Zhan Xiaojun exited the WeChat interface directly after listening to the voice message.
She made a few operations on her phone.
Searching for the individuals who had appeared in the video earlier.
Hmm.
Found them.
After Assistant Liu finished speaking, he waited for Zhan Xiaojun's reply. He had been waiting since he finished speaking.
After about half an hour, there was still no reply from Zhan Xiaojun.
Could she have rushed to the group immediately?
That was likely.
He knocked on the door and walked in, saying to Ning Yecheng, "President Ning, Miss Zhan is on her way. She must be in a hurry."
Ning Yecheng paused his hand as he was signing, then hummed in response.
An hour later.
Assistant Liu raised his wrist and checked the time. It had been an hour, and she still hadn't arrived?
Could she be running here?
He'd wait a bit longer.
Another hour passed.
Assistant Liu checked his phone; there was no reply from Zhan Xiaojun.
Two hours and still no arrival?
Even if she were running, she should have arrived by now.
Why did he feel like Zhan Xiaojun wasn't in a hurry?
Ning Yecheng walked out of his office and looked at Assistant Liu. "Where is she?"
Assistant Liu, not having had time to hide the confusion on his face, could only shake his head. "She's not here yet. Perhaps traffic? Or she's been held up by something? Or maybe she's planning to discuss this when she comes to give you acupuncture tonight?"
He was racking his brain to think of all possible reasons.
Ning Yecheng let out a light scoff. "Discuss it tonight?"
"Most likely. She can't resolve this kind of matter herself. But there's another possibility: she found someone else to handle it," Assistant Liu suddenly thought of another option.
How could he forget that Zhan Xiaojun had someone behind her? He still hadn't figured out who that person was. He knew for sure it was related to President Ning's family, but he couldn't pinpoint who. If she wasn't coming to beg President Ning now, she must be going to that person?
Ning Yecheng's expression turned deep and cold.
Assistant Liu immediately fell silent, daring not to say another word.
...
At the same time.
The reporters, having each received a sum of money, arranged to meet at a hot pot restaurant.
A well-known chain brand in Yancheng.
Several reporters gathered together to celebrate.
They hadn't expected that the person who had just assigned them tasks would add another hundred thousand to each of them.
It was just a small favor.
"We must get this story on the front page first thing tomorrow morning. They're quite generous!"
"That mother and daughter were too unlucky. Who else could they have provoked but someone powerful? Look at them, they've been completely wiped out."
"They were too bold. They couldn't stay in Yancheng, but they could have stayed elsewhere."
"Exactly, exactly. Let's not talk about that. Let's enjoy ourselves! Come, come, let's drink!"
Glass after glass of alcohol went down.
The group was in high spirits.
A simple little job could make them so rich, how could they not be happy?
How could they not want to celebrate?
Before they knew it, they were all drunk.
Their faces were flushed red.
After eating and drinking their fill, they loudly declared they wanted to go to karaoke.
Conveniently, there was the most luxurious KTV in Yancheng on this street.
As they walked along the road, their steps were unsteady.
Just as they were approaching the KTV, someone suddenly dragged them into a narrow alleyway.
The other three couldn't react in time and were each pulled in.
Simultaneously, they felt a prick on their backs, followed by a loss of strength.
They slumped to the ground, weak.
Behind them were the constantly rotating air-conditioning fans.
The four of them sobered up instantly.
They looked up at the person who had dragged them into the alley.
Upon seeing her, their eyes widened.
The girl before them had waist-length, lustrous black hair that flowed with the wind. She wore a black slip dress that perfectly accentuated her curves.
She had the kind of figure that would stir a man's desires!
Coupled with a face that was both pure and alluring, she was even more captivating than the most beautiful young starlet this year.
Furthermore, as she looked down at them, she seemed to be gazing at ants that she could crush at will, exuding a lazy indifference and an awe-inspiring presence that commanded the world.
Such complexity and multifacetedness appeared on her all at once, stunning the four men into silence.
"For tomorrow's front page, I want you to change the story."
The girl spoke softly.
"What did you say?" one of them asked in disbelief.
The girl smiled, her smile as warm and dazzling as the midday sun. "You interviewed Lin Ya, pieced together an edited story with fabricated plotlines. Now, I'll help you change it, how about that?"
"Who are you?!" another person snapped back to his senses and demanded.
Although the girl before them was beautiful, how did she know about their front-page story tomorrow and Lin Ya?
And how did she know they had edited it?
The four of them thought their current weakness was due to drinking too much.
After regaining their senses, they tried to stand up.
But it felt as if their lower bodies were numb.
"Don't bother trying. You won't be able to stand up for at least until tomorrow morning. Do you know what Lin Ya's relationship is to me?" Zhan Xiaojun glanced down at the time on her phone and asked casually.
"You..."
"Lin Ya is my mother. So, shall we have a good talk?"
Zhan Xiaojun smiled charmingly.
She quickly searched their pockets and took out their phones.
Swiftly, she manipulated each of them.
After that, Zhan Xiaojun's WeChat received friend requests from them. After accepting, she sent them photo after photo, along with some of their conversation records.
When they realized what was happening and tried to stop her, they found they didn't even have the strength to move their hands.
They were filled with horror.
"What did you do to us?!"
They couldn't help but feel that the girl before them was not human.
Was she a siren who could kill with a mere flick of her finger?
Otherwise, how could they be unable to move right now?
"Help! Help!"
One of them shouted at the top of his lungs.
But his voice was as faint as a mosquito's, and no one paid any attention.
Compared to the brightly lit street, the darkness of the alley was always overlooked.
They sat on the ground, looking like drunkards.
Zhan Xiaojun grew impatient and showed them the photos on her phone – these were real evidence. "Now, can you think about how tomorrow's front-page story should be written?"
...
Precisely at eight o'clock.
Zhan Xiaojun appeared at Yuwan Villa.
The moment she entered, Zhan Xiaojun sensed that something was not quite right.
It turned out that Ning Yecheng was standing right in front of her.
He wore a tailor-made suit and looked as if he had just returned from work.
However, his expression was clearly cold and angry, making him seem distant and intimidating.
To Zhan Xiaojun, there was no intimidation.
"Very punctual," Ning Yecheng said in a deep voice.
Even he hadn't noticed the shift in his own emotions when he returned to the villa an hour ago and she wasn't there.