The Powerful Minister I Forcefully Married Won't Warm Up; After Rebirth, I Give Up the Chase - Chapter 28

Gu Ci only reluctantly ended the intensely passionate kiss when Nian Xi was about to gasp for breath in the overwhelming heat.

Feeling flushed and warm all over, Nian Xi caught her breath.

Gu Ci stepped back slightly, separating their bodies. He deliberately arched his back, afraid Nian Xi would notice his physical change.

However, a unique scent, carrying the sweetness of grapes, permeated the entire space, making it impossible for him to calm down.

All the blood in Gu Ci’s body was rushing to one place. He was afraid of embarrassing himself by staying there, and he didn’t dare to look at Nian Xi. He glanced around and said, “The Dragon Boat Race might be starting soon? I’ll go down first.”

Nian Xi’s lips and cheeks were flushed a rosy color. She pretended not to notice Gu Ci’s awkwardness and nodded in agreement.

As he reached the door, she suddenly called out to him. “Put your outer robe on properly before you go.”

Gu Ci was confused. “The helmsmen all dress this way.”

When the actual race began, he would even take off the outer robe he was currently wearing.

Nian Xi knew he was doing all this for her happiness. But Gu Ci’s background and upbringing made it impossible for him to comfortably expose himself in public.

He was noble and proud.

Nian Xi didn’t want Gu Ci to make such a sacrifice for her, even if he was willing.

“The greasepaint on your back is a bit smudged.”

The kisses just now were not one or two, but a continuous wave. When she tried to create a little distance to breathe, he would restrain her waist, pulling her tightly against his hard chest. If she leaned back an inch, he would tighten his grip an inch.

It was a gentle yet fierce invasion, unlike any before, a repeated savoring.

Her trembling hands had grabbed and wiped haphazardly at his back, smudging the position of the fierce tiger’s limbs.

Gu Ci saw Nian Xi raise her hand, her fingertips streaked with colorful greasepaint. In an instant, he couldn’t control the surging desire. He didn’t even have time to speak to Nian Xi before he opened the door and fled as if escaping a fire.

Not long after, the door was pushed open again. Nian Xi didn’t turn around, asking with a soft laugh, “Did you forget something again?”

After a moment, there was no sound behind her.

Nian Xi turned her head and saw Pei Jian standing there in dark, somber clothes. He was like an ancient beast from a cold pool, stern, melancholy, and carrying a tremendous wrath, staring deeply at her.

Their eyes met. With just one look, she understood.

Her secret had been discovered.

Pei Jian didn’t know how he had endured the past few days.

He wanted to see her. There were some things he needed to ask clearly face-to-face.

But he couldn’t find any reason to meet her.

It turned out that just seeing her once was that difficult.

In the past, he had never been troubled by such trivial matters. Even at the beginning of their acquaintance, Nian Xi always found excuses to seek him out herself. There were even several times, like today’s Dragon Boat Race, when he had abandoned her due to temporary business.

Later, when their relationship became official, his mother-in-law, Madam Li, was a very open-minded person. She was happy to see them interact, believing it would be better for their relationship after marriage.

In his previous life, he had never encountered a situation where he wanted to see her but couldn’t.

Pei Jian considered showing up directly at the house. Even if he avoided his father-in-law and Wen Qingheng, the most he would be entertained by was Madam Li. Perhaps he wouldn’t even see his mother-in-law, let alone Nian Xi, who was waiting to be married.

He had been indulged for too long, taking this favoritism as commonplace.

He remembered Gu Ci mentioning that he had booked a private box at the Qing Shui Pavilion for the Dragon Boat Festival. After clarifying the room number, Pei Jian paid a large sum of money to book the room next door to Nian Xi’s from someone else.

He just wanted to confirm one thing.

But what had he seen?

Lan Zhi and Xing Yue were sent downstairs. Gu Ci, barely dressed, entered the private box next door and spent a long time alone with Nian Xi…

When Gu Ci emerged, he leaned against the wall by the doorway, panting and trying to calm down.

Being a man himself, he naturally understood what had happened.

But no matter how clearly he reasoned it out, it couldn’t compare to witnessing it firsthand—

Even with her back to him, Nian Xi looked delighted, exuding a sweet aura all over, her tone cheerful, intimate, and familiar.

When she turned her head, her cheeks and lips were an enticing rouge color.

A powerful emotion churned inside him. He almost bit down on his teeth to maintain control. He had never imagined that one day, another man would leave his mark on her.

This scene deeply stung him.

“What is it?” Nian Xi asked first. She didn’t want anyone to see them together.

Pei Jian looked at her darkly, walking toward her with suppressed anger. Nian Xi frowned, instinctively stepping back. Pei Jian walked past her and closed the window facing the lake.

Nian Xi grew increasingly annoyed. “I want to watch Gu Ci race soon. What do you want?”

Pei Jian didn’t want to hear that name again. Turning around, his deep eyes fixed on Nian Xi, and he spoke in a low voice. “I only came here to prove one thing.”

Nian Xi had already guessed what he would ask but still felt impatient. “Prove what?”

“How did you know Princess Wenshuo would die by drowning?”

When Pei Jian ran into Princess Wenshuo sending her gifts at the Wen Residence gate that day, Nian Xi knew that with Pei Jian’s intellect, he would figure out the connection sooner or later. Later, when Old Woman Wang came to find her, saying “Young Master Pei came again” last night, Nian Xi was already mentally prepared.

She let all expression fade from her face, sat down again, slowly poured herself a cup of tea, and took a sip. “I told you, I made it up.”

Pei Jian also reined in his emotions, sitting down at the table. Staring at her red lips moistened by the tea, he spoke with an unclear meaning. “Then calculate the fate of our marriage.”

Nian Xi looked up, her tone hard. “There is no fate.”

Pei Jian, however, gave a very soft laugh, his black pupils swirling with intense emotion. He asked, “You’ve also come back.”

His tone was utterly certain.

There was nothing left to hide.

If she hadn’t died that day, she would have divorced him anyway.

Nian Xi’s gaze was clear and calm. “I didn’t know Gu Ci was your friend before.”

She wanted to find a man to comfort her soul, but she hadn’t been so insane as to seek someone close to Pei Jian. In fact, she didn’t want any more entanglement with the man in front of her.

Pei Jian said, “Now that you know, it’s still not too late.”

Nian Xi found this amusing.

Not too late for what? To leave Gu Ci?

This man was truly arrogant. How dare he make such a demand? Did he actually think she would give up Gu Ci for him?

Don’t be ridiculous.

“I thought my answer was already obvious. I am happy every day now.”

She had chosen Gu Ci, right from the very beginning.

Pei Jian’s chest rose and fell unevenly. All his emotions gathered in his chest. He couldn’t distinguish whether it was anger or something else, but a dull pain radiated from his heart.

After ten years of marriage, she knew exactly how to hurt him.

“You knew I had come back that day at the corner gate, didn’t you?”

Nian Xi neither confirmed nor denied it.

Pei Jian pressed, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Nian Xi sneered, “Tell you what? Pei Jian, I don’t know you. We have no relationship whatsoever.”

Pei Jian’s breath hitched.

“I never agreed to divorce you.”

Never agreed to divorce her? Yet, he loved another woman day in and day out for decades, bringing her back to his residence after she was widowed, letting the rumors fly, ignoring them, yet sending his beloved woman’s son to her to be raised as the legitimate heir.

Then what was she?

A piece to complete the picture of their deep, inseparable love that broke through worldly ethics?

Nian Xi couldn’t control the bitterness in her heart.

Since her rebirth, she had been happy every day, rarely recalling the past, unwilling to be constrained by her former self, who was downcast and lonely.

She also didn’t want to recall the foolish things she had done for Pei Jian all those years, as it would only make her look stupid.

“I told you, haven’t you forgotten? I don’t love you, and I wanted to leave you.”