Meng Ruozhao looked up and met his smiling eyes.
There was no pity or inquisition in them, only complete protection and a hint of admiration that made her heart race.
For a moment, she even thought that what he wanted to say just now wasn't "our sister" but "our baby".
She shifted her gaze away in a flurry, pushed his hand away, and stubbornly said, "I'm not angry. It's just a bit ridiculous... You should go to class quickly!"
Pei Jiangmu let out a soft laugh and readily complied, "Okay. See you after school."
After a slight pause, he added, "Sister, be careful on your way to work."
Watching his leisurely back as he walked towards the school gate, Meng Ruozhao got back into the car and let out a long breath.
Her palm was still numb, but somehow, his teasing had made her feel much more relaxed.
Without dwelling on it any longer, she started the car and drove straight to the store.
The work on the film crew was still going on, but she couldn't ignore the orders from the store either.
Once she got busy, time just flew by.
It was already past five in the afternoon when she realized it was time to pick up Pei Jiangmu.
The alarm she had set had long gone off, but she was so immersed in her work that she didn't notice at all.
Seeing that the time had passed, she immediately rushed to send a message to Pei Jiangmu while grabbing her keys and getting ready to go out.
Just as she reached the door, she bumped into Pei Jiangmu who had come back.
"Sister, look what I've brought for you," he said, holding up a cake.
"It's a new product from the school bakery. It's 50% off, and the classmates said it's really delicious."
Meng Ruozhao was taken aback. "Why did you come back by yourself?"
Then she added apologetically, "I forgot to check the time. I'm sorry. How did you come back? Did you hurt your wound?"
She had promised to pick him up but had broken her promise. She wondered if he would be unhappy.
However, Pei Jiangmu showed no sign of being unhappy.
He stuffed the cake into Meng Ruozhao's hands and said, "I was lucky. There weren't many people on the subway today, and my wound is fine."
In fact, he couldn't bear to let Meng Ruozhao really come back and forth to pick him up.
He had agreed to let her send him to school this morning just because he wanted to spend more time with her.
This afternoon, he saw from the surveillance that Meng Ruozhao had been busy all the time, so he knew she had forgotten to pick him up.
So he didn't even go to school. He just asked someone to drop him off near "Fuyunxuan" and then walked over.
"Okay. Then sit down and take a rest. I still have a bit of work to finish, and then we'll go for dinner."
"Also, thank you for the little cake. It looks really delicious."
She glanced at the cake. It was green grape flavored and looked very refreshing.
Moreover, the packaging looked very high - end.
She didn't expect the school bakery to be so high - class now.
Pei Jiangmu curved his lips but didn't sit down. Instead, he took the initiative to unpack the cake for her.
Then, as if he couldn't wait for her to taste it, he scooped up a spoonful and held it to her mouth.
With a smiling look in his eyes, he launched a gentle but irresistible offensive.
"Try it quickly. They all said it's delicious."
The sweet smell of cream filled the air.
Meng Ruozhao's cheeks flushed slightly. She felt a bit flustered. Before she could refuse, she heard a suppressed angry voice from behind.
"What are you doing?!"
This sharp shout was like a thunderclap, suddenly exploding in the relatively quiet store.
Meng Ruozhao froze all over. She quickly turned her head and frowned.
At the store entrance, Yan Qiubai, looking travel - worn, stood there. Although dressed in a suit and tie, he couldn't hide the exhaustion and anger between his eyebrows.
He stared fixedly at them. His eyes, which always carried a hint of superiority, were now burning with raging fire, as if he wanted to burn the two people who were feeding each other intimately to ashes.
He almost squeezed out these words through his gritted teeth and strode towards them. The low - pressure aura he exuded made people feel extremely uncomfortable.
During this period, the sudden and serious problems with the company's new - energy project had given him a huge headache. He had almost lived in the company and at the airport.
At his most tired and desperate moments, he had thought about contacting Meng Ruozhao on his own initiative, even if it was just to hear her voice.
But there was also a fire burning in his heart - why did she break up with him first?
Wasn't he, Yan Qiubai, good enough for her?
Fine clothes, a comfortable life, and the title of the fiancée of the Yan family. In which aspect had he treated her badly?
So he waited, waiting for her to be unable to bear the coercion and oppression from her father, waiting for her to come to him in desperation and beg him to take back the words of breaking up.
But it never happened.
One day, two days... one week, one month... She never contacted him once.
He had asked his assistant more than once if Meng Ruozhao had called to look for him.
At first, the assistant had answered in a matter - of - fact manner, "Mr. Yan, no."
Later, seeing his face getting darker and uglier, the assistant answered with caution.
He would even subconsciously make excuses for Meng Ruozhao, "Mr. Yan, maybe Miss Meng has been quite busy recently."
It wasn't until yesterday that Du Xixi suddenly sent him a photo -
A photo of Meng Ruozhao and a young man in the hospital.
The two weren't standing very close to each other, but the way the man looked at her made him feel inexplicably flustered. A strong sense of crisis tightened his heart.
He no longer cared about the project or the negotiations. He left behind a bunch of unsolved messes, bought the nearest flight, and flew back directly.
After arriving in Haicheng, he didn't dare to waste a single moment and rushed straight to "Fuyunxuan".
On the way here, he had even thought up excuses for her.
In the photo, the man was injured. Maybe Meng Ruozhao was supporting him because the injury was caused by her.
With her personality, even if they had broken up, she would never start a new relationship immediately.
...
He had done enough mental preparation. He had even thought that as soon as he saw her, he would immediately forgive her for saying the words of breaking up.
Then he would hug her, kiss her, and tell her how much he had missed her during this period.
But he never expected to see such a scene that made his blood boil and his reason disappear!
She actually let another man feed her cake?!
The way that man looked at her was full of undisguised possession and tenderness.
"Meng Ruozhao!"
Yan Qiubai rushed a few steps in front of the two of them. He stared at her with blood - red eyes, completely ignoring Pei Jiangmu whose expression had instantly turned cold.
"You'd better explain this to me! Who is he?!"
All the pressure, exhaustion, impatience from waiting, and anger from being betrayed that he had accumulated during this period completely erupted at this moment.
Meng Ruozhao frowned even more tightly at his shout.
The furious Yan Qiubai in front of her seemed strange to her.
"Yan Qiubai, why are you here?"
She didn't answer directly. Instead, she seemed to be quite averse to his arrival.
After all, when her store opened, her fiancé at that time, he, hadn't even shown up. He had just sent someone to deliver a flower basket.
She didn't expect that now that they had broken up, he would come.
"Are you surprised to see me? If I hadn't come, would you have forgotten about me?"
Yan Qiubai was burning with anger. Even though he was in a fit of rage, his eyes actually turned red after saying this.
He looked as if he had suffered a great deal of injustice.
Pei Jiangmu, who had been annoyed at being interrupted while feeding the cake, looked up at the furious Yan Qiubai.
Then the corner of his mouth curved into a cold arc.
What was this guy, who was like a cuckoo occupying a magpie's nest, feeling wronged about?