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

There was no response, but he turned around, and the face in his mind, whose appearance he could barely remember, overlapped with the person in front of him in a blurry way. Behind him was a quiet, pitch-black night, with no stars tonight, but his eyes held a glimmer of starlight, a dim, faint glimmer.

After a long period of eye contact, he spoke first, his voice soft, "You were just shouting..."

Jiang Hua stood up and walked towards him. "It's nothing. I was chatting with someone on my phone. Today isn't your engagement party, so why are you all alone here? The party will start soon."

He didn't answer Jiang Hua's question, but instead asked her, "Last time you said that the person you couldn't let go of was him, right?"

Jiang Hua stood opposite him, her lower back resting on the railing, and nodded, saying in an undeniable tone, "It's him."

“He’s been gone for so many years, he probably has his own family by now. Nobody knows if he’s alive or dead. People say I’m heartless, but I think he’s the one who’s more heartless than me.” Jiang Hua noticed that there was a wheelchair next to him. His legs… are they still not healed?

Suddenly, the image of his calves covered in burn marks and the obvious muscle atrophy in his calves flashed into my mind, probably left over from the accident he mentioned.

She wasn't one to reopen old wounds or poke at people's pain, so Jiang Hua didn't ask him about the bad things again in front of him.

"Is he good to you?" The hand at her side clenched silently, her fingertips turning white from the pressure.

Jiang Hua lowered her head, looking at the watch she always wore on her wrist. She had forgotten... that the watch was broken, but she still subconsciously put it on when she went out today. This watch... had been with her for several years. Last time, it probably got bumped and stopped working.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hua paused for a moment. "Fine! What's wrong with that..." She turned around and leaned against the railing, gazing at the moonlight outside. She felt an indescribable calmness in her heart. His aura was truly strange. If anyone else had dared to ask that question, Jiang Hua would not only have turned on him but might have even insulted him. However, she didn't do that in front of him. In a place like this, suddenly mentioning Pei Zhan's name was indeed quite unlucky.

"Anyway, those who shouldn't have left have left, and those who should have left... are still lingering. Let's just live like this. At least... things are relatively stable for now."

"That's good." He suppressed his emotions, his gaze never leaving her back. "Don't dwell on the past, live your life now."

I impersonated him back then, and now... it's time for me to return you to him.

Just then, several cars drove up from the sixth floor below. Jiang Hua squinted at the familiar car downstairs. After the car stopped, a short while later, Pei Zhan and Song Qingran, who was dressed up in a white dress, got out of the passenger seat. With him was... that Mrs. Xia who disliked her.

How did these three people end up together?

She wasn't surprised to see Pei Zhan and Song Qingran come together. In fact, she felt uncomfortable with the way Pei Zhan and she had been putting on a lovey-dovey act at Yulong Bay all this time.

I knew it! Today's jewelry exhibition gave Song Qingran a chance to shine in front of so many people, how could he, as her man, not attend?

"What did you just say? I didn't hear you." Jiang Hua felt disgusted just looking at him, so she turned away, refusing to look at the repulsive scene.

He smiled slightly, "It's nothing. I'm leaving after the engagement party. Before I leave... I'll give you a gift." As he spoke, he took something out of the pocket of his expensive suit, "This is a blessing for peace and safety that I prayed for."

"Specially... obtained for me?" Jiang Hua was somewhat surprised. "And it's a talisman from Qingfeng Temple. How did you get up there? Your legs?"

It takes more than three hours to climb to the top of Qingfeng Temple. With his physical condition, he couldn't climb up without help. If it was specially asked for her, Jiang Hua would feel burdened.

He's a very nice person.

"It's nothing. I went with Arui. I was thinking about your health, so I asked for help for you."

Jiang Hua raised an eyebrow. Last time she went out, Xu Ma was worried about her health and insisted that she wear the monitoring bracelet. Unexpectedly, he saw it and Jiang Hua told him about her heart disease. To her surprise, he asked for a blessing for her.

Even if it was just a gift, Jiang Hua had no problem accepting it. "Thank you, I'll take it."

"In return, this is a lucky crystal bracelet that I just bought yesterday. Although it's not worth much, I can't accept your gift for nothing. Consider it a blessing for your well-being and wish you a speedy recovery."

"it is good."

Just then, a waiter came over and said, "Mr. Wen, Miss Bai is ready. We can go downstairs now."

"I see."

After the waiter left, Jiang Hua said directly, "But I won't go to witness your engagement party. There are people I don't want to see in the lobby downstairs. Seeing them... has made me unhappy all year."

"When you come back from abroad, we'll hold a wedding banquet, and I'll give you a huge congratulatory gift then."

"Okay. It's a deal."

Seeing him stand up, he suddenly lost his balance, and Jiang Hua was startled and instinctively reached out to support him, "Be careful."

He pressed his entire weight onto Jiang Hua, almost all of his weight on her. A nearby waiter immediately rushed forward and pushed a wheelchair over. The faint scent of Chinese medicine lingered in the air even after he left.

As the engagement party began, Jiang Hua could already hear the commotion downstairs…

She sent a message to Bao'er, asking her to let her know after the engagement party. Jiang Hua then found a place to hide by herself. Just after sending the message, Pei Zhan called, and she immediately hung up...

Pei Zhan's appearance at the banquet hall made him the most sought-after person there. Everyone knew that he was the one who facilitated the financing cooperation between the Jiang Group and the Huo Group. Everyone wanted to get a share of the pie, and some even openly introduced their daughters to him.

Jiang Weiguo was being pulled aside to reminisce, completely unaware of the situation on the other side.

“I appreciate Minister Shen’s kindness, but I am already married, so I will be delaying your daughter.”

"I have other important matters to attend to, so I will take my leave."

Those who wanted to ask for more and went forward to introduce marriage partners to Pei Zhan gave up at that point.

They knew that since Pei Zhan was already married, there was probably no one else besides the arrogant and domineering Miss Jiang from the Jiang family. Being close to the water tower, one gets the moon first. Jiang Weiguo was really a cunning old fox; his judgment of people had never been wrong.

The daughter was useless, but the son-in-law she found was quite remarkable.

The phone call ended again. As he walked out of the banquet hall, which was about to begin, he ran into a waiter carrying a formal dress with the hem folded up. Pei Zhan immediately recognized it, because it was a custom-made dress that he had personally commissioned to be made for Jiang Hua in a short period of time.

Inside the venue.

Seeing that Song Qingran was not paying attention, Xia He asked softly, "What are you thinking about?"

Song Qingran quickly recovered and said, "No, it's nothing..."

"Are you thinking about Mr. Pei? If you like him, just tell him directly. A young lady's feelings shouldn't be kept hidden; otherwise, the other person might not know and you might miss your chance..."

"No, I wasn't thinking about him. It's because of what happened at the exhibition today. I'm worried that Ayao and the others won't handle it well. This mistake was ours, and no matter what, we can't do things for personal gain just because of money. Ayao is impulsive, and I'm afraid they might start fighting and something bad might happen."

Xia He hadn't expected her to be so thoughtful and considerate at such a young age, never thinking of herself. "Just handle this matter however you need to. Don't worry, nothing will happen. Even if something does happen, Auntie will help you."

"But do you know whether what the Shen family said today was true, that President Pei of the Jiang Group has feelings for Jiang Hua?"

Xia He felt there was something fishy about this; it couldn't possibly be as she said. How could A Zhan possibly fall in love with her?

It’s just self-deception.

"I think so. I'm not too sure. Senior Jiang is indeed very beautiful. It's not wrong that Mr. Pei likes her."

Seeing her so nonchalant attitude, Xia He scolded her, "You silly child, if he really liked Jiang Hua, he wouldn't have stood up for you today."

How do you know he's not just pretending not to care, making you jealous and upset?

“You are no worse than anyone else. It’s not enough for a woman to be good-looking; she also needs to be upright and kind. Most good men value these qualities, not just superficial appearances. Just be yourself, and I believe that one day his heart will return to you.”

Song Qingran didn't say anything more; she... didn't want to explain the reasons anymore.

When Yuanzhou comes back, she will get engaged to him, and then all those rumors will simply fall apart on their own.

No matter what, she will never be a homewrecker who breaks up someone else's marriage...

The engagement party had already begun, and Jiang Hua casually picked up a fashion magazine and started flipping through it. For some reason, she couldn't calm down; her heart was pounding so hard that she felt very uncomfortable.

She drifted off to sleep, and after an unknown amount of time, she felt a cold, rough touch on her face. When she opened her sleepy eyes, she thought... it was just a dream...

"It haunts my dreams, what bad luck." Jiang Hua closed her eyes again and tried to sleep a little longer.

Hearing footsteps outside the private room, she seemed off, as if this wasn't a dream.

Jiang Hua frowned and opened her eyes, looking at the person who had appeared beside her without her noticing with displeasure. "How did you find your way here?"

"Even if Mrs. Pei hides to the ends of the earth, I will find her."

Jiang Hua propped herself up on the soft sofa and sat up. The moment he reached out to touch her, she slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me with your filthy hands."

She got off the sofa, put on her shoes, and the scent emanating from Jiang Hua seemed to bring back the way she used to be, when she loathed him. Pei Zhan noticed her subtle emotions and lowered his voice, "If you don't want to stay here, I can go back with you."

Jiang Hua didn't reply to him; she just kept leaving, not wanting to stay in the same place as him at all.

She opened the door to the private room, and slammed it shut behind her as she left.

“Huahua”.

Pei Zhan chased after him.

Jiang Hua went down the stairs to the emergency exit. As she opened the heavy emergency door, Pei Zhan had already come downstairs and closed the door behind her.

"I went back to school for the exhibition; Chairman Jiang asked me to pick it up as a congratulatory gift for the Bai family's engagement banquet, as you know..."

Jiang Hua looked at him coldly, her expression unreadable. "I'm not interested in you. There's no need to tell me these things; they're too much for my ears."

"Go away."

Jiang Hua couldn't push him.

Pei Zhan braced himself against the wall with one hand, trapping Jiang Hua in his domain. He remained motionless, preventing her from escaping. His deep eyes were fixed on Jiang Hua. "When I checked your location, you were no longer in Yulong Bay."

Pei Zhan: "I never thought about not coming back to pick you up."

"Pick me up? Who is the person you really want to pick up? Why can you lie and explain yourself so confidently without batting an eye? It's as if I'm the one who did something wrong. What right do you have to stand in front of me and talk to me?" Jiang Hua's tone was clearly very angry.

Pei Zhan wasn't afraid of her being angry; what he was afraid of was not knowing why Jiang Hua was angry.

If he doesn't explain, their relationship will revert to its old state, full of hostility and conflict.

As long as the reason is found, he can explain himself and prove his innocence.

As he spoke, Pei Zhan took out his phone and played a recording.

This recording is from Jiang Weiguo asking him to return to the school's exhibition to retrieve the congratulatory gift to be sent to the Bai family.

"Do you believe me now? There was no one at the exhibition; I just wanted to rush back from school to pick you up."

"When we came, Mrs. Xia's car broke down, so I had no choice but to have them ride with me. There's a dashcam and recording in the car; if you want to know, I can show you right now..."

Jiang Hua felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze. In the dim light, his silhouette was indistinct. She looked away and said, "What you're doing has nothing to do with me. Even if you're doing *that* kind of thing, who dares to say anything to you..."

He chuckled.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Jiang Hua struggled, "What are you doing!"

"I came looking for you as soon as I got to the venue, but you weren't there. I knew you were here, Huahua... I searched more than thirty private rooms before I finally found you..."

"I'm the one who should be jealous. I feel uncomfortable every time you're with Shen Yebai."

He held her tightly. Jiang Hua tilted her head back, leaning on his shoulder, her eyes icy. "You know what this feels like too?"

"Pei Zhan, don't fool yourself too."

If you overdo the acting, it loses its appeal.

If it weren't for the warmth emanating from his body, which made her feel his real presence, Jiang Hua would have doubted whether the person in front of her was really Pei Zhan.

How could she and Shen Yebai compare to their clandestine affair?

How many dirty things did he and Song Qingran do in the past?

His heart wasn't with her, so what was there to be jealous about? He simply didn't understand what it felt like to be deceived and betrayed...