Three years had passed, and he seemed not to have changed at all.
No one knew that Pei Er had once been with the illustrious Young Master Shang.
It was a hidden affair, known to no one.
When Pei Er was seventeen, she filled out her college entrance exam preferences and, for the first time, defied Pei Pingxuan and Fang Hui, getting into a huge fight with them.
She ran away from home crying in the middle of the night, only to be caught in her disheveled state by the unapproachable Young Master Shang, their next-door neighbor.
He was generous and kind, offering her a helping hand.
From that day on, their two life lines, which were never meant to intersect, crossed for the first time.
He was like a deity from the heavens—cold, noble, wise, and mature.
As a teenage girl, Pei Er had adored him deeply, utterly captivated by him. So even though she followed him for two years without a title or clear standing, she did so willingly.
Later, she left without a word, unilaterally dumping Shang Zhixing.
Pei Er figured that when two parties in a transactional relationship met again, they would tacitly agree to let bygones be bygones.
It was no exaggeration to say that a man as outstanding as Shang Zhixing would have women lining up from here to France just to throw themselves at him.
He had probably forgotten her long ago.
Walking out of Shengming Corporation, Pei Er called Zhou Ran.
“What’s up, my dear Miss Pei? Finally remembered I exist?” Zhou Ran’s lazy voice came through the phone.
Pei Er smiled and asked, “Are you busy right now?”
“Busy with what? I’ve just been waiting for you to grace me with your presence. Send me your location, and I’ll come pick you up.”
Pei Er gave her the address and stood by the roadside to wait.
Half an hour later, a red convertible Ferrari screeched to a halt by the curb.
Zhou Ran, with her voluminous auburn waves, sunglasses on, and chewing gum, was flashy and eye-catching as she whistled a lecherous tune at Pei Er.
“Hey, beautiful! Get in! Your big sister’s taking you for a spin!”
Pei Er smiled helplessly, opened the door, and slid into the passenger seat, then leaned over to hug Zhou Ran.
“Ran Ran, long time no see.”
“You ungrateful little thing,” Zhou Ran looked her over and pouted. “You come back and don’t even bring me any souvenirs from New York.”
Pei Er buckled her seatbelt with a wry smile. “New York souvenirs? The Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty?”
Zhou Ran tossed her hair and asked bluntly, “Didn’t you learn anything in America? We haven’t seen each other in ages—not even a kiss on the cheek?”
Pei Er said flatly, “The cheek kiss is popular in Europe.”
Zhou Ran went “Oh” and asked nonsensically, “Isn’t America in Europe?”
“…” Pei Er closed her eyes. “It’s in North America.”
Zhou Ran had a terrible memory and didn’t care about anything—if it wasn’t relevant to her, she’d forget it the moment she heard it, and she couldn’t be bothered to think about it, so she always came off as a beautiful illiterate.
And she was a graduate of Jing University, no less—embarrassing her alma mater.
“Eh, that doesn’t matter.” Zhou Ran chewed her gum and floored the gas pedal, the car speeding down the road. “You’re not leaving again this time, are you?”
Pei Er’s hair was whipped into a mess by the wind. She gathered it back and said, “Mm, probably not.”
“What do you mean ‘probably’?” Zhou Ran, sunglasses on and red hair flying, was carefree and unrestrained.
“If you ask me, you shouldn’t have gone to New York in the first place. Now you’re back as just a little design director—what a waste.”
Zhou Ran had been doted on by her parents and brother since childhood. When she graduated, her brother gave her a company as a graduation gift, and she was now a carefree boss herself, so of course she looked down on Pei Er’s little director position.
Pei Er’s parents didn’t love her, and her situation was completely different from Zhou Ran’s. Even that director position was something she had fought tooth and nail to earn.
Pei Er opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, Zhou Ran cut her off: “Don’t tell me you went abroad for your dreams or some bullshit like that. I don’t believe it.”
Pei Er: “You underestimate human ideals.”
“Heh.” Zhou Ran snorted. “I’m just saying, you’re really cold-hearted. You left just like that, without giving me any time to adjust.”
Back then, she had simply left, sending Zhou Ran a single cold message: “I’ve gone abroad.”
She had left quite decisively.
“I’m sorry.” Pei Er admitted her mistake readily, smiling as she tried to make nice. “Isn’t it because I failed to make it big and came back to rely on Sister Ran? Will Sister Ran take me in?”
Zhou Ran: “Oh please, by seniority, I should be calling you cousin-in-law.”
Mentioning the marriage to Zhou Yi made Pei Er feel a bit awkward. “Don’t tease me about that.”
“What am I teasing you about? Zhou Yi and I aren’t even that close as relatives. Tell me, how did you end up stuck with him? If I were a man, wouldn’t it be better if you married into my family?”
Zhou Ran sighed as she spoke. “Seriously, Er Er, you need to think about this marriage again. That bastard Zhou Yi—if you really marry him, you’re done for.”
“His dad has who knows how many illegitimate children out there, and his mom isn’t easy to deal with either. In short, their family is a mess. You’re a little white rabbit walking into a wolf’s den—you’ll be devoured until not even your bones are left. I suggest you run while you still can.”
Pei Er hadn’t slept well last night. She leaned back against the seat and yawned wearily. “I know…”
The two sisters rarely got to see each other, and Zhou Ran wanted to take Pei Er out for a good, proper drink.
“I know a few Russian male models who can drink anyone under the table—gorgeous as hell, every single one with eight-pack abs. I’ll take you out to broaden your horizons.”
After Zhou Ran finished speaking, Pei Er remained silent for a long time. Turning her head, she saw that Pei Er had completely relaxed, already closing her eyes to doze off.
Shengming Corporation.
The senior leadership meeting had just ended when Lin Mei, the chairman’s special assistant, hurried along in small steps behind Shang Zhixing.
“Chairman Shang, you mean to transfer the new Director Pei to headquarters?”
Shang Zhixing didn’t slow his pace, speaking matter-of-factly: “Lanna is a globally renowned design team. Keeping her here would be wasting her talent.”
Lin Mei clutched her folder, frowning almost imperceptibly. “Then what about the staffing shortage here at Shengming?”
Hearing her question, Shang Zhixing turned to glance at her, and Lin Mei immediately realized she’d misspoken.
That was a problem Wei Lianpeng should solve, not something Shang Zhixing needed to consider.
Because of her sister Lin Lin’s complaints, Lin Mei had looked into Pei Er before. She knew Pei Er had studied under the master Pelin Hill—just that alone made her professional credentials highly impressive.
But Lin Mei had her own agenda, wanting to secure a chance for her sister to enter headquarters. After a moment’s thought, she smiled and suggested:
“Director Pei just returned from abroad and isn’t yet familiar with the domestic fashion brand trends. Why not let her settle in at Shengming for a while and see how things go?”
Shang Zhixing seemed indifferent, not particularly concerned. “Let’s do that for now.”
Just then the elevator opened. He stepped inside and took out his phone, seeing a message from his childhood friend Xu Boyuan: [I’m finally out! Brother Shang, want to get together?]
The Xu and Shang families had been close for generations. Of the Xu twins, the elder brother Xu Boxian studied finance and went into business, while the younger brother Xu Boyuan had no choice—his father forced him into the military, and he couldn’t leave the barracks even once a year.
Shang Zhixing asked, “What else is on today’s schedule?”
Lin Mei glanced at her memo and replied, “Nothing else.”