After The Divorce, My Dad Was Abused and Cried - Chapter 43

“Why is it you again?” Jian Muyu frowned tightly.

Seeing her instantly change expressions, Xi Peijue’s thin lips pressed into a hard line.

Moments ago, he had been smiling gently at the nurse—
but the second he saw her, his face turned cold.

“You’re the one who wasn’t watching where you were going and bumped into me.”
His voice was low and heavy.

“I wasn’t watching? Couldn’t you have watched? When you saw me coming, you couldn’t step aside?”
Jian Muyu wasn’t usually unreasonable,
but when it came to Xi Peijue, she had no intention of being reasonable at all.

“Jian Muyu, do you even hear yourself right now?”
His dark eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flashing inside.

It had been a long time since anyone had dared to speak to him in that tone.

“I know exactly what I’m saying. But as for President Xi—
you never seem to understand what I mean!”

She had already told him before:
outside of the bed, they were to be strangers.

And yet here he was, waiting in place just to let her run into him.

Clearly, he wanted to use the chance to humiliate her again.

Heh.

Dog of a man.

She wasn’t about to give him that chance!

“Jian Muyu!” Xi Peijue suddenly clamped down on her wrist.

She gasped sharply, her brows knitting as if in pain.

The instant he saw that, he released her hand at once.

Freed, Jian Muyu hugged her bag and bolted from the scene.

Leaving Xi Peijue standing there: “…”

Her injury was on her left arm.
He had just grabbed her right wrist.

She was faking it!

Realizing that, the depths of his black eyes darkened with a heavy, smoldering emotion.

He had forgotten—
she was an expert liar.

“Still staring? She’s long gone.”

The hospital director suddenly appeared behind him, hands clasped behind his back.

“Grandpa Meng.” Xi Peijue quickly reined in his expression when he saw the old man.

“That little girl is quite pretty, and very polite too.
If you like her, you should treat her better.”

“Don’t pick up your grandfather’s bad temper. Girls need coaxing.”

“With that cold face of yours all the time, you’ll scare off even the best girl.”
Director Meng lectured with an air of authority.

He had been an old friend of the Xi family elder,
and had practically watched Xi Peijue grow up.

So when he scolded him, he did it earnestly and without hesitation.

“Grandpa Meng, you’ve misunderstood.” Xi Peijue frowned slightly, denying at once.

“Misunderstood? What did I misunderstand?”

“My eyes may be old, but they’re not blind.”

“If you didn’t like her, would you have called me personally to treat her wound?”

“If you didn’t like her, would you have stood there staring at her back, lost in thought?”
Director Meng’s look practically said: you’re still green, boy.

“Grandpa Meng…” Xi Peijue tried to explain, but before he could finish, the old man waved him off.

“Enough, enough. No need to explain yourself to an old man like me.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, you know it best yourself.”

“But as someone who’s been there before, let me give you one piece of advice:
if you like her, stop acting all high and mighty.”

“Otherwise, when she’s gone for good, regret will be too late.”

With that, Director Meng patted his shoulder and strolled away, hands clasped behind his back.

Xi Peijue stood rooted in place, his brows drawn deep.

Like her?

Like her…

Emotions surged in his eyes like restless waves, crashing again and again.

Moments later, he spun around and strode quickly toward the hospital entrance.

Yes—he liked her.

Why else would he have spent all these years tracing her whereabouts?

Why else, after she abandoned their child and vanished without a word,
did he not strike her down when they reunited?

Why else, when she said she only wanted his sperm to have a child,
did he still spare her life?

Why else, whenever he saw her smiling at another man,
did he burn with the urge to lock her away?

Why else, at the mere sound of her name,
did he abandon an entire boardroom of executives to rush over?

His pace quickened.

Meanwhile, after escaping from Xi Peijue, Jian Muyu called Qi Yuqing,
telling her she was leaving first and that she should head back too.

Since Jian Muyu hadn’t driven, she could only wait for a taxi by the roadside.

But hospitals were notorious for being difficult to hail a cab at.

She waited several minutes without catching a single empty car.

Just as she was debating whether to take the subway instead,
a large shadow suddenly fell over her.

Looking up, she found Xi Peijue towering in front of her,
his expression dark and stormy, as though he might devour her whole.

“Xi—” A flicker of fear rose in Jian Muyu’s heart.

Surely, he wasn’t that angry just because she had tricked him earlier?

But before she could react, Xi Peijue seized her wrist,
yanking her straight into his chest.

“Apologize!” His gaze bore into her.

“Huh?” Jian Muyu blinked, not understanding.

“Apologize, and I’ll forgive you.”
His voice was low, hoarse, tinged with a complex emotion she couldn’t decipher.

She stared, stunned into stillness.

“Apologize!” He repeated, this time harsher.

“…Sorry.” The words slipped out of her almost instinctively.

At last—those two words.

He had waited six years to hear them.

Xi Peijue instantly pulled her into his embrace,
holding her so tightly it almost hurt.

So tight she felt as if he wanted to fuse her into his very being.

Jian Muyu shifted, about to speak, when his deep voice brushed her ear.

“I forgive you…”

“What?” She froze.

But Xi Peijue didn’t answer.

“Xi—mmph!”

She tried to ask what he meant,
but before she could finish, his lips descended on hers.

Her thoughts scattered in an instant.

And unlike before, his kiss was startlingly gentle—
as if handling something fragile, something precious.

Her heart gave an involuntary tremor.

But Xi Peijue didn’t seem to notice,
his arms only tightening around her again and again.

Jian Muyu, I forgive you!

I won’t hold the past against you anymore!

But from now on, you can only stay by my side.

I will never let you deceive me a second time!