08: Those who approach you with ill intentions should be thrown into the river to feed the fish.

"Dear passengers, we have received a notification from the meteorological department that a red alert for heavy rain has been issued. Heavy to torrential rain is expected in parts of Guangzhou from tonight to tomorrow daytime..." As the announcement of the heavy rain came over the loudspeaker, Shang Zhi looked outside and saw a dark, oppressive mass of clouds.

A storm is brewing.

Feeling the temperature drop sharply, Pei Yanxiu took off his suit jacket and draped it over Shang Zhi. She snorted and whispered in his ear, "Let me tell you, this isn't over!"

He chuckled but said nothing. Shang Zhi looked around; Yu Qing was gone.

"Why do you always make things difficult for me? Now even the people around me are affected." After leaving the airport and getting into the car, Shang Zhi still felt wronged. It was one thing for him to control her life, but now he even interfered with her friendships.

"Can't you be a little more magnanimous?" She turned to look at him.

"I've been very magnanimous, Xixi. Those who approached you with ill intentions should be thrown into the river to feed the fish, or sent to Southeast Asia to make phone calls." Pei Yanxiu said calmly, glancing at her indifferently.

"You're really sick." Shang Zhi was shocked by his arrogant words and couldn't tell whether he was serious or joking. She turned her head away, not wanting to talk to him.

She was too foolish; she shouldn't have had any expectations of him and thought he could change his ways.

The two arrived at the hotel quickly, as several streaks of lightning flashed across the sky.

There were more people welcoming President Pei than Shang Zhi had imagined. From a distance, she could see two rows of people waiting at the door, all in full preparation. Shang Zhi thought to herself, "How harsh must this old man be on his employees that he has to make such a big show of things for us?"

Pei Yanxiu, used to this, showed no reaction, his expression indifferent. He entered the room and glanced around: "Who is the manager on duty today?"

“It’s me, President Pei.” When her name was called, a girl in the corner stood up.

"Why didn't you turn on the air conditioning beforehand? Is this how you usually serve your guests?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Pei, this was our oversight." The girl looked apologetic, but her smile instantly froze on her face.

“One could be considered an oversight, but what about the two?” He picked up a cup from the table, and a single hair was clearly visible on the white bottom. Shang Zhi was somewhat surprised by his observation skills; he could spot the problem with just a glance upon entering the room, something she herself couldn't.

No wonder he's always so good at finding fault.

"An explanation? Another oversight, or is your hygiene just this poor on a regular basis?"

"President Pei, this, this..." The people in the room looked at each other, knowing that it was their responsibility, and no one dared to speak up, for fear of saying something that would cause trouble for themselves.

"President Pei, it's all my fault for not doing my job properly. I will pay attention in the future." In the end, it was the duty manager who spoke up tremblingly.

"Where is your General Manager Xu? Why didn't he come?" Pei Yanxiu seemed to be in a good mood today and didn't make things too difficult for him.

"Mr. Xu has been invited to a meeting today and will be back shortly."

"You can all leave now. Focus on your work and don't let me see you make the same mistake again. When Mr. Xu arrives, have him come to me."

"Okay." Everyone in the room visibly breathed a sigh of relief as they left.

"Xixi, I need to talk to Xu Shuo about something later. If you're hungry or bored, you can go downstairs to the buffet restaurant for something to eat."

"Will you be gone for a long time?" Shang Zhi twitched her finger and looked out the window.

"Hmm, let's take a look at how the surrounding hotels have been doing over the past six months. Would you like to join us?"

"Forget it, I just got here, I want to rest for a bit first."

"Don't bother, you go ahead with your work, I can play by myself." Seeing that Shang Zhi looked very tired, Pei Yanxiu didn't say anything more, gave a brief explanation, and left.

[Yu Qing, I'm sorry about today, thank you for the flowers.] After Pei Yanxiu left, Shang Zhi took out her phone and sent a message to Yu Qing.

"Did he force you to get married?" Shang Zhi was taken aback by Yu Qing's reply.

Azhi: [What do you mean?]

Qing: [I could tell the moment I saw him. He's domineering, unreasonable, and unreasonable. Azhi, did he bully you? Did you suffer any injustice? If he hadn't forced you, why would you have gotten married?]

Qing: [Why would you want to get married at such a young age?]

Qing: [Even if you wanted to get married, you definitely wouldn't marry someone like that!]

Yu Qing sent Shang Zhi several angry puppy emojis in a row, which made Shang Zhi inexplicably want to laugh.

Qing: [Azhi, are you in some kind of trouble? Is he forcing you to marry him for his own purposes? Is he abducting a woman?]

Shang Zhi's heart skipped a beat. After thinking for a moment, she replied to Yu Qing: "Nothing of the sort happened. Don't overthink it."

Qing: [Actually, I made a reservation at a restaurant today, but I couldn't tell you because your husband was here. Ah Zhi, would you do me the honor of coming for a meal?]

Yu Qing sent Shang Zhi an address, which Shang Zhi checked and found was not far from the hotel.

The weather wasn't great today, and she was hesitating about whether to go out when Pei Yanxiu sent her a message: [It's starting to rain outside. The weather's bad today. Stay home and don't go out unnecessarily.]

"Mind your own business! Mind your own business!" Shang Zhi muttered under her breath in the room. When would he finally understand that she wasn't a child anymore and didn't need his management?

She was initially hesitant about whether to go out, but after Pei Yanxiu said that, she was determined to go out.

Rebellion! Rebellion is a must!

[Leave me alone!] Shang Zhi replied to Pei Yanxiu with several angry emojis, and then headed towards the location Yu Qing had sent her.

When they were in school, Yu Qing took good care of her. Several times when she was injured, he was the first to buy medicine for her. Shang Zhi occasionally had low blood sugar, and Yu Qing always kept her favorite chocolate in his bag. He was always there for her when she needed him.

Unlike someone else, who is everywhere, always haunting her whether she needs him or not.

Yu Qing arrived earlier than Shang Zhi, and her eyes lit up noticeably when she saw Shang Zhi.

"I thought you'd be a little longer."

"Let's eat first."

"Ah Zhi, if you've been wronged, you can tell me. I'll do whatever I can to help..."

"Thank you for your kindness, but you can't help me, Yu Qing." Shang Zhi looked up at him and smiled.

"Some things can't be done just because you want to."

"When will you come back to study?"

"I don't know either, I'll have to wait until I've finished dealing with things at home."

Yu Qing was visibly discouraged upon hearing Shang Zhi's answer.

"Azhi, I'll wait for you to come back. You're the best partner. Contact me anytime you need me."

On the way back, Shang Zhi's mind was in turmoil. Scenes from the past kept popping up, making her restless.

When she arrived at the hotel lobby, she saw Pei Yanxiu sitting on the sofa, looking down at something. Her heart tightened, and she silently chanted in her mind, "You can't see me, you can't see me," as she walked towards the elevator.

Before she could take two steps, she caught a glimpse of him looking up at her.

"Stop." His voice wasn't loud, but she heard it clearly.

Shang Zhi's heart skipped a beat.