Chapter 386: Trace of Red

Xia Ling wiped her tears off messily. "Pei Ziheng, I'd rather you not have told me! I'd rather not know that the dead end you made me face in my past life was not a dead end at all! You could have married me! It means that... I could have had my dream wedding after all... then why did I suffer for nothing?"

As she spoke, the tears came gushing.

She covered her face with her hands, unwilling to let him see the mess she now was.

Pei Ziheng held her tight. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He did not know what else to say besides apologizing. The Pei family was a renowned and wealthy household, with rules that had been passed down for generations. The rules specified that any man in the family had to marry a woman of equal standing, and if they did not abide by it, their position in the family would be threatened.

The internal politics of the Pei magnate were far too complicated.

Back in that year, his father had passed on unexpectedly, and 16-year-old Pei Ziheng had to take over the baton and run Imperial Entertainment. Too many eyes were on him, many of which waiting for him to fumble and fail. His years of managing the company were not as smooth-sailing as many outsiders had thought. In fact, they were plagued with obstacles that took him effort and experience to overcome.

Any carelessness could cost him his place amongst those hungry sharks.

He could not let them succeed. There were way too many subordinates and staff members who depended on him for their livelihood and even survival. For their sake, as well as for his own honor and responsibility, he was not about to back off so easily.

And because of Xiao Ling, it was all the more important that he stood his ground.

It was only possible for her to enjoy all the luxuries of life — the wealth, glory, and pampering — if he could keep his place of authority secure. He liked the way she smiled, so carefree and innocent as if she lived in a fantasy, and he would do all it took to protect it.

For her sake, and all the people under him, he needed to calculate his every move.

Also, he needed allies. His home base had left him to his devices, and his only option left was to marry a wife from a powerful family so she could aid him in his career.

After screening his "candidates," he narrowed it down to the Wang family.

Wang Jingwan was a sensible girl and understood that this arrangement was nothing more than a transaction. Even when he stated his condition — that she was "not allowed to bother Xia Ling"— she agreed graciously.

The arrangement went well.

Or at least, he thought that it would go well.

He expected his precious Xiao Ling to understand. After all, all his efforts were with her in mind. They were truly in love with each other, so was there really a need for all that superficiality? Did it really matter that Wang Jingwan held the title of his legal wife? His love belonged to her only, and he had even drawn up a will to leave all of his assets — except for those that had to be allotted to the Pei magnate mandatorily — to Xia Ling alone, even before he got married.

But he thought wrong.

She did not want his assets, all she wanted was the title "Mrs. Pei."

She had sobbed day and night, just hoping that their love could be made public, that they could have the blessings of everyone else. She wanted to be his legal wife, whether or not she would receive a single cent of his assets.

She had argued with him, found trouble with Wang Jingwan, and attempted to leave after she had killed Wang Jingwan... His tolerance was challenged time and again until he could not take it anymore. Pei Ziheng was eventually enraged and decided to lock her in on the grounds of punishing her as well as for her safety. He hit her and disciplined her privately.

He wanted her to be obsessed with him and respect him all over again.

But the days of her captivity were spent in utter misery before she finally passed away tragically.

Pei Ziheng had regretted his actions. If he had known that this would be the outcome, he would've satisfied her wants — was it not just a title anyway? Would any of these tragedies have taken place, had he given her the name?

After Xiao Ling left, he fulfilled all the wishes she had while she was alive.

He took rollercoasters with a crowd, he went to watch movies in cinemas the way a couple would, he ate by the stalls in the night market and even went dancing in the vast fields in South Africa...

And yet, he could not fulfill her biggest wish.

Marriage.

Despite knowing that he was not going to be able to fulfill that wish, he worked hard toward that goal. He put all his time and effort into his work, so as to prove his capability to the Pei magnate and to gain their respect. He took over the family business when he was 16, and now, 20 years later, he finally secured his place and established his authority. Even without a marriage to provide support for his career, he could achieve so much.

And now, he could finally marry her.

He had found it a pity initially, that he had achieved all that he needed to, but lost his bride.

But today, he was thankful. He could not be happier about his choice to work his heart out in the two years after he had lost her; maybe that was why God was willing to reward him and to bring her back to him today. "Marry me." He stroked her long hair and repeated once more. "Xiao Ling, you'll be the mistress of the Pei magnate, and nobody will dare say a word against it."

She shook her head and forced her way out of his embrace.

"It's too late, Pei Ziheng." She sounded resigned, and the sadness in her eyes appeared all too conspicuous to him. "What's lost is lost." If she had not met Li Lei in this lifetime, all of these could be possible. But things were different now, she had found a light that belonged to her alone, and there was no way she would waver on it.

She turned around and left.

Pei Ziheng watched her back view and felt his heart sink.

He never knew that Xiao Ling could be this heartless. He missed the days that she begged for him to return to her no matter how much pain she had to bear. Now, she was not even willing to give it a shot at salvaging their relationship.

At that moment, Pei Ziheng felt an inexplicable sense of exhaustion, as if he had aged 10 years in a split second.

He distractedly removed his pajamas and tossed them onto the bed, all ready to get dressed and leave for the company. But as his glance swept past the now messy bed, he paused.

On the bed sheet was a small patch of red.

Little spots of a virgin's blood.

Pei Ziheng's heart went wild instantly. He realized that Xiao Ling was leading a whole new life and was merely 18 in this lifetime. She was still a clean, pure girl... so pure that even Li Lei had never touched her?