Upon hearing the first sentence, Fu Siming strode out of the office. Pei Jing, seeing his hurried pace, quickly followed.
After getting into the car, Pei Jing had already read through the trending topics and reported to Fu Siming in the back seat. Through the rearview mirror, he saw that Fu Siming's face was getting darker and darker.
An eerie chill permeated the car. From the other end of Qiao Yiming's phone call, one could clearly hear the chaotic shouts and insults from the crowd.
Old Xu silently increased the car's speed.
Qiao Yiming's phone fell to the ground during the shoving, making a loud thud that reached Fu Siming's ears and made his heart skip a beat.
"Old Xu, drive faster." After saying that, he turned to Pei Jing's direction and said, "When we get to the exhibition hall, I want to know who deliberately pushed this thing to the top of the trending searches."
The buildings outside the car window rushed past, and his heart, like the car's speed, hung suspended in mid-air.
After squeezing in, Qiao Yiming grabbed the inkstone on the table and smashed it on the ground.
Ink was spilled all over the ground, and the riotous crowd finally quieted down.
"What's all the noise about! Speak your mind, one sentence at a time, you can't even hear me." She shouted this, looking at Song Xingyao, whose face was as cold as ice.
She had already read the entry on her phone. She hadn't expected Song Ping to be so shameless. At most, he would ask her for money before, but this time he had made such a big fuss. It seemed that he was trying every means to ruin her.
But then I thought, how could someone as short-sighted and cowardly as him possibly think of such a desperate, mutually destructive approach?
Thinking of this, she looked up at the crowd in front of her and said, "Whatever your needs are, please feel free to tell me."
But they're all just joining in the fun; how could they possibly actually show their faces? Everyone's just taking advantage of this lively atmosphere to vent emotions they shouldn't be venting, and nobody cares what the truth is.
Like keyboard warriors on the internet, they strike hard online but are timid and submissive in real life.
After a long silence, a question came from the crowd: "Mrs. Fu, what do you have to say about the ungrateful and heartless people being called on the internet?"
Judging from the voice, it's a reporter. There are all sorts of people here today, including many who are here for news photography and publicity. I might as well take this opportunity to dig up some gossip.
"Do we really need to explain away every single one of these baseless accusations?"
Reporter: "So you mean that you never abandoned your family or severed ties with them after marrying into the Fu family?"
His words were full of polite language, but there was no kindness in them at all; he had dug a trap for her to fall into.
When Qiao Yiming heard this question, he also felt it was inappropriate and tried to pull Song Xingyao away, not wanting her to respond, but Song Xingyao blocked him.
"Reporter, if I say yes, does that prove I'm an ingrate? If you don't know the facts, I suggest you eat more, but don't say too much. You're a journalist, and the first thing to judge is the truth, isn't it?"
Her calm and composed tone left the reporter speechless for a moment.
Seeing this, an old man in the crowd cursed loudly: "What's the truth? Even if your parents made a mistake, you can't treat them like this out of consideration for their upbringing."
Song Xingyao remained silent, her gaze growing cold, showing no intention of responding to his impassioned tone.
As a result, the man kept nagging and complaining, venting his frustrations in public, and then threw a rolled-up roll of magazines at him.
Qiao Yiming reacted quickly and pulled her away. Just then, the door was pushed open.
Everyone turned around and saw a cold-faced man, like a demon, with eyes like a stagnant pool, unfathomable, carrying a storm and chill.
As he approached, people took two steps to the sides, making way for him.
Some sharp-eyed people recognized him as Song Xingyao's husband, Fu Siming.
Mr. Wu then came in and stood in the middle. “Everyone, today’s exhibition has ended early. Please leave. If you need a refund, please contact the ticketing platform.”
There was a crack in his voice, revealing weariness and a sense of vicissitude.
Fu Siming walked over to Song Xingyao's side, and seeing that she was alright, he noticed the ink and fallen books scattered on the floor of the cubicle. He then glanced at the old man from earlier.
After being swept by his deep gaze, no one dared to speak again and slunk away. Before leaving, the old man glared at her resentfully. After taking only a few steps, he was grabbed and carried aside.
The scene was filmed and uploaded online, and related hashtags were subsequently added.
[#CharityPersonalityGimmick]
[#Refund]
Even the complaint hotline of the cooperating civil affairs department was overwhelmed with calls. Everyone was a bit dizzy from this public opinion trend, so they called Bai Xiujin to discuss countermeasures.
There were also unscrupulous marketing accounts that maliciously edited Song Xingyao's answer, turning it into: "What if I said yes?"
Her gentle tone conveyed a sense of disdain, and in an instant, tens of thousands of insults flooded the comments section.
Even though those present at the scene clarified that it was maliciously edited, they were still bombarded with insults and forced to delete their posts.
Compared to the online buzz, the exhibition venue itself seemed much quieter.
When the old man saw that he was being held up by two tall bodyguards and unable to move, he panicked a little. Taking advantage of his old age, he shouted and yelled and lay on the ground, acting like a rogue.
Song Xingyao was frightened by the murderous aura between his brows and tugged at his hand.
He ignored the old man and pulled Song Xingyao to his office. Qiao Yiming felt a chill run down his spine from Fu Siming's ruthless expression.
Tsk, I didn't know this man could be so terrifying when he gets angry...
When I met Fu Siming before, people only said he was cold-faced. They had never seen him so angry, let alone today. His expression looked like he wanted to eat someone alive.
In the office, none of the three spoke. Qiao Yiming's eyes darted back and forth between the two men, while Pei Jing stood to the side like a statue, waiting for his instructions.
Mr. Wu pushed open the door and broke the silence first, saying, "The people from the civil affairs department just had a meeting. The public opinion is getting out of hand, so the rest of the exhibition has been temporarily canceled."
Unexpectedly, Song Xingyao looked up with an apologetic expression. "Mr. Wu, I'm sorry. This whole thing happened because of my personal matters."
"Little Song, don't overthink it. Some people are doing this intentionally, and you can't guard against it all. The auction has also been postponed. You and Qiao have worked hard these past few days, so go back and get some rest."
Even after everyone had left, Fu Siming remained silent. The two in the car were each lost in their own thoughts and did not speak a word the entire way.
Fu Yao sat on the balcony, her phone displaying trending search terms. As she watched the obscene words push Song Xingyao's name higher and higher, a sinister smile crept across her face.
The slender cigarette she held between her fingers was casually tossed downstairs, drifting to someone's balcony where it eventually burned out in the wind.
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