What! You mean you haven't found a lawyer yet?
Both Su Li and Luo Pingxiang were stunned. Then what compelled Jia Zhengyi to make a public apology? Was it because he felt remorseful and succumbed to his own conscience?
"Have you really not found a lawyer to sue Jia Zhengyi yet?" Su Li asked again, just to confirm the matter.
Chai Zhiying nodded her head and replied, "That's right. Preparing for the press conference has kept me so busy that I barely had time to do anything else. Look, I even have to come over here just to take a sip of water."
"Then why did Jia Zhengyi apologize to sis Li?" Luo Pingxiang asked.
"What? Jia Zhengyi has already apologized to Li Li?" Chai Zhiying exclaimed with an incredulous look on her face.
"That's right, Sis Zhiying. He posted it on Weibo. He even wrote an apology letter that was more than a hundred words long to publicly apologized to sister. It has gone viral on the internet already," Luo Pingxiang replied.
On hearing that, Chai Zhiying quickly took out her phone and logged in to Weibo. After scrolling through the posts, she looked even more surprised and said, "My, he really did that! So, what in the world happened to Jia Zhengyi? Why did he suddenly change to become a different person overnight?"
Chai Zhiying was as surprised as everyone else to find out that Jia Zhengyi had even made a public apology, and she was curious. How was it that only yesterday, he was abusing Su Li with rude and vulgar words like a mad dog, but suddenly he decided to apologize? It all seemed like a ridiculous joke.
"All the things he posted did have a bad influence on society, so perhaps the relevant department gave him some sort of warning," Luo Pingxiang opined.
"Forget it, let's put this issue aside for now and not talk about that b*stard any more."
Chai Zhiying put the empty teacup down and took a deep breath. "Li Li, the press conference tomorrow is crucial. It's going to determine whether you can get out of this public relations crisis. No matter what kind of tricky questions the reporters ask, you should not admit that you're married at all costs. Grit your teeth and just say that both of you are just good friends, got it?" she said.
"You should know this well. Being married or not does have a significant impact on the popularity of a female celebrity. As long as the public is convinced that you are not married, or don't have a boyfriend, and are still single, then I assure you, this public relations crisis will disappear really quickly."
Su Li did not reply to her. She looked unfocused, and her mind was a thousand miles away.
...
Xiao Luo had been wandering around Xiahai City aimlessly after leaving Jia Zhengyi's residential area.
Whether it was the giant LED advertising screen in a shopping mall, a newspaper kiosk by the roadside, or people walking by in the streets, he would constantly see and hear news related to Su Li everywhere he went—and almost all of them were negative. It was as if the entire world felt cheated by Su Li, and they were all scolding and reprimanding her.
Well, since you've worn the crown, then you ought to know how heavy it is!
Although it was all a mistake and they seemed to be an odd couple, he couldn't change the fact that she was his nominal wife. Xiao Luo was deeply affected by this and had an overwhelming impulse to destroy this entire world.
As Xiao Luo was wallowing in sorrow, Ji Siying suddenly called him.
Xiao Luo immediately picked up the call. "Siying," he answered.
"Mr. Xiao Luo, I can tell you seem troubled just listening to your voice. Is it because of all the things happening to Ms. Su Li?" Ji Siying asked.
"Forget it," Xiao Luo said, sighing, "have you eaten already?"
"Not yet."
"Then let's go have a meal."
"Alright, I'll be there soon."
Ji Siying put down the phone, drove her orange beetle car, and arrived at Xiao Luo's location in twenty minutes. Xiao Luo's ring had a GPS function, and she could quickly pinpoint his exact location at any time.
Ji Siying wore an aqua blue skirt. She had fair, white skin, long and slender legs, and a fabulous figure, which wasn't too full, nor too slight. She applied light makeup on her face, making her delicate facial features appear like they were outlined with ink. The edges of her long black hair were slightly curled up, looking both chic and elegant. She wore a pair of silver earrings and gave off an aura like a celebrity as she sauntered down the street toward him.
It was evident that she had put in much effort to dress herself up.
To be honest, when he was at Luo Village, Xiao Luo's heart did skip a beat for this woman, and for a while, he thought he liked her. But he began to slowly withdraw from any illusions he had after that fateful night with Su Li. Now that he was tied him down by Su Li through a marriage certificate, he finally realized that if Su Li and Ji Siying fell into the sea at the exact same time, he would rush toward Su Li without any hesitation.
After taking a good look at Ji Siying, Xiao Luo suddenly realized that the jade bracelet that she always wore on her right wrist was missing. Without thinking, he asked, "Siying, where's the bracelet?"
Ji Siying was shocked, and her body trembled a little. Her first thought was that Xiao Luo had only met her to take back the bracelet.
In a panic, she hurriedly replied, "I took it off."
She immediately took out an ornate-looking box from her pocket and opened it in front of Xiao Luo. The box contained the ancestral jade bracelet that belonged to the Xiao family.
Ji Siying did her best to force a smile and said, "It is time to return this to its owner."
Xiao Luo was stunned, and after shaking his head, he said, "Siying, I only asked you out today to have a meal with you. This is not the reason why I called you."
"I know that, but it is also about time for me to return this bracelet to its owner," Ji Siying said, putting up a brave front.
As Xiao Luo's liaison officer, she was well aware of all the things that Xiao Luo had done over the past few days and what that meant. Xiao Luo was protecting Su Li and was also upset to see that she has been pushed to a corner by the public. It was clear that Xiao Luo really liked Su Li, and she no longer stood a chance anymore.
She placed the box in Xiao Luo's hands, hid the reluctance that showed on her face, and turned it into a smile of blessing for Xiao Luo.
With the box in his hands, Xiao Luo felt a heaviness in his heart. It was already heavy, to begin with, but it had just gotten worse now. It was inexplicable, everything just felt complicated at the moment, and he just didn't know what to say.
Looking at the man right in front of her, Ji Siying remembered that the first impression she had of him was when she read about his exploits from the NSA files. After reading all the things he did in Jiangcheng, she pictured him as an extremely dangerous man—cruel, bloodthirsty, and ferocious. But during the times they spent at Luo Village, the impression she had of him quickly changed. He was filial, responsible, and a guy who took charge of things. Despite being a brutal killer at times, he was always trying to do the right thing.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, she could never forget how she rested her head on his strong shoulders. If she could, she wished time would stop so she could live in that night for eternity.
But right now, she knew she had to do all she could to give up on this guy. All of a sudden, her heart ached in pain, and her vision became blurry as tears began swirling in her eyes.
"Siying..."
Looking at her eyes turning red, Xiao Luo couldn't help but call her name out of concern.
Ji Siying turned around, quickly wiped off the tears in her eyes, and said, "I'm fine, the wind blew some dust into my eyes earlier on. Mr. Xiao Luo, I suddenly remember that there's something important that I have to attend to, so I won't be able to have a meal with you this time round. I... I'll be making a move..."
After saying that, she dashed back to her car, got into her seat, and drove off without looking back.
She couldn't stay there any longer. She couldn't stay beside Xiao Luo any longer because she would not be able to stop herself from crying. She didn't want Xiao Luo to see her fragile side, but after driving for a distance, she took a glance in her rearview mirror. When she saw Xiao Luo still standing there, her tears started falling, and they fell like rain.
...
It was already late at night when Xiao Luo returned to Xingyue Bay after having a simple meal by himself. He placed the box that contained the jade bracelet on his bedside table. He just couldn't tell what was going on in his heart. Both Su Li and Ji Siying seemed to be in his heart. He was feeling confused as they continued to linger in his heart, and he couldn't erase the thought of them.
After entering the bathroom, he took off his clothes and showered in cold water. He tried his best to suppress these disturbing emotions he was feeling.
After hearing the sound of the door opening, he turned off the shower, wrapped himself in a bath towel, and walked out. As he exited the bathroom door, he saw Su Li, who happened to be walking into the hall at the exact moment.
The woman was dressed in a light blue lapel tunic dress. As soon as she saw that Xiao Luo was only wrapped up in a bath towel, her face turned red with a look of awkwardness.
"Why are you coming in again without ringing the doorbell at all?" Xiao Luo asked, speechless. It seemed like it was useless reminding her, for no matter how many times he said it, she'd still come in unannounced.
Su Li came back to her senses, calmed herself down, and asked, "Then why don't you reset the password on the door lock instead?"
"I'm way too lazy to do it," Xiao Luo replied.
"Well, I'm used to just coming in without ringing the doorbell," Su Li said.
Not knowing to laugh or to cry, Xiao Luo waved his hands: "Alright, it's up to you."
After he said that, he turned around, walked into the kitchen, and poured a glass of water.
Su Li had a frown on her face. "Aren't you going to ask me about what is going on?" she asked.
"Nah, I'm too lazy to ask."
Xiao Luo took a sip of water. Being wrapped in just a bath towel and having a conversation with a woman seemed to be nothing to him at all. He didn't feel uncomfortable at all and took it for granted. This was his residence, after all. Surely, he could wear whatever he felt like wearing.
After hearing that, Su Li bit her lips angrily. She had an overwhelming urge to rush forward and bite down hard on Xiao Luo's shoulders.
But eventually, she held back and walked over to pour herself a glass of water instead, acting as if this was her house as well. After a moment of silence, she said, "The press conference is going to take place tomorrow, do you think this entire situation is going to get better or do you think it is going to become worse?"
Xiao Luo was a little surprised. To think that this woman was asking him for his opinion! It was as if the sun was going to rise from the west.
He thought about it briefly then said, "As long as you can convince and make your fans believe that you're not married, I'm sure this public relations crisis will naturally go away really quickly."
Su Li looked at him mockingly with her bright-looking eyes. "All of you people say the exact same thing," she said.
"Is that not going to be the case?" Xiao Luo said, laughing.
"Maybe, you could all be right."
Su Li sighed and put the cup down. "Tomorrow, I'll have to leave Su Xiaobei in your care for the whole afternoon," she said.
"Alright," Xiao Luo replied, nodding his head.
Su Li pursed her pink lips and said, "Right, I'm sure you know that Jia Zhengyi has already made a public apology to me on Weibo?"
Xiao Luo avoided eye contact, drank a sip of water, and said, "Hmm, yeah, I just went online and saw it."
"Why do you think he decided to apologize to me?" Su Li asked.
"It's not like I am him, there's no way I would know," Xiao Luo said, calming himself down.
Su Li furrowed her eyebrows. She agreed with him and wondered why she asked him such a foolish question. It's not like this guy had anything to do with the reason why Jia Zhengyi decided to make a public apology, right?
"That's all then, you rest early, good night!"
Her tone wasn't too cold, and she left the apartment immediately after saying that.
Good night?
Xiao Luo was amazed. Was this something Su Li would say?
This woman was certainly acting rather odd today. Somehow, she didn't seem so distant, like she was a thousand miles away. Her behavior was a lot more civil today.
Suddenly, Su Li twisted her leg, struggled to maintain her balance, and was about to fall to the floor.
Xiao Luo reacted in that instant and dashed over like a gust of wind. He held on to her with his right arm around her slender waist. But as he held on to her, the bath towel he wrapped around his waist started slipping off.
It was as if time has slowed down as they both stared at the bath towel as it slowly fell onto the floor.
Her pupils dilated, and with a horrified look on her face, she instantly turned red, screaming and trying to cover her eyes.
Xiao Luo's face turned red as well, but he handled the matter much better. He coughed a little, trying to appear calm, and said, "What are you screaming for? If it wasn't for the fact that you slipped and were about to fall, the bath towel wouldn't have slipped off."
He only said this to lighten the situation, but it had the reverse effect on Su Li.
"You pervert!"
She started scolding him without any restraint, ignoring her demeanor as a cultured woman.
She then turned around and left in a hurry, feeling so embarrassed that she wished she could find a hole and jump into it.
Oh my God!
The more she thought about it, the more she cringed, and it drove her crazy. After closing the door, she leaned her back against it. She was panting and in a stupor like a flower deer after experiencing some kind of shock. Her heart started thumping really quickly, and she was almost hyperventilating.
"What the heck are you screaming for? Am I not the one who is naked here?"
Xiao Luo muttered to himself as he walked back, grabbed the bath towel, and wrapped it around his body once again. Then, to be safe on the safe side, he decided to put on his pajamas. God knows if that woman was going to come in without knocking on the door again.
...
In the middle of the night, Xiao Luo woke up, startled by a phone call.
After taking a look at the incoming call, he noticed it was Su Li.
"What's the matter?" he asked immediately after picking up the call.
"You better not come to my place for the next couple of days. There is someone secretly taking pictures from the opposite building. If you come to my place, they'll surely be able to photograph you," Su Li said.
Xiao Luo furrowed his eyebrows: "Is it the paparazzi?"
"Mm-hmm," Su Li responded.
"This is an invasion of privacy. I should think the police can take care of it," Xiao Luo suggested.
"If calling the police is of any use, I would have done it a long time ago. The guy opposite is Zhuo Wei, the number one paparazzi in Xiahai. Their network is really wide, and they have a dark background," Su Li replied.
"Oh, I see," Xiao Luo said.
"Don't come over here for the next few days. If they somehow take a picture of you, the public is going to push you into a corner as well," Su Li said.
"Okay, I got it."
After putting down the phone, Xiao Luo got up, changed his clothes, and prepared to leave his house.
He was keen to know just who this number one paparazzi in Xiahai was...
He couldn't see the other building from his own apartment, but since he had lived in this area for quite some time now, he was quite familiar with the general layout of the entire Xingyue Bay. Photographers could only take pictures of Su Li's apartment from the office building that was being rented. It was roughly two to three hundred meters away from Xingyue Bay.