Sang Ning’s fingers curled slightly as He Siyu’s large hand enveloped hers, gripping tightly, leaving her no room to relax.
Assistant Yan immediately jogged forward to open the car door.
Sang Ning lowered her gaze as He Siyu led her into the backseat.
Assistant Yan quickly circled to the driver’s seat and started the car.
The Bentley drove off smoothly.
He Siyu still hadn’t let go of her hand. His eyes fixed on her, he said, “I just spoke with General Manager Wang from Wenze Hotel. He said it was a temporary staff member arranged by the Chen Family who let the reporters upstairs—Chen Zhihan’s doing.”
Sang Ning’s voice was icy. “The Chen Family alone couldn’t have stirred up this storm.”
Even if Chen Zhihan had orchestrated the hotel incident, where would she get the leverage to pressure those reporters into risking their careers—or even bankruptcy—just to secretly leak those photos?
Besides, the Chen Family wouldn’t dare scheme against Pei Songhan.
The real question was whether this was aimed at Pei Songhan… or her.
“I’ve already sent lawyers to the police station. Those people will talk. Within three days, I’ll get to the bottom of this.” A trace of ruthlessness flashed in He Siyu’s eyes.
There were no unbreakable lips—only insufficient methods.
If the Chen Family could handle the hotel staff, whoever drove those reporters to such extremes was someone Chen Zhihan couldn’t possibly control.
And whether this was targeting Pei Family or not remained unclear. If it was the former, the mastermind behind it was hard to pin down.
But if it was aimed at Nan Sangning…
Well, there were only two suspects in that case.
The ferocity in his eyes deepened. Once he uncovered the truth, he’d make sure that bastard paid.
Sang Ning glanced at him. If she remembered correctly, just half an hour ago, he’d been demanding an explanation from her.
Now, suddenly, he was being understanding?
Noticing her gaze, he blinked, masking the coldness in his eyes. “What is it?”
Sang Ning replied flatly, “No more interrogation, Mr. He?”
He Siyu stiffened slightly.
His grip on her hand tightened unconsciously, his throat working. “I wasn’t interrogating you.”
“Oh? Then I suppose Mr. He went easy on me.” Her tone carried a hint of sarcasm.
His expression froze.
The atmosphere in the car turned tense, the air thickening.
Up front, Assistant Yan gripped the steering wheel tightly, eyes fixed straight ahead, wishing he could go deaf.
He Siyu studied Sang Ning’s face, lips pressed together. “I never doubted you.”
He just wasn’t sure how much weight he held in her heart.
Sang Ning met his gaze. “If you can’t even trust me this much, then how are you any different from the others?”
His chest constricted, his throat tightening.
“Today… I was wrong.”
Assistant Yan’s eyes widened in shock. Had he gone deaf, or was he hallucinating?!
Did He Siyu just… apologize?!
He held his breath, trying to make himself invisible, regretting not letting Uncle Zheng drive instead. Would he be silenced for hearing this?
Sang Ning looked away, saying nothing more.
He Siyu glanced down, reassured by the feel of her hand in his, and tightened his hold again.
“He Siyu.” She spoke suddenly.
His heart skipped a beat, his grip tightening further, his face tense.
He didn’t respond.
She turned to him, frowning slightly. “You’re hurting my hand.”
He was practically crushing it.
“…Oh.”
He loosened his grip slightly. When she tried to pull away, he caught her hand again, this time holding it gently, his thumb brushing lightly over her fingers.
She didn’t pull back this time. He was watching her too closely.
Silence settled over the car once more.
He spoke again. “The news has already been taken down.” It was the Pei Family’s doing.
He left that part unsaid.
Sang Ning frowned. “Taking it down doesn’t matter. The damage is done. We need to refute it quickly.”
“I’ve tasked Huiyao’s PR department with handling it. They’re drafting a plan now. By tomorrow morning, they’ll have this cleared up for you.”
Sang Ning didn’t refuse. As an internet company, Huiyao’s PR team would be far more effective than Nan Group’s traditional corporate approach.
After a moment of thought, she added, “When clarifying, we need to shift the blame onto the Pei Family.”
“Hm?” His eyes flickered.
She turned to him, her gaze sharpening. “Regardless of who’s behind this, the narrative must be that the mastermind targeted the Pei Family, and I was just collateral damage.”
She had to position herself as the innocent victim—otherwise, her reputation wouldn’t recover.
Sang Ning continued coolly, “And it can’t be framed as personal. It has to be about malicious business competition. We need to escalate this, make the Pei Family resent whoever orchestrated it.”
Not her.
She spoke deliberately. “The Pei Family’s rivals resorted to underhanded tactics, even colluding with the hotel to frame their heir. That’s the perfect angle.”
It would absolve her completely while turning the Pei Family’s fury onto the real culprit.
If someone dared provoke the Pei Family, she’d make sure they regretted it thoroughly.
He Siyu’s brow arched. “Not a bad plan. Today’s scandal will definitely affect Xinghong’s stock. If we play up the angle of malicious competition, the focus shifts to the Pei Family and their rivals.”
That way, Nan Sangning would be seen as nothing more than an unfortunate bystander.
Sang Ning smiled faintly. “Then it’s settled.”
“I’ll head back to the office later and have PR prepare accordingly. We’ll start pushing the narrative tomorrow.”
Up front, Assistant Yan broke into a cold sweat. So after all that discussion, their solution was… to throw the Pei Family under the bus.
No wonder He Siyu was drawn to her. They were cut from the same cloth.
The car pulled up at the Nan residence.
“I’ll go now.” Sang Ning withdrew her hand, reddened and slightly numb from his grip.
As she reached for the door, he suddenly caught her wrist again.
“What is it?”
He hesitated. “You said last time that you’d move out once this week was over.”
She paused, then nodded. “Yes, I plan to.”
His eyes flickered.
She blinked. “I bought a place. I’m moving this weekend.”
“…”
“Is something wrong?”
His jaw tightened. “No.”
Sang Ning smiled. “Then I’ll go now.”
With that, she pushed the door open and stepped out, heading inside.
He Siyu’s expression darkened, the air in the car turning oppressive.
Assistant Yan swallowed hard. “Mr. He, where to now…?”
He Siyu tugged at his tie. “The office.”
Sang Ning returned home to an unusually quiet Nan residence, the family still out.
She went straight to her room, sinking into a bath that washed away most of her exhaustion.
Afterward, she burrowed under the covers, drowsy, and turned off the light to sleep.
Three minutes later, she suddenly remembered something and reached for her phone by the bedside, tapping into a profile page.
She clicked "Edit Nickname."
The cursor blinked a few times as "Strawberry Cake" was deleted.
With careful deliberation, she typed out the new name: 【Half-Sweet Cake】
