Extreme Pampering
Chapter 163: Walking into Pei Yu’s Heart.

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Walking into Pei Yu’s Heart.

Qin Fang kept saying he wouldn’t get married, that he had no interest in it, but at the end of the day, he was just Mr. Xiaoqin, with an elder Mr. Qin holding sway over the bigger picture. An arranged marriage was inevitable; it was just that he himself was unwilling and felt that being seen by others would tarnish the image of Mr. Xiaoqin being a ladies’ man, so the matter of meeting potential brides was kept a secret and conducted quite covertly.

But no matter how covert, Pei Yu, who he complained was wrapped around Shen Zhiyi’s little finger, still found out.

All those present had only just found out about this, and Shen Zhiyi blinked, quite curious.

"You’re going to have an arranged meeting, too?"

He had previously claimed he would remain a bachelor for life.

"Just met with the daughter of Dongyuan Building Materials," Pei Yu was happy to clarify for her, seeing her interest, he added a few more words, "She didn’t fancy him."

"Hey, hey, hey," Qin Fang disagreed, "I don’t fancy her either. She’s neither here nor there, not easy on the eyes. Arranged meetings are one thing, but I never agreed to marriage; just fooling around to appease my dad."

The few of them teased him about his marriage prospects for a bit, with Shen Zhiyi contributing little, as Pei Yu kept piling food onto her plate. The food here really did taste quite good, so she ate more.

When dessert was served after the meal, Shen Zhiyi received a message from an unknown number on her phone—it was Xu Xia, requesting a meeting to talk.

Xu Xia wasn’t foolish; she naturally knew that her dark secrets being exposed was someone’s deliberate act against her, and that person had to be Shen Zhiyi beyond doubt. She requested this meeting to seek peace, because while other scandals could be dismissed with various excuses, her secret affair with Huo Heng was something she couldn’t just brush off unless Shen Zhiyi spoke for her.

Shen Zhiyi sent her an address, telling her to come to her.

The gathering ended just as Xu Xia messaged to meet in the parking lot.

Qin Xiaoran walked out arm in arm with her and immediately saw Xu Xia, who wore a mask. She had been indulging in the drama with glee and was quite familiar with that face.

"Sister Zhiyi?"

She feared Xu Xia was here to cause trouble.

"It’s okay," Shen Zhiyi said, "Let’s have a chat."

Since Pei Yu was there, her assurance made Qin Xiaoran stop interfering, and she left with Qin Fang.

"Pei Yu," Shen Zhiyi nudged him, "You get in the car first."

Pei Yu dropped his gaze and looked at her for a while, then tenderly caressed her cheek with his fingertips, appearing a bit unhappy because Shen Zhiyi wouldn’t let him meddle.

He just had to lower his eyes and Shen Zhiyi knew he was in a bad mood, so she softened her voice to mollify him, "I will be back in a moment, nothing’s going to happen."

Having been taken advantage of once, how could she let Xu Xia bully her again?

Pacified by her soothing words, Pei Yu eventually compromised and got in the car.

Shen Zhiyi walked toward Xu Xia and stopped in front of her.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Standing there, Xu Xia had clearly seen how Shen Zhiyi and Pei Yu communicated, the interaction far from servile—worlds apart from what she had imagined. She began to understand why Shen Zhiyi claimed they were different now.

"Sister Zhiyi," she whispered, "I know I was wrong. Can’t you just stop holding it against me, let me off just this once?"

Spoiled by Huo Heng and indulged by her patrons, she had developed a petulant nature, sometimes her rationality was utterly useless, otherwise, she wouldn’t have left so many vulnerabilities, nor would she have provoked Shen Zhiyi knowing full well her relationship with Pei Yu.

She was just jealous, unwilling to see Shen Zhiyi living so breezily when before she couldn’t hold a candle to her.

Shen Zhiyi watched her quietly, actually having some understanding of her thoughts and knowing that her admission of fault was only out of fear of ending up like Huo Heng.

"Did you ever think there’d be a day like today when you slapped me?"

Sometimes, Shen Zhiyi found Xu Xia smart, other times, just foolish.

"I..." Xu Xia paused, "Sister, you can slap me back. I really know I was wrong."

She had no way to claim it wasn’t on purpose because she was indeed venting her frustration.

Shen Zhiyi stepped closer and said in a very calm tone, "Take off your mask."

Xu Xia endured the humiliation in her heart and removed her mask.

"Slap!"

Her cheek was slapped to one side, burning with pain, but what Xu Xia found even harder to bear was the psychological blow.

She bit her lip and asked with teary eyes, "Sister Zhiyi, can you forgive me now?"

With a tingle in her palm, Shen Zhiyi rubbed her wrist and looked up, "Did I ever say I would forgive you?"

Xu Xia suddenly looked up, "But you’ve already slapped me back!"

"So what?" Shen Zhiyi tilted her head, "I’ve said it long ago, I would slap you back. This slap is what you owed me, and it has nothing to do with whether I forgive you or not."

She grew up being hit and hated when someone laid hands on her.

"Then what do I need to do for you to forgive me?"

Xu Xia was truly panicked now; she thought that Shen Zhiyi wouldn’t be too harsh with her, after all, her career had already taken a huge hit from the scandal—what else could Shen Zhiyi be dissatisfied with?

Now that the slap had been returned, Shen Zhiyi had no reason to waste more time on her.

She turned around, leaving only a sentence devoid of much emotion.

"Never."

She actually held grudges.

Back in the car, Secretary Qin drove without a sideways glance; he generally followed Pei Yu’s private schedule closely, acting as a driver—of course, he was paid double.

As soon as Shen Zhiyi got in the car, she said softly, "My hand hurts."

Sigh, she hadn’t hit someone before and didn’t know how to control her strength, ending up hurting her own hand.

Pei Yu grasped her hand and massaged it, "Who told you to take matters into your own hands."

"If I don’t do it," Shen Zhiyi joked, "should I have asked Secretary Qin to do it?"

Secretary Qin felt embarrassed; as Pei Yu’s most trusted secretary, there was nothing he couldn’t do, but he had never hit a woman—the very thought troubled him.

"He might not mind," Pei Yu said, frowning as he looked at her reddened palm, "as long as the money is right."

Secretary Qin: "..."

Boss, you really understand.

Shen Zhiyi laughed softly and closed her palm, grasping his fingertips as well, "I couldn’t let others do it for me, that wouldn’t be satisfying enough."

Looking up at her, Pei Yu asked, "Are you satisfied now?"

"Yes," Shen Zhiyi saw he was still not quite happy and leaned in to kiss his lips, "Only now do I feel that this matter is finally over, and I can truly move on."

Whether it be Huo Heng or Xu Xia, she would never be involved with these two again, and those memories would eventually be forgotten in the river of time, leaving not even the slightest trace of their existence.

He pinched the back of her neck, silently comforting, his fingertips slowly sliding to her cheek, Pei Yu’s voice was soft, audible only to her, "Where are you going to walk to?"

Knowing what he loved to hear, Shen Zhiyi was willing to indulge him, smiling as she said, "Into Pei Yu’s heart."

With a silent smile, Pei Yu lowered his gaze and kissed her, his heart tender and soft.

"You’ve been there all along."