The room's curtains were only half-drawn, and the pitch-black night tightly concealed the corners. Shen Zhiyi could only make out the vague silhouette of a person lounging on the single-seater sofa, their posture relaxed, long legs casually bending and stretching to reveal the tip of a leather shoe.
Noticing Shen Zhiyi's gaze, the person leaned forward slightly, and a layer of thin moonlight fell upon them, casting their face in a cool hue that made them seem inhuman. He looked over with interest, his eyes slender and lined with fine contours, his pupils pitch-black as if they could capture one's soul.
With his gaze upon her, Shen Zhiyi suddenly felt a tingling sensation up her spine, as though she were prey being watched by a wild beast. She felt an intimidating force from this man, the kind that only those who have held power for a long time possess.
Shen Zhiyi's rationality had already scattered, and she stared upward, transfixed, until she felt a hint of warmth on her cheek.
It was his finger.
Pei Yu lowered his eyes, gently twiddling the tear droplet on his fingertip, and under the moonlight, he relished the sight of the woman's delicate and proportionate figure before him. His gaze was aggressively territorial, causing Shen Zhiyi to instinctively sense danger.
His voice was low and tinged with a hint of scorn, "Crying for what? Is such a lousy thing even worth your tears?"
He had heard everything.
Perhaps Shen Zhiyi wasn't very clear-headed at the moment, or maybe those emotions had been suppressed in her heart for too long. Hearing his words, her dry and sore eyes began to well up with tears again.
"Don't cry."
Pei Yu wiped under her eye with his fingertip, his tone somewhat careless as though making a casual suggestion, "Why not follow me from now on, hmm?"
His brows and eyes were cold and resolute, always carrying a smile that wasn't quite a smile, unabashedly displaying the arrogance unique to those in high positions. However, when he spoke, his voice trailed off softly and low, as if afraid of scaring someone away.
Shen Zhiyi stared blankly at him, her eyes slightly glazed, a flush of rosy red spreading across her cheeks from the effects of the drug. Even her exposed collarbone was tinged pink. It was obvious she wasn't lucid enough to make a rational response.
Pei Yu, on the other hand, was intent on taking advantage of the situation. He leaned in, closing the distance between them until their breaths were audible.
He enticed her, "Is it okay?"
The faint scent of agarwood lingered at the tip of her nose. Shen Zhiyi was already struggling to resist the burning urge inside her, and now Pei Yu deliberately seduced her, causing her rationality to completely collapse. She lifted her hand and hooked it around his neck.
Her eyes sparkled, not even aware of what she was agreeing to, "Okay."
Late into the night, the banquet was drawing to a close. The person in charge of Zhouwan Nanyuan had just bid farewell to the last demanding chairman and was breathing a sigh of relief when his assistant mentioned that there was still a Buddha-like figure in the hotel.
He broke out into a cold sweat, "Why has someone from the Pei Family also come to Nanyuan?"
The Pei Family was the most unapproachable of the three real estate giants in the Beijing Community, and the very person whose name he didn't dare to speak aloud was at the pinnacle of power—the current head of Pei's, who had claimed to be ill and gone abroad three years ago, delegating his authority. But everyone knew that the real head of the Pei Family had never changed.
Chairman Pei had just returned to the country not long ago, so why would he come to their small place in Nanyuan?
The person in charge hastened with his assistant to the VIP room, colliding at the door with a young man. He immediately spoke with eager politeness, "Secretary Qin, I've been so busy tonight, I didn't know that Chairman Pei was also here. My apologies for the oversight, truly an oversight!"
Secretary Qin adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose and replied congenially, "It's okay, Chairman Pei just came to look around."
In fact, even he didn't know why his boss suddenly wanted to visit Nanyuan. After arriving, he didn't join the party but just stayed in a room. He even found Secretary Qin's presence bothersome and asked him to stay elsewhere.
Secretary Qin knocked on the door, "Chairman Pei."
A group of people simultaneously held their breath, fearing any more slip-ups that might bring disaster upon them. If they really incurred Chairman Pei's bad luck, they'd only have the option of packing up and returning home to farm their lands.
Secretary Qin stood quietly by the door; after it opened, he handed over the overcoat as usual, but as he looked up, he sharply froze.
Since when did his boss have a woman in his embrace?!
"Hiss—"
Pei Yu drew in a breath and tilted his face to the side, "Bite a bit lighter."
He soothingly patted the person in his embrace. Shen Zhiyi had completely lost consciousness, and under the effect of the drug, sought only to relieve the bouts of heat within her. She fidgeted restlessly in Pei Yu's arms and even bit into the soft flesh of his neck.
In the midst of the shocked gazes of everyone, Pei Yu didn't seem displeased at all. He didn't stop the movements of the woman in his arms, covering her with the overcoat and taking the lead in striding forward.
Thanks to his outstanding mental fortitude, Secretary Qin quickly recovered his wits, following closely behind Pei Yu and giving an eye signal to the person in charge of Nanyuan behind him, who understood the message perfectly.
Not a single word about this matter could be leaked out.
Although it was not to be revealed, they couldn't help but speculate. The name of the Pei Family carried weight; countless women longed to climb into his bed, but none were known to have succeeded. Even if someone did succeed, they could only be an unseen mistress without the status to appear in public.
Upon this realization, the treatment of the woman just now was quite unusual, and Pei Yu's attitude was very indulgent. Too bad they couldn't see her face to know who it was.
To latch onto a member of the Pei Family was akin to ascending to the heavens in a single step.
Upon leaving Nanyuan, Secretary Qin had the driver bring the car around, and he himself sat in the passenger seat, exchanging a knowing look with the driver. Then with some hesitation, he asked, "Chairman Pei, are we going back to Huating?"
Huating was Pei Yu's residence, where no outsiders other than their own staff had ever entered, and now Pei Yu was still holding a woman in his arms...
"Hmm."
Pei Yu responded indifferently, sensing Shen Zhiyi shifting uncomfortably, he propped her up to rest against his arm, gently patting her back, "Just bear with it a little longer."
The tenderness in his tone was so unsettling that Secretary Qin, emboldened, peered back, finally getting a clear view of the person in Pei Yu's arms.
He blurted out, "Isn't that Huo Heng's girlfriend?"
Secretary Qin also paid close attention to the entertainment industry, and the trending search regarding these two had been up for an entire day. He remembered that face all too clearly, there was no way he could have mistaken it.
The temperature in the car plummeted in an instant. Pei Yu looked up, his gaze cold and detached, with undisguised ferocity in his eyes, which brought Secretary Qin's rationality back, promptly shutting his mouth.
He had just been too shocked and spoken without thinking; he had no intention of questioning his boss's actions, nor did he wish to lose his job. He just hoped his boss wouldn't hold this slip against him.
After a long while, just as Secretary Qin thought the topic had passed, he heard Pei Yu's deep murmuring.
"She's mine now."