Chapter 58 Acknowledgment and Clarification: Who said there wouldn't be retribution later? Here it comes...
Mo Ningzhi didn't want to listen to Zhou Yaozheng's nonsense. Even a punch to the mouth couldn't stop him from spouting rubbish. His phone rang in his pocket, and when Mo Ningzhi took it out, he saw it was Qin Weijin.
Zhou Yaozheng saw it too, and he chuckled softly, "Why don't you answer?"
Mo Ningzhi glanced at him and let go of his hand: "If you want to get beaten up again, keep being a jerk."
Zhou Yaozheng straightened his crumpled collar and looked up to find that the curtains on the floor-to-ceiling glass windows on one side of the office were still not drawn. Although the office area outside had been cleared out, he still walked over slowly and turned on the privacy mode.
He put down the remote control and said softly, "I thought you were going to ask me some questions."
Mo Ningzhi: "I have nothing to ask."
Zhou Yaozheng was taken aback: "Don't you want to know how I found out about your relationship with Qin Weijin?"
“Not surprising, you saw it in the northwest parking lot.” Mo Ningzhi had figured it out on the way here, and punching him had calmed her down a lot. She was unusually calm at this moment: “And the hospital garden, that was you too, wasn’t it?”
Zhou Yaozheng smiled inscrutablely: "So you knew all along." He paused, then suddenly said, "That night, you woke up, didn't you?"
Mo Ningzhi frowned slightly.
His attitude said it all. Zhou Yaozheng's eyes darkened: "So that's how it is. That's why you started calling me brother."
“I changed my mind not because of you,” Mo Ningzhi said.
"I know." Zhou Yaozheng's expression changed: "Because of my mother, because of the Mo family, because of the company." In short, she didn't truly approve of him.
"But I don't want to be the older brother."
Mo Ningzhi sneered, "Of course you're not."
Zhou Yaozheng seemed to be stung by his words, his face paling for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal. "Aren't you surprised that you were able to enter Qin Weijin's studio so easily?"
Mo Ningzhi recalled the suspicious behavior of the interviewer during her onboarding and quickly made a guess in her mind, "It was you?"
“Of course,” Zhou Yaozheng said. “Qin Weijin and I have known each other for a long time. Didn’t he tell you?”
Mo Ningzhi paused, recalling that he had seen Qin Weijin at Zhou Yaozheng's promotion banquet. At that time, he had wondered why Qin Weijin, with his status, would accept such a popular commercial performance. Now it seemed that he must have been invited.
If Qin Weijin and Zhou Yaozheng knew each other beforehand, then everything makes sense. Qin Weijin was entrusted to take care of him, which is why he gave him the green light during the interview.
Because she already knew Zhou Yaozheng, she was invited to the important banquet as a guest.
But since they had a long-standing relationship, why did Zhou Yaozheng suddenly resort to such drastic measures?
Seeing that Mo Ningzhi remained silent, Zhou Yaozheng said with some smugness, "I was planning to send you home half a year ago. Qin Weijin was entrusted by me to take care of you, but he broke his promise first. Not only did he fail to take good care of you, but he also... So this is just a lesson I taught him."
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” Mo Ningzhi said. “I also don’t need anyone to stand up for me, besides…”
He paused, then said, "I was the one who liked him first."
Zhou Yaozheng: "..."
Mo Ningzhi completely lost the will to waste words with him. Just as she was about to turn and leave, there was an urgent knock on the door, and Zhou Suiyin's voice came from outside, "Ningzhi? Ningzhi, are you in there?"
Mo Ningzhi placed her hand on the doorknob and tilted her head slightly: "Explain what happened today yourself. I will handle the online revelations. If you dare to interfere again, I don't mind telling my dad when I get home. You don't want my dad to know about this mess, do you?"
After saying that, he turned the doorknob.
Zhou Suiyin stood outside the door, her face anxious, her hand still in a knocking gesture, "Ning Zhi..."
She immediately spotted Zhou Yaozheng behind Mo Ningzhi, who had been punched in the face and had a bruised mouth. "Are you guys alright...?"
“Aunt Zhou,” Mo Ningzhi said calmly, “my brother is plotting against my boyfriend behind his back. Can you do something about it?”
"Ah...you..." Zhou Suiyin was both anxious and confused, not knowing whether to be shocked by Zhou Yaozheng's scheme or surprised by Mo Ningzhi's sexual orientation. Finally, she managed to say, "I will take care of it, Ningzhi."
"Then I'll be going now."
Mo Ningzhi nodded and left the office space to the mother and son.
He had just stepped out of the company when he heard a car horn. The car window rolled down slightly, revealing Qin Weijin's face.
Mo Ningzhi walked over and got into the car. "How dare you come out by yourself at this time? Aren't you afraid of being discovered by reporters and fans?"
Qin Weijin said, "I'm worried something has happened to you since you're not answering the phone."
Mo Ningzhi said "Oh," and then asked, "How did you know I was here?"
Qin Weijin stepped on the gas and turned the steering wheel to the left. "I guessed."
Mo Ningzhi could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his feigned calm expression. After a long silence, Qin Weijin finally couldn't help but ask, "What did you talk about while you were up there for so long?"
Mo Ningzhi glanced out the window and said calmly, "What, you're not pretending anymore?"
The brakes came earlier than expected. Qin Weijin pulled the car over to the side of the road, his expression urgent. "You know everything."
"What do you mean?" Mo Ningzhi asked.
"My relationship with Zhou Yaozheng..."
"I understand," Mo Ningzhi said.
Qin Weijin gripped the steering wheel tightly: "Then you..."
“I have a question.” Mo Ningzhi looked at him seriously, her eyes deep and calm. “Is Zhou Yaozheng a reason for you being with me?”
"Of course not." Qin Weijin denied it without thinking. "My relationship with Zhou Yaozheng is not as good as you think. I owe him a favor, so I agreed to help take care of his younger brother. Originally, I just wanted to get a sinecure at the studio, but I didn't expect Zhan Linzhou to see your excellent resume and directly put you by my side as my assistant."
“I like you, and it has nothing to do with Zhou Yaozheng or anyone else.” Seeing that Mo Ningzhi didn’t react, Qin Weijin became a little anxious. “I’ve liked you for a long time. Before you took my picture, I wouldn’t lie to you, and I never lied to you. Can you believe me?”
Just then, a ringtone interrupted Qin Weijin's words. Mo Ningzhi took out his phone and glanced at it. "We'll talk about this later. Let's deal with the online revelations first. Go to this address."
He held his phone up to Qin Weijin's face, "I have a way to clear things up for you."
Qin Weijin glanced at the screen. In WeChat, Li Yan sent a location message. It wasn't far from here, only a half-hour drive away.
But Mo Ningzhi's reaction was too unusual, and Qin Weijin felt uneasy. "No need."
Mo Ningzhi was stunned: "Huh?"
“The studio has contingency plans. Those words were said to you on purpose by Zhan Linzhou,” Qin Weijin said.
Mo Ningzhi nodded, as he had expected this, but he was more curious about "what methods you have to resolve this scandal."
Qin paused for a moment, then turned to look at Jin.
With just one look from him, Mo Ningzhi understood: "You're going to admit it?"
Qin remained silent in support of Jin.
"Are you crazy? What's the difference between admitting it now and committing suicide?" Mo Ningzhi grabbed his arm anxiously. "Trust me, I've already thought of a way to clear things up for you. Just let Zhan Linzhou handle the follow-up public relations, and your popularity won't be affected at all. On the contrary, it will rise even higher."
Qin Weijin said gently, "It's not as serious as you think. I've already had the public relations department do a risk assessment. The scandal won't hurt me."
“That won’t work either,” Mo Ningzhi said. “I disagree.”
Seeing Mo Ningzhi's worried expression, which didn't seem like she was really angry, Qin Weijin breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't you underestimate our studio's public relations?"
"No."
Qin Weijin waited quietly for him to continue. After a moment, Mo Ningzhi said, "I don't want you to be criticized by anyone. I want you to be glamorous and shining, without a single stain."
Qin Weijin's heart softened: "Then what is your solution?"
"Let's go to this address first. Li Yan is already waiting for us," Mo Ningzhi said. "I'll tell you when we get there."
...
Mo Ningzhi's method was crude and simple. Although he took a photo, it was not clear after all because it was taken secretly. As long as someone claims the person, who can say that the person in the photo is Qin Weijin?
The place Li Yan chose was a very quiet private tea house. These days, few people drink tea, so there were hardly any people in the shop. Moreover, in order to discuss cooperation, Li Yan had booked an entire floor, so there were no waiters or tea masters in sight.
"You've arrived." Li Yan leaned against the doorway and led the two inside.
"Where is he?" Mo Ningzhi asked.
"The innermost private room." Li Yan glanced at Qin Weijin, who was wearing a mask and remaining silent behind Mo Ningzhi, and felt a little strange. But now was not the time to ask questions. He suppressed his doubts and led Mo Ningzhi into the tea room.
Two young men were already waiting at the tea table.
Qin Weijin knew Mo Ningzhi's plan as soon as he saw the scene. He knew the two of them; they were a gay couple who were somewhat famous online. Since confirming their relationship, they had been very high-profile, showing off their affection on various platforms for a long time, and could be considered semi-internet celebrities.
Most importantly, these two people are extremely similar to him and Mo Ningzhi in both build and height.
Having been busy all day, Mo Ningzhi had no intention of small talk and went straight to the point: "President Li has already told you about this, right? What are your thoughts on it?"
The two men looked at each other, and the shorter boy said, "We've thought it through, we can work together."
Mo Ningzhi said in a deep voice, "You two need to think this through. Once you claim the photos, you two will be solely responsible for any consequences that may arise."
The tall guy smiled and said, "We're already internet celebrities, our relationship is public, it's just a few photos. We have plenty of those on our pages, it won't affect us."
The short man smiled shyly: "These photos aren't as explicit as the ones we took. Besides, the cooperation fee you gave us is so high, enough for the two of us to live on for a lifetime. Even if there are any risks, we should bear them."
The tall man took out a few sheets of paper from his bag. “Coincidentally, I had a physical examination at that hospital twenty days ago, and I brought my medical records with me. You don’t even need to prepare any evidence, but the timing just doesn’t quite match up. You… should be able to resolve this, right?”
This was an unexpected bonus. Mo Ningzhi took it and looked at it. "Okay, if there are no problems, let's sign the contract. The penalty for breach of contract is five times the amount. Please confirm."
Without hesitation, the two confirmed the contents of the agreement and signed it without further ado.
Mo Ningzhi put away the contract and called Zhan Linzhou. Half an hour later, he rushed over, glanced at the contract, and glared at Qin Weijin: "So much? Do we have that much money in our accounts?"
Qin glanced at the string of numbers and secretly memorized them.
Mo Ningzhi walked over at this moment, "Manager Zhan, they're about to post on Weibo, could you help me take a look at the text?"
Once the topic turned to business, Zhan Linzhou forgot everything else and turned to leave. Qin Weijin waited for Mo Ningzhi to approach, looked down at him for a long time, and said, "Is it resolved?"
Mo Ningzhi nodded and breathed a sigh of relief: "Just leave the rest to the professional public relations team. If nothing unexpected happens, this matter will be over soon."
There weren't many people around at the moment. Qin Weijin reached out and hooked Mo Ningzhi's finger, "Shall we go home?"
Mo Ningzhi nodded.
The two left the teahouse quietly. On their way back, Mo Ningzhi saw a fruit shop by the roadside, stopped the car, and bought two bags of fruit.
Qin Weijin started the car afresh, the carriage filled with a rich, mixed fruity aroma. The scent was so complex that he asked softly, "What did you buy?"
Mo Ningzhi said without much emotion, "You'll know when we get home."
Qin Weijin's eyebrows twitched. He felt that Mo Ningzhi's reaction was a bit too calm. He didn't seem to want to settle scores later. His calmness was a bit unlike him.
But the person who made the mistake had no right to ask questions, so Qin Weijin suppressed his curiosity and went home.
As soon as he entered the house, Mo Ningzhi ran into the kitchen without saying a word. After ten minutes of running water, he came out with a fruit platter, holding cherries and strawberries, and slowly stuffed them into his mouth.
Qin Weijin glanced at the fruit plate and saw that it was full of fruits he was allergic to, and immediately felt a headache coming on.
Who said there wouldn't be retribution later? Here it comes.
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