Chapter 170: Stealing Fragrance (25)
Mother Xiao watched Xiao Ji boiling hot water in the kitchen, basin in hand. She felt something was off, but she couldn’t immediately put her finger on what it was.
She opened her mouth. “Stay here for a few days? Our temple is small; how can it accommodate such a great Buddha…”
Some things have already happened and cannot be changed. As long as one doesn’t get stuck in a rut, one will eventually get used to them.
Mother Xiao had already adapted to the relationship between Xiao Ji and Pei Yinnian.
Her intention was to say that a grand family like the Pei’s lacked for nothing; how could they compare to a common family like theirs? Pei Yinnian probably wouldn’t be able to get used to living here.
But once the words were out, she felt they were ambiguous. Not knowing how to explain, she could only add:
“You understand what I mean, right? Did you force him to stay?”
Xiao Ji replied calmly, “I understand. No.”
Mother Xiao looked at her cold son and confirmed once more:
“Then why would he want to stay at our house?”
Ten minutes ago, Xiao Ji had asked the same question.
At that time, the war had just ceased. Having gone hungry for a long time, the finally satiated Pei Yinnian lay contentedly on Xiao Ji’s hard bed, unwilling to move.
Moreover, Xiao Ji’s bed was too hard; his whole body ached, especially his tailbone and knees.
Xiao Ji asked Pei Yinnian if he wanted to go back to the Pei Residence, but Pei Yinnian refused. “I’ll stay here, for a couple more days.”
Xiao Ji frowned. “Why?”
Pei Yinnian said, “When I arrived, your sister was arguing with people at the door.”
Though Pei Yinnian hadn’t heard everything at the time, he had gathered the gist of it.
His relationship with Xiao Ji had long since ceased to be a secret in Huating.
Xiao Ji’s status was the weaker one; in the eyes of outsiders, he was the one being manipulated by Pei Yinnian, only gaining status because he had “flown up a tree to become a phoenix.”
When Xiao Ji returned in a huff the other day, those people surely ridiculed him behind his back about being with a man and then getting dumped.
Even if words don’t affect Xiao Ji’s life, hearing them too much certainly affects one’s mood and causes frustration.
Otherwise, Xiao Ran wouldn’t have gotten into an argument.
Pei Yinnian couldn’t stand Xiao Ji being wronged; he wanted everyone to see how he held Xiao Ji in the palm of his hand.
Xiao Ji probably understood Pei Yinnian’s meaning, but he couldn’t explain it clearly to Mother Xiao, so he simply said:
“You don’t need to worry about it.”
With Xiao Ji’s personality, Mother Xiao couldn’t intervene much in his affairs anyway. Now that Pei Yinnian was involved, she could intervene even less.
So after asking those few questions, she dropped it.
She could only secretly hope that Pei Yinnian wouldn’t pull any more stunts to torment her son.
She watched Xiao Ji take the hot water, say goodnight, and return to his room. It took a long while before she finally realized what was wrong.
The one coming out to fetch water was actually Xiao Ji.
Pei Yinnian was not going to torment Xiao Ji.
The days apart from Xiao Ji had undoubtedly been a form of mental torture for Pei Yinnian.
Having just escaped from dire straits, he had finally caught his breath and, in a sense, was terribly afraid.
That night, after Xiao Ji had cleaned Pei Yinnian up, they lay facing each other on the bed. Pei Yinnian kept staring at Xiao Ji.
Xiao Ji looked back at him calmly. If the atmosphere became awkward, Pei Yinnian would lean in to kiss him.
Before going to sleep, Pei Yinnian asked Xiao Ji:
“Since you aren’t going back to the school, do you have any other plans?”
Xiao Ji was different from Pei Yinnian.
Pei Yinnian couldn’t see the future; everything he did was for the present. To put it bluntly, even in his position, he had a mindset of living day by day.
Pei Yinnian never felt he had the great ability to pacify the world as it was; after all, it wasn’t just internal strife now—foreign conflicts were also erupting.
His position as the master of Huating was not secure.
But Xiao Ji could see the future.
The fires of war would one day reach Huating. The situation would change again and again. For someone like Pei Yinnian, who was currently high and mighty, the consequences would not be good.
He said, “I don’t have many plans. I’ll do some small business.”
Mainly, he needed to save some money for future emergencies.
Pei Yinnian tested him. “Would you like to stay by my side and do some work?”
Xiao Ji refused. “The world is unstable, and your path is difficult. I need to find another way out.”
Pei Yinnian was stunned. He was just about to curse Xiao Ji for being heartless—he wasn’t even dead yet, and Xiao Ji dared to speak so bluntly about finding a “way out.”
Then he heard Xiao Ji continue: “That way, if something happens, I can take you with me when I escape.”
Only then did Pei Yinnian feel a lot better, though he still said dismissively:
“Take me with you? You certainly talk big. With my status and position, it won’t be that easy to escape.”
What he didn’t say was that in this era, truly wanting to retreat safely required abandoning and arranging things with a sum that was absolutely not small.
For a scholar like Xiao Ji with no foundation, wanting to achieve this was essentially a pipe dream.
Xiao Ji didn’t speak. It was normal for Pei Yinnian not to believe him.
Furthermore, human nature is greedy. Right now, Pei Yinnian was in his prime; he wouldn’t necessarily be willing to give up everything in Huating.
But to his surprise, after a long silence, Pei Yinnian suddenly asked:
“Do you want to open a bank?”
Xiao Ji narrowed his eyes. “Have you had this plan for a long time, or…”
Pei Yinnian spoke plainly: “I’ve had the idea, but it hasn’t been convenient to implement.”
Opening a bank was undoubtedly one of the best ways to launder money at this time.
Pei Yinnian had the idea but couldn’t entrust it to those around him; it was a matter of great importance, and he didn’t dare trust outsiders.
He had always had reservations.
Now, Xiao Ji had become the best choice.
Xiao Ji looked at Pei Yinnian. “Do you trust me?”
Pei Yinnian nodded without hesitation. “But our relationship shouldn’t be made public too quickly.”
If things went south in the future and the higher-ups investigated Pei Yinnian, he would need to cut ties with Xiao Ji.
Right now, although rumors about them were everywhere, there was no official confirmation. Pei Yinnian had never given anyone a direct response.
What Xiao Ji cared about from beginning to end was never the opinions of others.
He said, “What I care about, Pei Yinnian, is your own perception of this relationship.”
What Xiao Ji wanted wasn’t a status recognized by outsiders.
It was a status that Pei Yinnian himself knew clearly and held in his heart.
A seemingly major matter was settled in just a few words on an ordinary night.
The preparation would take a long time and required careful planning.
Pei Yinnian had originally wanted to stay at Xiao Ji’s house for a few days to back him up.
But since the topic had reached this point, Xiao Ji vetoed the idea:
“It’s not important. We live our own lives; there’s no need to delay serious business.”
But while Xiao Ji might not care, Mother Xiao and Xiao Ran couldn’t be said to be completely indifferent. They were Xiao Ji’s family, and Pei Yinnian couldn’t ignore them.
So the next day, Pei Yinnian directly ordered another set of houses he owned near the Pei Residence to be cleaned up, and invited Mother Xiao and Xiao Ran to move.
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