Chapter 74 One act ends, another begins; the capable take on the task of cleaning up the mess. ...
She casually stuck the listening device on while cooperating with Liu Xiaoning's welcoming performance.
She had originally thought that if Liu Xiaoning hadn't had any ulterior motives today, she wouldn't have bothered with anything else. Unfortunately, Liu Xiaoning was uncooperative; knowing Xiao Tang was there, she tried to find ways to cause trouble, so it would be unreasonable for her to tolerate it any longer.
Zhu Qingzhi casually fiddled with Wen Qi's cufflinks, calmly waiting to see how Liu Xiaoning would mess up this self-directed and self-acted drama.
Lu Yao didn't bother getting his hands dirty, so he simply raised his chin, and the hotel manager behind him stepped forward and took the bugging device from Liu Xiaoning's hand.
Liu Xiaoning, who was initially stunned, suddenly snapped back to her senses after having her things snatched away. Pointing at Zhu Qingzhi's nose, she immediately began to curse, "You little..."
At this moment, Lu Yao didn't care about being a germaphobe or not, and directly pulled her back.
Liu Xiaoning's curse words stuck in her throat, but Zhu Qingzhi seemed startled by the sudden accusation. She shrank into Wen Qi's arms as if frightened, but when she looked up, there was no fear in her eyes. Instead, a brighter and more infuriating smile appeared in her eyes, and she continued to speak.
"Sister Xiaoning, be careful! It's being broadcast live, everyone can hear it." She was still grinning, but her voice was strained and she changed her form of address in a very manipulative way. "But Sister Xiaoning, you probably don't mind, right?"
Liu Xiaoning was truly shocked by the phrase "live broadcast." She never expected Zhu Qingzhi to be so ruthless.
Her breathing quickened and her chest heaved violently. She looked at Zhu Qingzhi's face, which looked particularly charming yet infuriating in Wen Qi's arms, then at Lu Yao beside her with his cold face and piercing eyes, and at the paparazzi who wished they could shrink into the wall. A chill ran from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
“Live broadcast…” she murmured, then suddenly looked up toward the banquet hall, as if she could see through the walls to the guests who were listening intently. In that instant, all her dignity was shattered.
A wave of intense suffocation washed over her, and she could barely stand. If her conspiracy with Xiao Tang and her instructions to the paparazzi were broadcast... the Liu family couldn't afford the shame, and she couldn't bear the wrath of the Lu and Wen families!
"Zhu Qingzhi!" Liu Xiaoning's voice was so shrill it almost cracked. "You schemed against me!"
"Sister Xiaoning, how could you say that to me?" Zhu Qingzhi blinked, her tone aggrieved, but her eyes were full of cunning. "The bugging device was yours, the room was arranged by you, the paparazzi were called by you, the plan was your idea... I just repackaged what you gave me and returned it to you."
As she spoke, she let out a soft "Oh dear," as if she had just remembered: "Oh right, Xiao Tang is here too, with Young Master Zhao... What should we do if they take pictures of us? Young Master Zhao seems very angry."
Inside the room, Cho Chikun was indeed burning with rage.
Xiao Tang slumped to the ground, her carefully styled curly hair clinging messily to her tear-streaked cheeks. She reached out in vain to grab Zhao Zhixun's sleeve, but he shoved her away forcefully.
"Chih-hoon, let me explain..." Her voice was broken, her eye makeup was smudged, and she looked extremely disheveled.
But Zhao Zhixun ignored him, only pointing at the group of paparazzi and growling, "If anyone dares to publish my photos today, I'll make them regret it!"
Although he was a womanizer, because of what happened two years ago, he hated being schemed against. And now, he had been schemed against twice by the same person! This realization fueled his anger, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.
Zhao Zhixun's sinister gaze swept over Xiao Tang, who was slumped on the ground, and then he glared fiercely at Liu Xiaoning at the door. He had already made a mental note of this debt.
The paparazzi leader, sweating profusely, waved his hands repeatedly: "Mr. Zhao, please calm down! We didn't film anything, we didn't hear anything! The cameras... the cameras were all turned off just now!"
As he spoke, he gestured to his men to hide the equipment behind their backs.
This isn't just a leak, it's like stirring up a hornet's nest!
The paparazzi boss was inwardly groaning. He'd thought he'd stumbled upon a juicy scoop, but instead, he'd fallen into a vortex of family feuds. The Lu family, the Wen family, the Zhao family, the Liu family—which of them could they afford to offend?
Lu Yao lost his patience and waved his hand. The security guards behind him immediately stepped forward and, with a firm but polite attitude, "invited" the paparazzi to leave: "Gentlemen, please come with us to the security room to verify the invitation and information."
The paparazzi, feeling like they'd been granted a pardon, hurriedly followed the security guards, hoping only to leave safely; they didn't dare think about any news at all.
For a moment, only their chaotic footsteps and Xiao Tang's suppressed sobs filled the corridor.
Liu Xiaoning watched the paparazzi being taken away quietly, without a single thought of struggling. Her carefully drawn red lips trembled slightly, and her nails dug deeply into her palms, yet she felt no pain whatsoever.
She knew she was doomed today. Even though she had contacted them anonymously and even changed her voice, the presence of the bug made it all pointless.
Forcing herself to maintain a semblance of dignity, she straightened her back and managed a weak smile at Lu Yao: "Mr. Lu, it was all a misunderstanding today, I..."
“Misunderstanding?” Lu Yao interrupted her impatiently. He didn’t have much patience to begin with, and now he was even more annoyed by her clumsiness and malice. “Miss Liu, Lingmei’s reputation and the fright my sister suffered cannot be dismissed with a simple misunderstanding.”
He stopped looking at Liu Xiaoning and turned to look at Mr. and Mrs. Liu, who were hurrying across the corridor. "The Liu family must give the Lu family an explanation for this matter."
Liu Xiaoning's face turned deathly pale. Looking at her anxious parents who had rushed to her side, she closed her eyes in pain and helplessness.
"President Lu, this is a misunderstanding." Chairman Liu's face was flushed, and his forehead was covered in fine sweat. "Xiao Ning, she definitely..."
As he spoke, he himself couldn't continue. How could this be a misunderstanding? The recording was irrefutable evidence, clearly documenting how Xiao Ning had meticulously plotted against Zhu Qingzhi, using such underhanded methods.
Having just heard what happened in the banquet hall, his first thought was to go and explain to Chairman Lu and his wife, only to learn that they were not late, but absent.
This shows that the Lu family had anticipated tonight's events and didn't even intend to leave any room for negotiation.
The fact that the Lu family could be so ruthless, disregarding the long-standing business relationship between the two families, shows how much they value this daughter. But on second thought, who can they blame? If Xiaoning hadn't had those wicked thoughts first, how could they have ended up in such an embarrassing situation!
He wiped his sweat, looked at Liu Xiaoning who was being protected in her mother's arms, made up his mind, and slapped her across the face.
The crisp sound of the slap was particularly jarring in the quiet corridor. Liu Xiaoning turned her head to the side after being hit, and a clear red mark of five fingers instantly appeared on her face.
She covered her face, looking incredulously at her father who had always doted on her. Tears welled up instantly, a mixture of humiliation, fear, and a hint of resentment.
Mother Liu wanted to hug her daughter tighter, but was stopped by a stern look from Chairman Liu. He quickly said, "President Lu, it's my fault for not disciplining my daughter properly. I will definitely discipline her strictly when I get back!"
Lu Yao watched this scene coldly, his face unmoved, his tone indifferent: "Chairman Liu, disciplining your daughter is your family matter. What I want now is the Liu family's attitude towards tonight's incident, and a compensation plan for the damage to Ling Mei's reputation."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Liu Xiaoning. "As for Miss Liu, I hope I will not see her in any public setting in the future. As for our cooperation, it will be temporarily suspended until you give me a satisfactory answer."
These words are tantamount to expelling Liu Xiaoning from the top social circle and the core circle of interests, and also to using interests to coerce Chairman Liu into giving up on her!
Liu Xiaoning trembled, her face even paler than before. She knew that Lu Yao was about to completely cut off her path in this industry.
"Dad!" Liu Xiaoning couldn't help but scream, unable to accept this outcome.
"Shut up!" Chairman Liu shouted sternly, his eyes filled with unprecedented warning and disappointment.
His forehead was covered in even more sweat, and his expression softened once more. He nodded repeatedly to Lu Yao, "Yes, yes, Mr. Lu is right. We will definitely discipline them strictly and give the Lu family a satisfactory explanation!"
Chairman Liu wanted to say something more conciliatory to smooth things over, but he saw Lu Yao standing in the shadows with his hands in his pockets, his cold profile revealing no room for negotiation. He opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't dare to speak.
Zhu Qingzhi seemed to find the scene rather dull and sighed softly.
Wen Qi lowered his head, gently brushing her cheek with his fingertips, his tone carrying a barely perceptible mix of doting and helplessness: "Having fun?"
Zhu Qingzhi lifted her head from his embrace, her face now devoid of the tea-scented air and feigned innocence from before, replaced only by a hint of languor and contentment after a successful prank.
She wrinkled her nose: "So-so, the opponent was too weak." She glanced at the mess in the room again, "No fun."
Wen Qi put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him: "The air here isn't good, let's go back."
Zhu Qingzhi yawned and nodded.
The two whispered intimately to each other, which did not escape Lu Yao's eyes. He immediately guessed what they were plotting and rubbed his temples helplessly: "Is it interesting to leave me to clean up the mess?"
"The capable should do more, brother," Zhu Qingzhi said with a grin, tilting her head.
Only then did Chairman Liu notice that Wen Qi was also present, and his already icy heart sank even further. Sure enough, as Wen Qi walked by, he casually remarked, "The Wen family is the same."
Not to be outdone, Zhu Qingzhi spoke in a gentle voice, saying something extremely unpleasant: "Oh, right, Uncle Liu, let me remind you again, don't forget about Zhao Shi either."
She turned and gestured towards the end of the corridor with a sweet smile, "The person inside is Mr. Zhao, and Mr. Zhao outside has also arrived."
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Author's note: Kiyoshi [starry-eyed]: Bored.
Wen Qi [helplessly]: I just want to stick it on.
Lu Yao [splitting his head]: So you're going to take advantage of me?
Ah Mei: Rushing to meet a deadline [cracked][cracked][cracked] It's so hot here!
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