Chapter 5

When I got home, Pei Huai still hadn’t returned.

I looked out at the swing and only then noticed that all the flowers on the vines had withered.

The splendor was gone, leaving only scars.

Just like my heart.

At that moment, Pei Huai walked in.

“Niaoniao, were you happy today? I brought you apricot blossom wine. Try a little tonight.”

He took my hand and led me to the stone table.

I meekly sat down, but my gaze lingered on his neck.

Two red marks stood out on his fair skin.

As if flaunting, or even taunting.

I reached out and lightly touched the red marks. My fingertips were cold, raising goosebumps on his skin. He smiled and tried to take my hand, but I suddenly spoke: “Pei Huai, what’s that on your neck?”

He froze, a hint of nervousness in his eyes, and explained, “Probably a mosquito bite-”

I cut him off: “It’s spring now.”

He said again, “Then maybe it’s an allergy. I accidentally ate a piece of fish today. I didn’t think much of it at the time, so I didn’t tell you.”

As he spoke, he knelt on one knee in front of me, gripping my hand tightly, as if trying to prove his sincerity.

But I would never believe him again.

I stared into his beautifully shaped eyes and smiled faintly: “Pei Huai, you once said we’d be together for life, and you said you’d never lie to me. Do those words still count now?”

He looked at my face, as if he sensed something, and his panicked hands trembled as he pulled me into his arms.

Very tightly.

He whispered in my ear again and again, “Niaoniao, I love you, I only love you.”

See, Pei Huai never lies.

So he only says he loves me, but doesn’t dare answer any of my questions.

He lied to me.

I know that.

Now, I even doubt his love-was all these years of affection just a lie?

I want to find out.