Chapter 9: Being Questioned

I froze. So Ginny had hired a few male escorts?

Spurred on by the alcohol, I deliberately stood on my tiptoes and leaned in close to the man. "Well, let's see if I can stand the loneliness."

With that, I turned and walked away. I wasn't really interested in this type of man, especially not one who so clearly had ulterior motives.

Ginny was just a short distance behind me, doing who knows what. When she saw me coming, she scurried back to her seat.

"I'm a lightweight. I'm going home to sleep," I said, clutching my head. It was really starting to feel fuzzy. If I got too drunk, my mom would scold me when I got back.

"I have to go too. I have work tomorrow, sigh." Tilly Ouyang also stood up, her tone making it clear she wasn't passionate about her job.

Ginny pouted. "It's so early, and you're all leaving. It's no fun for me to be alone. Fine, let's all go!"

She went to pay the bill, said goodbye to the handsome guys, and the three of us left.

We each called for a driver. Before parting, Ginny grinned like a thief. "Zoe, if your dear Hugh Pei found out you were out drinking with handsome guys, do you think he'd get jealous?"

"Don't mention him, it's bad luck," I said, already in the car, waving her away.

"Hee hee, bye-bye!" She was laughing about something as she happily drove off in her BMW.

I told Leo Li to drive, then closed my eyes to rest in the back seat.

As we neared my parents' house, a sudden brake jolted me awake. I was startled. "Leo Li, what are you doing?"

"Madam, I think that's Mr. Pei's car," Leo Li said, pointing to the Bugatti blocking the road.

What was Hugh Pei doing on the road to my parents' house? I rubbed my temples. "Alright, Leo Li, you can take my car and go home. It's getting late."

"Yes, Madam." Leo Li was a good driver and deftly made a U-turn and left.

It was only a five-minute walk to my parents' house from here. I walked around the Bugatti and prepared to go home on foot.

Hugh Pei got out of the car and blocked my path. He looked to be in a very bad mood, his eyes blazing with anger.

"Here, explain this to me," Hugh Pei said, showing me his phone.

It was a picture of me at the bar, by the restroom, deliberately teasing that man. I was on my tiptoes, my face very close to his, looking extremely intimate.

And a closer look showed it was a post from Ginny.

As if that wasn't enough, she had added the caption: There are plenty of fish in the sea. Our Zoe has finally seen the light.

"Pfft!" I couldn't help but laugh. "That's quite a rhyme."

"Zoe! Xu!" Hugh Pei gritted out my name, his handsome face covered in frost.

"Weren't you the one who said we could do our own thing? Why are you questioning me about this now?" I straightened up and asked him back.

Hugh Pei sneered. "We can do our own thing, but who told you to post it online?"

I had almost forgotten. Hugh Pei and I shared a social circle, and Ginny was part of it too. Her post would have been seen by many of Hugh Pei's friends. And those who didn't get along with him would definitely use it to mock him.

A man's pride couldn't take such a provocation, especially not a man of Hugh Pei's status and dignity.

No wonder Ginny was laughing so slyly tonight. She was deliberately trying to piss Hugh Pei off.

"Fine, I'll tell Ginny and the others not to post things like that next time," I said. My head was really starting to spin, and I didn't want to argue with him here. I just wanted to go home and sleep.

I turned to leave, but Hugh Pei grabbed my arm.

I felt like my bones were about to be crushed. Without enough fat to protect me, I let out a pained cry. "Ow..."

Then I quickly bent down and bit down hard on Hugh Pei's forearm.

Hugh Pei must have been stunned by my outrageous reaction. He didn't immediately shake me off but let me bite him. His arm muscles were firm, and the texture was quite good.

"Are you crazy?!" Hugh Pei finally remembered to shake me off. He grabbed the back of my neck and lifted me away like a puppy. There was a perfect bite mark on his forearm, clear enough to count how many teeth I had.

I looked at Hugh Pei with dark eyes, the pent-up bitterness in my heart starting to surface. I had liked him for so long but had never left a single mark on him. Yet the later Lila Wei had left countless hickeys on his neck. I had seen them several times in my past life.

They must have been in the honeymoon phase of their relationship then.

Leaving a bite mark was a way to make up for my own regrets.

"Hugh Pei, you have no right to question me. The number of women you've been rumored with over the years is more than I can count on my fingers. Don't I have a reputation to maintain? Don't you think people mock me behind my back?" I wiped my lips, a faint taste of blood still lingering. I must have drawn blood.

Hugh Pei answered coldly, "Didn't you bring that on yourself? Did anyone force you to agree to marry me back when Grandpa insisted?"

Of course not. Back then, forget someone forcing me to agree—if anyone had disagreed, I would have taken a knife to them.

I had hoped that love would grow over time, believing that Hugh Pei would one day be moved by me and fall in love.

"Yes, I brought it on myself. But people change. I've seen the light now, and I don't want to be bound by my one-sided feelings anymore. Is that so wrong?" I retorted.

"No!" Hugh Pei's reply was as cold as ever. "You chose a path you shouldn't have, so you should pay the price."

"Hugh Pei, do you believe that in the near future, you'll be the one to ask for a divorce? That you'll be desperate for me to disappear from your world forever?" I suddenly asked. A year wasn't a long time, perfect for a bet.

Hugh Pei looked at me coolly. "Zoe Xu, what kind of beautiful dream are you having?"

His thirst for revenge was so strong. He would even use a tactic that hurt himself as much as it hurt his enemy.

I sighed. "Why don't you believe me? Just you wait. You'll definitely let me go. I've had a bit too much to drink tonight, I need to go home and sleep. You can leave now."

"You're sleeping at Mapleview Manor," Hugh Pei said, grabbing me as easily as an eagle catching a chick and stuffing me into his car. Was he not letting me stay at my parents' house anymore?

I protested strongly. "No, I'm not going back to Mapleview Manor! Open the door!"

Hugh Pei glanced at me but ignored my protest. The car sped away from my parents' house, heading towards the manor.

I glared at him in frustration. "Take me back, I forgot something!"

"What?" he asked faintly.

"My bag of Chinese medicine." I was speechless. Was it really so hard to get a sip of herbal medicine?

"Do you have a terminal illness?" This man had no conversational skills. No wonder so many people were hoping for his bankruptcy, especially those he had crushed under his heel.

I smiled. "Not at all. I'm just too thin. I want to regulate my digestive system and become a voluptuous beauty."

Hugh Pei seemed to remember something, and his already cold expression grew even darker.