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

The four of them looked towards the door. When Yue Simiao saw the person who came in, her eyes widened. On her seemingly calm face, the fear in her heart began to scream, "He, he, he, how did he get here!"

Huo Beishen stood outside the door, his face as cold as ice, revealing no emotion. He simply uttered a chilling sentence, "Take the young mistress back to me."

"You want me to go back, and I'll go back? Huo Beishen, don't forget what we agreed on back then: you do your thing, I'll do mine, and we won't interfere with each other. If you have time to bother me, you might as well go visit your little star on set. Stop bothering me to come here for entertainment. I'm telling you, I'm not going back today."

Huo Beishen is the most dangerous member of the Huo family's collateral branches, both in terms of his status and the power he controls. He has connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds, and the blood on his hands can never be washed away. Yue Simiao was blind to choose him as her marriage partner. If she had known how dangerous he was, she would have preferred not to marry him at all. Who knew that he still had a white moonlight in his heart after only a few days of happiness?

Jiang Hua propped her head up with her hand, leaning back comfortably to the side, watching them argue. This scene felt somewhat familiar.

“Mistress, please do something about him. He wants to take me back, but I don’t want to go back.”

Both pairs of eyes were fixed on Jiang Hua. Jiang Hua raised an eyebrow slightly and pursed her lips, looking somewhat troubled. "Today I'm not the mistress, I'm the eldest young lady. I won't interfere in your family affairs."

Yue Simiao: "Mistress, please don't do this."

Huo Beishen nodded slightly to Jiang Hua. Jiang Hua looked away and casually played with the mahjong tiles in her hand. Then Huo Beishen stepped forward and forcibly took the woman away.

They probably hadn't seen anything like this before. The young man looked at Jiang Hua timidly, "Miss, who was that person? Why did he call you 'Mistress'?"

"How about we call another person up to keep the young lady company?"

Jiang Hua threw down the mahjong tiles and leaned back. "This is so boring. We've only played for a short while. I should have just stayed here."

"Huo Beishen, put me down..."

A roar came from the corridor, but before the last word could be uttered, the sound stopped abruptly.

From the open door of the private room, a familiar sound of footsteps echoed slowly down the corridor, each step landing on Jiang Hua's heart.

It's not the silence that's scary, it's the sudden appearance without a sound.

Upon seeing the black figure appear, Pei Zhan walked over with one hand in his pocket, exuding a fierce aura. He reached Jiang Hua's side, pulled out a chair, sat down beside her, crossed his long legs, and glanced at her sideways. After a long while, he finally uttered a question that was neither too loud nor too soft: "Is this place... fun?"

"What a disappointment." Jiang Hua stood up and walked outside.

Jiang Hua thought about it and realized that it was all his doing.

When she came downstairs, several police cars were parked outside, and the place was sealed off. Guests were being questioned, and even the manager was under investigation. It was no exaggeration to say that it was complete chaos.

Jiang Hua turned to leave when she saw Zuo Xiangnan, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, blocking her way. "Miss, the car is over there."

Jiang Hua didn't even glance at her, and walked directly in the opposite direction. Seeing her cold expression, Zuo Xiangnan didn't dare to say anything more.

But before she could take more than a few steps, she suddenly felt light as an arm slipped around her waist, lifted her up, and shoved her into the car…

The atmosphere in the car was silent. Jiang Hua didn't speak, as if she was sulking. The car slowly drove through the bustling city center. Pei Zhan took her hand and said, "I made a reservation at a restaurant before we came. Let's go eat first."

Jiang Hua struggled for a moment but couldn't break free, so she simply gave up, saying, "I have no appetite."

"Just consider it keeping me company, okay?" he whispered.

Jiang Hua looked at him with amusement, "Accompany you? Pei Zhan, you have quite the nerve."

Pei Zhan smiled and said nothing more.

This was right at the peak of the evening rush hour in the capital city. The few kilometers of bustling downtown area took almost half an hour to drive onto the elevated highway. The car was quiet and oppressive. Jiang Hua looked at the person beside her; Pei Zhan had his eyes closed, seemingly asleep. She tried to pull her hand away, but he gripped it tightly again. Jiang Hua narrowed her eyes, glancing at their clasped hands. The ring on the man's ring finger was prominently displayed. She looked at him again, her gaze meeting his eyes, which were now open and filled with weariness. Their eyes met, and a flicker of unease crossed Jiang Hua's heart. She didn't look at him again.

French restaurant.

Jiang Hua remembered that she and Pei Zhan had been to a French restaurant once, but they had a falling out and Jiang Hua left in the end.

Stepping into the restaurant felt like we had the whole place to ourselves; there wasn't a single person there at this hour.

The waiter led the two to a floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor, where the melodious sound of a piano filled the air, creating a tranquil and comfortable atmosphere. Looking back now, the difference is quite significant.

He used to live in a dilapidated dormitory, but later applied for a single employee dormitory room at the company. He was reluctant to spend the money he earned and ate fast food that cost only a dozen yuan. Now... he has achieved a leap in social class and has also started to learn how to book a whole venue.

The waiter immediately brought out several dishes. Jiang Hua looked down and played with her phone. After leaving the restaurant, Pei Zhan didn't mention what had just happened, but even if he had, he wouldn't have dared to do anything to her.

He didn't say anything, and Jiang Hua remained unfazed, playing on her phone. She happened to see Shen Bao'er's social media post: "Waaah, my hands are all red from rubbing them. I kept saying I didn't touch them, I didn't touch them. I had to wash my hands ten times, and they still turned them red."

"Eat well."

Jiang Hua ignored him. The more he tried to talk, the slower she ate. Pei Zhan said a few words to her during the meal, but Jiang Hua brushed them off. The meal took a slow hour and a half to finish, but he didn't urge her.

They arrived at the store at six o'clock, and now it's 7:30 in the evening. Jiang Hua sat for a while to digest her food before putting away her phone, standing up, and saying, "Let's go."

As they walked out of the store, Jiang Hua casually asked, "Are you going back to the company?"

Pei Zhan: "Go home."

Jiang Hua glanced at him: "If you think I eat too slowly, you can leave by yourself if you need to."

"Fine, I won't go out with you anymore."

Pei Zhan probably wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by a voice. The person was speaking fluent French with the other person, mostly about company matters. She looked out the car window, where streetlights flashed by.

This phone call lasted for almost half an hour. I thought it was over, but then it came again.

Jiang Hua could only play on her phone. Suddenly, Ji Liangchuan, who hadn't updated his status for a long time, posted a handwritten musical score. At the end of the score, there was a line of words written in pencil: "Dedicated to my beloved JH."

It's an abbreviation of her name.

Since Pei Zhan returned, Ji Liangchuan has never appeared in front of her again, except for that one time.

She probably didn't want to watch any longer; she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from thinking about whether he was doing well or not. She was also afraid that he would disappear again or that something unexpected would happen to him.

When Jiang Hua arrived home, Xu Qiulan brought her medicine as usual and placed it on the dining table. "Miss, here is your medicine."

Jiang Hua was slightly distracted. "Oh, just leave it there."

He hung up the phone when he got home.

Upon seeing Jiang Hua sitting at the dining table, he placed a hand on her head and said, "I'm going to the study to take care of some things."

Jiang Hua was too lazy to say a word to him.

Xu Qiulan: "Now that Mr. Pei's status is different, he will naturally be busier than before."

Jiang Hua: "Busy, I'd rather be busy to death. I'll inherit the Huo family's fortune by myself, and then I'll remarry with his money."

Seeing her childish temper, Xu Qiulan just smiled and didn't say anything more. How could Xu Qiulan not understand recently? It was simply because Master Pei was too busy and didn't have much time to deal with her being angry.

Upstairs in the study, Pei Zhan sat at his desk, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was listening to a phone call from a mental hospital in Romania, and a gloomy aura gradually emerged from his body.

"...This lady has been treated with various psychiatric medications over the years, but we have found no improvement whatsoever. On the contrary, her condition has become increasingly serious."

"Now he's started hurting people in the hospital, trying to avenge his dead daughter."

"Mr. Huo, our hospital suggests that you take her back, preferably to her former residence, and try to stimulate her mentally by having her contact with people she knows. This might help stabilize her condition."

Pei Zhan: "This is not a problem for me to consider. I can't think of any other solution. I don't think there's any need for your hospital to continue operating."

The other party replied, "Yes, Mr. Huo. We will try to find other solutions for this lady's condition as soon as possible."

After the phone call ended, the man in the white coat looked at the woman under the table, his eyes still burning with lingering lust. "Darling, I think you heard it too."

"No, we're not letting you go. It's just that this gentleman doesn't want you to go back to your country and disturb his wonderful life."

Zhou Yan laughed, her eyes filled with heartbreaking grief. "The Zhou family was destroyed, and I've ended up in this situation too. Why should he be able to live a happy life with the daughter of the man who killed my sister?"

"If it weren't for Ah Xu's heart, the Jiang family would have killed her. That Jiang Hua would have died long ago, and she wouldn't be alive now."

"But what about him! Hahaha... He actually fell in love with the daughter of his enemy, and imprisoned me and my mother here forever, preventing us from going back."

"Why!"

“He wants to grow old with Jiang Hua, but I won’t allow it.”

"I'll make the Jiang family taste the bitterness of family ruin and death..."

"The murderer who killed my sister, why does his Jiang family live so well while I've been reduced to this state!"

"Everything that Jiang Hua had should have belonged to us. How dare she take it from us!"

"No matter what it takes, I'm going back. They want to have it easy..."

"impossible!"

The man looked at her with a smile, "You're a crazy woman."

Zhou Yan sat on the man's lap. "Yes, I've already gone crazy. He caused all of this."

...

Jiang Hua sat on the edge of the bed, a book spread out on the blanket. Pei Zhan came out of the study. She was drinking water from a glass when she caught sight of him coming over and sitting on the edge of her bed. He just watched her quietly. Jiang Hua ignored him. After a while, she finally got impatient with his gaze and said to him, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm sorry, Aunt Xu just told me that I've been really busy lately."

"I will try my best to make time for you from now on."

Jiang Hua glanced at him up and down, noticing his odd behavior, and felt that something was off. "Who asked you to come with me?"

Pei Zhan frowned: "You want to go to that kind of place again?"

Jiang Hua: "You still have the nerve to say that? After what happened today, Shen Bulu is worried that Bao'er will come out with me."

And then there's the Huo family. It's rare to find someone you can get along with. So... in the future, they'll be avoiding her like the plague.

Pei Zhan's lips curled up as he reached out to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. He had probably thought of a compromise. "Didn't the doctor say that it would take a year to recover?"

"I've been staying home with you this past year, okay?"

Jiang Hua was stunned. "What about your company? Aren't you going to take care of it?"

Pei Zhan: "Never mind."

"Huo Beishen will take over temporarily, and Xiang Nan will also be in charge of the rest."

Jiang Hua narrowed her eyes at him, "Why are you acting so strangely today? You say you don't care, but I don't believe you."

Pei Zhan: "Wouldn't it be better if I took an extra year to stay home with you?"

Jiang Hua recalled what her father had just told her today: "It's not good for two people to stay together for too long. What if they get tired of each other?"

"If Mrs. Pei gets tired of it, I'll appear in front of you less often."

Jiang Hua: "And you? Can you do it?"

Pei Zhan took a deep breath, and seeing her overthinking, his tone became somewhat helpless, "Why did I take this year off?"

"Huahua, I'm very busy."

"Most of the time, I don't have much time or energy to focus on other things."

Jiang Hua pursed her lips, and the lifeless rose in her heart seemed to have a sliver of life, blooming a petal that swayed gently: "Alright then, so you won't be going to the company tomorrow?"

Pei Zhan: "Yeah, I'm not going."

This is so sudden.

Jiang Hua was not prepared for this at all.

I thought he was just saying it.

It wasn't until she fell asleep that night and woke up naturally to find him still beside her that Jiang Hua realized he was telling the truth; he really had turned down a year's worth of company business for her sake.

In his past life, he had never done this for her.

Jiang Hua looked up at the man's furrowed brows in his sleep, and in a daze, she thought of something: In her past life, Jiang Hua did not see Kager appear, nor did Xia He.

She reached out and stroked his face. "Pei Zhan, in your previous life, were there still many things you didn't tell me?"

And those two children, is it possible that they aren't yours?

I wish you could be reborn too, so I could know what really happened in my past life.

Why won't you answer my calls? Why are you treating me like this?

In this life, it seems you sensed that you... care about me.

I don't want to be like I was in my previous life, constantly worrying about gains and losses, unable to grasp anything. Watching you stay by Song Qingran's side, unable to do anything.

Pei Zhan…

Really... stop lying to me.

I won't be able to stand it.