Chapter 126

Xu Wanxin stood by the screen wall, wearing an expression of innocent guilt as she watched Pei Jian walk in. “Cousin, is Nianxi upset?”

“It’s all my fault. I was only focused on bringing you something to eat, but with my clumsy words, I ended up saying things that might’ve annoyed her. Cousin, please don’t be angry with me, okay? Or, I could go and explain to Nianxi.”

She apologized in a pitiful tone, her eyes brimming with tears that threatened to fall at any moment. She looked utterly innocent and harmless.

“I queued up to buy these plum blossom cakes for you, Cousin. I was so worried they’d cool down that I hurried all the way here.” She seemed quite flustered, and as she spoke, she suddenly began to cough. Her weak constitution made even her coughing soft and gentle, like the fragile sound of a pure and delicate kitten.

She continuously evoked a sense of pity from men.

Xu Wanxin’s maid patted her back and said, “Miss has just recovered from her illness, yet she braved the wind and queued for so long just to get plum blossom cakes for Lord Pei. Who could have guessed there’d be guests here? Miss, don’t blame yourself anymore; you should take care of your health.”

“I’m fine,” Xu Wanxin replied, lifting her tear-filled eyes to look at Pei Jian. “I only hope Cousin isn’t upset with me.”

Pei Jian stared at the pair before him, watching their performance. In the past, he had never paid much attention to Xu Wanxin’s intentions. “Are you following me, or are you following her?”

Xu Wanxin’s expression froze. “Cousin, you… what are you saying?”

Pei Jian’s expression remained unchanged, his face cold and calm without a hint of anger, but his intimidating aura and frosty tone were enough to make one’s heart tremble.

“I passed by Panlou today and remembered their signature plum blossom cakes. I know Cousin likes them, so—”

Pei Jian interrupted, “Stop calling me Cousin. You and I don’t have any legitimate familial ties.”

With these words, the smile on Xu Wanxin’s face instantly shattered. Her lips quivered, her complexion grew even paler, and she struggled to regain her composure, trying to force her smile back. “Cousin, you must be joking.”

“I’m Aunt’s—”

Pei Jian interrupted her again, “Are you following me, or are you following her?”

Pei Jian was inherently a very “solitary” person. He only cared about the people and matters he held dear, and everything else, insignificant to him, was never worth his attention. That’s why he had never questioned the frequent coincidences of running into Xu Wanxin. Until today, when she boldly intruded into his residence and, in Nianxi’s presence, uttered ambiguous words. If Nianxi were only sixteen years old, she would undoubtedly misunderstand his relationship with Xu Wanxin.

Pei Jian and Xu Wanxin had been engaged before, and there were plenty of rumors in the capital about Xu Wanxin’s infatuation with him.

However, Xu Wanxin had miscalculated. What she didn’t know was that Nianxi had long since stopped caring about him.

Suddenly, Pei Jian’s expression changed.

What about the past life? When Nianxi still cared for him, still loved him? How would she have reacted if she had heard Xu Wanxin’s ambiguous and entangled words back then?

Pei Jian knew Nianxi’s temperament all too well. She appeared gentle, accommodating, and carefree, but deep down, she was incredibly proud. When it came to love, the intensity of her passion demanded equal loyalty in return. She could tolerate anything without limits—except when it came to love and her partner.

In those days, shortly after they were married, she lay in his arms, her eyes half-closed, a faint smile playing on her lips. She told him, “Husband, you must love me for your whole life—only me.”

He held her slender fingertips and, to make her happy, easily made the promise, “Alright.”

Nianxi, however, found it insufficient. She turned over, hovering above him. “If one day your heart belongs to someone else, tell me early so I can take mine back in time.”

Though she spoke with a smile, her clear eyes betrayed her sincerity.

Nianxi had always been someone who took love seriously.

Pei Jian redirected his gaze toward Xu Wanxin, this time with a scrutinizing look. For the first time, he earnestly examined the person before him. He was now certain—Xu Wanxin’s visit today was no coincidence.

In his previous life, Pei Jian had climbed to great heights of power, mastering the art of maneuvering and understanding human intentions better than anyone. But Xu Wanxin was far too insignificant. To Pei Jian, she was less of a person and more like a fragment of time—a carrier of his longing for parental affection and his nostalgia for the stable, happy days of his youth.

The arrogant Pei Jian of the past would never have spared even a moment to ponder the hidden meanings behind the words and actions of a seemingly fragile woman. Now, he had learned to reflect and consider things from a different perspective.

In this second life, while everything had changed for him and Nianxi, Xu Wanxin remained the same as she once was. If she could, out of supposed concern, boldly intrude into his residence today—what had she done in the past life, away from his sight?

At eighteen, Xu Wanxin hadn’t yet mastered concealing her intentions. What about when she was twenty-eight? Or thirty?

By thirty, Xu Wanxin had just lost her husband. She brought her son, knelt before him in tears, and begged him to take her in. She claimed that her husband’s family was mistreating her and pleaded for his protection for a time. And he really had taken her back into his residence!

Pei Jian felt a chill run down his spine, cold sweat soaking through his inner garments.

Xu Wanxin, under the piercing gaze of his dark, stern eyes, was filled with fear. She refused to admit to following Nianxi, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Her lips, bitten pale, gave her a pitiful appearance as she stammered, “I didn’t.”

“Cous—” She stopped mid-sentence, silenced by Pei Jian’s sharp, arrow-like glare.

Her maid, already frightened by the situation, had retreated to the side.

Xu Wanxin, no longer needing to maintain any pretense, forced herself to meet Pei Jian’s gaze. She floated lightly toward him, her words still wrapped in clinging tenderness: “I won’t dare again. Please don’t be angry with me, alright?”

Pei Jian truly felt that he had been blind and ignorant. How could he not see Xu Wanxin’s intentions?

He had even foolishly agreed to act as her shield, bringing upon himself the rumors that spread throughout the capital. He had been utterly oblivious to the extreme. To have survived to the age of thirty in his previous life was nothing short of miraculous.

No wonder Nianxi had paid him no mind whatsoever. If he had been in her shoes, with a “cousin” like Xu Wanxin around, he wouldn’t have spared even the slightest bit of attention either!

From the very beginning, he had already lost.

“From now on, you are not to appear before me again nor intrude into my home. Even if we meet by chance, we are strangers.”

The words that came from Pei Jian’s mouth were sharp and cutting, as piercing as the cold indifference in his eyes at this moment. They instantly shattered Xu Wanxin’s façade, causing her lips to fall, inch by inch, into a downcast expression, making her even forget her feigned delicate sobs.

In the end, her face froze between fear and resentment.