Chapter 34: Should I remove this thorn?

The originally booked flight was cancelled and the plan was to stay overnight at the winery. When Shen Zhiyi woke up, it was still dawn outside and she found Pei Yu was not around. She went to look for him in her slippers and saw that the light in the study next door was still on.

She gently pushed the door open and was so brightly lit in the study that she closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Pei Yu's broad and tall back.

He was wearing a robe loosely, with an unlit cigarette between his lips, his eyes slightly lowered, and his fingertips holding a wolf-hair brush as he drew something on the paper with a focused look on his face.

Shen Zhiyi didn't come closer, but yawned against the wall. Pei Yu seemed to notice something and looked over. When he saw her, the tip of his pen paused, and he put it down and threw away the cigarette.

"Why are you awake?"

"The wind is noisy."

As he spoke, he walked closer, touched her cold shoulder, frowned, and put the nightgown on her.

"Sleep a little longer?"

"No," Shen Zhiyi shook her head. "My assistant will pick me up later. Do you have work today?"

"Ah."

Pei Yu responded, but didn't care much. He was just doing it on purpose because he was busy these days. Most of the time, there were not many occasions that could invite him.

Shen Zhiyi looked up at him, "Are you going back to Hua Ting?"

Huating was his home, and his absence made her, an outsider, feel uneasy.

"Back."

Pei Yu lifted her exposed shoulders with his fingertips and curled his lips vaguely.

As they were talking, there was a sudden noise outside. Shen Zhiyi listened carefully for a while and found that the sound was very familiar.

At this moment, Xu Zhouxing was arguing with the winery manager with an angry look on his face, "Is it so difficult for me to get a list? I just want to find someone!"

The manager was also embarrassed. "Mr. Xu, our guests are of special status. We can't just look at the list whenever we want."

Xu Zhouxing was naturally aware of the nature of this place. He had been here several times with his father, but to put it bluntly, this winery was just an entertainment venue. The person behind it was neither Pei nor Fu, and it was infuriating that they stopped him so rudely.

He felt that he had already given in. "I'll just check my friend, okay? Tell me which house she lives in."

I came all the way here just to meet someone, and I was so disappointed when I didn't find him.

The manager thought for a moment and asked, "Who is your friend?"

"An actor," Xu Zhouxing sneered, "Now you can check it for me."

He's just an actor, what can't be checked?
The manager asked someone to check the list, but after searching for a long time, no record of this guest's check-in was found.

“Are you sure that friend came to our winery?”

Xu Zhouxing was also stunned. Song Ran was the one who told him the news, so it couldn't be wrong.

There was no other way, he could only call Song Ran in anger to settle the score.

Cigarette butts fell all over the floor. Just as he was about to curse, the person he had been looking for all morning suddenly appeared, surprising and delighting him, "Shen Zhiyi!"

She is here indeed!

From a distance, Shen Zhiyi glanced in his direction, recognized him, but did not intend to say hello. He bent down and got into the car.

Xiao Dong complained quietly, "How come we can meet this? Director Xu is so free every day."

Even after I clearly rejected her, he kept pestering her. Not only did he think of ways to call and message Shen Zhiyi, he also tried to create an opportunity to meet her through the company. It was really annoying.

After hearing some rumors in the morning, Shen Zhiyi had already guessed that this was not a coincidence. Xu Zhouxing probably came here just for her. How could it be such a coincidence? Someone must have tipped her off.

"Song Ran told him."

No wonder Song Ran, who was not familiar with them at first, suddenly came over to get close to them. They must have reached a consensus on this point a long time ago.

Xiao Dong was surprised, then suddenly realized, "I'm speechless. I thought she just didn't know how to behave, but it turns out she's very scheming. Isn't this just using you to please Xu Zhou?"

She said angrily, "That's too much."

Shen Zhiyi didn't feel anything. The reason why she had no friends in the circle in the past few years was because she knew that everyone was taking advantage of each other. Today they could call you a sister, but tomorrow they would ruthlessly pull you down and slander you.

Not interesting.

Her indifferent attitude angered Xu Zhouxing, and he cursed gloomily before hanging up the phone.

Song Ran listened for a while and said with a hint of meaning, "I heard that Shen Zhiyi is dating Mr. Qin from Songjian. Maybe he doesn't like you."

Xu Zhouxing is particularly sensitive in this regard, "You look down on me?"

He took a deep puff of cigarette and sneered, "Is Qin Fangru better than me? What a coward, she will be bored with Qin Fangru soon. She is so stupid to choose him instead of me!"

The more he thought about it, the more unwilling he felt. He had been pursuing Shen Zhiyi for more than three years and it was difficult for her to even look at him straight in the eye, let alone let her be with him. But the more he couldn't get her, the more he missed her, especially now that she was with Qin Fangru. Isn't this a slap in his face?
The continuous cursing was unbearable to the ears. In the car not far away, Secretary Qin even had the urge to cover his ears. However, Pei Yu still had an indifferent expression and nonchalantly turned the page of the contract in his hand.

"Is the Xu family bidding for the Lingnan mining land recently?"

Xu Zhouxing's father is very ambitious and wants to take over the mine to mine raw materials. In order to get the deal, he shamelessly asked people for help everywhere. He has given away a lot of gifts and is anxiously waiting for news.

Secretary Qin had been with Pei Yu for so long that she could naturally hear the hidden meaning in his words.

"We have almost reached the final conclusion, but the contract has not been signed yet."

Pei Yu closed the document, supported his chin lazily, and swept his cold eyes over Xu Zhouxing outside.

"Then don't sign it."

How could the Xu family be willing to accept the loss of the order that was right in their hands? They had to find out the reason. The reason, of course, was that he had a good son like Xu Zhouxing.

Secretary Qin understood what he meant.

Two years ago, Xu Zhouxing lost 200 million yuan due to investment failure. He was beaten and scolded by his father and had to stay in the hospital for half a month. Now it has affected the company's big business, and I am afraid he will suffer serious consequences.

The car was quiet for a while. Secretary Qin thought of something and asked cautiously, "What about Huo Heng..."

The fact that Shen Zhiyi was hurt by Huo Heng's illegitimate fan was not exposed, but Pei Yu, as his secretary, knew very well how angry he was. Although Miss Shen and Huo Heng were already a thing of the past, this person was always a thorn in Pei Yu's heart.

Do you want to pull out this thorn?

After a long silence, Pei Yu said without any emotion, "Don't touch him."

What's the point of disappearing? No one can replace his position in Shen Zhiyi's heart. Even if you can't see him with your eyes, you can still think of him in your heart.

He was greedy. Simply saying "I don't like Huo Heng" was not enough. What he wanted was for this person to completely disappear from Shen Zhiyi's heart.

If Huo Heng refused to give up his position, how could this robber who took advantage of the situation come from behind and take the upper hand?
Therefore, this person must not only be kept, but also be kept alive and kicking, so as to gradually erode the last bit of good impression he has in Shen Zhiyi's heart.

The cigarette was extinguished after just one puff. Pei Yu pinched off the ash on his fingertips and looked up at the scenery outside the car.

He waited.

(End of this chapter)