Chapter Six: Jiao Jiao, You Wouldn’t Want to Get Choked Either, Right? (1/2)
While the clouds were being swept by the wind, beneath the blossoming trees, petals and leaves had also been constantly falling. Not far away from the site, a person could be seen sweeping the pile of foliage off the ground.
Wen Zhijiao raised her hand, brushing a few petals off her shoulder, as she lowered her voice. “I’m fine. Really. I just need someone to help pick a date for me. Maybe you can go talk to Dad. See if he can quietly arrange a meeting, and while you guys are at it, please don’t let this matter—”
Just before she could even finish her sentence, she suddenly felt a heavy weight press over her shoulders. Startled, she gasped in shock as she let out a yelp. “Ah!”
Wen Zhijiao quickly turned around, only to see a young man standing in front of her. One hand was casually tucked into the pocket of his baseball jacket, while the other rested on her shoulder. Underneath his silver-white hair locks, a strange expression seemed to be written all over his face as he gazed down at her.
“Long time no see, Wen Zhijiao.” When he saw that he caught her attention, he finally withdrew his hand from her shoulder before letting a faint smile curl on the corners of his lips. “Who are you calling just now?”
What the hell! Is he trying to court death1“作死啊你”: are you asking for trouble??! What does this have to do with him if she’s calling someone on the phone?! This is completely none of his business!
Wen Zhijiao rolled her eyes as she turned her back on him again. Despite her mood becoming soured, her voice remained soft and gentle as she spoke into the phone. “Sorry. Something suddenly came up. I’ll call you back later, Mom. And yes, I’m fine. I’m completely fine. We just got into a small argument, but he’s alright, um—”
Since she originally belonged to City A, there was a natural trace of softness but a slightly loose accent in her words when talking to her mom.
Pei Ye’s gaze then couldn’t help but slowly wander, trailing down from her frail shoulders and onto her slender back as he tuned in to the words she spoke on the phone. Eventually, the smile on his lips gradually faded while the hands that he had tucked into his pocket had also unconsciously clenched themselves into fists.
Not long after, Wen Zhijiao finally ended the call and turned to face him.
She stared at the young man in front of her for a very long time until her eyes had slightly narrowed and her brows had deeply furrowed. After a pause, she finally spoke. “Pei Ye?”
Wen Zhijiao had to search her mind just for the name to surface out; but just as she finally said it, she noticed the way he glanced at her. There was something about his look that made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Feeling the weight of his gaze, she couldn’t help but walk around him. Taking a few steps forward, at this point in time, she had already dropped her voice to a colder register. “Is something the matter?”
Pei Ye… He was a friend of Jiang Yuancheng, but she had never liked him and was even a little afraid of him. But how could she not be though when he had always acted so hostile toward her? Aside from that, he dressed like a gangster, and he would always engage himself in life-risking activities like car racing. On top of it all, she found his way of speaking unbearably rude, as it had always been sharp and unfiltered.
Like as displayed right now, Pei Ye trailed after her figure with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. “Nothing, really. I just want to say hi. But why are you always so scared of me?”
Wen Zhijiao shifted to the side as she calmly denied his assumption, “I’m not.”
She quickened her pace.
Unfortunately for her, Pei Ye was tall, so he was easily able to catch up to her with just a few strides of his long legs. He then proceeded to step in to block her path, preventing her from advancing any further. He leaned in. Tilting his head to take a closer look at her, there was a trace of amusement written in his face as he innocently asked, “Then why are you running?”
Wen Zhijiao was forced into a halt, reluctantly turning her head to meet his gaze. She immediately perceived his flashy grin. Just looking at those sharp teeth, her heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. It reminded her of another reason as to why he unsettled her so much. It’s because he had lots of sharp teeth that it almost made him seem less human!
She stopped, a little annoyed at his intrusion, a touch of it slipping into her tone. “My bodyguards are waiting for me outside.”
“Oh.” Pei Ye’s response was indifferent. “Then let them wait. Otherwise, why pay them?”
Even after he had finished speaking, he continued to lean forward, his gaze unwavering, as his dark eyes locked onto hers.
Wen Zhijiao instinctively tried to avoid him. Taking a half-step back, she tried to create some distance between the two of them, not wanting to pursue this conversation any longer.
However, Pei Ye wasn’t taking any of her cues. He continued to press on regardless. “I just got back to China. Why don’t you show me around?
Although he was grinning, there was no warmth in his eyes. The tease in his voice still remained though. “Sister-in-law?”
Wen Zhijiao: “…”
She was now completely enraged, but so what? Did that even matter when almost anything could set her off these days?
She could almost hear her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. After all, she had only met Pei Ye a handful of times.
Since Pei Ye and Jiang Yuancheng were friends, she had seen how this guy acted around Jiang Yuancheng. And judging from their interactions, he seemed completely normal and easy to talk to. However, as soon as she entered the picture, his cordial personality would suddenly flip, and he would then turn into this strange and passive-aggressive ghost2阴阳怪气 (yīnyáng guàiqì): strange and passive-aggressive ghost; refers to a sarcastic or mocking attitude, often with a passive-aggressive edge. It describes someone who speaks in a strange, insincere, or intentionally irritating way. The phrase combines “yin” and “yang,” suggesting a contradictory nature—what’s on the surface differs from the underlying intention, creating an unsettling or mocking effect..
She angrily raised her hands.
As if amused, the grin on Pei Ye’s face only grew wider as he leaned in even further to her proximity. “What? Are you going to hit me? Aren’t you afraid that I might—”
Without waiting for him to finish, Wen Zhijiao suddenly raised her hands and gave his shoulders a forceful shove. Since he didn’t expect her reaction, he was completely caught off guard. He momentarily lost his balance, staggering a few steps backward, but he would eventually regain his footing a few seconds later.
However, this time, the distance between them had finally widened.
This time, Pei Ye didn’t have a grin on his face, and he stared at her for a very long time. The ears peeking out from his silver hair seemed to glimmer softly with a subtle light. He looked at Wen Zhijiao, who was clearly looking a little vexed right now. But even though her face was already slightly flushed and her eyes were slightly moist, he saw how she still tried to maintain a calm expression in front of him.
He then finally spoke, “What? Did I say something wrong? Or is it because you think that you’re not worthy of that title? Or maybe—”
Pei Ye didn’t even get to finish his words because Wen Zhijiao suddenly turned her back on him and walked away, completely ignoring him again. He raised an eyebrow, but he still decided to take a quick step forward and follow after her.
“You really don’t want to be called that label, huh?” Pei Ye said with a smile. “Since Yuancheng is older than me, then there’s probably nothing wrong with me calling you that, right? Considering the date of your engagement party is almost near, I think it’s time that you should start getting used to it. Oh, wait. Is it because you don’t want to marry Yuancheng at all? Wait! Why are you leaving in such a hurry? Why? Are you really that scared of me?!”
Wen Zhijiao kept her lips tightly sealed as she walked out of the temple with big strides. Her physical stamina wasn’t actually that great, so after briskly walking for more than ten minutes, she dared not open her mouth, afraid that she would start panting. At first, Pei Ye was saying a lot of things while chasing after her; but when she continued to refuse to acknowledge him, he eventually stopped talking as he continued to follow her from behind in silence.
By the time she had finally stepped outside the perimeters of the Taoist temple, Pei Ye was still right behind her.
Wen Zhijiao eventually found the car. The moment she reached it, she immediately opened the door and climbed in. But just as she was about to close the door, Pei Ye suddenly placed his foot on the car and blocked it. The driver turned around in surprise. Pei Ye slightly leaned in as he introduced himself to the driver, “I’m Pei Ye.”
The driver was momentarily stunned, but he also quickly recognized his name as he recalled seeing it included among the whitelist. Seeing that they probably needed some moment of privacy, he decided to pull up the partition between the front and back seats.
Wen Zhijiao really tried to settle herself in the car, but when witnessing all this outrageous behavior of his right now, she finally couldn’t hold back and spoke, “If you want to see Jiang Yuancheng, just get into the bodyguard’s car behind us or drive to him yourself.”
Upon hearing this, Pei Ye actually laughed, his gaze completely fixated on her. The next second, he reached out, leaning forward as he placed a knee on the seat she settled in. With his calves pressing against the edge of her skirt, Wen Zhijiao could almost feel the intensity of his approach. Her eyes widened when she found Pei Ye stretching out his arm toward her, his warm chest almost brushing against her arm. Before she could even process what happened next, he suddenly lifted his hand to pull down the seat belt from the side of the vehicle and fastened it across her.
Wen Zhijiao: “…What on earth are you doing?”
Pei Ye replied, “It’s an occupational disease3“职业病” (zhí yè bìng) refers to a habit or behavior that has developed as a result of one’s job or profession. In case you don’t remember, Pei Ye is a professional car racer haha..”
Wen Zhijiao: “…”
If you like our translation for this novel and want us to release more chapters frequently, feel free to support us on either our ko-fi and paypal ❤️
