CHAPTER 448: CHAPTER 398 DESPICABLE METHODS

Zhuo Yuqing was inexplicably scratched across the face by Tong Bi, and she was still seething with anger. She hadn’t expected Tong Bi to be so unfiltered and vulgar in her insults.

"Mad dogs bite people randomly." Zhuo Yuqing glared at her angrily. "At least you work in writing; can’t you speak more cleanly?"

"You did shameless things and still expect me to speak nicely to you?" Tong Bi sneered, pointing towards the editor-in-chief’s office, "What were you doing in the editor-in-chief’s office,

"Nutcase." Zhuo Yuqing didn’t want to argue with her here. Several passing colleagues had already looked over curiously. Continuing the fight would only make a bigger scene, difficult for anyone to come out unscathed. Besides, everyone in the magazine office tended to blow things out of proportion, gossiping over trivial matters into something outrageous.

Zhuo Yuqing didn’t want to stoop to the level of someone like Tong Bi and turned to leave. Who knew that Tong Bi had no intention of letting the matter rest privately, grabbing Zhuo Yuqing’s wrist with a shrill voice: "You know exactly what shameless act you committed. Do you really need me to spell it out?"

Seeing a few colleagues approaching, Tong Bi raised her voice purposely, as if afraid they wouldn’t hear otherwise.

"What’s going on here?" The trouble-loving female colleagues gathered around. "Why are you arguing at the doors of the editor-in-chief’s office? Aren’t you afraid that the editor-in-chief will hear you?"

"Ha, what a story. You all ask Zhuo Yuqing. I just saw her come out of the editor-in-chief’s office, clothes in disarray. What do you think happened? People like her have ruined the culture of our magazine. I’m just outraged," Tong Bi claimed righteously, as if she were standing up against injustice.

Zhuo Yuqing, having always been in the pure environment of the university, had seen her share of petty scheming among students but had never encountered someone so malicious and caustic.

Zhuo Yuqing was shaking with anger, her pretty face turning bright red. To outsiders, it might appear that she was caught in a guilty act.

"Tong Bi, don’t spout nonsense. I was there on official business, and I had just entered the office not two minutes earlier," Zhuo Yuqing realized in a panic that her colleagues were now looking at her differently. As this was the very nature of their profession—to exaggerate and spread rumors—it was no surprise that colleagues, not being friends, wouldn’t take her word for it blindly and were simply looking for a spectacle.

"You say you were only in there for two minutes? Who would believe that?" Tong Bi was relentless, "You just want to be the deputy editor, don’t you? Why can’t we have a fair competition, instead of resorting to such low and shameless tactics? Even if you become deputy editor, it will be through dishonest means—no one would trust or respect you for it."

Tong Bi seized the opportunity to make a fuss about the deputy editor campaign. As long as Zhuo Yuqing was seen coming out of the editor-in-chief’s office and she added more fuel to the fire, Zhuo Yuqing would surely feel pressured into giving up.

She had been agonizing over the lack of opportunity, never expecting the heavens to grant her wish so soon.

"Tong Bi, it’s you who have done disgraceful things, yet here you are speaking nonsense. I’ll say it again, I just went in, and if you don’t believe me, you can ask the editor-in-chief," Zhuo Yuqing retorted.

"Oh really? Can the editor-in-chief’s word be taken as evidence?" Tong Bi said sarcastically, insinuating as if Zhuo Yuqing had something improper going on with the editor-in-chief.

Zhuo Yuqing, so angry she couldn’t speak, just then a gentle voice followed the sound of the door opening, "I can vouch that this lady was only in there for no more than two minutes. Moreover, I was inside the whole time and saw her only asking the editor-in-chief for leave. As for other matters, I don’t know if some people are letting their imaginations run wild and fabricating things out of nothing."

Turning around, Zhuo Yuqing saw a strikingly handsome face that she was all too familiar with, having seen it countless times on the big screen, interviewed him twice, and even met him once during her time at university.

The hottest male celebrity, the youngest ever best actor,

Suddenly, Zhuo Yuqing remembered the two cups of tea on the editor-in-chief’s coffee table. So, the person the editor-in-chief had been hosting was Xi Yang, which made it normal for him to have heard their conversation. But why would he suddenly appear to help her?

"Xi Yang!" The onlookers exclaimed in surprise, having not expected to see Xi Yang in person here.

"Mr. Xi, can I have your autograph?" Someone immediately scrambled over with paper and pen, and Xi Yang, appearing to be in a good mood, kindly signed autographs for everyone.

The dispute between Zhuo Yuqing and Tong Bi seemed to have been forgotten in the excitement, and with Xi Yang’s testimony, everyone naturally came to believe in Zhuo Yuqing’s innocence.

Tong Bi did not anticipate an intervention from Xi Yang, grinding her teeth in frustration, her face filled with begrudging resignation. She finally realized there was no play for her here and left indignantly in her high heels.

Xi Yang soon found himself surrounded by female colleagues clamoring for autographs and photos, and the easygoing Xi Yang smiled as he obliged them all.

Zhuo Yuqing stood by, watching, perplexed. She remembered Xi Yang as a reclusive, aloof film emperor who almost never accepted media interviews nor engaged much with fans, let alone signing autographs or taking pictures with passersby. He was quite a homebody, prefering to spend his days off at home watching movies, reading books, and his favorite sport was tennis. He owned a Husky named "Little Behaved."

Zhuo Yuqing knew this from an interview with Xi Yang she conducted two months ago. The rarely seen in public Xi Yang agreed to an exclusive interview with the magazine, and Zhuo Yuqing happened to be the interviewer.

Furthermore, Xi Yang, who never exposed his personal life, shared several little secrets with her, which made her interview the headline of the day.

Right, speaking of which, Xi Yang is her school senior since they both graduated from Australian University. He was two cohorts ahead of her, and she had heard of him when she just started school. Xi Yang from the acting academy—a student who was still in school yet had already starred in several major commercial films and won numerous awards. The first time she saw him on campus, she followed a few female classmates to ask for his autograph.

Back then, she was very shy. While everyone was eagerly crowding around, she felt too embarrassed to approach and ended up being squeezed to the ground, landing on her bottom with a thud. And that time, it was Xi Yang who reached out his hand to pull her up.

In fact, she hadn’t seen him for a long time and didn’t expect that he would appear here, let alone help her out.

Xi Yang’s assistant quickly came over, politely yet firmly dispersed the crowd, and then, looking down, said: "Mr. Xi, the car is waiting downstairs."

Xi Yang nodded and went downstairs with his assistant, passing by Zhuo Yuqing, who was still in a daze until they walked away. Only then did she quickly catch up.

"Mr. Xi." Zhuo Yuqing, out of breath from the chase, stood on the landing of the second floor gasping for air, "Wait a moment."

Xi Yang turned around, smiled at her, and said: "What is it, little junior sister?"

Zhuo Yuqing blinked hard, pointed at her nose, and said: "You remember me?"

It wasn’t that he remembered her in particular, but rather he remembered that she was his junior. However, he hadn’t mentioned this in his last interview.

"Zhuo Yuqing, from Australian University’s news broadcasting department," Xi Yang said calmly, as if stating a very ordinary fact, "right?"

Zhuo Yuqing chuckled awkwardly, surprised that Xi Yang, such a dazzling and rarely-seen-on-campus figure, remembered her.

"Thank you for just now."

"It was nothing, no need to be polite." Xi Yang gestured with his lips, not at all the cold persona from the rumors; on the contrary, he gave her the cheerful and warm feeling of autumn sunshine.

"Mr. Xi, there is another appointment soon..." the assistant gently reminded him.

Xi Yang glanced at his watch, apologetically shrugged at Zhuo Yuqing: "Little junior sister, goodbye."

"I’ll treat you to a meal some other day." Zhuo Yuqing quickly said, if it wasn’t for Xi Yang’s help today, who knows how much of a commotion Tong Bi could have caused. Even though she herself was upright, gossip was blind.

"Okay." Xi Yang went down the stairs, waved at her without looking back, and said, "I’ll remember."

Zhuo Yuqing watched his figure disappear before returning to the office. A few people nearby were whispering to each other, and Zhuo Yuqing felt a bit nervous. She leaned in to listen and realized that they were all talking about Xi Yang; no one was paying attention to her and Tong Bi’s episode. Zhuo Yuqing then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She busied herself until eight o’clock that evening before she finished all her work. They were going to have the Spring Festival holiday tomorrow, and she didn’t want to leave any loose ends. In a routine manner, she browsed the news online then shut down her computer.

Two of her colleagues were still in the office. She greeted them, put on her coat, and left first.

Although winters in Aus City are not too cold, today the temperature was particularly low, and even with a coat, she could not fend off the chill of the night.

The moment Zhuo Yuqing stepped out, she couldn’t help tightening her collar and rubbing her hands together gently. She was about to use the app to call a cab (there’s a BUFF here, Zhuo Yuqing doesn’t have a driver’s license and can’t drive; it was mistaken before that she had a Beetle) when she suddenly heard the sound of a car horn.

She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a Bentley parked under the street light. Even though the windows were rolled up, seeing the license plate, Zhuo Yuqing knew who it was.

She pocketed her phone and trotted over, opening the car door; a wave of warmth hit her face as the car’s heater was on, contrasting starkly with the cold outside.

She hurriedly sat down and closed the door.

Bai Chengxi was leaning on the seat looking at his phone and only glanced over upon hearing the sound, "Why so late?"

"Tomorrow’s the holiday, I finished all my work," Zhuo Yuqing suddenly said gleefully: "Tomorrow I can go and keep my grandma company for New Year’s Eve. The club president arranged my schedule so I could have the day off."

Seeing her sprightly manner, Bai Chengxi didn’t say that he had a hand in it. Instead, he reached out and held her cold little hand, "Is it that cold?"