Chapter 51 A Substitute.

Pei Yu's little plan failed. Just as he was about to coax people to the card table, the host of the birthday party heard the news and came running over. She was dressed up carefully, and the thin bracelets on her wrists jingled. She stuck her head out of the door and caught sight of Pei Yu at a glance.

"Brother Pei Yu!"

Qin Xiaoran is as outgoing as her brother, but a little afraid of Pei Yu. She doesn't call Qin Fang her real brother, but instead calls Pei Yu "brother" all the time and is very well behaved.

She looked at Shen Zhiyi curiously and asked cautiously, "Brother Pei Yu, can I take Sister Zhiyi out to play?"

Afraid that Pei Yu would disagree, she bluntly complained about her brother, "Qin Fang is so stupid. He arranged for Sister Zhiyi to be with men like you. How boring! I want to take her somewhere else to play."

"Want to go?"

Pei Yu asked. Of course he didn't want Shen Zhiyi to leave his sight, but this place was indeed boring, and Qin Xiaoran knew his limits, so he felt relieved.

Shen Zhiyi nodded. There was no reason for her to refuse the little birthday boy.

As soon as they left the box, Qin Xiaoran's tense nerves relaxed. He changed into a playful and smiling face, and held Shen Zhiyi's arm affectionately, "Come on, I'll take you to my place to play. Brother Pei Yu, do you want to play cards with you? What's so fun about cards?"

After saying this, I remembered to introduce myself. "My name is Qin Xiaoran, just call me Xiaoran. The pearl crown you used for your birthday is mine. When Qin Fang said he wanted to give it to someone else, I was wondering who would have such a big reputation. But Qin Fang said he wanted to give it to Pei Yu's girlfriend, which scared me!"

This was the first time Shen Zhiyi had heard of this, and he felt even more embarrassed, "I don't know—"

Knowing that she was about to apologize, Qin Xiaoran quickly interrupted her, "I didn't suffer any loss. Qin Fang compensated me with the opal. This crown suits you very well. It looks better on you than on me."

When they got there, there were girls everywhere. The atmosphere was completely different from Pei Yu's. When Shen Zhiyi showed up, several people wanted to get close to her, but Qin Xiaoran drove them away and led her to continue walking inside. "Don't play with them. They're very gossipy."

The innermost room was a private room where Qin Xiaoran's good friends were entertaining. Shen Zhiyi was invited by several girls to take a group photo and they quickly became familiar with each other.

When another person stood in front of her, she raised her head, but was met with an unfriendly face.

"Were you the one who seduced Pei Yu in the box last time?"

"Zhao Shu!"

Qin Xiaoran frowned and warned her, "Don't go crazy in front of me."

Her brother repeatedly warned her not to let Shen Zhiyi get angry, and she didn't want to be scolded.

Zhao Shu ignored her and continued to stare at Shen Zhiyi. The scrutinizing look in her eyes made people feel uncomfortable, but her voice was so recognizable that Shen Zhiyi remembered who she was.

The one who deliberately soiled Pei Yu's clothes.

She said calmly and gently, "The time you deliberately poured red wine on Pei Yu? It was me."

Pei Yu was blocking the view at the time, so Zhao Shu could only catch a glimpse of the shadow of the hem of her skirt. Afterwards, the news spread like wildfire, and people laughed at her for her clumsy tactics and for acting like a spoiled brat when she didn't dare to be arrogant.

However, Zhao Shu felt that it was not her fault. Pei Yu had already been seduced away by another woman, and no matter how sophisticated her tactics were, it would be useless.

She pressed, "How long have you been with Pei Yu?"

The offense was too strong, Shen Zhiyi didn't want to pay attention to it, she stood up and walked out, but Zhao Shu was relentless and chased after her, completely ignoring Qin Xiaoran's attempts to stop her.

"Don't be too complacent. How long do you think he can spoil you? He's just trying to please you for the sake of novelty. I've seen this happen many times—"

Shen Zhiyi interrupted her, "Are you jealous of me?"

She said calmly, "I don't know what I have that you would be jealous of. If you want Pei Yu, go and tell him. Don't act arrogant in front of me because it's ridiculous." Zhao Shu glared at her fiercely, still insisting, "So what if you are the first one, you will never be the only one."

Unable to bear it any longer, several girls quickly pulled the person out. Qin Xiaoran looked embarrassed and said, "Don't take her words to heart."

Shen Zhiyi said nothing.

She didn't care about Zhao Shu as a person, but she couldn't help but care about what she said. In fact, she was just expressing everyone's thoughts, and that was what this group of people thought of her.

She is Pei Yu’s female companion, and the qualifier is “at this moment”. Who knows if the person attending Qin Xiaoran’s birthday party next year will be replaced by someone else?
"I'm going for a walk."

The hall was full of people, and it was not easy to find a quiet place. Shen Zhiyi entered an empty box. There was wine on the table. She took a sip and saw her face in the reflection of the glass table. She smiled silently, somewhat self-deprecatingly.

She didn't want to reveal her relationship with Pei Yu before, after all, it was because she felt that she was not worthy of being in the spotlight. This time, agreeing to attend the birthday party with Pei Yu actually meant that this idea was loosening up - she couldn't help but be moved by Pei Yu like that.

Zhao Shu's words were like a heavy blow to her at this juncture, making her wake up again and realize her situation.

She didn't say anything wrong. To Pei Yu, "Shen Zhiyi" was a replaceable person. This was a consensus based on the difference in status and the rules of the circle.

"Hey, there's someone here."

A sudden male voice appeared in the box. Shen Zhiyi came back to his senses from his thoughts, stood up and walked out.

"Don't leave so quickly. I heard you're an actor?"

The man was obviously drunk, smelling strongly of alcohol, and he shamelessly pestered her, "I've kept a few actresses before, but none of them were as pretty as you. Is Pei Yu good to you? Have you considered looking for another one?"

Shen Zhiyi hated drunken men so much that her face turned cold. She was blocked by him at the door and couldn't leave. She was even forced to retreat step by step. She didn't say a word, but quietly picked up the unfinished bottle of red wine.

The man continued, "It seems like you just broke up not long ago. Did you hook up with Pei Yu before the breakup? Then I think it's okay for you to consider me now. When you are not with Pei Yu, you can come to accompany me. It's great to earn two salaries."

Shen Zhiyi had a blank expression on her face, and her hand holding the wine bottle was turning pale. She hadn't fought for a long time and was not sure if she could deal with him. She knew that if she failed to hit the man and let him react, it would only anger him.

She was too familiar with this kind of person.

The man was still getting closer when the tightly closed door was knocked. It was Qin Xiaoran's voice, "Sister Zhiyi, are you in there?"

The door was locked at some point, and Shen Zhiyi immediately responded loudly, "I'm here!"

The voice was short and tense, and anyone familiar with it would immediately be able to tell something was wrong.

Seeing someone coming, the man fell drunkenly on the sofa, pretending that what he just said was just drunken nonsense and pretending that nothing had happened.

Shen Zhiyi put down the bottle and quickly ran to open the door, but when the door opened, he saw Pei Yu.

His eyes stayed on her face for a moment, and Pei Yu glanced inside calmly, "Why are you here?"

"Just take a walk."

Shen Zhiyi's breathing was still a little hurried, and he suppressed his emotions, "Let's go."

The hair on her temples was tucked behind her ears. Pei Yu smiled softly and said, "You and Xiaoran go first."

He entered the box and locked it.

(End of this chapter)