Chapter 9: Everyone’s a Drama Queen

“Qi Ge, you’ve always told me I’m your best childhood friend, but I never expected you to have someone else behind my back. You’ve really let me down!” Liu Jinghao shouted at Qi Bei with a look of mock indignation.

Qi Bei had been glaring at Jin Yue with anger, but Liu Jinghao’s words diverted his attention. He paused, and after a moment’s thought, his eyes became filled with unspoken emotions. “Haozi, what do you mean by that?”

From his understanding of Liu Jinghao, while he often acted nonsensical, he wouldn’t randomly make such accusations.

It seemed like something had happened during the time Qi Bei had been away.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’ve been with you since we were kids, and now you’re sneaking around with Miss Su. How else could Miss Su claim she grew up with you if you weren’t secretly meeting her when I wasn’t around? I never thought you were this kind of person!” Liu Jinghao looked furious, practically acting like an abandoned wife. He pointed at Qi Bei, as though he was a scumbag who acted one way in front of people and another behind their backs.

Qi Bei immediately caught the teasing look in Liu Jinghao’s eyes, recognizing that this drama king was at it again.

Since he knew the situation, he couldn’t be bothered to engage.

Jin Yue and Su Chenxi were stunned by Liu Jinghao’s performance. They hadn’t expected this to be part of the show!

Jin Yue, who had been scared at first, suddenly felt inspired by Liu Jinghao’s antics. She stopped worrying about the others and decided to play along. She dramatically reddened her eyes and stared at Qi Bei:

“Qi Bei, you liar! You’re already with Miss Su, so why are you still coming after me? I knew it! You don’t even know my name or anything about my family. We’ve only met twice, and yet you agree to date me. You must be using me as a substitute, right? Miss Su is the one you truly care about!”

With that, tears streamed down her face.

“You knew Miss Su was here, yet you still made me come. Is it because you wanted to humiliate me and reassure her? Well, you’ve succeeded! I’ll leave, and don’t worry, I won’t bother you anymore!”

Saying that, she covered her face and ran towards the door.

Why was she covering her face? Obviously, she couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore.

What a perfect excuse!

Although at first, she was confused by what the female lead said, something felt off about her words. But Jin Yue didn’t think too much about it. After all, this was still a book world, and the female lead’s character shouldn’t change so drastically.

Logically, she was the one who had crossed into this world, making her the “bug.”

A world couldn’t have that many bugs, right?

Since she couldn’t figure it out, she decided to stop thinking about it.

She was ready to embrace her malicious side.

That’s right, she was the villainous supporting character after all!

Now that she’d done this, the male lead could finally let her off the hook, right? Yay!

Jin Yue tried to run as fast as she could, but before long, she found herself being lifted off the ground by a pair of strong hands, being carried back.

Jin Yue couldn’t laugh anymore. This time, she genuinely looked distressed.

“Put me down!”

“Stop making a scene!” Qi Bei patted her on the backside.

At that moment, Jin Yue’s face turned as red as a monkey’s bottom. She was no longer a child, and yet she was being spanked in front of everyone!

 “Qi Bei! You pervert! How dare you spank me!”  Jin Yue yelled loudly, truly angry now. *Just because the tiger doesn’t roar, does that mean she’s Hello Kitty?*

Everyone in the room was startled by her shout and turned to look at her. Qi Bei furrowed his brows and glanced at the others. Instantly, everyone averted their gaze.

Then, he looked down at the little person in his arms, her face flushed with embarrassment and anger. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Calm down. You didn’t even let me finish speaking before running off. You’re really not behaving well at all.”

Jin Yue struggled fiercely, glaring at him fiercely, thinking her expression looked very intimidating. However, to Qi Bei, who was deeply focused on her, she looked more like a cute little cat.

Qi Bei sat back on the couch without putting her down, still holding her in his lap.

“Stop making a scene. I have nothing to do with Miss Su. You should listen to what I have to say. Keep acting up, and I’ll spank you again.”

Jin Yue didn’t care. She couldn’t miss the perfect excuse she had just found.

Qi Bei noticed her agitation and leaned close to her ear; his voice filled with a subtle threat.

“Yueyue, if you keep making a scene, I’ll think you’re just looking for an excuse. Do you remember what I said last time in the hotel?”

Then he affectionately patted her head.

It was like giving a stick with one hand and a candy with the other.

Seeing that Jin Yue had quieted down, Qi Bei turned his attention to Su Chenxi, his usually gentle face now looking icy cold.

“Miss Su, I don’t recall ever growing up with you. If you keep spreading lies, I will hold you accountable. After all, I can’t guarantee you won’t use this to do something unsavory.”

Su Chenxi felt bitter inside. Her palms had already been dug into by her nails, but she didn’t even feel the pain.

Just now, Jin Yue said that, and yet Qi Bei still didn’t push her away. Was this really the proud and aloof man everyone talked about?

Also, judging by what Jin Yue just implied, they hadn’t known each other for long and hadn’t even been dating for long—so how could there be such deep feelings between them?

This thought made her hate Jin Yue even more, but she still forced a smile and said:

“Qi Bei, when we were kids, I often followed you around. Out of all the people around you, I was the only girl. Isn’t that, right?”

Qi Bei’s eyes were filled with indifference as he glanced at her, his voice calm.

“You followed your brother here. I just didn’t care to talk to you. After all, you weren’t bothering me.”

Implying that she had approached him on her own, and he simply couldn’t be bothered with her.

Su Chenxi couldn’t laugh anymore.

“That’s not true! If you disliked me, you would’ve kicked me out. You’re only saying this because Jin Yue is here, aren’t you?”

As if she believed her own words, she kept reaffirming them, then forced a smile.

“Qi Bei, I know you don’t want to say it this way. Yueyue, trust me, I’m not trying to come between you two. I’ve admired you since childhood, like an older brother, and I just want to be friends with you, Yueyue. Please believe me!”

Jin Yue was a bit startled by the shifting expressions on Su Chenxi’s face. She felt increasingly confused, and the more she heard, the stranger the female lead’s words seemed.

Qi Bei’s eyes showed a brief moment of surprise, but soon, his face was filled with disgust.

“To me, you’re just a stranger.”

There was no need to say anything else.

Because she simply didn’t affect him.

Su Chenxi couldn’t keep up her façade anymore, her expression crumbling. She muttered, “This shouldn’t be happening…”

Su Chenxi’s breakdown didn’t affect Qi Bei in the least. He turned to Liu Jinghao, who was standing at the side.

“Haozi, I’ve got something to do. I’m leaving now. You can stay and play tonight.”

With that, he picked up Jin Yue and walked out.

Liu Jinghao gave a nod to Qi Bei, his smile wide. Tonight, had definitely been quite the show!