Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Jiang Zhi’s eyes sprung open.
Ah Wan continued. “Someone snapped a photo of Miss Zhou when she entered the room where you were sleeping. News about your relationship is now all over the net.”
To begin with, those photos weren’t very clear, but it didn’t take a pair of eagle eyes to make out Jiang Zhi’s face.
“Which media company is leading this story?” asked Xue Baoyi. How short-sighted could they be?
“It belongs to the Lu family.” Ah Wan replied.
No wonder. Most media companies dared not mess with Jiang Zhi, the bigshot. However, the Lu family was the exception to this rule. A member of the “Big Four” families, the Lu family was on parr in terms of their significance with the Jiang family although, even in the past, both of them had never gotten along well.
In the imperial capital, the only one who dared to rain down misfortune on Jiang Zhi was the Lu family.
Qiao Nanchu peered at Jiang Zhi but failed to decipher what was going through his mind. He then passed the tablet in his hands over to Jiang Zhi. “Those paparazzi move fast, huh? They’ve located their target within such a short period.”
On the tablet screen was an enlarged photo of a person’s face. It belonged to Zhou Xufang.
Jiang Zhi stared at it, blinking a few times.
At the entrance of Film and Television City, a group of reporters had successfully tracked down and surrounded Zhou Xufang. She was wearing a baseball cap and blocked her face from the camera using her hands. From the few times that her hands slipped below her eyes, one could see that her gaze was full of hostility.
“Who are you people?”
Her tone now was not the same as when she spoke to Jiang Zhi. This time, her voice sounded cold and threatening.
“We are reporters of Huayu Daily.”
She continued blocking her face from the camera lens. Her brows were noticeably furrowed and with a paranoid face, she shot back with a question. “Why are you following me?”
One of the reporters replied, “We’re not following you.”
Zhou Xufang repeated her question, “Why are you following me?”
“We’d like to interview you about your relationship with Director Jiang?”
She remained silent for a while before realizing which “Director Jiang” they were referring to. Pushing away a camera that had invaded her personal space, she replied briefly. “I’m not very familiar with him.”
Relentlessly, a reporter followed up with another question. “Then why did you–”
She pulled down the brim of her cap, blocking off most of her face. Finally, she shot a glare at the reporter. “Don’t follow me.”
Despite that, some reporters continued trailing behind her. Out of frustration, she yanked a camera from their hands and smashed it on the ground before leaving. Her actions left the viewers tongue-tied.
The video then ended right there.
Jiang Zhi’s cherry blossom petal eyes remained half-open, giving off an ambiguous vibe to the people around him.
Thinking that his young master had been angered as the news was nothing but a false rumor, Ah Wan suggested, “Master Jiang, would you like to issue a public statement? To clear up the baseless rumor.”
The young master threw the tablet onto the coffee table. His facial expression appeared to be fluctuating between neutral and irritated. “What a shitty rumor.” He got up from the sofa and stood there holding his chin. “Didn’t you hear what she said? She’s not familiar with me.”
Nothing good ever came out of his looks.
Licking his lips, he felt an itch crawl up his throat. “I’d like some chicken soup tomorrow.”
“Huh?” Ah Wan was stunned.
Why the sudden craving for chicken soup?
Jiang Zhi’s lashes were long, so when he raised his head, a shadow would be cast onto his eyes due to the lighting above.
“That chicken. Slay it.”
‘Not very familiar?’
She had the guts to say that she wasn’t familiar with him despite gifting him that stupid rooster?
“Oh.” Ah Wan understood the young master’s order. He was angry with the screen-protector lady, and so, his anger was being unleashed on the innocent rooster.
Jiang Zhi sat up and flipped the tablet over. His eyes, that stared into blank space, were like blossoms on a misty autumn morning. “Slay it today.”
‘Not very familiar?’
She had the guts to utter those words when she had admitted to him personally that he was an attractive person?
Her actions made him burn with fury.
Ah Wan mumbled something which Jiang Zhi did not pick up on, but replied to nonetheless. “Alright.”
Jiang Zhi leaned back into the sofa and shut his eyes. The scene was reminiscent of the renaissance paintings of noble boudoirs. In that reclined position, he seemed lazy and devoid of energy. However, it wasn’t too long before he started coughing wildly. His coughing was so intense that his previously sickly-pale face was now flushed and bright red.
Having known him for over twenty years, Xue Baoyi could discern between Jiang Zhi’s moods, and right now, he could tell that the young master was currently enveloped in a raging fire. He hurriedly soothed his friend down before a cunning smile broke across his face. “This ain’t right. Brother Zhi, it appears that you’re overreacting.” Such a reaction was indeed a rare sight to behold. “What’s up? Have you fallen for that screen-protector girlie?”
Jiang Zhi’s brows furrowed.
He despised women.
Over the years, never once did he doubt his sexual orientation. Zhou Xufang was an aberration, a weird existence that tunneled into his mind, producing weird emotions that he had never felt before toward women in the twenty-something years he had existed. It wasn’t wrong to say that Jiang Zhi had been utterly defeated by this woman.
He couldn’t get over this fact, and it made him extremely frustrated. He thought to himself, if it weren’t for her eyes that looked like that young boy’s, he wouldn’t have felt this way… His cognition was getting more and more muddled the more he thought about it.
Jiang Zhi’s eyelids fluttered open. “Male love is the purest.”
After saying that, he peered into Xue Baoyi’s eyes. Even though he hadn’t drunk even an ounce of alcohol, there was a slight intoxicated look in his eyes.
This trick again! His seductive gaze!
“Hey, don’t look at me like that.” Xue Baoyi shrunk back. “I’m as straight as a rod.”
Don’t even think about turning him gay. He had an iron-will that would not bend even in the face of death!
Jiang Zhi’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I’m not so hungry that I would have to settle for a meal like you.”
“…”
If it weren’t for his looks, Xue Baoyi would’ve let loose his iron fists at the man.
And so, Jiang Zhi’s interest in playing around had fizzled out. Picking up his overcoat, he walked out of the room. However, he ground to a halt as soon as he stepped out the door.
Ah Wan quickly caught up with the young master, unsure of what strange orders he was going to issue again.
“Don’t slay it.” He said.
“Eh?” Ah Wan couldn’t follow Jiang Zhi’s unpredictable thought processes no matter how hard he tried.
“That chicken.”
His footsteps continued after that, followed by yet another fit of coughing.
The young master was so benevolent nowadays. Ah Wan walked closely behind Jiang Zhi. “Then, I’ll continue keeping it?”
It was just a chicken. Why was he fussing over such petty matters? Jiang Zhi frowned. Just what the hell was happening to him? How had she managed to set a wildfire that burned across his heart? The more he thought about it, the more dissatisfied he was with the answer.
He stood in place for a few seconds as the elevator door rolled open. Then, he slowly stepped through the door. Within the elevator, Jiang Zhi stuck to one side of the wall. The shadows cast across him hid away the emotions that were bubbling up inside him. With a soft but gloomy voice, he mumbled. “Let it starve for a few days”
“…”
Ah Wan was rendered speechless.
Jiang Zhi’s scandal remained in the headlines for only two days before being drowned out by yet another breaking news from the entertainment industry—a well-known female celebrity had attempted suicide, leaving at the scene, a suicide note that exposed sexual harassment she had experienced at her workplace.
It was Tian Xing, a top-tier entertainment company in their country which was also a rival of Xue Baoyi’s Bao Guang company.
Hearing such news, Xue Baoyi felt elated. “Tian Xing’s gonna eat dirt this time.”
There were only a handful of people at the dining table, so he did not need to hold back his words to avoid offending sensitive hearts.
Qiao Nanchu disagreed. “No, not necessarily.” He was also involved in the investigation of the case. “The victim reported the crime at a police station a few days ago. They had barely started investigating the report before it was withdrawn. Someone must’ve been pulling strings from the backstage.”
How could a mere artist be able to overcome the force of a large company? The reality was that it was nearly impossible to do so. There would be dead ends everywhere no matter which course she took.
Xue Baoyi poured himself a small glass of red wine. Swirling it around the glass, he said, “Animals, they are. Was driving her to the point of committing suicide really necessary?”
The entertainment industry worked like this. There wouldn’t have been incidents like this if the ultimate price of a human life wasn’t paid forth.
It was then that Xue Baoyi’s secretary entered the room. She handed a tablet over to him and whispered something into his ears before leaving. It seemed that this incident ran even deeper than initially perceived.
“Tian Xing’s pretty crafty aren’t they? They’ve already rolled out a new plan to restore public relations within such a short timeframe.” Xue Baoyi passed the tablet over to Jiang Zhi.
Evidently, they did not plan to just stand idly around after Cheng Feiran’s attempted suicide. In fact, what they had in mind was to redirect the dirty accusations back at the victim. They claimed that the actress had done this as a publicity stunt and that her suicide note was nothing but a series of fabricated lies. For this, they vowed to continue investigating the matter until the truth was revealed and justice would be served in the name of their company.
Jiang Zhi scooped up a spoonful of soup and sipped slowly. “Who’s running this Tian Xing company?”
“The Luo family was their largest shareholder, so it should be Luo Qinghe that’s overseeing their operation.” Qiao Nanchu explained as he leaned back lazily against his chair. “You planning to get involved yourself?”
Jiang Zhi was more on the fence in regards to the case. “Well, the main piece of evidence is certainly missing.” He’d had enough of the soup even though it wasn’t even finished halfway. “Ah Wan, go to the hospital and check out the female artist that attempted suicide.”
“Oh.”
Because she worked mostly during the night, Zhou Xufang was sleeping in her apartment. Her bedtime would start at the break of dawn and it was only at sunset did she wake up. Having not eaten for several hours, her tummy was rumbling. She walked over to the fridge in search of nourishment and after downing a can of milk, Shuang Jiang’s message popped up, looking for her.
“Xufang, something has happened to Cheng Feiran.”
On the screen was a webpage that listed out the process of Cheng Feiran’s incident.
After reading it till the end, Zhou Xufang tossed the empty can of milk into the trash can and asked, “Were they able to save her?”
On the internet, there were only a handful of articles written about Cheng Feiran and even fewer of them mentioned her current situation. Of the ones which offered some clues as to the reason behind her attempted suicide, one article summarized it as such—”Reason for suicide was unclear but most likely to be due to isolation and helplessness. If she were to remain alive, public opinion would never stand on her side.”
The screen was filled with different web pages and Shuang Jiang found it inconvenient to use the keyboard as a means to communicate with her colleague. She sent an audio file instead which contained her distorted voice. “Her condition is already stable, however, she is to remain in the hospital.”
Zhou Xufang sat in front of the computer. Grabbing her phone, she ordered takeout. “Today is the seventh day.” The client had specified that the exchange of goods would happen today. “Send over detailed information about the person who will be receiving the item.”
After a robotic buzzing sound, the printer beside the computer started churning out A4 papers which Zhou Xufang picked up one by one immediately after they were completed.
A robotic voice read out loud, “Zhou Qingrang. Male. News Anchor. 37 years old.”
This man was the final path for Cheng Feiran to find salvation for herself.
Zhou Xufang looked through the information printed on the papers. “Is this man reliable?”
Shuang Jiang did not reply to her question. Instead, she asked, “Xufang, are you planning to do something else?”
Except for matters within the scope of their job, they had never strayed off the path to deal with other remotely-related matters. However, this time, Shuang Jiang had a hunch that Zhou Xufang would break this rule.
“Cheng Feiran did not lie. Those people truly are evil.” Zhou Xufang only knew how to beat people up, not curse at them. This was the first time that this girl had cast insults at someone else. “They are animals!”
Animals…
Shuang Jiang followed her lead. “Understood. I will do my best to help you.” She then added. “I have sent you all the information there is about Zhou Qingrang. He should be a fairly reliable person. His background suggests that he has had grievances with the Luo family, a major shareholder of Tian Xing. It’s highly likely that he’ll make Cheng Feiran’s evidence public.”
Cheng Feiran had entrusted them with a video that contained evidence of her abuse. As this was solid evidence to prove her case, she knew that Tian Xing Entertainment would definitely not let her out of their grasp, and so, she opted to transfer the evidence into safe hands before it was too late.
Zhou Xufang looked at the photo printed on the A4 paper. “He looks very young.”
Thirty-seven years old, just shy of forty. Perhaps it was his overly-pale complexion that made him appear rather young for his age. He was also quite a handsome man. However, because his brows were relatively sparse, he lacked the intensity of a real man’s gaze.
“Zhou Qingran was hospitalized for fifteen years. At the age of fourteen, he was sent to the hospital after a car accident in which one leg was amputated and the other nearly lost all functions. The doctors concluded that he would remain forever in that vegetative state. It was only at the age of twenty-nine did he wake up from his coma.” The robotic voice sighed. “I wonder what the Luo family is gonna do next.”
For fifteen years, the peak of a man’s vitality was wasted within the confines of a hospital.
Zhou Xufang touched the eyebrows of the man in the picture. “His surname is also Zhou.”
Yeah, his surname was also Zhou.
Zhou Qingrang, a name that sounded elegant and pleasant to the ears.