Chapter 72 You don’t deserve to be loved.

The sanatorium has a quiet environment and is a holy place for recuperation standing in the mountains. But to Pei's father, it is a prison, a prison built by his own son.

He looked out the window at the endless bamboo forest and recalled the past. "You were really abnormal back then. I was really surprised that you, a well-behaved and obedient child for more than ten years, suddenly made such an irrational decision. People say that you are like me in every way, but this inappropriate stubbornness is more like your mother."

"Shut up."

That was the past that Pei Yu was most reluctant to mention, and it was a nightmare that had haunted him for many years. In the nightmare, he was forced to let go of Shen Zhiyi time and time again, just like when he was guarding his mother's body and was unwilling to leave, and Pei's father pried open the fingers that were holding the hem of her skirt one by one.

It was Pei's father who taught him what it meant to give up.

Have to let go.

Pei's father turned around and looked at Pei Yu's cold eyes with interest, "Do you like her so much?"

It has been many years since I have seen Pei Yu behave so out of control. I don't know since when, he has become more and more like me, both in appearance and in means. After Pei Yu took control of the company, the relationship between father and son was suddenly reversed. He, the always strong father, began to be in a weak position, while the silent and cold son occupied a high position and scrutinized his every move.

Pei Yu only had an undisguised disgust towards him at the beginning, and even this feeling disappeared without a trace after the gunshot - that was Pei's father's last chance to turn the tables. The car accident broke his legs, so he aimed at Pei Yu's heart and shot.

Pei Yu did not die, he became the winner. After that, Pei's father never saw him again. He was no longer a father to Pei Yu, but a defeated general who was not worth wasting his feelings on.

And now, he once again had the weapon that could stab Pei Yu.

"Pei Yu, as a father I am kindly reminding you."

Pei's father spoke slowly, with a faint smile on his face, because he knew that Pei Yu was ultimately not as good as him - he took feelings too seriously.

"No one can love you without reservation. The reason why Shen Zhiyi is still willing to stay with you is because she doesn't know what kind of person you are."

There was an exquisite white porcelain vase on the table. Father Pei raised his hand and broke off a flower bud, saying lightly, "You are cold, selfish, cowardly, mean, greedy, and paranoid. You don't deserve to be loved."

The midday sun had already set, and Pei Yu stood at the junction of light and darkness. The ray of light was moving on the ground, getting farther and farther away from him. Ever since Pei's father spoke, he kept his head down, saying nothing, and his expression was unclear.

Only when Pei's father mercilessly pointed out the part he feared most, did the hands hanging by his sides clench tightly little by little, but he could not utter a word of rebuttal.

He knew exactly what kind of person he was, and precisely because of that, he was afraid of being seen through by Shen Zhiyi.

"Son," Pei's father's tone became gentler, just like he had taught Pei Yu many times before, "If your parents can't love you like this, how can you force your partner to do the same? Similarly, you can't hide your true nature. You can do it for a year, but what about ten or twenty years?"

"In the end, the ending of you and Shen Zhiyi is nothing more than another me and your mother."

Before her death, Pei Yu's mother had been wondering why his love disappeared so quickly. It was the cold factor in his character that was at work. He never concealed his true nature and did not hesitate when they broke up, but his true face was often the most unacceptable. The contrast between his deep affection and coldness was too great, so Pei Yu's mother committed suicide.

Although the father and son were of the same bloodline, Pei Yu was no more open-minded than him. He was happy to play the role of father again and teach him personally to understand this.

"Be smart, Pei Yu. Being as persistent as your mother is not a good thing."

-

When he returned to Huating, he did not see Pei Yu, but the car he drove out in the morning had already been parked in the parking lot. Shen Zhiyi went along the stairs to the bedroom and study to look for him, but still could not find him.

Huating has a main building and three side buildings. The side buildings were prepared for the younger generations of the Pei family and have been empty for several years. Pei Yu would never go there, so Shen Zhiyi went downstairs to ask the housekeeper.

The housekeeper was startled by the question, "Isn't the master in the study?"

Pei Yu came back before dark and never went out since then. The housekeeper didn't disturb him, but he didn't hear any noise from him going out either.

Shen Zhiyi shook his head, "I've looked everywhere, but I can't find it."

She shook her phone and said, “The call isn’t going through either.” How strange.

Since she saw him in the morning, Shen Zhiyi felt that he seemed a little strange, and he was always distracted during the subsequent filming, so she finished work early today, thinking that he would still be working and waiting for her in the living room as usual.

The housekeeper thought for a moment, "Could it be underground?"

Shen Zhiyi had only been to the wine cellar underground. "Wine cellar?"

"No," the butler shook his head, "there is a basement."

She didn't know much about it, having only been there a few years ago when she came here to work and familiarize herself with the environment.

The basement is on the other side of the wine cellar, and one has to go through a deep and narrow corridor. Shen Zhiyi felt very strange, "Why is there no light here?"

There is not even any lighting.

Barely using the mobile phone for lighting, the butler walked in front to lead the way. In this environment, even his voice was much lower. "This is the design of Mr. Pei's father. I was curious about it at the beginning."

At the end, the butler stood in front of a metal door, "We're here."

She gave up her seat, and Shen Zhiyi stepped forward hesitantly and knocked on the door gently, "Pei Yu?"

There was an echo in the corridor, but there was no sound from inside. Just as I was wondering whether Pei Yu was here, the door unlocked.

Shen Zhiyi pushed the door open and entered the room, which was also pitch black. The temperature was a few degrees lower than outside and there was not a trace of light.

The light of the cell phone flashed by, and Pei Yu's blurry figure was seen hidden in the darkness. He stood in the corner facing the wall and silently extended his hand to her.

"What are you doing?"

This basement was unusually empty, with only a set of metal tables and chairs. It looked cold and a bit creepy to Shen Zhiyi.

She unconsciously clenched Pei Yu's hand, and Pei Yu finally came back to his senses and hugged her in front of him, "Think about something."

His body temperature was lower than usual. Shen Zhiyi touched his face and it was also cold. He didn't know how long he had been here.

Pei Yu lowered his eyes, took her wrist, put it to his lips and kissed it, and asked in a low voice, "Hmm?"

The fingertips curled slightly, and even the kiss was cold.

"what happened to you?"

This kind of Pei Yu made her feel unfamiliar.

Hugging her tighter, Pei Yu was silent for a while before speaking, "I thought of something unpleasant. Do you know where this is?"

Looking around in the light of his phone, Shen Zhiyi said honestly, "It's like a prison."

The tables and chairs are made of metal, the walls are snow-white, there are no windows, and only one vent.

Pei Yu seemed to smile, but also seemed not to smile. He said, "This is the confinement room."

He spent more time in solitary confinement than with his mother.

(End of this chapter)