Chapter 62

When Pei Jian woke up, he saw the vague silhouette of a woman in front of the curtain. She was wearing a scarlet dress, her hair was styled in a way that Nianxi had always favored, and her figure was slender. At that moment, she had her back to him and was softly instructing an attendant about something.

His heart raced wildly, thinking he was dreaming. He pulled open the curtain and called out, “Nianxi!”

The woman froze, then immediately turned around. Her delicate brows arched gently, her emotions a whirlwind of tenderness and sorrow, with a trace of worry in her eyes. She softly spoke, “Cousin, you’re awake?”

It was Xu Wanxin.

Pei Jian’s mood plummeted to the depths. He sharply drew the curtain closed. His abrupt movements caused a wave of dizziness before his eyes. After taking a moment to recover, he called out to Steward Li, “This is a gentleman’s room. How can others be allowed to enter so casually?”

Li Weng glanced at Xu Wanxin, who had already turned red with embarrassment and quickly retreated to the central hall. Only then did he bow and apologize, “My lord, please forgive me. It was an oversight on my part.”

Pei Jian’s figure was hidden behind the curtain, and after a long pause, he finally said, “Help me change.”

After he was properly dressed in attire suitable for meeting guests, he walked out of the inner room.

Xu Wanxin was sitting silently in an armchair, tears falling. Upon hearing movement, she quickly wiped her eyes, turned, and softly called out with a gentle tone, “Cousin…”

“Please don’t be mad at me,” she said cautiously, her large eyes still showing traces of tears. Her appearance exuded a pitiful vulnerability.

As she looked up, she seemed tender and obedient, full of intimacy and concern. “Qin Langjun said you were ill. I was so worried that I acted on my own.”

“Cousin,” she reached out as if to touch Pei Jian’s injured face, but he frowned and avoided her. Tears welled up in Xu Wanxin’s eyes again. “Your face… who dared to hurt you like this?”

Compared to the day before, when Qin Lang had seen him, Pei Jian’s facial injuries had improved significantly. Being young, and after applying medicine the previous day, the redness and swelling had subsided by morning, though the bruises and abrasions were still visible.

“It’s nothing.”

Xu Wanxin, who had always been timid and weak, was dressed differently than usual. Pei Jian looked at her and said calmly, “Qin Lang is meddlesome. I’ve already recovered, so you should go back. Coming here alone—such actions could cause misunderstandings and gossip.”

After saying that, he turned to leave.

Xu Wanxin stared at his back. Just as he was about to step out the door, she took a few hurried steps forward and asked in a choked voice: “In the past, I used the pretense of admiring you, Cousin, to reject marriage proposals, but you never cared about such matters. Now, you’re suddenly so concerned about public perception. May I ask, Cousin, when you woke up earlier, whom did you mistake me for?”

“Are you worried about me, or are you worried about yourself?”

Pei Jian’s footsteps paused slightly. “Since you’ve overheard, you should know that my heart is already set on someone. I don’t want her to misunderstand.”

He slowly turned back. “Since you’ve brought it up today, I’ll make it even clearer. I admire her deeply and passionately. I will marry no one but her. No other person will ever have a place in my heart.”

His piercing gaze fell directly on Xu Wanxin’s face, which was gradually turning pale, lingering for a moment.

Recalling his late mother, he finally added: “You’re not young anymore. It’s time for you to find a husband. If you’re unwilling to comply with your family’s arrangements, I have many classmates at the Imperial College. They all have excellent character and appearance. I can introduce you to them.”

“I’ve said all that needs to be said. I still have pressing matters to attend to. You may leave on your own.” After finishing his words, he didn’t spare her another glance and strode out decisively.

In the courtyard, Li Weng’s voice could be heard calling out, “My lord, the medicine is ready. Please drink it before heading out, my lord…”

No further sound came from Pei Jian; it seemed he had already left.

…

Xu Wanxin stood frozen in place. Her entire body felt as though it were submerged in icy water—a chilling sensation seeped through her skin and into her bones. If she hadn’t been biting her teeth and keeping her mouth tightly shut, she might have already been shivering uncontrollably.

At the same time, her heart was filled with a cold dread. Fear and powerlessness came from this event, completely exceeding her expectations. She thought Pei Jian’s affection for Wen Nianxi was merely a fleeting fancy.

She had thought that her overly reserved and subtle behavior over the years had led Pei Jian to misunderstand her feelings, dismissing her affection as nothing more than a ruse to appease her family.

She had believed that, to Pei Jian, she was always the most special one. As long as she showed hints of admiration, Pei Jian would follow the direction she envisioned.

Never in her wildest imagination did Xu Wanxin expect that Pei Jian would declare he would marry no one but Wen Nianxi.

Deep affection and passion?

Xu Wanxin couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic laugh.

Most men in this world are driven by superficial attraction.

Wen Nianxi was indeed strikingly beautiful, but her cousin—he wasn’t supposed to be so shallow.

Xu Wanxin couldn’t accept it, absolutely couldn’t accept it. The boy she had loved since childhood had become so cruel to her. Perhaps he was merely momentarily infatuated?

Pei Jian, who mourned his parents so deeply—and she, after all, had been chosen by his late mother as his bride!

They had grown up playing together, and Pei Jian surely still had feelings for her! Otherwise, why would he say such things to her or even offer to find her a suitable husband?

Perhaps her father’s action of annulling the engagement years ago had hurt him too deeply, leaving a knot in his heart that he couldn’t untie—one that prevented him from turning his gaze back to her.

From being the pride of his family, he had fallen heavily—losing his parents’ protection and his family’s support, even suffering the humiliation of a broken engagement. How could someone as proud and self-respecting as Pei Jian endure it?

She had watched with her own eyes as the bright clarity in that boy’s gaze transformed into determination and resilience as he painstakingly reclaimed his dignity bit by bit, proving himself step by step as though she had experienced it alongside him.

How could this Pei Jian become utterly captivated and deeply infatuated with a woman like Wen Nianxi, who possessed nothing but beauty?

She didn’t believe it.

She refused to believe it.

All her youthful emotions, dreams, and hopes were tied to Pei Jian alone.

Xu Wanxin could not bear the reality that her cousin did not love her, that he didn’t want her.

Wen Nianxi.

Xu Wanxin closed her eyes, softly savoring the name in her mind. What did she have? What gave her the right to entangle herself with Gu Ci yet still captivate her cousin to the point of obsession?

How could anyone in this world so effortlessly attain what others longed for with all their hearts?

Why?

She needed to think it over, to re-strategize.

She would, undoubtedly, come up with a solution to resolve this.