The Wealthy Tycoon's Game of Life

Chapter 1332: Chapter 515: Peining_2

She ran with difficulty along the rugged mountain road she had walked countless times. The rain washed over the path, forming mud everywhere, and the filthy water continuously beat against her eyelids, making it hard for her to see the road ahead.

The feeling of hunger and thirst kept assaulting her, everything else was blurry, only this feeling was so vivid.

Qu Peining felt so tired, she thought she might just collapse right there, but every time she wanted to give up, her mother’s words echoed in her ears.

”Peining, you must be more outstanding than your brothers and sisters. Only then, when your grandmother can no longer protect us, can you stand firm in this family on your own...”

She knew her mother had always been despondent; in that cold family, she always locked herself in that small courtyard, and it seemed no one wanted to visit her.

Fortunately, she succeeded.

She gained the recognition of her grandfather and uncle, and finally escaped from that hellish place. Her mother also moved into a big house, with doctors and servants to care for her. Qu Peining knew that, as long as she desired, she could take up important positions anywhere.

But... why did she still feel no happiness?

It seemed that aside from the moment her mother beamed proudly as she embraced her, which granted Qu Peining a fleeting joy, at other times, she couldn’t feel any excitement.

Until later, during the days she spent unwinding at the Cultural Troupe, she unexpectedly met a girl.

She was unlike anyone Qu Peining had ever known; she was quiet and kind, seemingly always so calm and detached, like the first snow, never tainted by any colors.

It was as if her gray life suddenly took on a new vitality, and from the first day she met her, Qu Peining subconsciously wanted to get close to her, to protect her.

How could there be such a perfect woman in this world?

Qu Peining often wondered.

Or perhaps what she envied most was her ability to pursue anything she wanted.

”Senior Sister, sometimes I really envy you.”

”Envy me for what?”

”Envy that you... live out your own life.”

This conversation took place one afternoon after a performance, as Jiang Mo stepped off the stage, seemingly puzzled why she asked that, with her blank expression showing a hint of cuteness.

Qu Peining merely smiled slightly, without explaining.

For Jiang Mo seemed like another self in a different dimension, making Qu Peining feel inexplicably relieved and relaxed every time she was with her.

Until...

She discovered that Senior Sister Jiang Mo’s life wasn’t so perfect either.

She was, just like her poor mother, trapped in the void of a lie named ”love,” entrusting all her hopes on some ”scumbag” and trusting them unconditionally.

But what about the outcome?

She didn’t know what fate awaited her Senior Sister, but she had already seen her mother’s tragic end.

She didn’t want her Senior Sister to repeat her mother’s mistakes, so she resolutely came to the Magic City alone, even if it meant bending the rules, even if it came with a price; she wanted to protect her life, as she once silently promised her.

But at which point did it go wrong?

Qu Peining couldn’t figure it out, because she couldn’t remember what happened afterward.

Only she returned to this nightmare, as though no matter how hard she tried to keep running, this exhausting path seemed to have no end.

But... I’m really exhausted!

Aside from exhaustion, that burning hunger came rushing back again.

Moreover, Qu Peining found it strange; amid the rain in this dream, she should feel cold, yet inside, it was like a fire was burning, making her unbearably uncomfortable.

In a daze, Qu Peining seemed to touch something, the warm sensation made her involuntarily want to get closer, so she groped her way forward, tightly embracing the other person.

A sense of peace swept over her, and the physical cold seemed to be dispelled, but then the dryness of her mouth started protesting her body.

”Water, I want water...”

In her daze, Qu Peining saw a human face, and some strange subconscious let her know that that was the ”source” she was searching for.

So she lifted her snow-white neck and brought her head closer, hoping to ease the thirst in this way.

”Mm...”

She ended up achieving her desire, unconsciously exploring lightly, trying to draw moisture in some inexperienced way.

Yet, the feeling of thirst didn’t ease.

Why?

Qu Peining couldn’t comprehend, but she was unwilling to let go, so it felt like she was caught in some vicious cycle, holding the other person tightly, the intensity growing.

Her actions finally startled the ”source,” who, after a brief pause in the dark, began to respond to her.

But soon, the ”source” seemed to sense something amiss and pushed her away, just as Qu Peining irritably tried to follow, the other person returned again.

This time, Qu Peining finally drank real water, and the cooling sensation that seemed to refresh the heart allowed Qu Peining to regain some clarity.

Yet she still couldn’t open her eyes until some new taste seeped into her repeatedly entangled mouth.

Light and sweet, like the seafood porridge her mother used to make for her, extraordinarily umami, with shrimp that melted in her mouth without any added MSG, promptly swallowed.

This time, Qu Peining’s consciousness finally escaped the infinite chaos; her lashes fluttered as she realized that real porridge water was indeed flowing in her mouth.

Having swallowed instinctively, Qu Peining hadn’t yet opened her eyes before her mouth was blocked again.

This time the sensation was extraordinarily real, as though experienced countless times in the dream — that wondrous thrill shaking her very soul.

Thus, Qu Peining finally opened her eyes, gradually making out the scene before her.

The dim bedside lamp illuminated the bedroom before her, and she was curled up in a man’s embrace, arms around his neck, her smooth thigh draped over his waist, tightly clinging to him.

Close enough for mere inches, the young man’s facial contours were distinct, his features having a hint of mischievousness amongst their handsomeness. Qu Peining, who’d never paid attention to a man’s appearance before, felt her heart thump for the first time.

Soon she noticed something off.

Their faces were entirely pressed together, and that wonderful feeling came from their touching lips.

The young man seemed not to notice she’d awakened at first. Instead, when Qu Peining wanted to struggle and push him away, he abruptly let go.

”Such trouble...”

The young man muttered, then slightly rose to scoop something from a clay pot and put it into his own mouth, before promptly, under Qu Peining’s wide-eyed gaze, lowering his head and catching her mouth again.

Qu Peining finally realized she had been alleviating her thirst through some means.

She felt panic, anger, embarrassment, and awkwardness, as a feeling indescribably rolled within her heart.

It was this feeling that soon made Qu Peining close her eyes, opting to avoid the young man’s gaze.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her, how she could continue feigning sleep at this moment, allowing the other to treat her lightly; she should be rising to resist or seizing the moment to subdue him.

Wasn’t this the thought lingering in her mind for the past two days?

”I must be crazy...”

Qu Peining murmured inwardly.

Subsequently, she somehow opened her mouth, cooperating with him, swallowing perhaps the most complicated bowl of porridge she’d ever had since birth...