Chapter 163

Hot tears dripped onto the back of her hand, crashing into Pei Jing's heart with a hint of panic.

He hugged her and reversed their positions so that they were facing each other, kissing away her tears. Their faint sweetness lingered as he said, "Don't cry. Tell me where you want to go and I'll take you there. I'll contact them tomorrow to ask about the situation and pick an appropriate time to visit, okay?"

He knew how important An Zhiang was to her and that it was only a train ride spanning two stations between them. They really should have gone to visit earlier.

It was just that between Zhi Xia's pregnancy, giving birth and the children being so young, it was truly inconvenient to travel such a long distance, which delayed things.

"Mm," Zhi Xia hoarsely nodded, resting against Pei Jing's shoulder as she thoroughly hid the traces of tears in her eyes.

She wasn't that fragile. It was just because they were apart.

For some matters, if you don't have hope for them, it's fine to just think about it. But once you gain hope, you end up constantly longing.

The two little ones had probably noticed their mother who had been talking to them suddenly ignoring them. Their mouths opened with loud cries as their big eyes blinked nonstop and their little hands and feet waved about vigorously.

Pei Chenye loved rolling over. Pei Jing had specifically placed him inside with Wanqing, but instead, the little guy somehow flipped over and pinned down half of Wanqing's body while he was stuck, unable to move up or down. This made his little sister cry loudly.

Pei Jing quickly reached out to push Pei Chenye off of little Wanqing so the two children could move freely again.

Zhi Xia also hurried over to hug Wanqing and comfort her, "Baby, don't cry. Your brother was bad to crush our Wanqing, wasn't he? Should we hit brother as punishment?"

Zhi Xia made a show of slapping Pei Chenye's bottom, but the little stinker thought she was playing with him and giggled happily.

Hearing the familiar laughter, Wanqing also stopped crying. Her mouth was twisted as if she might start sobbing again at any moment, but she turned her head and started laughing too.

...

He had intended to quickly bring Zhi Xia for a visit, but they didn't make it in time.

In the few days after Pei Meng left, heavy snow began falling here. Snow fluttering down in droves, bringing intense cold. Time passed swiftly amidst it all.

Pei Jing held a child in each arm while Zhi Xia carried a bag filled with the children's items. Their own clothes were stored away in her space, to be taken out when they neared their destination, saving them from the burden of lugging things around until they were half-dead with exhaustion.

Since they would be getting off after only a short ride, they hadn't bought sleeper berths but regular seats instead.

It was an afternoon train. By the time dusk fell, they had arrived at the station.

Unlike back in Lingjiang City, the train stops here weren't inside stations but right by the railway tracks.

Only four or five other people got off the train with them. Once they alighted, they were surrounded by farmland.

The other passengers asked each other where they were headed, hoping to travel together if they were going the same way. It wasn't safe nowadays, especially getting off in such deserted wilderness. It wouldn't be surprising if someone was lying in wait to ambush unsuspecting passersby from the hidden ditches and shrubbery.

"Comrade soldier, where are you folks headed? Let's walk together if we're going the same way," a man asked Pei Jing.

Pei Jing and Zhi Xia were each carrying a child while he held their bag. "Brother, we're going to..." he started to say.

But when he named their destination, it turned out they weren't going the same way.

"What a pity, we don't share the route," the man said disappointedly. "Comrade, there has been some disorder around here lately. Even though you're wearing a military uniform, you still have women and children in your company. You must be extremely cautious on the road. Be especially careful to avoid riverside ditches and concealed areas where someone could be hiding and lying in ambush."

"Thank you for the warning, comrade. I'll be careful," Pei Jing called to Zhi Xia. "We'll be on our way first then. Safe travels to you all."

"Safe travels..."

People of this era really were simple and honest.

After they had walked some distance, Zhi Xia put the daughter in her arms into her space.

This was Pei Jing's first time seeing Zhi Xia make a child vanish before his eyes. He couldn't help staring in disbelief for a moment.

Zhi Xia had already reached for the son in his arms. In the next moment, the two children were lying side by side on the bed in her space, along with the bag he had been holding.

Pei Jing's hands remained in the carrying posture, gazing at Zhi Xia with profound eyes.

"It's gotten quite late. Why don't we rest inside the space for a bit before continuing our journey?" Zhi Xia asked him.

"But you said..."

That's right. Zhi Xia had told him that people couldn't enter her space or they would rapidly age. Well, she hadn't exactly lied. "People can't go in the space, but I've furnished a room inside where the effects of time acceleration can be blocked."

"Alright, let's rest first then." Pei Jing knew she must still be keeping certain things from him. That was good - it would keep him vigilant, which favored him the most.

But he was extremely curious what this so-called "space" actually looked like. Since she had taken the rare initiative to invite him in, he decided to seize the opportunity.

Zhi Xia grabbed his hand. An intense vertigo overcame his senses and his vision was abruptly swallowed by darkness.

His body's instinctive reaction had him shut his eyes. When he opened them again, the scenery had completely transformed.

The spacious sky blue bedroom seamlessly flowed into the built-in cabinets lining the walls, with no visible gaps indicating where one object ended and the next began. The cabinets were filled with all sizes of items, many of which Pei Jing didn't even recognize.

There was also the luxuriously soft and comfortable large bed the children lay on, pink and tender.

Even someone as widely experienced as Pei Jing couldn't help a moment of discomposure in this situation.

Zhi Xia said the only area we can access is within this room. Outside is just farmland, visible only to me.

Since this came with the trading device, there were no doors or windows built in. So Zhi Xia wasn't concerned about him finding a way to exit.

"Let's go to the kitchen to eat something, then sleep. We'll continue our travel in the morning," Zhi Xia said, pulling Pei Jing toward the kitchen. The kitchen and dining room were separate spaces. Zhi Xia had set the trading device in the living room to stealth mode so Pei Jing couldn't see it.

Long ago while they were still aboard the train, Zhi Xia had started simmering rice and prepared four side dishes plus a soup dish in the kitchen using her mind. Now she just needed to transfer the food to bowls and plates for them to eat.

However, the cooking utensils and stove that somehow produced fire at the touch of a button left Pei Jing thoroughly shocked.

He had an intuition that the living standard supported by the technology in this house surpassed even what was available abroad.

And there was that humanoid device beside the bed that Zhi Xia had called a nanny robot.

Now he finally understood why whenever he wasn't home, Zhi Xia always secluded herself with the children behind closed doors yet claimed she didn't find it tiring at all to care for the two little ones alone.

Throughout the experience, Pei Jing maintained a silently observant demeanor. Zhi Xia kept gauging his reactions, only feeling relieved when she saw that he seemed merely curious rather than frightened.

Telling him all this represented an enormous decision on Zhi Xia's part.

In the past, she absolutely wouldn't have believed a man could work his way into the depths of her heart after little more than a year, to the point that she would risk exposing her hidden assets.

Of course, this was also partly because he was so intelligent. From subtle clues he had already guessed many traces on his own initiative.

"After seeing all this, do you have any questions for me?" Zhi Xia asked with a smile.

Pei Jing was in no rush. "What about you? Do you mind clarifying some things for me?"