The Devil’s Designated Lover

Pei Xuanyan tightened his hands somewhat regretfully, restoring his cold expression: “I’m sorry, just now I…” 　　”I know.” An Ke unconsciously raised her hand to wipe her lips. She understood clearly that this man had seen another woman, and his smile was not because of her. 　　”You…” Seeing An Ke’s distant expression, Pei Xuanyan felt inexplicably uncomfortable. He turned and sat at the round table, asking, “Do you know how to play Chinese chess?” 　　”I used to often watch my dad and brother play. Sometimes I would play with them,” An Ke sat on a bamboo chair, her tone flat. 　　”Good, play this game with me,” Pei Xuanyan tugged at his tie, only looking at the chessboard. 　　”I’ll play with you, but we must start over,” An Ke stared at Pei Xuanyan, not wanting to miss any expression on his face: “Why hold onto a losing game? Starting over might lead to a different path.” Seeing Pei Xuanyan remain silent, An Ke continued: “Let me tell you a story, would you like to hear it?” Without waiting for his response, she went on: “There was a five-year-old boy who ate a lollipop one day, the most delicious one he’d ever had. From then on, he only ate this type of lollipop, believing it was the best in the world. Don’t you think he might have missed many other delicious lollipops?” An Ke glanced at the darkening sky, and the lights in the room automatically turned on, making the small house look like a crystal house glowing in the forest. 　　Pei Xuanyan nodded, his expression softening slightly, examining An Ke as if meeting her for the first time. After a long while, he stood up, opened a wooden cabinet in the corner, took out two bottles of mineral water, and returned to hand one to An Ke. He drank most of it in one gulp, as if making a big decision: “I’ll tell you a story too.” 　　An Ke remained silent, waiting for him to continue. 　　”She was a beautiful and kind woman who would make you love and cherish her involuntarily. Two men around her deeply loved her, but she fell in love with the one she shouldn’t. Let me first tell you about this wooden house. Its appearance is no different from an ordinary wooden house, but every facility is top-of-the-line in the world. Take these chairs we’re sitting on – they look like ordinary bamboo chairs, but they’re very soft, and you won’t feel tired no matter how long you sit. The refrigerator that stores water is both energy-efficient and keeps things fresh. You’ve seen the lights – they’re designed by a German master, unique in the world, controlled by sensing the owner’s body temperature and sound. Just because she liked it, the man who loved her bought this land and built this place for her, though he never set foot inside. She told the man who loved her that she wanted a small world of her own, and that man respected her, never stepping inside.” Pei Xuanyan lit a cigarette and continued: “She agreed to be with the man who loved her, only to better love the man she truly loved. And the man who loved her still doesn’t understand the truth, always believing that woman deeply loved him.” 　　”There’s only love and not love, how can there be ‘should’ or ‘should not’ love?” An Ke really wanted to know what kind of person that man was, who would love a woman so wholeheartedly, and how that woman was ungrateful for her blessing. 　　”Because the man she loved was her own brother. They knew this was an incestuous love, against ethical morals, so they loved yet could not love.” Pei Xuanyan continued: “She was my own sister, Pei Xuanling, and the man who loved her was Jun Hao.”