Extreme Pampering
Chapter 140: Just How Many Years He Has Loved Her.

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Just How Many Years He Has Loved Her.

Shen Zhiyi sat on Pei Yu’s lap, encircled by his arms around her waist, beside a computer screen that had already dimmed, which he ignored.

She hesitated slightly and then leaned into his ear to ask, "So, did you look into my past? The things from my childhood."

It was before she entered the entertainment industry when she was still staying in the mountain village with Huo Heng.

The hand circling her waist unconsciously tightened, a sign of Pei Yu’s reluctance to bring up the subject.

Of course, he had looked into it, very carefully at that. At the time of his inquiry, she was abroad, still known as Huo Heng’s girlfriend. He didn’t even understand why he was searching for these details.

"Mhm."

He responded softly, showing no intention of continuing the topic.

Shen Zhiyi leaned on his shoulder, feeling uncomfortable sharing these things with others, her voice was very soft, "I didn’t have a good childhood."

She had never mentioned her childhood to anyone, not even to Huo Heng, and as time passed, those memories seemed to blur.

"Huo Heng helped me a lot. His family’s situation was similar to mine, so we always helped each other. One time my dad hit me so hard I thought I would die, but Huo Heng saved me."

Telling Pei Yu about her past wasn’t out of nostalgia; Shen Zhiyi simply wanted to take this opportunity to explain sincerely. Gratitude and guilt occupied most of her feelings for Huo Heng, and after reflecting several times, she realized her trust in Huo Heng stemmed almost entirely from their shared childhood experiences. Eventually, she wasn’t even sure if her feelings for Huo Heng were genuine or not.

Pei Yu sometimes mentioned Huo Heng, and although it wasn’t very obvious, one could sense his jealousy. Shen Zhiyi didn’t want him to be preoccupied with this, which was why she brought up Huo Heng.

She looked up and kissed Pei Yu’s cheek, speaking earnestly, "I think most of my feelings for him are gratitude."

It was after realizing she didn’t owe Huo Heng anything that Shen Zhiyi was able to decisively pull away from him.

Pei Yu appeared slightly distracted, picking up on something off in her words, "He saved you?"

"Yeah," Shen Zhiyi thought he was just curious about the incident and began recalling the event, telling him what she remembered, "That time my dad had drunk a lot and asked me for money. When I refused to give it to him, he started to hit me, and he even threatened me with a knife. I bumped my head and was feeling dizzy, unable to dodge his blade."

Her voice grew quieter, "I thought I was going to die, but when I woke up, I was in the hospital, and Huo Heng, covered in blood, was standing beside me. He took that knife for me."

Later, when she was discharged from the hospital, Huo Heng still had thick gauze wrapped around his abdomen. It took a month before he said his wound had healed.

This was a life-saving favor, and ever since then, Shen Zhiyi considered Huo Heng to be the only person she could truly trust.

Pei Yu’s eyes seemed to reveal a trace of gloom, "Are you sure he was injured?"

From her account, Pei Yu could almost confirm which incident it was. The first part matched his memory exactly, but at that time, it was from his own hands that Huo Heng had taken Shen Zhiyi; it was impossible for him to have been injured.

Shen Zhiyi lifted her head, "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Pei Yu looked away and seeing her seeming unease, comforted her, "Just asking."

"But he was injured," Shen Zhiyi grew more perplexed as she spoke, "Although I didn’t see the wound myself, what reason would he have to lie to me?"

"Besides," she frowned, "before I fainted, I definitely saw someone step in front of me to block the knife. If it wasn’t Huo Heng, who else could it be?"

The reasoning was so comprehensive, yet inexplicably, Shen Zhiyi felt like she might have overlooked something.

"Hmm," Pei Yu didn’t want her to think about this anymore, nor did he want to pursue the matter of Huo Heng deliberately concealing things, "stop thinking about it."

He changed the subject, "Aren’t you curious why I showed up at Nanyuan that night?"

It was the night she had her accident.

Shen Zhiyi was indeed distracted by this, as she had always been curious about that point, "Why?"

He hadn’t told her at the time because the origin traced back to an encounter when they were teenagers, which was something that Pei Yu found hard to discuss. Now he was willing to talk about it because he had decided to conceal it forever.

She didn’t need to know how many years exactly Pei Yu had loved her—that was his business.

"To wait for you," he recalled his state of mind at that time and smiled faintly, "I had just returned to the country and heard that Huo Heng was on the guest list for the banquet at Nanyuan. Thinking you might also attend, I made a detour there."

In fact, he hadn’t thought too much about it, not even considering meeting her. If he saw her standing by Huo Heng, he would find it difficult not to have the disgraceful thought of snatching her away. So he stayed alone in a room; just thinking that she might be nearby was enough to give some relief to his long unsettled emotions.

Shen Zhiyi was stunned, "But... before that, hadn’t you only seen me once?"

Just seeing her once, did he really have such deep feelings for her?

"Who said I’ve only seen you once?" Pei Yu smiled lightly but didn’t clarify further, as those were things he intended to conceal forever, "I’ve seen you quite a few times, you just didn’t know."

His voice was low and slow, "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Using that phrase wasn’t wrong, but Pei Yu hadn’t realized it when he was in his teens. He just wanted to take Shen Zhiyi away, not wanting her to suffer, to see her hurt and crying. It was the first time he thought that if he weren’t a child of the Pei Family, Shen Zhiyi would have been able to stay by his side all the time.

For a long period after he was forced to give her up, what Pei Yu thought about the most wasn’t the shame of having no freedom and being forced to submit to his father’s authority, but what Shen Zhiyi might continue to endure, whether she was hurt, whether she cried... whether she thought of him who had once made a promise to her and then broke it.

He felt fortunate that she had forgotten him.

Love at first sight... Shen Zhiyi’s heartbeat quickened, somewhat unable to believe that Pei Yu’s "affection" came so easily yet sincerely. If he had told her this when they first met, she definitely wouldn’t have believed him, only thinking him slick with words, a player in the game of love.

But love doesn’t follow reason.

Seeing her in a daze, Pei Yu’s forehead rested against hers, their noses touching, his words carrying a faint smile, "Do you believe me?"

Shen Zhiyi did believe him. She knew Pei Yu wouldn’t joke about such things, but she was too embarrassed to admit it and looked away on purpose, pretending to say, "I don’t believe words meant to just cheer me up."

Pei Yu chuckled softly, not exposing her, "Did it cheer you up?"

Of course, it cheered her up a lot, but Shen Zhiyi didn’t say it. She moved away from his embrace, pretending to check the time, "I need to go get my makeup done."

She had a red carpet to walk that evening.

Pei Yu caught the hem of her dress, not letting her leave, "Leaving me to keep the empty room to myself?"

It wasn’t easy to find some free time.