Pei Yuexuan, the eldest son of the Pei family, the designated heir to the Pei commercial empire.
Top-tier lineage—whether tracing back three generations on his father’s side or his mother’s, both families were illustrious and distinguished.
Top-tier appearance—generations of occupying the finest and most abundant choices, genes refined through layers of selection, giving rise to the most exquisite and flawless essence.
Since he turned eighteen and came of age, he had been the man most desired for marriage among all the wealthy, beautiful women in the entire S City.
Without exception.
So now, for Xia Zhi to believe that this man had secretly loved her all along…
She shook her head, feeling that her earlier dream was too unreasonable.
But… everything in the dream felt so real…
It was truly contradictory.
At this very moment, Pei Yuexuan was half-kneeling on one knee beside the sofa, his arms stiffly spread open.
His fingers curled slightly, wanting to touch the young woman in his arms yet not daring to.
He whispered softly by her ear,
“Rere, what’s wrong?”
Xia Zhi’s rationality was awakened by the man’s voice, and she belatedly realized how bold her actions had been.
How could she be so audacious as to burrow into her boyfriend’s older brother’s embrace…
But the man’s body warmth was so comforting, his faint, crisp scent just as pleasant as in her dream,
and the chest beneath his shirt felt so good to lean against.
Borrowing a hint of intoxication, Xia Zhi gently shook her head in the man’s arms,
“Brother Yuexuan, my head hurts…”
Shaking her head like this against his chest was no different from nuzzling and acting coy in his embrace.
Pei Yuexuan’s body grew even stiffer, so much so that even his assistant standing not far behind could sense his tension.
“Ahem…”
Pei Yuexuan coughed softly twice, stood up, and politely supported Xia Zhi’s back,
“Is it Yu Huan’s birthday? Are you all playing here?”
Xia Zhi nodded obediently, “Mm…”
She was nearly twenty centimeters shorter than the man. Even though she wore five-centimeter high heels, it wasn’t enough to make her look too…
But standing face-to-face like this, with Xia Zhi leaning softly and unsteadily against the man’s front,
her forehead happened to rest against Pei Yuexuan’s collarbone.
Whether nodding or shaking her head, it carried an intimate, ambiguous friction.
Pei Yuexuan swallowed, his throat dry and itchy, and glanced around.
He tossed the suit jacket in his hand to the assistant behind him and waved him off.
The assistant immediately understood, ushering the few suited men still waiting nearby downstairs.
With no one else around now, the man’s hand finally dared to slide down a few inches, resting on Xia Zhi’s waist to steady her.
He lowered his head and coaxed softly by her ear,
“Rere, should I call Yu Huan out and have him take you home?”
Though his words spoke of summoning his younger brother, his thoughts were entirely focused on his right hand.
Secretly, he rubbed it a couple of times.
“No,”
Xia Zhi shook her head, “I don’t want Pei Yuhuan…”
The man unconsciously licked his lips, “Did you two argue? Or did he bully you?”
“We didn’t argue,”
Xia Zhi clutched the front of Pei Yuexuan’s shirt with both hands, lifting her face to look at him,
“Brother Yuexuan, can’t you take me away…”
What?
Pei Yuexuan’s pupils contracted slightly, feeling that what was happening now was too unreal.
The treasure he had cautiously loved for years was actually in his arms, acting coy with him…
Asking him to take her away…
Holding her close, the scent of alcohol from the woman’s breath wafted clearly—sweet yet tinged with a slight tartness, the unique aroma of champagne.
It also resembled the love the man had been forced to conceal all these years.
Pei Yuexuan lowered his gaze, looking deeply into Xia Zhi’s eyes.
These eyes, which often appeared in his dreams, were even more captivating after drinking.
As Pei Yuhuan’s older brother, by reason or emotion, he should not love her.
At this moment, he absolutely should not be holding her.
And he certainly should not overstep his bounds by taking Rere home.
But reason was nothing in the face of love.
Especially when the one he loved had been drinking, looking dazed and confused, making him unable to rest easy.
Pei Yuexuan spoke, his eyes filled with affection,
“Of course I can,”
The man raised his hand, wanting to touch the two adorable blushes beneath Xia Zhi’s eyes.
But he couldn’t touch her.
His right hand could only change direction, restrained, as he gently smoothed the long hair on her shoulder,
His voice grew even softer,
Coaxing her, “Be good, I’ll take you away.”
The next second, he scooped up the limp Xia Zhi in his arms.
He didn’t take the stairs, instead turning into the nearest elevator lobby.
In the underground parking garage, the assistant, having seen off the guests, was already waiting by the car.
Seeing his boss carrying… the young master’s girlfriend down!
Assistant Wang immediately lowered his head, pretending not to see.
He helped open the car door, then watched as Pei Yuexuan settled Xia Zhi into the passenger seat. Knowing he had no business here anymore,
Assistant Wang tossed the car keys aside and vanished into the emergency stairwell in a flash, not daring to take a single breath.
Xia Zhi nestled into the leather seat, glancing up at the rearview mirror just in time to see the assistant’s flustered retreating figure,
“Hah~”
The delicate woman let out a light laugh, her sweet, lingering tone particularly enticing in the quiet underground parking lot.
Pei Yuexuan stood by the car, fastening her seatbelt.
The young girl smiled, shifting her body slightly.
And so, the back of the man’s hand unexpectedly brushed against the skin of her thigh.
In the height of summer, everyone wore light clothing.
Xia Zhi wore a lotus-pink chiffon dress tonight—a somewhat outdated color, but it couldn’t hide how absolutely stylish she looked in it.
It made her skin appear even fairer and more delicate, tender beyond words.
The spaghetti straps rested delicately by her collarbone, the light fringe of the dress pooling around her thighs due to her seated position, clinging to the hem in an inseparable tangle.
“Brother Yuexuan…”
Seeing the man frozen in place, Xia Zhi called out to him.
Then, as Pei Yuexuan instinctively looked up at her, she deliberately gave him a sidelong glance and tugged at her skirt,
“What are you looking at so intently…”
“How much did you drink…”
The man snapped back to reality, giving her a half-amused, half-chiding look.
As if… he were a righteous gentleman scolding a mischievous junior with his eyes.
After closing the car door for Xia Zhi, his long legs carried him around the front of the car in a few strides as Pei Yuexuan took the driver’s seat.
The earlier fluster was now completely hidden, with no trace of it visible.
“Shall I take you home?” Pei Yuexuan turned to ask her.
“I don’t want to go home, only Auntie is there…”
Xia Zhi shook her head, “Brother Yuexuan, can I go to your place?”
Of course she could, why couldn’t she?
It was something he longed for.
But the joy in his heart was one thing; morality and propriety were another.
Pei Yuexuan sighed, giving up on starting the car,
He said helplessly, “I’ll ask Yuhuan to come down…”
The man took out his phone and dialed his younger brother’s number.
While waiting for the call to connect, he turned to look at the young girl beside him.
Xia Zhi sat obediently in the seat, tilting her face slightly, her soft gaze meeting his from below.
Her eyes were clear yet slightly dazed, the corners tinged with a lazy flush from the cold and the alcohol.
Pei Yuexuan looked away, feeling inexplicably stuffy in the car.
With one hand, he unbuttoned the second button of his shirt and suddenly hung up the phone.
He locked the screen, tossed it into the storage compartment, and started the car.
“Did he not answer?” Xia Zhi asked.
“He did,”
Pei Yuexuan kept his eyes on the road ahead, but the corners of his mouth lifted slightly,
“I suddenly didn’t want to call him anymore… I’ll take you home.”
“…Oh.”
Beside him, Jiaojiao responded softly and then fell silent.
Only after the car left the parking lot and turned a corner did Pei Yuexuan dare to glance at her out of the corner of his eye.
Xia Zhi, covered in his suit jacket, had tilted her head against the window and fallen asleep.
Pei Yuexuan’s jacket was far too big for Xia Zhi.
It covered her from her shoulders down to her thighs, almost enveloping her entirely.
At the hem of the black suit were her fair, slender legs—the stark contrast made it impossible not to notice.
Her smooth, long hair tangled against the stiff fabric, the ends playfully swaying with the car’s speed.
Pei Yuexuan glanced once, and after a long while, couldn’t help but look again.
Those adorable hair ends seemed to sway right into his heart.