Seeing Bo Yanchi shielding her, Yu Lizhi curled the corners of her lips and flashed a provocative smile at Yu Haitang.
Seeing this, Yu Haitang was furious, yet she clenched her teeth and endured it, looking on the verge of tears as she said, "Sister, hurry and explain things to Best Actor Bo. I really didn't spill anything on you."
"Sister, how can you do something and then refuse to admit it?" Yu Lizhi retorted with equal fawning sarcasm. "The dress I'm wearing right now, worth millions, was ruined by you."
"Sister, please don't wrong people at random." Yu Haitang dug her fingertips into her palms, forcibly suppressing her irritation. Suddenly remembering the note in her hand, she sneered inwardly, opened her palm, and showed it to Bo Yanchi. "Best Actor Bo, look. Sister really is deeply devoted to Brother Sichen."
Lowering his head, Bo Yanchi looked at the familiar handwriting on the note. That single line—*“Zhizhi, who will always love you”*—pricked his eyes like a needle. His heart plummeted to the absolute bottom, aching and bleeding as if it had been carved open.
Sure enough, this so-called celebration banquet was something she had thrown to make up and reconcile with Fu Sichen.
"Sister must have thought the Best Actor award at the Golden Snake Award would go to Brother Sichen, which is why she threw this celebration banquet to celebrate for him." Seeing his pale complexion, Yu Haitang piled on the fuel to fan the flames. "Sister even prepared so many gifts for Brother Sichen, wanting to make up with him. But who would have thought the award would be snatched away by you instead? All of Sister's painstaking efforts have gone to waste."
"Yu Haitang, shut your mouth." Panicking, Yu Lizhi was terrified that Bo Yanchi would listen and that his misunderstanding of her would only deepen.
Bo Yanchi's entire body went rigid. The large hand embracing Yu Lizhi gradually lost its strength, and he let go of her.
"A-Yan, don't listen to her nonsense." Anxious, Yu Lizhi grabbed his arm.
"Sister, did I say anything wrong?" Yu Haitang asked with an innocent expression. "Wasn't it you who said you wanted to break off your arranged marriage with Best Actor Bo, pursue freedom in love, and swore not to marry anyone but Brother Sichen?"
Unable to stand this obnoxious woman a moment longer, Yu Lizhi swung her hand and delivered a sharp slap right across her face, saying coldly, "Say one more word, and don't blame me for being impolite."
Covering her face, Yu Haitang let tears stream down instantly. "Sister, how can you hit people?"
"Yu Lizhi, what are you doing?" Seeing this, Fu Sichen immediately shielded Yu Haitang, staring at Yu Lizhi with a frown. "If you still want my forgiveness today, you'd better behave yourself and apologize to Haitang right now."
"Apologize?" Yu Lizhi rolled her eyes. "Fu Sichen, are you out of your mind? If you're not out of your mind, go eat some Liuliu plums."
Fu Sichen threatened her, "If you don't apologize to Haitang today, I will not accept any of the gifts you sent me to beg for my forgiveness."
"Don't accept them, then. I never wanted to give them to you anyway." Snatching the note back, Yu Lizhi tore it to shreds right in front of Fu Sichen, casually scattered the pieces into the air, and solemnly announced, "Fu Sichen, you listen to me carefully. From this day forward, I, Yu Lizhi, have nothing whatsoever to do with you. We'll each take our own road. I wish you and Yu Haitang—a bitch and a dog—a long and lasting eternity together."
"Yu Lizhi, you..." Choked with anger, Fu Sichen clenched his fists, his gaze turning chillingly cold. Was she going to keep acting so willful even now? Every single time he protected Haitang, she would throw a tantrum and throw herself around like a jealous shrew.
Upon seeing this, Bo Yanchi stared at her in utter astonishment. Wasn't the reason she threw this celebration banquet to beg for Fu Sichen's forgiveness? Even though he hadn't won the award, she had still meticulously prepared so many gifts to give him. And now she was throwing another one of her eldest-miss tantrums, probably out of jealousy toward Yu Haitang yet again.
His gaze dimming, Bo Yanchi looked at that box of gifts Yu Lizhi had painstakingly prepared for Fu Sichen. His heart felt as though it had been filled to the brim with sour water, aching and astringent. If Yu Lizhi were willing to treat him even one ten-thousandth as well as she treated Fu Sichen, he would probably be so happy he'd go crazy. It was just a pity that she only loved Fu Sichen. There was no room for him in her eyes.
"As for... these gifts, though," Yu Lizhi glanced at Bo Yanchi beside her and reached out to loop her arm through his. "They're worth over a hundred million in total, and you, Fu Sichen, are completely unworthy of them. A-Yan, I'll give them to you, alright?"
"I don't want them," Bo Yanchi said in a muffled voice, turning his face away in a fit of pique. Giving him things that Fu Sichen didn't want—what did she take him for? A garbage collector?
Stunned, Yu Lizhi felt her heart shatter into pieces. "A-Yan..." He really was still mad at her.
"Yu Lizhi, you really are like a clown dancing on a stage. Giving the gifts I didn't want to Bo Yanchi—looks like he can only trail behind me picking up my leftovers." Fu Sichen laughed out loud. "And as for you, woman, I don't want you either. I'm giving you away to him for free. I'm sure he'll be drooling to take you."
"Fu Sichen!"
This remark completely infuriated Yu Lizhi. Snatching up a red wine bottle from the table, she smashed it straight down onto the crown of Fu Sichen's head with a loud *bang*. "You can insult me, but don't insult A-Yan."
The bottle shattered all over the floor, and red wine splattered across Fu Sichen's entire head. Fresh blood began to drip down from his forehead.
Even Bo Yanchi was stunned. What on earth was Yu Lizhi doing?
"Ah!" Fu Sichen let out a cry of pain, covering the bleeding spot as he staggered back a step.
"Brother Sichen, are you alright?" Yu Haitang cried out in alarm, rushing forward to steady him.
Barely containing his rage, Fu Sichen bared his teeth and roared, "Yu Lizhi, how dare you hit me? You're courting death!" Shocked and furious, he raised his hand to strike Yu Lizhi.
Before he could, his wrist was seized in a tight grip by Bo Yanchi, who shoved him forcefully away. Shielding Yu Lizhi behind him, Bo Yanchi rebuked him with a stern, icy expression, "Fu Sichen, what kind of man hits a woman?"
"Bo Yanchi, just what kind of thing are you?" Fu Sichen cursed angrily. "This is a private matter between her and me. It's none of your business."
"On the grounds that he is the fiancé I was betrothed to since childhood." Yu Lizhi grabbed Bo Yanchi's hand, interlacing her fingers with his, waved them in front of Fu Sichen, and said coldly, "Is that enough? I *want* to let him manage it—what the hell has it got to do with you?"
"Yu Lizhi, what on earth do you mean?" Fu Sichen's face darkened. "Don't you want me to forgive you? Are you going to keep making a scene? Haven't you played enough of these boring games yet?"
"Fu Sichen, are your ears deaf? Do you need me to spell it out for you even more clearly?" Yu Lizhi said each word with freezing cold precision. "Bo Yanchi is my nominal fiancé. And as for you? You're nothing more than a little diversion, a plaything I used to pass the time over these past two years. When I'm in a good mood, I toss you a bone to eat. When I'm not, you're not even worth a dog."
If she hadn't begged her father back then, using the Yu family's connections and resources to propel Fu Sichen to stardom, what did he think he was?
"Yu Lizhi..." Fu Sichen was grinding his back teeth to powder. "I see you've grown a backbone, daring to talk to me like this! Even if you get down on your knees begging for my forgiveness in the future, I won't ever pay you any mind again."
Yu Lizhi sneered, "Cut it out. Stop barking like a dog. It's grating on the ears."
Was that all he ever knew how to say, over and over again? It seemed her fanatical love for him back then had made him forget his own weight, making him lose sight of who was master and who was servant. He was nothing more than a shameless live-in nanny's son who had climbed into the master's bed—an illegitimate child born in the shadows. If she hadn't poured a crazy amount of money and resources into forcefully promoting him, he'd probably still be a nameless, obscure extra in the entertainment industry to this day.