CHAPTER 669: RAPIDFIRE QUESTIONS

"I don’t need to defend myself," Xiaoyun answered as his face turned cold, kicking the ball back to Liang Han’s court.

"Um..."

"Governor, are you saying you’re above the law then?" One of the people in the audience questioned out loud.

"I’m not going to hide my wives as secret lovers. You like it or not, they are married to me as my wives."

As Xiaoyun stood up from the sofa, the audience started to get a little rowdy as the host awkwardly scratched his head.

"Mr.Governor, I don’t really think you should say that on TV..."

"Camera, can you lean a little closer to me? For everyone that’s watching this, I don’t care what your opinion is on my marriages.

If you have a problem with it and you can’t tolerate seeing me treating my wives fairly, you are more than happy to leave any of the settlement under my control."

Both Liang Han and the audience fell into silence as they didn’t expect Xiaoyun to be so direct with his answer, just a few steps away from the camera.

"I know some of you are going to think this is morally wrong... I’m going to repeat myself again if it isn’t clear.

I don’t care about your opinion or what you’re going to say about me. I’m going to defend my marriage with them until the day I die."

Xiaoyun paused for a second as the hint of anger in his face dissipated, replaced by a softened expression.

"They are the love of my life, and nothing is going to change that. Nothing... You can criticize me all you want.

But if I catch you badmouthing or targeting my wives, you are not welcome here, and you will be thrown out."

As Xiaoyun sat back down, Liang Han finally had the chance to signal the cameraman to refocus the camera on him.

"Well, that’s certainly an answer. Mr.Governor, is that all the answer you want to give to the audience?"

"Yes."

"Very well then. Folks, you all heard the Governor’s daring answer in the face of true love. We’ll be right back after this commercial break."

As music started playing, Liang Han quickly turned over to Xiaoyun with a hint of fear on his face.

"Mr.Governor, why did you... Be so direct like that?" Liang Han quietly asked as the curtains rolled down to cover them from the audience.

"I’m not going to sit around making some bullshit excuses. I stand by my words, and nothing is going to change about it."

Seeing Xiaoyun looking determined with his answer, Liang Han didn’t question it any further as the music began to fade.

"Mr.Governor, do you still want to do the next part? I can cancel it if you think it doesn’t serve a purpose anymore."

"It’s fine. Just continue the program."

"All right then..."

As the curtains began to roll back up, Xiaoyun was a little surprised to see the audience all quiet.

None of them was displaying anger or disappointment. It was almost as if they had gotten over his answer already.

Some of the female audience members even started looking at him with admiration, the same look one gives an idol.

"Welcome back, everyone. I’m your host, Liang Han... This will be the second part of the Midnight Current, the rapid-fire questions!"

A short jazz piece suddenly started playing before it faded away.

"It involves the audience members asking questions. Each person will have one minute to ask their question, and the Governor will have one minute to respond.

And to make this even more exciting, you can dial this phone number on the screen. The three best questions over the phone will also be picked up."

As Liang Han finished giving his short little speech, the camera soon panned over to the audience.

"Whoever wants to ask a question, you can raise your hand now."

Within seconds, half of the audience raised their hands. They were all seemingly dying to ask a question.

"You in the yellow duck shirt in the back. What’s your question for the Governor?"

A worker quickly walked over to give the person the mic, his eye looking a little nervous as he didn’t expect to get picked.

"Mr.Governor, can I ask um... How old are you?"

"I’m twenty years old."

Before the person could ask another question, the worker had already passed the microphone over to a young woman.

"Mr.Governor, can I ask how you can treat your wives fairly when true love can’t be divided? Don’t you think it’s selfish for you to put your wivies through this?"

"That’s a question you should ask my wives. But to answer your question, I try my best to share my love and affection with each of them."

"Thank you."

As the mic passed to the third person, Xiaoyun could feel that the middle-aged woman was going to be difficult.

"Mr.Governor, I notice how you avoided my question earlier. I’m just asking a simple question... Do you think you’re above the law?"

"Governor Xiaoyun, if you feel uncomfortable answering it, you don’t have to——"

"To answer your question, let me ask you this: Who makes the law in Luoping? Who carries out the law in Luoping?"

"Um... The government?"

"And who’s the head of the government?"

"You...?"

"There you go. You answered your own question. It’s up to you to interpret whether I’m above the law or not.

But I don’t think I am... If you want an example, notice how the police don’t arrest someone for jaywalking.

I just choose not to enforce it on myself. I’m not going to stop you if you think otherwise. I’m more than happy for you to disagree with me."

"That’s..."

Once again, before the middle-aged woman asked her follow-up question, the workers had already moved on to the next person.

"Mr.Governor, I have a very personal question for you. This might be a little inappropriate, but I can’t stop myself from asking it."

"What is it?"

"Have you seen the magazine from last week? The one from Shenzhen?" The man curiously asked.

"Yes, I had. Next."

Just as Xiaoyun thought he had escaped from the nightmare, the man whispered something to the person with the mic.

"Ahem, Mr.Governor, is it really true that your... schlong is really that long?"

"Not answering that question. Next."

Xiaoyun could feel the host and the audience trying their best to hold in their laughter as there were still five more people to go.

"Mr.Governor, what is going to be your next expansion plan after Shenzhen and Zhaoqing?"

"That’s classified information. But all you needed to know is we’re aiming for all of Guangdong by the end of next year."

"Thank you."

As the mic was handed to the audience in the second row, Xiaoyun could already tell this next question was going to be bad from the woman’s giggles.

"Mr.Governor, can I ask if you are looking for more women for your harem? I’m still single and——"

"I’m not looking for any other woman. No, thank you."

Despite Xiaoyun coldly rejecting her offer, he could tell from her eyes that she hadn’t given up on her goal yet.

"Mr.Governor, will there be an interest rate increase anytime soon? Inflation had been rising much faster than the wage I had been getting."

The serious question from an old man finally made Xiaoyun lock in for a second as he took a few seconds to come up with an answer.

"I already have the central bank looking into potential measures to tackle inflation. You should see some of its effects by the end of August."

"Thank you."

"Mr.Governor, how did you defeat the death zone in Shenzhen? I know you already did an interview on it, but I feel like there’s more to it."

A young man asked next, his eyes filled with a different kind of admiration—a sense of respect towards him.

"I’m afraid I can’t answer that question. But if you really want to know the answer, you can join the military and have access to the detailed report."

"Thank you."

"Governor, how many wives do you have exactly? And are you planning to have more?" A middle-aged woman asked.

"That’s a personal question that I’ll not be answering. Next."

"Mr.Governor, can I ask why you tightened the labor laws? Many of the newer businesses already struggled to make ends meet.

It’s tough for a small business owner like me to compete against bigger businesses that can afford to lose money to raise workers’ conditions."

"You answer your own question. Labor laws are meant to be followed. If you afford your workers a fair wage, you can always apply for loans and subsidies.

Or maybe there are some systemic flaws in your business that you haven’t addressed yet. It’s no use to ask me this when I don’t know your company’s full picture."

The business owner didn’t speak up again as the mic got passed to the last person in the second row, who had their hands up.

"Mr.Governor, I just noticed how so many of the canned foods look exactly the same in the grocery stores. Can I ask if there’s some reason behind it?"

"It’s just cans that are being recycled. Remember to buy your canned food with used cans to get a discount."

As Xiaoyun finished answering the question, there were still three more rows to go that still had their hands up.