Xu Si looked proudly at the teacher’s written praise, then raised her eyes to Pei Zhen. "How do you plan to spend this money? Go out to eat with classmates? Or go out for fun over the weekend? If it’s not enough, I can give you more."
Embarrassed, Pei Zhen lowered his gaze with a faint smile. His pale fingers, with their faint blue veins, pulled out one of the less fresh tulips on the table, snipped it into sections with golden scissors, and threw them into the trash can.
His voice carried an indescribable joy.
"Auntie, I’m not very interested in going out or eating. I want to give this money to you, Auntie. It’s not much, but I don’t want you to be the only one spending money on ."
Sitting on the spacious single sofa, Xu Si’s eyes twinkled. "The school has exams once a month, and you’ve been first every ti. Can you really give all the prize money to ?"
With dew from the flowers on his fingertips, moisture lingering around him, Pei Zhen smiled naturally. "Of course, I can. I’ll strive to keep my grades up and give it all to Auntie."
Xu Si’s mood suddenly improved a bit.
Pei Zhen’s words always provided emotional value. She had checked his card; recently, he hadn’t spent much. His basic expenses, for things like stationery, were charged to his school card.
Ten thousand a month. It seed she was the one profiting.
Xu Si wasn’t happy about the ten thousand yuan, but rather that Pei Zhen, at this mont, was willing to give her everything.
Gently placing the report card down, Xu Si said, "You’ve got first place. Is there anything you want to do? I’ll fulfill your wish."
Pei Zhen’s lips were a beautiful color in the winter light, making his entire appearance look refined. He didn’t imdiately voice his wish but instead asked, "Does this an I can do sothing I like every ti I rank first?"
Xu Si nodded. "Mhm, of course."
At the mont, there was nothing in Hong Kong Island that money couldn’t achieve. Money was the least of her worries.
Pei Zhen was silent for a mont, then shook his head. "I don’t have any wishes to fulfill right now. Can I save them up? Then, when I have a wish in the future, I can make it."
Xu Si agreed readily. "Of course, you can."
Seeing he really didn’t intend to take the money, she smiled helplessly. "This money, Auntie will add it to your own card. Don’t be too frugal, okay? You haven’t even spent a fraction of the money on it; buy more things for yourself."
Pei Zhen did not refuse but simply said with a smile, "Thank you, Auntie."
For the entire evening, Pei Zhen just sat in the hospital talking with Xu Si. She didn’t notice anything abnormal in his deanor.
The most abnormal person was He Li.
After using the hospital’s phone to dial a number, she didn’t leave the hospital.
When it was ti for dinner, the servants from Xu Mansion delivered an exquisitely plated dinner. After turning on the light and washing his hands, Pei Zhen sat primly at the dining table, his plate and spoon never making any jarring sounds.
His table manners were impeccable.
Xu Si didn’t have much of an appetite at first, but now she was able to eat so food. When one is in a good mood, one’s appetite naturally improves.
「Eight-thirty in the evening.」
Suddenly, bursts of gasps erupted from below the hospital. The journalists staking out frantically pressed their shutter buttons. CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! The sounds echoed, one after another, creating a cacophony, like mutterings in the dead of night or the grinding of a clock’s gears. Sothing had happened.
Xu Si turned her head to look out the window and frowned, but she didn’t go over.
Anshi knocked and quickly walked in, bringing news from outside.
"Miss, your Second Aunt He Li is standing on the rooftop. It looks like she’s going to jump."
"Weren’t people supposed to keep an eye on the rooftop?"
"She snuck up there while the staff was changing shifts and not paying attention."
Putting down her chopsticks, Xu Si wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Then call the police. Azhen, you can go back after you finish eating. I might have to deal with so things and won’t be able to accompany you."
Pei Zhen gazed out the window at the thickening fog and suddenly asked, "Is this matter very troubleso for you, Auntie?"
"A bit," Xu Si smiled, "but not too troubleso."
Pei Zhen also laid down his chopsticks, nodded obediently, and stood up straight. With his fingertips, he picked up the black backpack that was beside him, his eyes constantly clear. "I’m leaving now. Goodbye, Auntie."
"The reporters are all outside. Let Anshi take you out. Be careful on your way."
「Once out of the hospital’s main entrance.」
Pei Zhen suddenly looked up towards the rooftop. In the dark night that sared the sky like splashed ink, a woman with delicate features stood there, hands gripping a rusty railing desperately, as if coerced, shouting sothing loudly.
Her words were unclear due to the considerable distance between the rooftop and the ground; only a few sharp phrases were barely discernible.
"Xu Si, money, jump down."
Anshi stood by the side, opened the car door, and said respectfully, "Young Master Pei, please get in the car."
Sewage from the previous night still flowed on the ground. The onlookers were still shaken, and soone sobbed softly, saying:
"Could she really jump?"
"Miss Xu must have forced her... those powerful families are truly terrifying... So ruthless at eighteen. If I had such a big company, even if it were going bankrupt, I would still find a way to save my family."
Under the murky sky, the boy’s gaze fixed on that figure, his ears filled with many disparaging remarks about Xu Si, each one piercing like a needle.
At Anshi’s second urging, he asked softly, "Assistant Anshi, I’d like to go up to the rooftop and see."
The boy’s slender figure was indistinct in the thick fog of the winter night. Anshi, puzzled, asked, "Does Young Master Pei have a way to bring her down?"
Otherwise, what was the point of going?
Pei Zhen smiled and nodded. "I want to try."
The winter fog was particularly thick, obscuring vision, and the incessant sound of cara shutters created a clamorous noise. With a sliver of hope, Anshi took the boy to the top floor.
Only then did they discover the woman was holding a knife. On the dimly lit rooftop, the sight made one’s heart pound uncontrollably.
The police had not yet arrived.
He strongly disapproved of Pei Zhen going any further and advised, "Young Master Pei, don’t go. Let’s wait for the police."
Pei Zhen nodded and made no other move. He knitted his brows as he looked at the woman, then surveyed the surroundings.
He seed to be assessing sothing.
About five minutes later, the police arrived, and the sound of their sirens made the woman hesitate.
She didn’t want to die, but this was the only way she could think of to save her husband without surrendering her property. Standing barefoot on the hard gravel, she called out Xu Si’s na.
She kept looking back, checking if Xu Si had appeared.
That one glance betrayed her hesitation.
Suddenly, the boy, who had been leaning against the wall, began to approach her slowly. His steps were so light they were barely noticeable in the whistling wind. As he drew nearer, he quickened his pace.
The boy’s legs were long, and it took only a few strides to reach her.
His strength, honed by day after day of grueling training in various combat techniques, manifested tangibly at that mont. With imnse force, he yanked the woman back from the edge of the rooftop, firmly securing her hands.
"Ah! Let go!"
The woman’s scream was useless.
The sound of heavy, dragging footsteps followed. The boy’s gaze was cold and indifferent, devoid of its earlier softness, as he moved step by step toward the stairwell.
Anshi was shocked.
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