Qiao Chuchu trembled in fear.
The more she thought about those youthful promises, the clearer they became.
Like a whip striking her soul.
She felt ashamed, yet couldn't ignore that deep scar: "I remember the scar from your wrist-cutting has faded, why is there a new one?"
Pei Che calmly retorted: "What do you think?"
Qiao Chuchu: "……"
Pei Che leaned over her, his hands on either side of her face, staring at her in confusion: "It's been over a decade, and I haven't forgotten a single moment of what you said that day. These years, I've thought about it over and over again. Was it that you lied to me back then, or were those promises true, but your betrayal was also true, and the torment you put us through was real."
"I know you had your reasons."
"But in your heart, what are we to you?"
Pei Che placed his hand on her pulsating pulse, baffled.
Was he the brother who raised her?
Or just a predetermined character in a novel?
Pei Che couldn't figure it out and didn't care to dwell on the process; he only wanted the outcome.
"No matter how you see me, you destroyed everything, and you have to make up for the past thirteen years, okay?"
The tone was a request, but it was clearly an order.
Qiao Chuchu looked at him with unfamiliarity, not answering.
Pei Che's hand on her neck gradually tightened: "Okay?"
She felt suffocated, nodding painfully: "Okay."
Pei Che: "Don't ever say the word 'leave' again, okay?"
"……Okay."
"And don't try to escape, or you'll face even worse consequences when caught, okay?"
"……Okay."
"Don't destroy this home anymore, fulfill the promises you once made, okay?"
"……Okay."
"Good girl." Pei Che smiled, finally releasing his grip on her neck.
Qiao Chuchu coughed violently.
Dust flew in the room as she waved her hand while coughing, her eyes misty with tears as she glanced at Pei Che.
Pei Che watched her with a half-smile, as if looking at a new toy, his interest piqued as he stared into her eyes.
She pretended to be indifferent and looked away: "But……"
Pei Che tilted his head.
She had objections but didn't dare to voice them.
【My room is full of dust, how can I live here?】
Pei Che: "……"
He raised his hand, pointing outside.
Qiao Chuchu's eyes lit up: "You're letting me stay outside?"
Pei Che: "Stay in my room."
Qiao Chuchu: "?"
Pei Che got off her, coldly saying: "The bedsheets in my room are newly bought and washed, I haven't used them yet, you can stay there."
The guest room wasn't cleaned, and there were no bedsheets, leaving no other choice.
Qiao Chuchu thought it over and accepted, meekly saying: "How much did your bedsheets cost?"
Pei Che frowned: "Why do you ask?"
Qiao Chuchu looked serious: "After all, I'll be using them, and it wouldn't be good for you to use them afterward. I'll replace them with new ones tomorrow, but if they're too expensive, I'll just sleep on the sofa for tonight."
Pei Che: "Are you crazy?"
Qiao Chuchu: "?"
Pei Che snapped: "Just go, don't make me angry!"
Qiao Chuchu sprang up from the bed, giving Pei Che a strange look.
【Times have changed, the germaphobic second brother is actually letting me stay in his room? Is he crazy or just stupid?】
Pei Che: "?"
Qiao Chuchu felt a chill down her spine and hurried away!
Pei Che glared at the door, muttering darkly: "I used to wash her hair when she was little, now she's counting the cost with me."
-
At two in the morning, the other brothers returned home from a business meeting.
Qiao Chuchu's room door was silently pushed open.
The air was filled with the scent of her shampoo, masking the faint cold fragrance from Pei Che's room.
Pei Che entered first, walking to the bed.
Weak moonlight from the window illuminated the sleeping girl.
He called: "Qiao Chuchu."
Qiao Chuchu's breathing was even, sleeping deeply like a pig.
Pei Che looked at the door and whispered: "Come in, she's asleep."
The men outside filed in, surrounding Qiao Chuchu.
Qiao Chuchu's sleeping posture was serene, her hands neatly placed on the blanket.
Pei Youchuan stared, his voice lowered: "I remember every time she slept as a child, I would watch her because I thought she was an angel when she slept."
"Quiet, not fussy, with long eyelashes and a small mouth."
Pei Youchuan saw the little girl through Qiao Chuchu, smiling as he reminisced: "She was my little sweetheart back then."
Pei Buxian frowned: "You're talking nonsense, young Qiao Chuchu was clearly my little sweetheart."
Pei Youchuan was displeased: "Mine."
Pei Buxian lowered his voice: "Mine."
"What are you arguing about?" Pei Che suggested indifferently: "Since she's lying here, why don't you wake her up and ask her who her little sweetheart was back then?"
Pei Youchuan was surprised: "Wouldn't that blow our cover?"
"Oh, so you know we're sneaking in," Pei Che said with a deadpan expression: "I thought you didn't."
Pei Youchuan: "……"
Pei Buxian: "……"
Pei Yuan reached out to tuck in the blanket around Qiao Chuchu: "You know, if the plot had gone as planned, and she had died, what would we be doing now?"
They imagined that scene, their noses tingling, and remained silent.
Pei Buxian raised his hand: "I know what we'd be doing."
The brothers looked at him.
He spoke calmly: "We'd still be around her, the only difference being one would be breathing, the other not, one in pajamas, the other in a shroud."
Pei Yuan: "……"
The other brothers: "……"
Pei Buxian lowered his hand, somewhat puzzled: "Am I wrong?"
Pei Yuan ignored him: "Now that things have come to this, I believe it's the will of heaven. From today on, we'll live with her again."
The other brothers looked at Qiao Chuchu.
Pei Youchuan smiled, his eyes cold: "Although Qiao Chuchu is a bit twisted, I'm willing to give her a chance."
He stared intently at Qiao Chuchu's sleeping face: "I hope she won't disappoint us again."
Pei Buxian: "What would make you disappointed?"
Pei Youchuan glared at him: "Of course, if she doesn't know her limits, always clings to us, secretly cares about us, and understands everything about us, behaving like a yandere."
Pei Buxian tilted his head: "But we entered her room at two in the morning, forming a circle around her bed. Don't you think we're more twisted?"
Pei Yuan: "……"
Pei Che: "……"
Pei Youchuan: "……"
Pei Fengnong: "……"
Pei Mu: "……"
Pei Ci: "……"
The six men rushed out of the room in a frenzy!
Aliali: 6754d302bd5e46c308a67379
Pei Youchuan, still in shock, checked himself: "Am I twisted? Have I become a twisted brother?!"
Pei Ci patted his shoulder: "Don't worry, third brother, usually twisted people are unaware of their condition. We realize what we've done is wrong, so we're not twisted."
Pei Youchuan: "But our twisted behavior was pointed out by seventh brother, wasn't it?"
Everyone: "……"
They turned to look at the seventh brother.
Where was he?
Pei Youchuan peeked into the room, whispering: "Pei Buxian, what are you doing?"
Pei Buxian stood straight at Qiao Chuchu's bedside: "You guys go back, I still want to stand here for a while."
He smiled at the sleeping Qiao Chuchu: "I haven't had enough yet, heh."
Everyone: "……"