Little did she know she was overthinking. Pei Shiyi didn't even look up as he gave a casual, dismissive reply. "The nanny is taking care of him, so there's no need to worry too much."
He acted as if he hadn't understood the implication in Jing Meng's words, remaining seated firmly on the sofa without moving an inch.
"Mr. Pei, I'm a bit tired. Could you please go home?" Seeing through Pei Shiyi's act of feigned ignorance, Jing Meng had no choice but to speak plainly. However, she felt incredibly uneasy; after all, this was Pei Shiyi's house. Asking him to leave...
Pei Shiyi raised his eyelids slightly. Noticing that Jing Meng seemed nervous, he chuckled softly and comforted her. "I know what you're worried about. I only stayed because you're injured. If you feel my presence here is disturbing your rest, then I have no choice but to leave."
Jing Meng: "..."
Why do I suddenly feel too shy to meet his gaze?
"Um..." Jing Meng coughed a few times to clear her throat. "Actually, I..."
The moment Jing Meng spoke, Pei Shiyi had already seen through her thoughts. He stood up, grabbed his coat, and gave her a faint smile. "It's fine. I'll head back and check on Chengcheng. Get some good rest tonight, Mengmeng!"
In this setting, Jing Meng felt that Pei Shiyi had whispered her name with such tenderness and affection. A name that was usually so ordinary suddenly seemed tinged with passion. She couldn't help but take a small step back.
Only after hearing the door close did Jing Meng snap back to her senses.
Ahhh!
Jing Meng, you're doomed! You've actually fallen for a man like Pei Shiyi!
Jing Meng sprawled on the sofa, pulling a decorative pillow over her head. Her mind kept replaying the image of Pei Shiyi calling her name. Her face turned bright red instantly.
"I really want to share this news with someone. If only... if only Mom were here!"
After the excitement passed, Jing Meng stared at the chandelier on the ceiling, her gaze turning hazy.
Meanwhile, at the Pei residence!
Pei Cheng, who was happily watching cartoons, heard the door open. He cast a casual glance toward the entrance and immediately hid the hand holding the potato chips behind his back. With a look that screamed guilt, he gave Pei Shiyi a fawning smile.
"Dad, weren't you going to find Mengmeng? Why are you back tonight?"
He had already sent the nanny away, thinking he could play to his heart's content today. He hadn't expected his dad to actually come home!
Pei Shiyi gave Pei Cheng a meaningful look. "Chengcheng, are you hiding something from me?"
Pei Cheng pretended not to understand and asked, "What are you talking about, Dad? How could I possibly hide anything from you?"
As he spoke, Pei Cheng even blinked his eyes, trying to look cute.
Pei Shiyi had long since become immune to his son's cute antics and looked at him with a half-smile. After a moment of silence, Pei Cheng sensed his father was in a bad mood and consciously shifted the topic to Jing Meng.
"Dad, weren't you at Mengmeng's place today?"
Mentioning Jing Meng made Pei Shiyi feel a bit helpless. Even though he knew Pei Cheng was trying to distract him, he still followed the lead. "She's fine, she's already asleep."
Although young, Pei Cheng had already learned how to read emotions. Seeing his father's troubled look, he quietly gripped the phone hidden behind his back.
"Chengcheng?"
A voice that was not unfamiliar to either of them suddenly rang out in the quiet hall.
Pei Shiyi's expression chilled as his dark eyes locked onto Pei Cheng.
Pei Cheng stuck his tongue out at him, tossed the phone to Pei Shiyi, and sprinted toward the second floor.
Jing Meng was unaware of the little interaction between father and son. Hearing no response for a while, she asked again, "Chengcheng? What's wrong?"
Pei Shiyi caught Pei Cheng's phone, his lips pulled into a tight line. "It's me!"
Pei Shiyi?
Jing Meng froze for an instant, her heart skipping a beat. Clenching her fist, she asked as if nothing was wrong, "CEO Pei, where is Chengcheng?"
Pei Shiyi looked toward Pei Cheng's room on the second floor, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. "He was just about to go to bed. He said he couldn't sleep without hearing your voice."
Jing Meng: "..."
Since when did Pei Cheng have that habit?
"Then... could you... give him the phone? I want to say a few words to him."
Pei Shiyi gave a low grunt of agreement but remained seated, unmoving.
Jing Meng sensed something on her end and stopped speaking. Silence fell between them again.
"Um..." Seeing that Pei Shiyi remained silent for so long, Jing Meng checked the time and hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's already eleven o'clock. Let Chengcheng get some rest. I'll play with him when I have time."
Pei Shiyi caught the awkwardness in her tone and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that all?"
There was a silence on the line. Just as Pei Shiyi thought she would hang up, a gentle female voice suddenly sounded in his ear: "Goodnight, Pei Shiyi."
Whether intentional or not, she hadn't called him "CEO Pei."
A tender arc curved Pei Shiyi's lips. "Goodnight, Mengmeng."
Then, they both hung up almost simultaneously.
Jing Meng stared at the black screen of her phone and threw herself onto the sofa in a state of self-abandonment.
Jing Meng, you're really done for...
Pei Shiyi's long fingers slowly stroked the phone, his gaze filled with a tenderness he had never shown before.
In recent days, one thing had followed another, as if everything was pressing down at once—Bai Xi's greed, Pei Gong's act of adding fuel to the fire, her mother's disappearance, and the misunderstanding with Jing Hong. It was becoming hard for her to breathe.
Jing Meng sighed deeply. The good mood brought by Pei Shiyi vanished instantly. She picked up her phone and, after some hesitation, found Jing Hong's number. She worked up her courage before finally dialing.
The line buzzed with a dial tone, her heart tightening. Only when she heard Jing Hong's voice did her tension ease slightly. "How have you been lately?"
Thousands of words were on the tip of her tongue, yet they only formed a simple expression of concern. However, the other side fell into a deathly silence.
She waited patiently until Jing Hong's voice finally came through again.
"Of course I've been doing well without you by my side." Jing Hong's words were sharp, as if he wanted to hang up quickly.
At some point, the relationship between them had reached a point of absolute incompatibility. Jing Meng lowered her eyes and gripped her phone tightly, taking a deep breath. "Let's meet."
As soon as she said it, a cold laugh came from the other end. Jing Hong retorted with an indignant tone, "What's the point of meeting? Do you want to have people monitor my every move again?"
Monitoring?
Jing Meng was taken aback. Belatedly, she recalled Pei Shiyi's previous words; he had mentioned having people follow Jing Hong. She just hadn't expected Jing Hong's alertness to be so high that even the people Pei Shiyi specially sent had been discovered.
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