Jun Yang used his other hand to wrap around Pei Ling’s wrist that was still guiding his hand upwards. He held her there. Pei Ling instinctively tried to struggle but she realized she was unable to move her hand at all. In fact, Jun Yang’s hand that held her was so strong and tight that she started to feel pain.

This was the first time Jun Yang had acted so forcefully around her. Pei Ling’s impression of Jun Yang was that of a gentlemanly young man, studious and polite, she did not even know he had such a strength in him.

“Jun Yang, you’re hurting me…” Pei Ling started to complain. For a split second, as preposterous as it sounded, Pei Ling even wondered if this was a kink that the young man had and she started to plot how to work that into her advantage.

Before she could make a fool of herself, Jun Yang gently but firmly moved her hand back and then removed both of his hands away from her, ending their physical contact. Then, he patted the side of his shirt with his hands like he was brushing her presence away from him.

Pei Ling was confused by his series of actions. She asked, “Jun Yang, why are you…”

Jun Yang interrupted her by standing up, leaving Pei Ling alone in his bed. With his face turned away from her, Jun Yang said, “Pei Ling, even if you have no respect for me, at least have some respect for yourself.”

Jun Yang said that in a voice that was barely above a whisper and he was faced away from her so Pei Ling should not have heard him that clearly. However, she heard every single word and they landed on her face like actual slaps.

She sat in his bed, petrified but it was unclear whether it was from the accusatory insult or from her surprise that her seduction had failed.

In any case, Jun Yang had no interest to stay to study her emotions. From the combined pressure of everything that happened that day, all he wanted at that moment was to leave and find some place to clear his mind. And that was exactly what he did.

After saying that, Jun Yang walked away from Pei Ling, opened the bedroom door and strode out. He did not stop to greet the butler who saw him when he was coming down the stairs.

“Young master, would you like to take a look at the presents that have arrived…” The butler asked politely but Jun Yang brushed him off like he was invisible. Jun Yang walked past him and charged out the front door. The front door opened and closed.

The butler stood where he was, stumped. He wondered what had happened. In the end, he believed this was something that he had no right to intervene in so he said a quick prayer for his kind young master and went back to his chores.

Back in Jun Yang’s room was Pei Ling who was left behind. Her fingers gripped the cover of the young man’s bed as she slowly caught up to what had happened.

The thing that she wanted to offer Jun Yang was one of the most precious things a girl could give a boy, and to be rejected so crudely, that was an affront of the most serious degree.

Pei Ling rarely had her emotions show but during that moment, her real feeling slipped through and her teeth were gritted in both humiliation and anger. It was also worth noting that beyond that, there was also a well-hidden trace of disappointment and shame.

However, Pei Ling’s outer shell, which was that of the young lady of the Pei family soon took over. The emotions were swallowed deep within her heart and her expression became calm and unreadable again. She smoothed down the folds in her dress before standing up. She looked around Jun Yang’s bedroom one more time before walking out the door like nothing ever happened.

…

Jun Yang who escaped from his home actually had no destination in his mind. He allowed his legs to carry him to whichever destination. People say the subconscious took over when your body was acting on instinct. Jun Yang had no idea whether that was true or not but when he looked up, he realized he had wandered to the area close to Mist Café.

This explained the sweat that he realized had been gathering on his forehead. The distance between Xing Ming Academy and Jun Yang’s home was not far enough that it needed a long car ride but it was not short enough to be walked daily either. This was the reason why Jun Yang normally took a ride to school although on special occasion, he would walk the distance.

Jun Yang then remembered he was supposed to meet up with Feng Qi later that day at Mist Café. He looked at the time and it was just 3.30 pm, it was still quite some time away from his scheduled meeting with Feng Qi.

He wondered if he should go to someplace else to cool down or he should just go into the café to wait for Feng Qi. Jun Yang glanced at the café and then he realized the place was closed for the day from how quiet and dark it was inside. He frowned and then he remembered, it was the Mist Café’s weekly off-day.

Then, this posed a question. If the café was closed for that day, why did Feng Qi ask to meet him at the café that day? That was an interesting question and it did help take his mind off things even for a little while.

While Jun Yang was figuring that out, he heard consistent knocking coming from the direction of the Mist Café’s door. He turned towards it and he saw someone he did not expect waving at him at the café’s front door.