C9 Chapter 9

“Y-You… what are you doing here?” Su Jiyue had assumed the family driver was waiting for her, but when the car door opened, it was Qin Yaochen who stepped out. She suddenly remembered him fastening her seat belt that morning, and her face heated up again. She was quietly grateful the lighting was dim—otherwise Qin Yaochen would definitely have made fun of her.

“Looks like you forgot what’s in the agreement?” Qin Yaochen said. Acting like he owned the place, he grabbed Su Jiyue, hauled her to the car, yanked the door open, and shoved her inside.

“If you hadn’t blindsided me by buying out my studio, would I be stuck working late?” Su Jiyue snapped, turning to yell at him.

Qin Yaochen didn’t respond. He simply leaned over, buckled her seat belt, then hit the gas and drove toward the villa in the southern part of town.

The whole ride, neither of them said a word. But Su Jiyue’s thoughts were a mess.

She had actually yelled at Qin Yaochen.

In all her life, she’d never done that.

With her nerves still on edge, Su Jiyue sank back into the seat and drifted off to sleep.

As he drove, Qin Yaochen glanced at her sleeping profile a few times, and his expression softened.

He and Su Jiyue had grown up together. Even though she was an orphan, over the years she’d carried herself more and more like someone raised in an old, well-to-do family.

He’d always known his grandmother had been raising her with the intention of making her his fiancée. Still, he’d never disliked her—if anything, whenever she was bullied, he’d step in to protect her, just like he was doing now.

He was lost in those memories when a phone rang, snapping him back.

He answered through the car’s Bluetooth. Before Qin Yaochen could even speak, Xia Miaomiao’s voice came through the line.

“Chen, I heard you married Su Jiyue—the orphan. Is that true?”

Hearing what she called Su Jiyue, Qin Yaochen couldn’t help frowning. He turned to look and saw Su Jiyue stirring like she’d been woken up, so he reached over and ended the call.

But less than three seconds later, the phone started ringing like crazy again.

He hung up once—Xia Miaomiao called right back.

He hung up again—she called again.

After a few rounds, Qin Yaochen finally powered the phone off.

Not long after, he heard Su Jiyue’s phone start ringing.

Half-asleep, Su Jiyue jolted awake the moment it rang. She fumbled for her phone, but before she could even process what was happening, Qin Yaochen snatched it from her. Seeing it was Xia Miaomiao, he moved to hang up without a second thought.

Except Su Jiyue’s phone worked differently from his. What he meant to end turned into an answer—and the call went on speaker.

“Su Jiyue, are you with Yaochen right now?” Xia Miaomiao snapped on the other end.

“Yeah. What’s up?” Su Jiyue mumbled, still not fully awake, answering on instinct.

“You bitch! You shameless bitch! You’re trying to steal Yaochen from me!” Xia Miaomiao exploded, screaming without any restraint.

That did it—Su Jiyue went fully alert.

Qin Yaochen frowned, one hand on the steering wheel and the other gripping the phone. He tried several times but couldn’t figure out how to hang up. Furious, he shoved the phone at Su Jiyue. “Hang it up. Now!”

“Yaochen? Yaochen, are you really with—”

Before Xia Miaomiao could finish, Su Jiyue hit end. Then she shot Qin Yaochen a look of pure disgust and went back to scrolling on her phone.

Opening WeChat, Su Jiyue saw a few more replies under the post she’d made that morning. When she tapped in, she found they were from Xia Miaomiao—vile, nasty insults.

Su Jiyue had no idea how Xia Miaomiao had found out she and Qin Yaochen had gotten their marriage license. Now, on top of trashing her in the comments, she was blowing up Su Jiyue’s messages nonstop. Su Jiyue’s phone was buzzing so hard she could barely hold onto it.

Xia Miaomiao had completely lost it.

With that thought, Su Jiyue opened Xia Miaomiao’s profile and, without hesitation, blocked her.

It didn’t take long before her phone started ringing again.