*OH MY, the crown prince just called Gu Niannian by name!*

　　*Gu’s far inferior to Jiang. What does Pei see in her?*

　　*No wonder Gu’s got so many scandals and still hasn’t been banned. Turns out she’s clinging to the thigh of Penguin’s crown prince.*

　　Gu Niannian glanced behind Pei Jingzhi again, racking her brain on how to smooth over last night’s mess.

　　"Thinking of taking another swing at me?" Pei Jingzhi leaned in, voice low.

　　Gu Niannian took two steps back, eyes locked on him. She’d pissed off Pei Jingzhi last night. With his clout, getting her blacklisted would be a piece of cake. Which would be just perfect!

　　She shot a reluctant glance at Zhou Rui, dragged him over, and in her sweetest voice said, “Meet my boyfriend, Zhou Rui.”

　　Pei Jingzhi gave Zhou Rui a lazy once-over, a flicker of disdain in his eyes. Hilarious. As her skin got thicker by the day, her taste just kept tanking.

　　Zhou Rui's assistant whispered something to him. The arrogance on Zhou Rui’s face instantly turned to panic. He forced a curious smile. “Nice to meet you. And you are...?”

　　“This is Mr. Pei. The drama’s going up on Penguin Video, and he’s here to check it out,” Zhang Tian explained.

　　Zhou Rui quickly picked up on the weird tension between Gu Niannian and Pei Jingzhi.

　　To play it safe, he quickly stepped away from her.

　　“You think Zhou Rui can protect you?” Pei Jingzhi said with a mocking smile. “Believe me, if I throw enough resources his way, he’ll dump you and those sugar mommies, and come running to serve me instead.”

　　Gu Niannian stared at him in outright disbelief. Wow, Pei Jingzhi had his eyes on her boyfriend now? It finally hit her that her characters had gone rogue. In parts of the story she never even wrote, they’d started growing wild and free.

　　*Never seen an actor teach the director how to shoot a scene.*

　　*For the last time—THERE WERE NO MILKY FARTS IN THE ORIGINAL NOVEL!!!*

　　*No freaking way. Gu’s boyfriend is Zhou?*

　　Social media blew up with hashtags.

　　#GuNiannianZhouRui

　　#GuNiannianPeiJingzhi

　　#MilkyFart

　　*No way my idol’s into someone like Gu!*

　　*She definitely slept her way up with Zhou.*

　　*You serious? Gu’s just the third female lead, while your dear idol’s the male lead AND coaching the director. If anyone's sleeping their way up, it’s Zhou, not her.*

　　Zhang Tian sensed the tension and quickly stepped in. “Alright, it’s lunchtime. Everyone take a break.”

　　Pei Jingzhi locked eyes with Zhou Rui, saw him shrink back, and let out a short laugh. “Your girlfriend, lend her to me for a sec.”

　　“No! Where are you taking me?” Before Gu Niannian could react, Pei Jingzhi’d already dragged her out and shoved her into his car.

　　Her nerves went on high alert. He’s not planning to get revenge for last night, right? Lock me up? Torture me or something?

　　*What just happened?*

　　*A kidnapping or a love confession?*

　　*OMG, Pei’s so freaking hot!*

　　*I swear, there’s more to their story.*

　　In the car, Pei Jingzhi turned to her with a crooked grin, a devilish smile on his lips. “So, what do you think I should do?”

　　Gu Niannian shot back, “I get it now. I knocked you out last night, and you decided I’m not like all those other flashy floozies. So now you’ve developed some kind of twisted crush on me.”

　　“Wipe the drool,” Pei Jingzhi said, tossing a pack of tissues into her lap. Her ridiculous train of thought actually amused him, and he let out a short laugh.

　　Gu Niannian didn’t think she was pathetic enough to drool over a handsome guy. But she still touched the corner of her lips instinctively. Liar. He totally made that up.

　　“Give up your mind. If anything happens to me, the cops will suspect you first. Everyone saw you drag me into your car, they’re all witnesses.”

　　“Funny. How do you explain the fact you smashed a vase over my head last night to the corps, an accident?”

　　“That was self-defense, righteous and just.”

　　And if she had to do it again, she totally would.

　　After a while, Pei Jingzhi led her into a private dining room at Yuming Xuan, a fine-dining restaurant.

　　“May I take your order?” the waiter asked, handing them menus.

　　“I’ll have the braised duck feet with mushrooms, rainbow beef strips, tofu lotus pouches, butterfly shrimp rolls... hmm, sweet and sour lotus root, deer tendon stew, and shredded chicken with white fungus.” Gu Niannian listed a long list of dishes, then she paused. “So, is this your treat, or are we splitting the bill?”

　　“I can handle a meal,” Pei Jingzhi replied, handing back the menu, “The usual for me.”

　　Did she actually go Dutch with Zhou Rui every time they ate out?

　　After the waiter left, the air got a little weird. Pei Jingzhi tapped his fingers on the table, eyes gleaming with interest. “Guess what my first thought was when I woke up at the hospital last night?”

　　Gu Niannian sighed inwardly. Here we go. He really came to settle the score.