Volume One, Chapter 79: Obsession

"Silence means consent; if you don’t speak, I’ll take it as your agreement." Pei Jingmo asked himself again.

"I am willing to marry Miss Song Qingyu, the love of my life, as my wife. I will devote my whole heart to loving her, protecting her, and becoming the man she loves most and her strongest shield."

The rings had already been exchanged.

"The groom may now kiss his beloved bride."

Pei Jingmo leaned over and gently pressed a kiss to Song Qingyu’s lips.

"Sweetheart, now the ceremony is truly complete; all that's left is consummation, and then we'll truly be husband and wife."

Though they couldn’t consummate the marriage, they did sleep together.

He couldn’t help but kiss her forehead again. "Good night, wife."

Pei Jingmo’s voice was deep and charming, and when he said good night with such heartfelt affection, even the moon outside seemed to shy away behind the clouds.

Song Qingyu slept soundly, entirely unaware that Pei Jingmo had acted as his own emcee, completing the entire wedding ceremony by himself.

The next day.

When Song Qingyu went to work wearing her ring, her colleagues gathered around her.

"Wow, this ring is so exquisite!"

"Why does it look so familiar? Let me take a closer look—"

"Oh my, if I'm not mistaken, wasn’t this ring trending a couple of years ago? I think it was an expensive auction item. Let me check, I think I saved a picture."

A colleague found a photo of the ring. Song Qingyu glanced at it; it did look quite similar.

"I think the final bid was twenty million."

Everyone looked at Song Qingyu with envy. "No wonder you’re reluctant to wear it. If you lost a twenty-million ring, what would you do?"

Song Qingyu felt a bit awkward. "It’s not that expensive."

The conversation had spread through the cafeteria; if she told them the ring only cost four thousand, probably no one would believe her.

Still, Pei Jingmo was impressive, managing to buy a ring so similar to an auction piece.

Jie Changhe gave her a look as if he’d seen through everything.

As if! The CEO’s wife’s ring couldn’t possibly be an ordinary one.

"Hey, I heard Miss Lu is back to see President Gu. She’s really persistent."

"I bet President Gu will eventually be won over."

When bored, her colleagues loved to gossip.

After gossiping about Song Qingyu, they moved on to the CEO.

"What’s the story?"

"Recently, there was a rumor that a celebrity was President Gu’s first love. Afraid Miss Lu would misunderstand, he went to clarify things directly with the actress."

"There’s really such a thing?"

Thinking it over, it made sense. Miss Lu had a good family background, was beautiful, and capable. What man wouldn’t like such a woman? Maybe President Gu was playing hard to get.

Suddenly, Song Qingyu understood.

No wonder she’d always felt it strange that President Gu suddenly visited Zhengzheng in the hospital. Even if he was a fan, given his personality, he’d support her from behind the scenes, not show up openly.

If he was worried about Lu Rongrong misunderstanding, it all made sense.

They must be close to reconciling.

Jie Changhe saw Song Qingyu’s head lowered and thought she was sad. He immediately said to everyone, "Don’t jump to conclusions. President Gu might be worried about misunderstandings, but definitely not with Miss Lu."

"How do you know, Manager Jie?"

Jie Changhe snorted, "I have a discerning eye. My ancestors were fortune-tellers. President Gu and Miss Lu’s fates don’t align; they won’t work out."

Song Qingyu couldn’t help but laugh. "Manager Jie, can you tell me when I’ll get rich?"

Seeing her smile, Jie Changhe felt quite proud.

He’d definitely ask President Gu for a big red envelope someday; he’d done so much to protect their happiness.

"No need to calculate, Qingyu. Just by looking at your face, I can tell you’re destined for wealth and fortune. You’ve already struck it rich."

To have President Gu was to possess a fortune, after all.

Song Qingyu: "..."

Clearly, men’s words can’t be trusted. She relied on others’ donations for charity work right now—how was that wealthy?

Evening.

A team dinner.

Song Qingyu got along well with everyone and didn’t want to spoil their fun.

When Pei Jingmo received Song Qingyu’s message, he was with Fu Linhan and Bai Yingnian.

The three brothers hadn’t gathered in ages. Fu Linhan gave Pei Jingmo an ultimatum: "If you don’t come tonight, I’m going to cause trouble."

Though Fu Linhan couldn’t really cause much trouble, he was certainly annoying.

Since his wife wasn’t home, Pei Jingmo went out to meet his brothers.

As soon as they met, Fu Linhan’s sharp eyes spotted the ring on Pei Jingmo’s left hand.

It wasn’t so much that Fu Linhan was sharp-eyed; Pei Jingmo was simply showing it off.

It was hard for anyone not to notice.

"Wow, you’re really something. You bought Song Qingyu a forty-million ring and wear a cheap knockoff yourself."

Pei Jingmo shot Fu Linhan a chilly glance. "This ring isn’t some knockoff; my wife bought it for me herself. It’s priceless."

"What?" Fu Linhan’s eyes widened. "Song Qingyu bought it for you? You two are moving fast! Does that mean you won’t need to divorce in a year?"

Pei Jingmo: "..."

Fu Linhan knew exactly how to dance on his brother’s nerves.

Bai Yingnian quickly pulled Fu Linhan back. "Drink your wine."

Only then did Fu Linhan notice Pei Jingmo’s expression wasn’t good. Apparently, the ring was something Song Qingyu felt she owed him, with no trace of love in it.

Thinking about it, he truly sympathized with Pei Jingmo.

"If you ask me, if things don’t work out, just take charge—otherwise, who knows how long you’ll wait? If she still doesn’t love you after a year, would you really let her leave?"

Pei Jingmo swirled the wine in his glass, his dark eyes cold beneath the lights.

"She had better fall in love."

Fu Linhan and Bai Yingnian exchanged a look and then said nothing more.

Spending time with Song Qingyu made Pei Jingmo seem easygoing, but that was just an act. Or perhaps it wasn’t an act; it was simply how he was when he was with her.

But in reality, Pei Jingmo was domineering, possessive, and obsessive.

It was hard to imagine what he would do if, after a year, Song Qingyu insisted on a divorce.

"Ah—" Fu Linhan coughed lightly and handed Pei Jingmo a cigarette. "Here, have a smoke."

Pei Jingmo raised a hand in refusal. "I’ve quit."

"What? Quit? Didn’t you say you could never quit no matter what? How come you’ve quit?"

Pei Jingmo raised his eyebrows. "Qingqing said smoking is bad for your health. She doesn’t like me smoking, so she watched me quit."

Fu Linhan: "She says it and you quit, but when we say it, it’s nothing but hot air!"

Pei Jingmo regarded him coolly. "Haven’t you heard the saying?"

"What saying?"

"Listening to your wife brings wealth; ignoring her brings misfortune."

Fu Linhan: "Diagnosis complete: love-struck, incurable."

Meanwhile.

The restaurant where Song Qingyu and her colleagues dined was close to the bar.

After dinner, everyone went to the bar to have fun. Seeing Pei Jingmo say he’d be late coming home, Song Qingyu thought she’d be bored alone and decided to join them.

She never expected, however, to run into Zhu Yanyan at the bar.

Zhu Yanyan was drunk, being dragged toward a private room by three men—