Chapter 15

Nianxi instinctively turned her head. Her gaze met Pei Jian’s directly.

Pei Jian had captivating almond-shaped eyes with slightly upturned corners that gave the illusion of deep affection when he focused on someone. Even though his face conveyed indifference and coldness, this stark contrast only made him alluring, drawing people in like moths to a flame.

She quickly averted her gaze and, in the pause between her brother’s ramblings, softly said, “But I just like someone like Gu Ci.”

Wen Qingheng felt as though his heart had seized in that instant.

Pei Jian’s brows furrowed as his gaze involuntarily fell back on Nianxi.

Today, Nianxi wore a light green silk gauze gown with a matching hairpin tucked against her temple and a pair of jade earrings dangling from her ears. As she tilted her head to speak with Wen Qingheng, the earrings swayed gently, reflecting the spring sunlight in shimmering patterns that danced on her radiant skin.

Pei Jian realized he had never noticed what kind of jewelry Nianxi wore before. Gold, jade, or pearls—he couldn’t even recall if he had ever given his wife any gifts like these. He had always been too busy, like a tireless horse burdened with endless tasks. He didn’t know how to enjoy life and had neglected those closest to him.

Back when Pei Jian was serving as Minister of Revenue, during urgent wartime demands, the entire department worked tirelessly for days on end to organize and allocate provisions for the northern campaign.

During this intense period, Qin Lang blushed as he approached Pei Jian to request leave. “Today is my wife’s birthday. I haven’t been home in days, and she’s a sensitive one—she’ll probably hide somewhere to cry secretly.”

Pei Jian found this utterly baffling. He had met Qin Lang’s wife before—a woman even chattier than Qin Lang himself. How could someone like her be the type to shed tears quietly?

“It’s because I miss her, alright?” Qin Lang retorted with a stiff neck. Having once been classmates, Qin Lang was less formal with Pei Jian, even though he was technically his superior. “I don’t believe for a second that you don’t miss your wife.”

Pei Jian was momentarily stunned by the question.

Previously, Pei Jian couldn’t comprehend Qin Lang’s mindset and even found Gu Ci’s romantic nature trivial. But at this moment, watching Nianxi’s jade earrings swaying gently and creating ripples of light like a stone dropped into a calm lake; he suddenly realized how much he had overlooked.

Nianxi had said she liked Gu Ci’s type.

Those words deeply hurt him.

Having returned through rebirth, Pei Jian had already planned his future, deliberately excluding Nianxi from it. Of course, he knew she would meet someone else, would end up with someone else, just as they had once been together in their past lives.

But it wasn’t until Nianxi clearly voiced it, giving “that person” a specific identity—and worse, it was his friend—that Pei Jian felt a sharp and tangible pain in his heart.

It compounded with the pain he had felt on that fateful evening, when Nianxi told him she wanted to dissolve their marriage, that she no longer loved him. The two waves of anguish merged and struck him with doubled intensity.

So, this was how delayed pain worked.

Only after such a long time, spanning both his previous and current lifetimes, did Pei Jian finally feel the suffocating, piercing sorrow.

And alongside it came anger. She had actually fallen for someone else. Simply due to a twist of fate, a connection that should have belonged to him, she had given it entirely to Gu Ci.

When Nianxi said she wanted to dissolve their marriage, Pei Jian thought it was merely a bluff, convinced that she couldn’t live without him. And he, too, did not want to leave her.

But he was wrong. Nianxi didn’t need him to live. Without him, she could still love someone else wholeheartedly.

Even though Pei Jian knew the fifteen-year-old Nianxi standing before him was not the wife who had been by his side for years, he still couldn’t suppress the restlessness growing inside him.

Pei Jian’s pride had been wounded. For a man at the pinnacle of power, love might seem insignificant to him, yet deep down, he still expects unwavering devotion from his wife—consistently and unchangingly, even if he doesn’t reciprocate, even if lifetimes have passed, even if he has already let go. This was the hidden truth buried within him.

Nianxi’s shift of affection left him feeling humiliated.

From their encounter yesterday until now, Pei Jian had managed to keep his emotions stable. He had dismissed his unease as a shadowy possessiveness common to men, a rejection of fate’s cruel joke.

But when Nianxi admitted it out loud, all the negative emotions surged like an overwhelming tidal wave, threatening to crush him completely.

With Wen Qingheng still lingering nearby, there were things he couldn’t say.

Pei Jian’s lips tightened into a straight line, his jaw clenched. Before losing control of his composure, he left the Wen residence.

It wasn’t until he was gone that Nianxi finally loosened her sweaty palms. No one noticed the deep crescent marks imprinted on her skin.

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That day, Nianxi never made it to the Treasure Pavilion. Her mood had been affected, and even when Gu Ci came looking for her after work, she couldn’t muster much enthusiasm.

Gu Ci’s entire attention was on her, and noticing her distracted demeanor, he immediately asked, “Why aren’t you happy? Are you feeling unwell?”

Nianxi shook her head vaguely. “A little, perhaps.”

Having three older sisters, Gu Ci was far from oblivious to the subtleties of a woman’s emotions. Noticing that Nianxi was reluctant to elaborate, he began to form his ideas.

“It’s a good thing I did a divination before heading out,” Gu Ci remarked.

Nianxi knew he was teasing her and played along with a casual “Oh?”

Gu Ci stroked an imaginary beard, putting on an air of wisdom, and continued, “It foretold that today, on Yiqiao Street, there would be a young lady from the Wen family. She…”

He deliberately drew out the suspense, his phoenix-shaped eyes glancing sideways at her.

Nianxi, amused, laughed and urged him, “What about her?”

Like performing a magic trick, Gu Ci produced a small pouch and handed it to Nianxi. “This old man calculated that this Miss Wen must be craving something.”

Taking the pouch, which had a notable weight, Nianxi didn’t open it immediately and instead asked with a smile, “What is it?”

“Pine nuts.”

It was Gu Ci’s first day on duty, and in the alley near the government office, he noticed an elderly woman selling plump pine nuts. Knowing that Nianxi enjoyed them, he bought some on impulse.

“It’s nothing valuable,” he added.

Nianxi felt a stir in her heart. Yesterday, she refused Gu Ci’s jewelry because it was too extravagant. But today, he brought her something as simple as pine nuts—and emphasized their modesty.

Thinking of this, she tilted her head and softly asked, “Do you enjoy giving me gifts that much?”

Gu Ci, caught under her gentle and clear as flowing water eyes—immediately blushed. After a moment, he awkwardly cleared his throat, his long, thick eyelashes lowering briefly before he steadied his glance again.

Their eyes met.

He said, “You’re always on my mind. Whenever I see something, I just want to give it to you.”

Nianxi’s heart softened as she looked down and opened the pouch. Inside were peeled pine nuts, and she froze for a moment, surprised.

Gu Ci explained, “Before peeling them, I washed my hands three times with soapwort. They’re perfectly clean.”

In a soft voice, Nianxi asked, “Such a time-consuming task—it must have taken a while?”

“Yesterday, I saw you eating a few at my house and figured you liked them.” Gu Ci refused to take credit for his effort. “These can cause heatiness if eaten too much. Finish these first, and I’ll peel more for you later.”

An unfamiliar feeling flowed through Nianxi’s heart. She lifted her head again to look at him. His handsome face held a clean and genuine smile, and in his eyes, there was nothing but her. How long had it been since she had felt so wholeheartedly loved?

Because of one simple act, he kept her in mind at all times, wanting only to make her a little happier.

Once withered by Pei Jian, that heart of hers was now coming back to life, little by little.

Gu Ci was her nourishment.

Nianxi suddenly felt a pang of guilt—she shouldn’t have allowed a “stranger” to affect her emotions. Cherishing the person in front of her, she realized, was what truly mattered. Letting go of the past and savoring the present was what she ought to do. At this moment, all the complicated emotions stirred by meeting Pei Jian again were completely soothed.

Suppressing the warmth rising in her eyes, Nianxi ate one of the pine nuts, her smile soft and gentle. “Alright, peel me some more.”