When breaking up, doing it cleanly allows one to move on from the previous relationship more quickly.
Better a short pain than a long one.
Xia Zhi wasn’t worried about Pei Yuhuan.
In the upper-class circles of S City, Young Master Pei was a troublemaker of sorts. He had a large group of friends, and whenever he was unhappy, just a word from him would have people lining up to cheer him up.
If Xia Zhi was a pampered young lady, then Pei Yuhuan was a pampered young master.
The two of them were never suited to be together—both were too spoiled and too willful. When they both threw tantrums, those around them never knew who to console first.
Breaking up was a good thing; it would prevent many future tragedies.
After the scene Pei Yuhuan had caused, Xia Zhi was completely awake.
Remembering she still had a guest, she couldn’t stay sitting on the bed—it would be too improper.
Xia Zhi pushed aside the silk quilt and got out of bed, her bare feet landing on the plush carpet beside the bed.
Not seeing her slippers, she called toward the walk-in closet,
“Brother Yuexuan, there should be slippers inside. Could you bring them to me…”
“…Mm.”
The man came out, bent down, and placed the soft-soled slippers by her feet.
When Pei Yuexuan straightened up and lifted his face, Xia Zhi looked at him in surprise.
“Brother Yuexuan, why is your face so red?”
If she hadn’t asked, it might have been fine, but as soon as she did, the man’s expression grew even stranger.
Pei Yuexuan, usually proud and composed, now seemed flustered, unable to meet Xia Zhi’s gaze.
He turned his face away and shook his head.
“It’s nothing.”
Xia Zhi glanced toward her walk-in closet, which was likely in disarray.
She had decided to stay in the country at the last minute, and her belongings from England had only been delivered in the afternoon. Several large boxes were piled inside the closet.
Xia Zhi didn’t like letting her assistants or Auntie handle her intimate clothing, preferring to organize it herself.
When she had received Mrs. Pei’s call in the evening, she seemed to have been sorting…
Her lingerie.
Inside the closet now, scattered across the dressing stool, open drawers, and display shelves…
Were all her bras, panties, various camisoles, and slips…
Along with a few sets of provocative outfits that Bai Jiyue had given her a few days ago with a mysterious, mischievous smile.
So when Pei Yuexuan had hidden inside earlier, he must have seen everything.
Boom.
Xia Zhi’s face flushed bright red in an instant.
“Brother Yuexuan, inside… you…”
The man immediately shook his head, protesting too much.
“No, I didn’t see anything.”
She hadn’t even asked, yet he had already answered.
That meant he had seen everything!
Xia Zhi immediately turned her back, her eyes reddening with embarrassment.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say it outright, so she just stared at her toes, joining Pei Yuexuan in an unspoken agreement to maintain their dignity.
“Ah… okay…”
With that, the atmosphere in the bedroom grew delicate once again.
For a moment, neither spoke. They stood very close but dared not look into each other’s eyes.
“Ahem.”
Pei Yuexuan, being a few years older and more mature, quickly suppressed the flutter in his heart and regained his usual composure and elegance.
He cleared his throat, breaking the silence first.
“As for Yu Huan, I think he’s already accepted it… Tomorrow, I’ll send him abroad so he won’t bother you again. He’s young and loves to have fun—he’ll get over it in time.”
Xia Zhi nodded, offering the man a soft smile.
“Okay.”
Her words and expression were filled with trust and dependence.
Pei Yuexuan felt an inexplicable itch in his throat and hastily changed the subject,
“Has the matter at Fudan been resolved? Classes start the day after tomorrow, right…”
Xia Zhi nodded, “Yes, the day after tomorrow is just for registration.”
The man pondered to himself for a moment, finally looking into Xia Zhi’s eyes,
and cautiously asked,
“Then the day after tomorrow… would you like me to show you around Fudan?”
To tour the campus together meant going together; after the tour, they would have to return together, which would inevitably lead to having dinner together…
So, this was a subtle invitation for a date.
This man was finally, no longer planning to hide his feelings.
Xia Zhi smiled softly back at him and nodded,
“Sure.”
Pei Yuexuan also smiled, quietly relaxing his tense fingers.
“Then, Rere, rest early. I’m leaving.”
The emotions between a man and a woman are like a game of chess.
The push and pull are filled with the thrill of testing boundaries.
With a playful glint in her eyes, Xia Zhi called out to Pei Yuexuan, who was about to leave,
“Brother Yuexuan,”
“Hmm?” The man turned back.
The charming woman’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she teased,
“What about the thing we didn’t finish earlier… are we just letting it go?”
The thing they didn’t finish earlier…
Was it the kiss interrupted by Pei Yuhuan?
In an instant, the memory of their breaths mingling in that second flooded Pei Yuexuan’s mind.
They were so close, just a little more, and he would have kissed the treasure he had longed for day and night.
But the man was always reserved, and his earlier lapse had been an uncontrollable impulse.
At this moment, he couldn’t possibly repeat it.
Pei Yuexuan bit the soft flesh inside his cheek, looking at Xia Zhi with a mix of helplessness and affection,
“Rere, don’t tease me.”
“If we were somewhere else, I could… but here, I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself…”
He said the latter part very softly, as if speaking to himself.
Xia Zhi took a step closer, puzzled, “What did you say?”
“Nothing,”
Pei Yuexuan gently brushed the stray strands of hair by her ear,
“Goodnight, Rere. I’ll pick you up the day after tomorrow.”
The smooth progress of things left Xia Zhi with a sense of unease.
Indeed, unexpected events always arrive before happiness.
They love barging in like this, striding boldly through the door you left open for joy.
And then, with a flick of the wrist, locking it shut.
At two in the morning, Pei Yuexuan’s car was on its way home.
Turning onto Jianguo East Road, a dense canopy of plane trees swept past the car window, blocking out the overly bright streetlights.
The man leaned back, closing his eyes, his right hand seemingly resting casually near his nose.
Earlier, when he walked into the dressing room, he accidentally tripped over a dressing stool on the floor, and his right hand instinctively reached out for support.
It landed on a smooth, silky spaghetti-strap nightgown.
The dress had been casually tossed onto the leather surface, clearly just taken off and not yet collected by Auntie for washing.
The fabric slipped through his palm, as if still carrying the warmth of the person who had worn it.
Pei Yuexuan closed his eyes, not daring to look at his own actions.
He took a breath.
…
Meanwhile, in the small Western-style house on Fuxing Middle Road, Xia Zhi emerged from the bathroom after her shower.
Turning off the lights and lying in bed, she recalled how she had almost kissed the man she had always regarded as an older brother.
Her heart raced, and she buried her face in the silk quilt.
…
At the same time, dozens of kilometers away.
Pei Yuhuan’s car, after recklessly speeding through the city for a while, drove onto the Nanpu Bridge.
He had drunk a lot tonight, and his earlier clarity was fleeting.
Having suffered a severe blow, his mind was now a blank slate.
Recalling the scenes of the past few years with Xia Zhi, remembering how Xia Zhi nestled in his arms, smiling softly at him…
Pei Yuhuan’s eyes reddened once more, aching with the urge to cry.
A truck approached from the opposite direction, its high beams flashing a warning.
Pei Yuhuan, just as he raised a hand to wipe his tears, was startled.
In the panic, his nerves dulled by alcohol, he slammed his foot hard on the accelerator and jerked the steering wheel sharply to the right.
….
….
Crash.