To Escape an Arranged Marriage, I Became the Heir’s Fake Girlfriend - Episode 30

Song Chu turned his head to look at the stairs. The smile in his eyes from a few seconds ago faded, and his face darkened.

His arm was suddenly grabbed by someone. He turned and saw Cheng Zian standing beside him, looking anxious.

Cheng Zian said, “Chu-ge, there’s a fight downstairs. It’s Jin Yao’s friend.”

Before he could finish, Song Chu had already stepped down the stairs.

By the time they reached the first floor, Qi Jinyou was squeezing through the crowd toward the center of the commotion. She didn’t notice the man following behind her, nor did she think to pull Cheng Zian along. In her urgency, she forgot that this was Cheng Zian’s place.

When Song Chu and Cheng Zian reached the dance floor, they saw that the center of the area was surrounded by onlookers. The gap Qi Jinyou had pushed through earlier had already closed back up.

As Qi Jinyou moved through the crowd, she heard a particularly sharp voice among the chaotic noise. It sounded familiar—she suddenly realized it was Shen Yan.

When she broke through the crowd, she saw Le Yi facing off against three girls. At the same time, she confirmed her guess.

Three girls had Le Yi surrounded. The one in the middle, standing with her hands on her hips, looking fierce, was Shen Yan.

Qi Jinyou called out, “Le Yi!” Then, in a lower voice, she said, “Cousin.”

All four of them turned to look at her.

Qi Jinyou pushed aside the girl standing next to Le Yi and stood in front of her.

“Le Yi, what happened?”

Before Le Yi could answer, Shen Yan spoke first, her tone mixed with displeasure and surprise. “Qi Jinyou, why are you here?”

Le Yi knew why she was surprised. Shen Yan never liked seeing her mingling with people from their social circle. Over the years, Le Yi had also kept her distance from them. But now, appearing in Cheng Zian’s bar, Shen Yan naturally assumed that Le Yi had returned to Haishi with the intention of climbing the social ladder—something Shen Yan didn’t want to see happen.

Qi Jinyou ignored her and asked Le Yi again, “What’s going on?”

Their conversation was interrupted again. The girl standing to Shen Yan’s left spoke up: “Shen Yan, isn’t she your cousin?”

Qi Jinyou looked up. The girl speaking was staring at her with disdain, her tone full of mockery. Qi Jinyou recognized her—one of Shen Yan’s close friends, always eating, drinking, and having fun together. Naturally, she was also a rich heiress.

Le Yi was also surprised. Qi Jinyou had spoken softly when she called Shen Yan ‘cousin’ earlier, so Le Yi hadn’t paid much attention. But now, hearing the girl’s sarcastic comment, she suddenly realized—so this was Qi Jinyou’s cousin. She was finally seeing her in person.

Le Yi folded her arms and said, “Oh, so you’re Qi Jinyou’s cousin, Shen Yan.”

Shen Yan froze. The cold tone in Le Yi’s voice made her aware of the hostility.

And clearly, Le Yi knew who she was, while she had no idea who Le Yi was.

This feeling of being looked down on made her even angrier.

Shen Yan turned to Qi Jinyou, furious. “Qi Jinyou, who is she?”

The next second, Cheng Zian forced a laugh and stepped forward, using his tall body to separate the two sides.

“Shen Yan, Jin Yao, you’re all family. Let’s talk this out, okay?”

Unexpectedly, Le Yi didn’t give him any face. “Who’s family with them?”

“I was dancing just now and accidentally bumped into her. She insisted that I did it on purpose and is demanding an apology.”

“This dance floor is huge. I didn’t even say she hit me on purpose.”

“If she’s so scared of getting touched, maybe she should just stay at home in a cage. Much safer.”

Qi Jinyou didn’t expect Le Yi to say all that. She was venting her own frustrations and deliberately provoking the other side. Qi Jinyou reminded her, “It’s three against two. We’re at a disadvantage.”

She didn’t want Le Yi to end up going back to Huashi with bruises.

Cheng Zian had thought he could smooth things over with a joke. After all, he had some influence with the Shen family’s eldest daughter. But Qi Jinyou’s friend clearly wasn’t giving him any face.

He glanced at Le Yi, standing next to Qi Jinyou. They were the same height, but unlike Qi Jinyou’s slender frame, Le Yi was slightly fuller. Her face was the cute and soft type, but right now, the fearless—even defiant—expression she wore was striking.

Le Yi’s words only made Shen Yan even angrier. It was the first time someone had insulted her so bluntly without using a single curse word.

The colorful lights of the dance floor couldn’t hide her pale, angry face. The girl who had mocked Qi Jinyou earlier now turned to Le Yi. “You country bumpkin, how dare you act wild here?”

Le Yi’s clear Huashi accent immediately exposed that she wasn’t from Haishi.

The girl’s gaze shifted mockingly to Qi Jinyou. “Birds of a feather.”

Le Yi was completely enraged. She shook off Qi Jinyou’s hand and raised her arm to grab the other girl’s hair.

A sharp scream rang out as the girl’s hair was firmly grasped in Le Yi’s hands.

The onlookers instinctively stepped back, making space, but they didn’t leave. Instead, they stood around the dance floor, watching with interest.

Cheng Zian panicked and instinctively tried to pull Le Yi away.

Shen Yan took the chance to approach and swung her hand toward Le Yi’s face.

Le Yi dodged, and Shen Yan’s hand landed squarely on Cheng Zian’s shoulder.

Cheng Zian was fit and muscular, and Shen Yan had used a lot of force. The impact made her hand go numb instantly.

Shen Yan’s move signaled an all-out fight. The other girl turned toward Qi Jinyou.

She lunged at her. Qi Jinyou instinctively stepped back, but she had no experience in fights. Her first reaction was to avoid the attack rather than fight back.

After taking two steps back, she suddenly couldn’t move anymore—something was blocking her.

A cold presence filled her senses, and then an arm wrapped around her.

Before she could turn around to see who had stopped her, she noticed that the girl who had been charging at her had frozen a meter away, her face filled with fear.

Qi Jinyou turned around. Song Chu’s gaze was cold and sharp as he stared down the girl.

The girl, under his intimidating stare, hesitated, quickly retracting her aggressive posture and putting on a shy, innocent look.

Qi Jinyou had no interest in watching her change faces.

On the other side, Cheng Zian was still trying to mediate, but no one was listening to him. He was stuck in the middle, getting punched a few times. Luckily, since they were girls, their strength wasn’t too much for him to handle.

Shen Yan and the other girl both tried to grab Le Yi’s hair. Le Yi dodged but nearly had her arm caught.

Qi Jinyou tried to break free from Song Chu’s grip to help, but he held her firmly.

She turned to glare at him. “Song Chu-ge, you’re taking sides!”