Chapter 40: Right or Wrong, I Decide
Ren Yuan, emboldened by his perceived righteousness, glared fiercely at Su Banxia. "Su Banxia, what happened between us ended six years ago. When others break up, there's at least a basic level of goodwill. But you—you just keep clinging on. Su Banxia, do you think this is fun?"
Su Banxia was utterly dumbfounded.
*She* was clinging on?
He really knew how to write his own drama!
Turning to Gu Feifei, Su Banxia said directly, "Miss Gu, should I push you in, or will you explain it yourself to your dear boyfriend? Which do you prefer?"
Su Banxia was not the type to suffer in silence.
Gu Feifei continued to cry, tears streaming down her face like rain on pear blossoms. She looked at Su Banxia and said, "Miss Su, how can you be like this? It was clearly you... and you even hit me..."
With that, she turned to Ren Yuan with an innocent, tearful expression. "Darling, look, my face is all red. It was, it was her... who hit me!"
Su Banxia: ????
Ha, what else could she say?
Ignoring Ren Yuan's cold glare, Su Banxia walked toward the two of them with a faint smile. "The country really owes you both a Best Actor award. What a shame!"
Ren Yuan frowned. "Su Banxia, what are you trying to do?"
Su Banxia shrugged. "Of course, I'm going to make your accusations real and play along with your act. Otherwise, how will everyone wrap this up?"
With that, she lunged forward and delivered a sharp slap across Gu Feifei's face.
Then, before Ren Yuan could react, she grabbed Gu Feifei and shoved her straight back into the swimming pool.
It was fast, ruthless, and precise.
And cleanly executed.
For a moment, the onlookers were stunned.
Ren Yuan snapped back to reality, fury surging. Ignoring Gu Feifei flailing in the pool, he glared at Su Banxia and spat, "Su Banxia, you're pushing it!"
Su Banxia sneered. "Wrong. You've got the wrong word. I'm being *outrageously* pushy."
"You—"
Ren Yuan raised his hand in rage, losing all control, ready to strike Su Banxia.
But before his hand could reach her face, it was stopped mid-air.
Su Banxia was pulled into an embrace, shielded. Pei Shaoze coldly shoved Ren Yuan's hand away.
His face icy, he looked at Ren Yuan and said, "Your skill at hitting women is getting better and better."
It was a biting sarcasm.
Pei Shaoze's appearance added fuel to the gossip among the onlookers.
Ren Yuan's face burned with humiliation. Just then, Gu Feifei screamed from the pool, and he had to jump in again to pull her out.
Looking at Pei Shaoze, he said, "President Pei, if you want to protect someone, you should at least distinguish right from wrong!"
Gu Feifei was a complete mess. Her gown was soaked through, her pasties and underwear visible through the thin fabric.
Half-hidden, half-exposed, she was on full display for the crowd.
Pitiful and provocative.
Gu Feifei was mortified, but Ren Yuan seemed focused only on arguing right and wrong with Pei Shaoze.
Watching this, Su Banxia suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Gu Feifei. Ren Yuan was too selfish—he only loved himself, no one else.
And she felt a flicker of relief that she had left him.
As for Ren Yuan's accusation, Pei Shaoze didn't even deign to respond. Holding Su Banxia close, he gave Ren Yuan a cold look and said, "My woman doesn't need to care about right or wrong in front of anyone. Right or wrong—*I* decide."
It was an arrogantly domineering statement.
Su Banxia was stunned.
And she wasn't the only one. Everyone watching felt the same shock.
Such a blatant, protective stance for a woman—it was probably Pei Shaoze's first time.
Ren Yuan was choked speechless.
Pei Shaoze led Su Banxia out of the hotel. Before leaving, he glanced back at Ren Yuan and sneered, "Can't even protect your own woman, and you want to lecture me about right and wrong? Hah."
Su Banxia truly felt this man was too overbearing.
No—too commanding.
Pei Shaoze took Su Banxia away.
Gu Feifei burst into tears of frustration.
After a long moment, Ren Yuan took off his jacket and draped it over her, then helped her out to the car.
As soon as they got in, he warned her coldly, "Don't cause me any trouble."
Gu Feifei's resentment and hatred all focused on Su Banxia.
It was all her fault.
If not for her, she wouldn't be so humiliated.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She wanted to tear Su Banxia apart.
The exchange was almost over. Most of the negotiations were done, so the crowd began to disperse.
Inside the black Maybach.
Su Banxia sat in the passenger seat, looking down at her hands, silent.
Pei Shaoze didn't speak either. They sat in silence.
After a long while, Su Banxia finally forced out two words. "Thank you."
Thank you for getting her out of that situation.
Pei Shaoze snorted. "Just 'thank you'?"
A pause. Then Su Banxia added, "I'm sorry."
The perfectly good exchange had been ruined because of her.
Pei Shaoze said nothing.
Su Banxia turned to him. "Aren't you going to ask me if I really pushed Gu Feifei and hit her?"
Pei Shaoze started the car and said coldly, "Didn't you say you didn't?"
Those words made Su Banxia's chest tighten.
She lowered her head. "If I say something, do you always believe it?"
This time, Pei Shaoze didn't answer.
Her phone buzzed. It was a message from Lin Tongze, asking if she was okay.
He must have seen what happened by the pool.
Su Banxia replied with a few words, then fell silent again.
Pei Shaoze drove for a bit. "Where to?"
"My place."
After saying that, she thought he might not remember the way, but then recalled he'd been there more than once. He could find it.
So she just kept her head down and said nothing.
They drove in mutual silence, neither inclined to speak.
Su Banxia stayed quiet because Pei Shaoze's words to Ren Yuan were still echoing in her mind: *His woman didn't need to care about right or wrong.*
No woman could hear something like that and remain unmoved.
Especially when the man was Pei Shaoze—someone who, even if he couldn't control everything, could shake the foundations of Yan City's elite with a single stomp.
Something calm inside her began to stir.
Pei Shaoze, seeing her silent and head down, assumed she was still upset about what happened at the hotel, so he didn't say anything.
The air grew unbearably still.
Finally, Pei Shaoze spoke. "Tomorrow's headlines should be pretty eye-catching."
Su Banxia was startled. She looked up at him, a bit slow to react. "I'm sorry, President Pei. Tonight was my fault."
Pei Shaoze gave her a brief glance. "Did you push her?"
The 'her' was obviously Gu Feifei.
Su Banxia didn't deny it. She nodded. "Yeah, you saw it."
"Before that."
He said it softly.
Before that?
Su Banxia shook her head. "She jumped in herself."
Pei Shaoze nodded, a faint smile curling at the corner of his handsome lips.
Su Banxia didn't understand what he was smiling about. She paused briefly, then said nothing more.