"Alright."
Seeing that Peilin's mind was made up, Su Hao sighed, slowly turned around, and disappeared from in front of the door.
Peilin's world became silent.
Su Hao Ge, you must be happy.
Clutching her chest, Peilin slowly stood up. Su Hao had left, and she would go on alone.
Peilin, you can do it! You can do it!
Silently encouraging herself, Peilin wiped away her tears and suddenly heard a "thump" from outside the door.
It sounded like someone had fallen.
Could it be Su Hao Ge? Peilin quickly turned around, wanting to open the door, but when she grasped the doorknob, she frowned.
Could this be Su Hao Ge's trick? Just to lure me out.
Peilin hesitated for a few seconds, then lowered her head and stared at the peephole, but no matter how she adjusted the angle, she could only see the pale wall.
And after that "thump," there was no sound from outside the door.
Peilin debated for a few seconds but still chose to open the door; she was genuinely worried that something had happened to Su Hao.
The door slowly opened, and Peilin glanced left and right, seeing Su Hao lying motionless in front of the elevator at the end of the hallway.
"Su Hao Ge!" Peilin exclaimed, running over quickly.
"Su Hao Ge, how are you?" Coming before Su Hao and seeing his pale face, Peilin's tears, which she had just wiped dry, started flowing again.
She fumbled in her pocket for her phone, and just as she was about to call for an ambulance, a hand suddenly gripped her arm.
"I'm fine," Su Hao opened his eyes and smiled at Peilin.
"You… you lied to me again?" Peilin stared blankly at Su Hao, then furiously hit his chest: "You only know how to lie to me! You only know how to bully me!"
"I'm sorry, I made you worry," Su Hao reached out and pulled the tear-streaked Peilin into his embrace.
"You're a complete scoundrel!" Feeling the warmth of Su Hao's embrace, Peilin cried even harder.
It was as if all the grievances and pain from last night were flowing out with her tears.
"Yes, I'm a scoundrel. So, are you willing to go with this scoundrel?" Su Hao gently stroked Peilin's back and whispered.
"Dream on!" Peilin said, then "fiercely" bit Su Hao's shoulder.
"Why didn't you bite harder?" Su Hao turned his head to look at Peilin.
"I was afraid you'd hurt," Peilin whimpered, resting her head on Su Hao's shoulder.
"Silly girl, you've said that many times," Su Hao lifted her head, gently cupped Peilin's fair cheeks, and tenderly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"If I wasn't silly, how could I have been tricked by you so many times?" Peilin murmured, gazing into Su Hao's dark eyes.
She regretted coming out, because after seeing Su Hao, she knew she couldn't go back.
Su Hao was like a warm flame, steadily attracting her, a moth drawn to the fire.
"I love you, Peilin, this isn't a lie this time," Su Hao whispered, then slowly lowered his head.
"I love you too," Peilin closed her eyes resignedly, looking at Su Hao's face.
Perhaps Su Hao was her destined nemesis, leaving her forever powerless to resist.
Unlike before, Su Hao's kiss this time was very gentle, like a clear breeze and bright moon, soothing Peilin's agitated heart.
"Come home with me," After the kiss, Su Hao pulled Peilin back into his embrace.
"Until you figure out how to handle me and my mother, I won't go back," Peilin's voice was soft yet firm.
"I've already figured it out," Su Hao smiled: "What you care about isn't what others think, is it? We can just go to a place where no one knows us."
"You mean…" Peilin paused, a glimmer of hope appearing in her eyes.
"My hometown, Zhonghua (China), no one there knows you and Aunt Meijing, no one will look at you strangely, we can find a small village and live happily together."
"Can we really do that?" Peilin's eyes showed some temptation, yet she hesitated.
"Of course, we can. Do you remember what you wrote in the dictionary? You want to live a happy life with me. For you, what is happiness?"
"For me, happiness is…" Peilin looked at Su Hao in front of her and whispered, "It's being with you!"
"There you go, so why are you still leaving?"
"You still have the nerve to ask? Yesterday, you and Mom did such a thing, do you expect me to remain indifferent?" Peilin glared at Su Hao, then stood up, puffing out her cheeks.
"Yesterday was my fault, I apologize to you. I swear next time I'll get your permission first," Su Hao stood up and said solemnly.
"You still want a next time!" Peilin stomped her foot, wishing she could punch Su Hao away.
He usually had such sweet words, why did he mess up now?
"No… absolutely not," Su Hao quickly waved his hands.
"Forget it, consider it my bad luck to have met you."
Peilin sighed, feeling that she would never escape Su Hao's grasp in this life, but she still had to clarify what needed to be asked.
"Last night, when did Mom start being in your room?"
"Since… the first time you knocked on the door," Su Hao scratched his head, a bit embarrassed.
"She saw everything from beginning to end?" Hearing Su Hao's words, Peilin suddenly turned around, looking at him in shock.
"Yes," Su Hao lowered his head in shame.
Although he was happy yesterday, thinking about it now, it was truly crazy, and he really did wrong by Peilin.
"You big bad wolf! Mom is usually so dignified, so gentle, how did you convince her to do such a thing with you?"
Peilin rubbed her forehead, both shy and incredulous.
"I didn't convince her, I acted on my own. When you came in, Auntie didn't know, she only realized later, but you were in the room at the time, so she couldn't leave," Su Hao meticulously recounted his various transgressions.
"Where was she then? In the closet? Why didn't I see her at all?"
"She was in…" Su Hao looked up at Peilin, then whispered, "the bathroom."
"You!" Peilin's face turned pale with anger at that answer.
"Peilin, don't be angry, I admit my mistake to you!" Su Hao lowered his head, his face full of panic like a child who had done wrong.
"Don't give me that, I won't be fooled by you again!" Peilin snorted: "Su Hao Ge… no… Su Hao! I've decided to reconsider what you said earlier."
"Oh, come on," Su Hao wailed, "I finally managed to convince you."
"If you make a mistake, you have to accept the punishment! Starting tomorrow, you have to come here every day to pick me up and take me to school or work.
Then drop me back here in the evening, and you must ride a bicycle, no taxis allowed!" Peilin wagged her finger, speaking seriously.
"Huh?" Su Hao paused, then quickly nodded: "Okay!"
"After a month of this, if you perform well, I'll come home with you.
Also, within this month, you are not allowed to touch me, and you are not allowed to touch… Zhao Meijing!" With her hands behind her back, Peilin leaned forward, staring at Su Hao.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely behave well!" Seeing Peilin's demands were so low, Su Hao immediately beamed with joy: "But Peilin, are you going to stay here for the whole month? The room fee isn't cheap, is it?"
"It is a bit expensive," Peilin frowned, a little troubled.
"Why don't you come home, it'll be easier for me to pick you up and drop you off," Su Hao seized the opportunity, quickly saying.
Peilin's attitude had already softened, so now was naturally the time to press the advantage!
"Is that so…" Peilin glanced at Su Hao, then reluctantly nodded: "Alright."
Actually, her main purpose in making Su Hao pick her up and drop her off wasn't to punish him, but to make him spend more time with her and, incidentally, less time chasing other girls!
In Peilin's opinion, Su Hao was just too idle, which was why he had time to flirt around.
Peilin even wanted Su Hao to get rid of all the other women, keeping only her and Aunt Meijing.
As for Wan'en Jie, the further away she was, the better!
However, Peilin also knew that this was unlikely, so she could only use her own methods to restrict Su Hao.
"Then shall we go home now? Or go buy a bicycle?"
"No, you go back by yourself," Peilin shook her head and turned to walk towards her room: "I booked my room for one day, can't waste it."
"I'll stay here with you," Su Hao followed Peilin, saying eagerly.
With Peilin's personality, as long as he stayed here, it wouldn't take long to coax her into submission.
"No, don't think I don't know what your intentions are!" Peilin glanced at Su Hao, then opened her room door: "Be sure to come pick me up at seven tomorrow morning!"
"Are you really sure you don't need me to stay here? Won't you be lonely living in such a big room by yourself?" Su Hao persisted.
"No need, I'm planning to sleep a beauty sleep all day."
Entering the room, Peilin stretched comfortably, then casually closed the door.
Su Hao, who had been given the cold shoulder, rubbed his nose, but a genuine smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Although the process was somewhat convoluted, from the results, Peilin had still been persuaded to return to him.
"Peilin, then I'll be leaving now. Call me if anything happens!"
Shouting at the door, Su Hao turned around contentedly, humming a tune as he slowly walked away.
In the room, Peilin looked at Su Hao's triumphant back and couldn't help but sigh.
She knew her choice was foolish, letting Su Hao off so easily.
But she also felt helpless in her heart, because she really didn't want to hurt Su Hao, and couldn't even bear to see his crestfallen eyes.
Let it be, perhaps our future will truly be beautiful?
Looking up at the dawn outside the window, Peilin revealed a hopeful smile.
She wondered when she would be able to return to his hometown with her mother, as Su Hao had said, and live a carefree life.
Such a life must be wonderful.
Lost in thought, Peilin walked onto the balcony, preparing to draw the curtains and get some good sleep.
She had woken up early today, writing letters and booking rooms, and was already incredibly sleepy.
It was all Su Hao's fault, that scoundrel, of all people to hook up with, he just had to hook up with…
Peilin was grumbling about Su Hao in her heart, and just as she was about to draw the curtains, she saw Su Hao standing downstairs at the hotel, chatting with a beauty.