Seeing that the call was from Yi Yunrui, Xia Ning smiled sweetly and pressed the answering key, asking, “Dear, what are you doing?”
“Miss me?”
“Of course!” She surely missed her outstanding husband, “Have you been behaving yourself?”
Hearing that, Yi Yunrui chuckled, replying, “Dummy. I’ve just got the news that Huo Zhanpeng will hold a press conference at three this afternoon. Please get prepared.”
“Oh?” At three this afternoon? Xia Ning took a look at her watch and found that it was just about eleven. Generally, press conferences would be notified one or several days in advance. Huo Zhanpeng wanted to take them by surprise again, “OK, I see. Dear, what’s he going to announce in this press conference?”
“About He Yuan’s disfigurement. I may have to write something about you. No matter what you see or hear in the afternoon, forget it. Leave everything to me.”
Xia Ning pressed her lips. She knew Huo Zhanpeng would definitely do something!
It seemed that Huo Zhanpeng held a grudge against her as he had always been fighting against her.
It seemed that Yi Yunrui had got everything ready and all she had to do was to sit down and watch.
“Thanks, dear. And… I only have to wait here?” Actually, she really shouldn’t meddle in this. But as Huo Zhanpeng had been cornering her, she was really pissed off!
Yi Yunrui pondered. If it had been in the past, he would have surely not let his wife suffer in silence. But now as his wife was pregnant, what he feared most was an accident.
He wouldn’t have allowed his little wife to go to work if World Era Weekly hadn’t asked her to. Allowing her back to the media building was the last offer he could make.
“Yep, just wait here. I’ll work it out to your satisfaction.”
“Mmm.” Xia Ning let out a sigh, replying. And then she hung up the phone.
“Jing Shu, prepare for Huo Zhanpeng’s press conference at three this afternoon.”
Hearing Sister Xia’s words, Jing Shu goggled. And then she checked today’s schedule and found that there was no press conference today!
“OK. But the question is… Sister Xia, is it a temporary decision? There’s no press conference in today’s schedule…”
“I know. But Huo Zhanpeng is gonna make an issue of He Yuan’s matter, which may get me involved. Just be prepared and do not spill the beans.”
It was really provisional news! Commander Yi must have told Sister Xia about it through the phone call just now.
“OK. I’ll get started.”
Sure enough, at two o’clock in the afternoon, Jing Shu received an invitation from Tianyu Entertainment Company which asked World Era Weekly to attend the press conference an hour later.
Different from last time, this press conference was scheduled to be held in XX Hospital.
At three o’clock in the afternoon, the large ward was crowded with journalists, who were holding the flashes and cameras high. In front of the hospital bed lay a number of microphones.
The door of the ward was opened at ten to three. After entering the ward, the journalists saw that He Yuan was lying on the hospital bed. Her head was wrapped in bandages, showing only two eyes. If Huo Zhanpeng hadn’t sat beside her, none of the journalists would have believed that this was the charming star He Yuan.
Her head was wrapped in so many bandages that only a pair of eyes are exposed. One could imagine how badly He Yuan was injured.
The press conference began. Huo Zhanpeng held He Yuan in his arms. They remained silent for fully five minutes before Huo Zhanpeng started to speak.
“I can only say I’m sorry that He Yuan was injured like this.” And then Huo Zhanpeng told the journalists what happened that night, almost in tears.
Because he was so sad that when he went to the bar to get drunk and met a woman in a state of unconsciousness, He Yuan arrived. He saw He Yuan quarreling with the woman and then they started a catfight. Next, He Yuan chased the woman out of the VIP room.
When he sobered up and looked for He Yuan, he found that she was lying on the ground in a lane and he could hardly bear the sight of her face injury.
“It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t gone to the bar that day, she wouldn’t have been hurt like that. Yuanyuan, I’m sorry!”
With this, Huo Zhanpeng held He Yuan close, sobbing, “Yuanyuan, no matter how bad you may look like in future or whether you will recover from your injury or not, I, Huo Zhanpeng, will love you forever! Yuanyuan, listen, I will never leave you!”
He Yuan’s shoulders trembled and she choked. They hugged each other close, which deeply moved the people around them.
Looking at the pair of “lovers” on the screen who burst into tears and seemed to meet again after surviving a great disaster, Xia Ning realized that this was just foreplay.
Yi Yunrui must be right. Huo Zhanpeng was putting on a bitter drama to make others take pity on them. After finishing paving the way for his scheme, he would target her.
Xia Ning sneered and called the Interview Department. The person who answered the call was Li Baoer.
“Ning, look how hypocritical Huo Zhanpeng and He Yuan are! They are disgusting!” Before she could speak, Li Baoer exclaimed.
Xia Ning smiled, replying, “Get someone to send them a bunch of flowers and a fruit basket with a note saying that I wish them a happy marriage for a hundred years.”
“Oh… wait! Why are you still being so nice to them? You know Huo Zhanpeng is trying everything he can do to kill you. What is it for? What do you think will happen if he sees things you give him? He will definitely throw everything you send away and scold you or something…”
“I know. That’s what I want to see. Sister Baoer, listen! When Huo Zhanpeng and He Yuan begins to slander me, send the gifts over.”
Li Baoer rolled her eyes and then smiled, saying, “Yo, when did you become this scheming, Ning? OK, I got it. We really should provoke the bitchy couple!”
Just as Xia Ning expected, after they hugged each other and cried bitterly for a while, He Yuan said, “In fact… In fact, it has nothing to do with Zhanpeng… That woman did it on purpose…”
“What?” Huo Zhanpeng was stunned, “Yuanyuan, what are you talking about? It was me who went to the bar to get drunk and hurt you. It’s all my fault! Yuanyuan, you don’t have to protect me like this. I did something wrong and I accept all the consequences! I just want to announce to the world in this press conference that no matter what happens, I will never leave you!”
“No, it’s not like that. It’s really none of your business!” He Yuan, who had been crying bitterly for the first ten minutes, began to say to the journalists excitedly at this moment, “In fact, I didn’t want to spill it out. I’ve had an accident and I’m afraid that something may happen to Zhanpeng, too. But if I don’t say it, something will absolutely happen to him! I don’t have much power, but now since everyone is here, I really want to ask you to do one thing. Please protect Zhanpeng!”
Hearing that, all the journalists present looked at each other. And then the ward was seething at once.
“Yuanyuan, is there any inside scoop about it?”
“Yuanyuan, why did you say that? Are you threatened by anyone?”
“Yuanyuan, just say it. The justice will be served!”
…
The questions came one after another. He Yuan sobbed for quite a long time, clenching her fists.
“Yuanyuan, why did you say that? What happened that day?” Huo Zhanpeng asked with worry.
“I was very angry that day. I chased out… When I got to the alley, seven or eight people showed up at once. And then the woman said, “Now, disfigure her face. I’ll see if she still dares to fight against Chief Editor Xia! And then the men held me down and the woman disfigured my face with a knife…”
He Yuan held her face and choked before she could finish her words.
Although He Yuan spoke intermittently, the pronunciation of Chief Editor Xia was very clear. As soon as she said it, the ward was in an uproar.
“What?” Huo Zhanpeng lurched to his feet, exclaiming, “Are you serious?”
“Zhanpeng.” He Yuan held Huo Zhanpeng’s hand, sobbing, “Don’t act rashly. I’ve been punished. Just let go of it…”
“Let go? How! You’ve been injured like this and you are still defending her!” Shaking off He Yuan’s hand, Huo Zhanpeng exclaimed in great anger, “Just come at me if she wants to! Why on earth did she hurt you? I will stop at nothing to get justice for you!”
With this, Huo Zhanpeng turned around, preparing to storm out. But He Yuan kept hold of him, sobbing, “Zhanpeng, do not go… I’ve received my punishment. I’m just a nobody. It’s really not worth it!”
“Yuanyuan, let go!” Huo Zhanpeng wanted to shake her off. But it seemed that he didn’t want to hurt Yuanyuan so they were still pulling and pushing each other.
At last, He Yuan let go of Huo Zhanpeng. And then she actually got out of bed and knelt on the ground.
Seeing He Yuan’s act, the journalists burst into an uproar.
“I don’t know who did it and I’m not able to check it. I’m just a nobody. I’m just begging the board chairman of a certain chaebol. I already know I’m wrong and you’ve punished me. Can you let go of it? Don’t do anything to Tianyu Entertainment Company or Zhanpeng. I beg you, please…”
He Yuan kowtowed as she spoke. And then there came a number of flashes and the cold ward was seething at once.
Huo Zhanpeng clenched his fists, loosened them, and then clenched them again. He took a deep breath and held He Yuan up from the ground, holding her in his arms in silence. Meanwhile, he was trembling with anger.
Although the journalists present had many questions, it happened so quickly that no one dared to ask first. Everyone knew well about Chief Editor Xia and they knew that no one could afford to offend her. Moreover, the matter was not clear at all. Whoever dared to stand out and denounce her first might probably be the next “He Yuan”!
But seeing the two persons crying in bed, the journalists felt so sorry for them and some of them even started to sob at the scene.
Just at that moment, the door was knocked on several times and a woman came in, followed by two policemen.
The woman held a fruit basket and a bunch of flowers in her hand. Judging from the uniform she wore and her badge, she was from World Era Weekly.
No one in the ward expected that someone from World Era Weekly would show up so they immediately silenced the crowd.
