Chapter 72: Pei Jiqing was clearly the one actively eroding his personality...

Chen Huixing felt something inside him silently snap, shattering into a grayish-white mass on the ground.

This is how a tender heart can turn cruel: it doesn't draw blood, but the pain is so intense that it twists your very being.

Chen Huixing struggled to describe his feelings at that moment.

It was a despair that he felt he had truly lost this person.

He had long believed he respected Pei Jiqing enough to let him pursue his passions and be a good husband in his own right.

He would come home early, eat with Pei Jiqing, and tolerate his harmless little scheming.

Pei Jiqing also remembered all his preferences.

Later, Chen Huixing realized that this respect might have been just a self-important act, that he had never truly understood Pei Jiqing's true needs.

Perhaps their thoughts throughout their lives had never aligned, so they never understood each other.

The most familiar strangers are often born from over-familiarity.

They understand the essence of marriage and strive to achieve what society labels as "perfect." But when two people transform their relationship into a perfectionist role-playing competition, that understanding vanishes.

Love can truly wear a person down, tearing them apart from their very being.

Love, far from mythical, is a brutal struggle between two individuals. The mutual gnaws beneath the surface of tenderness reveal the true, harsh reality of intimate relationships.

Pei Jiqing is clearly the one actively eroding their personal strength, while Chen Huixing, a facade of strength, is weak, reduced from active to passive.

This completes a cycle of abuse, with

Chen Huixing the one most severely damaged.

Time and time have changed, revealing that time and Pei Jiqing are the true directors.

Pei and Chen Huixing are immersed in the drama, while Pei Jiqing is the one who loses it.

Chen Huixing: "You don't love me anymore, huh?"

Hearing this, Pei Jiqing suddenly recalled Chen Huixing's condescending remark long ago about the selflessness of those who rely on love for survival.

Pei Jiqing reached out and cupped Chen Huixing's face. "Is it that important?"

Pei Jiqing had once craved love from Chen Huixing, but Chen Huixing had flatly refused, unwilling to accept his offer.

Now, Chen Huixing was wooing Pei Jiqing, and every word he spoke was gentle, yet sharp as a knife.

"Our relationship won't change. We are the most important people in each other's lives, Zhizhi's family." Chen

Huixing: "You don't love me anymore, do you, Pei Jiqing?"

Pei Jiqing was fed up with this. Chen Huixing had always been a man of the bigger picture, but he didn't know when he had become unreasonable, even hysterical.

Their love was like radio waves on the wrong frequency, never connecting.

Back then, when he had poured his heart and blood into Chen Huixing's arms, he hadn't even glanced at him. Now, he had learned to manage his feelings, and Chen Huixing, like a dog used to being kicked, chased him, wagging its tail and begging for mercy.

Pei Jiqing: "Chen Huixing, it hasn't been easy for us to get to where we are today. I once cherished your efforts. Can you also be understanding of me?" Chen

Huixing recalled the stability he once strived for in exchange for power, and all words seemed pale.

Chen Huixing: "Pei Jiqing, do whatever you want. I won't affect you."

This was his retribution, what he returned to Pei Jiqing.

After the two of them had such a frank conversation, Chen Huixing did indeed fully respect Pei Jiqing's intentions.

Chen Huixing had hardly appeared in front of Pei Jiqing for those ten days. He was also busy himself, and everything in Linhe needed to be restored, so Pei Jiqing didn't find it unusual.

He contacted Mu Xinbai, and he sent a photo. Zhizhi was doing well with him. Pei Jiqing clicked on it and saw Zhizhi hugging a teddy bear, smiling with her eyes curved.

Zhizhi would occasionally ask him about his father through his phone.

Pei Jiqing always said his father was too busy.

In fact, he didn't know how to face the child. He moved out with Zhizhi, and she carefully asked him if he could not see his father casually in the future.

Pei Jiqing said distressedly that it was not the case. She missed her father and could see him anytime.

Pei Jiqing sent the final version of the press release to his superiors for review. It was urgent to set up a restricted area. It

also included the data that after the pollution in the lower city, the glandular disease rate of residents in this area was as high as 38.7%. Pei Jiqing's name was mentioned at the same time as Shen Huixing. Pei Jiqing was once nicknamed a famous love-brained person, but now it was a surprise. No one thought that this pampered rich lady could really lower herself and enter the war zone. Due to the special nature of the war in Linhe, many reporters were not allowed to enter.

Half a month later, Lao Yu and his group were the first to return to Ling City.

The people of Linhe had also been evacuated.

But Pei Jiqing had to wait to go back with Shen Huixing.

On the plane back, Pei Jiqing leaned against the cabin seat. The shoulder line of Shen Huixing's military jacket was straight. He had lost weight in just over ten days, and the uniform that originally fit him looked a little empty.

Chen Huixing's voice was mixed in with the roar of the engine: "You can do whatever you want after you go back."

Pei Jiqing did not respond.

The clouds outside the window were like torn cotton wool, and the altitude numbers on the cabin display kept jumping. The glass window reflected the blurry reflections of the two people. Pei Jiqing lowered his head and looked down, and everything turned into a small piece of puzzle.

Pei Jiqing: "Thank you."

Chen Huixing curled his lips slightly: "No need."

Maybe it was too boring on the plane, Pei Jiqing talked about some things in the Lower Town.

Pei Jiqing said: "The Lower Town is indeed very chaotic, but I didn't mess around before. My mother was very strict with me. I would be scolded every time I came home more than five minutes late from school. She made me learn a lot of things that I would never use in the Lower Town. I have always been a very special existence since I was a child. She tried her best to support me. She always hoped that the Pei family could truly accept me. Unfortunately..."

She did not see this scene until Ms. Xu Mingzhu fell ill and passed away.

"Actually, I don't understand why my mother insisted on going back. The security there is really bad, and many people die from glandular diseases. I've suggested we move several times, but she's always been reluctant." Chen

Huixing mused, "Maybe it's because her home is there."

Pei Jiqing remembered his mother's final words, as she held his hand, saying that after her death, she would bury her in the soil of the downtown area. "...Yes."

That was her mother's home.

Even if they were once dazzled by prosperity, many people ultimately choose to put down roots where they were born.

Pei Jiqing felt as if he were standing in front of their home. The old tree in the yard was still there, its trunk engraved with his height measurements from childhood to adulthood.

He raised his hand to catch a falling flower. He remembered that Ms. Xu Mingzhu always liked to set up a rattan chair under this tree to cool off.

He was a few minutes late for his agreed return home. He leaned against the door to catch his breath when he heard the dull thud of Ms. Xu Mingzhu's high heels on the tiled floor. His mother had already changed her shoes and left to look for him.

Ms. Xu Mingzhu pointed at his forehead with her calloused hand: "You're wild, aren't you? I tell you, if you dare to hang out with those hooligans, I'll skin you alive and make you run home as soon as school is over."

Little Pei Jiqing's eyelashes cast a small shadow under his eyes, and he felt aggrieved: "Today the teacher stayed after class."

Ms. Xu Mingzhu cursed: "That's not an excuse."

The aroma of stewed meat came from the kitchen. Ms. Xu Mingzhu patted little Pei Jiqing on the head: "What are you standing there for? It's time for dinner."

Pei Jiqing fell asleep. In his dream, he looked up at the small shop at home. The curtains were old blue plaid cloth, faded to grayish white by the sun.

A truck passed by on the road outside the courtyard wall, making the window glass buzz and the voice of Ms. Xu Mingzhu came along.