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Chapter 54: Fate

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The soda spilled on both of their dresses, and the woman’s expression immediately darkened.

The others at the same table hastily offered them some tissue papers. Jiang Se turned around to place her glass back onto the table. She offered an apology, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you were still standing there. I thought I heard you saying that we’re going right away, and I wanted to catch up with you.”

She shook her dress. Naturally, she could not go around offering toasts in this condition. She took her bag and wanted to head toward the toilet to clean herself up.

After all, if she spent some time in the toilet and gave everyone the slip, nobody would notice her absence in this sea of people.

Jiang Se wore a floral chiffon dress that night. She dabbed the spots where the soda had spilled and pressed it with some tissue, so it looked much better now.

When she came out of the toilet after cleaning herself up, she could hear peals of laughter from the hall the production team had rented.

Reckoning that she had wasted her time coming here, Jiang Se had no intention of going back to the hall. She pushed the elevator button and waited for it to reach her floor.

On the 12th floor of Ruiji Hotel, Nie Dan ran after Pei Yi who stormed out of a private room. “Brother Yi, Brother Yi! Calm down!”

Pei Yi was tall and his legs were long, so he was out of the restaurant in a few strides.

The elevator was still on a higher floor. Nie Dan shook his head. “Ever since I got back from France, my grandfather kept such a close eye on me that I thought I was some caged monkey.” When he said this, he felt as if he had said something wrong. “It’s thanks to college that my father’s been more lenient with me. We haven’t seen each other for such a long time. Ye Xun and the others have also been tied down like mules. Why’re you leaving when you’ve just arrived?”

Pei Yi said nothing. He took out his phone and glanced at it.

When Nie Dan saw his reaction, he could guess what was on his mind. “Is Feng Nan still ignoring you?”

When he mentioned Feng Nan, Pei Yi’s eyes bulged with a warning look. His voice was laced with a threat as he spoke, “Who are you to call her by her name?”

Nie Dan nodded and bowed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Feng Nan was his Achilles’ heel. Regardless of how arrogant a person he was with others, he was powerless against Feng Nan.

Pei Yi was five years Feng Nan’s junior and his love had been unrequited from the start. They had known each other for many years. Up until now, Feng Nan had always treated him as a younger brother.

Back then, Feng Nan had made an offhand about the air of Bordeaux in the fall, about how the sunlight and scenery were breathtaking there. This prompted Pei Yi to buy a villa in France. It took him two years to renovate the ancient castle into a design that she liked most.

He had planned to make her happy with that this year. However, not only did Feng Nan not accept the favor, but she even went on a blind date with the heir of the Jianghua Group with the surname Zhao.

Pei Yi could not suppress his anger back then and had argued with Feng Nan. Then, he went to France on his own.

When he came back to the country, he did not expect Feng Nan to give him the cold shoulder. She would not pick up his calls or meet him. He would not admit it, but he certainly deeply regretted his act of going to France.

Pei Yi had not been in a good mood ever since he came back from France.

“Brother Yi, how long will you stay mad at Runing? That brat had it in him for that foul mouth of his, but I’m sure that you’re benevolent enough to let this matter slip, am I right?”

When Cheng Runing was brought up, Pei Yi broke into an insincere grin.

When Pei Yi had a fight with Feng Nan back then, Cheng Runing was the one who suggested that they should all go to France to take their minds off things. However, nobody expected Feng Nan to ignore Pei Yi after his trip to France or that she would get close to the brat from the Zhao family instead.

When his temper rose, he headed over to the Cheng residence and beat Cheng Runing up. Cheng Runing had been in so much agony that he wailed and complained over the phone to Nie Dan, telling him that he could not take it anymore.

Nie Dan could not bear the sight of him pleading with him with snot and tears streaked across his face. He promised Cheng Runing that he would gather everyone here tonight and try to persuade Pei Yi to let the latter off the hook.

However, he did not expect Pei Yi to turn and leave when he learned that Cheng Runing would be there as well. This guy was not old, but he was petty and bore a grudge well.

As the eldest grandson of the Pei family, he was brought up as the apple of his grandfather’s eye, so he had been pampered to no end.

Although Nie Dan intended to resolve the misgivings between his friends by inviting Cheng Runing over, he was also worried that Pei Yi would flip and refuse to meet all of them anymore in the future. Therefore, he had hinted at Cheng Runing’s presence tonight. He did not expect Pei Yi to storm out of the room without a second word after learning that Cheng Runing would be coming as well.

“Brother Yi, Sister Feng Nan has been treating you the same way all this while. Perhaps, she’s just not interested...” Nie Dan was halfway through his sentence when he saw the hostile look in Pei Yi’s eyes as his fists were clenched.

Nie Dan felt his own eyelid jump as if it was warning him. He took two steps backward in alarm and raised his hands before himself. “Alright, alright. I’ve spoken wrongly. I’ll drop it.”

Feng Nan was his reversed scale. Nobody could touch her, yet he stubbornly tried to breach the topic.

When Pei Yi’s temper rose, he would act like an overlord who would not listen to reason. If Pei Yi hit him, his father might have to bring him over to the Pei family and apologize to them.

He had Cheng Runing to serve as a reminder for himself. When Cheng Runing had been beaten up badly, the old man of the Cheng family went over to the Pei family to complain about this mistreatment. Pei Yi was “grounded” for some time, but when he was released, he continued beating Cheng Runing up as he did before.

“Brother Yi, since you’re here, why don’t we have a drink together? If you hate it that much, I’ll tell Cheng Runing not to come.” He followed Pei Yi, who suddenly stopped.

“No, thanks.” He stood before the elevator and took another irritated glance at his phone. There were no messages or phone calls.

It was as if Feng Nan and he had become complete strangers since his trip to France. She never contacted him since, not even once.

He would occasionally send her messages but never received any replies. He visited the Feng family several times, but he noticed that she was getting closer to Zhao Junhan of the Jianghua Group.

It was as if the trip to France had left a huge chasm between Feng Nan and himself, a chasm that he could not bridge.

When he thought about this, he felt revolt rising from his heart, and anger spread from his gall bladder. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and cracked his knuckles.

“It’s no good. When will that Cheng Runing arrive?” He was in a bad mood again!

Nie Dan’s eyelids twitched again. When he saw Pei Yi’s expression darken at the mention of Cheng Runing’s name, he reckoned that the latter would be in for another round of beating if he came.

It was one thing for Cheng Runing to be beaten up. However, Nie Dan was the organizer of tonight’s gathering. He was sure that Pei Yi would be able to get off spot-clean from this, and he was similarly sure that he would be dealt a harsh punishment by the seniors in his own family if things were to go awry here.

“Brother Yi, Brother Yi! Please calm down, will you?”

He wanted to persuade Pei Yi to stay earlier. However, when he saw the elevator doors sliding open this time, he pushed Pei Yi into the elevator.

“You can hit Cheng Runing any time you want, but it doesn’t have to be today.” He was worried that Pei Yi would not want to leave, so he accompanied him into the elevator himself. Then, he pressed the button which would bring them to the hotel lobby.

On the lower floor, Jiang Se initially thought that nobody would notice her leaving the hall for some time. However, she had barely waited a few seconds for the elevator when someone walked up to her.

It was Yao Xiang from “Pretense to Reality” whom she and Dai Jia had talked about in the lobby just now.

“What’s wrong?” Yao Xiang’s hair was slick and shining for the party. He had left his blazer in the dining hall.