Chapter 14: Who Exactly Is Your Girlfriend?

The housekeeper saw Pei Baoyuan coming downstairs and stepped forward, saying, "Miss, Young Master Huo... I asked him to come in and sit, but he refused."

"It's fine," Pei Baoyuan reassured her. "I'll go out and see him. You go ahead and rest."

The Pei residence was vast, and it took Pei Baoyuan five minutes to walk from the interior to the main gate. Upon seeing her, Huo Yanzhi hurried forward, eager to offer his apologies.

"Yuanyuan, I'm sorry. The group has been so busy lately that I’ve neglected you."

Huo Yanzhi tried to pull her into his arms, but Pei Baoyuan stepped aside to avoid him. He still smelled of a woman's perfume. He truly thought she was an idiot with no brains, a fool to be manipulated at his whim!

Pei Baoyuan said coldly, "Whether you were really busy or not, you know that in your own heart."

Huo Yanzhi’s expression stiffened for a second, but he immediately denied it. "I really was busy! I was in meetings all day and had a splitting headache. It wasn't until I sent you a message that I realized you’d blocked me."

"Yuanyuan, can’t you have some sympathy for me? I’m doing all this for our future."

Pei Baoyuan: "..." How shameless.

Seeing her expression soften slightly, Huo Yanzhi moved closer, delighted. "I knew you were the best to me, Yuanyuan. Can you unblock me?"

Pei Baoyuan hummed. "I'll consider it."

With that, she acted as if nothing had happened.

Huo Yanzhi probed, "Yuanyuan, have you seen the news online?"

Pei Baoyuan glanced at him. "Are you referring to the matter with Huang Zhenyu and his girlfriend?"

Huo Yanzhi nodded. He took Pei Baoyuan’s hand, appearing somewhat helpless as he said, "Huang Zhenyu just begged me. I know you don't like Song Yiren, but I think we need to consider his feelings. We’re all friends..."

"Song Yiren is at a critical stage in her career, and that trending topic is having a huge impact on her. So, could you have someone take the trending topic down?"

Huo Yanzhi looked at her, his eyes filled with expectation. He expected Pei Baoyuan to be as obedient as she had always been.

In reality, Pei Baoyuan yanked her hand away, and tears began to fall like a broken dam. Even a scumbag like Huo Yanzhi was caught off guard, startled and flustered.

Pei Baoyuan shouted, "Huo Yanzhi, who exactly is your girlfriend?!"

"..." Huo Yanzhi reached out to pull her back, flustered. "It’s you, of course, Yuanyuan."

"I don't think so," Pei Baoyuan looked at him with cold eyes. "Compared to me, Song Yiren seems much more like your girlfriend."

"..."

"Why are you so proactive when Song Yiren is being exposed, and even turn around to question me? And as for me... do you know how badly I was being insulted by Song Yiren’s fans online before today?"

Huo Yanzhi paused, his face blank.

Pei Baoyuan laughed in anger. "You don't know, right? Why are you so concerned about another man’s girlfriend, while I, your own girlfriend, am supposed to be slandered by you for no reason?"

"Let me tell you, Huo Yanzhi, I didn't have anything to do with that trending topic not coming down! She knows how many people she’s offended out there. Don't you dare pin everything on me!"

Pei Baoyuan fired off her words like a machine gun, leaving Huo Yanzhi completely stunned. She reached out to wipe her eyes, which were blurred by tears. "Huo Yanzhi, you’d better watch yourself."

Pei Baoyuan turned and walked away. By the time Huo Yanzhi reacted, she was already several steps ahead. He rushed to grab her, but instead of succeeding, he was met with a slap across the face.

*Slap.*

In the quiet of the night, the sound was exceptionally crisp and loud. He stood there, stunned, watching helplessly as Pei Baoyuan walked away step by step.

Back in her bedroom, Pei Baoyuan let out a breath and went to the bathroom to splash her face with water. In the mirror, her eyes were red and watery; they would surely be swollen by tomorrow morning.

Acting was a technical skill. Pei Baoyuan gave her performance an 82, and the remaining 18 points were for her own self-satisfaction.

Lying in bed, she remembered that Ke Xianbai still hadn't replied to her message, so she opened her phone.

Ke Xianbai: *Hmm.*

*Hmm.* What did that mean? Pei Baoyuan found that she was increasingly unable to read Ke Xianbai. She sighed.

The comments floating before her eyes had been in an uproar since she had asked Ke Xianbai about it.

[What, what? It was actually Ke Xianbai? That can't be right.]
[How did the supporting female character suddenly grow a brain? I almost thought she actually knew.]
[Good news: The villainess grew a brain. Bad news: Only a little, about 40 percent.]
[The villainess didn't just leave the male lead stunned; she left me stunned too.]
[It’s bad enough the male lead can’t beat the female lead, but now he can’t even beat the supporting male character...]
[Pei Baoyuan shouldn't be a host; she should be an actress. How can someone turn their tears on and off so easily? She looks like nothing happened now.]
[The villainess left the male lead so depressed he walked away like a lost soul. Maybe he’s as confused as I am.]

Pei Baoyuan stared at the messages for a while; they were all just rants and useless. Tired from all the crying and scolding, she soon fell asleep.

When she woke up the next day, Pei Baoyuan felt groggy and sneezed three times in a row. She didn't forget to check the trending entertainment news.

#Popular Starlet in Love with Wealthy Heir, Still Intimate After Work# was still hanging high at the top of the trending list, and ranking second was #Song Yiren Studio and Huang Group Joint Statement#.

Just as Pei Baoyuan had anticipated, Song Yiren and the Huang Group had issued a joint statement stating that she and Huang Zhenyu, the scion of the Huang Group, had enjoyed a beautiful time together, but due to personal reasons, they had reached an amicable breakup half a month ago.

There was a long string of useless fluff following it, which Pei Baoyuan couldn't be bothered to read. Her goal had been achieved.

She got ready and prepared to go to work.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for work again. Today, Pei Baoyuan’s makeup artist was the same one from last time. Having found Pei Baoyuan to be easy to talk to during their last collaboration, the artist was more chatty while doing her makeup.

"Teacher Pei, was that really your boyfriend last time?"

Pei Baoyuan nodded.

"You two are quite a match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman. But I didn't expect you to dare to announce your relationship so early."

Pei Baoyuan laughed off the comment. "I'm just a minor host. I don't have many fans. No one would recognize me on the street."

"You're so beautiful, I'm sure you turn heads everywhere you go!" The makeup artist exaggerated, then lowered her voice. "By the way, just gossiping here, but I passed by last time, and it seemed like you and your boyfriend were quite familiar with the boyfriend of that... the one on the trending topic."

"He's my boyfriend's brother. Of course we’re familiar," Pei Baoyuan said, sipping some water and feeling a wave of heat radiating through her body. "But I'm not close to Miss Song. I only found out his brother had a girlfriend when I returned to the country a while ago."

The makeup artist nodded in understanding.

"I feel a bit hot," Pei Baoyuan said, fanning herself continuously.

"Huh?" The makeup artist looked up at the air conditioner, then reached out to touch Pei Baoyuan’s forehead. She exclaimed, "Oh my! You have a fever! Didn't you know?"

Pei Baoyuan raised her hand in confusion, feeling no difference in temperature from usual.

Makeup artist: "...Beauties are ethereal; I understand."

She asked if she should continue with the makeup. Pei Baoyuan thought for a moment and decided she could hold on; she had to finish recording this episode.

The makeup artist gave her a thumbs up. "Drink plenty of hot water to detox. If you really can't hold on, tell me. I’m afraid you might faint."

Pei Baoyuan managed to persevere until the recording began.