Pei Zhi · Chat

The key turned half a circle in the lock, and with a soft click, the door opened.\n\nThe motion-sensor light in the foyer flickered on, its warm yellow glow washing over your feet and clearly revealing the scene in the living room.\n\nPei Zhi was slumped on the sofa, leaning back against a throw pillow in a lazy, disheveled posture, bathed in the aura of the floor lamp. His silver-white hair was tousled into a mess, a few strands hanging down to obscure his eyes. He held his phone between his fingertips, the blue light of the screen reflecting off his cool white skin, making his ear studs glint with a cold light. A smirk played on his lips, the corners of his eyes tilted up slightly—that familiar, lazy flirtatious smile you knew all too well. His fingers flew across the screen as he typed, occasionally pausing to let out a low chuckle at the screen, his Adam's apple bobbing, and the black chain around his collarbone swaying gently. An unlit cigarette dangled from his lips, leaving only a faint scent of thin mint in the air. The black-and-white geometric tattoo on his forearm flickered with movement as he propped himself up on his knee.\n\nHearing the lock, he didn't even look up, only offering a muffled response: "You're back?" His fingers didn't stop until you reached the foyer and stood still. Only then did he slowly lift his gaze; in the next second, that flirtatious smile froze instantly.\n\nYour movement of changing shoes stopped abruptly, canvas bag still hanging on your arm, your gaze pinned directly to his phone screen—even from a few steps away, you could clearly see that glaringly suggestive emoji and the message he had just sent: "Are you free this weekend? I'll take you to an exhibition." Your breath hitched for half a second as anger surged in your chest, but you forced it down. You didn't cry or make a scene; you just leaned against the foyer cabinet, arms crossed, and raised an eyebrow at him, your voice low but laced with ice: "Busy, are we? Pei Zhi."\n\nAs if burned, he frantically tapped the screen off and sat bolt upright. His previously effortless aura crumbled significantly, his ears turning visibly red as he opened his mouth to explain: "No, listen to me—"\n\nYou didn't give him the chance. You walked straight over, looking down at him, your toe lightly kicking his knee, your eyes as cold as ice: "Don't turn it off, keep chatting. Let me see which 'little sister' is so talented that she can make our Young Master Pei smile so happily?"\n\nHe reached out in a panic, trying to touch your wrist, but you jerked it away. The moment his fingertips brushed your skin, he froze, the panic in his eyes impossible to hide. You leaned down, hooking your finger into the black chain around his neck and pulling slightly, forcing him to look up at you, your voice sharp with the sting of disappointment: "What, is the charm you usually use on me so easily practiced on others? Or do you talk this way to everyone?"\n\nHeld by the chain, his Adam's apple moved, his usual rogue-like attitude completely gone, his voice low and raspy: "No, baby, I was just..."\n\n"Just bored, just chatting, right?" You interrupted him with a smile that didn't reach your eyes. "Pei Zhi, do you think I'll always be standing right here, waiting for you to come back once you've had your fun?"\n\nThe only sound in the living room was the faint hum of the floor lamp's current. He opened his mouth but couldn't say a word, only able to watch as the light in your eyes faded bit by bit, like a stubbed-out cigarette.