Lu Jingming was still wearing the dark business suit he wore to work that morning. He hadn't even had time to take off his glasses, and his slightly unbuttoned jacket revealed a hint of the exhaustion from his hurried journey.
However, he didn't pause at all. After giving Xu Yanxia a comforting look, he took the microphone from her hand and began to speak to the media cameras and the nearly ten million viewers in the live broadcast room.
"Hello everyone, I am Lu Jingming. The current CEO of Lu's Technology Group, and also Miss Xu Yanxia's boyfriend, her only boyfriend."
"I was at the scene when this incident occurred, so I believe I have the right to speak on this matter. Just now, my girlfriend has very clearly stated the facts. I will only add two points here."
"First, this case is still under investigation. In principle, it is not appropriate for any party to privately disclose evidence and materials related to the case. However, considering that some people are currently maliciously fabricating rumors and distorting the truth on the internet, we have applied to the relevant departments. With their approval, we have already made disclosures on the accounts of Lu's Catering Investment and Miss Xu's personal account."
"If you are interested, you can go and take a look. I believe that justice will prevail and the public's eyes are clear."
"Second, given that some media and individuals, for the sake of traffic and popularity, have not hesitated to distort the facts, abandon their professional ethics, slander my girlfriend, and attempt to incite cyberbullying and interfere with judicial justice, we have comprehensively collected evidence and initiated relevant legal proceedings."
"As my girlfriend said, revering the law and respecting judicial justice is the bottom line that every citizen and society should hold. Any unit or individual that does not respect the law should pay the corresponding price, just like the criminal suspect in this case."
"I have finished speaking."
Lu Jingming politely nodded to the media cameras below the stage, and then said to the host, director, and guest judges on the stage, "I'm sorry for taking up your program's resources. Later, I will treat everyone to Huaiyang cuisine."
"Wow! Thank you, Mr. Lu!!!"
"That's awesome!!!"
The host led everyone in applause, and the promotion event immediately became lively.
Meanwhile, the public screen in the live broadcast room was being occupied by rapidly scrolling comments:
[Holy crap, Mr. Lu is so handsome!!! Boyfriend material off the charts!!!]
[Ahhh, as expected of the couple I ship!!! It's a new day!!!]
[Mr. Lu is such a man!!! Can the other domineering CEOs learn from him!!!]
[All boyfriends and husbands in the world, please look up to Mr. Lu!!!]
...
The bustling team-building dinner ended. By the time Xu Yanxia brought Lu Jingming back to the hotel, it was almost ten o'clock at night.
After being separated for a few days, they finally returned to their private space. The first thing Lu Jingming did was pull Xu Yanxia into a deep embrace.
"I'm sorry, baby. I came late today."
He took a deep breath, his voice filled with deep self-blame.
"Leaving you alone to face such a tense situation was a dereliction of my duty as a boyfriend."
"Not at all."
Xu Yanxia smiled and said, "Didn't you discover the public opinion early on and suppress it? And on the way here, you urgently contacted the relevant departments in our hometown to release those video materials?"
"You also helped me contact Professor Zhou and got the records of his communication with Lin Hengnan's family. These are the most powerful pieces of evidence."
She looked at him seriously and said, "If it weren't for you, the public opinion wouldn't have reversed so quickly. I was able to focus on the competition peacefully all because I had you supporting me."
"I can't thank you enough. You don't need to blame yourself at all."
Saying that, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.
Lu Jingming took a deep breath.
He hugged her tighter and then smiled, saying, "My baby is indeed amazing. I was watching your live broadcast from the moment I got off the plane. Not only did you do well in the competition, but you also rebutted that bad guy with well-founded arguments."
"That's because his twisted logic couldn't hold water at all!"
Xu Yanxia was quite modest. "Not to mention me, even Shushu could have left him speechless."
Shushu was her good assistant, Ye Shu.
Mentioning this, Lu Jingming also nodded and said, "Assistant Ye is not bad. I'll have the finance department give her a bonus later."
"That sounds great."
Xu Yanxia smiled and said, "I'll also send a big red envelope to Xiaozhen. Thanks to these two lovely ladies for helping me this time."
Then she suggested, "By the way, our next stop won't be recorded until the week after next. We can take a break during this time. How about we go sightseeing together in Yangzhou tomorrow?"
"Sure."
Lu Jingming immediately nodded. He had originally planned to come and accompany her to have fun.
It was just that the sudden public opinion crisis in the morning made his arrival a bit rushed.
Then he saw her smile and add, "You come back often, so you should be very familiar with this place. You can be our tour guide."
"..."
Lu Jingming paused and tentatively asked, "'Our' refers to..."
"Me, Shushu, Xiaozhen, and Xiaoman,"
Xu Yanxia hurriedly introduced, "Xiaoman is the teammate I met in Rong City."
"That little boy?"
Lu Jingming asked.
"Yes,"
Xu Yanxia nodded. "He's only eighteen. It's really rare for someone so young to study cooking so hard."
Unexpectedly, she heard Lu Jingming say, "...I work very hard too."
He worked very hard, working overtime for the past few days to finish his important work just so he could make time to see her.
But right now, he wasn't even going to get any alone time with her?
Fortunately, right at that moment, Xu Yanxia's phone suddenly vibrated.
She picked it up and saw that it was a message from Ye Shu:
[Tomorrow, Xiaozhen and I will take Xiaoman out to play. Don't worry about us. Wishing you a happy time together just the two of you!]
Lu Jingming, who had quietly caught a glimpse of it, silently nodded.
And he decided to increase Assistant Ye's bonus even more.
However, Xu Yanxia seemed to feel a bit bad about it and typed back, [That's too embarrassing. Didn't we agree to go to Xiaoxian's house to eat dim sum?]
Lu Jingming saw this and, right before she could hit send, called her "baby" again.
"It's rare for us to come here. Do you want to go see my grandfather's hometown tomorrow? Didn't you say it looked pretty in the video last time?"
"It is very pretty."
Xu Yanxia thought about it and asked him, "But Grandpa isn't here. Is there anyone at home?"
"Someone looks after the place regularly."
Lu Jingming said, "When I went back a while ago, I even saw some photos from our childhood that my grandfather kept."
"Really?"
Her eyes lit up as expected. "I want to see them!"
Lu Jingming immediately said, "Then let Assistant Ye and the others play by themselves tomorrow, and I'll take you back to my grandfather's house to have a look. At most, we can all have lunch together."
"...Alright."
Xu Yanxia then sent a message to Ye Shu, and took the opportunity to send both her and Xiaozhen a red envelope to express her gratitude.
After finishing sending the red envelopes, she casually checked the time on her phone and remembered something very important.
"It's past ten o'clock. Have you booked a hotel?"
Lu Jingming shook his head. "Not yet."
Ever since he arrived today, he had been busy helping her dispel the rumors. After the promotional event ended, he was eating with everyone.
He simply hadn't had the time.
"It's okay, I'll book one for you now."
Xu Yanxia immediately called the hotel front desk for him.
However, because it was too late, the hotel had no rooms left.
Xu Yanxia thought for a moment and said, "How about you stay in my room, and I'll go squeeze in with Shushu or Xiaozhen."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
Lu Jingming looked at her and said, "Nowadays, everyone likes having their own personal space, especially for something as private as sleeping. They might not want to share a bed with you."
"Then..."
Xu Yanxia was still trying to come up with a solution.
Suddenly, he leaned in closer and asked in a low voice, "The bed is so big. Can't you just let me stay?"
"Besides, we already announced our relationship again in front of all those media outlets and netizens today."
As he spoke, he gently kissed her ear.
Xu Yanxia shrank back a little, her face instantly turning as red as a rose.
"But..."
But her experience in the hotel room a few days ago while filming in Rong City told her that if he stayed, it would be very dangerous.
Yet he whispered in her ear again, "I promise I won't touch you."
Xu Yanxia looked completely unconvinced.
However, she couldn't bring herself to let him sleep on the streets either.
Just as she was caught in a difficult internal struggle, he smiled again and said, "I'm just teasing you. I'll go stay at my grandfather's house."
"Ah?"
Xu Yanxia widened her eyes at him. That was an option?
Right, why hadn't she thought of that earlier?
Lu Jingming smiled at her again and said, "I'm not a beast. If you're not willing, I won't force you."
His words only made her face burn even redder.
"Alright, you've been tired all day. Get some rest early. I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning. We'll go have morning tea and spend a good day having fun."
"Okay."
Xu Yanxia nodded in agreement.
He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to her lips, then took his luggage and walked out.
