Chapter 85: No matter how many he sends, I will throw away just as many

Zhu Yuan hesitated for a few seconds before answering the phone.

She held the phone to her ear without speaking first, and the man's cold voice came from the other end: "You dare to throw away the flowers I sent?"

These words... Zhu Yuan's heart trembled; he had found out.

It was to be expected; although the behind-the-scenes boss of the Drama Troupe was Pei Ling's older brother, he was still part of the Pei Family, so it was simple for him to plant a few eyes and ears here.

Zhu Yuan looked at the flowers outside the back door, soaked by the light rain, and said calmly, "I didn't throw them away, I just moved them to another place. The flowers Second Master sent are too precious; I dare not accept them, nor do I have any reason to."

"Is it that you dare not accept them, or that you don't want to?"

"Is there a difference? If Second Master sends me flowers, could it be that you like me?" Zhu Yuan asked him back; in any case, some things had to be brought out into the open sooner or later.

Pei Ling gave a cold laugh, his tone revealing a casual playfulness, "Why not?"

"If you like me, then snatch me away from Sheng Yu; that is what a man should do. Don't drag an innocent person like me into the fighting between you big men. You know better than I do what it means for you to send me so many flowers."

On the other end of the line, the man's expression gradually turned cold.

The woman's voice sounded even softer and more delicate over the phone than in person, yet it carried a sense of unyielding dignity.

In fact, from the very beginning, when she acted fawning and sycophantic in front of him, Pei Ling had seen at a glance that it was all an act.

This woman was proud to the bone, only she was better at judging the situation and knowing when to yield and when to stand tall than most people.

She didn't just have a pretty face; she had brains, and her way with words was superb.

"Provoking me?"

Zhu Yuan was so shaken by the chill wrapped in those two words that her bones felt cold.

She gripped the phone tightly, not letting herself be scared off, "It was Second Master who said you liked me. If I misunderstood something, I apologize to Second Master. Since you don't like me, please stop doing things that make people misunderstand; it's not good for you or for me."

Just as she finished speaking, a busy signal came from the phone.

Pei Ling had hung up.

Zhu Yuan stared at the darkened screen and let out a sigh of relief.

She thought that with Pei Ling's status, now that she had made things so clear, he should back off and never get involved with her again.

But she didn't expect that not long after hanging up, while she was reading her script, she heard Ji Xiang call out to her: "Xiao Fengzheng, come here quickly!"

Zhu Yuan put down the script and walked over, only to see a group of Bodyguards in black uniforms carrying colorful flower baskets, filing in one after another.

Soon, the dressing room was once again filled with flower baskets.

The quantity was even greater than before.

Looking at Zhu Yuan's face, which was suppressing anger, the lead Bodyguard said to her, "Miss Zhu, Second Master asked me to pass a message to you: no matter how many baskets you throw away, he will send just as many back. After all, he has plenty of money."

Zhu Yuan fought the urge to call him a lunatic and silently picked up a flower basket.

Some Bodyguards wanted to stop her, but the leader who had just spoken to Zhu Yuan raised his hand, signaling them to stand down.

A group of men in black just watched as Zhu Yuan dumped the flower baskets at the back door.

Ji Xiang looked at them, then at Zhu Yuan, and gritted her teeth before going over to pick up a basket as well, quickly running to follow behind Zhu Yuan.

Soon, the flower baskets in the dressing room were cleared out once again.

The lead Bodyguard watched Zhu Yuan, who had finished moving the flowers and was picking up her thermos to drink water, "Miss Zhu, we will send more flowers over."

Zhu Yuan put down the thermos, her previous anger replaced by a smile, and said, "Whatever. Please also pass a message to him for me: no matter how many he sends, I will throw away just as many. After all, I have plenty of strength."

The expression on the Bodyguard's face stiffened slightly, but he immediately returned to being expressionless. He nodded slightly at Zhu Yuan and left with his men.

Director Hao felt like he was about to have a heart attack; Xiao Fengzheng was really going to flip the sky!

In the evening, Pei Ling's men delivered the fifth wave of flower baskets. Just as Zhu Yuan moved all the baskets to the back door, she suddenly heard a continuous sound of engines from not far away.

Ji Xiang took a look and said in shock, "What's going on?"

They saw several blue trucks driving over from a distance. As night fell, the headlights were so blinding that one couldn't keep their eyes open, and the vehicles stopped one after another at the back door.

The doors opened, and several tall, burly men in suits stepped out.

"Who are they?" Ji Xiang retreated in fear. Zhu Yuan pulled her behind her for protection, then looked at those men vigilantly.

However, those men didn't say a word to her; they walked straight toward the rows of flower baskets and moved them all onto the trucks.

The previously crowded flower baskets were swept away, and all hundreds of them were loaded into the truck beds.

Until those vehicles drove away, Ji Xiang was still bewildered, saying with lingering fear, "No, I thought they were Second Master Pei's people again, but looking at this, it doesn't seem like it."

A hint of suspicion appeared in Zhu Yuan's eyes, "You go inside first, I'll be there in a moment."

After Ji Xiang went in, Zhu Yuan walked to a secluded corner. Just as she took out her phone to make a call, the phone rang.

The screen displayed a phone number without a contact name.

It made Zhu Yuan's heart jump.

As soon as the call connected, she spoke first, "I didn't accept the flowers."

The woman's voice was soft and delicate, with a hint of feigned composure.

The man's cold, clear voice came from the other end: "Come over."

Zhu Yuan was stunned for a moment. She gripped her phone and looked around, and sure enough, she saw a black sedan with its hazard lights flashing across the street.

After Zhu Yuan hung up, she walked across the crosswalk toward the car, feeling for a moment like a puppy that could be summoned and dismissed at will.

Yet, she had no choice but to comply.

Once she got into the car, Zhu Yuan looked at the cold and noble man beside her. He was wearing a stern black suit today, the cuffs tailored perfectly, the fabric exquisite. When he wasn't speaking, he exuded an air of nobility and elegance.

She was just about to speak when the man pinched her waist and pulled her into his arms.

Her fingers dug tightly into her palms, and Zhu Yuan hurriedly explained, "I didn't accept his flowers."

"Dare not, or don't want to?"

"Dare not even think about it." Zhu Yuan blurted out, then immediately corrected herself, "I mean, I dare not imagine how stupid I would be if I accepted his flowers."

The man gave a light laugh and leaned down toward her. Zhu Yuan nervously pressed against his chest, "I have a performance tonight."

For the past few days, she had been performing in the night stage play.

"Did I say I was going to do anything to you?" The man's cold tone seemed to carry a trace of displeasure at being interrupted.

Zhu Yuan was terrified that the consequence of angering him would be being forcibly taken away, so she had to soften her voice and say, "I'm still in a lot of pain."

Sheng Yu stared at her face with deep, dark eyes.

Zhu Yuan was frightened by his gaze, which seemed capable of seeing through one's heart; just as she turned her head, her chin was pinched by him, and the man's aggressive kiss followed.

Only when she was breathless and struggling from the kiss did the man let her go; he wiped the glistening moisture from her slightly swollen lips with his thumb and said with displeasure, "You've been marinated in the scent of flowers; go back, change your clothes, and throw them away."

At this critical juncture, Zhu Yuan agreed to everything he said, and only after repeatedly promising to throw the clothes away upon returning was she let go by Sheng Yu.

As for those flower baskets that had been taken away, overnight, they all appeared at the ancestral graves of the Pei Family.