Chapter 36: Did You Eat Filth on Your Way Here? Your Mouth Is Truly Foul

Xu Yunzhu pointed to his head. “Headache.”

Pei Qiaonian: “…”

After a few seconds’ pause, he spoke slowly, “I forgot to tell you, I also have migraines. It usually only happens when I overthink things.”

Xu Yunzhu: “…”

“Can’t you make your body function like a normal person? Stomachache, headache, and now night blindness? I don’t even know how you manage to live with all these debuffs stacked together.”

Pei Qiaonian’s face was pale with pain as well. He let out a cold laugh. “Your period cramps are just as bad as mine. Sit here for a while—I’ll go get you some medicine.”

Xu Yunzhu looked at him, eyes brimming with tears.

They looked at each other, suddenly feeling a little bitter.

Brothers in misfortune, indeed.

Xu Yunzhu said, “Your health really needs some traditional herbal remedies, Boss Pei.”

Pei Qiaonian replied, “You too. Once we switch back, I’ll prescribe you a couple of formulas to nurse you back to health.”

Xu Yunzhu: “…”

Why wait until we switch back?! Isn’t it just because you can’t bear this suffering!

What a wretched man.

Soon, Pei Qiaonian returned carrying a whole box of medicine.

“These are for stomachaches. These are for insomnia and anxiety. These are for when you have migraines. Got it?” He pointed to several imported medications, each with a different name.

Xu Yunzhu: “…”

For the first time, she looked at Pei Qiaonian with a hint of sympathy. “I always thought rich people lived lavishly, just holding meetings and signing papers at most. I never imagined you’d have so many health problems. How pitiful.”

She picked out a box of headache medicine. “I won’t need the others—headaches rarely happen to me. As for the stomach issues, Boss Pei, don’t worry. As long as I’m in your body, I won’t let that come up! And insomnia? Impossible. I sleep like a log.”

Pei Qiaonian couldn’t help but feel a little brighter at her lively attitude. He gave her a sidelong glance. “The last person who called me pitiful, the grass on their grave is three meters tall by now.”

Xu Yunzhu: “…”

A million scene changes, and he takes her straight to the graveyard.

She forced a laugh, got up, and took a step away from Pei Qiaonian. “I’m going to sleep. This will be over in about five days.”

She slipped away in a flash.

Pei Qiaonian went to close the door, clutching his stomach as he climbed into bed.

Unable to sleep, he went online to search for “period.”

A long string of search suggestions appeared:

“What to do if your period is late?”
“What if your period just won’t end?”
“How many days late before you can be sure you’re pregnant?”

Pei Qiaonian: ???

He finally found an article on precautions, read it, then closed his eyes, trying to numb the pain by sleeping.

The next morning, he arrived at Xingyue Media with a gloomy face. Having your period was bad enough, but there was still an event to attend.

Xu Yunzhu handed him a thermos mysteriously. “There’s brown sugar water inside. Drink it while it’s hot. It’ll help.”

Then she got into Assistant Gao’s car and left.

Pei Qiaonian held the cup, looking thoroughly disgusted.

It was only when he got into the company van that he met the other three legendary teammates.

Wan Pan’er, with her blonde hair and heavy makeup.

Xiao Ruoqing, clad in metallic punk style.

Lin Shiyu, gentle and elegant with long, straight black hair.

When they saw Pei Qiaonian board, team leader Wan Pan’er sneered. Xiao Ruoqing’s eyes flashed with contempt and disdain, while only Lin Shiyu managed a somewhat kind smile.

Pei Qiaonian, suffering from cramps, couldn’t even be bothered to speak to them. He took his seat and closed his eyes to rest.

Xiao Ruoqing couldn’t hold back and rolled her eyes. “What’s she pretending for? If it weren’t for her, would our group be this much of a joke? Just thinking about having to stick with someone like her for another two years makes me want to die!”

“She’s always trending for the wrong reasons. Yesterday she even got into a fight offline and now netizens are following the wires to curse me. What did I do to deserve this?”

Wan Pan’er glanced at Pei Qiaonian, who had acted as if she hadn’t heard a word since boarding. Taking a deep breath, she said, “That’s enough, Ruoqing. Management already said as long as we finish this event, our girl group will disband. We’ll all go solo, just still working at the same company.”

Xiao Ruoqing’s eyes lit up. “Pan’er, is that true? We can finally disband?”

Wan Pan’er nodded. “Yes.”

“Thank goodness. At least we’ll finally be rid of that wretch.”

Pei Qiaonian, who had remained silent until the word “wretch” was uttered, finally opened his eyes.

His gaze swept coldly over Wan Pan’er and Xiao Ruoqing.

Xiao Ruoqing, seeing Pei Qiaonian dare look at them, immediately snapped, “What are you staring at, loser?”

“Did you eat something foul on the way here? Your mouth reeks,” Pei Qiaonian replied, eyes full of disdain.

Xiao Ruoqing’s eyes widened. “You—you dare insult me? You’re asking for it!”

Seething with humiliation, she swung at Pei Qiaonian’s face.

He caught her wrist and, with a twist, slapped her back. Smiling, he said, “Don’t yell. It’s noisy.”

Xiao Ruoqing was stunned, clutching her cheek.

Wan Pan’er glared. “Xu Yunzhu! How can you hit someone?”

Pei Qiaonian delivered another slap, his tone lazy and cold. “You too—keep quiet.”

Wan Pan’er, now inexplicably slapped as well, glared at Pei Qiaonian through gritted teeth.

Lin Shiyu quickly stepped between them. Still in the car, things would only get messier if this escalated.

“All right, all right, that’s enough. We’re almost at our destination.”

Wan Pan’er shot Pei Qiaonian a venomous look.

She finally believed this person had changed.

Unwillingly, she withdrew her hand, her eyes promising trouble to come. “Just you wait. I’ll make sure you never work in this industry again.”

Xiao Ruoqing sneered too, already thinking up a hundred ways for Pei Qiaonian to meet an unfortunate end.

None of them realized that the real Xu Yunzhu had already been replaced inside.

Hearing their absurd and arrogant threats, Pei Qiaonian couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

He took out his phone and called Assistant Gao. “Tomorrow, I want to see Wan Pan’er and Xiao Ruoqing blacklisted from the entertainment industry. If you can’t do it, don’t bother coming back.”

Assistant Gao: ???

He stared at the phone in disbelief after the call ended.

Remembering the unmistakably authoritative female voice, he fell into deep silence.

Seriously, does everyone get to order him around now?

He was supposed to be Pei Qiaonian’s personal assistant, and no one else’s.

He decided to go to the office and consult Xu Yunzhu.

After knocking, he entered to find a red mark on Xu Yunzhu’s face as she wiped the corner of her mouth. “What is it?”

Assistant Gao: …

He’d always thought the boss stayed cooped up in the office all day to work diligently. Who knew she was just napping?

Taking a deep breath, Assistant Gao reported the phone call to Xu Yunzhu.

Xu Yunzhu thought it was nothing, waved her hand. “Do as he says. From now on, just do whatever he tells you. No need to check with me.”

She yawned and tried to focus on the project proposal.

After a couple of lines, she saw nothing but darkness.

She couldn’t understand a single word.