Chapter 57 Jiang Muyun

She thought of the night Pei Jiayin got drunk... Just how much had he consumed to end up in that state... Was it because of his poor relationship with his family?

Yu Youchu opened her mouth, but the words failed to pass her lips.

Bathed in the amber glow, the person beside her looked extraordinarily gentle. She thought to herself that if Pei Jiayin were ever willing to speak of it himself one day, he would surely tell her the whole story properly.

The current vice-chairman of Poly began to speak, summarizing past achievements and the like, leaving Yu Youchu with a sense of doubt.

She tugged at Pei Jiayin's sleeve, signaling him to lower his head.

Pei Jiayin complied gracefully, bending down as though he had performed this action a million times before.

Their small interaction was clearly observed by Huo Fuzhu, who was standing nearby. He recognized the man before him—a director of Huasheng.

Seeing their seamless intimacy, he immediately realized how rash he had been just moments ago.

He smiled and shook his head.

"Let me ask you something," Yu Youchu lowered her voice and whispered to Pei Jiayin. "Why is the anniversary banquet being addressed by Poly's vice-chairman instead of the chairman?"

"Probably because something urgent came up." Pei Jiayin recalled Pei Jiaxu's flustered and exasperated expression, and his mood improved considerably.

To go through such painstaking efforts to snatch something away, only to find out it was something discarded by others... One would certainly be angry.

He was very much looking forward to what Pei Jiaxu would do next.

Yu Youchu nodded thoughtfully.

"Did you eat your fill tonight?" Pei Jiayin suddenly glanced at Yu Youchu's slender arm.

"I ate enough, don't worry... Unlike you, who didn't eat a single thing and spent the whole time drinking."

"We'll eat when we get home later."

Yu Youchu had no choice but to yield to him.

"Pei Jiayin! You're making me search everywhere!" Another voice rang out, and Yu Youchu distinctly felt the body of the person beside her stiffen.

Following the sound, she saw an ostentatiously dressed man walking briskly toward Pei Jiayin.

The buttons of his deep purple suit jacket were undone, and the hems fluttered as he walked, revealing a black shirt underneath and a messy, loose leopard-print tie. His long, upturned eyes slanted sharply upward, framing arched brows, while his defined eye sockets and eyelids exuded a hint of dissolute charm.

Pei Jiayin reacted swiftly, stepping sideways to block Yu Youchu as a trace of apparent astonishment colored his tone.

"Jiang Muyun."

Yet he clearly wasn't putting much effort into his acting. The listless and completely unruffled tone suggested that the appearance of the person before him was entirely within his expectations.

Silently, Yu Youchu observed the man standing across from them from behind Pei Jiayin.

"Are you avoiding me?"

He looked carefree and loud, yet proved unexpectedly observant.

"No." Pei Jiayin kept his face stern.

The man opposite completely ignored his reply. "We've been friends for all these years, after all. Avoiding me hurts my feelings too much."

Curiously, although Pei Jiayin's expression showed a lack of patience, he still answered Jiang Muyun's questions, his tone merely carrying a profound sense of helplessness.

"I've been right here the entire night."

"Yet I didn't see you."

"....."

Pei Jiayin turned slightly to partially obstruct Yu Youchu's inquisitive gaze. The commotion behind them continued unabated, their voices nearly rivaling Poly's vice-chairman on the stage.

The person on the stage remained unperturbed, while the person off the stage showed no restraint whatsoever.

Yet another spoiled young scion, Yu Youchu thought, retracting her gaze.

Perhaps it was this tiny movement that caught the attention of the man opposite, for Jiang Muyun's voice struck like a bomb.

"Oh, you actually brought a date?!"

He closed the distance between them in two or three strides.

Pei Jiayin pinched the bridge of his nose, looking profoundly troubled.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?"

With the arrow already on the bowstring, he had no choice but to fire.

Pei Jiayin wordlessly checked with Yu Youchu through a glance before introducing her to Jiang Muyun.

As he made the introduction, a smile curved his lips, and he enunciated the word "girlfriend" with deliberate emphasis, sounding very much like a man showing off.

Jiang Muyun curled his lip in speechlessness.

"I don't believe it."

Now it was Yu Youchu's turn to chuckle softly, her eyes curving into crescents, her dimples shallow and sweet.

Only then did Jiang Muyun begin to look Yu Youchu over. His eyes lit up upon seeing her clearly, and he immediately began patting down his pockets.

Following his movements with her gaze, Yu Youchu watched in bewilderment as he fished out a small handful of... miniature gold ingots.

Disregarding her rejection, he pressed them straight into her palm.

Against her dark green gloves, the glittering gold ingots looked remarkably striking.

Yu Youchu: ?

"How much did Pei Jiayin pay you to be his date for the night? How about coming with me to an event next time? Are your schedules completely packed, or do you need me to help you clear out a few?"

Realizing what Jiang Muyun meant, Yu Youchu burst into laughter once more.

Could Pei Jiayin's romantic luck really be this abysmal? So dismal that even his own friends refused to believe him when he claimed to have a girlfriend?

Pei Jiayin's expression darkened instantly as he snatched the gold ingots from Yu Youchu's hands and stuffed them back into Jiang Muyun's breast pocket.

"If you still want to remain friends with me, apologize to my girlfriend right now."

Yu Youchu smiled without a word, expertly looping her arm through Pei Jiayin's.

Jiang Muyun frowned, sensing that something was terribly wrong. He hesitated, keeping his mouth shut, his small eyes filled with massive confusion.

"Mr. Jiang, I believe there's been some misunderstanding. I'm not a date he hired."

Jiang Muyun's gaze gradually grew vacant as a creeping wave of panic set in.

"You-you-you-you-you... You brat actually went and did it...!"

Damn it!

No wonder Tang Qingli had posted that cryptic status update last time; when he had privately messaged him to ask, the guy had acted all mysterious and refused to utter a single word! So the iron tree really had bloomed.

Pei Jiayin's piercing gaze locked straight onto Jiang Muyun, carrying a message that could not have been clearer: Apologize.

Jiang Muyun rubbed his nose.

How utterly humiliating.

"I'm sorry, this...?"

"Yu Youchu."

"This sister-in-..." Pei Jiayin shot him another warning glare. "...Right, right, Miss Yu."

Pei Jiayin's eyes remained fixed on him.

Jiang Muyun bristled like an angry cat. "I already apologized, didn't I? So I got the title wrong! What else do you want me to do?!"

"It's alright."

Yu Youchu spoke up first to pacify the two men standing on the verge of a clash.

Yet from her perspective, their relationship was exceptionally solid; she didn't really need to intervene at all.

"Youchu, this is Jiang Muyun."

In a few brief words, Pei Jiayin introduced Jiang Muyun's background.

Without going into detail about his family, he merely mentioned that Jiang ran a gaming company and had some business collaborations with Poly, apparently co-branding some merchandise.

After listing all of that, he only appended at the very end that Jiang was a close friend he had grown up with.

Seeing Jiang Muyun's rakish, playboy demeanor, she had initially taken him for a good-for-nothing rich kid.

Yu Youchu nodded and took the initiative to extend her hand to shake Jiang Muyun's.

Realizing his true colors had shown, Jiang Muyun coughed twice hastily and shook her hand in return. "Nice to meet you."

Then, turning back to Pei Jiayin with a serious expression, he declared, "Since you're the first to break away from being single, remember to treat us to a meal."