To Escape an Arranged Marriage, I Became the Heir’s Fake Girlfriend - Episode 31

She struggled, trying to break free with her own strength. “Let me go.”

Song Chu glanced at her silently, then released his hand from her waist.

He shifted his grip to her arm and stepped forward. “Cheng Zian, you’re really useless. Something like this happens in your own territory.”

His words landed like a grenade.

Shen Yan, who had been swinging her arms, suddenly stopped as if someone had hit the brakes. She lifted her face and looked over. Another girl noticed her reaction, and both of them froze at the same time.

Le Yi, fully engaged in the fight, hadn’t noticed anything. Seizing the opportunity, she slapped the girl who had just mocked her.

The girl winced in pain, her lips twitching. She glanced at Song Chu but didn’t dare to retaliate.

Shen Yan’s gaze landed on Song Chu and Qi Jinyou, noticing their arms linked together. She was momentarily stunned.

Qi Jinyou noticed her scrutinizing gaze and immediately pulled away. Song Chu did not stop her. She quickly ran over to Le Yi.

Behind her, Song Chu’s firm footsteps followed.

Only now did the bar’s security staff dare to step forward. They had been watching from a distance, hesitant to act while their boss was surrounded by several girls. Today’s situation was complicated, and no one wanted to make a mistake.

Qi Jinyou looked Le Yi up and down. Other than her messy hair, she wasn’t injured.

Seeing Song Chu approaching, Shen Yan’s surprise turned into delight. She quickly adjusted her clothes and walked toward him eagerly.

“Brother Song Chu, why are you here too?”

The man ignored her, walking past her without even glancing in her direction.

Qi Jinyou was helping Le Yi fix her hair when she heard a voice beside her.

“Is playing games on your phones not enough? You had to come to the bar for a real fight?”

Song Chu stood beside them.

Le Yi, who had been too focused to notice anything else, finally looked up at the sound of his voice.

The moment she saw Song Chu, her heart sank. She had a bad feeling about her job interview.

Still, she nodded at him politely. “President Song.”

Shen Yan quickly followed Song Chu again. Ever since Cheng Zian’s bar opened, she had been coming almost daily, hoping to run into him.

Unfortunately, her luck was bad, and today, of all days, he had to see her in such an embarrassing situation.

She needed to regain some dignity in front of him—to prove that this mess wasn’t her fault.

Since Song Chu ignored her, she turned to Qi Jinyou and spoke with a falsely magnanimous tone. “Jinyou, since it was your classmate who started the fight, just apologize to me, and we’ll pretend none of this happened.”

Her eyes carried a subtle threat.

It was a look Qi Jinyou was all too familiar with. After experiencing it countless times, she and Shen Yan had developed a silent understanding.

This was why Qi Jinyou had always avoided Shen Yan.

It was true that Le Yi had thrown the first punch. However, Qi Jinyou didn’t know what had happened before they came downstairs. Le Yi, though from a wealthy family and spoiled by her parents, wasn’t as domineering as Shen Yan. If Le Yi had been provoked, it was likely Shen Yan had bullied her first.

“Cousin, when I came downstairs, I saw the three of you surrounding Le Yi. Let’s not rush to apologize—let’s hear her side of the story first.”

Qi Jinyou ignored the threat in Shen Yan’s eyes, her tone soft yet firm.

Shen Yan never expected Qi Jinyou, who had never defied her, to stand against her now. Even worse, her own cousin was taking the opposing side at such a critical moment.

As the eldest daughter of the Shen family, she had never been defied—except by Song Chu.

Back in high school, a poor cousin had suddenly moved into their home. The family threw a grand reunion banquet for her, and her mother proudly announced to all of Haishi City that the Shen family’s granddaughter had returned.

At first, Shen Yan feared that her mother might start favoring her cousin over her. But when she tested the waters by bullying Qi Jinyou and saw that her mother never intervened, she stopped seeing her cousin as a threat.

During their middle school entrance exams, Qi Jinyou got into Haishi No. 8 High School—the very school Shen Yan had once longed to attend, just to be in the same school as Song Chu. From then on, her feelings toward Qi Jinyou were tinged with jealousy.

The only comfort was that Qi Jinyou had always endured her bullying in silence, eventually withdrawing and avoiding her altogether.

But there were surprises.

When Qi Jinyou turned eighteen, her mother dressed her up and introduced her to high society. Seeing the admiration in the guests’ eyes, Shen Yan finally realized that the girl who had always stayed in the shadows wasn’t just academically superior—she was also strikingly beautiful.

Despite living under the same roof for seven or eight years, they had remained as distant as parallel lines. Since Qi Jinyou went to university, they barely saw each other a few times a year.

But Shen Yan had always believed she still controlled Qi Jinyou.

Only now did she realize—the once meek girl had grown a spine.

Shen Yan froze for a moment, then, driven by years of arrogance, raised her hand to slap Qi Jinyou.

Le Yi and Song Chu moved almost simultaneously, stepping in front of Qi Jinyou.

Before Shen Yan’s hand could land, someone grabbed her arm and held it in a vice grip.

She looked up and saw who it was. The ruthless look in the man’s eyes sent a shiver down her spine.

In just two seconds, Song Chu used her arm’s momentum to push her back. She stumbled and fell to the ground.

Cheng Zian tried to intervene, but it was too late.

Tears welled up in Shen Yan’s eyes. She looked at Song Chu, then at Qi Jinyou, sensing something unusual. The anger in Song Chu’s eyes seemed to be directed at her because of Qi Jinyou.

Cheng Zian hurried over to help her up. Knowing he couldn’t reason with Song Chu, he turned to the easier target. “Shen Yan, it was just a misunderstanding. Let’s go to the second-floor lounge—no need to argue here.”

But this time, Shen Yan didn’t listen. She shook off his hand, covered her face, and ran toward the exit. Her two friends quickly followed.

Qi Jinyou watched her retreating figure, already anticipating the storm to come.

Le Yi approached Qi Jinyou, her face filled with worry and concern.

Seeing Qi Jinyou remain calm, she felt slightly relieved.

What was supposed to be a happy reunion had turned into this mess. Le Yi felt frustrated.

Qi Jinyou felt the same way. When their eyes met, they understood each other without words and nodded in silent agreement.

Turning back, Qi Jinyou looked at Song Chu and Cheng Zian. Her gaze lingered on Song Chu for two seconds before settling on Cheng Zian.

Cheng Zian had been making faces at Song Chu, but when he noticed Qi Jinyou looking at him, he quickly put on a polite smile.

Qi Jinyou spoke first. “Brother Song Chu, Brother Zian, thank you. I’m also very sorry for the trouble we caused. We’ll be leaving now.”

Cheng Zian glanced at Song Chu, but the man’s expression remained unreadable.

“Jinyou, you can’t just leave. You were wronged here. If you walk out now, how will I face you in the future? And besides, our classmates are watching—this isn’t just about my bar’s reputation. This concerns all of Haishi City.”

He turned to Song Chu, giving him a look.

Song Chu swallowed his frustration. From the moment she ignored him earlier to how she misjudged his actions, she hadn’t even spared him a proper glance.

After all that, she had just given him a general thank you.

He stepped forward. “Let’s go upstairs. It’s too noisy here.”