Chapter 213 If We Had Been Together Already ①
"Brother Pei! I heard you were allergic, what's going on?"

Qin Fang's noisy voice came from the phone. Pei Yu stood by the clear stream, picked up a stone, and was too lazy to reply to him, "It's just allergies."

The tall and thin boy was wearing a snow-white sports suit. At first glance, he looked like a cool flower in the green grass. He had thick and long eyelashes drooping, and a part of his tall nose was exposed, while the rest of his face was covered tightly by a mask.

On the first day of Pei Yu's investigation in the mountain village with his father, he developed a rash on his face due to allergies. When his father saw it, he did not ask him to go back first. He just asked someone to bring some medicine, and Pei Yu stayed there.

There weren't actually many rashes on his face, but Pei Yu frowned and looked at them for a while, then asked someone to help him put on a mask. He was not in a good mood, so he stood with one hand in his pocket and threw stones into the stream.

Qin Fang put his phone on a stone beside him and continued talking, "Why didn't Uncle Pei let you come back? Do we need you to accompany us on an inspection trip? We are about to start school."

There was the sound of someone walking on the side path. Pei Yu looked sideways and his eyes paused.

There were weeds all over this side, with many kinds of unrecognizable plants growing half a person's height. One had to use their hands to push them aside when walking on the path. The girl was holding a pot in her hand and could not take care of it, so her hair was messy when she came out.

She was very thin, wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt. When the wind blew, her slender waist was outlined, but the skin exposed was white and almost transparent in the sunlight.

Shen Zhiyi looked up inadvertently, made eye contact with the young man, then quickly looked away, walked to the stream to wash clothes, and stayed away from him.

They had just met yesterday, under the cherry tree. He asked Shen Zhiyi's name, which scared Shen Zhiyi. She ran away without thinking, and now she had no intention of talking to him.

Qin Fang talked for a long time but no one paid attention to him, so he hung up the phone in frustration. The only sound left was the sound of rushing water.

Pei Yu stared at the girl's profile for a while, feeling a little bored.

People don't want to bother with him.

The boy sat on the stone without making any sound. Shen Zhiyi thought he had left. After washing half of the clothes, she stood up to take a rest. When she turned around, she saw him.

He leaned back slightly and basked in the sun with his eyes closed. His thick long eyelashes were dyed light gold, and even if one only looked at his eyes, one could see a kind of meticulously crafted beauty.

Shen Zhiyi guessed who he was. She heard that someone wanted to develop this place and brought a team here to investigate. He might be someone's child.

Just as she was about to look away, the boy suddenly opened his eyes and looked straight at her.

His pupils were dark and his eyes were slightly raised, which made him look uneasy. He asked calmly, "You wash clothes here?"

Shen Zhiyi was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect him to talk to her. She looked at the basin at her feet and thought that he might have misunderstood that this place was so backward that it could only use the laundry methods of the last century.

"no,"

Her voice was very soft and gentle, which was different from what Pei Yu had imagined. He narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard it.

"The water pipe in my house is blocked." Shen Zhiyi explained briefly and said no more.

She rolled up her sleeves to do the laundry, revealing her forearms which were covered in wounds. In addition to dark scars, there were also red and swollen marks that looked like something had been pulled out.

Pei Yu stared at it, and said calmly, "I asked you your name yesterday, but you didn't tell me."

In fact, it would be very easy for him to get someone to find her, but that would require going through the hands of his father's subordinates. He didn't want to do that, and there was no need to do that.

He just wanted to know a little bit.

Shen Zhiyi didn't look back or say anything, as if it was a silent rejection.

Pei Yu frowned, raised his hand and threw a stone over, causing ripples on the water in front of the girl.

Shen Zhiyi finally looked at him and frowned, "It has nothing to do with you."

Pei Yu looked at her coldly.

"Knowledge!"

Suddenly someone ran over from behind and said, "Zhiyi, your dad is drunk and causing trouble again, so don't go home today."

He is a very dark and thin boy.

Huo Heng's eyes met Pei Yu's and he became cautious and envious. He knew that Pei Yu was a child from a wealthy family.

He glanced at Shen Zhiyi by the stream, wondering why she was staying with Pei Yu. He hesitated, "You should stay at Grandma Zhao's house today."

After he finished speaking, he left.

Shen Zhiyi looked calm, as if she was used to it. She put away the washed clothes and went back along the path.

He never looked at Pei Yu again.

Shen Zhiyi did not stay at Grandma Zhao's house that day. During dinner time, her father came to look for someone, smashing things everywhere with a stick in his hand. In order to prevent him from messing up Grandma Zhao's house, she went back with him.

"You're raising a money-loser who can't even make a living, and you're leaving your father to starve?!"

The man was drunk and kept saying these dirty words to each other all night. Shen Zhiyi sat at the desk, and the pen unknowingly left the book and left several heavy marks on the edge of the table.

She stared at the marks in a trance.

The next day, she went to the clinic in town to get her medicine.

"For allergies, you still have to drink folk remedies..."

Shen Zhiyi lifted the door curtain and was slightly stunned when he saw the young man sitting inside.

Pei Yu raised his eyes, then quickly lowered them. He was wearing a black shirt today. The texture was excellent and it was obviously very valuable, which made him look as precious as jade.

"Zhiyi, are you here to get some medicine?" The old doctor obviously knew Shen Zhiyi. "Have you finished taking the anti-inflammatory medicine? Can you show me the condition of your injury?"

Shen Zhiyi glanced at Pei Yu, who showed no intention of leaving.

She pursed her lips and slowly rolled up her sleeves. A new wound ran from her elbow to the back of her hand.

"Why are there new injuries?" The old doctor sighed, not surprised. "Is your father crazy again?"

Shen Zhiyi said nothing.

She took the medicine and came out of the clinic. It was noon when the sun was at its hottest and she hadn't eaten breakfast. She felt dizzy not long after walking and had to squat on the side of the road to rest.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Zhiyi slowly raised his head when he felt someone standing in front of him.

Pei Yu squatted down and handed her the bread in his hand, saying in a calm tone, "Do you want it?"

It was several kilometers from home to the town, and Shen Zhiyi walked all the way there by herself. She had no money on her except for the money for medicine. She looked at the bread that was handed to her and took it hesitantly.

"Thank you."

The man didn't leave after doing a good deed. He watched her eat the bread in small bites and handed her a bottle of water.

Shen Zhiyi still thanked him, "Thank you, I will pay you back."

Pei Yu supported his face with his long eyelashes drooping, his eyes swept across her face inch by inch, examining her carefully.

"Can you tell me your name now?"

Shen Zhiyi thought he was weird, but it was not good to treat him coldly after eating someone else's food, "...Shen Zhiyi."

Pei Yu actually knew it a long time ago, but he just wanted to hear her tell him herself.

"Pei Yu."

The boy stood up, turned and left.

He turned back to another street and got into a car that had been waiting on the roadside.

The driver glanced at him and said, "Young Master, aren't you going to buy food?"

How come you came back empty-handed?

Pei Yu said lazily, "I don't want to eat anything."

Shen Zhiyi stayed at home doing homework that day. Her right hand was injured and it hurt a lot. Maybe because of this, she sometimes lost her concentration.

Thinking of that boy. Pei Yu? Is it Yu or something else?

She thought for a while and suddenly took out the dictionary.

At night, the man was drunk and sleeping in the living room. Shen Zhiyi was in so much pain that she couldn't sleep, so she just went out for a walk.

She was thinking as she walked. Because she started school early, she would be in the first year of high school when school started again. The school would waive her tuition, but the boarding system did not allow her many opportunities to do part-time jobs. She didn't know how long the money she had saved could last.

As she was thinking, she walked away unknowingly and came to the stream.

As soon as she walked out of the path, she saw the young man sitting on the big rock. The night wind made his shirt rustle. He was very alert and looked over soon. When he saw her, he raised his eyebrows.

"Shen Zhiyi," he said.

His voice is also cold, but very pleasant to hear.

Shen Zhiyi responded softly, regretting that he didn't bring the money he was going to pay him back with him.

Pei Yu looked at her for a while, not knowing what he was thinking. He moved aside and said to her, "Sit down."

Shen Zhiyi sat down silently.

He had a faint woody scent on him. Shen Zhiyi didn't know what it was, but guessed that he had sprayed perfume.

How exquisite, she couldn't help but think.

The two of them sat quietly for a while. Pei Yu realized that if he didn't speak, she really wouldn't talk to him. He had to find a topic to talk about like Qin Fang usually did when he harassed him.

"How old are you?"

Shen Zhiyi looked at him and said, "Start the new year of high school."

Pei Yu lowered his eyes, "Oh, I'm a senior in high school."

He's not really a conversationalist.

Fortunately, Shen Zhiyi took over the topic this time. She was a little curious, "Where are you from?"

"Beijing City," Pei Yu took advantage of the darkness of the night and looked at her without hesitation. She was really thin, and looked a bit malnourished, with wounds all over her body. Pei Yu was used to seeing spoiled young ladies, but had never seen anyone who would raise a daughter like this.

Shen Zhiyi fell silent. All her knowledge of the city came from geography and political textbooks.

The two didn't say anything else. Before leaving, Shen Zhiyi asked him when he could come here again. She wanted to return the money to him.

Pei Yu looked at her, "Didn't you tell me your name? This is an exchange."

Shen Zhiyi had never heard of such a deal. She looked at his blurred eyes in the night, thought for a moment, and asked him, "Do you sympathize with me?"

She also knew that she looked pitiful.

Pei Yu suddenly smiled. Shen Zhiyi couldn't see his face, but she could see his slightly curved eyes, which were cold and beautiful in a way that touched people's hearts.

"Do I look kind?" he asked, and then reached out to pick a fallen leaf off her shoulder, "You might as well think that I have some ulterior motive."

Shen Zhiyi was confused and didn't understand what he meant.

Was there anything in her that he could exploit?

The two did not meet again for several days.

The inspection activity was coming to an end. Pei Yu accompanied Pei's father to meet partners these days. Several people who wanted to make friends with Pei's father also came to reminisce about the past. Since they were meeting guests, Pei Yu naturally had to follow.

This left him with almost no private time.

The air on the mountain is fresh. Pei's father is in a good mood these days. He always has a gentle smile on his face when meeting guests. Pei Yu falls to the back and is in a bad mood.

Father Pei: "We should leave in three or four days. The environment here is good and very suitable for building a resort. I will invite you to come and play when the time comes."

The people who came to chat this time were a middle-aged couple who started out in the catering business. Their business empire could not be compared with Pei's, but the couple were very good at dealing with people and had always had good relationships with others. They had also known Pei's father for a long time, and even Pei Yu had to politely call them uncle and aunt.

Several people were walking along the path when suddenly an argument broke out in front of them.

Father Pei's expression remained unchanged, "Let's take another route."

Only Pei Yu stood still. He said to Pei's father, "It seems like someone is drunk and mad."

Father Pei looked at him in surprise and smiled with interest, "Are you interested in this kind of thing?"

"I haven't seen it before," Pei Yu said expressionlessly, "It's quite interesting."

He said it was interesting, but there was no sign of interest on his face.

"Let's go and have a look," the Shen couple said gently, "Some people get drunk and act recklessly. If something happens, it's best to call the police first."

Mr. Pei didn't care and didn't change the route.

As we got closer, the noise became clearer, mixed with people's exclamations and exhortations.

"Stop hitting me, you really don't want this girl anymore?!"

"That's your daughter's living expenses. Are you going to use it to buy alcohol? Are you still a father?!"

A loud, boring farce.

Father Pei was not interested. Seeing Pei Yu's unhappy face, he thought that he didn't like it either. "Let's go. I'll take you to see the site."

Mr. Shen chatted with Pei's father, while his wife looked in the direction of the farce a few more times and inadvertently discovered that Pei Yu had not left yet, and his eyes were looking straight there.

Following his gaze, he saw the beaten girl staggering to her feet, her body thin and fragile.

Mrs. Shen looked at Pei Yu thoughtfully.

As far as she knew, the young master of the Pei family was not a person with excessive sympathy, and he would not focus on irrelevant people.

Noticing her gaze, Pei Yu looked towards her.

Mrs. Shen said tentatively, "That girl is quite pitiful."

Pei Yu's expression was very calm, "If you can't leave here, you will always be pitiful."

He was clearly talking about the girl, but his dark eyes were always looking at Madam Shen, as if he could see through her thoughts, causing her heart to tremble.

A few days later, all the teams that came to inspect the mountain village withdrew.

Shen Zhiyi has been recovering from her injuries these days. She took out the remaining money, sat in a daze for a while, and then decided to find some odd jobs before school started. She had to earn at least one month's living expenses.

There was someone knocking on the door. It was the village secretary.

Shen Zhiyi opened the door, "Uncle, is there anything wrong?"

The man smiled and told her, "Zhiyi, there is a couple who wants to adopt you."

Shen Zhiyi seemed to have heard a ridiculous joke, "Uncle, I have a father."

She is not an orphan.

"Your father has already agreed. He is a lame drunkard and cannot afford to support you."

It is said that this was the condition the couple negotiated with him, that the man only needed money to drink, and they didn't care whether he had a daughter or not.

The village secretary patted her on the shoulder and said, "Zhiyi, the hard times are really coming to an end."

Shen Zhiyi looked at him blankly, as if living in a dream.

Can she leave this house?