Chapter 248: I'll Buy You Two More Pairs!

Zhu Yuan heard his tone and knew he was about to get angry, so she put down her mask and stopped eating her meat sandwich, hurriedly explaining: "Even close brothers have to settle accounts clearly, but the money you've spent on me, I can't even count it, so how am I supposed to pay you back? That's why I've decided that when I return to work in a year, I'll work for you for free."

How was this any different from paying him back?

Pei Ling gave a cold snort and turned to leave.

But Zhu Yuan chased after him.

The moment she turned around, Pei Ling stopped in his tracks, not daring to actually let her chase him.

"I want to buy a gift for you."

Pei Ling frowned slightly, a surge of irritation rising in his heart, "What did you hear?"

Zhu Yuan's heart trembled; had he sensed something?

Seeing her silent, Pei Ling's expression darkened, "Did Pei Li tell you?"

Zhu Yuan was stunned again.

He thought those matters were his scars, things he didn't easily share with outsiders.

Last night, it was only because she had pretended to be asleep that he had let down his guard and said those things she couldn't bear to hear a second time.

So he had told Pei Li as well.

Just as she was thinking about how to explain, Pei Ling frowned deeply, "I didn't mean to."

Zhu Yuan's head was full of question marks.

Why was he blaming himself?

Regarding those past events, he was entirely the victim; she wished she had a time machine so she could travel back to that time, rush into the Pei Family, and save that poor little thing!

No...

Zhu Yuan suddenly realized that what she was thinking and what Pei Ling was saying seemed to be two different things.

To verify, she tentatively asked: "How could you be so careless?"

Pei Ling looked up at her; the black mask covered most of her face, the edge of the mask almost touching the corners of her large eyes.

Looking at those pure, harmless eyes, Pei Ling said with a dark face, "I will have people turn the house upside down, and I will find the cufflinks."

Sure enough!

A wave of bitterness welled up in Zhu Yuan's heart.

She never imagined that the gift she had originally intended for Sheng Yu, which she gave to Pei Ling to avoid him making things difficult for her, would be so cherished by him.

She was truly damned.

A sin, what a sin!

In her heart, she pressed her palms together and knelt to repent.

She was truly not a human being; she would want to slap herself every time she thought of this for the next ten years.

"Don't look for them anymore." Zhu Yuan patted his arm, "Big sister will buy you more!"

To prevent Pei Ling from going back to look for those cufflinks that had been washed away into some sewer, she held up two fingers and said: "I'll buy you two more pairs!"

"Besides, I saw that those cufflinks were a bit worn out anyway; it's just as well they're lost so you can get new ones. You are the dignified Second Master of the Pei Family, how can you use old things?"

Pei Ling was coaxed back onto the path by her words.

The moment Zhu Yuan walked forward, he tilted his head slightly and gave Pei Li a sharp look, signaling toward the boutique they had just left.

Pei Li nodded slightly, and with a wave of his hand, several Bodyguards followed him into the shop to check the customers' phones.

Sure enough, they found that some people had secretly taken photos and videos, which Pei Li had them all delete; he also made them open their cloud storage to delete the automatically saved content, and warned them not to go around talking nonsense.

Once inside the shop, Zhu Yuan stood before the counter, carefully selecting cufflinks.

She had chosen the previous pair based on that other person's temperament, but the advantage was that Pei Ling was a versatile match; nothing looked out of place on him.

This time, she genuinely wanted to give him a gift, so naturally, she had to choose according to his temperament.

Pei Ling leaned to one side with his arms crossed, staring fixedly at her face.

Whether it was the shop's lighting or her current state, she exuded an air of tranquility, the kind of tranquility that made one want to live a peaceful life.

Zhu Yuan picked up a pair of cufflinks; Pei Ling had lost his, so he wasn't wearing a shirt today. In Licheng, the weather was like spring all year round, and summer wasn't as distinct as in other cities; even though it was already May, it wasn't very hot, so his black short-sleeved shirt didn't look out of place.

She held the cufflinks up against him and said with a smile: "Look at my fashion sense, my aesthetic."

Pei Ling looked at the smug little expression revealed in her eyes and curled his lips.

Not long after they got in the car to return to the small courtyard, Zhu Yuan fell asleep.

It was a ten-minute drive.

The car drove into the courtyard.

Pei Li looked back, and Pei Ling slowly raised his eyes to look at him.

Pei Li understood, and stepped out of the car on tiptoe.

The car door closed, and in the spacious backseat, Pei Ling looked down at the woman who, having fallen asleep, was leaning her head against his shoulder unconsciously.

His hand, resting on his leg, moved.

The next second, he grabbed Zhu Yuan's hand.

He knew his hands were rough—an irreversible roughness caused by struggling in an iron cage since he was a child, his palms repeatedly rubbed raw.

Holding her delicate hand like this, he couldn't bear to hold it too tightly, yet he couldn't bear to let go.

After some internal struggle, he gently wrapped her hand in his palm.

Leaning against the seat back, he slowly closed his eyes.

He had intended to close his eyes and rest for a short while, but he fell asleep without realizing it.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but the moment Zhu Yuan moved slightly, he opened his deep amber eyes and looked down at the hand held in his palm; there was no struggle in his eyes, nor did he let go.

When Zhu Yuan opened her eyes, she saw the man's Adam's apple right before her.

It was so close, so close that her forehead was almost touching him.

Her head rested against Pei Ling's shoulder, her hand held within his palm; he was turned slightly, and it was as if she were sleeping curled up in his embrace.

She did not know how long this position had been maintained.

But fortunately, Pei Ling had not yet woken up.

Zhu Yuan prepared to quietly pull her hand away.

The first attempt was unsuccessful, so she tried adding a bit more strength; just as she had managed to pull half her hand out, that rough, large hand suddenly grabbed her escaping hand back, as if it were an unconscious movement made while asleep.

Yet Zhu Yuan's mind had been, of late, sometimes not working well, and sometimes exceptionally sharp.

Just like at this moment.

She was exceptionally sharp.

Living a life of licking blood off the edge of a blade in the Pei Family, Pei Ling's agility and alertness were absolutely top-tier.

Since he had not woken up despite her moving like that, there could only be one reason.

He was pretending to be asleep.

"I'm hungry."

As soon as Zhu Yuan spoke, sure enough, the man slowly opened his eyes, "Didn't you already eat a meat burger on Ancient Street?"

How much time had even passed since then?

She ate so much, yet she didn't seem to put on much weight.

Though she was doing much better than when he had first brought her out of the Hot Spring Villa in Jingdu City.

Taking advantage of him speaking, Zhu Yuan pulled her hand back, pushed open the car door, got out, and holding onto the door, said, "You don't understand, I just get hungry easily at times like this."

Watching her back, Pei Ling followed her out of the car as if nothing had happened, relying on the advantage of his long legs to catch up to her in two or three steps, grabbing her arm and saying, "Are you a reincarnated starving ghost, walking so fast?"

Zhu Yuan asked with amusement, "Are you talking about me, or the little one in my belly?"

The cold wind whistled through the gaps in the window, carrying with it the faint, lingering scent of snow.