Neither of them said anything more. Before she left, Shen Zhiyi asked him when he would be coming back, for she wanted to repay him the money.
Pei Yu looked at her, "Didn’t you tell your na? That was the exchange."
Shen Zhiyi had never heard of such a transaction. She looked at his outline in the night, slightly blurred, and after thinking for a mont, she asked, "Are you pitying ?"
She also knew she must look quite pitiful.
Pei Yu suddenly laughed. Shen Zhiyi couldn’t see his face, but she could see his slightly upturned eyes—a kind of indifferent beauty that struck right to the heart.
"Do I look that kind?" he asked in return, and then he reached over to pluck a fallen leaf off her shoulder, "You might as well think I have an ulterior motive."
Shen Zhiyi was puzzled, not understanding what he ant.
What did she have that he could possibly sche for?
Several days passed without the two of them eting again.
The inspection activity was drawing to a close. These past few days, Pei Yu had been accompanying Father Pei in eting with business partners. So people wanted to foster a relationship with Father Pei by catching up on old tis, and since these were business etings, Pei Yu naturally had to follow along.
This left him with almost no personal ti.
The air was fresh in the mountains, and Father Pei was in a good mood these days. When eting with guests, his face always had a gentle smile. Pei Yu lingered at the back, looking unenthusiastic.
Father Pei: "We’ll be leaving in three or four days. The environnt here is nice, very suitable for a resort. We’ll invite you guys to co and play when it’s done."
The couple who had co to talk this ti had started in the catering business, and while their business empire couldn’t compare to the Pei’s, they were good at socializing, enjoyed good relations with others, and had known Father Pei for a long ti. Even Pei Yu had to greet them politely as Uncle and Auntie.
As they walked along the path, suddenly there was an outbreak of arguing ahead.
Father Pei’s expression unchanged, "Let’s take another path."
Only Pei Yu remained standing in place. He said to Father Pei, "It seems soone is having an alcohol-fueled rampage."
Father Pei looked at him, surprised, and with interest, he smiled, "You’re interested in that sort of thing?"
"Never seen it," Pei Yu said expressionlessly, "It’s quite interesting."
Though he said it was interesting, his face showed no sign of being intrigued.
"Then let’s have a look," said the Shen couple, gentle as always, "So people lose all control when they go on a drunken frenzy. If trouble breaks out, it’s best to call the police first."
Father Pei was unconcerned, so he didn’t change their route.
As they got closer, the noise beca clearer, mixed with cries of surprise and voices trying to diate.
"Stop fighting, are you really giving up on your daughter?!"
"You’re even going to take the money ant for your daughter’s living expenses to buy alcohol? Are you even fit to be a father?!"
A noisy, tedious farce.
Father Pei lacked interest and, seeing Pei Yu’s unpleasant expression, assud he disliked it too, "Let’s go, I’ll take you to see the site we picked out."
Mr. Shen kept Father Pei company with small talk, while Lady Shen glanced several tis in the direction of the disturbance, unintentionally noticing that Pei Yu hadn’t left, his gaze fixed straight in that direction.
Following his gaze, the girl who had been beaten was staggering to her feet, weak and vulnerable.
Lady Shen looked at Pei Yu reflectively.
To her knowledge, the young master of the Pei Family was not soone with an overflow of sympathy, nor was he the kind to pay attention to irrelevant people.
Noticing her stare, Pei Yu looked towards her.
Lady Shen tentatively said, "That girl, she’s quite pitiful."
Pei Yu’s expression was indifferent, "If she can’t leave this place, she’ll always be pitiful."
Although he was speaking of the girl, his dark eyes remained fixed on Lady Shen, as if piercing through her thoughts, sending a tremor through her heart.
A few days later, the inspection team that had co to the mountain village all withdrew.
During these days, Shen Zhiyi was healing from her injuries. She took out the little money she had left, spaced out for a while, then decided to find so part-ti work before school started again—she at least had to earn one month’s living expenses.
Soone knocked on the door outside; it was the village secretary.
Shen Zhiyi opened the door, "Uncle, what’s the matter?"
The man smiled and told her, "Zhiyi, there’s a couple who want to adopt you."
Shen Zhiyi felt like she had heard a ludicrous joke, "Uncle, I have a dad."
She wasn’t an orphan.
"Your dad has already agreed. He’s a cripple and a drunkard; he has no way to provide for you,"
It was said that the couple had negotiated terms with him, and the man simply wanted money for drinking; whether he had a daughter or not didn’t matter to him.
The village secretary patted her shoulder, "Zhiyi, your hard days are really coming to an end."
Shen Zhiyi looked at him blankly, as if living in a dream.
Could she really leave this ho?
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