After waiting for the taxi, the two soon arrived at Pei Chuan’s house.
After such a long time, no one knew where Pei Chuan lived. Even Pei Haobin didn’t know.
Pei Chuan lived in a garden-style apartment; the location was not very good. But it was very quiet and pretty close to the old neighborhood, which could be reached within ten minutes by car.
The apartment had a total of 25 floors, and Pei Chuan lived on the top floor.
He took out the key and opened the door. Seeing her expectant look, Pei Chuan paused. He spent a second recalling whether there were dirty socks and men’s underwear scattered around the room.
He opened the door, and Bei Yao had to change her shoes.
Pei Chuan had just thought of this problem.
He wanted to tell her to not change and just come in. But when he turned around, the girl had already kicked off her two little snow boots.
Very adorable.
His gaze fell on her feet, which were much smaller than his palms, wearing fluffy sky-blue socks. Because the floor was cold, her feet were curled up. Pei Chuan gritted his teeth and bent down to find his slippers for her to wear.
His house rarely got visitors, so preparing these kinds of spare things was very strange to Pei Chuan.
Pei Chuan did not take off his shoes. He was wearing a prosthetic leg and did not want to show it to her.
Bei Yao didn’t notice that when he gave her his slippers, the blue vein on his arm was slightly bulging.
As someone without calves, Pei Chuan cared most about pants and shoes.
It was a pair of large men’s slippers. He was always good at concealing his emotions, so he lowered his gaze and didn’t let her see the emotion in his eyes.
Bei Yao was very happy and asked him to help her change. His shoes were too big and Bei Yao wore them like a child wearing adult shoes.
It is difficult to say the bitterness in the heart, but Pei Chuan could not help but look at her expression.
Under the crystal lamp in the living room, her eyes were shining brightly, wet and full of happiness inside.
There was no disgust or concern on her face, neither did she ask why he didn’t change his shoes.
His muscles suddenly relaxed.
Being innocent and cute was also good. At least there was no pretense and generosity adults usually had.
Her voice was crisp, like a wind chime. “Pei Chuan, your house is so empty, ah, you didn’t put any couplets or buy lanterns?
“En.”
She added, “Can I sit?”
Pei Chuan said, “You can.”
She sat on the sofa.
Pei Chuan's apartment was indeed quite large, more than a hundred and forty square meters, and it seemed too cold and empty for him to live alone. The furniture was cold black, white, and gray. The only bright colors were the young girl on the sofa wearing a soft yellow dress.
He became a little at ease.
Bei Yao said, “There are dumplings in the box, my mom and I made it. You have to keep it in the refrigerator.”
Pei Chuan put them in the refrigerator according to her instructions. When he turned around, he saw the girl with bright and sparkling eyes. “Are you cold? I’m not cold anymore, I’m returning your coat.”
He reached out and took it, but did not wear the coat. Instead, he put it aside on the sofa. After being worn for a while, the clothes had been stained with a light girly fragrance.
The girl’s eyes were slightly wet and she said shyly, “Um, that, can I hug it?”
He turned his head, looking at a gray diamond-shaped pillow he occasionally used to cushion his waist, which he hadn’t had time to wash.
He was silent, and Bei Yao blinked. “I can’t?”
Pei Chuan resigned himself and spoke with difficulty, “You can.”
She hugged it happily. Although it wasn’t cute and was ugly, it was softer than she had expected.
Pei Chuan’s house was truly cold, without any pots of green plants, and the curtains were also dark and heavy grey colors. He was a person with no interest in life. He usually only read the news or books and rarely played games. He didn’t keep pets either. In this over a hundred square meters of space, there was only a single living being. Pei Chuan also didn’t eat snacks. Naturally, it was impossible for him to buy New Year’s goods like Bei Yao’s family.
He didn’t even have water.
When Pei Chuan realized there were only a few packs of cigarettes in his cabinet, he couldn't help but look at her.
He was so boring, she must not stay long.
Bei Yao pointed to the biggest and most unique room. “What’s that room for?”
The door looked different and hard to open.
Pei Chuan’s fingers tightened, scared that she would take a look. If she wanted to take a look, he… he wouldn’t be able to refuse her. He lowered his voice. “Work.”
“Oh.” Fortunately, Bei Yao didn’t make it difficult for him. She thought Pei Chuan’s source of income must be a secret.
Bei Yao said, “Did you watch the Spring Festival Gala last night? There were two interesting skits.”
How could Pei Chuan have watched that? "No," He said.
"Then how about we watch the replay together?"
"......Hmm."
He accompanied her to watch TV. This year's Spring Festival Gala, the actresses’ voices were beautiful, magic had only moved on the screen, but the skits are extra exciting.
She spilled the drama’s spoiler. "In a moment, that robot will suddenly jump out, and then the male master will know that he has been cheated."
"How did the pigeon fly out? Where was it hiding?"
Pei Chuan's voice was low. "In the hat."
Seeing Bei Yao looking at him, Pei Chuan pursed his lips, “The magic pigeon is a spotted dove. Its tail and wings were clipped, and it was grabbed by hand as it slid out from inside the pocket."
Bei Yao dryly replied, "......Oh." She had just been asking casually. She had originally wanted Pei Chuan to follow along with amazement. She had not expected him to expose the magician’s trick seriously.
With his gloomy face, Pei Chuan had killed the conversation.
Bei Yao’s face was red and she didn’t hold back her laugh.
Pei Chuan came to understand later, he had no friends, and when he was older, he was no longer Bei Yao’s deskmate. No one played games with him, and he wasn’t good at getting along with girls. Such a soft and delicate creature, he didn’t know how to make her happy.
Bei Yao’s phone rang.
It was Bei Licai.
Bei Licai said, “Yaoyao, are you still at Minmin’s house? Come back early for lunch.”
Pei Chuan raised his eyes to look at her.
The sound of her phone was loud, and Bei Licai’s voice wasn’t low either. Bei Yao covered the receiver, her cheeks flushed, trying to find a place to hide.
Pei Chuan heard it! He must’ve heard that she should’ve gone to Minmin’s house.
Bei Yao’s face flushed red and it spread to her ears. She said, “Dad! I... I’ll be back soon.”
Pei Chuan lowered his eyes.
Waiting until she hung up, Pei Chuan asked calmly, “Who?”
No, he hadn’t heard it at all, ah.
Her thumping heart finally calmed down, and she said softly, “My dad, he asked me to go home.”
Because it was New Year's Eve, there was a family dinner. He knew she would not stay long.
Pei Chuan went to the bedroom and looked for a black scarf he hadn't worn yet and clean gloves of the same color. He handed them to her: "I haven't used them, so they’re clean."
She took them, and her almond eyes looked up at him.
Pei Chuan said, "Go home then."
Beiyao nodded: "Then, can I come again next time?"
"I like quietness." He replied.
He saw that pair of almond eyes blink. Her eyes were wet, tears about to come out.
His heart ached and he almost took back his words.
However, Pei Chuan remembered the weight of the bag of money sent by Auntie Zhao. What was the point of him stealing a moment of happiness? Except for delaying her and misunderstanding their relationship like Director Zhang had, there was no benefit to her.
He couldn't give her anything. He couldn't even coax her when she came over to play on New Year.
What would happen after he reneged on his promise to Auntie Zhao? If Auntie Zhao came to know this, they would reprimand her and explain everything to her. They would let her know everything. Would they let her know about his filthy feelings and hide her away from him?
At least, now he was still able to treat her as well as he could and satisfy her other requirements.
Bei Yao was very angry.
Oh, visiting him for the New Year and he thought she was noisy! Noisy!
He didn’t speak, she could also choose not to speak, so, should the two of them just stare at each other?
This very annoying person wrapped the scarf around her neck without touching even a single strand of her hair and sent her downstairs.
She was as quiet as a quail along the way.
Bei Yao didn’t want to wrong herself, she also put on the gloves. Anyway, she had delivered the gifts, and she had made the dumplings with her heart. Pei Chuan was so annoying that she didn't want to argue with him.
Pei Chuan knew she was sulking.
Her anger was like a knife in his heart, awfully painful.
This time, their luck was good. They didn’t have to wait long before a taxi came.
His gaze fell on her. It was profound, but he remained silent.
Bei Yao didn’t know what to do. Then she remembered how classmate Chen Yingqi said he didn’t miss Minmin.
She turned her head before getting into the taxi.
“Pei Chuan,” she said. “You see, I can stop being noisy. If I’m not noisy, can I come and play?”
With those tender gazes, Pei Chuan had been suppressed in grievance and despair.
He could do nothing and felt helpless.
Pei Chuan’s Adam’s apple hurt and his voice was hoarse. “En.”
She finally smiled again. Her smile was cute and lively.
After she had gotten into the car and had gone far away, Pei Chuan knew that he had repeatedly betrayed his promise. When the day Auntie Zhao and her husband got angry arrived, he would have to kneel down in front of them.
~
When Bei Yao arrived home, she could smell the aroma of the food.
Bei Jun said, "Jiejie, you don't take me when you go out! I'm angry!"
He was at the age when children were the most clingy.
However… how could Bei Yao bring dumplings to Pei Chuan if she brought him.
Zhao Zhilan spanked Bei Jun. “What are you angry for! Sit obediently and eat, you’re not allowed to stick to your Jiejie. Do you know how annoying you are and how much destructive power you have?”
Bei Jun felt sadness welling up, He must be like what Yao’s father said, a kid picked up from the trash can.
Bei Yao couldn’t help but laugh.
Zhao Zhilan said, “Eat, eat, this brat will not go out of the house for three days. No matter what he does, you can just go play with Minmin and ignore him.”
Zhao Zhilan arranged the chopsticks, then realized Bei Yao was wearing a scarf and gloves. “Do those gloves and scarf belong to Minmin’s family?”
Bei Yao: “...”
Zhao Zhilan reminded her, “If they have been lent to you by other people, you have to wash them clean before returning them.”
Bei Licai came out after washing his hands and heard this sentence. He subconsciously looked at his daughter’s scarf and gloves.
For Zhao Zhilan and Bei Licai, the scarf and gloves were monotonous and simple. The appearance was no different from the one you could buy on the street, and only the edge was embroidered with a letter K.
However, Bei Yao didn’t know that there were such things as straight men aesthetics in this world.
Bei Licai often read newspapers and magazines. He didn’t talk much but knew a lot, such as male luxury goods.
Bei Licai had never seen them in his life, only in magazines, but it did not prevent him from recognizing them.
He suppressed his excitement: "Show me the scarf."
Bei Yao didn't understand, so she had to bite the bullet and hand it to him.
"This is KING, Zhilan, what did the old Fang family do in the past two years, so rich ah."
Zhao Zhilan was also confused: "Huh? What?"
"This scarf costs thousands."
Bei Yao: "..."
Zhao Zhilan said suspiciously, "No way, how could it be possible? How could his family let Yaoyao bring back such things casually."
Just to let you know that all of Zhao Zhilan's savings would be just... 40,000 yuan.
Ha! Tell her how it was possible for her to lend a several thousand dollars scarf to her daughter to keep out the cold. And it was impossible for Zhao Xiu's family to get rich so quickly.
Bei Licai was also surprised. Old Fang was a teacher, how could his family become so rich all of a sudden?
Bei Yao did not expect that the things she had exchanged for dumplings, to which Pei Chuan had simply said "clean and unused", were so expensive.
She must return them to Pei Chuan, but facing the suspicious eyes of her parents, she had to take them back.
Bei Yao was about to cry, so she simply said, "This is... fake, fake, it’s the kind that’s about ten or twenty yuan on the street."
What else could Bei Licai say? Zhao Zhilan said, "I'm talking about you, you haven't seen it but dare to speak nonsense. Alright, now eat. I still do not understand it! I also have those counterfeits, what was it again? LV! Right, that's it, it's only 30 yuan!"
Bei Licai was speechless.
Bei Yao did not dare lift her head as she ate her rice.
Remembering those few words in the diary, she got a headache. She hadn't seen Pei Chuan this year, what amazing shady businesses had he actually done!