Chapter 82 Chapter 82 daddy

The public appearance of the two in front of the media undoubtedly pushed this media frenzy to its climax.

The media were so excited that their wrists trembled, and they could barely hold their microphones and cameras, yet they kept pressing the shutter, greedily capturing every frame.

Numerous high-resolution photos have been freshly produced.

In one of the photos, Xu Shaoting holds Wen Jia tightly in his arms, one hand shielding her face from view. He wears a refined smile, and even under the most demanding camera lens, his physique and appearance remain impeccable.

In another photo, he takes her hand, their fingers intertwined, and he openly displays the diamond ring on her ring finger to the camera, the implication of which is obvious to anyone.

To be fair, the media would also find this scene too unfamiliar. After all, this is the first time they have seen Jia not standing alone in the eye of the storm, but being properly protected behind her.

When I first debuted, I was asked: "You were able to get such good resources right from the start. Who is the benefactor behind you?"

When she transitioned to acting in movies, she was questioned: Why should she be the lead actress when she doesn't have the qualifications?

Later, after losing an international award, he was publicly questioned: Is this the end of your career?

Undoubtedly, those media outlets that stuck microphones to her face knew that their questions were harsh and inappropriate, but they did it on purpose.

After all, making a top female celebrity publicly sulk can provide them with a constant stream of inspiration for writing viral headlines for half a month.

This is Wen Jia's life since her debut.

She lived in a bottomless abyss. There was no algae, only a seemingly calm, stagnant pool, its surface still, but beneath it lay countless invisible hands, pulling her down by the ankles. No light could penetrate, and no sound could escape.

Some people underwater say that this area has always been like this, that the law of the jungle is the eternal rule, and that struggling will only lead to swallowing more filth.

Having drifted for years, her gills had long since adapted to the murky water, and her eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness. When someone asked about the temperature at the bottom of the pool, she would simply curl up quietly, watching the fine silt seeping from her body.

She was already used to this kind of life, and she could even handle her responses very well each time, so much so that no media outlet ever captured a picture of her with a sour expression.

So this was the first time she realized that there really was someone who could stand in front of her and respond to her.

How strange, this sudden protection brought a strange sense of relaxation to her nerves, which had been tense for many years, and it almost brought her to tears.

She was in his arms, her hand gripping his shirt tightly, which he noticed. "What's wrong?" he asked gently. "Are you scared?"

Wen Jia shook her head. "It just feels so unfamiliar."

Xu Shaoting pursed his lips, feeling helpless and distressed, "You can start to get used to it."

He couldn't deny that he did have the idea of ​​having Lin Youzhe bring all the media outlets that had hurt her to him, one by one.

Outside the Maybach, the media went their separate ways, got into their vans, and got into battle mode.

The photos were quickly imported into the laptop, and the keyboard was pounding away.

Suddenly, the car in the lead car fell silent, and a knock was heard on the window.

Zhou Yan slowly turned his head and saw a refined-looking man standing quietly.

He rolled down the car window.

Lin Youzhe wore a refined smile: "Reporter Zhou, I think I need to personally control the direction of the press release."

Zhou Yan has been in the media for so many years, and she finally got this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How could she tolerate others tampering with her work? She doesn't care if it's black or white, true or false; she'll write it all in an eye-catching and sensational way!

He glanced at Lin Youzhe, and without saying a word, started to roll up the car window.

The latter maintained his polite smile, but his threatening skills were exactly the same as his boss's: "If you're thinking about your future career, you might as well let me in."

Zhou Yan's fingers froze on the car window button. He gritted his teeth and gave in, "Please... Secretary Lin."

Lin Youzhe sat down sideways, and with a flick of his hand, he turned the notebook on Zhou Yan's lap so that it faced him.

A line of large text appeared prominently on the screen:

[Reformed and settled down! Wen Jia gets a ticket to a wealthy family; has Zhou Jingcheng's past 'favors' vanished like smoke?]

Lin Youzhe smiled unhurriedly, "It seems that your Zhou family is quite united."

Zhou Yan gritted her teeth, reluctantly saying, "...I'll delete it..."

Lin Youzhe pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. "Go ashore? Turn over a new leaf?"

Zhou Yan closed her eyes in anguish, "I'll delete it again..."

"Admission ticket?" Lin Youzhe turned to Zhou Yan, his smile becoming even more refined. "Chairman Xu gave you a chance, and this is how you repay him?"

"I used the wrong words... I used the wrong words..."

Lin Youzhe acted first, swiping his finger across the touchpad to completely delete the malicious headline. "What Chairman Xu wants to see is blessings, not malicious dredging up old grievances. You are all smart people; you should know what kind of news can be published and what kind will get you burned."

Having said all he needed to say, he nodded slightly to the remaining silent reporters in the car, then turned and left.

Zhou Yan slumped back in his chair, knowing that his carefully crafted hit product was completely hopeless.

It is also known that from this moment on, the narrative rules concerning Wen Jia will be completely rewritten.

So that afternoon, the press release was launched with great force, dominating the trending topics.

[Exclusive Breaking News!] Hsu Shao-ting publicly acknowledges his relationship at the airport, closely protecting Wen Chia as they announce their engagement!

(Linzhou News) This afternoon, outside Terminal 3 of Linzhou International Airport, Hsu Shao-ting, the head of the Tien-hsu Group, and actress Wen Chia made a high-profile appearance, holding hands tightly. Facing the surging crowd and the flashing lights, Hsu Shao-ting did not simply admit to the relationship, but instead announced emphatically that he had successfully proposed to Wen Chia. This highly acclaimed actress is now his fiancée and will soon become his rightful "Mrs. Hsu".

It is understood that clues about the two's relationship had been circulating for some time. All the previous coincidences have now been definitively confirmed!

We sincerely wish Mr. Xu Shaoting and Ms. Wen Jia all the best! We celebrate this beautiful relationship that began as a rumor and was finally confirmed, and wish you both a wonderful journey together in the future! Congratulations!

The Yunxi company's small group chat had already exploded with discussion:

"[Image] Oh my god, what's going on here?!"

"What's all the fuss about? Didn't Chairman Xu already make it official on his WeChat Moments?"

"Loading goods, not everyone has a friend like Chairman Xu."

"To be honest, this PR move was top-notch."

"The marketing department is ecstatic! This surge in traffic will save them a fortune in advertising costs!"

"Stock price! Look at the stock price!"

"Wouldn't you call this a match made in heaven? Our company name is fantastic!"

...

The previously vague entries have become "obvious" and are now:

#WenJiaGetsEngaged# #WenJiaAndXuShaotingGetsWedding#

Of course, the butterfly effect surrounding Wen Jia was powerful enough that some related terms were also revived and hyped up:

#Lin Xi#, #Lin Xi Responds to Wen Jia's Marriage#, #Song Yanlin#, #Ex-Husband#, #Before the Freeze#

In the super topic, some fans offered their blessings with tears in their eyes, some were shocked and found it hard to accept, and some expressed their heartache as if they were giving away their daughter.

When Zhang Linzhi saw the flood of press releases, her vision went black and she almost fainted. She managed to stay conscious only by pinching her philtrum tightly.

After calming down completely, she made a phone call to Wen Jia:

"Grandma, what's going on? This is so sudden! You should at least have informed the PR department first!"

Wen Jia brushed her face aside, remaining calm, and said, "There's no need for public relations, just issue an announcement."

Although this isn't exactly negative news, a proper response is still necessary. And it can't be cryptic; otherwise, the public will definitely label it as "doing it but not admitting it."

Zhang Linzhi is very knowledgeable and has a thousand ways to conduct public relations. Her PR team has already prepared more than a dozen versions of announcements, ranging from official to sentimental.

Everything is ready, except for the east wind.

However, Zhang Linzhi gritted her teeth and said, "We don't need these for now."

"...Mr. Zhang, are you serious?" The PR colleague looked troubled, almost thinking she had misheard. "So... do you want us to give it the cold shoulder, or give a vague denial to buy some time?"

"No, I won't deny it, but let's rephrase it." Zhang Linzhi put one hand on her hip and raised the other, lowered her head and pondered for a moment, "Change it to—Wen Jia and Xu Shaoting are a perfect match, I'll ship them first!"

"...?"

Yu Kaiqing chimed in excitedly, "Get married right now! Lock it in! I'll swallow the key!"

Zhang Linzhi snapped her fingers, "...Good, good, good...very good."

Yu Kaiqing, brimming with online savvy, wasn't quite done yet: "What kind of sweet, wealthy romance novel has come to life?! I've moved to the marriage registry office! Today is another day of shedding tears for other people's love! I won't say who the couple we were shipping actually became a reality!"

“……………………………”

The entire Lingguang fell into an eerie and unbelievable silence.

“Let’s go in the direction Kaiqing suggested. This is a joyous occasion, and we must control the direction of public opinion. She has already suffered enough criticism in the past, and I absolutely cannot let her suffer any more injustice in this matter.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the public relations staff started making phone calls and typing away, plunging into a new wave of busy activity.

Wen Jia, on the other hand, didn't dare to turn on her phone at all.

Lin Xi: "What the heck is going on? How did I get dragged into this too? You haven't even released an announcement yet, I don't even know how to respond!"

Zhong Lan: "Darling, I'm truly happy for you."

Zhong Rui: "I saw it trending on Weibo, congratulations! Mr. Wen!"

Yu Jianshan: "Congratulations, you're a perfect match."

Moreover, countless silent film crew groups and inactive friends received a flood of well wishes.

Wen Jia was overwhelmed with well-wishes and could only post a message on her WeChat Moments to thank everyone for their blessings.

On the other side, Xu Bozheng also received the news immediately. He looked at the tablet that Yang Bo handed him. The media had different ways of embellishing the story, some were straightforward, some were flowery, but in the end they could all be summarized in one sentence—Xu Shaoting proposed to Wen Jia and announced it to the world.

"Young Master, isn't this a bit too high-profile?" Uncle Yang asked tentatively.

Now it seems the roles have been reversed between the master and servant. Xu Bozheng said calmly, "What's so high-profile about it? This day was bound to come sooner or later."

Uncle Yang smiled meaningfully, "Young Master does resemble you quite a bit when you were young."

Xu Bozheng glanced at him.

"So what's the next step?"

"Just issue an announcement."

In fact, Tianxu's public relations department is no ordinary organization. They had already prepared the announcement before any major event occurred, awaiting its release.

Half an hour later, Tianxu Group's official Weibo and website were updated simultaneously:

[It is hereby announced that Mr. Xu Shaoting, Chairman of Tianxu Group, and Ms. Wen Jia are now officially engaged.]

We are pleased to share this joy and thank everyone for their long-standing care and blessings.

The comment section of Tianxu Group's official Weibo account has always been open. The first comment came from a passionate shout-out from a Tianxu employee:

"Boss is awesome! Long live the boss's wife! Wishing Chairman Xu and Ms. Wen Jia a long and happy marriage!"

"That's hilarious, sis, you really know what bonuses are!"

"I'm already waiting for the huge red envelopes that everyone in the company will be celebrating with!"

"As expected, the fewer the words, the bigger the matter..."

...

Interspersed among them were some rather unpleasant "financial observers":

"From a corporate governance perspective, major personal matters of core founders have always been potential risk points for enterprises. Although Chairman Xu's high-profile engagement can bring huge brand exposure in the short term, it also means that Ms. Wen Jia's personal reputation is deeply tied to Tianxu Group. In the future, any negative public opinion about either party will directly impact the other party. This move is very risky."

"Indeed, corporate image and personal image are deeply intertwined, requiring immense confidence and trust in one's partner."

"Wow. [Question] Have you finance people gone mad? Do you see everything as a chess game? Can't it just be about love?"

Fans were already crying their eyes out in front of their screens:

"As a long-time fan who has followed Jiajia since her debut, I sincerely wish her happiness [crying]. As long as she's happy, that's all that matters."

...

"I need more Reuters photos and high-resolution images! I want to savor this iconic scene repeatedly!"

"Congratulations. But I must say, a female actress's career can easily be affected when she gets married, especially if she marries into a wealthy family. I hope Wen Jia can continue to produce excellent works and not let marriage define her."

"Agreed. Wen Jia is a rare talent with exceptional acting skills. I hope she can continue to shine on the big screen."

"Uh, an actress marrying into a wealthy family—standard ending. Whether it lasts or not remains to be seen!"

The small gray text next to it indicates that this post was reported and collapsed because it was intended to incite conflict.

"Watch your mouth!"

"Wen Jia herself is a skilled actress, and her strength and wealth are not to be underestimated. How can she be considered to be climbing the social ladder? This is clearly a powerful alliance."

Although most of the overwhelming online opinions were positive, encouraging, and blessing, Xu Shaoting was still worried that Wen Jia might notice a small portion of the negative comments, and that she might spend an afternoon browsing Weibo.

No matter how noisy and chaotic the outside world was, it could no longer affect the two of them.

At this very moment, he is holding her as they sit on the balcony of the master bedroom.

He glanced at the still-worried expression on the person in his arms. "What are you thinking about?"

Wen Jia muttered to herself, "I'm wondering... are the online reviews really that bad?"

It's not that she's too pessimistic, it's just that she's all too aware of the public opinion environment and the nature of netizens.

Her first reaction nearly broke his heart: "It doesn't matter. No matter how negative it is, it can't change the fact that you're already my fiancée. Besides, most of the people online are sending us their blessings."

"real?"

Xu Shaoting handed her the phone so she could see it for herself.

He wasn't lying to her. Whether it was the trending topics, the super topic, or the announcement from Tianxu's official Weibo account, the comment section was peaceful. The few gloomy people who tried to spoil the mood were drowned out by netizens' spittle.

"Are you relieved now?" he asked patiently.

She finally smiled and happily hummed in agreement.

Have you decided where to hold the wedding?

On the day she was proposed to on the island, she envisioned a wedding of the century, but now, having witnessed the power of the media firsthand, her thoughts seem to have changed. "I think... I won't invite the media..."

"Not inviting the media?"

"Well, weddings are such private things. I think it's best to have only family and friends as witnesses. If it's all media, it just doesn't feel right."

“But we need to give the outside world an explanation for this, honey,” Xu Shaoting smirked, “How about we hold one private event and another public one?”

There was another reason he didn't say, which stemmed from his own selfish motives—

He wanted her to be the most dazzling bride.

Wen Jia's expression was lively and excited, "Really?

Xu Shaoting was a little incredulous and said with a laugh, "Are you trying to save me money?"

She probably forgot that her man is the richest man in the world.

"Then I want to hold it on a small island!" Her eyes were full of longing.

"I promise you, I'll do whatever you want, wherever you want." He kissed her hair without hesitation.

Wen Jia cleared her throat, feigning seriousness, "Whether in good times or bad, in poverty or wealth, in health or sickness, Mr. Xu Shaoting..."

Before she could finish reading, he silenced her with a kiss.

"I can't say now."

Wen Jia smiled sweetly and obediently shut up.

“Now the whole world knows you’re my fiancée,” he said calmly. “Shouldn’t you change how you address me?”

"..."

"I just like calling you Chairman Xu."

"No. If you do it again, I'll have Chairman Xu punish you."

From the moment they first met, she kept calling him "Chairman Xu" repeatedly. At first, he thought he could take it slow and that he had plenty of time and patience to correct her.

But he never expected that he would miscalculate first, and that she would actually get used to calling him that, not only during normal times, but also in bed.

Although it was one of her hobbies, he... wanted to hear her call out something else.

Now that he's finally gotten a chance to get her to change her mind, how could he possibly let it go?

Wen Jia bit her lower lip, "...Then what do you want me to call you?"

He put on a gentlemanly air, "What did you call me in bed?"

"..."

"I can't bring myself to say it..."

The moans she made in bed didn't require him to force her; she was so possessed that she was out of her mind and confused by passion that they just came out naturally, vivid yet fragmented.

"Can't bring yourself to say it?"

Xu Shaoting narrowed his eyes, seemingly preparing to take the next step.

"My name is... my name is!" She was spineless and compromised very quickly.

He glanced down at her, waiting patiently, his arms around her waist tightening.

"da..." She only uttered one syllable of that bold word, and her face turned bright red. Then, Xu Shaoting kissed her lips again. "Are you sure you want to call me that now?"

His kiss was deep, as if he was suppressing some kind of desire within him.

Wen Jia's long eyelashes drooped, "Old..."

She only uttered half a call before burying her face in his chest and planting a kiss on his Adam's apple:

"husband."