To control her social circle, Pei Ziheng did not give her a mobile phone, so she had to use the landline phone at home. She rushed back to the bedroom and dialed Pei Ziheng’s number. “Pei Ziheng! Where did you hide my ring pendant?!”

At the other end of the phone, Pei Ziheng’s voice was ominous. “I’ve said before, that’s not something you should have. I’ve already handed it to Chu Chen and told him to melt it. I dare you to bring something back home that you shouldn’t again. Xia Ling, know your place.”

She could not be bothered to hear his nonsense and immediately hung up the phone. She hurriedly searched in the address book for Chu Chen’s number and called him. “Chu Chen! Did Pei Ziheng pass you a platinum ring pendant?!”

Chu Chen’s voice was very respectful. “Yes.”

“Give it back to me!”

“The Boss told me to melt it.” Unfortunately, although his tone was respectful, his voice did not waver. “I’m settling this now. If you want to see it personally turn into liquid, you can turn on the video chat.”

“Don’t melt it!” Xia Ling was panic-stricken. She turned the video chat on. Sure enough, Chu Chen was standing in front of a machine and watching the operator throw the platinum ring into it to melt it into a pool of liquid.

Her heart sank.

Chu Chen gave her a friendly smile. “Miss Ye, if you don’t get rid of your old things, new things won’t come. Isn’t it just a few grams of platinum? If you are by the Boss’ side, you can have anything you want. Why bother?”

She was hurt and furious. As she breathed heavily, she thought about how much she wanted to tear the fake smile off Chu Chen’s face.

However, she knew she could not do so. She could only turn the video chat off and slam the phone on the floor to vent her anger.

It was gone… the ring was gone.

She slumped her body against the wall, sat on the floor, and buried her head in her knees.

She remained like that for a long time without moving.

“Miss Ye, why are you sitting here? The floor is cold. This…” Nanny Zhou’s voice was full of concern as she urged her. “Quickly get up. What do you want to eat for lunch? I’ll make it for you. If Mister sees you like that, he will be heartbroken.”

Nanny Zhou persuaded her for a long time, but Xia Ling refused to budge.

Helpless, Nanny Zhou sighed and walked away.

After a long time, footsteps were heard again. Someone blocked the light in front of her, trapping her body in a large shadow. “Xiao Ling.” It was Pei Ziheng. His voice was low and warm, just like the past after they had an argument over the phone. “Don’t throw a tantrum. Come and eat with me. You’ve lost weight recently.”

She did not utter a sound and refused to look at him.

Pei Ziheng bent down and wrapped her in his arms.

As if she were jolted by an electric shock, she looked up and muttered without struggling. “Let me go.”

Pei Ziheng did not let go. He looked at her face and frowned. At least he knew why Nanny Zhou worriedly ask him to come back to check on her quickly. Just a few short hours after he left in the morning, she already looked so weary. He could not pinpoint what exactly what was wrong, but she looked like a withered rose that had lost all of its vitality. It was as if she would turn into ash if he touched her lightly.

His heart ached, and he hugged her even more carefully.

“Eat something.” He said gently. “I have two jewelers coming over tomorrow. They will bring the new jade agate, the gem of the season and your favorite. Just buy anything you want.”

Seeing that she still did not speak, Pei Ziheng simply carried her and placed her on the bed.

The bed had already been cleaned by Nanny Zhou, and she had already replaced the soft duvet, so the bed was clean and comfortable. Pei Ziheng went to get a hot towel to wipe her face and placed a plain pure silk satin dress in front of her. “I just bought this new dress. I remember that you liked this type of material and color. I only don’t know if it fits you, try it on. Once you’ve changed, come downstairs. I will wait to eat with you.”

He paused after seeing that she was not responsive. “Do you want me to help you change?”

Her body trembled. Only then did she looked up at him. “I’ll change myself.” She said with a faint voice.

Pei Ziheng was pleased and went downstairs to wait for her.

Xia Ling waited for him to go out. The first thing she did was to get off the bed and lock the door. Actually, ever since he barged in last night, she knew that the door lock was useless, but she still had to lock the door to feel more at ease.

She unfolded the pain silk satin dress. It was very beautiful and was indeed her favorite style.

After being with him for more than a decade, Pei Ziheng knew what she wanted and would always handle everything properly before she even spoke. She guessed that he did not just buy one dress of this style. When she was searching for the platinum ring in the morning, she barged into a walk-in closet. At that time, she was in a rush, but now, after thinking about it, it was filled with a mountain pile of the latest clothing, shoes, and hats. He probably prepared all of them for her.

In her past life, she was very grateful for his thoughtfulness.

However, now, she only felt that it was scary.

This was like a cage, and she was the marionette in the cage which was beautifully dressed. But it was useless no matter how expensive looking it was because she could not resist the will of the master. She could only like what he liked and appreciate what he appreciated. If he did not allow her to keep something, then she had no choice but to give it up.

She put on that dress.

In the mirror, she felt like a beautiful doll.

Now, she could only be a doll.

She went downstairs to the dining area and realized that it was filled with a wide array of dishes which she loved. Pei Ziheng was already seated on the opposite side of her, currently on the phone with someone and talking about business. When he saw her come in, he said a few sentences before ending the call.

Xia Ling guessed that he probably rushed back home especially for her.

Pei Ziheng was a very organized person. Although he was usually busy, everything was usual in order, and he would never handle official duties when dining. This was not in line with his upbringing.

Well then, there was only one explanation. She had interrupted his schedule for the day.

However, so what?

Xia Ling was utterly indifferent. He was the one who disrupted her entire life.

A table of delicious food was hard to eat when it was given to the wrong people. Xia Ling ate a few mouthfuls before she could no longer continue and put down the bowl with a lack of interest.

Pei Ziheng warmly asked, “Are you full?”

She did not respond.

“How can you eat so little?” He signaled Nanny Zhou to pass her a bowl of soup. “Drink some soup.”

She had no strength to argue with him and obediently picked up the spoon to drink the soup. Nanny Zhou’s old hen stewed cordyceps soup had always been delicious, but she felt uncomfortable after taking just a sip. Her mouth felt bitter, and she had a hard time swallowing it and could not bring herself to drink the second spoonful of soup.

Pei Ziheng had been watching her. “Is it bad?”

She shook her head. Her stomach was upset, so she pushed the tableware aside.

Seeing that she was really uncomfortable, Pei Ziheng did not force her to continue eating.