The probation period was set at three months. It was Pei Yusheng’s suggestion—a span of time that was more than sufficient.
Qi Ji could tell that this was a duration Pei Yusheng had deliberately chosen for his sake. Lately, Qi Ji had begun to notice Pei’s quiet attentiveness toward him in real time, instead of realizing it much later only after someone else pointed it out.
That, too, counted as a small step forward for Qi Ji.
Still, when it came to their relationship, Qi Ji carried his own reservations. They had nothing to do with Mr. Pei, but stemmed entirely from Qi Ji’s own experiences.
He was terrified of the pain of gaining something—only to lose it again.
Some fears ran so deep they were practically etched into the bone. Even now, Qi Ji could not forget how, back when he was happily preparing for his middle school entrance exams, dreaming of getting into an S City middle school so he could reunite with his parents, a single new regulation had arrived and shattered every last bit of hope he had.
Or how, years later, after he was finally admitted to S City’s F University through the college entrance exams, his family suddenly fell into massive debt after being tricked into acting as guarantors—and then, just when things had barely begun to improve, his parents died in a car accident.
Qi Ji truly did not want to relive that kind of crushing disparity ever again.
He couldn’t bear it.
That was why he used refusal at the beginning to avoid an ending. Qi Ji was not, by nature, a pessimist—but after everything he had been through, he no longer dared to be optimistic.
In the end, it was Pei Yusheng’s actions over this long stretch of time that finally gave Qi Ji the courage to face things head-on.
Qi Ji had at last decided to deal with it, instead of continuing to run away—though he didn’t know whether he could actually do it well.
All he could do was try.
Just as Qi Ji was thinking about the probation period, members of Xinghai’s main design team arrived.
More than one design department was responsible for the Qingpu Lake project. Previously, Qi Ji had been working under senior designers from the company’s design department. Xinghai’s main design team, however, was led by Lina—the same group of people Qi Ji had met back when he interned at the studio.
When that project ended and he left, the team had even thrown him a farewell gathering. So when they came this time, Qi Ji took the initiative to welcome them, and they all had a meal together at the Qingpu Lake complex.
At the table were many familiar faces, but the most eye-catching person was absent. Sitting beside Zheng Hang, Qi Ji couldn’t help asking, “Why haven’t I seen Lina?”
“You mean the boss?” Zheng Hang said. “She won’t be here until the day after tomorrow. She went to Lin Wan’s place for the next couple of days.”
Lin Wan?
Qi Ji thought for a moment. He remembered—that was one of the designers under Lina.
“Is it for another project?”
“No.” Zheng Hang suddenly slapped his forehead. “Oh right—Xiao Qi, you don’t know yet, do you? The boss and Lin Wan are together now.”
Qi Ji didn’t react right away. “Huh?”
Together…?
But hadn’t Lina liked Auntie Xu?
“Lin Wan—don’t you remember?” Zheng Hang reminded him. “I told you about her before. The young female designer who gets scolded by the boss all the time, just like you did. She’s been scolded to tears more than once.”
“I said it back then too—the boss is strict because she values talent. It’s not that she’s targeting people on purpose. See? Now she’s together with Lin Wan,” Zheng Hang said, wearing an expression like he’d seen through it all. “The boss has a sharp tongue, but those high standards are really because she values ability.”
Qi Ji, however, was still stunned, as if he hadn’t fully processed the news.
“What’s wrong, Xiao Qi?” Zheng Hang asked, puzzled by his reaction. He scratched his head and asked carefully, “You’re not… against same-sex relationships, are you?”
Only then did Qi Ji snap back to himself. He shook his head. “No.”
He forced a small smile and went along with what Zheng Hang had said earlier. “I just didn’t expect it. I used to think Lina scolded me so much because I was an intern who’d been shoved in through connections.”
That had been Zhou Li’s accusation back then.
“How could that be!” Zheng Hang patted Qi Ji on the shoulder. “The boss genuinely values talent. Don’t overthink it.”
He joked, “Just look at Lin Wan’s situation—you’ll know. If she scolded people because she didn’t like them, then she definitely wouldn’t like Lin Wan either. How could they end up together now? It’s fine. Don’t take it to heart.”
Qi Ji listened and responded quietly.
Just then, the dishes were served, and the topic naturally came to an end.
The food was exquisite and delicious. As Qi Ji ate, he thought to himself that Zhou Li’s claims had now been completely disproven—his work achievements weren’t the result of someone else pulling strings for him.
But no matter how hard Qi Ji tried not to think about it, he still couldn’t stop the faint but persistent fear welling up from deep inside his heart.
Lina—who had been in unrequited love with Xu Yunchi for so many years—was actually with someone else now.
Qi Ji recalled the night when he had personally witnessed Lina in her drunken state. Before that, he had never imagined that someone as fiercely individualistic as Lina could lose control so completely over matters of the heart.
Likewise, after that night, Qi Ji had never imagined that Lina would so easily give up her feelings for Xu Yunchi.
And yet, even feelings so intense—feelings that had consumed the person involved—had ultimately been left behind.
Qi Ji knew he had no right to judge other people’s choices. Matters of the heart were like drinking water: only the one drinking knew whether it was warm or cold. Still, to say it didn’t affect him at all would be a lie.
Especially now, when Qi Ji himself was full of anxiety about relationships.
…He truly hadn’t expected to hear news of Lina giving up so soon.
More than twenty years of unrequited love—holding on was hard, but letting go in a single moment was even more bittersweet.
If even twenty years of feelings could end like that—
What about Qi Ji himself?
When Qi Ji went to work, Pei Yusheng was on his way back to the Xu family home.
The Xu family’s main residence was in Hong Kong, and many relatives were still based there. But the Xu family’s ancestral home was actually in S City. After they had firmly established themselves, the family bought back their old residence and also purchased a large estate in a suitable area. Whenever the four siblings returned to S City, they stayed there.
All four of them were busy and didn’t spend much time living there, so Pei Yusheng himself hadn’t stayed long either. Still, compared to the Pei household, he preferred the family atmosphere at the Xu residence.
This time, Pei Yusheng had been called back by Xu Yunchi. He had just finished a six-hour high-intensity video conference, and his mental state wasn’t great. It wasn’t due to work, though—his body wasn’t feeling well, likely because he’d been drinking before his wound had fully healed.
Even so, he didn’t pay it much attention. With Qi Ji around, his mood had been good these past few days—good enough to offset the exhaustion and fatigue.
Xu Yunchi, on the other hand, didn’t look nearly as well.
When Pei Yusheng pushed open the study door, Xu Yunchi had just ended a phone call. She hadn’t been back in the country long, and the call clearly hadn’t gone smoothly; the weariness between her brows hadn’t fully faded.
Only when she saw Pei Yusheng did a bit of light return to her beautiful face. “Yusheng, you’re back.”
Pei Yusheng responded and pulled out a leather chair, sitting across from her desk. He tilted his chin slightly toward the phone and asked, “What happened?”
“It’s nothing.”
Xu Yunchi hadn’t intended to say anything, but under Pei Yusheng’s steady gaze, she finally let out a bitter smile. “It really is nothing. It was a call from your second uncle.”
Pei Yusheng asked, “Something about the company?”
His second uncle was Xinghai’s chairman.
Xu Yunchi pressed her pale lips together and shook her head. “No. I’m planning to go to B City, and your second uncle is against it…”
At the mention of B City, Pei Yusheng’s expression instantly turned cold.
His tone remained calm, but decisive. “I’m against it too.”
Xu Yunchi looked at him, worry surfacing in her refined features. “Yusheng.”
She sighed softly. “I know you and your father have always been at odds. I’ve never taken his side in this matter. That’s why, after you retired, I insisted on leaving B City and living separately from him—to make him cool down and think things through properly.”
At the words “your father,” Pei Yusheng’s expression grew even frostier.
When it came to that man, Pei Yusheng felt irritated even hearing his name.
Xu Yunchi’s departure had indeed been the greatest punishment for Pei Xiaolin, but to Pei Yusheng, it was nothing more than what the man deserved. Xu Yunchi knew her son didn’t want to hear anything related to her husband, but these were things she had to say. “But this still needs to be resolved.”
“Would going to see him help resolve anything?” Pei Yusheng gave a cold snort. “It would only fuel his arrogance.”
“We can’t just keep dragging it out forever. The last time he laid hands on you—”
Thinking of the outcome of their last physical confrontation, Xu Yunchi paused, then sighed. “You cut off ties with him, and I didn’t oppose it, but that’s not a solution.”
Pei Yusheng said coldly, “For me, severing the father-son relationship is the best solution.”
Xu Yunchi parted her lips, wanting to say something, but in the end she gave up.
“I know this is his fault. I’ll go talk to him,” she said more gently. “Yusheng, you don’t need to be so tense. As for Xiao Qi, I’ll have people keep an eye out and protect him. He won’t be dragged into this.”
Pei Yusheng knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to Qi Ji, but he didn’t refuse Xu Yunchi’s offer of help.
To Pei Xiaolin, only the people he loved were his weak points.
“You can talk to him over the phone,” Pei Yusheng said stiffly. “Xinghai’s been busy lately anyway. Going to B City would just be troublesome.”
Xu Yunchi gave a wry smile. “Yusheng, you know why I’m going to see him—it’s because of his insomnia…”
Pei Yusheng frowned. Remembering that she had just mentioned helping Qi Ji, he barely managed to suppress his anger. “Even so, there’s no need for you to go. Can’t he come over himself?”
“What he did to you—your eldest and second uncles already know about it,” Xu Yunchi said. “They’ve said that if he dares to come to S City again, they’ll personally go see him and settle accounts face to face.”
At that, she looked at Pei Yusheng with concern. “Yusheng, your injury…”
Even after hearing all the details from the doctor, a mother still couldn’t put aside her worry for her child.
Pei Yusheng shook his head. “I’m fine. It’s almost completely healed.”
Besides, this had been a plan he’d initiated himself. He held no lingering resentment about the injury on his back.
“I brought you new medicine. I’ve already sent half of it to Mingzhen,” Xu Yunchi asked. “Do you need to change it now? I can help you.”
“No need, Mom. I changed it this morning,” Pei Yusheng said. “I’ve been resting well these past few days. You don’t need to worry.”
Hearing that, Xu Yunchi caught onto something. “Is that thanks to Xiao Qi?”
Pei Yusheng didn’t hide it. “Mm.”
Xu Yunchi brightened, smiled, and asked, “How are things between you and Xiao Qi? Has he been doing well lately?”
“Pretty well,” Pei Yusheng said. “He’s agreed to give me a probation period.”
“That’s good.”
Xu Yunchi was genuinely pleased with the progress of her son’s relationship. She suggested, “When you have time, bring Xiao Qi home to visit.”
“Once he’s settled in a bit more,” Pei Yusheng replied. He didn’t refuse. Then he asked, “Mom, did you call me back today because there was something you needed?”
They’d been talking about the phone call earlier, and he hadn’t yet asked why he’d been summoned.
The smile on Xu Yunchi’s face faded slightly. She paused before saying, “Actually, I asked you here because of Xiao Qi.”
Pei Yusheng asked, “What happened?”
Xu Yunchi hesitated again, then finally said, “Yusheng, yesterday when I returned to the country, I ran into Zhou Li on the way.”
Pei Yusheng frowned, his expression darkening. “What is he trying to pull now?”
Zhou Li had once been Pei Yusheng’s special assistant at Yuntu—and one of Pei Xiaolin’s people. He’d been deeply involved in monitoring Pei Yusheng. If Pei Xiaolin hadn’t called him away ahead of time, Pei Yusheng would never have let him off so easily.
Xu Yunchi soothed him. “Yusheng, I know you don’t like him, but if he hadn’t tipped me off, I wouldn’t have found out in advance and helped you break free of your father’s surveillance.”
Pei Yusheng knew this was true, but when he remembered the things Zhou Li had said to Qi Ji on the surveillance footage, his tone remained icy. “Did he come to you for something?”
Xu Yunchi composed herself, hesitated, then said, “In the documents I got from Zhou Li, I saw that… you activated the surveillance camera in the room where Xiao Qi was staying.”
Pei Yusheng’s brow creased.
Xu Yunchi explained, “Those files only show activation data—there’s no access to the actual footage. You don’t need to worry. The security system hasn’t been compromised that deeply.”
“…But the records do show how long it was active.” She paused, then asked, “Yusheng, you—”
Pei Yusheng’s face was stormy. He still didn’t speak.
But Xu Yunchi understood.
She let out a quiet sigh, considered her words, and finally said, “Yusheng, I’ve thought about this for a long time, and I still feel I need to remind you—no matter how much you like someone… this isn’t appropriate.”
“It’s not right.”
After a long silence, Pei Yusheng said, “I wanted to see him.”
That night, Qi Ji had only just woken up after being drugged. His condition hadn’t stabilized yet. Pei Yusheng had been worried about him while also dealing with the Jiang family and laying groundwork to eventually break free from his father’s control. Exhausted in both body and mind, he’d suffered from insomnia for days.
He just wanted to see his kid.
And he was afraid that, if no one was watching over him, the kid might feel unwell in the middle of the night.
Hearing her son say this out loud, Xu Yunchi—who had always worried that her son felt nothing for anyone—couldn’t help feeling a complicated mix of emotions.
When she’d first met Qi Ji in person, she’d already known this was the first time her son had ever cared so deeply about someone.
And precisely because of that, as a mother, she had to remind him.
“Yusheng, I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about this.”
Xu Yunchi softened her voice, but her words carried no less weight.
“If Xiao Qi decides he doesn’t want to continue… if he wants to leave you—”
She asked, “Would you let him go?”
The question struck straight at Pei Yusheng’s most sensitive nerve. His temple twitched sharply, his voice rising despite himself. “Why would I let him leave?”
Xu Yunchi reached out, gently covering the back of her son’s hand across the desk, veins standing out beneath his skin.
“Yusheng, you need to understand—staying because of feelings, and staying because he can’t leave, are two completely different things.”
Pei Yusheng’s fingers clenched tightly, his nails digging deep into his palm.
After a long moment, he drew a deep breath.
His voice had calmed. “I’ve never forced him, and I never will. He’s been hurt like that before. If I were to force him, how would I be any different from the people who hurt him?”
“I just like him,” Pei Yusheng said. “I don’t want him to leave, but I’ll respect his wishes.”
Xu Yunchi listened in silence. To an answer that should have been reassuring, a trace of worry slowly surfaced in her eyes.
“I know you’ve done well—always have,” she said. “What I’m saying now may be ill-timed, but I only want to remind you, so you don’t regret it later.”
Pei Yusheng frowned.
Regret?
Why would he regret it?
“When I saw the surveillance records, I didn’t want to overthink it at first,” Xu Yunchi said softly after a breath. “But do you know, Yusheng? Watching someone through a camera all night—I’ve encountered that before.”
She looked up at him, worry plain in her eyes. “Your father did that to me, for a very long time.”
Pei Yusheng froze.
Xu Yunchi spoke gently, her elegant voice now veiled in a misty, rain-heavy haze.
“Your father never wanted anyone to get close to me—male or female. When I was by his side, he could still restrain his temper. But the moment I wasn’t there, he became irritable, volatile, and extremely suspicious.”
Listening, Pei Yusheng felt as though he, too, were trapped in that dense fog, unable to breathe properly.
He wanted to argue, but found no words, and could only listen as Xu Yunchi continued.
“Back then, when you couldn’t sleep for a long time and your condition was terrible—when Lian Qing went to the villa because he was afraid you’d lose control—it was me who called him,” Xu Yunchi asked, “Do you know why I knew in advance that you might have an episode?”
Pei Yusheng: “…”
He sensed the answer, but didn’t want to believe it.
Xu Yunchi lowered her watery eyes and confirmed it for him. “Because at that time, your father had an episode as well.”
Pei Yusheng’s palm clenched so hard that blood seeped from the skin.
“After all, you’re related by blood,” Xu Yunchi said quietly. “Your insomnia symptoms have always been very similar.”
“He was the same—only able to sleep when I was by his side.”
…Yes. They were exactly the same.
This was something Pei Yusheng didn’t want to admit, yet couldn’t avoid facing.
—the person he loathed most, and the person he resembled the most.
“Yusheng, I have the Xu family, I have Xinghai. I can sit down with your father and talk to him as an equal. I can set terms, or choose divorce and make sure he never interferes with my life again.”
Xu Yunchi asked softly,
“But what about Xiao Qi?”
Her words were like lightning tearing through the night, strike after strike, landing precisely on Pei Yusheng’s heart.
“Have you thought about Xiao Qi’s situation?”
The room fell abruptly silent.
Xu Yunchi was describing the worst-case scenario—and yet it was painfully real. Without love, she could leave at any time. She could disappear from Pei Xiaolin’s life forever and live the life she wanted.
But Qi Ji couldn’t.
He couldn’t protect himself.
More precisely, he couldn’t protect himself from Pei Yusheng.
As long as Pei Yusheng wanted to, he would always be able to find Qi Ji.
The Pei Yusheng of now was rational. He would respect Qi Ji’s wishes. He would let him go. But Pei Yusheng had already lost control once before. If Qi Ji left and that triggered another episode—what kind of treatment would Qi Ji face then?
The question was instinctively unbearable to contemplate.
And yet it couldn’t be avoided.
Xu Yunchi had thought about this for a long time. She knew she shouldn’t deal such a blow when her son was happiest, but she couldn’t leave it unsaid.
This was a mother’s responsibility.
But seeing her son sitting there in silence, Xu Yunchi couldn’t bring herself to be harsh any longer. These matters could be resolved slowly; she didn’t want to push him further.
So she curved her lips into a faint smile, softened her tone, and said, “Still, I know you’re very calm right now. Your father was never this rational. You’re already far better than him.”
“And I’ve noticed that those surveillance records are from more than two months ago. At the time, your feelings may not have been fully formed yet. If it were now, you’d probably handle things better.”
She comforted him, “What I said today was just an early reminder. It may not be as serious as it sounds…”
As she spoke, she suddenly heard Pei Yusheng’s low voice.
“I will give it to him.”
Xu Yunchi froze. “Give what?”
Pei Yusheng lifted his gaze, expression calm. “I will give him the right to leave me.”
There was no passion in his tone, no grand vow.
He was simply stating a fact.
I will always respect his wishes.
If one day I might hurt him, then I will temper my blade—
and give it to him as armor.