Absolutely nothing to do with them!

Shen Zhiyi stared coldly at him. Chu Yannan watched her warily, afraid she would slap him again the next second. Where on earth had Brother Chi found a woman like this?

[There's no chocolate cake left.]

She looked cool and aloof, but inside, she was still thinking about cake.

Before Shen Zhiyi could even speak, the others could no longer hold back, especially Shan Yirou, who looked at this woman who had appeared out of nowhere yet again.

An Qian alone was annoying enough. Why was there another one? No wonder Liu Muyan hadn't asked her to hang out lately. So she had been spending time with this woman instead.

"Miss, how can you speak to Yannan like that?" Shan Yirou protested. Insulting An Qian was fine, but insulting Chu Yannan was not.

Liu Muyan yanked Shan Yirou aside. Now this idiot was stirring up trouble too. It was infuriating.

"Yirou, what are you doing?"

"Mu Mu, I'm helping you," Shan Yirou said, feeling wronged. "Yannan grew up with you, after all. It's really rude of her to question him like that."

Liu Muyan no longer cared where they were and openly rolled her eyes at her.

It was the first time Shan Yirou had seen Liu Muyan do anything so rude, and she was stunned.

"Mu Mu, you..."

"Didn't you hear Chu Yannan slander me first?" Liu Muyan snapped. "Or do you think I'm exactly the sort of person he described?"

That was what Shan Yirou thought, but she didn't dare admit it. She could only try anxiously to explain. Shen Zhiyi grew tired of watching.

She led Liu Muyan aside. There were too many people around, and they were all young. Such a large crowd was bound to attract attention.

[I~ want~ some~ cake~] Chi Ye's hand wavered around his wineglass. It was Shen Zhiyi's inner voice, reaching him as no more than a faint, somewhat unsteady sound.

He calmly clinked glasses with the person in front of him, planning to find Shen Zhiyi some cake after this sip.

[They're so annoying!] Perhaps because she was truly furious, her voice grew considerably louder. Chi Ye immediately lowered the glass from his lips and smiled at the person before him.

"Sorry, let's talk another time." Then he turned away without hesitation. Who the fuck was bothering Shen Zhiyi?

"You two are going to finish every one of these cakes!" Shen Zhiyi ordered Chu Yannan and An Qian. It was because of them that other people had nothing to eat.

"Are you kidding?" Chu Yannan asked incredulously, pointing at the twenty-odd desserts on the table.

An Qian timidly tugged at Chu Yannan's arm, looking at Shen Zhiyi with confusion and anger.

This had nothing to do with Miss Shen, so why did she keep stepping in to criticize Yannan? All he had wanted was to get her something to eat.

"Hurry up!" Shen Zhiyi was already searching for something suitable to use.

Although Chu Yannan feared Chi Ye, he wasn't going to give in just like that. Yielding to Chi Ye was one thing, but yielding to Shen Zhiyi would be like letting her grind his dignity into the dirt.

The others looked at Shen Zhiyi too, finding her demand rather laughable. None of them had ever seen her before, for one thing. Clearly, there was no socialite like her in S City.

"Come on, miss, aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself? Besides, it's Chu Yanqing's birthday today. Don't make such an ugly scene."

Liu Muyan stood firmly beside Shen Zhiyi. Zhiyi was standing up for her, and she had had enough too.

These people just wanted her to swallow the humiliation. Her family was no worse off than the Chu Family, yet just because she was a girl, they assumed she ought to bow her head. They simply couldn't stand how much her parents loved her, or how harmonious her family was.

"All of you, shut up. What Zhiyi says goes for me too. And if you offend her, you'll be sorry soon enough.

"Especially you, Chu Yannan. I'm not putting up with you today. I'll apologize to Yan Qing if I have to!"

Chu Yannan's expression darkened. Liu Muyan was humiliating him. He had just refused, and now she was slapping him in the face again.

He absolutely would not give in today!

Shen Zhiyi spotted what she wanted, walked over to one side, and pulled an arm-thick wooden stick from a plant stand.

Everyone stared in shock, their mouths hanging open.

It had been placed inside the stand to support the decorative plants and flowers. She pulled it straight out and slammed it against the table without ceremony, looking around the group as she spoke coldly.

"Who was it that just said not to make a scene?" She looked at them one by one. Everyone fell silent, their mouths shut tight, not daring to let their eyes wander.

Of course they did. That blow had sounded as though it had landed on their heads. It was so loud, and the stick was so thick.

Unlike these wealthy heirs and socialites, who clung desperately to their dignity, Shen Zhiyi didn't care in the slightest, even with so many people looking over now.

It had almost reached the point of alerting security.

Some tried to get security to throw this woman out, but Liu Muyan was no pushover either. She glared each of them into backing down and added them to her blacklist.

Seeing Liu Muyan's actions, the others no longer quite dared to move.

[So fucking annoying!]

Shen Zhiyi struck the table impatiently a second time, looking at Chu Yannan and An Qian now. Impatience covered her face, and the noise around her ears was grating.

She hated these voices so much. She hated these self-righteous people so much. They were just like those people back when she was in school. So noisy.

She just wanted them all to shut their mouths. Why did they keep forcing her to repeat everything?

Under her stare, Chu Yannan's heart clenched. Her gaze held disgust and hatred. She truly loathed every one of them. None of this was a joke.

It seemed that if they made her repeat herself again, that stick might land on someone.

"D-don't do anything rash. Don't." Chu Yannan held his hands out in front of him, trying to reason with her.

[What if they all died? But this is someone else's birthday party. Why are they so annoying? I can barely hold back anymore.]

"Tsk." She frowned.

Frightened, Chu Yannan pulled An Qian down into a seat at once, then tentatively picked up a cake and spoke in a trembling voice.

"W-we'll eat. We'll eat. Just take it easy."

Shan Yirou wanted to stop them, but Liu Muyan pushed her over too.

"If you're so worried, eat with them. If these aren't enough, I'll have someone bring you more."

Chu Yannan whipped his head toward Liu Muyan. "Mu Mu, you!"

Liu Muyan's heart was now as hard as if she had spent ten years slaughtering fish at RT-Mart. She had thought it through. Why should she keep swallowing humiliation? Just because she liked Chu Yanqing didn't mean she had to keep accommodating them.

She had treated Chu Yannan as a friend, yet he could casually spout slander about her. Chu Yanqing was good to her, but he only treated her as a little sister, as his future sister-in-law. There was always a barrier between them.

None of it mattered now. Her secret crush could go to hell. Why should her family be treated with such contempt?

"If any of you dare try to talk me out of this, you can join them. Let me make this clear right now. I, Liu Muyan, have absolutely nothing to do with the Chu Family. I will never be with Chu Yannan!

"We used to at least have our childhood friendship, but from today on, he and I are on opposite sides of the line, each going our own way. Don't pair us up again. He isn't good enough for me!"

She raised her chin and looked scornfully at Chu Yannan and the wealthy heirs and socialites. In that instant, she felt unbelievably badass!