In the car, Xia Zhi was tattling on her boyfriend’s brother.
“Brother Yuexuan, Pei Yuhuan bullied me…”
“He wouldn’t agree to break up, and he teamed up with his friends to act pitiful, trying to trick me into coming out. He even dragged his mother into it…”
“There were so many people on the street, and Pei Yuhuan was so mean to me. He even threw my phone away…”
“He also forced a kiss on me, and he was so rough, it really hurt…”
As she spoke, she extended her arms to Pei Yuexuan, showing him the bruises on her wrists.
Xia Zhi bruised easily—sometimes just a light bump would leave a large purple mark.
When Pei Yuhuan had pinned her against the wall earlier, gripping her wrists tightly, it had already felt painful.
After Pei Yuhuan left, two or three distinct finger marks remained on her wrists.
Xia Zhi was always proud and never easily revealed her vulnerability in front of others.
That’s why, when Xie Ning had crouched in front of her earlier and asked her to rinse her feet herself, Xia Zhi had refused to reach out.
In truth, she was afraid Xie Ning would see the bruises on her wrists.
Now, in front of Pei Yuexuan, these bruises became evidence of Pei Yuhuan’s mistreatment.
After all, in the entire city of S, the only one who could rein in Pei Yuhuan was his older brother, Pei Yuexuan.
After finishing her pitiful accusations, the delicate woman, her eyes red, concluded with a final statement:
“Brother Yuexuan, I’m never going to your Pei family again!”
Pei Yuexuan looked at Xia Zhi’s wrists, his heart aching unbearably.
The woman he secretly adored in his heart, the one he hardly dared to look at, had been treated so harshly by his younger brother.
How could Pei Yuhuan bring himself to do such a thing…
“Does it hurt?” he asked softly.
Xia Zhi immediately nodded, replying pitifully,
“It hurts so much…”
Unable to help himself, Pei Yuexuan took her hand and placed it on his lap, gently massaging the bruised area.
The woman’s wrist was slender and fragile, her skin as smooth and delicate as fine jade, sensitive and delicate beyond words.
The slightest touch to the bruised finger marks made her tremble and whimper in pain.
Pei Yuexuan lightened his touch even more, eventually giving up on using his fingers altogether. Instead, he cradled her wrist in his palm, gently pressing with the other hand’s palm.
He spoke in a low voice,
“Don’t worry, Rere. I’ll definitely teach him a lesson and make him come apologize to you properly.”
Hmph, that’s more like it.
Xia Zhi’s tears turned to a smile.
She cooed softly, “Brother Yuexuan, you’re so good.”
Pei Yuexuan looked into her eyes, his gaze seeming to hold a thousand unspoken emotions.
But in the end, he said nothing, lowering his eyes and focusing on gently massaging her bruises.
The man’s fingers were strong, his palms rougher than a woman’s. As he applied gentle pressure to the bruises, the initial pain gradually subsided, and her blood began to flow more freely. Slowly, a warm sensation spread through her wrist.
It didn’t hurt anymore—in fact, it felt quite comfortable.
Xia Zhi let out a sigh of relief. The frustration her ex-boyfriend had stirred up earlier was completely soothed away by his brother.
She leaned against the spacious backseat, resting softly against Pei Yuexuan’s arm.
Indeed, mature men were reliable and knew how to take care of others.
Her biological clock chose this moment to chime in, reminding her that it was already past her usual bedtime.
Yawning, Xia Zhi felt two tears well up in the corners of her eyes.
“Brother Yuexuan, I’m going to close my eyes for a bit. Wake me up when we get home.”
“Okay.”
The man’s arm was firm, his posture upright and straight, making it comfortable to lean against.
Xia Zhi nuzzled against Pei Yuexuan’s arm, murmuring drowsily,
“Brother Yuexuan, if only it were you…”
Pei Yuexuan heard Xia Zhi’s words clearly.
His movements paused, but he dared not respond.
From a very young age, Pei Yuexuan knew that as the heir of the Pei family, he had no right to choose his own partner.
Great families were strict with their heirs—they had to be outstanding, versatile, and never show their emotions…
They had to dedicate everything to the family.
In the future, he would have a wife chosen by the family. His wife would also bear many responsibilities and would not have an easy life.
As a man, he could have countless lovers outside of marriage—this was a common understanding in high society.
But Pei Yuexuan disdained this; he found such thinking dirty.
So over the years, Pei Yuexuan had remained chaste.
Since he couldn’t offer love, why use money and power to tempt others into corruption?
Five years ago, Pei Yuexuan met Xia Zhi and fell in love with her at first sight.
In the airport lounge, Xia Zhi glared at him reluctantly.
At that time, Pei Yuexuan thought to himself:
‘No wonder in those stories praising beauties, the heroines are already stunningly beautiful at fifteen or sixteen… So it really is like this…’
But back then, he didn’t realize it was love at first sight.
Two years later, when Pei Yuexuan finally confirmed his feelings, his younger brother Pei Yuhuan had already taken the lead, openly pursuing Xia Zhi.
As the older brother, he could only watch silently from the sidelines.
Later, Xia Zhi became his brother’s girlfriend, and the two went abroad together to study.
Pei Yuexuan poured all his energy into his work, forcing himself to accept reality.
He was almost ready to give up.
He was almost ready to resign himself to fate.
But just then, Xia Zhi suddenly returned, left his brother, and came to his side.
So affectionate, so dependent on him…
….
Pei Yuexuan lowered his gaze and softly called Xia Zhi,
“Rere…”
Jiaojiao didn’t respond, leaning against his arm as if already asleep.
The man’s senses were filled with the faint fruity fragrance of her hair.
Her body warmth seeped through his thin shirt, warming every pore of Pei Yuexuan’s skin.
He carefully raised his hand, restraining himself as he gently stroked her long hair.
If only it were me…
If only there were no “if”…
More than ten minutes later, they arrived at Xia Zhi’s home.
Pei Yuexuan thought for a moment and instructed the driver,
“Find a place to park.”
The implication was that he wouldn’t be coming out soon.
Then, Pei Yuexuan got out of the car, cradled Xia Zhi in his arms, and carried her home.
He carried her all the way to the second-floor bedroom, gently laying her on the bed.
The bedroom lights were motion-activated. Pei Yuexuan found the remote by the pillow and turned off most of the lights, leaving only two floor lamps by the window.
He sat by the bed, gazing intently at Xia Zhi’s sleeping face.
Only at times like this did he dare to pour out all the love in his eyes.
He could never get enough of looking at her—Rere was truly so well-behaved.
The man’s gaze grew increasingly tender, taking in her smooth long hair, her small pink earlobes, her proud pearl-like upturned nose, and her thick, curled eyelashes…
It turns out that loving someone means even the extra half of a hair whorl at her temple seems exquisitely unique, unmatched in heaven or on earth.
Pei Yuexuan didn’t know how long he had been watching, but when he came back to his senses, he had already leaned down and placed a kiss on Xia Zhi’s cheek.
What was he doing?
How could he do something like stealing a kiss from Rere while she was asleep?
Pei Yuexuan’s eyes trembled, and he immediately tried to sit back up.
Just then, Xia Zhi’s eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes, waking up.
She called out to him,
“Yue Xuan…”
The man’s heart itched, and he held his breath, not daring to move.
Rere… what did she just call him?