But just as she sent Pei Shi off and was about to head back to the car, she ran into Sun Jing, who looked like she had just returned from taking selfies in the orchard. As soon as she saw Bai Tao, she looked like she had seen a ghost.

“Fiona?!” Sun Jing’s tone rose, almost exasperated, as she questioned, “Weren’t you not coming? Why are you here?”

“I came to deliver some important documents to President Pei! I’ll be leaving right after!”

Bai Tao casually made up an excuse, quickly said goodbye to Sun Jing, and returned to her car. But before she could even get comfortable, another private message came through on Weibo, this time from the same informant, but in a much more agitated tone—

“Bai Tao, I’m so sorry! I gave you false information! That shameless homewrecker did show up today! President Pei, please give up on treating and saving him! He doesn’t deserve it! Please take all his money and don’t let that trashy homewrecker have it!”

Bai Tao had been puzzled about who had such poor judgment to report her, and she was just about to investigate when the truth was revealed and she was vindicated!

That damn informant, turns out it was Sun Jing!

---

When Pei Shi finished his event and returned home with Bai Tao, she was still angry—

What kind of eyesight does Sun Jing have? How could she possibly think that I’m uncultured?!

No matter how much Bai Tao thought about it, she couldn’t let it go. She decided that she had to make Sun Jing see her in a new light and truly recognize her charm!

As soon as they got home, Bai Tao headed straight to her study. After she had crossed over to this world, she couldn’t wait to check out her bookshelf. It was filled with works by Shakespeare, Yeats, Stendhal, and various other classics that she had no memory of but which looked very sophisticated and classy! Most importantly, judging by the spines, they were all original versions!

Although she had taken over quite a mess upon her arrival, there were a few things that made Bai Tao feel proud and comforted. Five years ago, she had no interest in these classics and was obsessed with cheap literature and bathroom reads. She never expected that time would have made her grow so much, that five years later, she would have become so cultured! The books on her shelf were actually so deep and profound!

Bai Tao decided to take a few books from the shelf and bring them to the office. She planned to flaunt them in front of Sun Jing every day so that Sun Jing would realize how high Bai Tao’s reading tastes were and eventually change her opinion of her.

Excitedly, Bai Tao pulled out a volume of Shakespeare, but because she used too much force, she ended up pulling the spine right off the book…

Could this original edition be an ancient version? The spine was detached from the text? How could it come apart so easily? Was it poorly glued?

Suspicious, Bai Tao took a closer look and nearly fainted from shock.

This wasn’t an English original of Shakespeare at all. Inside the spine was actually a cheap, trashy novel—

The Domineering CEO’s Little Sweetheart.

…

Damn.

Bai Tao stared at the flamboyant typography on the cover and had a sinking feeling.

Her premonition quickly came true—

Inside the spine of Faust was The Domineering Prince’s Little Concubine.

Inside the spine of The Red and the Black was The Pure-Hearted Young Master and the Pretty Chef.

Inside the spine of War and Peace was The Beautiful Older Sister and the Young Wolf.

…

Bai Tao stared at the pile of cheap novels on the floor and felt a deep sense of despair. Indeed, people can’t change—whatever she was five years ago, she still was now…

These spines… It seemed she had bought them to cover up the trashy novels and make herself look more cultured…

She really hadn’t been reading any classics. She had been reading those cliché, over-the-top romances all along…

Just as Bai Tao was standing there, dumbfounded by the mess of book spines on the floor and the truth about her reading preferences, Pei Shi walked into the room. “Just now…”

Bai Tao was stunned for a few seconds before reacting dramatically, throwing herself onto the books on the floor to block Pei Shi’s view—there was no way she could let him discover that she had a bunch of fake book spines covering up her trashy novels!

However, Pei Shi didn’t seem surprised by her exaggerated behavior. He calmly glanced at Bai Tao. “Haven’t you already read The Domineering CEO’s Little Sweetheart several times? Are you taking it out to reread?”

…Pei Shi actually knew?!

Bai Tao coughed and got up from the floor, feeling a bit embarrassed. “You knew I had this kind of trashy novel inside?”

“Yeah.”

“…”

So Pei Shi really knew she had no taste…

But Bai Tao absolutely refused to admit it. She calmly said, “You see, a person’s taste may only amount to so much in a lifetime, and it’s a balancing act. I used all my taste to find a husband. To find a husband, I had to sacrifice some other areas of taste, I—”

“I don’t think you have bad taste.” To Bai Tao’s surprise, Pei Shi interrupted her. The man paused, glanced at the garish cover on the floor, and added, “Reading popular novels to relieve stress is normal, just try to read fewer with explicit scenes.”

Pei Shi pursed his lips. “One day I got curious and flipped through a couple of them. There were a lot of explicit scenes—barely a few lines before the characters were in bed. Even for popular novels, that’s a bit too illogical.”

???

Seriously, Pei Shi, why are you expecting logic from trashy novels…

“I came in to tell you that there was a package for you at the door. I signed for it, and the box is downstairs.” Pei Shi added with subtlety, “Popular literature has improved a lot in recent years. Maybe you should buy some new ones and update your aesthetic.”

With that, he calmly walked out, leaving Bai Tao standing there, dumbfounded.

She wasn’t planning to reread anything! She just wanted to grab a classic to show off!