Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Pei Ge rushed into the dark stairwell, her movement triggering the sensor lights into lighting up.
Pale yellow lights gently illuminated her and made her look warm.
However, the expression on her face was devoid of any warmth.
Her initially smiling face, which was full of energy, was now filled with sadness and hurt.
Tears like pearls rolled down her face and dropped continuously to the ground.
One drop, two drops…
Her tears were unabated. She tried to stop them from falling, but she failed.
She stood at the staircase for a long time without making any sound and cried silently.
The sensor lights eventually dimmed in the absence of sound or movement.
The sudden darkness caused her to recover from her current state.
Only then did she realize that her whole face was drenched with tears.
“Why am I crying…?” she mumbled and then hastily wiped away her tears.
Was it because of that annoying person?
How could that be?! He was merely a stranger with whom she had no relation to! Just a stranger!
She tightly pressed her lips together and clenched her fists.
“Pei Ge, he is merely a stranger with whom you have no relation to now and in the future. Your tears are not because of him; they are because of your second uncle and cousin…”
Her words were like some sort of hypnosis and caused her eyes to brighten again.
“Yes! I’m only sad because of second uncle and cousin! Who is Ji Ziming, that annoying person, to me?! I don’t like him, anyway!”
She resolved to ignore the suffocating ache in her heart…
She would never fall in love with him.
Taking a deep breath, she retrieved some tissue from her bag, dried the tears on her face, took out her mirror, and checked her appearance.
Her mouth twitched at her puffy eyes and nose.
“So ugly.” You are so ugly. How can anyone like you?
She put away the mirror and began to climb up the stairs.
Pak!
When she unlocked the door grill to her house, she heard her mother’s excited voice from the living room.
“Ge Ge, what did you chat about with Xiao Ji downstairs?”
She paused at her mother’s question and then bent down to wear the indoor slippers.
“Nothing much; just stuff about work,” she replied vaguely.
“Work-related stuff?” her mother asked suspiciously, clearly not believing her.
“Mhm.” She lightly acknowledged and did not elaborate.
“Oh, yes! Ge Ge, does Xiao Ji… like you?” her mother asked with a grin.
She did not notice that her daughter’s entire body had stiffened when she asked the question.
“Actually, I think Xiao Ji is a good person. If you want to be in a relationship with him, it will be quite good—”
Before she could finish her words, Pei Ge interrupted her firmly.
“Mom, don’t spout such nonsense! How can CEO Ji like me?! Don’t say such ridiculous words next time! Who am I and who is he? He will never like me!” she exclaimed, her face turning pale.
His look of ridicule as he spoke those contemptuous words surfaced in her mind.
‘Which part of you do you think is worthy of my like?’
“Ge Ge?” Realizing that something was amiss with her daughter, she shot her a worried look.
“Mom, don’t call CEO Ji ‘Xiao Ji’ anymore; it’s not appropriate,” she said indifferently with a pale face.
She had indeed mistaken her place. They were not friends.
Oddly enough, she always felt that he treated her differently.
Ze. She was really hypersensitive.
“Mom, I’m tired; I’ll go and rest first.”
With that, she went to the bathroom to take a shower.
Zhang Manhua watched her daughter’s back view and felt an unspeakable discomfort.
What was wrong with her daughter? She seemed… unhappy.
After her bath, Pei Ge immediately retired to her bedroom.
She calmly closed the door behind her and lay in the bed.
However, once she switched off the light and darkness filled the room, her expression was no longer calm.
Darkness could hide anything but a broken heart could not be hidden from it.
Every time she closed her eyes, his mocking face would resurface in her mind, preventing her from entering dreamland.
She tossed and turned in bed. Eventually, she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.
“Pei Ge, you really have a glass heart. It’s just a casual comment by that annoying person. Why did you take it to heart?” she softly chided herself.
“Actually, that annoying person’s actions are misleading! It’s not my fault, so I shouldn’t think about it anymore! Besides, only that annoying person knows about this embarrassing incident. Don’t think too much…”
It was with these self-comforting words that Pei Ge finally closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to dreamland.
However, this night’s rest was meant to be bad as she had a nightmare about today’s incident in her sleep.
She dreamed of the day her father had passed away and of the debtors that had ransacked their family’s house for money.
She dreamed of being mocked for not having money to pay the school fees…
She dreamed of her cousin who had never loved and treated her as a sister.
Even her second uncle was unusually scary in her dreams.
She kept running to escape from the nightmare.
She ran and ran until she ran into a man’s embrace. That man gently comforted her.
She thought she was finally safe, but when she lifted her head, she was met with Ji Ziming’s mocking face, which said to her, “Which part of you do you think is worthy of my like?”
“Ahh!”
Her scream woke her up.
Seeing the familiar sunbathed room and hearing the occasional chirping of the birds from the outside, her mouth twitched.
“It’s just a dream…” she mumbled.
Good thing it’s just a dream. Pei Ge, press on. The past is the past. You must work hard for the money and for your mother!
