A Marriage in Name Only? My Stepbrother Won't Let Me Go

If his reason weren’t holding him back, Pei Yan would have already stormed into the next room to assert his position.

He was Mei Wanying’s husband.

’Mei Wanying could only have him, and him alone!’

’If anyone dared to tempt Mei Wanying to stray, he would make them regret it!’

’The one goading Ah Yin into straying was...’ Pei Yan thought resentfully. ’Xue Xingyao is Ah Yin’s best friend. If I dared to punish her, Ah Yin would surely be furious with me.’

Pei Yan could only swallow his frustration.

’If Xue Xingyao dares to goad Ah Yin again,’ he thought darkly, ’I’ll find an excuse to send Chen Shujing to Jiangnan.’

’Once she’s busy, we’ll see if she still has time to whisper poison in Ah Yin’s ear!’

Xue Xingyao’s teasing voice continued unabated.

One moment, she was suggesting Mei Wanying find a handsome young man to be her live-in husband. The next, she was saying it would be fine even without giving him a formal title, lest a certain jealous man come to crash the wedding again.

Watching his master’s face darken, Wei Jue couldn’t help but sweat for Xue Xingyao.

’Talk about speaking your own doom.’

’This was a textbook case!’

’If not for Miss Mei, Miss Xue would probably be facing her last moments.’

’Daring to encourage Miss Mei to take a live-in husband... she really had some nerve.’

Wei Jue was in awe of her audacity.

He said softly, "Miss Mei’s circle is clean. No fools have shown up, and Miss Mei hasn’t been looking at any other young men. Emperor, you mustn’t listen to certain people’s nonsense."

The relationship between Miss Mei and the Emperor was known to all.

Anyone who dared to provoke the one the Emperor cherished most must have a death wish.

Pei Yan lifted his gaze and shot Wei Jue a look. "You talk too much."

Wei Jue: "..."

’He was just worried the Emperor would get sick with anger. Was that so wrong?’

Bracing himself, he said, "To Miss Mei, there’s no one but you. Other men can’t even compare to a single strand of your hair."

Pei Yan: "You’re just stating the obvious!"

Wei Jue: "..."

The man’s expression eased, no longer as dark and stormy as before.

’Of course Ah Yin wouldn’t look at anyone else.’

’And she certainly wouldn’t fall for someone else.’

Although they hadn’t reconciled, Pei Yan was just that confident.

’Ah Yin still had feelings for him.’

’Just a moment ago, Xue Xingyao had said he belonged to Ah Yin, and Ah Yin hadn’t denied it.’

’Did that mean they could reconcile soon?’

Pei Yan’s heart fluttered. He desperately wanted to appear before Mei Wanying.

’He would tell her that while he couldn’t erase the awful things that had happened, he would never force her to forget them. They could move forward together.’

’He would learn to be a good husband and a good father. They would create beautiful new memories.’

’In time, when Ah Yin saw him, she wouldn’t only be reminded of her pain.’

A voice in his heart urged Pei Yan to go and see Mei Wanying.

’They had been apart for too long, and this stalemate wasn’t doing any good. He was the one who’d begged Ah Yin to take him back; it was up to him to break the ice.’

’The worst that could happen was a verbal lashing from Ah Yin, and he could take that.’

But then he heard Xue Xingyao ask, "If he showed up right now, would you see him?"

Pei Yan froze. He instinctively held his breath, his hands clenching into tight fists out of sheer nervousness.

Mei Wanying’s emotions had settled, but she still hadn’t figured out how she should face Pei Yan.

Or how to handle their relationship.

Standing by the window and watching the people come and go on the long street below, she said, "I don’t know."

’Her thoughts were still a tangled mess. If Pei Yan appeared now, she was afraid she’d lose control of her emotions again.’

Mei Wanying had to admit she wasn’t as magnanimous as she’d thought.

Nor was she as good at letting things go.

She knew that Pei Yan had changed, that he wouldn’t hurt her in that way again, but she just couldn’t get past the block in her heart.

The man who had protected her, hurt her, and then begged for her to return—it was all the same Pei Yan.

Mei Wanying’s feelings were a complicated mess. "It’s better not to see him for now," she said.

Her voice drifted over faintly. Pei Yan lowered his gaze, his long lashes hiding the disappointment in his eyes.

’Ah Yin still didn’t want to see him.’

’If he appeared, Ah Yin would definitely send him away. He was... a little afraid of her cold stare.’

A man who feared neither heaven nor earth, yet he became timid and hesitant whenever it came to Mei Wanying.

Pei Yan let out a self-deprecating laugh. ’I really am pathetic. I only dare to make Ah Yin angry, but I don’t dare to face her wrath.’

The man’s eyes were filled with bewilderment. ’It’s been so long, yet Ah Yin still doesn’t want to see me.’

’Could it be... that she never wants to see me again?’

Pei Yan sat back down by the window, his gaze drifting outside. From here, he could see Mei Wanying’s carriage.

Upon learning that she and Xue Xingyao were meeting at the tavern, he had come here to wait the moment he passed through the city gates.

The moment Ah Yin stepped out of her carriage, his eyes were on her.

The summer sun blazed, but she looked cool and graceful in a turquoise tunic and skirt, her hair pinned up, a lovely vision appearing before him.

He missed Ah Yin so much it felt like he was losing control, yet when she happened to glance his way, he had ducked behind the window.

’I only dare to watch Ah Yin from the shadows.’

’I’m just a coward...’

The private room next door went quiet. Pei Yan stared blankly at Mei Wanying’s carriage.

Less than half an hour later, she and Xue Xingyao emerged from the tavern. The slender figure boarded her carriage, and it carried her away into the distance.

Pei Yan remained lost in thought for a long time.

Before he came, he had been so confident that he and Ah Yin would reconcile.

But a single sentence from her had shattered his confidence, leaving him without even the courage to show his face.

The man looked so dejected that even Wei Jue started to feel sorry for him.

’He traveled all this way to Jiangnan, yet he doesn’t dare to show himself openly to Miss Mei.’

’He can only hide here, watching and listening in secret.’

’This is the ruler of the realm, a man at the very pinnacle of power.’

’Yet in this relationship, his every emotion is manipulated by Miss Mei. He’s never had the upper hand; he’s always been the subordinate one.’

In the past, Wei Jue would have thought Mei Wanying was being unreasonable.

’The Emperor has already humbled himself to such an extent, so how can she be so hard-hearted? Why won’t she just live a peaceful life with him?’

But now, his perspective had changed. He no longer wanted to get involved in the affairs of these two impossible people.

The Emperor seemed to revel in the torment Miss Mei put him through.

Despite the Emperor’s wounded expression, it would be impossible to actually make him leave and never see Miss Mei again.

If he dared to meddle, all he would get was punishment, and he had no desire to be caned.

He still remembered the lesson from last time, after all!

Wei Jue asked tentatively, "Emperor, shall I arrange an escort to take you back to the capital?"

Pei Yan shot him an icy glare. "Are you in a hurry to die?"

Wei Jue chuckled inwardly. ’What did I tell you? No matter how heartbroken the Emperor gets, there’s no way he would leave Miss Mei.’

’He’s probably comforting himself right now, thinking that since Miss Mei is only cruel to him, it proves he holds a special place in her heart.’

’The love between men and women is a strange thing indeed!’

The man’s frigid glare made the hair on the back of Wei Jue’s neck stand up. He had the distinct and unsettling feeling of being targeted by a predator.

He asked awkwardly, "Shall this subordinate bring the Little Prince to see you?"

"The Little Prince has grown so much, can run and jump now, and is talking a lot. So lively and adorable."

Even a cold and detached person like Wei Jue found the Little Prince utterly adorable.

The Emperor is the Little Prince’s own father. Seeing the Little Prince would surely lift his spirits.

At the mention of his daughter, Pei Yan’s expression softened. He missed Ah Yin, and he missed their daughter, too.

’It’s been so long,’ he wondered. ’Will Lingling still recognize me?’

"There’s no hurry."

’If Ah Yin finds out I’m already in Jiangnan, she’ll be on guard every time she leaves the house. She might even refuse to go out at all, and it would be impossible for me to see her.’

He wanted to have a proper look at Ah Yin first, and then go see their daughter.