Chapter 374: The Place That Was Once Her Home

Xia Ling stood at the doorway in trepidation.

When was the last time she had stood here? It was the year that she found out about Pei Ziheng's engagement to Wang Jingwan. She had packed her bags dejectedly when her arguments with Pei Ziheng seemed futile. Yet, he caught her just as she was about to leave the house, and slapped her to the ground.

That happened right in the place that she was standing now.

Xia Ling looked down at the exquisite parquet flooring that she had chosen. While it was intricate and elegant, it was also extremely hard. That fall from the slap was painful, but what hurt more was the devastation that she felt from the burning slap on her face.

That same devastation plagued her as she returned to this place.

In fact, the dread she felt was even more acute now as she had gone through life and death literally to find her happiness. She had barely spent a few blissful days with Li Lei before that terrible thunderstorm robbed her of everything. It seemed that she was really a jinx to anybody that she was with, and was destined to be alone.

She recalled her brother's prophecy and felt a sharp pain in her chest.

Pei Ziheng led her into the house and removed her jacket, handing it casually to the maid standing by the side. That maid was elderly, and her hair was completely grey. However, there was peace and harmony in her expression, and she was not jittery like everyone else when they were around Pei Ziheng. She took the jacket from Pei Ziheng and easily said, "Mister, welcome home. I've prepared some tea, shall I bring it over?"

Pei Ziheng nodded and said, "Give Xiao Ling a cup of honey lemon."

He remembered what she liked from her past life.

That elderly maid turned to look at her hearing his words, her gaze full of surprise.

Xia Ling smiled and said, "My name is Ye Xingling." She recognized the maid, Nanny Zhou, who was said to be Pei Ziheng's nanny since he was a child. She had cared for him all his life and was meticulous and conscientious. When Xia Ling was staying here before, she loved Nanny Zhou, who was like a loving mother to her.

Hearing this, Nanny Zhou collected herself and smiled as well. "Miss Ye, do give me a moment, I'll go prepare your drink at once." She had made two cups of tea, both Biluochun green tea that Pei Ziheng favored. She had not expected Pei Ziheng to get her to change one to honey lemon. She remembered that many years ago when Miss Xia Ling was still alive, she loved to drink this same drink. Later, after Miss Xia Ling passed away, Mister was extremely sad. He had instructed her to ensure that there was always honey lemon in the house, but never once asked for a cup to be made.

Today, Mister brought another girl home. She had the same "Ling" in her name and liked to drink the same drink as Miss Xia Ling. What was going on?

Nanny Zhou could not make head or tail of it, but she carefully made the honey lemon and brought it to the table together with Pei Ziheng's tea.

Pei Ziheng passed the honey lemon tea over to Xia Ling, saying, "Try it. How is it?"

Xia Ling lowered her head to drink a sip of the honey lemon tea. It was the same taste that she had been used to in her past life, but today there was a bitterness in it. It was the same honey lemon tea, but it was completely different drinking a glass made by Nanny Zhou and one made by Li Lei. She always felt that Li Lei's concoction was sweeter, and the lemons would always be sliced into tiny semicircles. She always felt happy when receiving a glass of honey lemon tea from him.

Her faraway look made Pei Ziheng think that she was recalling memories from her past life.

He asked Nanny Zhou to leave the room, before he gently said to Xia Ling, "Everything in this house — the setting, furniture, lights, display pieces — I've not touched a single thing. They are all what you used to like. If you want to add or change anything, go ahead and do as you please."

She shook her head. She had no mood to do any of that.

Pei Ziheng led her to the bedroom on the second floor and pushed the door open. In front of her were a fur carpet and a large, soft bed. His cufflinks and tie-clips were placed on the short bedside table on one side.

Clearly, he slept here regularly.

"Go ahead and rest first." He said to Xia Ling. "I have a teleconference with the New York side at night. The bathrobe and bathing essentials are in the same place. If you want to have supper, just inform Nanny Zhou."

"I'll sleep in the guest room." Xia Ling hurriedly said.

Pei Ziheng's gaze darkened.

Xia Ling heart clenched in fear, as she continued, "I'm used to sleeping alone now."

She didn't sleep with Li Lei? His expression brightened a little hearing her words. Yet, he said without any room for negotiation, "You should get used to sleeping with me as soon as possible then."

Xia Ling's head jerked up to look at him.

What did he mean by that? Was he going to show the animal that he was on her very first day back? Even though she knew that there was no hiding from him forever, she did not expect danger to approach so quickly. "I'm not completely recovered yet." She said as calmly as she could. "I'm easily awoken. Pei Ziheng, let me sleep in the guest room. I need quiet rest."

He lowered his head to look at her, his gaze unreadable.

After a while, he said, "Xia Ling, you shall sleep here. If you're good today, I'll be sure to remain in the study. If you persist on trying to defy me, I will not hesitate to claim you tonight."

A cold shiver ran down her spine, and she kept quiet.

He stared into her eyes deeply, before turning and striding out of the bedroom.

She remained rooted to the same spot, only regaining her senses after he had disappeared from her view. Her heart was beating haphazardly, and she rushed over to close the bedroom door, locking it from inside. She breathed out a long breath.

Yet, she did not dare fall asleep and lay awake until morning.

There was the sound of knocking on the bedroom door at around seven or eight in the morning. "Miss Ye?"

Xia Ling recognized it to be Nanny Zhou's voice.

She opened the door and saw Nanny Zhou standing outside as expected. Nanny Zhou smiled kindly and said, "Good morning, Miss Ye. Breakfast is ready. Feel free to wash up and come down for breakfast."

"And Pei Ziheng?" She asked. Her voice was hoarse from the lack of sleep.

"Mister left the house before it was bright. The office is really busy recently. He usually goes out really early and returns late." Nanny Zhou said. "Before he left, he instructed me not to disturb you and to allow you to sleep a little longer." As Nanny Zhou spoke, she gave Xia Ling a once over. This girl did not look like she had a good night's rest at all.

She worriedly asked, "Were you unable to sleep last night? If there's anything that you are not used to, just tell me. If Mister comes back and sees you like this, he'll be so upset."

Why would he be upset?

Xia Ling thought to herself. He did so many cruel and horrible things to her, and she never once saw that he was upset about it. It was just one night of insomnia, and even if he found out, he would just be angered that she had defied his orders rather than worry about her health.

Seeing her expression, Nanny Zhou guessed that she did not agree with her statement. She hurriedly said, "Mister doesn't usually bring people home. The fact that you can stay here shows that you are really important to him. Miss Ye, don't doubt it. Mister really cares about you. Really."

Xia Ling was stunned, before asking, "Didn't he... didn't he bring many people home before?"

In these two years, she knew that he had "collected" many women. Just those that she had met or heard about was more than the fingers on one hand.