That one “Sis” was enough to make half of Pei Liang’s body go weak.
Then she felt a wave of killing intent. When she turned around, she found Xie Chen standing there with his arms crossed, staring at her. She could practically feel his gaze even through his sunglasses.
Pei Liang came back to her senses. This was the younger brother she had personally claimed as her own—and when she had done so, he had only just turned eighteen a few days earlier.
He wasn’t just some handsome stranger. She couldn’t behave shamelessly.
That said, she made no attempt to hide the amazement on her face. Looking Gao Jun up and down once more, she exclaimed, “Jun?”
“You’ve really… grown up.”
Gao Jun had always been good-looking. Even several years ago, it had been obvious that he would grow into a handsome man.
After all, when an entertainment agency trained its trainees, it had professionals assess their bone structure and appearance and predict their future potential. They were rarely wrong.
Gao Jun had always received an A+ or higher in both evaluation and expectations. Yet when they suddenly reunited, all his youthful awkwardness had completely faded. Without anyone noticing, it had fermented into a mature, one-of-a-kind charm.
The impact of seeing him at a glance was incredibly powerful.
To Pei Liang, any praise she could offer seemed pale and inadequate.
And it wasn’t just Pei Liang. Even Xie Chen felt a strong sense of danger.
Best Actor Xie had always been confident about his appearance—calling it conceit would not have been an exaggeration.
Ordinary people simply could not compare with celebrities. Even a star who looked merely average on screen was far more attractive than the average handsome man or beautiful woman.
What was more, maintaining and displaying the advantages of one’s physique, bearing, and poise to the fullest was part of a celebrity’s job.
By all rights, Gao Jun had not even debuted yet. No matter how good his innate qualities were, his presence and charm should not have been able to compare with Best Actor Xie, who reigned supreme across the Asian entertainment industry.
Besides, he was still so young—barely twenty. At that age, most people were still just immature boys.
And yet Gao Jun had completely transcended the limitations of age. Once the last traces of youthful awkwardness had faded from his body, his whole being blended seamlessly with the slightly wicked, precociously mature quality that had always been part of him. There was no sense of incongruity at all.
If this had been the first time Pei Liang was seeing him, she absolutely would not have thought of him as a younger brother.
Gao Jun could naturally tell that the amazement in Pei Liang’s eyes was different from before. Back then, whenever she looked at him, there had always been a tenderness reserved for a child.
There was no denying that he had gained extra attention and affection by relying on that image, but it was never what he truly wanted.
Now, seeing Pei Liang’s reaction, Gao Jun finally felt that the years of patience had been worth it. A sense of relief washed over him.
He said softly, “I wanted to improve myself as soon as possible so I could come back and help you, Sis. I haven’t been in touch with you much these past few years. You’re not angry with me, are you?”
Pei Liang was just about to wave it off. Her younger brother had been so busy—studying and earning money in a foreign country while enduring the loneliness. Of course she understood.
“Of course not. I was just worried that you were exhausting yourself and neglecting your health—”
Before she could finish, Xie Chen cut in, “How could she be? Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Every day, she’s busy working, dating, and keeping an eye on the new trainees at the company. She doesn’t have time to think about anything else.”
Gao Jun had noticed Xie Chen as well. Over the past few years, Xie Chen’s career had grown increasingly smooth. Pei Liang had indeed kept her promise, protecting his pride and innocence.
He had never experienced any of the setbacks and hardships from his past life. His entire life had gone smoothly, and he had even reached heights he had never attained before.
Gao Jun didn’t want to see this man’s face either. Unfortunately, the guy had become famous throughout Asia, and even in Country X, Gao Jun would often run into him unexpectedly on television, in magazines, or on advertising screens.
Every time that happened, it irritated Gao Jun to no end, making him even more jealous.
Hearing him speak, Gao Jun could tell that he hadn’t matured at all over the years. It was obvious how spoiled he had been.
What did he mean by that? Wasn’t he trying to relegate Gao Jun to the position of an ordinary trainee? The company had plenty of trainees, and which one of them wouldn’t know how to curry favor with her?
His act of injuring himself by eight hundred just to inflict a thousand points of damage on his enemy only served to reveal how wary he was.
Gao Jun curled his lips. Only then did he pretend to recognize Xie Chen. “So it’s Brother Xie. We haven’t seen each other in years—I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“To be honest, running into you here is quite an honor—no, it should be more accurate to say it’s a huge surprise. After all these years, Sister is still eating the same dish.”
Both Xie Chen and Pei Liang froze at those words.
Xie Chen was purely furious, while Pei Liang was simply embarrassed.
But on further thought, after Xie Chen had left in a fit of anger, Gao Jun had immediately proposed going abroad for further study. Given how clever the boy was, it wasn’t surprising that he had understood what had been implied at the dinner table that day.
Pei Liang suddenly felt guilty. Could it be that the boy had been afraid she would turn her poisonous hand on him, and that was why he had fled overseas?
That made sense. Gao Jun had nearly been sold out by his own parents, so the thing he probably hated most was that sort of behavior.
The thought made Pei Liang feel even more guilty in front of Gao Jun. Had this kid misunderstood her as some kind of twisted psychopath who casually harmed people?
She immediately withdrew her gaze from him, cleared her throat, and said in a serious tone, “Let’s go. There are too many people here. We’ll head back first.”
Gao Jun was stunned, but he immediately realized what she meant and was overcome with regret.
Then he heard Xie Chen give a mocking laugh, and the two glared daggers at each other.
They had both acted like idiots the moment they crossed swords, so neither of them had any right to look down on the other.
Both men thought the other was a moron—and that the other had dragged their own intelligence down to the same level.
For instance, when they reached the car, the two supposedly mature men got into another standoff over who would take the front passenger seat.
Xie Chen said, “You just got off the plane. How can you sit in the front? You should get some proper rest in the back seat.”
Gao Jun replied, “No need to be so polite, Brother Xie. My sister and I have a lot to talk about. Please make yourself comfortable.”
Pei Liang sighed. These two hadn’t seen each other for years, so how were they still so fond of bickering?
She turned to Xie Chen. “You drive.”
Before Gao Jun could celebrate, she added, “You sit in the front passenger seat. Judging by the way you two are going, you clearly have plenty to talk about.”
In the end, the two grown men sat in the front: one driving, the other sitting with his arms crossed and staring straight ahead, his expression as grim as if they were on their way to a crematorium.
On the way, Pei Liang answered two phone calls. Whoever was calling was probably some little vixen from the company, and the expressions on both men’s faces grew even darker.
When they arrived at the Pei residence, Pei’s dad had already learned that Gao Jun was returning that day and was waiting for him at home.
Although Gao Jun had not lived with the Pei family for very long back then, he had been such a well-behaved and sensible child that Pei’s dad had taken quite a liking to him. He had even openly accepted him as his godson.
Now, Gao Jun didn’t act like an outsider in the slightest. The moment he saw Pei’s dad, he called out, “Dad!”
Xie Chen’s face turned green. When Gao Jun had been a little kid, he used to throw the word around recklessly, so Xie Chen hadn’t read too much into it.
But now Gao Jun was all grown up, and his intentions were obvious. The sly bastard hadn’t actually done anything, yet Xie Chen still felt as if he had taken advantage of something Xie Chen himself hadn’t even managed to get.
Pei’s dad cheerfully pulled Gao Jun over and looked him up and down. “Look at you, all grown up now. Back then, your thigh wasn’t even as thick as my arm. One slap and you would’ve hit the floor.”
Gao Jun: “…”
“Pfft!” Pei Liang couldn’t hold back her laughter. “You’re already so old, and you still want to compete with a kid? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
Pei’s dad roared with laughter. Over the past few years, the Pei Corporation had developed rapidly. Its business had spread throughout the country, and the company was progressing steadily. Its scale had at least tripled compared with before.
But because its products were highly competitive, the workload had become much lighter. They were no longer overwhelmed with problems every single day, and Pei’s dad had more opportunities to rest at home.
Once people reached middle or old age and had free time on their hands, there was inevitably one topic they became particularly interested in.
As soon as they sat down at the table, Pei’s dad poured a glass for Gao Jun and Xie Chen, then asked Gao Jun with a grin, “Have you dated anyone in the States these past few years?”
Gao Jun smiled shyly. “No. My schedule was packed every day, so I didn’t have time to think about that.”
Pei’s dad immediately shook his head in disapproval. “Our little Jun is such a fine-looking young man. With looks like yours, it’d be a shame to stay single.”
“But don’t worry. There are plenty of pretty girls at your sister’s company. Have her introduce you to someone.”
“Dad, I’m only twenty.”
“What’s that got to do with anything? When I was your age, your godmother was already head over heels for me. When you find a good girl, you have to make your move early. Otherwise, someone else will snatch her up, and no matter how good your conditions are, all you’ll be able to do is stare.”
Gao Jun genuinely felt that Pei’s dad was being a terrible teammate. And yet Xie Chen joined in, saying, “If your sister’s company doesn’t have enough options, my agency has plenty of talented young people too.”
“It’s fine. Just tell us what kind you like, and we’ll find someone suitable.”
Pei’s dad nodded as well, but Gao Jun looked at Xie Chen. “Sounds like you know the female newcomers at your company pretty well, Brother Xie?”
Xie Chen replied, “You’re young. Don’t start thinking you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of someone else’s labor. I only need to know your sister. As for the others, you’ll have to get to know them yourself.”
Gao Jun said, “What a coincidence. You know my sister, and I know my sister too. No wonder Brother Xie and I always have so much to talk about. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you for advice on quite a few things from now on.”
“I trust you’ll uphold your professional ethics and be generous with your guidance.”
Pei’s dad had no idea what he meant, but how could Xie Chen not understand?
The “profession” Gao Jun was referring to had nothing to do with his career as an actor. He was clearly talking about the true nature of his relationship with Pei Liang—and openly implying that he intended to take Xie Chen’s place.
How could Xie Chen swallow that insult?
So he gave a lazy smile and said to Pei Liang, “Do you still remember Lu Wei?”
Pei Liang didn’t remember who he was at first. It took her two or three seconds before it clicked. “Oh, you mean the guy who leaked the real dirt about us back then?”
Lu Wei had been the weapon Yu Wenqing used to expose Pei Liang and Xie Chen’s relationship. He was also a talented young actor.
His career path was somewhat similar to Xie Chen’s, though he was a little older, and both his talent and luck fell short. Naturally, he had repeatedly come out the loser whenever he competed against Xie Chen.
After Pei Liang dealt with Yu Wenqing, she promptly snatched away a role Lu Wei had been desperately trying to secure and handed it to Xie Chen, who had not been particularly interested in it to begin with.
Xie Chen appeared to be speaking casually to Pei Liang. “I suddenly remembered that guy. Once, he was in the same situation—something that wasn’t even remotely settled, yet he thought it was already in the bag. He even called me specially to brag about it, dropping hints here and there.”
“He never realized who was truly favored. Then his hopes were dashed in the end, leaving him a laughingstock.”
He peeled a shrimp and placed it in Pei Liang’s mouth. “Is it good?”
Taking the opportunity, Pei Liang lightly bit the tip of his finger. “How could it not be, when you peeled it for me?”
Xie Chen smiled. His gaze drifted, seemingly casually, toward Gao Jun. The message was obvious—
Trying to force the issue now? Far too early for that.
Sure enough, Gao Jun had witnessed their exchange, and his expression cooled somewhat.
When Pei’s dad brought up a similar topic again, Gao Jun smiled. “Dad! The company has trained me for so many years. I want to get to work as soon as possible.”
“I’m not an idol, but it still wouldn’t be appropriate for me to start dating right now.”
Pei’s dad said regretfully, “I was just afraid that the moment you came back, you’d be busy working yourself to the bone for the company. But you young people have minds of your own these days, so I won’t stop you.”
“After all, this is your sister’s territory. Relax and make yourself at home. Don’t push yourself so hard like you did abroad.”
In Gao Jun’s heart, he truly respected Pei’s dad as if he were his own father. Though they had not spent much time together, and over the past few years had only kept in touch through calls and messages—
Pei’s dad embodied the father figure he had longed for throughout both his lives, utterly unlike his biological father, who had never cared for him and had not hesitated to sell him off.
So he replied earnestly, “I understand, Dad.”
Everyone was usually busy, and aside from breakfast, Pei’s dad rarely had the chance to share a meal with his daughter.
Today, however, there were two people at the table drinking with him. Growing a little carried away, Pei’s dad drank too much and insisted on teaching Xie Chen and Gao Jun how to play finger-guessing drinking games.
Pei Liang stopped him. In the end, he drunkenly finished a bowl of soup before Xie Chen and Gao Jun escorted him back to his room.
Gao Jun had only just returned to the country, so naturally he was staying at the Pei residence.
No matter how uneasy Xie Chen was about leaving the two of them alone together, he could not possibly stay there and keep watch at all times.
So he could only leave reluctantly. Before he went, however, he leaned close to Pei Liang’s ear and said, “I’ll call you in half an hour. I have something to give you.”
Pei Liang asked, “What is it?”
Xie Chen looked at her, a meaningful smile appearing on his face—one whose implication only Pei Liang could understand.
“The thing you wanted the day before yesterday.”
Pei Liang was thrilled. Earlier, she had wanted to play a remote-control game with Xie Chen.
It was just a phone call, with the other person following her instructions and doing whatever she told him to. On Pei Liang’s end, all she could hear were the subtle sounds of his breathing, the rustle of fabric, and little else; the rest was left entirely to her imagination.
Though half-concealed, it was stimulating enough. Things he refused to do in front of her might just be coaxed out of him this way.
And then there was turning on the video afterward—watching his reaction and the disarray of the scene. It would undoubtedly be an intoxicatingly suggestive sight.
But that guy always kept himself in check. He was very good at whetting her appetite, leaving her satisfied every time while still wanting more.
She had not expected such generous relaxation benefits today. Pei Liang practically wished half an hour had already passed.
Seeing that this shameless woman’s desires had been stirred, Xie Chen smiled with satisfaction, got into his car, and drove away.
Before leaving, he casually met Gao Jun’s gaze in the rearview mirror. Though Gao Jun did not know what the two of them had said, he was hardly clueless.
The sudden intimacy in the air between them made everything perfectly clear. His face remained expressionless, but inwardly, resentment churned.
It was not the first time he had hated the age gap between himself and them so fiercely.
Once Xie Chen’s car had completely disappeared from sight, Gao Jun spoke. “Sis, I brought you some gifts. I’ll go back to my room and sort them out first. Come over in a little while to pick them up.”
Pei Liang figured there was no need to delay, so she nodded. “Sure. Though you could just give them to me tomorrow.”
Gao Jun gave her a mysterious smile. “I picked them out especially for you, Sis. I can’t wait to show them off.”
Naturally, Pei Liang could not bear to disappoint her younger brother’s thoughtful gesture.
She returned to her room to wash her hands, all the while considering what she ought to have Xie Chen do later.
The last time they played like this, she had made him cry, and afterward he had refused for quite a while. She could not go too far this time.
When she saw that the time was about right, she went to Gao Jun’s room and knocked on the door. From inside, he immediately told her to come in.
Pei Liang pushed open the door and drew in a sharp breath.
Gao Jun’s room had been prepared several days earlier. It was next to Pei Liang’s, with a similar layout, and the large, soft, comfortable bed was particularly conspicuous.
A number of exquisitely wrapped gift boxes were piled on the bed—every gift Gao Jun had brought back.
Yet perhaps the setting was inappropriate, or perhaps the wrapping styles and colors were simply too romantic, or perhaps it was because they had all been placed on the bed.
Whatever the reason, the room had somehow taken on the ambiguous atmosphere of Valentine’s Day.
But none of that was the most important thing. As eye-catching as those beautiful gifts were, they could not compare to the person in the room.
Gao Jun had apparently taken a quick shower. He wore a simple white bathrobe, his hair still damp, and was drying it with a towel in one hand.
When he saw Pei Liang enter, he looked up, his gaze settling on her. His hand paused mid-motion, the towel draped over his head as damp black hair slipped out from beneath it in tousled strands.
Fresh from the shower, he looked dewy and tempting—a feast for the eyes.
It was not as if Pei Liang had been unaware that Gao Jun was well built. Even fully dressed, his fine physique had been impossible to hide.
But now, through the open collar of his robe, the outline of his entire body was far more vividly revealed.
Pei Liang had exacting tastes, yet even she could not help being dazzled by the fresh, appealing sight before her.
The pile of gifts on the bed only added to the illusion that Gao Jun himself was one of the presents—just waiting to be unwrapped!
Especially with the belt tied around his bathrobe. It wasn’t the original white belt that came with the robe, but a ribbon he had gotten from somewhere, matching the gifts in both style and color.
The ribbon came in three romantic shades, and it was tied around his waist in the same kind of bow as those on the presents.
It made her fingers itch. Just looking at it made her want to pull it loose.
Pei Liang mentally slapped herself twice. This was her little brother. She couldn’t let herself lose all decency.
Gao Jun, however, showed not the slightest change in expression. Then again, Country X had a very open-minded culture, and after spending several years there, it was only natural that Gao Jun had picked up some of their bold ways.
Seeing Pei Liang arrive, Gao Jun smiled. “Sorry. When I got back to my room, I suddenly realized I reeked of alcohol, so I went and took a shower first.”
“My hands are wet right now, so look through them yourself. The boxes wrapped in pink and purple are all yours.”
“I have this many?” Pei Liang went over to the bed. “If you’re giving me so much, will there be enough left for everyone else?”
“I don’t have that many close friends back home.”
That was true. Given how busy he was, he had hardly kept in touch with anyone back home. The relationships that had already been ordinary had naturally faded away altogether.
Pei Liang rummaged through the gifts in the two colors. There were more than a dozen of them. She smiled. “What’s in all these?”
Gao Jun came over and sat beside her. With the bed covered in presents, there wasn’t much room left, so he sat directly next to Pei Liang.
The warm, damp air and the clean fragrance of the body wash he had just used drifted toward her.
Gao Jun reached over, almost as though he were encircling Pei Liang in his arms, and began explaining the gifts one by one.
“I saved these up over the years. This is an antique I found at a secondhand shop. This is a piece of rough stone I happened to acquire—I drew the design myself and had it made. This is a jeweled lipstick case once used by a legendary actress during the golden age. And this is…”
As Pei Liang unwrapped each present, Gao Jun told her the story behind it.
Over the past few years, whenever he saw something he thought would suit her, he had acquired it with the intention of giving it to her. He hadn’t mailed any of them home. Instead, he had brought them back himself and placed them in her hands.
Pei Liang was naturally deeply moved. Not every gift was particularly expensive, but every single one carried extraordinary meaning. The thought he had put into them was unmistakable.
Under the weight of that sincerity, the slight awkwardness brought on by their years of infrequent contact gradually melted away.
Pei Liang reached out and touched his still-damp hair, smiling. “You really went to so much trouble. I love every one of them.”
“But these actually aren’t the gift I most wanted to give you,” Gao Jun said.
Pei Liang was puzzled for a moment. Then, thinking she had guessed what he meant, she said, “Don’t think that way. You were in a foreign country, with limited money and connections. How could you possibly get whatever you wanted?”
“There’s no shortage of people in this world who know a good thing when they see one. It’s perfectly normal not to win every time you compete for something. I already love these gifts. How could I have any regrets?”
Gao Jun shook his head, gazing deeply at Pei Liang. “That’s not it. I already brought it back.”
“It just depends on whether you’re willing to unwrap it.”
As she spoke, she gently took his hand and placed it on the sash of her robe.
Pei Liang’s entire body stiffened. It was the first time she had been caught completely off guard by such a direct advance from a man.
The key was—who could have expected this? Gao Jun had still been a child before. They had been apart for several years, and this was only his first day back. Who would have thought things would turn out this way?
Besides, shouldn’t he have hated this sort of thing? When they met earlier that day, he had even taken a jab at her relationship with Xie Chen.
At that thought, Pei Liang’s expression darkened. She asked Gao Jun seriously, “Did you come back to the country prepared for this?”
“Do you think I brought you back back then with ulterior motives?”
There was a trace of panic in Gao Jun’s eyes. “No. Sister, don’t misunderstand. I came back of my own accord.”
Pei Liang sighed. “Stay here for a few days, then go back to Country X. The company has expanded its business there now. You can build your career over there.”
Gao Jun grew anxious. “I don’t like staying in Country X at all. I left back then because I couldn’t stand you always treating me like a child.”
“I just like you, Sister. Even if you don’t want to return my feelings, that’s fine. But you can’t send me away overseas.”
Pei Liang’s mind had gone completely numb. If Gao Jun was telling the truth, then could this be the reason behind his hostility toward Xie Chen all this time?
Pei Liang couldn’t believe that the few scattered communications they’d had over the years could have caused Gao Jun’s feelings for her to change so drastically.
So she asked incredulously, “How old were you back then?”
Generally speaking, would a middle-school student really develop feelings like that for a mature woman in her mid-twenties? Heaven knew, Pei Liang had thought he saw her as something closer to a mother.
Gao Jun’s gaze deepened. “See? This is exactly why I couldn’t stand it when you treated me that way. So I left and waited until I grew up.”
As he spoke, he moved closer, the oppressive presence of a grown man making itself known.
“I grew up until the day you could look at me as a man.”
As fate would have it, Xie Chen called at that exact moment.
The ringing phone shattered the quiet atmosphere of the room. Pei Liang took out her phone, but Gao Jun snatched it away. He seemed about to press the decline button, then casually tossed the phone onto the bed. Sure enough, it did not ring again.
Pei Liang sighed helplessly. “You’re not very cute when you do that.”
Gao Jun raised an eyebrow. “When you say that, Sister, are you talking to your little brother—or to a man who’s interested in you?”
Pei Liang fell silent for a while. She was quite self-aware when it came to her own tendency to be a heartbreaker.
A lot of the time, it wasn’t that she failed to understand what was going on. She simply chose to remain willfully oblivious.
But whenever it became necessary, she only had to connect all the clues from the past and think them through. The truth would become clear to her at once.
So, after a moment, she said, “You never needed to do any of this. I told you before that I see you as my little brother. It wasn’t just temporary pity.”
“I genuinely feel that, in some ways, you’re very much like me. Your heart is filled with sorrow and hostility. You exist outside the bounds of reality, yet you struggle with everything you have just to live properly. That’s why I could never simply turn my back on you.”
“You don’t need to envy anyone. You’re a one-of-a-kind person too.”
Strictly speaking, Gao Jun had only begun clinging to her after his parents’ accident. At the time, Pei Liang had always assumed that she was merely an emotional anchor for him during his most vulnerable period.
And his hostility toward Xie Chen, she had thought, was simply a child’s possessiveness. Looking at it now, however, he was full of the desire to take Xie Chen’s place.
Given how mature Gao Jun had been for his age, perhaps something she had done for Xie Chen back then had given him a certain sense of security.
Pei Liang withdrew her hand from the strap. Honestly, under ordinary circumstances, with a younger brother as exceptional as Gao Jun, she really might have let her heart flutter.
But even without Gao Jun saying it aloud, she could sense that something was unusual about him, and she had a faint idea of what it might be.
He regarded her as a kind of emotional lifeline. What he needed was the sense of security that only she could give him—something she could not give to anyone else. Pei Liang believed that anyone with a conscience would not take advantage of such vulnerability.
Moisture gathered in Gao Jun’s eyes. It was not the deliberate, pitiful act he had put on in his youth to win sympathy, but an involuntary response to being moved.
He looked deeply at Pei Liang, and suddenly understood that he had not only misjudged Xie Chen—he had misjudged Pei Liang as well.
He had believed that the tolerance and protection Pei Liang had lavished on Xie Chen were things he could obtain simply by replacing him.
But Pei Liang’s heart was far gentler than he had imagined. That was why Xie Chen could hold her so tightly with such a ridiculous excuse, and why she would not take advantage of him after seeing through his insecurity.
This gentleness was what he had always longed for. Yet now, it was the very thing standing in his way.
Gao Jun smiled. His eyes, glistening with tears, sparkled brightly.
He took a deep breath. “Then... will you protect me forever too?”
Pei Liang drew him into an embrace and gently patted his back, as though she were reaching across time to comfort the battered, scarred Gao Jun from her previous life.
“Isn’t it only natural for an older sister to protect her younger brother?”
*
When Pei Liang came out of Gao Jun’s room, even she was impressed by her own self-control.
Back in her room, she remembered that she had just hung up on that brat. He was definitely going to throw a tantrum, and who knew how long she would have to coax him this time.
Just as she was about to call him, she touched her screen and saw that the call was still connected.
Pei Liang: “...”
So Gao Jun had not hung up—he had answered the call instead?
Pei Liang hurriedly raised the phone to her ear. “Hello—”
Before she could figure out how to placate him, the other side spoke first.
“Didn’t you say we were going to play Absolute Command? Give me an order.”
Xie Chen’s voice turned low and seductive.
“My master~”
*
When Pei Liang entered her third mission world, she still found herself wanting more.
The second world had been exceptionally comfortable. The conveniences of modern society alone were something many worlds simply could not compare with.
Near the end, she had casually chatted with the system and learned that the settings of each host’s mission worlds were assigned at random.
Some people were lucky enough to get several peaceful, prosperous modern or futuristic worlds in a row. Others were less fortunate, repeatedly landing in turbulent eras or ancient times—some even ended up in apocalyptic worlds.
So whenever she found herself in a good world, she ought to enjoy it while she could.
After all, in some worlds, surviving might be harder than completing the romance mission itself.
This time, when Pei Liang opened her eyes and received the original host’s memories and information about the original story, she immediately shook off the inertia she had developed after enjoying many years of success and comfort in the modern world.
After all, this world was unsafe—and, more bizarrely, the information about the original story provided by the system was incomplete.
Pei Liang was not someone who depended on the original plot, but such an anomaly obviously warranted a question.
The system answered bluntly, “Some former hosts did this before they were erased after failing their missions. I guess they figured that if they couldn’t survive, they might as well make things difficult for those who came after them.”
It added, “But if you spend points, the information can be repaired!”
“Besides, the points aren’t useful for the time being anyway, so you—”
“No need.” Pei Liang cut it off. “This minor bit of damage isn’t worth spending my precious points on.”
Come to think of it, every world awarded her points, yet the system had never once revealed what those points could be exchanged for. Now, it was trying to tempt her into using them on something that appeared important but was actually meaningless.
That was rather telling.
With a wave of her hand, Pei Liang switched the system to Do Not Disturb mode. She reckoned that if it tried to lure her into spending points through more devious means in the future, she would have confirmation of her suspicions.
Putting those thoughts aside, Pei Liang turned her attention to her present circumstances.
She was currently in a gloomy dungeon. A man and a woman were chained before her with iron chains as thick as a thumb. They had clearly already been tortured once, and through their torn clothing, one could see wounds where their flesh had been ripped open.
The man glared furiously at the three people—including Pei Liang—his hair disheveled and his eyes filled with hatred and curses.
The woman’s injuries were considerably lighter. Her face showed mostly fear, and she was doing her best to make herself inconspicuous. Unlike the man, she did not possess the fearlessness that came from being sustained by hatred, even in the face of death.
These two were the male and female protagonists of this world.
This was different from the previous two times, when she had transmigrated directly into the role of a victimized cannon-fodder character. In this world, the original host was a genuine villainous cannon-fodder character. Although she had not personally committed many evil deeds, she had unquestionably aided and abetted the perpetrators.
The two people beside Pei Liang were this body’s father and elder brother—the Sect Master and heir of the Slashing Moon Sect.
Several months ago, the prominent Han family of Jiangnan had been wiped out overnight. The tragedy had caused a sensation at the time, yet the case remained unsolved.
Only Han Weiliu, the family’s wayward son who had been traveling outside the region at the time, had escaped the disaster.
Han Weiliu had tirelessly investigated the truth behind the massacre, determined to find the culprits and avenge his family’s blood feud. After searching for months, he finally found an old servant who had been gravely wounded on the night of the massacre and had hidden himself at a distance.
The old servant told him that all those who had participated in the massacre were top-tier martial artists. Unfortunately, every one of them had worn masks, and they had deliberately concealed their martial arts and weapons, so he could not identify them.
But two of them had spoken after carrying out their crimes. He was certain he could never have mistaken their voices.
They were none other than the father and elder brother of Han Weiliu’s fiancée—the father and son of the Pei family from the Slashing Moon Sect.
The two had joined forces with others to wipe out the entire Han family. They had even raped the young women of the Han family.
They were less than beasts.
The moment Han Weiliu heard the news, he immediately took up his blade and set off for the Moon-Slaying Sect to avenge his family. On the way, he ran into Xia Yunsha, a swindler from a second-rate sect. Through a series of coincidences, she latched onto him, and the two of them arrived at the Moon-Slaying Sect together.
In the end, these two fighters with only rudimentary skills were both captured, leading to the scene before them now.
Sect Leader Pei looked at Han Weiliu, a smile appearing on his face. “I was just about to send someone to find you. Who would have thought you’d deliver yourself to my doorstep?”
“Your old man kept his mouth shut tightly. He hid something so precious away for decades. If he hadn’t let it slip while drunk, you might have been marrying my daughter in grand style by now, calling me Father-in-Law.”
Han Weiliu nearly vomited. Though his voice was weak, it brimmed with hatred. “You’re not worthy!”
Young Sect Leader Pei—who was also Pei Liang’s brother—drove a vicious kick into Han Weiliu’s chest, making him spit blood.
With a sneer, he said, “Calling you a match for our Pei family was already giving you far too much credit. How dare a worthless mutt like you look down on us?”
“And your sister—wasn’t she always so high and mighty, so untouchable? In the end, didn’t she still become my plaything beneath me?”
Han Weiliu’s eyes were nearly bleeding. His gaze was so full of hatred that he seemed to want to flay Young Sect Leader Pei alive, slice by slice.
Yet that helpless hatred only made the other man more pleased. He let out a shrill laugh, and his once passably handsome face twisted into something utterly sinister.
“Did you like my sister from the time you were little?”
Young Sect Master Pei glanced back at Pei Liang and laughed. “I might as well tell you: my sister never liked you. If she hadn’t thought you were an easy fool to string along, why would she ever have bothered with you?”
“Your parents put on airs, picking faults with our Pei family at every turn. In the end, they couldn’t withstand your pestering and finally agreed to a marriage alliance with us. But when the betrothal was being discussed, they acted arrogant and overbearing—utterly detestable.”
“Your father may have looked shrewd, but he was really as stupid as a pig. A man’s wealth invites disaster—yet he let something so deadly slip from his lips.”
“Han Weiliu, if we get to the root of it, all of this is your fault. If you hadn’t insisted on marrying my sister, would things have turned out this way? In the end, we merely acted on human nature and went with the flow.”
It was as though bloody tears were streaming from Han Weiliu’s eyes. Endless remorse tore him apart, and a splitting pain clouded his mind. The scene before him seemed to fracture in two.
Young Sect Leader Pei went on, “Now that your Han family has been wiped out, my sister naturally has no need to keep up the pretense. During these past months while you were desperately searching for the culprit, she became engaged to the Jiang family’s eldest son—”
Sect Leader Pei interrupted impatiently. “Enough. There’s no need to waste words on him. We searched the entire Han residence and still couldn’t find the missing piece of the map. We tortured the Han man severely, but he refused to speak. His wife, however, was deeply devoted to her husband and couldn’t bear to see him suffer, so she revealed a few hints.”
“Though she was immediately cut off, this old man still made certain deductions. And indeed, after interrogating the boy’s personal servant, our suspicions were confirmed.”
“The missing piece of the map must be tattooed on this boy’s body. It was concealed beneath an intricate pattern, so no one noticed anything unusual. But he had been instructed from childhood never to expose the tattoo in front of anyone. Only his personal servant had occasionally caught a glimpse of it, yet never clearly enough to make it out.”
Young Sect Leader Pei hurriedly took the skinning knife from the torture implements hanging on the wall and said eagerly, “In that case, I’ll peel the skin off him.”
But Pei Liang, who had remained silent all this time, spoke up. “Brother, wait. Let me do it.”
The Young Sect Leader turned around, frowning doubtfully. “You? Aren’t you the one who hates blood and filth the most?”
Pei Liang merely smiled. “Brother, your movements are too rough. Skinning is delicate work, so be careful not to damage even the tiniest bit.”
Sect Leader Pei nodded. “In that case, let your sister do it.”
Pei Liang took the sharp knife from the Young Sect Leader, flipped it twice, and tested its weight in her hand.
She had been a chef in her previous life, and a knife was an extension of her body. The precision with which she wielded one was astonishing. As for the body’s original owner, she had practiced martial arts since childhood. Though her skill was nothing remarkable, she was as light as a swallow and exceptionally agile.
Pei Liang turned around and asked, “Father, is this man still useful to us? Actually, if we kill him and drain his blood, then skin him while the body is still warm and hasn’t stiffened, we can ensure the hide remains intact.”
Sect Leader Pei shook his head. “No. There are still many mysteries surrounding the map. This boy is hiding plenty of secrets. Perhaps the map’s secrets were instilled in him unconsciously from childhood. We still have to dig them out.”
Pei Liang nodded. “In that case, I’ll trouble Brother with holding him down.”
“Tsk! Why do you have to make things so difficult?” the Young Sect Leader said impatiently.
Sect Leader Pei turned and scolded him. “Just do as you’re told. Your sister is being thorough—that’s a good thing. I originally thought she—”
Before he could finish, Sect Leader Pei seemed to sense a hand moving swiftly in the blind spot of his vision. Then his throat suddenly went cold, followed by a torrent of warm liquid spraying outward.
It splashed all over his son—
That was bright-red blood. His blood!
Sect Leader Pei instinctively turned around, but someone was faster.
The instant his vision was disrupted by his own blood, a blade had already swept across his son’s throat. The Young Sect Leader had not even had time to reveal the astonishment on his face before a hair-thin—but unquestionably deep—cut appeared across his throat, just like his father’s.
The wounds were so clean and decisive that neither of them had even collapsed before realizing they were about to die.
Sect Leader Pei tried to circulate his inner force, but doing so only made the blood flow faster, filling his windpipe and choking him.
He stared at Pei Liang in disbelief, blood frothing from his mouth, nostrils, and throat.
And it wasn’t only the two of them who were stunned. Even Han Weiliu—who had once been Pei Liang’s beloved, but now hated her as the daughter of his sworn enemy and found her face utterly detestable—was left dumbfounded.
Pei Liang, however, approached the Young Sect Leader with an icy expression. She raised her hand and brought the knife down, chopping off his cock.
At that moment, the Young Sect Leader was not yet dead. The agony forced a large mouthful of blood through his throat, though he could no longer make a sound.
Pei Liang’s cold voice rang out.
“What? So proud of growing a dick?”
“A man’s cock has to be kept under control. If you can’t control yours, how are you any different from a dog that gets into heat and mounts anything it sees?”
“If you were reincarnated as a human, you shouldn’t be doing the things only beasts do, right? Since you can’t control yourself, then chop it off.”
As she spoke, Pei Liang used the tip of the sharp knife to jab and prod the severed member free, all while the Young Sect Leader stared at her with one last, wide-open, disbelieving look in his dying eyes.
She gave a vicious smile. “Don’t worry. Your life has been pitiful enough—born human, yet unable to control yourself like a beast. As your little sister, I certainly won’t let you carry on this suffering into your next life.”
“In a moment, I’ll have someone chop it up and feed it to the dogs. Brother, you came into this world clean, and when you leave, you shouldn’t leave behind any troublesome remnants. In your next reincarnation, why not be a proper man without roots?”
Ancient times were nothing like the modern age. To die without an intact corpse—especially for a man, to lose that particular appendage—was a matter of immense consequence.
Didn’t even eunuchs preserve that thing in lime, so it could be buried with them after death?
With such cruelty, Pei Liang killed not only their bodies but their spirits as well. In the end, the father and son of the Pei family died with their eyes still open.
