allendalepharm Chapter 47 The Power of Rumors
Chapter 47 The Power of Rumors
Zeng Jia and Wang Haowen became the most wronged and ridiculous firefighters, because what they tried their best to protect was nothing more than a self-deceiving farce.
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Zeng Jia had no time to check DingTalk; she was incredibly annoyed. She wanted to chat with Zhang Zhishan after hearing the gossip. But Zhang Zhishan was always surrounded by a swarm of people; not even a fly could squeeze in. Shi Jun was also clinging to her like a leech.
She wants to mention Yu Li? No way.
Moreover, this mess can't be left to anyone else.
Throughout the entire company, apart from her and Wang Haowen, who were both unlucky, no one really knew that Zhang Zhishan and Yu Li, this "model couple," had already torn each other apart and were just short of going to court!
The feeling of having a bellyful of words that can't be uttered is worse than swallowing two pounds of weight. Zeng Jia felt like countless ants were crawling under her feet, which was incredibly upsetting.
The birthday banquet continued until dusk before the old lady finally couldn't take it anymore and had to be helped off to rest. Zhang Zhishan, as if he had been injected with chicken blood, kept chatting with all sorts of relatives and friends. He wished he could immediately plan out a "Fortune Global 500" industrial chain blueprint for his hometown, and for every person who showed interest, he would drag Zeng Jia over to plan the follow-up.
Zeng Jia stayed up all night yesterday, and now she has to force herself to stay awake; her sallow face is already stiff from smiling.
Having finally found an opening, she sent Shi Jun away, and with no outsiders around Zhang Zhishan, she immediately wanted to mention Yu Li.
Zhang Zhishan glanced at his watch and whispered, "Sun Nuonuo will arrive in an hour. Go pick her up, but don't bring her back. Just put her in the hotel."
Zeng Jia was stunned. Sun Nuonuo? Wasn't that Zhang Zhishan's mistress? She was still figuring out how to persuade Zhang Zhishan to give Yu Li a way out so that the boss's wife could show her face and make a good impression when she "returned the favor" tomorrow, and he had already brought his mistress along?!
"Mr. Zhang, aren't you afraid that if Mr. Yu finds out, he'll expose you and make you pay with your life?" Zeng Jia couldn't help but ask, her tone becoming increasingly harsh.
Zhang Zhishan looked displeased. "She came here on her own, what can I do! Keep her hidden away, and whatever you do, don't let anyone know!"
Zeng Jia felt like a million curses were stampeding through her mind. Now she's panicking? This is what happens when you can't control your temper!
She couldn't bring herself to mention Yu Li, so she turned around and went to the high-speed rail station.
After treating that little vixen like a goddess and bringing her into the hotel, she sent Zhang Zhishan a message saying "settled in." She went back to her room to rest for a while, but ended up falling asleep as fast as a log.
Wang Haowen couldn't go see the two reporters right away because Song Yaxuan insisted on dragging him to see her mother, who had an imposing presence.
After finishing dealing with those two troublemakers, I wanted to chat with the two reporters, but the public relations department replied that they had already left and couldn't be contacted anymore.
Wang Haowen had a bad feeling. Could these two be rivals trying to cause trouble? He wanted to talk to Yu Li, but Yu Li happily drank a few more glasses and got so drunk that she didn't even recognize her own mother.
Moreover, with top celebrity Wang Xiaoye by her side, the two of them always referred to themselves as "partners" to outsiders, but their eye contact and synchronized movements made it obvious to a blind person that something was amiss.
Why would he mention Zhang Zhishan to Yu Li at this point? It would be like stabbing the landlady in the heart. He checked DingTalk; Zeng Jia hadn't replied to his message, so he contacted the public relations department again, instructing them to keep a close eye on the media and prevent them from publishing any unauthorized articles. They were also told to contact the two reporters and call them immediately once they found them.
After working non-stop for three days, Wang Haowen was exhausted. He took a taxi back to his old home in Xicheng. All he wanted to do now was weld himself to the bed. Even if the sky fell, he would wait until he woke up to talk about it!
Zeng Jia was woken up by a barrage of frantic phone calls on her phone the next morning.
She squinted and glanced at it; it was only 7:30!
So early, who else could it be but Zhang Zhishan, that workaholic, pushing himself to the brink? Didn't he have a beautiful woman warming his bed last night? Is he rushing to be reborn this early?
Zeng Jia cursed under her breath, then picked up her phone and saw that it wasn't Zhang Zhishan, but Zhang Zihao.
Yesterday was Grandma Zhang's birthday, and as her eldest son and grandson, he came to kowtow and wish her a happy birthday. But this kid made a quick mistake; after kowtowing, he went straight back to Beijing without even exchanging a few words with Zeng Jia.
Zeng Jia knew that he hated the gossip of his relatives back home, and if Zhang Zhishan hadn't threatened him with pocket money, he definitely wouldn't have come back.
"What's gotten into you, my ancestor? You've been lured by your dad's money again, wanting to come back and coast along for another day?"
"Are my parents really getting a divorce? Look at the link I posted." Zhang Zihao's voice was very calm, as if it wasn't his family matter.
Zeng Jia sprang out of bed with a somersault, a huge headline plastered in her face: "Founders of Tianyi Marriage Turn Against Each Other: In the Marriages of the Rich, Is Money the Adhesive or a Dynamite?"
She cursed, "Damn it!" and scribbled furiously at the screen with her nails. The news was incredibly detailed, from how Zhang Zhishan and Yu Li hooked up abroad, to how they started a business together after returning to China, to their glamorous success after having a baby and going public—it was written like a sentimental piece, even exposing the shady dealings behind Tianyi's two product lines!
Most critically, the article emphasized Yu Li's absence from her mother-in-law's 80th birthday celebration and Zhang Zhishan's failure to accompany her to the financing ceremony. The report even included "ironclad evidence"—a picture of Yu Li completely drunk, being supported by a young man. This gossip-driven news wildly inferred that Yu Li had already prepared another partner, that her relationship with Zhang Zhishan was merely a facade, and that their fake marriage was a deception of investors.
Zeng Jia zoomed in on the picture and looked closely at the back of the man's head. Wasn't that Wang Haowen's back of the head, or Wang Xiaoye who was having an affair with Yu Li?
"Is it really true? Are they really getting a divorce?" Zhang Zihao asked again when there was no response from the other end.
"Divorce my ass! We'll talk about it later!" Zeng Jia had no time to explain. She was kicking herself. If she had said one more word yesterday, things wouldn't have turned out like this!
She rushed to Zhang Zhishan's door in a frenzy, banging on it. The moment the door opened, her phone screen was almost shoved into Zhang Zhishan's nose: "Mr. Zhang! Something terrible has happened! This news must be taken down immediately!!"
Wang Haowen is currently accompanying Song Yaxuan and her mother to Daxing Airport.
This career woman is even more extreme than Yu Li; she only takes the first flight when traveling, just to be on time and avoid delays.
So Wang Haowen was dragged out of bed by his alarm clock at four in the morning, and groggily went to the hotel to pick up the mother and daughter before heading to the airport. He had just gotten out of the car when Yu Li's phone calls came in like a relentless barrage.
"Read the news!" Yu Li said, adding a link.
When Wang Haowen clicked on the link, he saw his own head prominently displayed on the top trending topic, accompanied by an extremely ambiguous caption: "Holy crap, Mr. Yu, I'm at the company right away!" As he spoke, Wang Haowen left his mother and daughter's luggage behind and got back into the car.
Song Yaxuan was stunned: "Wang Haowen, are you crazy? You're just going to abandon us?"
"Sorry, sorry, there's an urgent matter at the company, I have to go back right away!" He told the driver to drive off, and then disappeared without even asking Song Yaxuan, the public relations director, if she wanted to come back with him.
Song Yaxuan was a little angry when she saw the car's rear end disappear from sight, but when she turned around, she saw Mrs. Song looking at her with a half-smile.
Song Yaxuan's proud nature also came out. She took her mother's arm and said, "Don't worry, Mom. He'll come begging to me on his knees sooner or later."
Wang Haowen didn't go to the company; he went straight to Yu Li's house.
Upon entering, the luxurious villa looked as if it had been robbed. Broken glass shards could pave a starlit avenue. The precious Ragdoll cat was long gone, having disappeared in fear. Yu Li was the only person in the entire mansion.
When Yu Li saw Wang Haowen enter, her face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. She gritted her teeth and spat out four words: "Find...Zhang...Zhi...Shan!"
After reading the news, Zhang Zhishan's face darkened considerably. His order to Zeng Jia was equally concise and cold: "Book tickets and go back to Beijing. We need to confront Yu Li about this face-to-face; we can't cover it up unilaterally."