Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Illusory Improvement
Shen Heyu added, “If it’s because of grandma’s pressure, you don’t have to do this, after all, I won’t say anything in front of her.”
After saying that, she turned on the hairdryer and started drying her hair, minding her own business.
The hot blast of air blew over; Pei Yansi took two steps back and observed her delicate figure for a couple of seconds before lying back down on the bed.
His gaze, however, had shifted from fiery heat to icy cold, revealing a thinly veiled, chilling danger.
Shen Heyu finished drying her hair, changed into pajamas, turned off the room light, and lay down on the other side of the double bed.
She intentionally maintained a distance, enough to fit a third person between herself and Pei Yansi.
...
As she was drifting off to sleep, Pei Yansi suddenly cuddled up from behind, wrapped his arm around her slender waist, and pulled her into his embrace.
Feeling the scorching heat of the man’s body behind her, Shen Heyu instantly woke up. She frowned, pushed back, and tried to struggle, but Pei Yansi wouldn’t allow it. He flipped over and pinned her under him.
…
It wasn’t until dawn broke that Pei Yansi, somewhat satisfied, finally let go of Shen Heyu.
She was exhausted and didn’t awake until noon the next day. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Pei Yansi sitting not too far away on the sofa in the room, his tall and upright figure not diminished even as he sank into the sofa, the oppressive aura about him as strong as ever.
Meeting his indifferent gaze, Shen Heyu found it impossible to reconcile the man before her with the wild Pei Yansi from the previous night. She slightly lowered her gaze, shifting her view away.
Pei Yansi adjusted the tie at his chest and said, “I had dinner prepared. After you eat, return to the Bishuitian apartment. The key is in the car I sent you earlier. We’ll move there in the future, and I’ll try to come home every night on time to be with you.”
Shen Heyu was slightly stunned, not understanding the meaning behind his words, but she no longer wanted to interpret his intentions and simply said, “If it’s because of the nanny, you don’t need to; I can find a place to live on my own and then tell her we’re living together.”
“Heh.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard him chuckle mockingly. His eyes were clear with derision, but he said no more and stood up to leave.
Seeing that he did not elaborate, Shen Heyu knew there was no room for negotiation and did not contradict him any further. She got up to eat soon after he left, then drove to the Bishuitian apartment.
This apartment had always been where Pei Yansi lived alone. Most of the time he didn’t come home; he stayed here.
Shen Heyu couldn’t be bothered to consider his motives; anyway, they wouldn’t be for her.
The apartment’s decoration featured a gray-white European style. Even the rooms felt cold, just like Pei Yansi himself.
Shen Heyu was still very tired. Pei Yansi was never considerate or gentle with her in bed. She fell asleep again, and when she woke up, it was already six in the evening.
This was the time when offices usually closed for the day.
Shen Heyu got up and freshened up, not taking to heart Pei Yansi’s promise to return home on time to Ah Kit but was surprised when he came back at seven o’clock with dinner for two in hand.
Looking at the man carrying home dinner and changing shoes at the entrance, Shen Heyu felt a momentary daze as if they were just an ordinary couple all along.
In the following days, life maintained the same rhythm. Pei Yansi would come home on time, sometimes bringing ingredients for the nanny to cook, sometimes bringing dinner directly.
After only a few days of such a life, Shen Heyu began to feel an illusion as if they could continue on like this forever.
But beautiful things were always fleeting.
A bit more than a week later, as usual, Shen Heyu went to the bathroom to wash up after dinner in preparation for bed.
Pei Yansi had already been lying in bed. Over the past week, with his daily returns, their encounters and frequency had increased.
Shen Heyu was not surprised and mentally prepared herself to be tormented by him tonight as she lay beside him.
He turned off the bedside lamp as on the previous nights, wrapped his arms around her, and began kissing her neck.
Arousing an adult’s feelings is too simple. Before long, the temperature in the air climbed, turning the atmosphere ambiguous and natural, yet just before Pei Yansi could get to the main event, the phone on the bedside table rang.
This had happened a few nights before, but he had always just glanced at it and ignored it.
This time, however, he rapidly got off Shen Heyu.
The rising tension was suddenly disrupted, and Shen Heyu, now fully awake, realized that this ringtone was different, designated specifically for someone.
Designated for Bai Sheng’er.
Pei Yansi picked up the phone, sat on the edge of the bed, and answered without avoiding Shen Heyu, his fingers accidentally brushing the speakerphone.
From the other side, Bai Sheng’er’s trembling, choked voice came through, “Yansi, I—I’m being followed… There are people knocking on my door right now, saying they’re going to come in and kill me. You have to come quickly; I’m terrified…”
Pei Yansi frowned deeply, his desire dissipating instantly, grabbed his clothes from the coat hanger quickly, and dressed with noticeable urgency as he instructed, “Hide yourself, and no matter what, don’t open the door. Call the police; I’ll be there soon.”
After giving instructions, he hung up the phone without so much as a glance at Shen Heyu, not even leaving an explanation as he slammed the door and left.
Hearing the door close, Shen Heyu gazed out at the pitch-black night, fixating on the neon-lit city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, her lips twisting into a mocking smile.
She stretched out, finished dressing herself in the clothes he had halfway removed, then pulled up the covers over herself and closed her eyes to sleep alone on the double bed.
The scent he had left on the blanket permeated her nostrils, impossible to escape. Shen Heyu frowned, closed her eyes, but simply couldn’t fall asleep.
She could feel that the skin he had caressed was now terribly cold.
After quite a while, still unable to sleep, a sickly feeling emerged as if the places he had kissed and touched were tainted with something dirty. She got up, turned on the room light, and went to the bathroom to wash herself anew.
Half an hour later, she emerged from the bathroom and lay back down in bed, preparing to try to sleep again when her phone rang.
Shen Heyu glanced at the caller ID—it was Pei Yansi.
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She hit the answer button, knowing it wouldn’t be anything good.