Endless Fall

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I won’t.”

After Xue Jing confirmed it again, he retracted his hand.

He curled up into a ball at the corner of the sofa. “Then come out quickly.”

Pei Zhi nodded.

He walked into the bedroom, placed the soft body in his arms on the bed, and covered her slender legs with a blanket.

“Jiaojiao.”

“Yeah…”

Lin Jiao kicked the blanket away.

She frowned and passed her fair forearm under her waist to touch something on her back.

This familiar action made Pei Zhi quickly turn around to avoid seeing something he shouldn’t.

He stared at the floor motionlessly. When he saw a black thing flying over from the corner of his eye, he quickly caught it.

This time, the touch was different from before. It was warm and soft.

Out of curiosity, Pei Zhi looked at it.

However, before he could figure it out, his eyes turned red from the lace at the corners, and his heart started to race uncontrollably.

“Brother Pei…” A boyish voice was heard.

Before Xue Jing entered the room, Pei Zhi stuffed the thing under the pillow and quietly covered Lin Jiao with the blanket.

He calmed himself down and caught the child who was running in his direction. “Are you afraid?”

“Yes.” Xue Jing nestled in his arms.

He hugged his neck, wanting him to carry him out.

Pei Zhi played with him until ten o’clock before taking him to wash up. “Jing, did you sleep with your sister last night?”

“That’s right.” Xue Jing brushed his teeth carefully.

He spat out a mouthful of toothpaste bubbles and stared at Pei Zhi in the mirror. “But I want to sleep with you tonight. Can I?”

“Sure.” Pei Zhi wrung the towel dry.

He helped Xue Jing clean up and pushed open the door opposite the master bedroom.

“Brother Pei, aren’t you going to change your clothes?”

“Later.”

“You’ll feel uncomfortable like this.” Xue Jing propped himself up on the pillow and insisted on him changing his clothes.

Pei Zhi had no choice but to put on a pajama.

He told Xue Jing a short story. After he fell asleep, he carried him into the master bedroom.

The small night lamp that was still on at the head of the bed emitted an orange glow. Light and shadow scattered down and wrapped around the sleeping siblings.

Pei Zhi, who was sitting by the bed, listened to their light breathing and stared at them for a long time before turning off the lamp.

*

The rain that had been falling all night gradually stopped.

The sun rose slowly from the horizon, dispelling the last few dark clouds that shrouded the sky.

The sun shone into the room and, together with the vibration of the phone, woke Pei Zhi up.

He pressed the answer button, and Chu Yuzhou’s voice came from the other end. “Brother, what are you doing?”

“Sleeping.”

“Do you want to play golf?” Chu Yuzhou chewed on his gum as he drove towards the court. “Shen Yi came back last night.”

“Send me the address.”

“Sure.”

Pei Zhi hung up and got up.

When he arrived at the court, the dishes that Chu Yuzhou and the others had ordered were almost cold.

“President Pei, you’re too slow.” Shen Yi played with the lighter in boredom, not forgetting to throw a cigarette at him.

He looked fairer than Chu Yuzhou. Although the aura he emitted was gentle, one could tell at a glance that he wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

“I woke up late.” Pei Zhi pulled out a chair.

Seeing that he was in a good mood, Chu Yuzhou raised his eyebrows. “Where did you go last night?”

“Drinking with her.”

“Lin Jiao?”

“Who else?” Pei Zhi lit the cigarette.

He hadn’t told them the full story yet, but the two of them knew from his radiant smile that their relationship was another step closer.

“Brother, let me give you a piece of advice.”

“What?”

“It’s not a good idea to sabotage someone else’s relationship.” Shen Yi seemed to be persuading him to give up. “Even if you succeed, there’s a high chance you’ll be dumped.”

Chu Yuzhou chuckled.

He glanced at Pei Zhi’s subtle expression and quickly explained, “Lin Jiao broke up with that man some time ago. He’s not sabotaging anything.”

“They really broke up?”

“That’s right.”

Shen Yi received an affirmative look and immediately started congratulating.

“Brother, congratulations.” He stood up and poured a cup of tea for Pei Zhi. “You’ve finally made it after so many years.”

Pei Zhi sneered.

He picked up his teacup and took two sips. “You can congratulate me when I succeed in sabotaging their relationship.”

“She doesn’t have a boyfriend now and isn’t married. In that case, you are not sabotaging their relationship.” Shen Yi retorted quickly, as if he did not remember the ‘advice’ he just gave.

Chu Yuzhou, who was beside them, laughed.

He lit his cigarette and rubbed his cheeks that were sore from laughing so hard. “Shen Yi, it’s a pity you’re not a Face changing opera actor.”

“No one will think you’re mute if you don’t speak.”

“Hey, you’re being unreasonable.”

Shen Yi had no time to bicker with him.

He scooped some rice into a bowl and asked, “Does Lin Jiao know how you feel about her?”

“No.”

“When do you plan to tell her?”

“I’ll see.” Pei Zhi stubbed out his cigarette and slowly picked up his food. “She just broke up and isn’t in the mood to start a new relationship.”

“That’s true.” Shen Yi sighed to herself.

Worried that Lin Jiao might get back together with her ex, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why did they break up?”

“Gu Quan cheated on her.”

“What the!”

Chu Yuzhou was stunned. “Isn’t Lin Jiao good enough? What is he not satisfied about?”

Although they did not spend much time with Lin Jiao, they could tell that she had a good personality and was an empathetic person.

When Pei Zhi first heard this news, other than being angry, he was a little surprised too.

He pried open the crab leg using a lot of strength to vent his anger.

But before he could speak, Shen Yi gritted his teeth and said, “He and his clique are just a bunch of hooligans.”

“You know them?”

“No, but I’m prepared to get to know them.”

“What exactly happened? Tell me!” Chu Yuzhou’s curiosity was piqued.

Shen Yi explained in brief, “One buddy of Gu Quan’s stole my cousin’s girlfriend and hit him on the head.”

“How long ago?”

“Last month.”

“Why didn’t you say that earlier?” Chu Yuzhou was so angry that he wanted to punch the table. “We have a reason to punish him for hitting your cousin.”

“I was very busy during that time.”

Shen Yi had been studying abroad for two months and was as tired as a dog every day.

“What’s his background?” Pei Zhi asked as he looked up, but he was not as worked up as Chu Yuzhou.