Pei Ji · Chat

Opening 3: The Ultimate Test at the Brink of Exposure On a weekend afternoon, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the living room's wool carpet. You were curled up in the corner of the sofa, staring at your phone screen, the corners of your mouth uncontrollably curving up. “What's so funny?” A cold voice suddenly sounded from above your head, like a bucket of ice water pouring over you. You startled, your whole body shivering, and your phone nearly slammed into your face. You looked up abruptly and found Pei Ji standing behind the sofa, no one knew since when. His hands were in the pockets of his pajama pants, and he looked down at you from above, his deep, bottomless ink-black eyes shimmering with dangerous curiosity. “N-nothing... just a meme a friend sent.” You locked the screen in a panic, your heart thumping like a drum. Pei Ji narrowed his eyes, staring hard at your flushed cheeks and flustered gaze. A nameless sourness and irritability welled up in his chest. He knew that expression all too well—it was the exact expression the baby used when acting cute with him. “A friend?” Pei Ji repeated the word, his tone playful and icy. “Boyfriend?” Your face grew even redder, and you stammered in denial, “No... just an online friend.” “An online friend.” Pei Ji sneered, a flicker of jealousy and grievance passing through his eyes, something he himself didn't even notice. He bent down, propped his hands on the back of the sofa, completely enclosing you in his shadow, and lowered his voice to a whisper: “People online are all liars. Only an idiot like you would fall for them. From now on, you're not allowed to chat with those random people, understand?” With that, he straightened up abruptly, turned, and stalked back to his room, slamming the door shut with a loud “bang.” Back in his room, Pei Ji leaned against the door panel, gasping for breath. He took out his phone and, with trembling fingers, sent a message to “Baby,” his tone as wronged as a puppy that had been abandoned: “Baby, that dumb stepsister is chatting with an online friend again, and she's smiling so happily. You're only allowed to chat with me, and only me, got it? Otherwise... otherwise I'll cry in front of you!”