Sixty-six stars

After sitting down, she instinctively pulled out her phone to check. Public opinion was quickly suppressed, especially after national authorities specifically banned several unscrupulous marketing accounts. Su Yu's post on the "Tree Hole" had been deleted, and the platform had banned her for six months. Wen Yuting had also been banned for six months.

The overwhelming verbal abuse was almost gone, replaced by unanimous mourning for the victims.

Lin Tang was in a bad mood and couldn't concentrate on his work at all. After reading a few of the latest news reports, he struggled for a while and decided to go find Yu Jingming.

Fortunately, Jingming had just finished talking with Dean Zhang and had not left.

Seeing Lin Tang coming to find him, he was the first to ask, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Lin Tang exhaled and said calmly, "Do you know anyone from a charity foundation?"

Yu Jingming raised his eyes, vaguely understanding what she meant: "You want to donate the money to the families of the victims?"

Lin Tang did not deny: "Can you do me a favor?"

"Okay, if this can make you feel less timid," he agreed readily. "I'll go back tonight and help you contact them."

Lin Tang nodded hesitantly: "Thank you."

Yu Jingming rarely saw Lin Tang so calm, and for a moment he felt a little distressed, his voice becoming very soft: "Between us, there's no need to thank me."

On the way back in the evening.

Feng Chibai's gaze shifted unintentionally, and he caught a glimpse of Lin Tang reading the comments under Yunhe's official Weibo account.

Since the public relations department took action during the day, the negative comments below have been almost completely controlled, and the few comments that appear at the top are all unrelated to this incident.

But worried that she still had concerns, Feng Chibai suddenly grabbed her wrist with his palm.

Lin Tang's body stiffened for a moment. The moment he looked at him, a voice rang in his ears: "Lin Tang, I'm actually not very good at saying comforting words."

Because from childhood to adulthood, he had rarely heard such words when he encountered difficulties. Most of the hardships were endured by himself, and even if his social skills were flawless in daily life, he still had no experience in this area.

"I also know that it's difficult to stop the emotions that arise, so no matter how much I say, it's futile. But I don't want to see you sad about this, especially Yunhe. I hope you can trust me 100%, believe that nothing can defeat me, defeat us."

He looked at her, his eyes moving. "If you need a hug right now, I'd be happy to oblige."

The moment the words fell, a figure approached.

She buried her head tightly in his arms, sobbing and saying, "Feng Chibai, I'm not strong at all."

Feng Chibai's fingertips slipped into her hair, stroking it gently. He whispered, "No one says you have to be strong all the time. Haven't you seen my weakest side yourself?"

However, these words did not calm her heart: "Feng Chibai, what should I do to be right?"

Feng Chibai's eyes softened for once, and he whispered softly yet firmly in her ear, "Life doesn't allow you to rethink things. You have only one path forward. No matter what choice you make, it's the right one."

Lin Tang was silent for a moment, and slowly moved an inch away from him. The moment she met his gaze, she saw the uncontrollable heartache in his eyes.

He wiped away the tears that were about to burst out of his eyes and asked, "Will crying make you feel better?"

But she didn't even have the strength to speak at this moment. She was panting, her back shaking. After staring at each other for a while, she lowered her head, her forehead resting quietly on Feng Chibai's shoulder, not wanting to say anything, not wanting to do anything.

*

Yu Jingming was very efficient and helped her make an appointment with the general manager of the charity foundation in just three days.

At noon that day, during the break, the three of them sat in a cafe to discuss relevant matters.

The person in charge had already drafted the contract in the past few days. He handed the paper version to Lin Tang and said, "Ms. Lin, please take a look and see if there are any problems."

The general content was almost identical to the version sent to her online. The contract also specifically stipulated that the donated funds would be used primarily to support the families of the victims, with any surplus allowed to be used by the foundation for other aid programs.

The amount hadn't been determined yet. Lin Tang pulled out her phone and checked the balance on her card. It was the sum she'd saved over the years, including her salary and bonuses from various awards, totaling over 800,000 yuan. Without hesitation, she chose to donate the entire amount on her bonus card.

She used to save money to treat Grandma Lin’s illness, but now these savings are useless. It would be better to do something that can make her feel at ease.

Yu Jingming knew the reason for her actions, but he still reminded her in a low voice: "Sui Sui, you don't have to..."

But before he could finish, he was interrupted by Lin Tang: "I have my own considerations, so let me do it my way."

Yu Jingming suddenly fell silent and said nothing more.

After completing the contract and donation process, he accompanied Lin Tang back to the research institute.

On the way, he finally spoke again: "Sui Sui, I'm glad you thought of me when you needed help. If you have any other requests later, I hope you can trouble me as much as you want."

Lin Tang smiled, somewhat reluctantly: "It's best if there's nothing you need help with, isn't it?"

Every request means a new problem arises.

And she doesn't want any problems to happen to her again.

Besides, unless the situation was special, she didn't want to trouble others.

To her, that would make her feel guilty. Where there is guilt, there will be entanglement, and she doesn't like to deal with entangled relationships.

When they were still a short distance away from the research institute, they caught a glimpse of a person standing at the door, looking towards them.

It is Fengchibai.

Before the two men got close, she took the lead and walked over until she stood in front of them.

Lin Tang asked, "Why are you here?"

Feng Chibai's face didn't show any displeasure. He took out a ring from his pocket, the one she usually wore. He said, "You didn't notice it during the day, and it fell in the car."

Only then did Lin Tang realize that there was already a space on his ring finger.

Before she could say anything, Yu Jingming said to Lin Tang, "I have something else to do at the police station. I'll be leaving first."

It seemed as if he didn't want to disturb the two of them.

Lin Tang nodded at him, then took the ring from Feng Chibai's hand and put it on. She was a little confused: "Just for such a small matter, you came all the way here?"

"I think this is a big deal." Feng Chibai said firmly, suddenly looking in the direction where Yu Jingming had left. "Just now, I said you went out for something. Was it about him?"

Lin Tang hummed, half confessing and half concealing, "I need his help with a small favor."

Feng Chibai suddenly smiled, a smile that came from the bottom of his heart. He touched her head and said, "That's good. I think I've learned how to bother others."

Lin Tang slapped his hand away and muttered, "I always bother others."

For example, he had trouble several times in a row.

Feng Chibai suddenly asked, "Have you eaten?"

Lin Tang shook his head, realizing that he probably hadn't eaten yet either, so he said, "Come along, I'll treat you."

This place is close to the suburbs, there are not many shops and not many choices, so the two of them randomly picked a restaurant to go in.

Lin Tang bit her rice slowly. It wasn't that the food in this restaurant was bad, but she wasn't hungry and it was a little difficult to swallow.

But that didn't stop the person next to her from putting food into her bowl. Adhering to the principle of not wasting food, she ate it bite by bite.

Compared to Feng Chibai, this place felt more like her territory, and as a proper host, she should be the one to treat him to a meal. But he suddenly remembered that the previous discussion hadn't left him with any room for retreat.

There is no money left in her card.

After hesitating, she still discussed with Feng Chibai awkwardly: "Feng Chibai, you treat me to this meal first, and next month I will treat you to two more meals, which can be regarded as repayment."

Feng Chibai put down his chopsticks slowly and said calmly, "Do husband and wife need to be so polite?"

"Besides," he paused, "your husband earns so much money. If he can't even take this out of his pocket, I'm afraid I'll become the laughing stock of the entire Feng family if people find out."

Although she was the one who suggested treating first, in fact, he would also pay for it.

Lin Tang sighed, chuckled softly, and joked, "Actually, I really want to see you make a fool of yourself."

Feng Chibai curled his lips and said, "Then I'm afraid you'll need to keep an eye on me all the time to find any clues."

He didn't stay here long and went back to the company after lunch.

That evening, Lin Tang sat sideways on the sofa, half curled up. His phone was stuck on a chat box with Wen Yuting.

Wen Yuting: [Oh, what's the big deal? Even if it blocks my account, I still have smaller and smaller accounts.]

Wen Yuting: [Besides, I can say that this is just a way to vent my idol’s anger.]

When Su Yu's Weibo post went viral that day, Jiang Muyan, the M9+ spokesperson who was officially announced alongside her, also came under fire. Most of the rumors were groundless, alleging she had an unspeakable relationship with a senior executive at Yunhe, which was how she was able to maintain her position as spokesperson.

Sui Sui: [Your parents scolded you, didn’t they?]

This incident had become such a big deal, and everyone knew she was the daughter of the Wen Group, so it was inevitable that it would affect the group's business operations. Furthermore, she was somewhat aware that Wen's parents always valued the interests of the company, and she was worried about Wen Yuting.

Wen Yuting: [It’s not the first time anyway. I’m an adult now, and I want to do things my way for once.]

Lin Tang's eyelashes trembled, he smiled weakly, and replied: Thank you, Miss Wen.

The sofa next to him suddenly collapsed. Lin Tang looked up at Feng Chibai who was sitting down. His curled up body inexplicably wanted to get closer to him.

She half lay in his arms, her eyelids closed.

Feng Chibai asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Lin Tang's voice was so low that it was almost inaudible unless you listened closely: "I'm tired, lie down for a while."

Feng Chibai smiled, tightened his grip, and hugged her tightly. Suddenly, he asked, "What would you like to eat tomorrow morning?"

Lin Tang didn't open his eyes, his fingers grasping the hem of his clothes, and said casually: "Two poached eggs, not runny."

Their tastes are very different in this regard. Feng Chibai likes to eat runny fried eggs, but Lin Tang can't accept it at all.

Feng Chibai's smile deepened.

The living room was quiet for a while, and Feng Chibai asked again: "Want a drink?"

This time, Lin Tang finally showed some emotion. She poked his waist and said, "Go get it."

Feng Chibai called her, "Lazy ghost."

But Lin Tang didn't feel like refuting him, or perhaps she hadn't heard him. She'd been completely distracted at the institute these past few days, completely unable to settle down and work properly. She even suffered from insomnia, often waking inexplicably in the middle of the night and then staying up all night before falling back asleep.

Feng Chibai took a bottle of plum wine from the refrigerator and considerately poured her a glass and handed it to her.

Lin Tang leaned back on the sofa, took a sip, and laughed for no reason.

It was very soft, but Feng Chibai heard it. He asked her curiously, "What are you laughing at?"

"I just suddenly felt..." Her eyes were dazed for a moment, "getting married is actually a pretty good thing."

It wasn't sudden. She had had this feeling long before.

Feng Chibai joked, "Because you got free labor?"

He paused, then added seriously, "I said I would be a good husband."

"What about me?" Lin Tang looked at him with a smile. "Just passed? Or failed?"

"You can do the same. Try to get a perfect score." He laughed along with her. "Of course, that's not to say Sui Sui is doing badly, but there's still room for improvement. So do I."

Lin Tang looked at him quietly, and suddenly said: "Feng Chibai, it's great to have you."

This voice caught Feng Chibai off guard and he froze for a moment. He hesitated and asked, "Why... do you say that?"

Is it good as a partner, or does it refer to other aspects?

Lin Tang lowered his eyes and took another sip of wine. "I can't really put it into words, but I just feel that life with a partner isn't as bad as I thought."

When he said this, Lin Tang's eyes and nose tip inexplicably began to feel sore again.

She used to think that she was a person with low empathy. When she was a child, when the teacher showed a movie in the class, everyone cried loudly, but she was the only one who sat upright. For a while, she even thought she was a cold-blooded animal.

But now, the tears strangely fell without her knowing why, and she couldn't control them.

Feng Chibai noticed it, and traced the trajectory of the tears with his fingertips, saying softly, "Then I will assume that, in the world of love, you need me."

Lin Tang sighed as if he had heard something strange. "Me? Need you? That's an interesting way of putting it."

She took a deep breath, held his hand that was still on her cheek, slowly put it down, and sneered: "It's quite embarrassing. You always catch me crying."

Feng Chibai said: "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. After all, I don't want to admit it."

Remembering that he had cried in front of him before, Lin Tang smiled and said, "So, are we holding each other responsible?"

Feng Chibai hummed. There was a moment of silence in the air, and then after a long while, another sentence was uttered.

"It's best to keep it tied up tightly for the rest of your life to prevent anyone from leaking the secret."