Chapter 5 Unwilling to Complain

After lunch, Shen Heyu spent the whole afternoon talking with Madam Pei.

She really didn't want to complain to Madam Pei.

The issues between her and Pei Yansi probably couldn't be resolved within this lifetime.

But Madam Pei couldn't stand it any longer and called Pei Yansi directly.

At the dining table, Shen Heyu didn't even glance at Pei Yansi, the pain from yesterday was still vaguely memorable.

She just ate quietly and submissively as a lamb.

Madam Pei, sitting beside her, took the initiative to speak up after putting down her chopsticks and looked towards Pei Yansi, "I heard you recently promoted an intern to be your personal secretary."

These past few days, Shen Heyu had taken a leave of absence.

She was unaware of the happenings in the company.

It turned out that Bai Sheng'er, an ordinary administrative staff member, had suddenly become a personal secretary overnight.

Pei Yansi must have been afraid that the ALI incident would happen again.

However, Pei Yansi's gaze, cold and detached, immediately fell on Shen Heyu.

"Did Shen Heyu complain to you?"

Madam Pei snorted coldly and said without hesitation, "Grandma has gotten old, not blind, lame, or foolish; your ostentatious behavior is hard not to notice even if I don't want to!"

"I just asked a question and you're already eager to blame Xiao Yu—do you think Xiao Yu, in her situation, would come to me with complaints?"

"If Xiao Yu would complain to me, would I still let you go on like this every day?"

"Xiao Yu has been here since noon, and she hasn't mentioned a single fault of yours, yet here you are, inadvertently revealing yourself."

Pei Yansi's lips were tightly pressed together, and he did not respond.

Madam Pei continued her relentless output, "Yansi, grandma wants you to clear your head, open your eyes, and see how much Shen Heyu has sacrificed for the Pei Family, for your household, over these years."

"How skinny has Shen Heyu become, yet you still have the heart to be so cruel?"

Pei Yansi looked at Shen Heyu, who indeed had become much thinner. Her face was still as small as the palm of a hand, with a pointed chin and not an ounce of excess flesh on her cheeks.

Shen Heyu put down her chopsticks.

Madam Pei looked at Shen Heyu with eyes full of pity, knowing her struggles. She patted Shen Heyu's shoulder and said, "Go freshen up and rest early."

Shen Heyu obediently nodded and complied without once looking at Pei Yansi during the whole process.

Pei Yansi felt an inexplicable sense of suffocation and irritation.

After Shen Heyu went upstairs, Madam Pei turned a hard face towards Pei Yansi and said, "Fire that little secretary."

"Grandma…"

Madam Pei interrupted him, "I don't want to hear your explanations; I'm only going to say this one last thing."

"Xiao Yu hasn't had it easy, forsaken by many over the years, suffering so much—what conclusive evidence did you have to treat her like this in regard to that incident back then?"

"Back then, grandma told you as well, as long as you two had a child, it would be up to you whether to remain in this marriage or not."

Pei Yansi's eyes were half-closed, his emotions indecipherable.

He remained silent, and Madam Pei stood up and knocked on the table, "If there's no love, let go. Why torment each other?"

...

After her bath, Shen Heyu pushed open the door, pausing abruptly at the sight.

Pei Yansi was lying on her bed.

It must have been Madam Pei's arrangement—as long as they stayed in the old house, Pei Yansi would invariably be forced to sleep with her.

Her eyes gleamed coldly as she walked closer, drying her hair.

She caught a glimpse of the object Pei Yansi was fiddling with in his hands, and her expression stiffened momentarily.

It was the ointment from yesterday.

Thinking back, it must have been stuffed into the bag when she was packing her makeup before leaving in the morning.

She felt a bit embarrassed and awkward.

Pei Yansi's gaze, however, shifted toward her.

"Take it off, I'll apply the medicine for you."

Shen Heyu reached out to take it, her ears tinged with pink, her voice unnaturally saying, "No need, I can apply it myself."

Yet, her wrist was seized by the man. Despite looking up from the couch, Pei Yansi's sharp and domineering aura did not lessen one bit.

"Do you remove it, or shall I do it for you?"

Shen Heyu took a deep breath and obediently went to the bed.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down. It was undeniable that this bizarre scene still managed to stir up the hormones.

Pei Yansi cast a glance at Shen Heyu, her fair face already flushed from her bath but now, because of the medication, her cheeks turned an even more unnatural red.

His breathing quickened slightly as he spread the ointment, his gaze narrowed.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not such a beast to take advantage of you while you're injured."

Shen Heyu pursed her lips, muttering softly, "Your actions yesterday make that statement very unconvincing."

Pei Yansi chuckled softly, the amber depths of his eyes void of their usual chill.

Shen Heyu didn't dare to look at him and gave a light cough.

Pei Yansi cast a casual glance at Shen Heyu, who had turned her back to him. Yesterday had been a rare loss of control.

He lowered his gaze without offering Shen Heyu an explanation and went straight to the bathroom.

Shen Heyu let out a sigh of relief, then suddenly the phone beside her rang.

It was Pei Yansi's personal phone, displaying the name.

Shengsheng.

Quite affectionate indeed.

She had no interest in any interaction with her, so she let the phone ring until it stopped.

Following that, Pei Yansi's work phone also lit up, this time with an unknown, unnamed number.

Shen Heyu answered the call to hear Bai Sheng'er's soft and gentle voice.

"Is President Pei there?"

Shen Heyu replied indifferently, "He's not."

Bai Sheng'er didn't even respond and quickly hung up.

Shen Heyu didn't mind; she had no intention of confronting Bai Sheng'er. President Pei had too many girlfriends, so many that she had long since become numb to it.

Thus, when Pei Yansi got out of the shower, she straightforwardly said, "Bai Sheng'er called you."

Pei Yansi's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze on Shen Heyu filled with thick mistrust.

"Shen Heyu, don't touch her. She's different."

Shen Heyu turned her head away, her expression indifferent, "Not interested."

Yet Pei Yansi still did not trust her, picking up the phone to call back.

He had barely walked a few steps toward the balcony when he suddenly stopped, covering the phone and shooting a sharp glare at Shen Heyu.

"What did you say to her!"

The sudden outburst bewildered Shen Heyu.

A dark chill gathered in the depths of Pei Yansi's eyes as he said coldly, "Whatever you said to deliberately make Shengsheng misunderstand, now she's fallen down the stairs. If anything happens to her, I won't let you off!"

He slammed the door behind him, leaving Shen Heyu clutching her chest, her entire body cold.