yet she had never seen Jiang Juyou's older brother.
Shang Muye offered a rare explanation:
"Pei Zongzhi. A few years ago, he relied on AI technology to take his own company public in a single leap, and then merged it with the Jiang Group. Every penny he earns belongs to the Jiang Family."
"Oh, so he's just a tool the Jiang Family found for Jiang Juyou. Isn't it just that he's responsible for making money while Jiang Juyou is responsible for spending it? Aren't the Jiangs afraid that once his wings get strong, he'll want to fly solo?"
"Wait, is he the one those buddies of yours were talking about—the older brother who spoils Jiang Juyou rotten?"
"Yes."
Thinking of something, Zhou Die suddenly took out her phone and glanced at it.
Her gaze fixed on the contact named Pei.
So this was Pei Zongzhi's WeChat.
Zhou Die looked at Shang Muye: "Does he have a girlfriend?"
Shang Muye shook his head: "He probably has some kind of agreement with the Jiang Family. I've never seen a woman around him."
"Don't think of him as just a tool," Shang Muye thought for a moment, then decided to give Zhou Die a heads-up:
"His surname is Pei. My mom said that before I was born, the Pei Family was the undisputed overlord in Jing City. Later something happened, and only a few-year-old Pei Zongzhi was left and sent to an orphanage."
This was why, even though everyone knew he was a tool for the Jiang Family, no one dared to cross him.
The Pei Family was gone, and the Jiang Family took its place, yet the backbone of the Jiang Family was still someone from the Pei Family—how terrifying was that?
The dynasty changed hands, but fundamentally, the surname was still Pei.
"Do you think he's really willing to be a mere tool in the Jiang Family?" Zhou Die looked at the man holding the bicycle over there.
His eyes seemed capable of seeing only Jiang Juyou.
"How would I know? Why are you asking all this?"
Zhou Die stepped onto her skateboard:
"Look, Jiang Juyou doesn't even care about you anymore."
Shang Muye followed Jiang Juyou with his gaze. "Today my mom said she received an invitation from the Jiang Family. It's for Jiang Juyou's birthday banquet."
Zhou Die let out a snort of laughter:
"Jiang Juyou is so good at putting on an act—on one hand, she gets her family to send you an invitation, and here she deliberately acts like she barely knows you."
Shang Muye frowned at the first half of Zhou Die's sentence, but said nothing.
He only stared at Jiang Juyou with a darkening gaze.
After skating a circle, Zhou Die came back. "Shang Muye, let's make a bet. You down?"
Shang Muye turned his head to look, but before Zhou Die could speak—
Suddenly, a cry of surprise came from the other side.
Jiang Juyou almost fell off, but fortunately Pei Zongzhi was quick-witted and caught her in an embrace.
Crouched in Pei Zongzhi's arms, Jiang Juyou happened to lock eyes with Shang Muye over there.
His gaze was locked onto the two of them.
It was as if Jiang Juyou were some kind of possession belonging to him.
Yet now she was being held in someone else's hands.
Pei Zongzhi set her down and still checked her over from head to toe, letting out a sigh of relief only when he saw she was unhurt.
Meanwhile, Jiang Juyou saw Zhou Die suddenly raise her arm, draping it over Shang Muye's arm and causing the tall man to hunch his back.
Before Jiang Juyou could react, her line of sight was suddenly blocked by a "black wall."
She looked up, meeting Pei Zongzhi's gaze.
"I... I didn't even do anything. Brother, why are you making that face?"
Looking like he was about to eat someone.
Pei Zongzhi's hand pressed down on her shoulder, and his lips parted.
Yet he suddenly pulled Jiang Juyou into an embrace.
The voice by her ear carried a hint of gritted-teeth fierceness: "If it hurts to watch, then don't look."
Jiang Juyou looked up, her head pressed back by Pei Zongzhi as she lay against his chest.
Jiang Juyou's eyes gradually grew moist. Why was her brother so good to her?
In her past life, she had actually caused her brother's indirect death because of Shang Muye.
Inhaling the faint cedar scent on Pei Zongzhi, she tightly clutched the fabric at his waist with both hands.Before Pei Zongzhi made this move, he had already braced himself to be pushed away by Jiang Juyou.
He never expected that, contrary to her usual behavior, Jiang Juyou would instead hold him even tighter.
He could even feel her small nose pressed against his muscles, the soft touch of her lips, and her searing breath against his chest.
The tears spilling from Jiang Juyou’s eyes soaked through the thin fabric, scalding his skin.
He restrained himself, ignoring the urge to crush her into his arms, and after a moment, he lifted his hands to grip her slender wrists.
"Have you cried enough?"
Jiang Juyou, how many more times are you going to cry for him?
Biting her lower lip, Jiang Juyou remained buried against his chest, trying to stifle the sounds of her sobbing. Her voice trembled as she asked, "How did you know I was crying?"
Pei Zongzhi let out a silent sigh and placed his palm on her back, which was shaking from her tears.
"Because brother is the one who understands you, knows you, and cares for you the most."
Jiang Juyou lifted her hand and wiped the tears from her cheeks in a frantic blur.Pei Zongzhi put his arm around her, his gaze meeting Shang Muye's as the other man looked over. Their eyes crossed like clashing blades.
Jiang Juyou had cried so hard simply because she remembered how she had caused Pei Zongzhi's death.
Not wanting Pei Zongzhi to worry about her too much, she immediately adjusted her mindset and stopped crying.
She got on the bicycle and, imitating how Pei Zongzhi had taught her the first time, managed to ride in a straight line.
However, she still could not control the turns very well.
"Club President!"
A girl ran over.
Jiang Juyou almost crashed into her, but fortunately she slammed on the brakes in time, the bicycle tires screeching against the ground.
Pei Zongzhi hurried over to steady her.
Jiang Juyou got off the bicycle.
She saw that the person she had almost hit was Qi Ran.
Her good friend.
Qi Ran was in the Skateboard Club with Zhou Die and Shang Muye, and Jiang Juyou often went over to watch them.
Shang Muye's good friend Tang Kailing was there as well.It was Tang Kailing who told her that Qi Ran had been going behind her back to seduce Shang Muye, so she had stopped hanging out with Qi Ran much.
As she looked over, Jiang Juyou’s eyes betrayed a sense of bewilderment.
"Are... are you alright?"
Qi Ran’s attitude toward her was cold. "I’m fine."
Her forehead was drenched in sweat, all because she had been rushing to deliver a skateboard to Zhou Die.
"President, here is what you wanted."
Qi Ran was panting heavily.
Zhou Die took it and glanced at it. "This isn't what I wanted. I told you I wanted the one from the first spot in the second-to-last row."
Qi Ran was stunned. "Didn't you say the second spot in the very last row?"
Zhou Die tossed the board onto the ground. "Oh my god, why is it so impossible to talk to you? Why do girls like you who know nothing about skateboards even join the Skateboard Club?"
Jiang Juyou watched from the side with cold eyes; it was clear that Zhou Die was deliberately making things difficult for Qi Ran.
She knew that Qi Ran had once been her close friend.
That was why Zhou Die had been targeting Qi Ran both openly and behind her back.
But since the Skateboard Club was mostly made up of guys, and Zhou Die was close with all of them, Qi Ran had no way to stand up for herself.
Jiang Juyou walked over. "You’re not the Empress just because you're the club president! If you want something, why don't you go get it yourself?"
Jiang Juyou kicked Zhou Die’s skateboard away.
Zhou Die stared at her, wide-eyed.
Jiang Juyou had always maintained a perfectly ladylike image in front of Shang Muye; it was unthinkable that she would show such a violent side.
Jiang Juyou didn't just kick the board Qi Ran had brought; she kicked the one under Zhou Die’s feet as well.
She grabbed Qi Ran and walked straight out.
Pei Zongzhi looked toward Shang Muye, his gaze calm and ripple-less.
"Your skateboard went flying. Aren't you going to go pick it up?"