Chapter 14

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

Yun Yin sat cross-legged on the sofa, the table in front of her piled with newly purchased vinyl records and scattered sheets of paper covered in musical notes and lyrics.

She had placed her phone on speaker and left it aside, gazing contentedly at her day’s work. Pei Yu’s voice finally drew her attention from the record in her hand.

“I didn’t hear it,” she said, then paused before adding, “I got a new phone. You can call my other number next time.”

Pei Yu paused for a few seconds, then asked calmly, “Did you go out today?”

Yun Yin nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

“Do you remember what I said a few days ago?” His deep voice resonated through the phone, sounding particularly magnetic in the quiet room.

“Huh?”

It was clear she didn’t remember.

Pei Yu’s hand, holding a pen on the other end of the line, froze momentarily, his brow furrowing slightly.

She said she was being good. How could she stop being good after just two days? Ignoring my call is one thing, but forgetting what I told her?

Pei Yu seemed to have conveniently forgotten that Yun Yin had never been particularly docile.

As he finished signing the documents in his hand, a clear, slightly puzzled voice reached him: “What did you say?”

“Are you still coughing?” Pei Yu suddenly asked.

Yun Yin didn’t understand his concern but answered honestly, “Much better.”

So, not completely recovered.

“Didn’t I tell you not to go out until you were fully recovered?”

Only then did Yun Yin realize what he meant. He had indeed said that, and she had agreed.

She couldn’t fathom why Pei Yu was so fixated on this.

But…

A subtle expression crossed Yun Yin’s face as she tentatively asked, “Are you angry?”

Silence followed her question, broken only by the faint rustling of papers being turned.

After a few tense seconds, Yun Yin’s suspicion solidified.

Though she couldn’t pinpoint the reason for Pei Yu’s anger, she knew that trying to appease him was always the right move.

The problem was, Yun Yin had little experience in comforting others.

“Are you giving me the silent treatment?” After a moment of contemplation, Yun Yin picked up her phone and blurted out.

Pei Yu: “……”

His hand remained motionless for a long time, the tip of his fountain pen leaving a dark ink stain on the documents before him.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“You’re being so mean,” Yun Yin said, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Pei Yu set aside the ruined papers, his deep voice tinged with helplessness. “I’m not being mean.”

A glint of mischief flashed in Yun Yin’s eyes as she drawled, “Then… are you worried about me?”

Pei Yu hadn’t picked up his phone; it lay on the desk in speaker mode, her voice ringing clearly in his ears. A faint tingling sensation stirred within him, like an impossibly thin thread coiling around his heart, tightening slowly when he least expected it.

The documents lay before him, but for once, Pei Yu found himself unable to focus on a single word.

“No.”

His tone was flat, yet a subtle stiffness betrayed his composure.

Yun Yin didn’t seem to care whether he was telling the truth. She huffed softly, as if offended by his words. “If you don’t care, I’m hanging up.”

Even as she said this, Yun Yin remained in the same position, her phone pressed to her ear, waiting for his next words.

If the villain continues to talk like this, she thought, I’ll hang up in a second.

What Yun Yin didn’t realize was that Pei Yu’s deliberate, yet subtle, indulgence had made her feel that he wasn’t as terrifying as his blackened version in the book. She no longer feared him as she once had, and instead, a touch of her own temper had begun to surface.

Hearing Yun Yin’s slightly spoiled voice over the phone, Pei Yu set down the documents in his hand and adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses.

Instead of answering her previous question, he asked, “Have you eaten?”

Yun Yin immediately smiled at his words, her eyes crinkling with amusement where Pei Yu couldn’t see.

Her laughter was unreserved, and Pei Yu naturally heard her soft chuckle. A wave of helplessness washed over him.

Yet he didn’t regret saying it.

Even though he still didn’t fully understand the strange feeling he experienced when facing Yun Yin, he knew clearly now that he didn’t want her to hang up.

At that moment, separated by the phone,

they shared an unspoken understanding.

Yun Yin knew.

She had won her bet.

“If you’re worried about me, why don’t you just say so?” Yun Yin asked, her eyes still sparkling with amusement, feigning confusion.

Pei Yu remained silent. She continued, “If you don’t tell me, how am I supposed to know?”

Clearly, Yun Yin hadn’t grasped the concept of knowing when to quit while she was ahead.

Pei Yu, fully aware of her deliberate provocation, calmly picked up his phone from the table.

Beep!

The call was unilaterally disconnected.

Yun Yin froze, momentarily stunned.

Just as she began to wonder if Pei Yu was angry, her phone vibrated. Instinctively, she tapped the green answer button.

A video call connected.

Through the screen, Pei Yu saw half of Yun Yin’s face.

Her pale pink lips were slightly parted, and her mesmerizing peach blossom eyes stared directly at him.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Yun Yin finally snapped out of her daze. “I’m not,” she replied immediately.

She had been wondering if Pei Yu was angry, never imagining he would hang up only to initiate a video call.

If she wasn’t mistaken, Pei Yu was still in his office. He wore the silver-rimmed glasses she had seen him wear before, dressed in a simple white shirt with the top two buttons undone and no tie.

As she spoke, she noticed a small black mole on his neck, peeking out from his collar.

While she was looking at Pei Yu, he was looking at her too.

She held her phone, yet her entire face barely filled half the screen.

Pei Yu stared at her in silence for a moment.

Perhaps sensing the awkwardness, Yun Yin pursed her lips and took the initiative to break the silence. “Why the sudden video call?” she asked, feigning surprise. “You caught me completely unprepared.”

Perhaps Yun Yin herself didn’t know what one needed to prepare for a video call.

“Tilt your phone a little to the left,” Pei Yu murmured, his voice barely audible and slightly hoarse.

“Hmm?” Yun Yin didn’t understand his intention, but she instinctively followed his instructions, shifting her phone slightly to her side.

Now, Yun Yin’s entire face filled Pei Yu’s phone screen.

Yun Yin glanced up at the screen. Sometime during their conversation, Pei Yu had brought his phone closer, so close that it felt as if he were standing right in front of her.

At that moment, Yun Yin saw Pei Yu’s face clearly, without any obstruction.

His gaze lowered, his long lashes sweeping down softly as he silently met her eyes. Behind his glasses, his dark eyes were half-lidded, their pitch-black depths unfathomable and enigmatic.

Looking at him was like staring into a whirlpool; one wrong move and you’d be sucked in.

Yun Yin pursed her lips, blinked, and awkwardly turned her head away.

She felt her heart racing, perhaps sensing danger.

That must be it, Yun Yin told herself.

“Can’t meet my eyes?” Pei Yu chuckled softly, his deep laughter brushing against Yun Yin’s heart like a feather.

Yun Yin held her phone further away, her heart finally returning to normal. “You were standing too close earlier,” she mumbled.

“Is that so?” Pei Yu’s dark eyes remained fixed on her, his voice calm and steady.

“Yes,” Yun Yin nodded, eager to change the subject. “It’s late. Aren’t you going home?”

“Are you worried about me?” He leaned back in his chair, relaxed, his voice tinged with languor.

Yun Yin: “……”

Why did that line sound so familiar?

Pei Yu continued, “How would I know if you don’t tell me?”

After a moment, Yun Yin looked up at her phone, her peach-blossom eyes widening in disbelief. “You’re mocking me!” she accused.

She realized why those two sentences sounded so familiar—she had said them herself just minutes ago.

Hearing this, Pei Yu showed no hint of shame. Instead, he chuckled softly, a clear smile in his eyes as he gazed at the ruffled Yun Yin with an open expression. “Am I wrong?”

“No,” she replied, her voice dripping with undisguised dissatisfaction.

After a moment’s thought, Yun Yin’s temper flared. Her eyes darted around before she deliberately asked, “I care about you. Don’t you care about me?”

She leaned closer to the camera, holding her phone in one hand and propping her cheek with the other, staring at him as if daring him to say “no” and give her an excuse to throw a tantrum.

But Pei Yu didn’t give her the chance. He obediently answered with two words: “I do.”

Yun Yin showed no sign of delight. She merely hummed noncommittally, neither confirming nor denying her approval of his response.

How could the book’s main villain change so easily? she wondered. This doesn’t fit his unyielding, iron-willed character at all.

Seeing her silence, Pei Yu glanced at the time. His hand paused mid-motion as an impulsive thought surfaced.

After a moment, he gripped his phone and said, “I’m off work.”

Yun Yin responded with a casual “Oh.” After a pause, noticing he hadn’t hung up and seemed to be waiting for her to take the initiative, she slowly added, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up?”

“Mm.”

Seeing him nod, Yun Yin pressed the red button on her screen and ended the video call without hesitation.

Call ended.

Pei Yu stared at the chat window on his phone. When the screen went dark, his reflection appeared, his expression unreadable.

After a moment, he stood up, grabbed his coat, and left his office.

On his way out, he ran into Lu Lin, who was delivering documents. Lu Lin’s eyes widened in surprise as he watched Pei Yu preparing to leave. “President Pei, are you heading home already?”

“Mm.” Pei Yu nodded, pausing to glance at the files in Lu Lin’s hand. “I’ll handle these tomorrow.”

“Is something urgent?”

Lu Lin knew Pei Yu was usually the last one to leave the floor. He’d never seen him leave so early, and it was clear something was on his mind. But Lu Lin was certain it wasn’t work-related.

If it wasn’t business, then it must be personal.

“Need a ride?” Lu Lin asked again, the gossip in his eyes impossible to hide.

It wasn’t that he wanted to pry into Pei Yu’s private affairs, but Pei Yu had been acting strangely lately.

He’d heard from Qi Ye that Pei Yu had called him last week to ask about managing seasonal allergies. Combined with what he already knew, the person Pei Yu was concerned about was obvious.

“Lu Lin,” Pei Yu said, narrowing his eyes slightly, “are you bored?”

Lu Lin immediately retorted, “No, I’m extremely busy.”

This was a critical period for bidding on the Capital’s suburban project, and he was practically running himself ragged. While Pei Yu’s unusual behavior piqued his curiosity, he didn’t want to get dragged into whatever was going on.

If he pushed further, who knew what kind of task Pei Yu might assign him?

“President Pei, I won’t disturb you any longer. I’ll head back to the office now,” Lu Lin said, turning and walking away without looking back, as if he’d made up his mind.

Suddenly, Pei Yu recalled the image of a spoiled young lady throwing a tantrum.

Oddly, he didn’t find it irritating.