“This is not your fault. I made a mistake and I should be punished!” She had infuriated his grandmother. She would feel guilty if she was not punished for it.
“I have told you that that’s an accident. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
Lu Man pouted. “I should know right from wrong. It’s truly my fault.”
Pei Xiuyuan did respond after she finished talking. They fell into a deep silence.
“Don’t you like your life now?”
“Why do you suddenly ask that?” Lu Man asked him as she seemed to realize something else.
He came the minute Mu Yunhai left.
She felt like she needed to explain something but she did not know what to say.
“You married me because you were forced to do so. Now, your life has become oppressive and you feel stressed, don’t you?” Pei Xiuyuan lowered his eyes and his facial expression could not be deciphered. The weak light fell on his face. His usually bright eyes seemed dark and distant at that moment. It was a weird feeling.
It seemed like he was deeply hurt.
Lu Man replied anxiously, “No! It’s nothing like that!”
“Then, what is it?”
“What I meant is I never thought of marrying you. The life I yearned for is nothing like this. But, I didn’t mean that this life is suffering to me!” He was so nice to her. Although he always hid something from her and she was unprepared when things happened, living with him was never suffering to her!
“Then, what is the kind of life you want to live?”
“An ordinary life just like any common person.”
“Don’t we have an ordinary life just like everybody else?” He felt that his life was just as common as the others.
Lu Man was speechless.
What kind of common people would live like this?
Her sister-in-law was the one who cheated on her with her ex-fiance. Now, they needed to respect her as their sister-in-law. Moreover, she had suddenly become a stepmother. More importantly, she had suddenly had an extremely frightening grandmother.
It was indeed complicated and chaotic at the same time. It was really not what she had envisioned her life to be before.
“Manman, did you have any kind of dream that you wanted to fulfil?” Pei Xiuyuan asked her suddenly.
“Yes, I did.”
“Did you fulfill it?”
“Yes.” She wanted to clear the debt for the Mu family one day so she did not have to feel so oppressive because of it. She wanted a peaceful life instead. She did it at the end.
“Did you feel as happy and as wonderful as you thought you would?”
Lu Man did not know the reason he had asked about it. But, she still replied honestly, “Yes, I was quite happy but it was not as wonderful as I thought it would be.”
“That’s true. People feel that it is not as wonderful as they thought it would be once they get what they wanted. People tend to idealize things in their imagination. Besides, people think that they could not endure the difficulty in life anymore but in fact it is not as bad as they thought it would be. Moreover, they would feel that the things seem less disastrous once they learn to accept it. They might even gain something from it in the end.”
Lu Man understood what he meant soon because she knew it very well.
He was implying that the life she yearned for might not be as beautiful as she pictured it to be. What could not be gained was not the best. Her current life was not so bad. She really should try to learn to accept and like it.
“I know. Although it’s not what I wanted, it’s not so bad as well. I’ll try to cherish and enjoy it!”
She never thought that she might not gain the kind of life she wanted. But, it was the fact now. She was the one who came to him first. He was also willing to give her that kind of life. She should really be grateful for what she has gained. She should cherish the life she had now and enjoyed it!
Pei Xiuyuan wanted to say something more but the butler came into the room.
“Mister, the old lady is talking in her dreams. She’s calling your name. Please go and see her.”
“Fine.”
The butler did not stay but left soon after.
“Go quickly!” Lu Man urged him.
Pei Xiuyuan looked at her and was silent for a moment. “Wait for me.”
“Fine.”
It was in the middle of the night. Pei Zichen was lying on the bed. But, he was tossing around on the bed and he could not fall asleep. In the end, he got up and dressed himself up. Then, he came to the ancestral hall. He did not know why he went there. He just wanted to.
Lu Man thought that it was Pei Xiuyuan when she heard the door. “Back so soon?”
She looked up and saw Pei Zichen.
She was stunned slightly. “Xiao Chen, why aren’t you sleeping now? It is late.”
“I came to see you.” Pei Zichen still appeared arrogant in front of her although he was uneasy when he saw her kneeling there on the floow.
“How nice! I’m touched!” Lu Man smiled happily when she heard that he was concerned about her.
Pei Zichen had mixed feelings when he saw her bright smile. But, still he remained cold and distant. “You idiot! I have bullied you but you thanked me for that! I came because I want to see how pathetic you are! What do you have to be happy about?”
“Did you bully me?”
“Don’t you understand why I asked you to go and pick up the ball? Don’t you know why the vaze fell when you had touched it only so lightly?” She was indeed stupid! How could that kind of idiot be a villain?
Lu Man was not that naive. She guessed the truth very soon. It was very easy. But, she never realized that he would come to her and admit that.
“Why did you come and tell me the truth? Aren’t you afraid that I’d tell your father?” Lu Man raised her eyebrow.
“Go ahead! I’m his son. He won’t do anything to me! My great grandmother adores me the most. She won’t ask me to kneel here!” Pei Zichen sounded like he did not care at all. He was just like a big bully.
“I won’t go. If you want to admit your mistake, go to your father on your own. I believe that they won’t blame you as long as you admit your mistake on your own initiatives.” Lu Man saw through him. That kid was not bad at all. He just disliked her. It was indeed normal for a kid to dislike one’s stepmother. That was why he used all kinds of tricks against her. It was normal if he wanted to get rid of her. Technically, it was her fault. If she had not appeared, he would never have behaved like that.
“Who told you that I want to admit my wrongdoings? You’re the one who wants to report me to my dad! If you want to, just go ahead! But, I’m telling you now. They won’t believe you even if you tell them the truth!” Pei Zichen sneered. He would never say that he wanted to admit his mistakes through her. He would never admit that she wanted her to know what he had done.
“I won’t go and tell.” Lu Man laughed.
“Why? If you tell my dad the truth, he will surely let my great grandmother know about it. They will then know that I’m the one who did that. Then, you’ll be fine at last.” Pei Zichen did not understand that.
Lu Man burst into laughter. He was indeed just a kid. He claimed that his father would never believe what she said but now it was the other way around.
“What are you laughing about?” Pei Zichen felt that he was being laughed at.
“Do I need your approval if I want to laugh?” Lu Man replied smugly.
Pei Zichen stared at her for quite some time. “You’re indeed a bad aunt!”
“Is that so? Your endurance is just too low!” Lu Man appeared like she was looking down on him.
“What are you talking about? Who says that my endurance is low?” Pei Zichen had always been a proud and arrogant boy. He could not allow anybody to look down on him!