Chapter 56: Pei Shijin Did Not Refute “I Know You Like A’Xue”

It took more than ten minutes back and forth, during which only the contents of the pots in the kitchen changed.

Pei Shijin walked into the bedroom and took a look. Lu Yixue slept restlessly, her eyeballs darting around beneath her lids, her expression scrunched up. Even so, her sleeping posture remained impeccably straight.

She quietly backed out, sat down in the kitchen to study the player, and occasionally glanced at the two stoves.

The player’s screen was a bit small, and its battery was down to one bar. Pei Shijin searched for a usage tutorial and transferred the video to her phone.

The video started from when Lu Yixue entered the villa. The coffee shop-like layout made Pei Shijin frown.

Lu Yixue had a habit of drinking coffee, not just for the caffeine boost but because she genuinely enjoyed the flavor, much like how some people preferred tea or soda.

This special setup was likely arranged specifically to help Lu Yixue relax.

Fei Weiyin. Pei Shijin switched out and typed the three words into the search bar. Nothing came up in the browser.

She switched back to the video and continued watching.

Pei Shijin couldn’t make heads or tails of it, but this doctor seemed highly skilled. She didn’t make Lu Yixue cooperate with any psychological suggestions; she simply used a special tone of voice to put Lu Yixue into a hypnotic state.

She didn’t set any safety anchors or safe words for Lu Yixue either. She just started guiding her straight into a hallucination, using words to construct a cold, gloomy, damp, and painful world.

Perhaps because the memories Lu Yixue had lost were painful? A similar sensation to trigger them?

Pei Shijin didn’t understand hypnosis, but she instinctively felt this method was very dangerous.

The camera was focused on the doctor, so the video didn’t show Lu Yixue’s state, but from the subsequent constant shaking and trembling of the footage, it was clear she was in so much pain her body was quaking.

It was completely self-inflicted suffering, seeking out pain where there was none. Pei Shijin’s mind was a mess. She had to make things clear to Lu Yixue—if seeing a psychologist was for her own sake, it was entirely unnecessary.

Even if the two of them could mark each other normally, she still wouldn’t return to the Lu Family.

Ding ding ding~ An alarm on her phone interrupted Pei Shijin’s viewing. She got up to check on the calming soup, then turned off the stove.

Pei Shijin carried the cup into the bedroom. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Lu Yixue sitting up, one leg bent with her elbow propped on her knee, her hand rubbing her temples.

“Calming soup. It’s not hot; you can drink it straight.” Pei Shijin prepared to set the cup on the bedside table, but midway, Lu Yixue’s hand reached out.

Their hands—one above the other—gripped the transparent glass cup. Where their fingers touched, Pei Shijin felt only damp coldness.

“Thanks.” Lu Yixue’s voice was feeble; her head hurt too much for her to think of anything else.

She drank it down in one go, the bitterness scrunching up her features.

When she looked up, Pei Shijin noticed an unnatural flush on Lu Yixue’s cheeks, stark against her otherwise pale complexion.

Pei Shijin pressed the back of her hand to Lu Yixue’s forehead and instantly felt the heat. She knew Lu Yixue had a fever.

She sighed. The conversation she’d planned with Lu Yixue would have to wait. “You’re running a fever. I’ll get the thermometer. Don’t sleep yet—take some medicine first.”

The thermometer, fever reducers, and the lunch she’d made were all brought over by Pei Shijin in one trip.

38.7—not low at all.

Pei Shijin fed Lu Yixue a few bites of sweet potato before giving her the medicine. “Sleep now.”

Lu Yixue looked up at Pei Shijin. Her eyes were unfocused from exhaustion and glistening with physiological tears, like they were veiled in mist—pitiful and pleading. “I need to rinse my mouth.”

Pei Shijin sighed helplessly. How could she be this ill and still insist on cleanliness?

“Wait here. I’ll get the mouthwash.” Pei Shijin turned toward the bathroom as she spoke.

A soft, obedient “Mm” came from behind her, startling Pei Shijin so much she nearly stumbled. She twisted back to look. Lu Yixue was hanging her head, rubbing her temples.

Sigh. Pei Shijin sighed again, and the earlier urge to argue and draw boundaries vanished without a trace.

The mouthwash was still in its familiar spot. Pei Shijin took out a strip, snipped it open, poured it into a mouthwash cup, and grabbed a disposable one too.

After Lu Yixue rinsed, Pei Shijin held the disposable cup for her to spit into.

She took such good care of her—maybe Lu Yixue really was uncomfortable without her around for everything.

That said, if Lu Yixue wanted a caring, attentive servant, she could easily hire one, and it would cost far less than keeping a wife.

“Thanks.” Lu Yixue looked up at Pei Shijin, her lips moving but no further sound coming out.

“You’re welcome,” Pei Shijin said. “No bathing right now.”

Before Lu Yixue could speak, Pei Shijin cut her off.

Lu Yixue tugged at the corner of her mouth. “I wasn’t thinking of bathing. I just wanted to express my apology but didn’t know how to phrase it properly. I’ve delayed your work.”

“An apology means taking good care of yourself.” Pei Shijin’s words were icy and firm.

Lu Yixue froze, then gave a self-mocking smile. “Okay.”

After dumping the mouthwash, Pei Shijin left the bedroom.

Lu Yixue lay back down, closed her eyes, and drifted into a hazy consciousness. The medicine soon took effect, and she fell asleep.

“Huh, Mommy, good afternoon. Why are you home? Are you coming back to stay?” Lu Mingzhu and Chen Jiayao came home hand-in-hand to grab something. Hearing noises from the kitchen, they ran over and saw Mommy there.

“Good afternoon, Auntie.” Chen Jiayao greeted obediently.

“Good afternoon,” Pei Shijin replied. She was wearing an apron and shaping pastries. Hearing Lu Mingzhu’s question made her nose tingle. “Your mommy’s sick, so Mommy stayed to watch over her.”

“Oh.” So not moving back yet. Lu Mingzhu sighed like a little adult. “I’ll go check on Mommy.”

“Be gentle; she’s sleeping.” Pei Shijin reminded her.

“Mm-hmm.” Little Mingzhu pulled her little friend to Lu Yixue’s bedroom and tiptoed inside.

There wasn’t much to see from someone asleep, so the two kids came right back out.

“Mommy, why’s Mommy sick?” Little Mingzhu asked, trailing after Pei Shijin.

“Because she wasn’t good.” Pei Shijin eyed the little one whose skirt hem was wet. “Like playing with water and getting sick.”

Little Mingzhu’s eyes widened. “Mingzhu didn’t play with water! A kitty fell in the fountain, and we wanted to save it!”

“Yeah, Auntie, we were doing a good deed.” Chen Jiayao clutched the wet hem of her T-shirt.

“Haha, alright then.” Pei Shijin chuckled lightly and tapped Little Mingzhu’s head. “Then, Little Mingzhu, take Jiayao to change clothes, okay? You know where the spare new ones are?”

“I do!” Little Mingzhu, who’d cutely dodged the scolding, breathed a sigh of relief. Oblivious to the topic change, she dragged Chen Jiayao to her room to change.

Pei Shijin slipped her gloves back on and continued styling the pastries.

Her emotions were too tangled to sort out, so she did some mechanical work to empty her mind.

She’d been thinking of calling Gao Ye’an to bring some for Little Mingzhu, but the kids were back early afternoon—perfect timing for fresh ones.

Little Mingzhu and her friend picked matching outfits: gaudy beach-style shirts and shorts, one with lemon patterns, the other orange. On their short arms and legs, they looked utterly adorable.

Seeing Little Mingzhu made Pei Shijin happy. “Where are you two off to play? If you’re not in a rush, wait a bit. Mommy baked lotus flower crisps.”

“Yay! Then we should tell Grandma. She’s downstairs with Jiayao’s grandma waiting for us.” Little Mingzhu licked her lips; she could already smell the lotus flower crisp aroma.

Of course—where Little Mingzhu went, Gao Ye’an followed. Pei Shijin hadn’t even thought of it. “You can come up in twenty minutes then.”

“Okay!” Little Mingzhu hugged Pei Shijin. “Thanks for your hard work, Mommy. We’re heading down.”

“Mm.” Pei Shijin saw the two kids into the elevator before returning.

She stared blankly at the pastries she’d just styled on the board. Should she tell Gao Ye’an about this?

Gao Ye’an definitely wouldn’t want Lu Yixue seeking out this kind of suffering, but Pei Shijin wasn’t sure if she could talk Lu Yixue out of it.

On her own, she absolutely couldn’t stop Lu Yixue.

Not long after, Gao Ye’an came up herself. She burst in with a question: “What are you doing here?”

They’d agreed she wouldn’t come to Yancheng again, yet here she was—not just in the city, but in the house.

Pei Shijin froze. She’d completely forgotten about that.

Lu Yixue’s recent actions had shocked her too much, and she’d mainly come with her teacher for work, forgetting her agreement with Gao Ye’an entirely.

Gao Ye’an sized up Pei Shijin’s outfit and rubbed her brow helplessly. “Little Pei, you two separating was for the best. You proposed it first, and we had our deal. What’s going on now?”

Pei Shijin didn’t know where to start explaining and only managed, “It’s not what you think.”

“Then what is it? Explain in detail.” Gao Ye’an sighed again. “I know you like A’Xue. It’s normal not to let go right away, but quitting cold turkey requires persistence.”

She’d thought the girl meant what she said and hadn’t guarded against her. She’d believed that forged letter had broken her heart enough, but apparently she’d underestimated her.

The aroma of food wafted from the oven slits, filling the kitchen.

But the atmosphere in the kitchen was tense. Gao Ye’an looked at Pei Shijin coolly, her eyes full of complex, unreadable emotions.

She recalled how A’Xue had been picking up Mingzhu frequently these days—probably to see Pei Shijin. So A’Xue wanted to reconnect too.

How had these two gotten tangled up again? Gao Ye’an couldn’t figure it out at all. What a headache.

“Mainly, Mrs. Belika invited my teacher to treat Dorothy, and I came as her assistant.” Pei Shijin struggled to organize her words. “I’m here because Lu Yixue got sick, and Guan Yueying couldn’t find anyone else, so she called me.”

A brief summary of events—she omitted all the entanglements between her and Lu Yixue these past few days.

She didn’t know how to bring it up.

“You could’ve called me. Caregivers are available anywhere for a price.” Gao Ye’an waved her off, stopping Pei Shijin from saying more. “No need to explain. I get it. You’re saying circumstances pushed you here; subjectively, you didn’t want to come.”

Pei Shijin bit her lower lip and said nothing.

To claim there wasn’t even a shred of personal desire would be a lie.

“I’ll figure out a way to reassign your teacher,” Gao Ye’an said, staring into Pei Shijin’s eyes to gauge her reaction. “Or, if you want to stay, that’s negotiable too.”

“You definitely don’t want to station a bunch of people around you every day to prevent you from hurting A’Xue during your susceptible period, but you could try tech solutions. Like the electroshock rings issued by Dragon City Prison—they can instantly stun someone if they detect a burst of pheromones.”

Better to guide than block. As long as A’Xue’s safety was assured, other things could be discussed. Pei Shijin leaving was the simplest option—and one she’d proposed first—but if not, other plans were fine.

“I’ll leave with my teacher.” Pei Shijin didn’t waver on staying or going. Though she’d somewhat enjoyed Lu Yixue’s “pursuit,” her stance hadn’t changed. Forcing an incompatible pair together would only hurt each other.

But should she tell Gao Ye’an about Lu Yixue seeing the psychologist? She was undecided.

Lu Yixue hid around the corner, silently listening to their conversation, her emotions rollercoastering wildly.

However, Pei Shijin hadn’t refuted that line: “I know you like A’Xue.”