The moment the words left Sang Ning’s lips, her mind caught up, and her entire body froze.
She immediately corrected herself, “Mr. Pei, are you alright?”
Pei Songhan had been momentarily stunned, but seeing her sudden backtrack, he too regained his composure. “Just a minor injury. I’ll bandage it up and be fine.”
Sang Ning’s tone was unnervingly calm. “Then call a doctor quickly. You’re bleeding a lot.”
Pei Songhan glanced at her again, noticing the forced steadiness on her face, yet her eyes betrayed a flicker of poorly concealed panic.
With tact, he didn’t press further and simply nodded. “Alright.”
Only then did the crowd recover from the abrupt shock of the accident, swarming around to check on Pei Songhan’s condition.
Sang Ning scanned the scene, relieved to see everyone preoccupied with Pei Songhan’s injury—no one seemed to have noticed her slip of the tongue.
She exhaled quietly.
“Songhan-ge, how could you—how could you…”
Zhan Yijun was utterly terrified. She never imagined Pei Songhan would step in to shield Nan Sang Ning. If anything serious happened to him, the Pei family would never let the Zhan family off the hook.
“Quick, call a doctor!” Zhan Yijun shouted frantically.
Chaos erupted once more.
Soon, the doctor arrived, and Pei Songhan was escorted into the villa to tend to his wound.
With such a major mishap, the wine-tasting event naturally couldn’t continue. Guests either followed Pei Songhan into the villa or dispersed, preparing to take their leave.
The lively lawn emptied in an instant.
Sang Ning remained rooted in place, watching as Pei Songhan was ushered away. The composure she’d clung to now crumbled.
How mortifying!!
She had never been this embarrassed in her life!!
She wished she could vanish into the ground right then and there!
She never wanted to see Pei Songhan again!
After three minutes of internal meltdown, she finally steadied herself.
It’s fine. It’s fine.
Pei Songhan wasn’t the gossipy type, and he knew boundaries. If she didn’t bring it up, neither would he. It was just a trivial matter.
Yes, nothing more than a trivial slip-up.
Taking a deep breath, she managed to console herself and decided to politely excuse herself, fleeing this disaster zone.
But the moment she turned around, she came face-to-face with a stormy expression.
Her brows twitched, her nerves instantly on high alert again. “Mr. He.”
He Siyu’s face was dark, his voice icy. “You call Pei Songhan so affectionately.”
Sang Ning: “...”
She forced a smile. “It was just a slip of the tongue in the heat of the moment.”
“Oh? Sounded pretty natural to me.”
“...”
He had noticed the champagne tower collapsing toward her and pushed through the crowd to reach her, only for Pei Songhan—who happened to be nearby—to pull her out of harm’s way.
Just as he sighed in relief, the next second, he heard that ear-splitting “Songhan-gege.”
For a moment, he thought he’d gone deaf.
But the guilt written all over her face was unmistakable!
She was always so cautious and distant. They’d known each other for so long, yet she still addressed him as “Mr. He.” Meanwhile, Pei Songhan had only met her twice, and she was already calling him “gege”?
He Siyu felt like his lungs were about to explode.
Sang Ning inhaled sharply, the embarrassment she’d suppressed surging back. She was already humiliated enough—why did he have to keep harping on it?
Her patience wore thin, and she coldly retorted, “Mr. He, this is my business.”
He Siyu’s gaze faltered.
She was drawing a line between them.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.” Sang Ning turned to go.
He Siyu grabbed her wrist. She looked up, meeting his pitch-black, stormy eyes.
“Nan Sang Ning, what do you mean by this?”
Her tone was distant. “Nothing. Even Mr. Pei didn’t make a fuss about it. There’s no need for you to step in and settle scores on his behalf.”
He Siyu stiffened.
“Sang Ning!”
Ji Yan’s voice called from a distance.
Sang Ning immediately wrenched her hand free and strode toward Ji Yan.
“Sang Ning!” Ji Yan rushed over, gasping at the mess on the ground. “What happened? I just heard the champagne tower collapsed—are you hurt?”
Sang Ning pressed her lips together and shook her head. “No. Mr. Pei shielded me and got hurt on his arm.”
“I know, I just came from there. The doctor’s bandaging him up—said it’s just a surface wound, nothing serious.”
Sang Ning nodded. “Then help me make my excuses. I’ll head out first.”
She should’ve thanked Pei Songhan in person, but he was undoubtedly surrounded by people right now. Besides, she’d shamelessly called him “Songhan-gege” earlier.
A man with a fiancée likely wouldn’t want unnecessary entanglement with her to avoid complications.
“Huh? Alright.” Ji Yan agreed.
Sang Ning left without another word.
Ji Yan suddenly felt a chill down her spine. Turning, she spotted He Siyu standing not far away, his expression thunderous as he glared in the direction Sang Ning had gone.
She shuddered. Good grief, what did Sang Ning do to offend He Siyu this time?
Inside the villa.
Pei Songhan’s wound had been dressed, and he’d changed into a fresh shirt. After seeing off the well-wishers, the villa finally quieted down.
He turned to Zhan Yijun. “Did you knock over the champagne tower?”
Zhan Yijun’s eyes flickered with panic. “No! Of course not! It was the server’s carelessness—I already had them detained—”
Pei Songhan’s gaze turned frosty. “Save that excuse for outsiders. You were right next to the tower when it fell. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
Zhan Yijun paled.
“Songhan-ge, I never thought you’d shield Nan Sang Ning—or that you’d get hurt because of it.” Her voice dripped with regret.
Pei Songhan’s tone was icy. “I wasn’t just shielding Miss Nan. I was shielding you too. If that tower had landed on her today, it wouldn’t have been just a flesh wound. Have you considered how you’d handle the fallout?”
Zhan Yijun scoffed. “It’s just some compensation money. A family like the Nans—do I even need to take them seriously?”
“You look down on the Nans, but have you ever wondered why they were brought into this project?”
Zhan Yijun faltered. “That—that’s just because of the mess Du Yao stirred up—”
“Exactly. Du Yao caused this mess, and now the Du family is letting the Nans into the project to hush up the scandal. But what if you’d seriously injured the Nan family’s daughter? If they retaliated by exposing Du Yao’s scandal again? The Du family would suffer, and the Zhan family wouldn’t escape unscathed either!”
Zhan Yijun’s bravado dimmed, a hint of fear creeping in. “I—I just couldn’t stand her arrogance… Besides, she’s just some country girl they recently brought back. The Nans might not even care enough to make a fuss over her…”
Pei Songhan’s brow furrowed, but he couldn’t be bothered to lecture her further.
If not for their families’ close ties and marital alliance, he wouldn’t have bothered with Zhan Yijun’s recklessness.
He said sternly, “Let’s consider today’s incident over. Pretend it never happened—”
Before he could finish, a cold voice cut in. “Pretend what never happened?”
Pei Songhan's expression darkened as he looked up. He Siyu strode in, his gaze icy.
The atmosphere in the room grew tense instantly, and even Zhan Yijun shrank back nervously. "Th-Third Young Master He," she stammered.
He Siyu stepped closer to Zhan Yijun, his imposing presence looming over her. His voice was cold as he demanded, "How did the champagne tower fall?"
