The next day was a weekday. Pei Jiangmu said he had an important class that day and couldn't miss it, so he had to go to school.
He wasn't lying. He had an important meeting to attend that day.
Moreover, the demands from his "good elder brother" had already been sent overnight.
He had a bunch of things to do.
"I'll drive you there. It's not good for your wound if you take the subway and get jostled."
Meng Ruozhao picked up the car keys.
Actually, they didn't go the same way. Meng Ruozhao would have to make a big detour to drive him to school.
But she insisted, and Pei Jiangmu pretended to be embarrassed on the surface while being extremely happy inside and agreed.
Even when he sent a message to Qi Yu, telling him not to come and pick him up, he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.
"My Ruozhao is so reluctant to let me take the subway that she insists on driving me. You come to pick me up at school. Pay attention to the time and don't get discovered."
When Qi Yu saw this message, he could almost imagine how proud his usually serious boss would look in his eyes.
"Sure, boss. Although Miss Meng doesn't remember, her concern for you is engraved in her bones."
He was Pei Jiangmu's number one "right - hand man", so he naturally knew what to say to make the boss happy.
So on one hand, he replied with such a message to Pei Jiangmu.
On the other hand, he secretly thought in his heart:
My dear boss, if she didn't drive you, you would take a car worth millions instead of that shabby second - hand car worth only a dozen thousand.
Sure enough, being love - struck really makes one stupid.
Pei Jiangmu couldn't hear his inner thoughts. He glanced at the reply and felt even better.
The early morning sunlight shone through the car window and landed on his smiling profile.
Then he put away his phone, turned his head to look at Meng Ruozhao's focused side face while driving, and was so happy that he almost hummed a song.
"Actually, you really don't have to go to so much trouble."
He said for the Nth time, but his tone showed no sign of embarrassment at all. Instead, it carried an obvious smile.
"I'm used to taking the subway. I'll just be more careful."
Meng Ruozhao stared straight ahead, holding tightly the steering wheel of her old car, and her tone brooked no argument.
"A torn wound is no small matter. It would be even more troublesome if it gets infected."
"Anyway, my studio hasn't been very busy recently. It's okay for me to drive you for a few days."
She paused for a moment and added, "Let's talk about it after your wound gets better."
The curve of Pei Jiangmu's lips became even bigger.
"Then... I'll have to trouble you, sister."
He readily agreed, and the ocean of pride in his heart was expanding wildly.
As soon as they got near the school, Meng Ruozhao parked the car and asked him when he would be done.
Pei Jiangmu unbuckled his seat belt but didn't get out of the car immediately. He leaned over and looked at her. "I should be done by four. Will you come and pick me up, sister?"
The end of his voice rose slightly, with a hint of coquetry, which made Meng Ruozhao's ears turn red. Just as she was about to answer, a harsh voice suddenly interrupted.
"Meng Ruozhao?! What are you doing here?"
Meng Ruozhao frowned and turned her head. She saw Du Changlin standing outside the car with a few boys in the same high - school uniforms, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
Just now, he had seen this car from afar.
As the young master of the Du family, he had never ridden in such a shabby car.
But he had seen it and heard Xia Lian say that this car had been lent to Meng Ruozhao for temporary use.
Because people like her only deserved a car of this price range.
He originally intended to just pretend not to see it, but when he saw the extremely handsome young man sitting next to her, his eyes instantly turned contemptuous and angry.
He rushed over in a few steps and knocked on Meng Ruozhao's car window, eager to find out what was going on.
Meng Ruozhao rolled down the window, her face cold. "What do you want?"
Du Changlin pointed at Pei Jiangmu, who was sitting leisurely in the passenger seat, and his voice was shrill.
"Who is he? You're something, Meng Ruozhao. Young Master Yan has only left you alone for a few days, and you've already learned to keep a gigolo?"
"And you even dare to drive to the school gate? Aren't you ashamed!"
He looked so indignant that it was as if he was the one who had been cuckolded.
Meng Ruozhao's eyes turned completely cold.
"Du Changlin, it's not the weekend today. You, a high - school student, skipped class and came to the university town just to meddle in other people's business?"
"My affairs are none of your business. From now on, act as if you don't know me when we meet."
But Du Changlin's friends curiously sized up Meng Ruozhao. One of them nudged him with his elbow.
"Changlin, who is this pretty sister? Won't you introduce her?"
Du Changlin was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He glared at his friend viciously and raised his voice deliberately so that the few passing students around could hear.
"Introduce what? A poor relative living in my family!"
"Relying on her looks, she only knows how to seduce rich men. She's such a shallow thing! She's not even worthy of shining our family's shoes!"
The filthy words came pouring down.
The smile on Pei Jiangmu's face disappeared instantly. His eyes were gloomy, and he was just about to speak—
"Slap!"
A clear and resounding slap suddenly interrupted Du Changlin's scolding.
Everyone was stunned.
Meng Ruozhao retracted her hand, and her palm was slightly numb.
She got out of the car when Du Changlin was scolding the most vigorously.
Now standing in front of him, her figure was slender, but her back was straight. She looked at Du Changlin, who was covering his face in a daze, with icy - cold eyes.
"Du Changlin."
Her voice was not loud but clear. There was no anger or disappointment in it.
Only calmness, without a single ripple.
"No one in the Du family taught you how to speak human language, right? It doesn't matter. As your elder sister, I'll teach you what good manners are for free today!"
Du Changlin covered his face. The burning pain and the great sense of humiliation made him lose control instantly.
"You dare to hit me?! Meng Ruozhao, I'll fight you!"
He lunged at her ferociously, but Pei Jiangmu easily grabbed his wrist.
Pei Jiangmu also got out of the car after Meng Ruozhao and stood in front of her.
Although Du Changlin was not an adult yet, he was quite tall.
But Pei Jiangmu was half a head taller than Du Changlin.
Although his injured arm couldn't exert much strength, the cold aura and absolute strength suppression radiating from his body made Du Changlin unable to move at all.
"She said to act as if you don't know her."
Pei Jiangmu's voice was deep, without any emotional fluctuations, but it was like an ice - coated knife, scraping painfully.
His deep eyes looked at Du Changlin without a trace of warmth, as if he was looking at a dead object.
Du Changlin shivered all over under his gaze. The courage he had shown when bullying the weak and fearing the strong instantly vanished, and he struggled feebly.
"You... You just wait! Young Master Yan won't let you off!"
After leaving this unoriginal threat, he was dragged away by his equally frightened friends and scurried away in a hurry.
After a brief silence, the surroundings returned to normal.
Pei Jiangmu turned around and looked at Meng Ruozhao.
She was slightly lowering her head, her lips tightly pursed, and her expression calm. Only the hand that had slapped someone was still trembling slightly.
He sighed silently in his heart, then stretched out his uninjured hand and naturally ruffled the top of her head, his movements gentle.
"It's not worth getting angry for such a person."
His voice returned to its previous lazy tone, with a reassuring warmth.
"However... our sister looks so cute when she's angry."