Chapter 66: Late Affection, She Rejects It!

Jiang Lingyao's palms were slick with cold sweat, her heart hammering wildly.

She must never let Pei Xingzhi set his sights on Liao Yun. If even he became a target, leaving would become all the more difficult!

She stared right back at him, her tone freezing. "Liao Yun? If he hadn't saved me last time, my life would have been utterly ruined. He is my savior, and I will not allow you to speak of him like that!"

The louder and more righteous she sounded, the less Pei Xingzhi would suspect.

"You insist on this engagement, but have you ever considered my wishes?" Jiang Lingyao sneered. "You claim to do as I say, but in truth, you act on your own accord. Saying such things is merely a way to showcase your indulgence toward me."

Jiang Lingyao took a step back. "Pei Xingzhi, how could I possibly be in any rush to marry you?"

Pei Xingzhi paused. Gazing at Jiang Lingyao, his expression grew slightly complicated, and for a moment, he did not know how to respond.

In his distraction, however, a sense of reassurance washed over him. This had always been Jiang Lingyao's temperament—she loved and hated with intensity, bright and passionate. Whenever someone displeased her, she would say so directly, never holding it inside.

Seeing her like this, Pei Xingzhi found himself entirely unable to stay angry. He sighed, pressed his lips into a thin line, and asked, "Then what is your relationship with him? Why did you call him a woman back then, and why did you keep murmuring his name after I pulled you from the fire?"

Jiang Lingyao felt as though her heart had been pricked by a needle, a sharp jolt that nearly caused her to lose control of her expression.

She had actually called out Liao Yun's name after being rescued!

No wonder Pei Xingzhi had acted inexplicably angry last time, and why he was so unusually vigilant about Liao Yun this time, even harboring murderous intent.

Jiang Lingyao took a deep breath, refusing to let a single trace of cowardice show, and said in a low voice, "The time at the teahouse was the second time he saved me."

"The second time?"

Jiang Lingyao let out a scornful laugh, her expression growing even colder. "At Qingshan Temple, I waited day after day for you all to come and save me, never expecting that in the end, no one would come. Fortunately, Liao Yun happened to pass by and saved my life. If not for that, I would already be dead."

As she spoke, recalling that bitterly cold snowy night, a trace of resentment crept into her voice. "Why did I call his name? Because when I was in absolute despair, only he saved me. Where were you then? What right do you have to blame him?"

The gaze she fixed upon Pei Xingzhi grew colder and colder. She would not forget this debt of gratitude, but if not for him, she would never have been trapped by a forced imperial marriage, nor would she have had to burden her grandmother.

"I'm sorry."

Pei Xingzhi suddenly lost his voice. Looking at Jiang Lingyao, he saw that her eyes were gradually brimming with moisture, causing a slight tremor in his heart and stirring up an indescribable, lingering guilt.

Last time, he had sent people to investigate Jiang Lingyao's situation at Qingshan Temple, and though the report had not yet arrived, looking at the indelible scars on her hands and her sharp, cold demeanor—so entirely different from her former self—he had already guessed much of the truth.

She had actually faced mortal peril within those temple walls?

His gaze turned dark and heavy. In an instant, the suppressed emotions within him thoroughly erupted, giving birth to a surge of uncontrollable anger and guilt.

His voice was slightly hoarse as he lowered his guard, a rare concession. "Mingzhu, I didn't know."

Jiang Lingyao sneered. Looking at the man who had once awakened her first romantic feelings, she no longer felt the slightest trace of her former affection, left only with a profound, suffocating weariness. "Did you not know, or simply not care? Pei Xingzhi, if you truly regarded me as your fiancee, why didn't you come to the temple to see me?"

"Since you did not come, I took you for a stranger. There is no need to make a fuss over all that passed; I will simply treat it as the foolish folly of youth. But why, after everything was over, did you still loudly proclaim that you wanted to marry me, and demand that I become your wife?"

"Did you truly view me as your fiancee? Or was it merely because you saw me growing close to someone else, and your possessiveness was triggered, making you feel uncomfortable?"

Jiang Lingyao was genuinely angry. Her voice grew louder and louder, her chest heaving as a flush of rage spread across her face.

What right did he have to come and provoke her all over again!

She turned on her heel to leave. Panic gripped Pei Xingzhi; his usual composure vanished entirely from his face, and even his voice betrayed a hint of frantic desperation. "Mingzhu! Wait!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he snatched at Jiang Lingyao's sleeve, only for her to violently shake him off and cast him a cold, indifferent glare over her shoulder.

That glance was like a blade drawn from the snow, slashing his heart until it bled, causing a dull ache that turned his face pale.

Was her resentment toward him truly so deep—so deep that she could not even bear to look upon him?

Growing even more desperate, Pei Xingzhi cast aside all decorum and pulled her directly into his arms. "Mingzhu, listen to me, I..."

Before he could finish, Jiang Lingyao sank her teeth firmly into his shoulder, the pain forcing a sharp intake of breath from him.

"Let go."

Pei Xingzhi's eyes were stubborn. "I won't let go."

Hearing this, Jiang Lingyao bit down even harder, not releasing her grip until a taste of blood filled her mouth and teeth. She pulled back, her expression grim. "Set me free."

Yet Pei Xingzhi acted as though he could not understand her words at all. He held her tightly imprisoned in his embrace, speaking in a soft, gentle murmur. "Mingzhu, if biting me can dispel your hatred, then you may continue."

"I truly never imagined that your brother would deceive me, which is why I did not go, and instead only entrusted someone to send things to you. I admit it was my negligence that caused you to suffer so terribly."

Listening to this belated confession, Jiang Lingyao felt a slight sting at the bridge of her nose, but she only offered a cold laugh.

In truth, the two of them had not been officially betrothed at the time; the engagement was merely a verbal agreement between their elders, holding no legal weight.

Yet because he had never once denied the betrothal whenever it was mentioned, the entire capital assumed that Pei Xingzhi held her in special regard and would surely marry her in the future.

Jiang Lingyao had thought so too. Therefore, after growing disillusioned with her family, she had placed all her hopes on Pei Xingzhi. If a stranger had been unwilling to save her, she certainly would not have felt hatred—but this was Pei Xingzhi, the man who had repeatedly declared he would marry her!

It was because she had expectations of him that her disappointment was so profound.

Yet these apologies had come far too late—so late that hearing them now only filled her with disgust, deepening her resentment toward him even further.

"Pei Xingzhi, I have heard you out. Let me go."

Pei Xingzhi pressed his lips together, remaining silent for a moment before speaking. "Mingzhu, you are still harboring resentment against me. It's fine, this was all my oversight. Once we are married, I will make it up to you properly, alright?"

But she did not want compensation. She only wished for Pei Xingzhi to treat her as a total stranger, never to have the slightest entanglement with her again!

As he spoke, he caught sight of Jiang Lingyao's increasingly frigid gaze and abruptly fell silent, his throat growing hoarse.

"Very well, I am letting you go."

Without a moment's hesitation, Jiang Lingyao turned and walked away, suppressing the fury on her face and never once looking back.

What was all of this supposed to mean?

The bitterness in the depths of her heart welled up once more, causing her to cover her face in torment.

She felt it was a complete injustice to her former self!

Only after Jiang Lingyao had completely departed did the maid outside dare to step into the room. Catching sight of the blood seeping through Pei Xingzhi's shoulder, she cried out in alarm, "Lord Pei! You're injured!"

Pei Xingzhi turned his head for a quick glance and instructed the maid, "Go tell my attendant to bring the heavy cloak from the carriage."

The maid hurriedly acknowledged the command. The hall fell abruptly silent—so quiet that Pei Xingzhi could clearly hear the beating of his own heart.

The wound on his shoulder was not severe; he had suffered injuries that cut to the bone before, with blood practically spraying forth, yet none of those had thrown his mind into such chaos as this bite mark.

In a daze, he suddenly heard a sweet, delicate voice sobbing, "Brother Pei."