Extreme Pampering
Chapter 197: Correcting His Bad Habits.

Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Correcting His Bad Habits.

They had been married for almost half a year, and their relationship had always been great, with no minor conflicts or friction; every day was sweet and blissful. Shen Zhiyi had recently talked with Wang Feifei and others about the tumultuous marital lives of a few actresses in the industry, involving deceit both financially and emotionally, even saying that marriage is just built on lies. At the time, she didn’t take it seriously, convinced that those things would never happen to her and Pei Yu.

But now, now she realized that she, as a wife, had been kept in the dark about such a significant matter by her husband.

"Pei Yu," Shen Zhiyi still didn’t move closer; she leaned against the wall, looking down at the carpet pattern, "I kept a cold from you before, and you were unhappy, but now you’ve kept something as major as a surgery from me. Isn’t that too hypocritical?"

That just wasn’t right.

She felt powerless, "No one does marriage like this."

There’s no surgery without risks. What if something went wrong and he never made it out of the operating room? While he was undergoing surgery, his breathing slowly weakening, she was safely sleeping and happily eating back home. How could that be right?

Previously, when they were in the same space without any communication, Pei Yu had figured out how to explain it to her; but at this very moment, hearing her words, he couldn’t say a single thing, overwhelmed by sheer panic.

"Zhizhi," he was extremely anxious, fearing that her next words would be about separating from him, he said hoarsely, "I was wrong. You can blame me however you want."

But please don’t leave him.

In some respects, he was a very selfish person, used to deciding everything by himself. When a review showed that the condition was serious and surgery was needed, he never once thought of telling Shen Zhiyi because he felt it wasn’t necessary—it was just a minor surgery, no need to worry her, especially since she was quite busy during that period.

Now, admitting his fault was only because Shen Zhiyi was upset. Often, when making decisions, he considered Shen Zhiyi’s emotions as a starting point.

"You’re a patient; how could I blame you?"

Shen Zhiyi walked to the bed, and Pei Yu grabbed her wrist tightly. He looked up at her, his brow and eyes still showing signs of illness, "You can blame, blame as much as you need to."

"I really can’t believe you kept even this from me," she paused, "I should be blamed too, for being so easily deceived by you without noticing anything wrong."

Blame her for not caring enough for Pei Yu, blame her for trusting him too much.

"Don’t blame yourself," Pei Yu couldn’t stand to hear such words, his heart felt crushed, he lowered his head to kiss the back of her hand, apologizing again, "I’m sorry."

Shen Zhiyi looked at him, her eyes slowly reddened, "Pei Yu, you really crossed the line."

"What if it were me? What if I had a surgery without telling you, how would you feel?"

She pulled her hand away, rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, her voice choked, "We are husband and wife. When you are sick, when you are hospitalized, I should be the one by your side. What’s the point of having Secretary Qin do these things? Don’t you have a wife of your own?"

Pei Yu was most afraid of her tears, yet he was always the main cause behind them. His Adam’s apple moved, a burning pain in his chest, ignoring everything else, he pulled her to sit on the bed and embraced her in his arms to comfort her, "It’s all my fault, I was wrong, I was too selfish, I won’t keep anything from you anymore, stop crying, okay?"

He had just undergone surgery, and Shen Zhiyi refused to let him hold her, chiding him tearfully, "Don’t move around!"

Pei Yu could only let go, "I won’t move, please stop crying, okay?"

He hadn’t felt much during the repeated check-ups, nor during the surgery, but watching her cry now truly made him feel heart-wrenching pain, full of regret.

Shen Zhiyi was spot on in calling him hypocritical; that was just how he was, not caring enough for his own body, or perhaps too confident, never even considering the possibility of surgery failure. He had even planned to leave the hospital early, to return to the country by weekend.

Since his wife wouldn’t let him hold her, he could only stand beside her and coax her dryly, giving every assurance he could think of. Luckily, it was in a private room, so no one saw Chairman Pei talk in such a humble tone— not even Secretary Qin knew he acted this way in front of Shen Zhiyi.

Actually, after crying for a while, Shen Zhiyi had vented almost enough. She stayed by his side all night, and her fear and concern had already eased a lot. She was certainly angry, but more than that, she felt heartache. Just thinking about him being hospitalized alone made her heart clench with anxiety.

The reason she kept crying was partly an act— it was to teach Pei Yu a lesson and to make him remember, as she never wanted to experience this kind of thing again.

Only after Pei Yu had said all the nice things he could think of, and it looked like he truly realized his mistake, did she slowly wipe away her tears and calm down.

He had just had surgery, and although Shen Zhiyi wanted to teach him a lesson, she couldn’t bear to let him suffer for long.

"Want breakfast?"

Pei Yu couldn’t stomach anything at this moment, as his entire heart was fixated on her, but as soon as she asked, he agreed, "Yes."

Shen Zhiyi went to reheat the breakfast while the awaited nursing assistant came in to help Pei Yu with a quick washup.

After Pei Yu finished breakfast, Shen Zhiyi took the dishes and turned around.

Pei Yu, feeling anxious, asked, "Zhiyi?"

"I’m going to change clothes."

Shen Zhiyi was not ignoring him, but her attitude wasn’t sticky or sugary— instead, it was cool and detached. This demeanor was unprecedented post-marriage. Pei Yu, who was accustomed to a soft and smiling wife, felt even more miserable with this sudden change in treatment.

The problem was, he couldn’t blame anyone but himself—it was all his own fault.

After a while, Shen Zhiyi came out in changed clothes, acting as if she didn’t see Pei Yu’s persistent gaze, and lay down on the other side of the bed.

As soon as she lay down, Pei Yu tried to move closer.

"Don’t touch me," her voice was still hoarse from crying, sounding pitiful, "I need to sleep for a while."

She hadn’t slept properly for a long time, feeling her entire body heavy; it was only after crying that she felt a bit sleepy.

Pei Yu was forced to keep his distance, his lips tight in a line, not daring to disobey and feeling extremely downcast.

Then, the hand under the blanket was suddenly held. Shen Zhiyi was lying on her side facing him, her eyes already closed, "Don’t overthink it. It’s just that you’ve just had surgery and can’t move around much. I’ll get up and keep you company after a bit of sleep."

Having said what needed to be said, Shen Zhiyi didn’t want to pick a fight with a patient. She didn’t think she was arguing with him; she was just correcting one of Pei Yu’s bad habits.

"Okay."

Then, Pei Yu lay down beside her, quietly watching her, keeping a certain distance, but their hands were still joined.

"Zhiyi," he whispered, "I love you."

Shen Zhiyi had already fallen asleep and didn’t respond, but Pei Yu didn’t need those words to understand her love for him anymore.