Jiang Chen, of course, didn’t realize that he might have just dodged some trouble.
As he stepped out of the manor and pulled the car door open, Pei Yunxi was on the phone, which seemed to be with Luo Li’er on the other end.
There’s over a dozen hours of time difference between the two countries, it’s night over here, so it should be noon over there.
Peter, being the competent assistant that he was, had been waiting in the car all along, and as soon as Jiang Chen got in, drove off with a turn.
"Luo Li’er wants to come play in Meilijian?" Jiang Chen looked for a topic after Pei Yunxi put down her phone.
Pei Yunxi responded, looking as if she was feeling better, or at least somewhat better.
"Anyway, it’s summer vacation now, why not let her come over for a visit?"
"I’ll be filming soon, I won’t have time to take care of her."
"She’s grown up, she can take care of herself."
Despite her baby face, that girl was actually quite mature in mind.
"If something happens, are you responsible?" Pei Yunxi looked over.
Jiang Chen suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
He had noticed something was off with Pei Yunxi when she came out alone earlier, and now, it seemed even more obvious with an untraceable hint of irritation in her tone.
Where had he offended her?
"You said you weren’t feeling well earlier, are you feeling better now?"
Jiang Chen subtly expressed his concern.
Pei Yunxi didn’t respond but instead asked, "How did you come out so quickly?"
"Wasn’t that out of concern for you?"
That was a bit cheesy.
Had it been before, Jiang Chen certainly wouldn’t have said such things, but for each phase, there’s a corresponding strategy.
Now that he had reached 85 likability, he was just one step away. At this point, a bit of sugary talk was harmless.
Pei Yunxi might not fall for that. But... what if?
He just saw her glance at him silently and then mysteriously added a few words, "I could’ve gone back by myself."
Jiang Chen, not understanding, laughed bewilderedly, "What do you mean by that?"
"Remember to take a shower next time, that’s basic respect for your girlfriend."
Pei Yunxi said softly, gazing ahead.
Jiang Chen was baffled.
How did these things connect?
"I’m talking about that girl from East Sea University."
Pei Yunxi quickly clarified.
Her words just now were indeed ambiguous and prone to misunderstandings.
But this attempt at clarification perhaps made things even murkier.
Pei Yunxi stopped talking, then suddenly opened the car window, seemingly feeling stuffy inside the car.
Jiang Chen’s nose twitched as he sniffed a faint scent.
It was coming from him.
In an instant, it dawned on him, "You saw her?"
Pei Yunxi remained silent.
Seeing this, Jiang Chen concluded that she had, more likely than not, seen that Miss Vera.
No wonder she looked for him out of the blue.
"I can explain," Jiang Chen quickly said, "Just now, that lady spilled her drink and stained her clothes; she insisted on helping me clean it. I couldn’t refuse, so that’s why we went upstairs together."
Jiang Chen’s expression was candid, firm, "I swear, nothing happened between us."
"You don’t have to explain to me."
Pei Yunxi looked out the window, with the lush gardens receding in the background.
As someone from the entertainment industry, she knew just how messy it could get.
The same chaos exists domestically and abroad.
If she couldn’t change the environment, the only thing to do was to try to adapt to it.
To this day, she had learned to turn a blind eye, yet when she saw Jiang Chen being led upstairs by a Western woman, she couldn’t suppress a feeling that could be described as irritability.
Pei Yunxi realized that her mentality was somewhat off. She forced herself to act as if she hadn’t seen anything and continued to joke around with Thomas Felton and the others, but sometimes thoughts and emotions are beyond one’s own control.
After much internal struggle, she still found an excuse to leave and went into the villa to find someone.
What those people were doing in the villa, Jiang Chen didn’t need to remind her; she knew very well.
She didn’t know how ugly it would have been if she had caught them in the act as she had suspected.
She didn’t stop to think about it.
Luckily, she ran into them on the stairs.
"We’ve known each other for so long, you should know what kind of person I am, right?" Jiang Chen smiled bitterly.
Although she said no explanation was needed, if he took that seriously, then he would be a fool.
"I don’t know you that well."
Jiang Chen was left speechless, looking at the woman who wouldn’t even glance at him, and continued, "Okay, then think about this: it’s my first time in Los Angeles. Here, I’m a stranger. Do you think I have such charisma that, on a first meeting, someone would throw themselves at me?"
Thinking rationally, Pei Yunxi knew he must be innocent.
Although this guy couldn’t be described as pure-hearted, he wasn’t the type to indulge in luxury and pleasure.
At least, he wasn’t the kind to bite just because a finger was waved at him.
No matter what you say, K.E. Corporation fell into his hands.
Even the Oscar-winning Leonardo, when picking girlfriends, never chooses the older ones.
A man’s basic nature is to seek food and sex.
That saying isn’t wrong.
But the more successful a man is, the pickier he becomes when it comes to women.
However, Pei Yunxi clearly did not want to pass up a good opportunity to tease him.
"Who knows, maybe you’re underestimating your own charm. Perhaps Westerners just like your type."
Jiang Chen touched his own face, "If you say that, I might become arrogant."