Extreme Pampering-Chapter 55 - Are You Feeling Sorry for Me
Chapter 55: Chapter 55 Are You Feeling Sorry for Me?
Chapter 55: Chapter 55 Are You Feeling Sorry for Me?
The album was thick, and as she flipped toward the back, Pei Yu appeared more frequently, but most of the time he still stood in the corner of the photos, rarely looking at the camera. His eyes were often cast downward, or his head tilted, his still youthful face almost void of emotion, like a blank sheet of paper.
Qin Xiaoran had already extricated himself from Father Pei’s marriage story and was eagerly introducing the Pei Family members to Shen Zhiyi, knowing that she must have been unaware of them, especially now that Huating was so empty.
“This is Brother Pei, second brother… Brother Pei Yu is the youngest, he has five brothers and three sisters. Uncle Pei’s later wives didn’t have children, so I guess you can say Brother Pei Yu was raised by him. But I think he doesn’t like Brother Pei Yu, maybe because of his mother.”
“Why?” Shen Zhiyi was more curious about why Pei Yu wasn’t favored by his father than where all those people from the Pei Family had gone.
“It’s a feeling,” Qin Xiaoran said, furrowing his brow in frustration, “My dad says Uncle Pei really likes Brother Pei Yu, otherwise he wouldn’t have personally trained him. But I feel the opposite. He never smiled at Brother Pei Yu. Qin Fang says every time Brother Pei Yu went out with Uncle Pei and came back, he would become especially silent, not saying a word for days.”
She tried to lighten the mood, “Qin Fang even deliberately cozied up to Brother Pei Yu. Back when Brother Pei Yu wasn’t speaking a word, Qin Fang thought he was being shunned and decided to draw a clear line with Brother Pei Yu.”
And now, isn’t he still eagerly making his way to him, just like he always did.
Shen Zhiyi couldn’t manage to smile, realizing for the first time that so many things had happened in that empty Huating, “His father, Pei Yu’s father now—”
“Is in a sanatorium,” Qin Xiaoran said, “I heard that he fell ill.”
She wanted to tell Shen Zhiyi more about Pei Yu’s brothers and sisters, but the room’s door was knocked on. Qin Fang stood at the door, his casual demeanor unfaltering, “What are you guys doing, Qin Xiaoran? Talking about my dark past again?”
It was typical behavior for her; every time this girl made new friends, she had to dig up his embarrassing past, as if that was some newfangled way to bond with people.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Qin Xiaoran closed the album and spoke bluntly, “You only took up one percent of our conversation.”
Qin Fang didn’t believe her, “One day I’ll burn those photos. Dinner’s ready, come down and eat.”
The Qin Family wasn’t much livelier than Huating, with the parents’ seats always vacant, but everyone was used to it, as if it was the natural state of their lives.
As their visits became more frequent, Qin Fang no longer addressed her with such formality as “Miss Shen,” his attitude much more casual.
“Don’t learn bad habits from this crazy girl, or Brother Pei will come after me again.”
Qin Xiaoran rolled his eyes while Shen Zhiyi was amused to laughter, hearing him ask again what Pei Yu was busy with.
“He’s attending an elder’s birthday banquet.”
Pei Yu had mentioned it to her.
“Oh, now I remember,” Qin Fang nodded, “That old man doesn’t like me, didn’t even invite me.”
After dinner, Shen Zhiyi was ready to return to Huating, but Qin Xiaoran wasn’t done playing and pleaded her to stay a bit longer, “After all, Brother Pei Yu will be done with the banquet much later. Stay and play with me a little longer.”
Qin Fang chimed in, “Yeah, hang out for a while. Huating is so empty, you must feel lonely there.”
He and Qin Xiaoran took Shen Zhiyi to play video games with them. Hoping to show off with a novice in tow, they didn’t expect Shen Zhiyi to score a triple kill on her first try.
Qin Fang became numb, “You can play?”
Shen Zhiyi, feeling a bit embarrassed since they hadn’t asked, admitted truthfully, “A little.”
Previously, an esports all-star New Year’s match had wanted to invite her, so Shen Zhiyi learned to play for a while, but the collaboration ultimately fell through, and the company had another artist take her place.
Qin Fang, having lost face, decisively gave up and started giving nonsensical commands, much to the annoyance of Qin Xiaoran.
They were in the midst of an exciting game when a sudden gust of cold air swept through. Qin Fang turned around to see Pei Yu standing at the door.
He had just come from the banquet, where he’d had drinks with the elders. The alcohol didn’t show on his face, but his neck was slightly flushed. His shirt was impeccably white, without a single crease, only his tie was loose, giving his usually cold demeanor a touch of laziness. He glanced over, his gaze lightly brushing past Qin Fang.
Qin Fang immediately said, “Qin Xiaoran, stop clinging to Zhiyi and let her go home, it’s late already.”
While playing games, Qin Xiaoran turned his head impatiently, “Qin Fang you—ugh,”
Zhiyi, her attention on the game, didn’t notice that the two around her had gone silent until an ice-cold hand touched her cheek, which brought her back to reality, “When did you get here?”
Standing lazily, Pei Yu glanced at the screen and instead of answering her question, he asked, “Are you planning to stay here?”
“No, of course not,” Zhiyi felt his hand was quite cold and found his question strange; she definitely planned to return to Huating.
He reached out to her and pulled her up from the sofa, “It’s time to go back.”
Zhiyi was led away, and Qin Xiaoran exited the game, shaking his head, “How unreliable can you be, even Brother Pei Yu doesn’t trust you enough to leave someone with you.”
Qin Fang was speechless, “Don’t you ever reflect on yourself? It’s obvious he just dislikes you.”
The siblings started to argue about who exactly Pei Yu was more annoyed with and ended up insisting on calling Pei Yu to clarify the matter.
Seeing the incoming call, Pei Yu rubbed his brow and hung up.
Sure enough, they didn’t dare to call a second time.
Zhiyi also saw who was calling, “Aren’t you going to answer it?”
Too familiar with the way those siblings thought, Pei Yu shook his head, perhaps too tired, his eyes looked listless, “Annoying.”
Lying with his head on Zhiyi’s lap, he wrapped his arms around her waist, his voice somewhat muffled, “Did you have fun playing with Qin Xiaoran?”
“Yeah, she’s really interesting.”
“What did you all play?”
Zhiyi looked down, gently playing with his hair that had fallen loose, “We looked at some photos.”
Guessing they were Qin Fang’s embarrassing photos, he didn’t ask further. Pei Yu simply told her, “Don’t always accommodate others, if you find her annoying, just ignore her.”
It’s troublesome enough having them visit the filming set.
“I didn’t find it annoying.”
Pei Yu hummed in response and remained silent.
In this silence, Zhiyi’s thoughts drifted back to that photo, to Qin Xiaoran’s description of the Pei Family, to the recollection that Mrs. Pei had passed away when Pei Yu was only six years old.
Suddenly, she felt an unprecedented urge to confide, “… My mother left when I was eight years old. She couldn’t stand my dad beating her, so she left.”
In her father’s words, she ran off with someone. After that, he grew even more addicted to drinking and even more violent when hitting people, not stopping even when he drew blood.
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Like Pei Yu, she was someone who lost her mother at a very young age.
The car was silent for quite a while; it was so long that Zhiyi thought Pei Yu might have fallen asleep when suddenly the arm around her waist tightened. Pei Yu lifted his gaze, looking at her intently, his eyes swirling with tumultuous and complex emotions.
He knew why she had suddenly brought this up.
Zhiyi uncomfortably turned her head away, but Pei Yu wouldn’t let her hide, hooking her neck and making her look down.
He spoke with certainty, “Are you feeling sorry for me?”
