Chapter 26: He’s a Real Dog, But Not Her Dog

Pei Yan Zhou’s car disappeared from sight. Jian Ruo Ci carried the paper bag into the villa.

She placed the bag on the coffee table and plugged her phone in to charge. She leaned back on the sofa, her mind filled with Pei Yan Zhou’s words about Mrs. Pei.

What was he thinking when he said that?

She didn’t understand why Pei Yan Zhou said those suggestive words.

How much seriousness was there in his “sooner or later”?

Jian Ruo Ci was lost in her thoughts. She slapped her head hard and grabbed a pillow to bury her face in it.

She reminded herself, “Jian Ruo Ci, he just said it casually. Why are you taking it seriously? Wake up. Don’t be so love-struck.”

She threw the pillow aside and looked at the lunch in the paper bag on the table.

The men who had pursued her in the past had said similar things. She wouldn’t think much of it after hearing them. She knew those pursuers would say the same things to another girl.

But this time, Pei Yan Zhou’s words had gotten to her. She was lost in her thoughts, trying to guess what he meant.

She leaned forward and took the paper bag on the coffee table. She took out the lunchbox inside. It was pasta and salad.

Food first. Jian Ruo Ci decided to fill her stomach before anything else. She opened it, picked up a fork, and started eating, stuffing her mouth full.

She looked at the food in front of her angrily, stabbing it with her fork. She mumbled, “Jian Ruo Ci, what kind of charm does Pei Yan Zhou have that makes you think so much?”

“He’s just being polite.”

“Yes, he’s being polite. Eat!”

The first bite, her mind wasn’t on the food. She couldn’t taste it. She took another bite, and the flavor was actually very good.

She sat on the rug in front of the coffee table and ate slowly. After she finished, she cleaned up the lunchbox on the coffee table and threw it in the trash can.

After throwing it away, she remembered what Pei Yan Zhou had said. Take a picture and send it to him. She took the lunchbox out of the trash can and placed it on the table.

She unplugged her phone, which was charging nearby. It was now half charged.

After turning it on, she opened the camera, pointed it at the empty lunchbox on the table, and took a picture as the shutter clicked. Then, she threw the lunchbox back in the trash can.

She opened WeChat. There was a new verification request. She clicked on it and accepted it.

It was Pei Yan Zhou’s account.

His nickname was “PYZ.” He didn’t have a profile picture. Jian Ruo Ci clicked on his Moments, but there were no posts. She exited.

She clicked on the note. She thought for a moment, a mischievous smile curved her lips, and her fingers quickly typed a few words on the screen: [Abstinent Duck King]

Jian Ruo Ci couldn’t help but laugh. This note was too fitting for his image. It was tailor-made for him.

Jian Ruo Ci opened her photo album, ready to send the picture of the empty lunchbox she had just taken. Her finger stopped a centimeter away from the send button.

No, why should she listen to him?

She had eaten his food, but he had bought it willingly.

She went back to the chat interface and transferred the money for the coffee and lunch to him.

She stared at his note and giggled for a few seconds before exiting.

As soon as she exited, her phone buzzed with a message notification. She clicked on it.

Pei Yan Zhou: [?]

A question mark…

What did it mean?

He hadn’t received the transfer. He only sent a question mark.

Jian Ruo Ci also sent him a question mark.

Didn’t he have work to do? He could reply so quickly. It seemed like he wasn’t very busy.

Pei Yan Zhou: [Photo]

“…” He’s really persistent.

Jian Ruo Ci sent him the photo she had taken and didn’t say anything else. Pei Yan Zhou didn’t reply either.

She turned off her phone and went back to her bedroom to work on her design drafts, but she couldn’t calm down. Her mind was full of the things Pei Yan Zhou had said that made her misunderstand.

She crumpled up her drafts and threw them in the trash can. She picked up her phone on the table and made a call. “Where are you?”

The other end of the line: “Home.”

“Wait for me.”

Jian Ruo Ci hung up the phone and went out.

Ten minutes later.

Mingyue Residential Area.

Jian Ruo Ci was standing at the door of a resident’s house. She was about to knock on the door, but before her hand could land, she heard a voice from inside.

“Come in. I won’t open the door for you.”

Jian Ruo Ci chuckled softly and entered the password. The living room was pitch black, but she was used to it.

She turned on the light, changed into slippers, and looked at Yan Xi, who was lying on the sofa, hugging her laptop.

She teased, “Your ears are like a certain animal. You know what I mean.”

“Jian Ruo Ci! You’ve gone bad!” Yan Xi grabbed a pillow from the sofa and threw it at her. Jian Ruo Ci caught it and placed it on the sofa.

“Jian Ruo Ci, tell me quickly. Do you have a dog outside? Are you infatuated with a dog outside? You haven’t been looking for me, haven’t called me, and haven’t even sent me a message these days.”

“Don’t you love me anymore?”

“Am I not your favorite person anymore?”

“If you don’t love me anymore, leave. Let me grow old alone.”

Jian Ruo Ci chuckled softly and pulled open the curtains. The living room instantly became much brighter. She said, “Yan Xi, the act is over. It’s too much of a shame for you to write scripts. You should be acting.”

Yan Xi put her laptop on the coffee table, stood up, and gestured at her figure. “With my figure and looks, becoming a first-line star wouldn’t be a problem. But, sister, I have bigger ambitions.”

She cupped her face, looking lovestruck. “I want to write even better scripts. I hope one day my idol will be the male lead in my script.”

“Then you’ll see your idol filming kissing scenes with other women, even bed scenes.”

Jian Ruo Ci poured a bucket of cold water on her. The lovestruck look on Yan Xi’s face instantly disappeared. “Jian! Ruo! Ci! You’re so annoying!”

“Hmm, I’m annoying.” Jian Ruo Ci laughed. “Unless you stop writing Mary Sue domineering CEO scripts, your idol won’t film kissing scenes with anyone else.”

“You don’t understand anything.” Yan Xi said. “Every girl has a domineering CEO dream.”

“I hope that when my domineering CEO sees me being bullied by a vicious female supporting character, he will descend from the heavens, wearing a well-tailored black suit, with a face as handsome as a god, and protect me in his arms, saying coldly, ‘Who dares to touch my woman?'”

Jian Ruo Ci walked over to her and patted her shoulder. “Hey, wake up~.”

Yan Xi slapped Jian Ruo Ci’s hand away and sat on the sofa. “I heard from Jian Xu that you have a dog outside? Tell the truth. Confess and be lenient, resist and be strict.”

Dog…

Pei Yan Zhou…

He’s a real dog, but not her dog.

“No dog. I moved out.” Jian Ruo Ci said. “I’m living in the old villa district in the suburbs now. I got a big order these days.”

“Did those three dogs from the Jian family do this?”

“Hmm.”

Yan Xi slammed her fist on the table and stood up, her face full of anger. “Aren’t they afraid of being struck by lightning? That mother and daughter aren’t related. Let’s not talk about them.”

“Jian Sen is your real father. He wants to drive you to a dead end. Isn’t he afraid of retribution?”

The more Yan Xi spoke, the angrier she became. She put one foot on the sofa and crossed her arms. “And you! Jian Ruo Ci, are you crazy? You were kicked out, why didn’t you come to me? My house is so big, it can’t accommodate you? You went to the old villa district. You’re going to make me angry to death!”