060 Do Not Let the Filth of the Entertainment Industry Taint You!

Hearing the voice, Su Yunjin turned her head. Almost the instant she saw the man, her brows furrowed unconsciously. “Secretary Pei, what do you need from me?”

Pei Xuan walked over, first glancing at Liang Feiyue and Wang Tao, his mouth opening as though he wanted to speak but hesitated.

His desire for a private conversation was so obvious that Wang Tao and the others could not possibly miss it.

“Miss Su, we’ll wait for you outside,” Wang Tao said.

Shao Xinghui and Liang Feiyue said nothing, but both tacitly agreed with Wang Tao’s suggestion.

Su Yunjin looked at Pei Xuan with indifference. She bore no particular ill will toward him. However, behind Pei Xuan stood Lu Yiqing, and Lu Yiqing’s demeanor during their last encounter was still vivid in her memory. The faint crease between her brows relaxed, and she turned to Shao Xinghui and the others.

“No need, you all go ahead. I’ll call a cab when I’m ready.”

Seeing their concern warmed Su Yunjin’s heart, but how could the matter between her and Lu Yiqing be explained in a few words?

Pei Xuan’s hesitation was, of course, because he wished to discuss the annulment of the engagement.

The matter was indeed thorny. She had intended to handle it the next day, but it was clear that Lu Yiqing could not wait even a night. It was just as well to set things straight now.

“Yunjin, are you sure?” Shao Xinghui stepped forward, worry etched on his face.

Unconsciously, even his form of address had shifted from “Miss Su” to “Yunjin,” as if declaring his claim in front of Pei Xuan.

Pei Xuan looked coldly at Shao Xinghui, his expression calm, yet his narrow eyes betrayed a different kind of meaning.

Su Yunjin could see it clearly: Pei Xuan’s gaze held both contempt and curiosity, and when he looked at her again, it was as if he wished to probe her intentions.

“No need, Mr. Shao, you go ahead,” Su Yunjin said coolly. She had no intention of explaining the curiosity in everyone’s eyes.

Shao Xinghui seemed to want to say more, but seeing Su Yunjin’s resolute demeanor, he could only nod. “If anything happens, call me.”

“All right.” Su Yunjin agreed, nodding slightly in farewell to Shao Xinghui and the others.

Then she turned to Pei Xuan. “Let’s go, Secretary Pei.”

Pei Xuan nodded, not sparing even a glance for Shao Xinghui as he walked ahead.

Only when Su Yunjin followed him, putting distance between themselves and the others, did Pei Xuan finally speak. “Mr. Shao seems very concerned about you, Miss Su.”

His voice was soft, with a low, playful undertone. Then he looked deeply at Su Yunjin, a flicker of chill passing through his eyes. “Of course, I have no intention of prying into your private affairs. It’s just that, as a friend of Yiqing’s, I feel obliged to remind you that, while your engagement has not been dissolved, behaving this way is improper.”

“How odd, Secretary Pei. Since your Young Master Lu clearly wants nothing to do with this engagement, what reason do I have to remain faithful to him?” Su Yunjin’s eyes were slanted, her rosy lips curving in a faint, mocking smile that, paired with her breathtaking beauty, was nothing short of scornful.

“I’m only reminding you. After all, you wouldn’t want to bring shame on the Seven Sects, would you?”

Pei Xuan knew he lacked the moral high ground but maintained the confidence of one born to wealth. Ordinary people might have balked, but among the elite, such things were commonplace. Status, reputation, and face were often used as leverage between great families, so until the engagement was officially broken, Su Yunjin was still Lu Yiqing’s fiancée. If she became involved with another man, the entire Lu family would be dishonored.

To make Su Yunjin wary, Pei Xuan added another warning.

At this, Su Yunjin suddenly laughed. “Secretary Pei, do you still not understand the situation?”

“Hm?” Pei Xuan was taken aback, looking at her in confusion.

Su Yunjin chuckled softly. “I find you rather amusing. Who would have guessed you could be so naive?”

“Miss Su—”

“Secretary Pei!” Su Yunjin cut him off directly, her smile vanishing as, for the first time, she fixed him with a serious, unwavering gaze.

In that instant, her expression was one of pure sympathy, her eyes like steel, piercing straight through Pei Xuan.

As he began to feel a chill run down his spine, Su Yunjin spoke.

“Secretary Pei, you’d best see the reality for what it is.

To you, my engagement to Lu Yiqing may be an open secret, but to me, I only learned of it yesterday. Do you know what that means? It means that, even if I did have someone I cared for, only Lu Yiqing would be the fool. Surely you understand the saying ‘Ignorance is no crime.’

If you intend to use the Seven Sects to threaten me, you’re making a grave mistake. The only reason I followed you here, without questioning where you intended to take me, is not because you or Lu Yiqing mean anything to me. Quite the contrary—it’s because I wish to avoid an open conflict with you.

But if you insist on being unreasonable and wish to drag things to a mutually destructive end, the Seven Sects have no need to curry favor with the Lu family.”

At her final words, Su Yunjin stepped forward. Her eyes, bright as stars, were as cold as a thousand-year-old glacier. Even Pei Xuan, seasoned as he was, felt his scalp tingle and the chill bite to his bones.

The true power of the Seven Sects was a mystery every great family longed to unravel. Yet, over countless generations, no one from any social stratum had ever truly glimpsed their depths.

Their legacy was too profound. Despite records dating back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties, their history stretched far beyond that. Dynasties rose and fell, but the Seven Sects remained unshaken through the ages. No one knew how many remarkable heirs they had nurtured over millennia, nor how many secret techniques they possessed.

Even the unique skills traceable to Su Yunjin alone were enough to leave others in awe. Yet that was only the surface, for every heir of the Seven Sects underwent a final trial before the age of thirty—one whose nature was known to none.

Thus, many noble families were willing to exhaust vast resources to seek favor with the Seven Sects. Whether in search of immortality, wisdom, or longevity, to those elite families, the Seven Sects represented the true pinnacle of power.

A single Lu family meant little in comparison.

“Miss Su, I didn’t mean it that way. I merely hope…” Under Su Yunjin’s piercing gaze, Pei Xuan’s demeanor softened, his tone awkward. “That you won’t let the filth of the entertainment world sully you.”