Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 55: She Was His Sunk Cost

　　When the system notification chimed, An Jiu froze for a moment—but just for a moment. She quickly returned to normal, not letting the man in her arms notice a thing.

　　Still, she did realize something: the favorability increase came with some very real effects.

　　Like how carrying Pei Ji suddenly didn’t feel so hard.

　　It was as if he’d become lighter all of a sudden. She didn’t need to use all her strength to drag him along anymore.

　　An Jiu knew—it was him, secretly cooperating with her. Quietly exerting some force on his own.

　　And annoyingly, he controlled it so precisely that, if she hadn’t been paying close attention—or seen the favorability update—she might not have noticed at all.

　　As she held him and walked toward the wheelchair, An Jiu couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

　　So this is the difference between 30 and 50 favorability. Once his feelings improved, even her treatment improved. All her hard work acting hadn’t been in vain!

　　Finally reaching the wheelchair, An Jiu was just about to lower Pei Ji into it when the sound of hurried footsteps rang out behind her.

　　Her body stiffened immediately—she knew the pursuers had caught up.

　　Before she could react, a wave of warm breath brushed past her ear—the warm current of air from the mouth of the man resting against her shoulder.

　　“Don’t turn around. Keep going.”

　　The white-clad gentleman in her arms spoke in a calm, gentle voice, like he was just making casual conversation.

　　As soon as he finished speaking, a heavy thud rang out behind them—thump—like something had collapsed to the ground.

　　Following his instructions instinctively, An Jiu continued moving. Only when he braced himself on the wheelchair and sat down did she finally glance behind to see what had happened.

　　When she turned, the sight of a black-clad figure filled her vision. The person lay facedown in the dirt, silent and unmoving—alive or dead, she couldn’t tell. No idea what had happened to him.

　　An Jiu looked at the black-clad man, then sneaked a glance at the elegant gentleman in the wheelchair—and quietly swallowed.

　　So this is the power of a poison master?

　　No one could even get within a few meters of him—step too close, and you die.

　　Suddenly, she started worrying about her own safety. Thinking back on all the days she’d shamelessly bullied Pei Ji, relying on her ‘character setting’ to get away with it… the fact that she was still alive really did seem like a miracle.

　　An Jiu panicked for a second, but quickly comforted herself. No matter what, the big villain wasn’t going to kill her—he still needed her to detoxify and save his life.

　　As for turning her into one of those living-dead puppets? She wasn’t too worried about that anymore either.

　　There was a modern term called ‘sunk cost.’ It referred to the idea that when someone invests too much into something, they find it hard to give up.

　　Like stock trading. When the market crashes, don’t those investors who go bankrupt know they should cut their losses and walk away? Of course they know. But because they’ve already put in so much—so much money, time, hope—the losses hurt too much to accept. So they cling to it, investing even more, refusing to let go… until they end up on a rooftop somewhere, staring down at the street below.

　　Love works the same way. Many girls who fall for jerks don’t stay because they can’t leave, but because they’ve poured in too much time, affection, energy, and even money. So even when they finally see the guy’s true colors, the weight of all they’ve invested traps them in painful hesitation.

　　An Jiu figured Pei Ji had invested quite a bit in her already. His sunk cost wasn’t low. And judging by that favorability rating of 55, she guessed his ‘romance game’ with her wasn’t over yet.

　　Put simply: he couldn’t afford to give up.

　　Thinking that, An Jiu’s heart settled immediately.

　　She could continue being her entitled, brainless beauty self without guilt.

　　Suppressing the upward curve of her lips, she quickly slipped back into character. Cautiously turning back around, she asked the man in the wheelchair, “Um… Pei Ji, what happened to him?”

　　The white-robed young master’s long lashes narrowed slightly. Though his face looked pale and weak, his thin lips curved in a soft, gentle smile as he countered calmly, “What do you think?”

　　An Jiu opened her mouth and stammered, “D-Dead?”

　　Pei Ji’s dark eyes were deep and unreadable as he gazed quietly at the pale-faced girl.

　　Her delicate brows still held traces of fright, and her long curled lashes trembled slightly—like a startled little rabbit.

　　It made sense. She had spent the past decade living in the Shangshu Mansion, pampered since birth as the treasured young lady. She probably hadn’t even seen blood before.

　　Seeing such a gruesome scene today, with bodies everywhere… it was only natural for her to be scared.

　　But what Pei Ji thought of wasn’t just her fear. He remembered that day when she’d looked so conflicted while talking about ‘Fei Yi not being a good person.’

　　It was then that he realized—An Jiu only liked noble, upright men.

　　She was a pure, sheltered young lady, the type who only read storybooks about heroic righteous warriors. In her mind, the person she liked couldn’t have any stains or flaws.

　　That was why discovering that ‘Fei Yi’ wanted to steal the divine martial manual had troubled her so much.

　　And now… he had killed someone. Would she also think he was a bad person? Would she fear him too?

　　The moment that thought took root, Pei Ji’s eyes darkened further.

　　He hadn’t cared what she thought of ‘Pei Ji’ before. But now, just imagining her gaze filled with fear instead of fondness made him feel a restless irritation rising within.

　　His fingertips gently rubbed the bone of his white jade fan. The cool, smooth touch of the jade did nothing to calm the ripples in his heart.

　　Faced with her trembling question, the man said nothing.

　　His gaze remained fixed on her face, eyes locked onto hers, silent.

　　Sometimes silence was an answer. The girl seemed to understand something in that moment. Her red lips trembled slightly, still bearing the faint bite mark from earlier. Those lips, bright and rosy, looked like a blooming rose.

　　After a moment of stillness, An Jiu suddenly blinked and asked, deliberately off-topic, “Pei Ji, why are you staring at me like that?”

　　Pei Ji’s eyes flickered. He didn’t follow her lead to change the subject, and instead asked in a calm voice, “Don’t you have anything you want to say?”

　　An Jiu pressed her lips together, not answering right away.

　　She stepped forward, moved behind his wheelchair, and gripped the handles to push him forward.　

　　At that moment, the girl’s low voice drifted on the breeze:

　　“I’m not stupid. You Jianghu people—aren’t you all like this? Fighting and killing whenever words don’t match… And that person was trying to kill us. If he didn’t die, then we would have.”

　　Her voice dropped even lower, sounding a little embarrassed:

　　“Don’t take it the wrong way—I’m really not afraid of you. It’s just… I haven’t seen this before, okay? Anyway, I’m not bothered that you killed someone. Someone as good-hearted as you—how could I be scared!”

　　By the end, her tone grew impatient.

　　Probably annoyed at herself—this is what a young lady is like, always fussing over strange things, like never admitting defeat, always needing to be first at everything.

　　Pei Ji had long experienced this firsthand. He remembered once when they went shopping, An Jiu set her eyes on a hairpin. But someone else liked it too, and they both wanted to pay for it. In the end, the young lady simply flexed her money power, throwing ten times the price, making the shop owner overjoyed.

　　What did she say when faced with Pei Ji's confusion?

　　“I’m not buying the hairpin, I’m buying pride, got it? How can I lose to someone else?”

　　In the end, that hairpin barely saw any use on her.

　　There was also the time she hurried to him, terrified because a mouse had gotten into the room.

　　Though her face was pale from fright, she stubbornly claimed she wasn’t scared.

　　Now, he understood what she really meant.

　　She’d been frightened by all those dead bodies, but didn’t want to admit it outright, so she changed the subject.

　　Not scared of him, who’d killed someone, but afraid of the dead.

　　Pei Ji couldn’t quite understand her strange psychology, yet the restless irritation in his heart quietly faded away.

　　The girl muttered behind him, as if afraid he’d misunderstand, trying hard to explain herself.

　　Pei Ji didn’t even notice when a faint smile unconsciously curved the corner of his lips.

　　“I understand,” he said warmly.

　　“Ah? You believe me?”　

　　The girl’s voice suddenly brightened, lively once more, as if she didn’t want to continue the previous topic. She quickly changed the subject, asking, “Pei Ji, we’re almost at the town. Where are we heading next?”

　　Pei Ji replied, “I have a villa in Jinshe Town. We can rest there first.”

　　An Jiu hesitated and asked, “But your injury… don’t you need treatment? Maybe we should go to the clinic first?”

　　The white-robed young man said lightly, “I am the doctor myself; there’s no need to go to a clinic.”

　　In fact, Pei Ji’s constitution was special—going to a clinic wouldn’t help. Only he could treat his wounds.

　　An Jiu nodded after hearing this. “Alright then.”

　　The rest of the journey passed without incident. An Jiu smoothly pushed Pei Ji into Jinshe Town.

　　Originally bustling with people, the town was now completely empty. Many houses had their doors open, cups of tea on the tables, but hardly anyone was in sight.

　　Pei Ji said, “They must have gotten the news and all gone up the mountain.”

　　An Jiu thought the same. Well, even if they wanted to go to a clinic, there probably wouldn’t be anyone there.

　　Following Pei Ji’s instructions, An Jiu quickly found the villa he mentioned. It was a small courtyard tucked inside an alley. Upon entering, there was a garden with a single white magnolia tree, its branches dotted with many snowy white buds. The courtyard was small, with only four rooms.

　　An Jiu helped Pei Ji to the main house. At this moment, his face was as pale as paper, and the white robe on his back was almost completely soaked in fresh blood.　　

　　An Jiu’s forehead was slick with sweat from anxiety. The man leaned back in his wheelchair. Usually, no matter the time, his waist and back remained straight and tall, like an unyielding green bamboo—slim and upright.

　　But at this moment, his figure sagged, his long raven-black eyelids drooped, his thick dark brows furrowed, and his face was nearly devoid of color.

　　An Jiu bent down carefully, cautiously reaching out to touch him.

　　“Pei Ji...”

　　Before her hand could touch his face, his deep dark lashes slowly lifted, revealing those narrow, profound black eyes.

　　The white-robed gentleman’s lips were so pale they almost lost all color. He slightly parted them, meeting the girl’s panicked, helpless gaze, his voice softening almost unconsciously:

　　“Don’t be afraid... help me to the bed, then bring out the medicine box.”

　　An Jiu hurriedly wrapped her arms around his waist and helped drag him onto the bed.

　　This time too, she didn’t feel it was particularly strenuous.

　　Once she helped him sit at the edge of the bed, she crouched down, fetched his small medicine box from behind the wheelchair, and opened it in front of him.

　　An Jiu looked at him nervously. “Is this enough?”

　　Pei Ji glanced at the medicine box, then looked up at her, his eyes curling gently as he softly said, “I’ll need Miss An’s help with something next.”

　　“What kind of help?”

　　The white-robed gentleman’s handsome face showed no trace of blood color, yet he seemed perfectly calm and peaceful as he said warmly, “Help me pull out the arrow.”

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T/N: Surprise~ Two chapters for today! Don’t say I never spoil you guys. Hehe~ 🤭

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