No reconciliation, no forgiveness! Mr. Pei leaves with nothing.

"This cake tastes alright, where did you buy it?"

Jiang Hua glanced at the sheet music, put it down casually, and unceremoniously picked up the cake on the table and started eating it. She didn't answer his question.

"If you like it, I'll buy more."

Jiang Hua readily agreed, "Sure." They'd been there a few times before, and Jiang Hua had only met his fiancée once. She wasn't surprised or alarmed by Jiang Hua's arrival; instead, she gave her several tickets to a performance at the Golden Hall to express her gratitude.

She knew this band; their tickets were expensive, and it was difficult for ordinary people to get a chance to see them. Tickets for this band were usually hard to come by.

Bai Rui seemed to know that she and Wen Qian had met and interacted several times during this period. When she saw her that time, she wondered if Wen Qian didn't care or if she was pretending not to care in order to maintain appearances.

However, Jiang Hua is an open and honest person. If you need something from him, you don't need to hide it or be ashamed to face others.

She had nothing to be ashamed of.

After eating a piece of his cake, Jiang Hua left the ward in less than ten minutes. As she walked to the door, she heard a violent cough coming from the ward behind her. She stopped at the door and looked back slightly. The figure sitting in the wheelchair looked thin and desolate.

The man turned around, his gaze catching a glimpse of the figure still standing by the door. That gaze fell upon him, meeting his eyes. A slight smile played on his lips. "Is there anything else?"

Jiang Hua raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you want me to find someone to keep you company?"

"Thank you for your kindness, but no need. You... go back, I'll be fine." That last sentence seemed to be meant to reassure her.

Jiang Hua nodded, carrying the unfinished cake in her hand as she went upstairs. When she turned around, the gaze she saw made her feel uncomfortable for some reason, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

She walked to the emergency staircase. With each step, the motion-sensor light on the floor above would turn on. Jiang Hua exited the emergency staircase and, at the far end of the corridor, saw Pei Zhan smoking. Smoke filled the air around him, a pungent smell making it hard to breathe. She pressed her hand to her nose, frowned, and looked at him without saying a word, her eyes filled with impatience. She then walked past him indifferently.

"Chairman Jiang, he just fell asleep."

"Mrs. Pei, where did you go?" Pei Zhan had half his body on the railing. He had heard her footsteps as soon as she took a step up the stairs. When she came upstairs, she stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette.

Jiang Hua raised her hand to look at the time on her old watch, only to find that it had stopped working and was still stuck at three in the afternoon. Unable to hide her annoyance, she unfastened the silver clasp on the watch and replied irritably, "Where I go is none of your business."

"Just mind your own business!"

After saying that, he picked up the cake and left.

Back in the ward, Jiang Weiguo was indeed still asleep. Even so, Jiang Hua did not leave. Without disturbing him, she sat on the sofa outside the door reading a book. As she read, Jiang Hua did not know when she had fallen asleep.

She only felt someone calling her awake, "Young Miss, Young Miss..."

"Aunt Xu?"

Xu Ma said softly, "Miss, it's getting late. You should go home early. Sir just took his medicine today and won't wake up until tomorrow."

"Miss, remember to wear a shawl when you go back, it gets cold at night."

As Jiang Hua left the ward, she saw Pei Zhan walking over from the other side. A chilling aura enveloped him. Apart from before, Jiang Hua hadn't seen him like this in a long time. Something must have happened to Song Qingran again.

Upon seeing the person who came out, Pei Zhan's aura subsided somewhat. He naturally took the bag from Jiang Hua's hand and walked to the elevator one after the other. Pei Zhan seemed to become her bodyguard as he pressed the elevator button to go downstairs.

As soon as she returned, Pei Zhan disappeared without a trace, and Jiang Hua did not ask him where he went.

They probably went to Song Qingran's place.

Quite by coincidence, Song Qingran was also at this hospital.

As they descended the stairs, the elevator stopped on the tenth floor. When the doors opened, Jiang Hua and Zhou Yan came face to face. Jiang Hua's dissatisfaction was written all over her face; she was practically ready to say the word "bad luck" to Zhou Yan's face.

Zhou Yan could easily understand the meaning behind Jiang Hua's eyes. She secretly smirked, and just as the elevator doors were about to close, Zhou Yan blocked the edge of the doors with her hand and stepped into the elevator.

After the elevator doors closed again, Zhou Yan slowly spoke, "King Group and Jiang's have only been cooperating for a short time, and such a terrible thing has happened. Jiang's doesn't even have the courage to make it public. It's hard not to suspect that Jiang's is intentionally hiding something."

"Judging from the current attitude of the Jiang family, I think... my decision to leave the Jiang family back then was the right one."

What does Miss Jiang think?

As the elevator approached the second basement level parking lot, Jiang Hua didn't utter a single word. Zhou Yan became the ignored clown. The moment the elevator doors opened, Jiang Hua stepped out first. "What kind of beast is she, daring to bark at me like a dog? Just because she studied abroad for a few years and gilded herself, she thinks she's something special!"

"You country bumpkin, what kind of people have you recruited?"

"unlucky."

Zhou Yan, "You!"

After Jiang Hua had walked away without looking back,

Pei Zhan reached out to stop her, "I told you, don't mess with her, Ayan."

“This whole affair was orchestrated by the Shen and Jiang families in collusion to set up Qingran. You can swallow this insult, but I can’t.”

"No matter what, King Group and Jiang's Group absolutely cannot cooperate. I don't want to face my enemy every day, otherwise I will resign from my position as the director of the design department."

"Think it through yourself." Pei Zhan said indifferently, put one hand in his pocket, and got into the car.

The atmosphere today was strangely awkward; the two remained silent the entire way, neither uttering a single word.

When they arrived at Jinsha Shallow Bay, Jiang Hua really treated him like a driver, getting out of the car and turning around to leave.

Jiang Hua was eager to try out the sheet music she had just received. There was a separate piano room on the third floor, with a huge white piano in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Her slender, jade-like fingers placed on the keys, and as the first note fell, a beautiful piano melody entered her ears…

This piano was a one-of-a-kind gift from Jiang Hua when she turned sixteen. She hadn't touched it for many years, but after a short while, she played the piece, which originally only had the first half, very smoothly.

After the first half of the piece was played, the melody softened the moment it continued. Unlike the melodious, long, and soothing rhythm of the first half, which was as heartfelt as a confession, the last half... evoked a feeling that, while maintaining the same style, left the listener with a faint, indescribable sadness. If the first half was about a couple's mutual understanding, love, and commitment, then the last half... was about the unbearable regret of having to separate.

The last part was very beautiful, but she... didn't like it.

Jiang Hua closed the piano, and casually placed aside every piece of music written on the white paper.

"You played very well, why don't you continue?"

Pei Zhan was standing next to the piano at some point.

Jiang Hua: "You country bumpkin, do you even know anything about music? You dare to comment on whether it's good or not?"

No matter how much Jiang Hua attacked him verbally, Pei Zhan seemed to remain unperturbed. "If Mrs. Pei doesn't ask, how would she know I can't?" With that, Pei Zhan sat down next to Jiang Hua uninvited, turned on the piano again, and played the piece that Jiang Hua had just played exactly as it was.

A look of something else flickered in Jiang Hua's eyes. During those few minutes of music, he hadn't made a single mistake!

All Jiang Hua knew was that he was a very shrewd businessman who could secure a multi-billion dollar cooperation project in less than ten minutes. But... Jiang Hua never knew that Pei Zhan also had such a high talent in perfect pitch.

Of all the memories he brought her from her past life, including now, Jiang Hua felt as if... there was nothing he couldn't do.

If we ignore his background and origins, there really isn't a second-generation rich kid in the entire capital city who can compare to him. Dad has good taste in men; it's just that this ambitious man doesn't win her favor at all.

One lesson from the past life is enough!

The last character fell, "How?"

Jiang Hua met those deep, serene eyes, and the turmoil in her eyes vanished for a moment, causing a slight ripple in her heart.

"How come I never knew that a lowly country bumpkin like you could play the piano?"

"You learned it for... Song Qingran?"

Pei Zhan said, "Mrs. Pei has such great talent in music, as her husband, I can't fall behind."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hua burst out laughing. "For me? Pei Zhan, you really can make up any lie."

“We’ve known each other for almost five years now. Whether before or after we got married, you always found excuses to avoid me. Knowing I can’t fly, you would arrange your own schedule and go on business trips abroad. You’re busy until 9:30 pm every night at Jinsha Shallow Bay and then go to the company at 8 am every morning. I want to ask, how can a CEO who has to take care of the company and also take care of an innocent female college student have time to practice the piano, and say it’s all for me?!”

“Even if you’re lying, Pei Zhan, you should at least have a limit.”

Even if it's just to please me.

"I advise you to give up as soon as possible, don't humiliate yourself. You... will never be as good as him!"

Jiang Hua reached out and patted his face. "No matter how much you imitate him, I will only find you utterly disgusting."

Jiang Hua tried to leave, but the man suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her down onto his lap. Without saying a word, his lips were sealed, his teeth pried open, and all the air was taken away. This kiss was emotional, domineering, and not gentle.

In her confusion and infatuation, Jiang Hua struggled in vain, completely swept away by his rhythm.

It wasn't until the pain from the sucking on her neck brought her back to her senses that she realized the lipstick on Jiang Hua's lips had been completely wiped away. Just one kiss had left her covered in his scent. "Want to try it here?"

Jiang Hua sat on the piano, her legs draped over the man's waist, her eyes alluring. "Think it over. I'm very expensive."

"No matter how much you invest, it won't keep up with how fast I need money."

“Pei Zhan, I gave you a chance to divorce me. Don’t wait until one day you regret it and try every means to get your money back from my pocket.”

"Four billion, I'll give it to you!"

These few words immediately made Jiang Hua feel uneasy. She really didn't know where he got so much money. Even if he embezzled money from the Jiang family and hid his private savings, he would give out so much money so easily. Jiang Hua was starting to suspect that he had taken on some kind of business that he dared not touch.

Seeing that she was lost in thought, Pei Zhan took off his suit jacket, which was restricting his movements, and casually tossed it aside, covering a vase. "Mrs. Pei, you can't even concentrate on making love?" His tone was deep and seductive, and his huge body enveloped her, pressing down on her in an instant.

Jiang Hua frowned uncomfortably at the sudden pain.

I have no idea how Song Qingran, with her small frame, could endure someone as beastly and barbaric as him in bed.

After a night of passionate lovemaking, Jiang Hua was exhausted and almost fell apart.

Piano, on the French windows, sofa, bathroom, bed...

Everywhere was marked with traces.

Jiang Hua slept until 2 PM. There was a check for 4 billion yuan on her bedside table, along with a seemingly insignificant note that read: "I'll be back to keep you company this morning. Remember to eat on time."

"This is unnecessary." Jiang Hua got out of bed completely naked, lifting the covers. Apart from feeling a little sore in her legs, she didn't experience any other major pain.

Jiang Group.

Zuo Xiangnan reported, "We just received word from the hospital that they have already left. Miss Bai will receive an invitation to perform with the Royal Orchestra in an hour. I don't think Miss Bai would give up her career for a man."

Pei Zhan's tone was cheerful, clearly indicating that he was in a good mood. "Well done."

On the man's left wrist were scratches left by Jiang Hua's fingernails last night.

No problem, we'll take it slow.

Five years isn't enough, then ten or twenty years. One day, I will uproot him from your heart.

We... were meant to be together.

When Jiang Hua arrived at the hospital, she found the fourteenth floor empty except for a maid packing up her belongings. Only then did she realize... he was gone.

The maid simply told her that they were in a hurry to go back and take engagement photos.

Jiang Hua looked at the sheet music in her hand, not having had time to confirm anything, and upon hearing this, she simply let it go.

If... he really is Ji Liangchuan, he would never get engaged to another woman.

Upon hearing this affirmative statement, Jiang Hua could only conclude that her intuition had led her to mistake the person for someone else.

Pei Zhan's habits are like Ji Liangchuan's, and Wen Qian's feelings for her are also like his...

There aren't that many people in this world who look alike.

With mixed feelings of disappointment and relief, I turned and left.

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Hua heard some news...

Song Qingran is awake!