Chapter 9 - Jiang Sheng

"President Jiang, long time no see." Chu Zhou raised his wine glass and nodded at Jiang Sheng.

Jiang Sheng quickly retracted his gaze and turned to look at Chu Zhou. He raised his glass and smiled. "It's my honor that Young Master Chu can attend the banquet."

Liang Yan was not in the mood to listen to their pleasantries. She just wanted to find an excuse to leave quickly.

The longer she stayed, the more her chest hurt.

That memory was too painful. Whenever she saw Jiang Sheng, every part of her body would scream and want to escape.

Just as Liang Yan was letting her imagination run wild, Jiang Sheng suddenly changed the topic. He looked at her and smiled. "This is? Aren't you going to introduce us, Young Master Chu?"

"This is my date, Liang Yan." Chu Zhou pinched Liang Yan's face affectionately. "She's also my girlfriend."

'Girlfriend', Liang Yan was slightly stunned.

Before she could react, Pei Yu's voice suddenly sounded in her ears. There was a hint of mockery in his coldness. "Your girlfriend?"

Liang Yan turned her head stiffly and saw Pei Yu holding a glass of wine and looking at her with a dark gaze. The emotions in his eyes were unclear.

Liang Yan held her breath and subconsciously wanted to shake Chu Zhou off.

However, Chu Zhou held Liang Yan tightly and looked at Pei Yu with a fawning smile. "That's right, President Pei. Speaking of which, she looks a little like your girlfriend, Miss Chen."

Hearing this, Pei Yu scoffed and sized Liang Yan up. "Cheap and unrefined."

These words were like a knife that stabbed into Liang Yan's heart. It was so painful that she could not breathe.

After five years of companionship, he could only say that she was cheap and unrefined.

"Of course, she can't compare to Miss Chen," Chu Zhou agreed ingratiatingly. "She's just a small employee in your company. Miss Chen is one of the top socialites in the circle. How can she compare to her!"

Liang Yan smiled bitterly.

That's right, how could she compare to the noble Miss Chen?

She had a good family background, good looks, educational background, and was Pei Yu's childhood sweetheart. She was just a substitute that Pei Yu picked up five years ago.

Liang Yan bit her lip and didn't say anything.

"You're wrong." Jiang Sheng suddenly smiled and said, "I think this Miss Liang is also fresh and refined. Although she can't compare to Miss Chen, she's not ordinary."

Liang Yan looked up at Jiang Sheng in surprise. She didn't expect him to speak up for her.

Pei Yu did not continue Jiang Sheng's sentence. He looked at Liang Yan coldly. "Miss Liang, do you know how to drink?"

Before Liang Yan could say anything, Chu Zhou nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes."

He was afraid that if she did not do a good job, Pei Yu would be unhappy.

"Very well." Pei Yu instructed the waiter to pour a glass of wine and handed it to Liang Yan. "Drink it. If you satisfy me, perhaps I can consider letting Young Master Chu take a share of the land in the northern suburbs."

Chu Zhou was overjoyed and hurriedly urged Liang Yan to quickly bring the wine over.

However, Liang Yan only stared blankly at Pei Yu.

It was hard for her to imagine that Pei Yu would force her to drink…

She remembered that there was once when she attended a farewell party for one of her colleagues. She had drunk too much and had red spots on her body. Although it was not a big deal and she would recover the next day, Pei Yu was unhappy when he found out.

It was only after she repeatedly promised that she would stop drinking that Pei Yu was willing to talk to her.

That was Pei Yu's rare concern, so she had always remembered it.

Unexpectedly, things had changed.

Liang Yan's eyes reddened. She quickly lowered her head and bit her lips tightly, afraid that she would lose her composure in public.

However, Pei Yu was unwilling to let her go. He pressed on step by step. "What? You don't want to drink?"

Beside her, Chu Zhou kept hinting at Liang Yan with his eyes. In the end, when he ran out of methods, he even directly hinted, "If you don't drink, I won't buy your favorite butterfly necklace."

Liang Yan knew what Chu Zhou meant. For Hu Die, she had to drink it.

"Of courrse, President Pei is giving me face by asking me to drink. How can I not drink?" Liang Yan met Pei Yu's half-smiling gaze, took the glass, and drank it in one gulp.

Unexpectedly, Pei Yu was unwilling to let her off just like that. "Continue drinking until I'm satisfied."

As soon as he finished speaking, the attendant beside him immediately filled Liang Yan's glass.

The people nearby also sensed the tension and gradually gathered around, whispering as they watched this farce.

Liang Yan had never been in such a sorry state before, but she had no choice but to compromise. She could only drink glass after glass. When she drank too much, wine flowed out of the corners of her mouth and dripped onto the luxurious gown.

After drinking countless glasses, a hand suddenly blocked Liang Yan's wine. He said gently, "President Pei is in a good mood, but I'm afraid this lady will faint if she continues drinking."

Liang Yan looked at the person in a daze. To her surprise, it was Jiang Sheng who spoke up for her.

  1. 'Hu Die' is a homophone for butterfly.