I was in a secret relationship for seven years with my brother’s best friend.
But one night, after he got drunk, he said to me in a joking tone,
“Zhizhi, I’ll find you a better man. Don’t cling to me anymore, okay?”
I replied calmly and obediently, “Okay.”
Because in my previous life, I didn’t accept his suggestion and insisted on marrying him.
After we got married, he ignored me on purpose, treating me with cold indifference.
Even when I was eight months pregnant and got into a car accident that left me bleeding heavily,
he went to a concert with his heartbroken secretary instead of being by my side.
Only then did I realize—he was someone else’s salvation, but never meant to be my soulmate.
1
I agreed, and Pei Jinzhou was stunned.
He hadn’t expected me to say yes so easily.
In the private room, the lights flickered softly.
His handsome face was tinged with an unusual flush,
but his eyes were clear, showing no sign of drunkenness.
I sat upright and well-behaved, looking at him with a faint smile in my eyes.
Pei Jinzhou, no longer lazy as before, straightened up and looked unusually serious.
“Chu Zhi, did you hear what I just said?”
I nodded. “I heard you clearly.”
In the past, whenever he said things like this,
I would always act cute or play dumb, asking him not to say such things.
But now, my emotions were calm and distant,
like a spectator watching a play, unmoved.
“Chu Zhi, you—”
Before he could finish, Chu Yun, who had stepped out for some air, walked back in.
Seeing Pei Jinzhou, he smirked playfully,
“Guess who I just saw outside?”
Without waiting for a reply, Chu Yun continued,
“I saw your ex-girlfriend. She looks drunk and is being led into a private room…”
Before he finished speaking, Pei Jinzhou shot up and strode out of the room.
Soon after, the sounds of commotion and shattering glass came from outside.
I sat there, calmly eating the peeled tangerines from the fruit plate.
Pei Jinzhou liked fruit but hated peeling it.
Every time, I would carefully peel the fruit and place it in front of him before he would take a bite.
Chu Yun would always tease me,
“You treat him so well. Why don’t you treat your own brother this way? Could it be that you like him?”
More than once, I almost blurted out the truth about my relationship with Pei Jinzhou.
But he would always gently pat my hair and speak first,
“Maybe, in Zhizhi’s eyes, I’m more like a real brother than you. Of
course a sister cares for her brother—do you have a problem with that?”
Gradually, I understood his intentions.
He didn’t want anyone to know about us.
So, I stopped mentioning it too.
That’s how, after seven years together, not a single person around us knew about our relationship.
At that moment, Chu Yun stood by the door, watching for the right time to go help.
He glanced back and saw me still eating fruit, and teased,
“Zhizhi, your Jinzhou-ge is fighting out there. Aren’t you going to help?”
I swallowed the last segment of tangerine and shook my head.
“I’m too small and weak to be of any help.”
Hearing this, Chu Yun raised his eyebrows but said nothing, and went out to help.
I sat in the private room for a long time, long enough for the noise outside to fade away…
I only got up to leave when the noise outside had quieted down.
As soon as I stepped out of the private room, I saw a woman being carefully protected by Pei Jinzhou.
She was his ex-girlfriend, and also his future secretary—Jian Shutong.
Jian Shutong was drunk, leaning bonelessly against him.
Pei Jinzhou not only didn’t push her away, but instead held her tightly.
In his deep, dark eyes, there was a trace of anger, and also a hint of tenderness he himself didn’t realize.
Chu Yun came over, raised an eyebrow, and teased,
“Zhizhi, do you think there’s a chance they’ll get back together?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for Pei Jinzhou to hear.
Pei Jinzhou immediately looked up at him,
and when he saw me standing not far away, a fleeting hint of guilt flashed in his eyes.
He explained, “I never thought about getting back together with her, she’s just drunk…”
I smiled faintly and shook my head.
“Jinzhou-ge, I understand. Sister Shutong seems really drunk, you should take her home.”
Pei Jinzhou seemed dissatisfied with how I addressed him and frowned slightly,
but he didn’t refuse my suggestion.
As he left with Jian Shutong, he reminded Chu Yun,
“Don’t let her wander around outside. Go home early.”