Everything seemed to be unnervingly calm.
His face was still stern, but his eyes held a tad more tenderness for her, a sentiment she couldn’t fathom. Slowly, she felt him tracing her eyebrows.
Not much later, Pei Yansi set down the eyebrow pencil he was holding. He looked at her through the mirror and said, "Look, did I do a good job?"
Shen Heyu gave him a blank look, hearing a bit of smugness in his tone. She was speechless. He had never treated her . He was usually gloomy and displeased.
But even though she was inwardly disdainful, she was still very nervous about how he had made her up. She quickly turned to look in the mirror and saw a face lightly touched with makeup, her eyebrows softly defined, enhancing their beauty.
This eyebrow shape seemed to suit her well, adding a gentle charm to her features, her eyes seemed to sparkle, and her rosy lips were lightly pursed as she said, "How do you know how to do this?"
She had always thought that Pei Yansi only knew how to manage companies and do business and that he would be clueless about such things.
And since he was a man, how could he?
Unless, before this, he had had many women and had practiced on them.
"Did you have someone before?" Shen Heyu thought this and asked directly, without any hesitation.
But as soon as she had spoken, she regretted it. It was as if she was showing jealousy. She carefully observed the man’s face in the mirror. Fortunately, he didn’t look like he was mocking her. He simply said, "I’ve only ever had you, haven’t I said so?"
Even Shen Fanshuang had never received such treatment. Once she had taken Shen Heyu’s place and came to him; although there had been a bit of affection, it was nothing like it was now.
His heart and eyes were full of Shen Heyu.
All his emotions fluctuated with her frown or smile. Shen Fanshuang in the past could never affect him so profoundly.
Pei Yansi was no longer the naïve young man and certainly understood what this profoundly meant.
He gazed at Shen Heyu’s face with a deep look in his eyes, and unusually tender, he said, "Don’t stay too long, I’m worried he might harm you. Contact me immediately if something happens."
One couldn’t retaliate against a smiling face; even if she didn’t want to show him her better side, his gentleness and the twinkling light in his eyes made it impossible for her to utter the harsh words she held against him.
"I’ll have Zhao Jin drive you."
After Pei Yansi spoke, he took Shen Heyu’s hand and led her out of the Pei mansion, where Zhao Jin’s car was already waiting. Pei Yansi personally escorted her to the back seat.
He also got in after her.
Shen Heyu looked at him, somewhat perplexedly asking, "Why are you coming too?"
"I’m coming with you," Pei Yansi said calmly. After shutting the car door and turning around, he effortlessly pulled Shen Heyu into his arms, his voice steady as he said,
"Shen Jiangli is too sinister these days, and I’m not at ease with you alone."
Shen Heyu frowned unhappily. If he came with her, how would she say what she needed to say to Shen Jiangli?
She didn’t believe that she risked coming to see Shen Jiangli just to talk about official business. All the questions buried in her heart needed answers today.
Pei Yansi stared at her for a long while, seemingly perceiving what she was thinking. He scoffed coldly, "I’m not so idle as to eavesdrop on your conversation."
"I’ll wait outside for you. If anything happens, call me right away, and I can be here immediately."
Shen Heyu pursed her lips, ultimately saying nothing. She remembered that indeed, many accidents had occurred to her before, and the consequences would have been unimaginable each time if Pei Yansi hadn’t been timely. Seeing that she had stopped talking, Pei Yansi knew she had taken his point and thus ordered Zhao Jin, "Drive."
Zhao Jin started the car, heading in the direction of the madhouse.
Not far away, half an hour later, their car stopped outside the madhouse. Pei Yansi got out first; he took the initiative to open the rear car door for Shen Heyu and said, "Remember, call me immediately if anything happens."
Shen Heyu looked up at him, taking in the seriousness and concern in his eyes; she rarely nodded obediently in front of him.
She quickly arrived at Shen Jiangli’s location based on the ward number Pei Yansi had given her.
Even though it was a madhouse, its green belts were well maintained, and there weren’t many people around, or maybe they were all in their rooms, controlled by nurses and doctors.
The madhouse was quiet and peaceful. In this cold winter season, it felt somewhat desolate.
Shen Heyu arrived quickly at Shen Jiangli’s ward, about to knock on the door when it suddenly opened from the inside, and a woman who appeared to be a nurse stepped out. She looked at Shen Heyu with a peculiar expression, "Are you a relative?"
Shen Heyu nodded, saying, "He is my friend. I learned that he was brought here yesterday, and I came to see him."
The nurse said, "His condition is not very good now."
Upon hearing this, Shen Heyu’s gaze passed over her, looking into the ward at Shen Jiangli.
In the not-so-spacious ward, on a hospital bed, Shen Jiangli sat there, back towards the door. She couldn’t see his face or expression, only the faint light from outside the window that enveloped him, casting his silhouette in loneliness. His head was slightly bowed, lost in thought.
"It’s okay, I’m used to it," Shen Heyu said: "I’ll go in and see him."
The nurse seemed to want to stop her again when her cellphone in her pocket suddenly rang. She quickly answered the call; she didn’t know what was said on the other end, but then she hung up and allowed Shen Heyu to enter.
Shen Heyu didn’t need to guess to know that Pei Yansi had pulled some strings for her. She nodded to the nurse and entered the ward, closing the door behind her as she stood still, looking at Shen Jiangli’s lonely figure and said, "It’s me."
Shen Jiangli said indifferently.
He gazed out the window at the scenery, the wind blowing across, making the wild grass sway with vigor. He had heard her voice while she was still outside talking.
Her voice, he would never forget in his lifetime.
"I didn’t expect you’d still come to see me," said Shen Jiangli, his voice tinged with a hint of mockery, some incredulity, but more than that, defeat. "I thought that after this incident, you would stay far away from me."
"I did intend to avoid you."
Shen Heyu didn’t mind telling the truth, for their friendship had already reached its end, there was no need to tell any kind lies to comfort his heart.
She casually pulled a chair and sat near the door, a few steps away from him, "But I still have many questions in my heart."