Qiu Ze lunged forward. “I haven’t even asked who you are! How dare you put your hands on my sister the moment you show up?!”
Pei Cizhou’s expression darkened as he looked over with a deep frown.
Tch.
Another hotheaded spoiled rich kid.
“Ahem.” Qiuyun hurriedly pulled her brother back. “Xiao Ze, don’t be rude. This is my boss, President Pei.”
She dared to trade barbs with Pei Cizhou for two reasons. First, this had always been their way of interacting—and he had started it. Second, in this ancient-world scenario, she was the one holding the reins of the entire setting, so she had the confidence to joke around with him a little.
Her brother, however, might not have the same privilege in front of the mayor’s son.
The obvious distinction between who was close and who was not made Pei Cizhou frown even harder. “How old is your brother?”
“He isn’t sixteen yet.”
“No wonder.”
Those three airy words instantly infuriated Qiu Ze. “No wonder what? Explain yourself!”
“No wonder he acts rashly and impulsively. He knows perfectly well that he’s a public figure, yet he goes out to eat without making any effort to disguise himself, leaving your sister in danger for no reason!”
His voice was cold. “Don’t you know there was a serious acid-throwing incident recently? Your extreme fans dared to block people in a shopping mall. What if, in the heat of an argument, they had thrown boiling water from the restaurant at you? If I hadn’t been waiting at the mall entrance, noticed that you hadn’t come down, and immediately called security after realizing something was wrong, could you have taken responsibility if anything had happened?”
Seeing her brother bow his head under the scolding, Qiuyun stepped in front of him protectively. “All right, all right. They’re just a group of young girls who felt hurt because they thought he’d betrayed them. It’s not as serious as you make it sound.”
Pei Cizhou was furious. “How is it not that serious? Someone had already made a move by the time I arrived!”
“But I hit back, didn’t I?” Qiuyun shielded her brother. “Besides, someone else provoked them and took advantage of their emotions. How can you blame them entirely?”
“As an idol, shouldn’t he be guiding his fans properly?”
“He’s still a kid, and he hasn’t even debuted yet. Don’t put all the blame on him the moment you arrive.”
Pei Cizhou grew even angrier. “He’s the one who hasn’t figured out his position, and you’re still defending him?!”
Qiuyun lost her temper. “He’s my brother! If I don’t defend him, who will?”
The two of them glared at each other. Pei Cizhou immediately put on a wounded expression. “I’m trying to help you, and you’re glaring at me! You’re usually so smart, so how do you always lose your head when it comes to your family of origin? You don’t actually think your parents, who favor sons over daughters, will love you just because you take care of your brother, do you? Some parents simply aren’t capable of loving their children!”
“Ahem, ahem, ahem!”
Qiuyun quickly grabbed Qiu Ze and pushed him away. “Go over there. I need to discuss something with President Pei.”
She had almost forgotten that this was what she had said before.
“Sis?!”
Qiu Ze did feel guilty, but he also didn’t want his sister to be alone with this man!
“Listen to me.”
Qiuyun made him stay put before turning back to explain to Pei Cizhou. “Favoring sons over daughters is my parents’ problem. My brother had nothing to do with it, so don’t take indiscriminate shots at him.”
Pei Cizhou gave a cold laugh. “The most hateful people are the beneficiaries who hide behind the scenes.”
“…”
Forget it. Qiuyun couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. After all, the two of them would have no further dealings later on.
She went over to Qiu Ze. “I’ll call your manager and discuss this with her. I’ll also have the photos circulating online taken down as much as possible. Go back to training this afternoon. I have something else to do, so I won’t be accompanying you home.”
“What about you, Sis?” Qiu Ze looked suspiciously at the man behind her. “You’re not planning to spend the afternoon with him, are you?”
“Don’t stick your nose into your sister’s business.” Qiuyun pushed him along. “Aren’t you supposed to be at debut training? Hurry up and go practice.”
Qiu Ze followed her aside with the momentum of her push and lowered his voice. “Sis, a handsome guy who’s this controlling is definitely unreliable. Don’t let his looks fool you!”
“Why do you care whether he’s reliable or not?” Qiuyun hailed a taxi. “Practice your dancing properly. I’ll see if you’ve improved next time I visit.”
There was nothing he could do. Qiu Ze was forced into the taxi, then leaned against the window and waved. “Okay, I’m leaving, Sis! Remember to come home and stay with us when you’re on break!”
“Bye-bye.” Qiuyun waved back.
Pei Cizhou stood behind her and drawled, “Your brother was badmouthing me behind my back.”
“You scared me!” Qiuyun took two steps away from him. “Do you have superhuman hearing? How did you hear that from there?”
He bent slightly toward her. “He kept glaring in my direction while he was talking. What else could he have been saying if not something bad about me?”
“He’s just a kid complaining. President Pei, be the bigger man and don’t hold it against him.”
“All right. I’ll let it go for your sake.”
Qiuyun called MR’s executive manager and told her what had just happened.
Entertainment companies were professionals when it came to handling matters like this. They immediately contacted the fan club’s leading supporters, explained that Qiuyun and Qiu Ze were siblings, and asked them to spread the truth as widely as possible so no one would be misled by the photos.
A chill entered her eyes.
Now that the fans had been reassured, it was time to deal with the two people who had started the trouble.
To be honest, Qiuyun was rather protective of her own. Qiu Ze’s fans had indeed become somewhat agitated, but their anger came from caring too deeply about him. Idols relied on their fans’ votes and financial support to debut, and fans projected their emotions onto them. By the standards of the profession, idols were not supposed to date.
The girls’ momentary anger was understandable; their emotions had simply gotten the better of them. The real problem was that malicious people had taken advantage of the situation.
Qiuyun turned and went back into the mall, intending to ask the property management office for the surveillance footage.
Pei Cizhou followed lazily behind her. “Don’t bother. They may have left the mall before we did.”
“We still need to determine which exit they used before we can report it to the police.”
“Tch. It doesn’t involve a single cent. Do you really think the police have that much free time?”
What, then, was she supposed to do?
Qiuyun’s expression darkened.
Those two had set her up, yet she couldn’t let them get away without suffering any consequences, could she?
At that moment, Pei Cizhou leaned over with a smile. “Miss Qiu, I can help you find them quickly. How about you do me a favor in return?”
“Hmm?” Remembering his identity, Qiuyun asked, “What kind of favor? Accompany you to a banquet tonight?”
Pei Cizhou snapped his fingers with a broad grin. “Bingo! Miss Qiu, you really are quick-witted.”
After thinking it over, Qiuyun decided it shouldn’t be too difficult. “What kind of banquet is it?”
“A business charity event. My brother is taking me along to broaden my horizons and, while we’re there, help me make contact with some investors.”
“All right. I’ll do it.”
Pei Cizhou barely managed to suppress the corners of his mouth from curling upward. “Then let’s go find them.”
Twenty minutes later, the two of them appeared within the surveillance coverage of the area. The intelligent tracking system took less than ten minutes to lock onto the girls’ location: they were in a trendy toy store on another commercial street, selling merchandise related to Qiu Ze’s idol career.
Qiuyun sighed inwardly.
This was what people meant by having powerful connections. If Qin Man had threatened the Pei family or the Ruan family, the incident probably wouldn’t even have made the trending searches, much less forced them to search for the culprits after they had fled abroad.
With one quick check of overseas entry and exit records, they had managed to track the girls down.
They arrived at the trendy toy store.
The girls were all in their teens or early twenties, and Qiuyun didn’t want to make things too difficult for them. Since they were all devoted fans, she had them handwrite letters of apology and pin them to the top of their main social media accounts for fifteen days.
Only then could the matter be considered settled.
