Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 49: “You’re A Good Person.”

　　That afternoon, Pei Ji received a visitor he hadn’t seen in quite some time.

　　The girl entered his room, glanced around swiftly, then walked straight over to the chaise longue and sat down like she owned the place.

　　Only after settling in did she turn her head toward the white-robed gentleman in the wheelchair.

　　“Pei Ji, give me acupuncture.”

　　Six blunt words, said stiffly, with that sulky little face of hers making it clear she was in a foul mood.

　　Most people would be polite when asking a doctor for help, but not An Jiu—she barked out commands, completely disregarding anyone else’s feelings.

　　Then again, perhaps it was because she’d long since figured out Pei Ji’s limits—knowing that no matter how she treated him, he would never get angry. So she acted with complete impunity.

　　The white-robed gentleman really did have a good temper. He only paused for a beat before gently smiling and rolling his wheelchair toward her. “Miss An, are you feeling upset?”

　　Having been treated with acupuncture a few times already, An Jiu was quite familiar with the process. As soon as he approached, she slipped off her shoes, climbed onto the chaise, and lifted her sleeves, revealing two slender arms.

　　She closed her eyes wearily and said in a cold tone, “My problems have nothing to do with you.”

　　Pei Ji opened his acupuncture kit and sat by the chaise, his brows relaxed and eyes curved into a faint smile. “I’m only concerned about Miss An. But if you don’t wish to talk, of course you don’t have to.”

　　An Jiu lifted one eyelid and cast him a sidelong glance, her gaze full of knowing disdain. With a cold snort, she said, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to.”

　　Pei Ji froze slightly, the silver needle between his fingers suspended midair. He looked up at her, eyes showing a hint of surprise. “What I’m up to?”

　　An Jiu gave him a look that screamed, Keep pretending. I see right through you, and huffed under her breath, “You’ve been making moves on me—I know.”

　　Before Pei Ji could respond, she continued, her tone growing sharper and her words tumbling out in a rush: “Don’t even think about having any ideas about me. I’m not into you. I already like someone else, got it? You’re just a cripple—how dare you? From now on, stay away from me. Let’s not mess with each other’s business!”

　　The words poured out like a rolling cart down a hill, leaving Pei Ji stunned for a moment, unable to respond.

　　It seemed she’d been bottling those thoughts up for a while and couldn’t hold them in any longer.

　　Once she finished, she shut her eyes again. Her expression eased slightly, as if finally getting something off her chest.

　　Pei Ji sat there silently for a long time, unable to come back to his senses. After a while, An Jiu, still not feeling the prick of any needles, fluttered her lashes open just a bit and stole a peek at him.

　　Dressed in white as pure as snow, with not a single crease or stain on his robe, Pei Ji sat there with his head slightly bowed, strands of hair fluttering gently in the breeze blowing through the window. His face, delicate and fair, was a picture of dazed confusion.

　　An Jiu pressed her lips together. A twinge of guilt flickered in her heart.

　　Crap… did I go too far just now? What if he refuses to treat me from now on?

　　“Hey… are you mad now? Pei Ji, don’t be so petty, alright? I didn’t even hold a grudge about that night…” At that point, her voice trailed off, her cheeks reddening slightly as she awkwardly changed the subject. “Anyway, let’s just be regular friends from now on. Let’s wipe the slate clean—neither of us owes the other anything, okay?”

　　When Pei Ji caught sight of the faint blush creeping across her face, something flickered in his dark eyes.

　　He realized now—An Jiu had completely convinced herself that he had a crush on her. And there was no way to clear that misunderstanding anytime soon.

　　Thinking this, he lowered his eyes and let out a soft chuckle, replying calmly, “Then let it be as Miss An says.”

　　But seeing how composed he was after being ‘rejected,’ the girl stared at him suspiciously, finding it hard to believe someone could remain that calm.

　　Though still suspicious, An Jiu didn’t say anything in the end.

　　Just then, Pei Ji began inserting the needles, so she let herself relax and closed her eyes to rest.

　　She hadn’t slept well the night before, and now that she was lying down, drowsiness quickly crept in. An Jiu didn’t fight it and gradually drifted off into sleep.

　　By the time she woke up again, it was already dusk. The sky outside the window was bathed in glowing hues, and golden sunlight spilled onto the floor like a scattering of broken gold.

　　Her entire body felt loose and soft from sleep, her mind still a little hazy. She slowly sat up on the couch, and a light blanket slid down from her chest.

　　She caught it instinctively, her nose immediately filled with the faint bitterness of medicinal herbs—the exact same scent that clung to the white-robed man.

　　She sat there in a daze for a while when a soft sound came from nearby. Turning her head, she saw a snow-white figure seated quietly by the window. His long black hair flowed down to his waist, and his well-shaped fingers held a scroll. The golden sunset poured over his body, making his gentle features even more delicate, his long eyelashes glowing like golden feathers.

　　Sensing her gaze, the gentle man in white lifted his eyelids slightly and looked at her with warm eyes.

　　“Miss An is awake?”

　　An Jiu let out a lazy “Mm,” not bothering to speak.

　　Pei Ji continued, “The acupuncture is complete. Miss An may leave when she wishes. I won’t see you off.”

　　But An Jiu didn’t move. She had slept so long her bones felt soft, and she lounged there without the will to get up.

　　Tilting her head, she stared at the white-robed man without blinking.

　　Her gaze didn’t carry any particular emotion—just a quiet, idle observation.

　　But Pei Ji found it hard to ignore being watched like this. He looked up from his book again and asked with a smile, “What is Miss An looking at?”

　　Her cheeks still flushed from sleep, the girl looked bewitchingly drowsy, completely unaware of her own charm. She blinked slowly and said, “Pei Ji, I’ve realized that… you do have one good trait.”

　　“And what might that be?” Pei Ji rubbed his fingertips against the edge of the book.

　　With an unusually serious expression on her small face, she said each word slowly and clearly: “You’re a good person.”

　　Pei Ji: “……”

　　The man’s brow twitched slightly, a sense of absurdity rising in his chest—as if a wolf had been mistaken for a lamb, and even sincerely praised for being gentle. Such an unfathomable situation, he’d never encountered in his life.

　　After bestowing such a high evaluation upon him, the girl seemed to fall into her own thoughts. Her little head lowered, lips slightly bitten, an expression of contemplation crossing her face.

　　Pei Ji raised his brows faintly, unsure what she was thinking about this time.

　　Every time he was with An Jiu, she always managed to bring him fresh and unexpected experiences.

　　After a while, the girl slowly emerged from her thoughts. Her crimson-tinged eyes glanced at him sideways, with an expression that said she wanted to speak but hesitated.

　　Understanding her well, Pei Ji gently asked, “Miss An, is there something you wish to say?”

　　An Jiu nodded, hesitating for a moment before stammering, “If you found out… that the person you like wasn’t as good as you thought, what would you do?”

　　Pei Ji’s expression shifted slightly. He looked at her, a flash of curiosity flickering through his eyes.

　　He pondered for a moment and asked tentatively, “What counts as good? And what counts as not good?”

　　“I don’t know,” the girl muttered, her delicate face scrunched into a frown. Her mind was a mess, and her patience quickly ran out. She shook her head irritably. “Forget it. Why am I even telling you this—you wouldn’t understand anyway.”

　　She let out a long sigh, the haze from her nap slowly lifting.

　　In one swift movement, the girl got up, slipped on her shoes, and casually tossed out a “Thanks” before brushing off her sleeves and walking away.

　　The fiery red hem of her skirt swayed past the threshold and disappeared around the corner.

　　Pei Ji’s expression remained calm as always. That woman was always like this—use and discard.

　　If one day she ever thanked him profusely with heartfelt gratitude, that would be what felt out of place.

　　Expressionless, he lowered his eyes and thought back to the words she had just spoken. His pitch-black pupils sank into an unfathomable darkness.

　　As the sky deepened and night fell, Ah Qi quietly entered the room, closing the door behind him. “Young Master, everything has been arranged. Did you manage to obtain the martial arts manual?”

　　Pei Ji was silent for a moment.

　　He still couldn’t understand how he had been foolish enough to agree to her last night.

　　Seeing his silence, Ah Qi misunderstood and asked in confusion, “Don’t tell me Jin Yanwan didn’t have the martial arts manual?”

　　“No, I’ve already got it.”

　　In fact, he had a freshly written copy of the martial arts manual in his hands right now, and after reading through it, Pei Ji confirmed there wasn’t a single mistake in it.

　　She had spent the entire night reciting it from memory, just to transcribe that martial arts manual. No wonder she couldn’t stay awake today and ended up falling asleep here.

　　Thinking of this, Pei Ji felt a surge of displeasure.

　　If he hadn’t promised her… if he didn’t care about preserving Fei Yi’s image in her eyes, how could he have let Jin Yanwan off so easily?

　　The white-clad young man’s expression was indifferent, clearly unwilling to continue the topic. His voice turned cold. “Is everything arranged?”

　　Ah Qi responded respectfully, “It’s all in place. The assassins are ready. We can take action tomorrow.”

　　Pei Ji nodded. “Good.”

　　Ah Qi hesitated slightly, a trace of doubt on his face. In the end, he couldn’t help but ask, “Young Master, there’s something I don’t understand. Why go through all this... when you’ve already gotten the martial arts manual?”

　　These past few days, Ah Qi had been carrying out the orders from his young master. Although he’d always been the kind to follow commands without question, this time was different. In the past, every order had a clear purpose behind it, but this time—he truly couldn’t grasp the reason.

　　Pei Ji had him gather the Qiansha Pavilion assassins near Jinshe Villa. When the martial arts manual was revealed, if anything went wrong, they were to kill certain individuals.

　　He was even given a list—one that included many senior elders from prestigious sects across the martial world. These people were top-tier masters from centuries-old clans. Even though Qiansha Pavilion had grown over the years, its foundation still couldn’t compare to those ancient sects. What’s more, those names weren’t from just one faction, but practically covered the entire martial arts world.

　　To go up against all of Wulin… could Qiansha Pavilion truly survive?

　　Ah Qi couldn’t make sense of it. And since he wasn’t the type to keep questions bottled up, he simply asked directly.

　　Actually, he had another lingering question.

　　Since they entered Jinshe Villa, his young master had been paying close attention to Jin Yanwan. At first, Ah Qi didn’t understand why. It wasn’t until yesterday that he found out she had stolen the martial arts manual.

　　But… how had the young master known?

　　Could he really predict the future?

　　Ah Qi was completely baffled. He’d even asked Pei Ji at the time but received no answer.

　　Still, his respect and awe for the young master only deepened. Pei Ji seemed increasingly unfathomable, impossible to guess.

　　Hearing Ah Qi’s question, Pei Ji tugged the corners of his lips into a smile devoid of warmth.

　　“Why do this? Naturally, because they’ve offended me.” Snap—his folding fan opened with a crisp sound. His pale fingertips brushed slowly along the jade-white fan bones, his eyes cold, lips curled with a chilling smile. “Don’t worry. When the time comes, they’ll be too busy saving their own necks. We just need to strike the match and let the fire spread.”

　　Pei Ji had never forgotten that final battle in his previous life—the one that led to his death. He remembered clearly just how many people had raised their weapons against him.

　　Even if, in this life, they hadn’t yet turned on him—so what?

　　He might spare He Ziqing for Lin Qingyan’s sake, but as for those other rabble? Never.

　　Tomorrow was the day the martial arts manual would be revealed. The Demonic Sect would attack. And Qiansha Pavilion would move among them.

　　Even if they killed a few people, the blame would fall squarely on the Demonic Sect.

　　The Demonic Sect kills—it has nothing to do with Qiansha Pavilion, or with Pei Ji.

　　A ‘good man’? Ha… what a joke.

________________

Author's Note:

Eldest Miss An: Drops a friend-zone card.

Pei Pei: ???

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