Xie Tingyan stared at Zhi Yao for a long while. It had been at least half an hour since she gulped down that strong drink, but why didn't Zhi Yao seem to have any reaction at all?
The alcohol content was so high, not to mention a young-looking girl, even he could hardly handle it.
He waved his hand in front of Zhi Yao's face and said softly, "Are you alright? Are you okay?"
Zhi Yao opened her eyes and stared blankly at him, not uttering a word.
Xie Tingyan started to feel a bit uneasy, "Are you dizzy? Why aren't you saying anything?"
He leaned closer to Zhi Yao, wanting to shake her shoulders, but Zhi Yao still ignored Xie Tingyan and instead opened her mouth unconsciously and retched.
Xie Tingyan's face instantly turned green, and he jumped back, almost falling over.
He was so afraid that Zhi Yao would vomit on him! This new suit he was wearing had just been purchased!
Fortunately, Zhi Yao didn't vomit.
At this moment, the girl's reflex arc was extremely long.
She finally felt dizzy, and wherever she looked, everything was spinning.
"Pei Chiyao... Pei Chiyao..."
She stood up in a daze, but found that the ground was also spinning.
Zhi Yao's legs were wobbly, and she clung to the table, stamping her foot, "Why are you spinning? Why aren't you listening to me!"
She wanted to find Pei Chiyao, but her stomach was churning—she wanted to vomit.
Remembering that Pei Chiyao had a penchant for cleanliness, Zhi Yao was afraid that she wouldn't be able to hold it in and decided to vomit first before finding him.
She got up, intending to go to the restroom.
At that moment, Pei Chiyao was not in the private room, as he had gone out to take a call. Before leaving, he had glanced at Xie Tingyan, who was talking with Zhi Yao, and felt slightly reassured.
Little did he know that when Pei Chiyao returned from taking the call and scanned the entire private room, he couldn't find Zhi Yao anywhere. His expression instantly darkened.
He took big strides towards Xie Tingyan, who was currently playing cards with others and excitedly shouting, "Come on, come on, let's see if you can beat me, you little..."
He only had four cards left in his hand and was about to win when a hand suddenly appeared in front of him and threw his cards onto the floor.
Xie Tingyan was furious, "Who did that?!"
However, as soon as he saw who it was, Xie Tingyan immediately deflated, "Ah, it's Brother Yao."
Pei Chiyao had no interest in wasting words with him. "Where's Zhi Yao?"
Zhi Yao?
Xie Tingyan casually pointed to the spot where Zhi Yao had been sitting and said, "Wasn't she right there?"
But when he looked, there was no trace of Zhi Yao.
Xie Tingyan was stunned. "She... she probably went to the restroom to vomit."
"What did you do to her?" Pei Chiyao's voice held a hint of suppressed anger.
...
Zhi Yao staggered, leaning against the wall. Earlier, she had grabbed a waiter at random and asked for the restroom's location. Now, she was slowly making her way towards it.
Several times along the way, she had almost vomited.
That stuff... although it tasted good, why did she feel so nauseous after drinking it? Could it be that she was poisoned?
At the thought, the young girl was almost scared out of her wits.
What should she do? What should she do?
She was extremely anxious, but her mind also became slightly clearer as a result.
Just as the restroom was within sight, suddenly a door to a private room opened, and a stout figure blocked Zhi Yao's path.
"Let... let me through... retch..."
Zhi Yao hurriedly held back the churning in her stomach.
Her sweet voice immediately caught the attention of the man.
He turned abruptly and, upon recognizing the girl, exclaimed in surprise, "Zhi Yao, is that you?"
The young girl, leaning against the wall, hazily looked at the man in front of her. Through the spinning world, she recognized this man—it was that producer?!
The one who had deceived her along with that fat woman and Lu Yi?!
The young girl was greatly alarmed and turned to flee.
But the producer's surprise had already turned to delight. "Well, well, the pretty young lady is all alone and drunk again?"
He had set his sights on Zhi Yao for a long time, especially after that incident when the opportunity had slipped through his fingers. When he saw Zhi Yao's scandal, with images of her wearing fox ears and a tail all over the internet, he was simply itching with desire to the extreme.
He had also been involved in Zhi Yao's recent scandal.
Once Zhi Yao's reputation was ruined, if she still wanted to make it in this industry, she would have no choice but to come to him obediently, right?
He had been eagerly awaiting this, because while there were many beautiful women in the industry, none were as exquisite as Zhi Yao.
Never did he expect... that today she would actually come to him herself!
He reached out to embrace Zhi Yao, but Zhi Yao, already nauseous, felt even sicker at the sight of his ugly face and stout body.
This time, Zhi Yao couldn't hold it in. She dodged his grasp, and the next second, she retched directly onto the outstretched hand of the producer.
The producer, unable to avoid it in time, was covered in Zhi Yao's vomit.
"You... you..." He pointed at Zhi Yao, enraged, as any lingering desires he had were instantly disgusted away by Zhi Yao's filthy vomit.
The aftermath of the alcohol was particularly strong. Zhi Yao's mind, which had briefly cleared up, became even more muddled.
She pinched her palm tightly, commanding herself to stay awake, but her mind only grew more and more dazed...
The producer's abusive cursing at Zhi Yao fell on deaf ears, as in her daze, she could only see the man reaching his hand towards her.
But at this moment, the young girl had no strength left to evade.
She closed her eyes and fell.
The producer raised his hand, intending to catch Zhi Yao in his embrace, but just as his hand was about to touch her, a fleeting shadow suddenly flashed before his eyes. He felt a sharp pain in his hand and looked down in shock to see blood gushing from it.
He was startled and hurriedly covered his wrist with his other hand.
And on the ground lay a single playing card.
Pei Chiyao strode forward and scooped the unconscious Zhi Yao into his arms.
Xie Tingyan also ran over. Seeing Zhi Yao motionless in Pei Chiyao's embrace, he felt an uncharacteristic pang of guilt.
Then, he turned his gaze to the producer and shouted angrily, "What kind of scum are you, daring to touch Brother Yao's woman?"
The producer was already fuming, but when he looked up and met Pei Chiyao's icy gaze, he felt a chill run through him.
He trembled and looked at Zhi Yao in disbelief. "Deity Yao's... Deity Yao's woman?"
Pei Chiyao held Zhi Yao in his arms and looked coldly at the producer.
With just one glance, he recognized him.
This man was the one from the surveillance footage.
How convenient, he hadn't even started looking for him yet, and the man had come to him instead.
"Xie Tingyan." Pei Chiyao's tone was flat, revealing no emotion.
But Xie Tingyan instantly felt a chill.
He knew that whenever Pei Chiyao used this tone, it meant he was furious beyond measure.
No blood would be spared.
