Chapter 65 Master Chu, would you be interested in coming to my...?
The reporters pushed and shoved forward, and if Chu Ci hadn't been holding tightly to the door, they would have almost squeezed into the house.
She couldn't help but frown.
As a result, a photographer almost shoved the camera in her face to get a clear shot of her impatient expression.
She glared at him unhappily, only to meet the photographer's gloating gaze.
The photographer looked at her, chuckled, and tried to move the camera even closer.
"Miss Chu, you're going to be on the front page, so smile."
Chu Ci stared at the nameplate on his chest that read "Wang Chuang," pursed her lips, and ground her teeth together.
But the moment she looked into his eyes, a familiar throbbing pain shot through her head, and countless images uncontrollably flooded her mind.
She fell straight down, and the reporters and photographers were only stunned for a moment.
Then came an even more frantic filming session; she even felt someone pressing down hard on her injured shoulder.
He then asked her very quickly, "Ms. Chu, I heard that your shoulder was also injured while helping the police solve a case, is that right?"
A sharp pain shot through my shoulder, and the flash of the camera turned a dizzying white.
Within those white halos, Chu Ci once again saw various restricted images that were rated 18 or higher.
She slowly opened her eyes, still meeting the gloating gaze of the photographer named "Wang Chuang".
He chuckled, "Miss Chu, pretending to faint won't work."
He brought the camera closer, but then his vision blurred.
By the time he realized what was happening, he had already been pinned to the ground.
The camera in his hand fell to the ground with a crisp "thud".
The expensive lens suddenly developed a crack.
Wang Chuang's eyes widened, and he struggled angrily, shouting, "My camera!"
But with his arms twisted behind his back, he couldn't exert any strength, and the pain from struggling was what he suffered.
"You old hag, what do you want to do!"
He couldn't break free and felt he had lost face among his peers.
He was especially furious when he saw a reporter from a rival publishing house taking pictures of his disheveled state from every angle.
He struggled desperately, yelling, "You old hag, let me go! Do you believe I'll report you to the police station?"
"Let me tell you, even if you have an improper relationship with those police officers, I'm not afraid of you."
"By the way, the camera lens on my camera is imported from abroad, it cost tens of thousands of yuan."
"You'd better pay up right now, or I'll sue you and bankrupt you!"
"Let the whole of Hong Kong know you're a fraud!"
Chu Ci pressed him down and picked up the camera from the ground with her aching, injured hand to take a look.
The camera was broken, but the film inside was fine.
She glanced at photographer Wang Chuang, whose face was pressed to the ground, still shouting incessantly, and sneered:
"Sue me? I'll sue you instead."
"All you do is take that broken camera and keep filming. Do your mistresses even know that your sex life is being filmed?"
"You shameless bastard, you even committed crimes and slept together. The evidence in the camera is enough to expose your past!"
Her few words left the reporters and photographers who were filming her stunned.
After realizing what was happening, they quickly pointed the camera at Wang Chuang, who was lying on the ground.
This footage needs to be filmed carefully.
If true, that would be top-notch material for attacking the opposing team.
If it's fake, then this medium is a habitual liar.
From any perspective, they are the ones who profit!
Wang Chuang, who was pinned to the ground, also got to experience being blinded by the flash of the camera.
His eyes were filled with panic, and he struggled even harder.
"You old hag, what nonsense are you spouting! I'm going to sue you for defamation!"
A reporter from the same publishing house as the photographer chimed in, "Ms. Chu, this is defamation."
Her voice was cool and calm, making her words seem more genuine.
"Do you treat everyone who is hostile to you this way?"
When Chu Ci looked over, the first thing she noticed was the name tag on her chest.
Liu Shuming, that's a nice name.
Her gaze moved upwards and landed on Liu Shuming's face.
She was a good-looking woman, her hair neatly combed back, revealing her fair complexion and perfectly proportioned features.
His fair face was filled with righteous indignation.
But Chu Ci immediately recognized that this was the person who had pressed hard on her injured shoulder while she was briefly unconscious!
Liu Shuming raised her chin, looked at her with a determined expression, and shoved the microphone aggressively towards her mouth.
But Chu Ci snatched the microphone from her astonished eyes, and her voice clearly reached the ears of every reporter and photographer.
"You and he just got out of the same bed, how can you be so righteous and question me like this?"
"He likes to secretly film everyone sleeping with him. Don't you suspect he filmed you too?"
Liu Shuming's raised chin froze, and her face turned deathly pale.
"What...what nonsense are you spouting!"
She looked flustered, but knew she couldn't let anyone see it, so she forced herself to remain calm.
"My relationship with him is completely innocent, what am I afraid of?"
She even turned the tables, saying, "Miss Chu, let me remind you, you must abide by the law in Hong Kong!"
"Everything you're saying right now has been filmed by us reporters. It will all be used as evidence in court. Do you know how many years you'll be sentenced to?"
Chu Ci remained unmoved. "Even if I go to jail, you, the heartless reporter who embezzled public funds and took money to report fake news, will have to come with me!"
Female reporter: "..."
Upon hearing Chu Ci accuse her of "embezzling public funds," the female reporter panicked.
"You're talking nonsense!"
"Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, everyone can see what's in this camera and they'll know."
She held up her camera. "Guess if he filmed you two last night?"
The female reporter blushed and reached out to snatch the camera from Chu Ci's hand, but Chu Ci easily dodged it.
Chu Ci: "Wait, your video isn't in this camera."
The female reporter was stunned, her eyes widening. "Are you kidding me?!"
But her reaction was so strong just now; anyone with eyes could see that she was feeling guilty.
We're all in the same circle, all competitors, and they immediately started kicking each other when we were down.
"Wow, I never expected that someone would dare to embezzle public funds!"
"Seeing how indifferent she always was to her photographer, I thought she really disliked him, but... haha."
"I told you she had an affair with her ex-boss, which made his wife so angry that she miscarried and almost died from severe bleeding. You didn't believe me!" a reporter shouted to his photographer.
The photographer turned his head, looking bewildered: "When did you tell me that?"
The reporter ignored him and continued, "You said back then that she didn't seem like that kind of person, now you know what it means to judge a book by its cover, right?"
"No?" The photographer was even more confused. "You didn't tell me that..."
Whether or not it was said is no longer important; what matters is that everyone present knows that this reporter almost angered the former boss's wife to death.
"I knew it! She was almost editor-in-chief at her previous publishing house, so why did she suddenly leave? Now I know why!"
"But the most important thing is embezzlement. If someone in her position wants to embezzle public funds, she must have someone helping her behind the scenes, right?"
Everyone focused their cameras on the female reporter, and some even changed how they addressed Chu Ci:
"Master, is there anything else you want to reveal? I'll take a better picture of you."
Chu Ci scoffed at the man's fawning attitude.
Seeing Chu Ci looking over, the person who said this seemed to realize something and quickly lowered their head to minimize their presence.
Who can be completely clean? He can't stand being exposed.
Liu Shuming bit her lip hard, looking at the cameraman Wang Chuang who was struggling on the ground, and she was filled with regret.
She snatched the opportunity to be interviewed today.
I thought I had seized a great opportunity, but I found out it was a bombshell once I got my hands on it.
It's also a huge bomb that could blow her bright future to rubble!
She met Chu Ci's cold eyes and was startled by her indifferent gaze; her face showed a mixture of fear and apprehension.
"you……"
Her lips trembled, and her hands and feet were ice-cold.
Even though her colleagues had just mocked Chu Ci for "faking fainting being useless," she had no other choice.
She rolled her eyes, her body went limp, and she gracefully collapsed to the ground.
Even as she fell, she didn't forget to control her direction and angle, ensuring that she didn't expose herself while still showing the best angle to the camera.
But her colleagues were all geniuses, always choosing unflattering angles to take pictures.
She felt her colleagues snapping photos of her from the worst angles, one after another. She almost broke her fingernails, but she didn't dare to stand up.
"Miss Liu!"
A familiar voice, tinged with laughter, approached her.
Liu Shuming recognized the voice as that of a female colleague she used to work for.
The two used to be rivals when they worked at the same publishing house, and now that they're not at the same publishing house, they're still rivals.
She could feel the person crouch down, and the flashbulbs kept going off. Even with her eyes closed, she could still see large patches of white light.
"Miss Liu?"
The man called her name again, and Liu Shuming kept her eyes tightly shut, not daring to even move her eyeballs.
Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted up by her armpits.
"Miss Liu, this hallway is so dirty! Quick, quick, stand up!"
The man dragged her, forcibly pulling her from one end of the stairwell to the other.
She opened the window, and a gust of cold wind blew in, making her shiver.
Seeing that she was forcing herself not to open her eyes, her former rival seemed to snort coldly, and then feigned surprise.
"Ms. Liu is feeling very unwell, but don't worry, as your former colleague, I will definitely help you!"
Liu Shuming felt a jolt of fear. Before she could figure out how her former colleague would "help" her, she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her face.
She could no longer bear it and screamed as she opened her eyes.
She pushed her former colleague's hand away, covered her mouth, and stared wide-eyed.
"What are you doing?!"
Liu Shuming: "..."
Her mouth was slightly open, and her eyes suddenly reddened.
The camera flash went off again, and her former colleague took a picture of her disheveled state, then smiled with a crinkle in her eyes.
"Now that Miss Liu is awake, would you be able to answer a few questions for us?"
She shoved the microphone close to Liu Shuming's face. "I heard that you, Ms. Liu, have an improper relationship with your colleague, is that true?"
"I just heard that you broke up your former boss's marriage and made his wife so angry that she had a severe hemorrhage and almost died, is that right?"
"Ms. Liu, could you explain what this embezzlement of public funds entails?"
"Ms. Liu, do you think that making someone so angry that they hemorrhage and almost die is murder? Are you trying to take advantage of this to climb the social ladder?"
...
The arch-rival bombarded him with questions like a machine gun, and the more he asked, the deeper his smile became.
Liu Shuming stared at her mortal enemy with bloodshot eyes, her fingernails digging deeply into her palms.
Meeting her angry gaze, the rival's smile grew even brighter.
"Miss Liu, please don't faint again, or you'll suffer all over again."
With her escape route cut off, Liu Shuming almost cried from anger.
She was bombarded with microphones from countless reporters, some of whom even asked about her publishing house.
"Ms. Liu, was your boss aware of your embezzlement of public funds?"
"As far as I know, your publishing house is a foreign-invested enterprise. How do you plan to handle this matter?"
"Ms. Liu, given your position, you shouldn't be able to access public funds, right? May I ask what your relationship is with the publishing house's finance department?"
...
As they relentlessly pursued the issue of "embezzlement of public funds," Liu Shuming felt dizzy and her vision blurred.
Through countless microphones and reporters, she saw Chu Ci at the other end of the corridor.
With her hair all messy, she pressed Wang Chuang tightly to the ground, and dialed a phone with her injured hand.
Liu Shuming's pupils contracted, and he stood up to run, but was blocked by his mortal enemy.
The arch-rival smiled broadly, "Ms. Liu, you haven't answered our questions yet. Please answer them before you leave."
The farce finally came to an end with the arrival of the police.
After the reporters were driven away by the police, Chu Ci couldn't sleep anymore, so she changed her clothes and went downstairs to buy breakfast.
Surprisingly, many reporters were also having breakfast downstairs.
Chu Ci saw the reporters, and the reporters saw them too.
Without exception, none of them dared to run over with a microphone and camera.
His gaze lingered on Chu Ci for only a moment before quickly darting away, as if startled.
Only Liu Shuming's arch-nemesis saw her and waved to her happily:
"Master Chu, over here!"
Her colleagues at the same table looked at her with horror as she greeted Chu Ci, and they all lowered their heads.
Chu Ci glanced at her but didn't go over.
After buying the breakfast that he and his grandmother usually liked, the person smiled and came closer while he was waiting.
"Master Chu, do you like the breakfast at this branch?"
She ignored Chu Ci's coldness and ordered the same breakfast.
Turning her head, she saw Chu Ci frowning at her, so she chuckled and took out a business card.
"Hello Master Chu, my name is Rong Qin. Rong means face and Qin means diligence."
Chu Ci looked at the business card she was offered but did not take it.
She now has absolutely no good impression of this group of entertainment reporters.
Just then, she finished making breakfast and was about to leave with it when Rong Qin caught up with her.
"Master Chu! Master Chu!"
Rong Qin blocked her way with a bright smile.
"Master, please don't leave yet!"
She handed the business card forward again.
"Our publishing house specializes in entertainment publications. While we may not be number one in circulation in Hong Kong, we're definitely in the top three."
“I apologize to the master for what happened this morning. But after this incident, I also feel that the master is truly capable.”
"With your abilities, why live in such a small place?"
Only then did she reveal her true purpose.
"If the master is willing to join our publishing house, I guarantee I can help you get the highest salary."
"Let's start a column together that specializes in celebrity gossip, and we're sure to make a fortune."
She clenched her fist tightly, her eyes gleaming with ambition.
"If our program can be successful, I can help you get a share of the profits."
"Master Chu, this is a great opportunity. I hope you will think it over carefully!"
She remained in the same position as when she handed Chu Ci her business card, her eyes sparkling.
But Chu Ci only glanced at her and said, "It's a good thing for a woman to be ambitious and have goals, but I don't like people who sacrifice others for their own ambitions."
Rong Qin: "..."
Her smile froze on her face.
But she quickly lowered her head to compose herself, and when she looked up again, she had regained her bright smile.
“I know what Master Chu is talking about. I didn’t expect you to be able to see through something like this.”
She explained simply: "I don't have a good relationship with my mother. She favors my brother. When she's sick and needs money or care, she only calls me because she's afraid of delaying her precious son."
“I have a job and a career, but in her eyes, my job is not as important as her son going to prostitutes.”
She spread her hands, "Anyway, her son doesn't care about her, and I don't want to care about her either, so when she has an attack and asks me for help, I just pretend I don't see it."
“But it’s good for me and her son.” Her smile was open and bright.
"With her out of my life as a burden, my career is booming. Her son got her house and spends all his time at various casinos. He's incredibly happy."
“So,” she looked at Chu Ci and grinned, “I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing her at all.”
"On the contrary, she should thank me. If she knew how happy her son is now, she would only regret that she didn't die sooner."
Chu Ci: "..."
Looking at Rong Qin's smile, she felt a chill run down her spine.
"I can't understand your thinking, so we're not suitable to work together."
Chu Ci was about to leave with her breakfast when Rong Qin blocked her way again, this time forcefully shoving his business card into her hand.
“It’s okay if we’re not compatible as colleagues. I can help you find an assistant with a similar temperament to handle communication with me.”
After she finished speaking, her breakfast was ready.
Rong Qin walked briskly to get her breakfast, waving to Chu Ci with a bright smile:
"Master Chu, please consider it!"
Chu Ci glanced at the business card in his hand and went straight upstairs.
I received two orders in the morning, and around noon, Ji Jingtong and Shen Xiuhe arrived.
The two people, their hands full of things, hesitated in the hallway, unsure of what to do.
Instead, it was the old lady who had just come out of He Lihua's house who saw the two of them.
Grandma exclaimed in surprise, "Inspector Ji, Inspector Shen? What brings you two here?"
She happily welcomed the two into her home, saying, "Ahua and I were just talking about you two, saying your interviews were really cool!"
Ji Jingtong gave a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth, while Shen Xiuhe smiled and narrowed his eyes.
"Grandma, you watched our interview too?"
"Yes, your interview has gone viral; several TV stations are still broadcasting it!"
Grandma smiled and praised them, "Hmm, the reporter said you two are... the crime-solving duo!"
Ji Jingtong lowered his head, feeling a little embarrassed by the way he was addressed.
Shen Xiuhe smiled and shifted the praise to Chu Ci, "Thanks to Master Chu, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to catch that criminal!"
When Chu Ci was mentioned, Grandma realized what he meant.
"You're here to see Aci, right?"
She stood up. "Wait a minute, Ah Ci was busy all night last night, and this morning reporters were blocking the door."
"Two customers came in this morning, and she finally managed to see them off. She's catching up on sleep in her bedroom now."
Chu Ci was woken up almost as soon as she fell asleep. When she saw the two people on the sofa, she rubbed her eyes groggily.
"Why are you here?"
Ji Jingtong and Shen Xiuhe exchanged a glance, nudging each other, each wanting the other to speak first.
Chu Ci looked at the two of them and curled her lips, "You brought so much stuff here because of the reporters this morning?"
Ji Jingtong looked up, his eyes filled with apology, "I'm sorry, Miss Chu, we thought we had stopped them. We didn't expect..."
Chu Ci waved her hand, "It's alright, I knew this day would come, not because of you, but because of someone else."
She took a sip of water and sat down opposite the two men.
"Since you know about the reporters blocking the entrance this morning, you should also know that the police took away a reporter and a photographer, right?"
Ji Jingtong nodded, "I know. Miss Chu, you reminded the police who took them away, and our colleagues at the police station have already followed the clues you provided to investigate."
"They did find something in the photographer's camera, and they are currently applying for a search warrant to search his house. But..."
He paused for a moment, his expression somewhat troubled.
"But the matter of that female reporter still needs to be investigated more thoroughly."
The female reporter's main problem is her moral character, but moral issues are not illegal.
The facts of her accepting bribes and embezzling public funds cannot be investigated and clarified in just one or two days.
Chu Ci had also thought of this situation, but she mainly wanted to talk about the male photographer's problem.
“Have your colleagues search his home thoroughly. I suspect that besides his penchant for taking photos without his consent, he also has a criminal record for kidnapping.”
Ji Jingtong and Shen Xiuhe stared wide-eyed.
"Master Chu, are you sure?"
Chu Ci pursed her lips. "I'm not entirely sure, which is why your colleagues need to investigate thoroughly."
But if it is confirmed that this did happen, then the case will probably be transferred to the Major Crimes Unit again.
The three of them discussed it for a while, and Ji Jingtong and Shen Xiuhe were about to leave when they bumped into a woman wearing sunglasses and a mask.
The woman was wrapped up very tightly, but the little girl in her arms was not wearing anything to keep cool.
Upon seeing the familiar little girl, Shen Xiuhe's eyes widened: "Kang Kang?"
Kang Kang nestled in her mother's arms and turned her head when she heard someone calling her.
She recognized Shen Xiuhe and smiled, revealing a set of tiny teeth.
"You're the uncle from that day!"
Shen Xiuhe looked at the woman holding her and tentatively asked, "Miss Yuan?"
Yuan Yuling felt relieved when she saw him.
He took off his sunglasses and mask and breathed a sigh of relief. "Seeing you, Officer Chen, means I didn't come to the wrong place."
Holding her daughter in one arm, she pointed to the house with the other, "Inspector Shen, does Master Chu live here?"
"yes."
Shen Xiuhe nodded, looked at Kang Kang in her arms, and asked in confusion.
"Miss Yuan, you brought Kang Kang here because..."
Yuan Yuling pursed her lips and tightened her arms around her daughter.
"I need to speak with the master about something."
Seeing that she was not comfortable talking about it, Shen Xiuhe didn't ask any more questions and quickly left with Ji Jingtong.
Chu Ci heard the voices and went to the door. She was a little surprised to see Yuan Yuling holding her daughter.
"you……"
Upon seeing her, Yuan Yuling's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"Master, I went to find someone to check my third eye, but it didn't work."
She was crying with tears streaming down her face and was about to explain when Kang Kang, who was in her arms, couldn't wait to get down from her.
"Mommy, put Kang Kang down!"
She twisted her small body and struggled.
"There are no scary things here, Mommy can rest now, Kang Kang doesn't need to be carried~"
Yuan Yuling stared in astonishment, "Kang Kang?"
She put her daughter down and watched her daughter jumping around on the ground, and her eyes welled up with tears again.
She took the tissue her grandmother handed her, laughing through her tears, "I'm sorry, I haven't seen Kang Kang so lively in a long time..."
Grandma also recognized her as a big star.
It's unbelievable that the female celebrity who was once a household name has become so haggard.
She whispered words of comfort to Yuan Yuling, while Chu Ci kept watching Kang Kang's hopping and skipping figure.
After a while, she suddenly asked Yuan Yuling, "Why are you alone? The child had an accident, where is her father?"
Yuan Yuling stiffened for a moment, then quickly relaxed.
"Her father is busy with work and is away on a business trip."
"On business trip?"
Chu Ci chewed over those two words repeatedly, then let out a cold laugh.
Seeing Chu Ci's expression, Yuan Yuling's heart skipped a beat.
Suppressing her unease, she explained, "Master, my husband really is away on a business trip..."
Seeing that she still wanted to cover for her husband, Chu Ci stood up and waved her hand: "The one who tied the knot must untie it. This matter was caused by your husband."
“If your husband refuses to come forward, there’s nothing I can do to save Kang Kang.”
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