Pei Yan walked to the door, glanced back at the closed bedroom door, then took a deep breath and opened the door. He saw not only Pei Junhai standing there but also a little girl with a pink suitcase next to him. His sister, Pei Wenwen.
Pei Wenwen, a slim girl with a ponytail, saw him and exclaimed, “Brother, why did you take so long? What were you sneakily doing in your room?”
Pei Yan’s face darkened instantly. He asked Pei Junhai, “Dad, why did you bring her here?”
Pei Junhai held Pei Wenwen and said impatiently, “I have to go on a business trip for a few days. I don’t feel assured leaving her home alone. She’ll stay with you these next few days.”
???
Upon hearing this, Pei Yan was unhappy. “We have so many nannies and aunties at home. What’s there to worry about? She’s fifteen already!”
Pei Junhai said in exasperation, “What do you know? Girls her age are the hardest to manage.”
Pei Yan looked at her in disdain and ordered, “I can’t manage her either. You should take her back.”
“If no one keeps an eye on her, she’ll run off with all kinds of no-good men!” Pei Junhai furrowed his brows in anger and glared at Pei Wenwen. “At such a young age, she’s already going to bars, chasing stars, meeting strangers online…who knows what else she gets up to. None of the maids can control her if I’m not home.”
“I’m leaving her with you so that you can keep a close watch over her. Don’t let her go to questionable places after school.”
Pei Wenwen twisted her nose at him, irritating Pei Junhai so much that his hair almost exploded with anger.
Pei Yan scoffed and gave Pei Wenwen a thumbs up. “Wow, Pei Wenwen, going to bars? Chasing stars? Meeting strangers? Why don’t you just fly to the heavens?”
Pei Junhai: “Neither of you gives me any peace of mind! In any case, keep an eye on her. Don’t let her go out at night.”
With that, this rumored iron-fisted financial tycoon heaved a deep sigh. “If it weren’t for your mother passing away early, I wouldn’t have had to deal with you two unruly kids.”
Pei Yan’s brows furrowed slightly.
With Qi Feng here, there was no way he would let Pei Wenwen stay over. But hearing his father mention his mother made his heart sink, too. Plus, his sister had always been disobedient. If left unchecked, she really might do something outrageous.
Luckily, he knew how to keep Pei Wenwen in line and prevent her from blabbing about Qi Feng living here with him.
He asked Pei Junhai, “How many days will you be gone this time?”
“If it goes smoothly, three to five days. If not, about a week.”
Pei Wenwen didn’t care about their conversation. She dragged her suitcase into Pei Yan’s home and curiously looked around the spacious living room. As she walked onto the living room balcony and gazed outside, she suddenly said, “Brother, the view outside your window is the same as the one outside Qi Feng’s livestream room! Does he live in this building, too?”
Hearing his sister suddenly mention Qi Feng’s name made Pei Yan’s heart skip a beat. He glanced uneasily at Pei Junhai, then looked outside the window again.
The living room and bedroom balconies faced the same direction. And Qi Feng always livestreamed his guqin playing from the bedroom balcony, so naturally, the views were identical.
Pei Yan clicked his tongue. “I don’t know. How do you know about him?”
Pei Junhai glared angrily. “See, she doesn’t focus on her studies and just blindly chases stars! She has nothing better to do than watch those livestreams and send rewards. Pei Yan, if she asks you for money, don’t give her any.”
Pei Wenwen objected, “Dad, when I said I was Qi Feng’s fan, you didn’t oppose it.”
Pei Junhai snorted coldly. “That’s because he seemed normal, not like those boy bands or whatever idols. I can’t even tell if they’re male or female. Just looking at them irritates me.”
Pei Yan’s brows rose slightly as he looked at his father again.
Pei Junhai’s words just now were affirming Qi Feng. That made sense – Pei Junhai must have had a good impression of Qi Feng, or he wouldn’t have chosen him to be Donghai Investment’s spokesperson at first glance.
After hesitating for a few seconds, his expression became grave, and he said solemnly, “Dad, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Pei Junhai: “What is it?”
Pei Yan pointed at a guest room door and dragged the snooping Pei Wenwen over. “Go wait inside first. I need to talk to Dad.”
“Oh, alright.” Seeing her brother’s stern and cold demeanor, Pei Wenwen obediently dragged her pink suitcase into the bedroom across from the master bedroom.
Qi Feng stood behind the bedroom door, his heart pounding anxiously, afraid of being discovered.
The master bedroom door was only separated from the living room by a wall. He could clearly hear their conversation.
When he heard Pei Yan suddenly say solemnly that he had something to discuss with Pei Junhai, Qi Feng’s heart pounded even more anxiously.
What was Pei Yan going to say? He wouldn’t really tell Uncle Pei about their relationship, would he?
No, don’t say it. Please don’t say anything.
Qi Feng’s breathing grew ragged from anxiety as he silently pleaded again and again.
“What is it? Go ahead and speak,” Pei Junhai seemed to realize that Pei Yan had something significant, and his majestic and solemn voice came through the crack in the door.
Qi Feng’s face turned even paler. He closed his eyes uneasily.
“Dad, I’ve told you before that I like men. No matter how many psychologists you send me to or how many years pass, that won’t change. I still like men now…”
A crisp slapping sound rang out, audible even through the door. It resonated in Qi Feng’s eardrums.
The boy’s thin body slumped weakly against the wall, his dull eyes brimming red.
Uncle Pei was angry, just as expected. A prestigious general like General Pei who cared so much about lineage – how could he accept his own son liking men?
In the living room, after Pei Junhai slapped Pei Yan, his finger trembled in anger as he said, “Your psychologists have done many tests on you and said you’re normal. Are you deliberately provoking me because you saw Su Qiao today?”
“I’ve heard all about it. You actually put Su Qiao in charge of this endorsement. After so many years, you still can’t forget that brat. You, you, forget about him! If you want me to agree to you being with Su Qiao, you can keep dreaming until I die!”
Pei Yan cupped his slapped cheek, his eyes deep and murky. “This has nothing to do with Su Qiao… He didn’t come because I called him either. I just wanted to prepare you mentally. If you don’t want it, I’ll just marry a man after you die.”
“You bastard…” Qi Feng couldn’t clearly hear Pei Junhai’s angrily trembling words after that. His ears buzzed as he only recalled that sentence: until I die…
He leaned against the wall weakly, covering his face with both hands. He silently scolded himself in his heart – is this how you repay your benefactor?
He also cursed Pei Yan. You bastard.
How will I ever face Uncle Pei again?
If it wasn’t because of him, if Pei Yan didn’t happen to like him…
Ultimately, it all stemmed from this doomed connection that should never have existed.
—
When Pei Junhai angrily slammed the door and left, the entire home seemed to shake to Qi Feng, shaking his heart along with it.
Pei Yan opened the bedroom door and immediately saw the curled-up boy on the floor. His slender body hugged into a ball, head buried in his arms and knees. His slender shoulders trembled lightly as if crying.
A sharp pain pierced Pei Yan’s heart, not the illness-induced pain, but one that radiated through his entire body.
“Qi Feng, it’s alright. Get up, don’t be scared…” He crouched down and supported the boy. “Qi Feng, I’m here. Don’t mind my dad…”
Across the room, Pei Wenwen opened her door after hearing her father leave. She called out in surprise, “Ge, you’re so brave to tell Dad directly that you like me-”
She didn’t finish her sentence because she saw the crouched boy in Pei Yan’s bedroom doorway. After recognizing him when he looked up in panic, Pei Wenwen exclaimed, “Qi…Qi Feng?! Why are you here? Why are you at my brother’s place?!”
Pei Yan’s cold eyes glared at her. “If you don’t want to die, shut your mouth.”
Pei Wenwen covered her mouth with both hands and kept nodding. But her eyes grew more and more excited. “I won’t say anything, I… you and my brother couldn’t be…”
Sensing Pei Yan’s warning gaze, she understood and didn’t finish her question.
Of course, they were! They were even living together. Her brother dared to tell their father directly, too!
“Qi Feng,” she quickly crouched down, wanting to get close to Qi Feng but controlling her excitement. Blushing, she said, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you and my brother are dating. I’m your fan. I really like you!”
“Do you come here often to see my brother? Then, can I get an autograph from you? Ah, can we take a photo together?”
She was Pei Yan’s sister. He remembered that General Pei’s family in the capital did have an eldest lady with a bold and unrestrained personality.
That night, he dreamed that at Pei Yan’s funeral, the eldest lady knelt in front of Pei Yan’s coffin and cried until her eyes were swollen.
Qi Feng’s eyes darkened as he nodded at her. “Alright.”
Pei Wenwen wanted to dance for joy. “Ahhh, I’m so happy! I can’t believe I get to see my idol in person and even live with him…”
“That’s enough.” Pei Yan grabbed her collar and threw her back into the guestroom. “Go back to your room and behave yourself. Don’t come out and make trouble!”
Pei Wenwen said, “Treat my idol well, brother!”
Pei Yan firmly shut her door.
To prevent his sister from bothering them again, Pei Yan closed his bedroom door, too. The surroundings became quiet again, leaving just him and Qi Feng in their own world.
Although it was he who got hit by Pei Junhai earlier and Qi Feng hadn’t been discovered, but when Pei Yan opened the door and saw Qi Feng crouched on the floor, his heart suddenly ached. It was as if the boy was bearing an unimaginably heavy burden alone.
He hugged the boy tightly and gently coaxed softly, “Did you hear me arguing with my dad just now? Don’t be afraid. He’s always been that way, resorting to violence. But that’s all he can do. He can’t control me.”
“I’ll protect you and not let him do anything to you. I’m here…”
“Pei Yan,” Qi Feng raised his head slightly against his shoulder and said calmly, “Don’t provoke your father like this anymore. The relationship between us will not last long. It will end sooner or later, so don’t fight with your father over this.”
“You’re saying that again! Why would we end?!” Pei Yan had heard Qi Feng say this earlier, too, unsettling him greatly.
He was both angry and anxious but didn’t know how to express it. All he could do was hold the boy tighter to prevent him from breaking free, “I already said I like you. This relationship won’t end.”
“But…” Qi Feng said, “I don’t like you.”
Since I already finished “Transmigrated into a Blacksmith’s Husband” and will not start with my new projects until Christmas week. I will be posting more chapters this week, in hopes to finish CYTMA before my Japan trip in January.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. If you want to show your support, you can buy me a coffee. It would make my day! For every five coffees I get, I will release a bonus chapter. You can also follow me on Ko-fi to get the latest updates on my translation progress and new projects. I appreciate your love and feedback.
