the Xia family.”
Pei Yuhuan frowned, taking several seconds to process this.
“Huh? You mean… my mother knows about this?”
“Mhm. Auntie probably thinks I’m not good enough for you, which is why she publicly made her stance clear, replacing my position with Xia Qiwu’s.”
With things laid out so explicitly, Pei Yuhuan, being a young master from a wealthy family, naturally understood the underlying implications.
After a moment of silence, he sidestepped the main issue and spoke.
“Even if that’s true… Rere, can’t we face it together and find a way through it together?”
Xia Zhi found it somewhat laughable.
This man hadn’t uttered a single word to deny what she had just said about not being good enough. Deep down, he evidently agreed with his mother.
She smiled and asked good-naturedly,
“So, Yu Huan, do you have any way to handle this?”
Pei Yuhuan leaned in, trying to pull Xia Zhi into his arms, sweet-talking her,
“How old are we now? Let’s not worry about it yet! I’ve prepared a plane—tonight we’ll fly to Japan for the fireworks festival… We’ll spend half a month there, then fly straight back to England… Who can control us?”
So his so-called solution was to run away.
He wanted to coax Xia Zhi into staying with him.
Xia Zhi pushed Pei Yuhuan away and stood up,
“I don’t want to.”
Love and affection couldn’t hold hostage a young lady who had been truly pampered since childhood.
Because she lacked neither love nor people who treated her well.
Pei Yuhuan panicked completely, grabbing Xia Zhi’s hand and playing the emotional card with memories of their years together.
Seeing Xia Zhi unmoved, he suddenly knelt before her.
“Rere, I really love you, you know that… I’ll talk to my mom, I’ll only love you in this lifetime…”
The proud young master of the Pei family, so humble and pleading.
Watching him, Xia Zhi still felt a twinge of pity.
But as soon as she remembered the tragedy from her dream, she sobered up instantly.
“Yu Huan, cutting our losses in time is best for both of us. You deserve someone better…”
“Hah… best for both of us…”
Pei Yuhuan wanted to get angry and lose his temper, but seeing Xia Zhi’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to be harsh with her.
With reddened eyes, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
In the evening, Xia Zhi received news that Pei Yuhuan had been in a car accident.
They had just broken up unpleasantly in the morning, and he had an accident in the afternoon…
Though she knew she shouldn’t assume the worst of others, Xia Zhi still felt there was an element of playing the victim in Pei Yuhuan’s actions.
But, having known each other for so many years, an accident was a serious matter—she had to visit him at the hospital.
…
At eight in the evening, Xia Zhi arrived at the hospital, dressed simply and elegantly.
As she approached the ward door, she heard the sound of a man and woman laughing inside.
“Yu Huan-ge, you can’t take off the bandage on your head… Don’t worry, it doesn’t affect your looks at all…”
“No way, wearing this makes me look like an Indian guy…”
“Hey, hey! Don’t pull it off… I’ll tell Auntie…”
“If you dare tell on me, I won’t take you out to play next time…”
…
Xia Zhi pushed the door open and, sure enough, sitting by the hospital bed was her cousin, Xia Qiwu.
Hearing the noise, both of them looked over.
Pei Yuhuan immediately pushed Xia Qiwu away, distancing himself,
“Rere, you finally came to see me. I missed you so much~”
Xia Qiwu looked somewhat awkward, standing up from the bedside,
“Cousin.”
Xia Zhi smiled and nodded at her cousin, then placed the fruit basket down and carefully examined Pei Yuhuan’s condition.
The man didn’t seem seriously injured—just a few scratches on his forehead.
After exchanging a few polite words, she prepared to leave.
Pei Yuhuan grew anxious, rushing to the door to stop Xia Zhi,
“Rere, don’t go… You still care about me, don’t you?”
Xia Zhi shook her head, “If any friend I knew had an accident, I would come to see them.”
Pei Yuhuan frowned, suddenly thinking of something,
“Rere, are you jealous… Qi Wu and I have nothing going on…”
His words made Xia Qiwu behind him almost die of embarrassment.
Xia Zhi shook her head, using her always sweet and soft voice to deliver the coldest words,
“Yu Huan, we’ve already broken up. Whoever you’re with has nothing to do with me.”
Pei Yuhuan couldn’t believe that Xia Zhi, who had always been gentle and soft-spoken, would suddenly be so heartless.
“Xia Zhi, I got into a car accident because of you… After all these years of our relationship… How could you just…”
“How is your car accident because of me?”
The young lady interrupted Pei Yuhuan, her expression disapproving.
“Pei Yuhuan, you can’t use your own mistakes to emotionally manipulate me.”
Even though she was already very angry, her tone was only slightly firmer, showing just how good-natured Xia Zhi was.
“Don’t do this again in the future. I’m very busy too.”
After saying these last words, the young lady left without looking back.
In the hospital room, Pei Yuhuan stood with his head bowed.
He couldn’t accept it…