Chapter 36: Isn't That Just You Throwing Yourself at Him?

"Brother Pei, why don't I go and ask my sister myself?"

Song Lian'er pouted, her face full of indignation. "Even if she isn't going, she should have sent someone to let you know. How could she leave you waiting here for no reason? Besides, why does she put on such airs? If you send someone to inquire, wouldn't it be like you are demeaning yourself to chase after her?"

Pei Xingzhi’s expression remained unchanged, but the hand hidden in his sleeve clenched tighter and tighter.

What exactly was Jiang Lingyao trying to do?

His thoughts were in a whirl. This was the first time Jiang Lingyao had treated him with such coldness. In the past, every time he turned around, he would inevitably see Jiang Lingyao gazing at him with eager eyes.

When had it ever been his turn to wait for her?

Jiang Xiuyuan, having his sleeve tugged by the teary-eyed Song Lian'er, hesitated for a moment before speaking sternly to Pei Xingzhi: "Brother Pei, why are you waiting for her? I’ll stake my reputation on it today: Jiang Lingyao will absolutely not come!"

The matter concerning their grandmother was a private affair of the Jiang family and could not be disclosed to Pei Xingzhi. However, Jiang Lingyao had been determined to stay by their grandmother’s bedside for the past few days; given her filial piety, she certainly wouldn't show up today.

But no sooner had he finished speaking than a cold, indifferent voice drifted over from not far away.

"Who said I wouldn't come?"

The group looked up in astonishment. Jiang Lingyao was walking toward them slowly, dressed in a peach-pink gown that had not been seen for a long time.

Song Lian'er was so exasperated by this last-minute turn of events that she couldn't help but challenge her: "Sister, why are you only arriving now? Weren't you..."

"Wasn't I what?" Jiang Xiuyuan, worried that she might blurt out the truth about their grandmother, quickly interrupted her, his voice icy. "Since you're here, get in the carriage."

He looked at Jiang Lingyao’s radiant beauty and couldn't resist a stinging remark: "Look at how long we’ve been waiting for you; why can’t you be as sensible as Lian’er!"

Seeing her wearing a dress similar in style to what she wore before going to the temple, he felt a strange sense of relief, and his attitude toward her became condescending once more.

In the end, he didn't believe Jiang Lingyao would remain stubborn for long. No matter what, she was still a young lady of the family who would eventually need to look up to him as her brother; she wouldn't dare keep causing trouble.

"Why are you only arriving now?" Pei Xingzhi asked, knitting his brows. "Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you?"

Jiang Lingyao raised her eyes. "The banquet doesn't begin until the afternoon. If I depart now, it can hardly be considered late."

"But in the past, you would always arrive early."

She smiled. "As you said, that was in the past, wasn't it? Let’s go. If we wait any longer, we really will be delayed."

A strange feeling of stifling discomfort washed over Pei Xingzhi. Jiang Lingyao was right, but he felt uneasy.

His expression cooled slightly as he gestured toward his own carriage. "Get in."

Song Lian'er watched from the side, burning with rage. Pei Xingzhi used to loathe anyone getting close to him, let alone sharing a carriage. What kind of love potion had Jiang Lingyao fed him since her return?

To everyone's surprise, Jiang Lingyao shook her head at his invitation and pointed politely toward the distance. "My carriage has arrived. Since the Prince and I are a man and a woman alone, it is best to be mindful of my reputation."

Rebuffed time and again, Pei Xingzhi’s face turned completely cold. Without a word, he climbed into his carriage and commanded loudly, "Let's go!"

Jiang Lingyao felt not a ripple of emotion as she boarded the carriage her grandmother had prepared for her.

She lifted the curtain as the carriage pulled away from the manor, and a sense of relief washed over her.

What was the meaning of Pei Xingzhi’s behavior today?

In the past, when she had groveled to please him, he had remained unmoved. Now that she had lost all interest, he was the one eagerly reaching out.

The time he sent a letter to Liao Yun, the time he gave her a gift, and now this—if it had been the old her, she would have been overjoyed.

But Jiang Lingyao knew clearly that this was merely the result of Pei Xingzhi’s competitive nature.

As a favorite of the heavens who had never suffered a setback in his life, seeing her suddenly stop fawning over him would naturally trigger his desire to win, leading him to do some eye-catching things.

But what of it?

Jiang Lingyao instinctively reached out to touch the chain hidden inside her bodice, her heart calm.

When she regained her focus, the carriage had already come to a stop.

Jiang Lingyao took a deep breath before taking her maid's hand to step out. She looked up to meet a sea of faces, each wearing a different expression.

The birthday banquet for a prodigy of the Pei family was, naturally, a gathering of the capital’s elite.

But now, she was merely the Jiang family’s fifth daughter, returning under a cloud of disgrace; she was no longer the pearl that everyone had once pampered.

"Hiss, so the Jiang girl is back? In the year she was away, the Jiang family often brought that Song Lian'er to every banquet. I thought this fifth daughter would never show her face again."

"Exactly. Jiang Lingyao ruined her reputation and is now worse off than that adopted daughter. But given her status today, with such a good opportunity, she must be desperate to latch on to it, right?"

"It’s hilarious. She used to trail behind Prince Pei without getting so much as a glance, and now that she’s fallen this far, she really has no self-awareness."

The whispers pierced her heart like sharp blades.

Jiang Lingyao clenched her palms, yet she maintained a dignified smile on her face as she slowly stepped through the gates of the Pei residence.