The two had gotten back to sitting down on the roof. The cold air greeted them, and Li ZiChen studied how Ailin seed light all over, her feet was kicking and swaying, her lips humming a lody that seed bright and cherry. Nothing about her was off, and he was glad to see that though the episode had been traumatic, she had stepped out from the darkness of her life and was moving on to a better future.
"I thought about what happened," she said to Li ZiChen, "Was it FangMin? She seed sure that she should pin down even though the script said that the two n were supposed to hold down instead."
Li ZiChen quietly looked at her again and finally responded, "She claid that she’s innocent and that she didn’t know. The script given to her was written differently, written by a staff."
"And she believes the staff’s words?"
"It was a miniscule change for her, she didn’t think of asking or doubting it," Li ZiChen said, but then his eyes looked at the sky, "Though she is still under investigation right now and all her scenes would be deleted all at once and reshoot if she was found to be behind the entire incident."
AiLin humd. She recalled how FangMin was indeed emotional, perhaps mad and ashad as Li ZiChen had shooed her off so coldly. It was why her scene that day was even more energetic in ruining her life, sothing she had noted. But she didn’t seem to be aware that she was doing sothing bad, or possibly will cause her traumatic incident to be triggered. In the first place, FangMin wouldn’t know, if she knew, she would have shown it by her attitude.
"Was there the script that she said written different by the staff?" AiLin continued her question. She didn’t think FangMin was anywhere innocent because of her repeated offense but she didn’t want to pinpoint the wrong person either.
"Well," answered Li ZiChen with a frown, "She had it and it was really written by a staff. The said staff was also caught by the cara giving that said script to her hands."
"So she didn’t lie," AiLin considered, "Then it must be those staffs. Xiao MuChen told that there was particularly too many staffs that were eyeing for , looking forward for my downfall. We can easily suspect that it’s them."
"Mhm, I have told YanLan to bring all those staffs, the part tis, and those who works full hours. Three of them were found out to use a wrong identity, soone else’s identity," he explained, "Their face have been caught in the cara though, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for to find them."
AiLin’s smile spread out, "You really work so fast, Zi Chen. I can tell that you have talent in these sort of things! But how was the dia handling all of this? I can tell that their plan wasn’t to frighten but to ruin my image before my career could sail off."
Li ZiChen let out a short breath, his gaze darkening slightly. "The dia?" He repeated with an exhale. It took him an entire day, less than that as he counted on a dot of ten hours until everything he planned was set in motion. Now her na wasn’t dragged by the mud again, though he was still unhappy regardless.
He replied, trying to soften the blow, "They’re already circling like vultures. So are trying to spin this as an unfortunate accident on set, while others are taking a more creative angle, saying that you were extrely intoxicated and drunk, or worse high on drugs."
AiLin tilted her head, amusent flickering in her eyes. "Drugs? That’s a deadly statent."
Li ZiChen’s jaw tightened. "They’re grasping at anything, twisting facts, making it seem like you were difficult to work with even before this. There were many instances but all of them were fake narratives." His fingers tapped against the rooftop absentmindedly. "It’s the usual ga. Sar your na just enough so that even if the truth cos out later, so of the damage sticks."
AiLin humd. She wasn’t surprised. This was how the industry worked. "So, what’s the plan?"
His lips curled slightly, a dangerous smile. "Control the narrative."
Her brows raised. "Oh?"
"Those who accused you and dirtied your na have been sued for defamation. The rest, well, you can look at it once you get better," he pulled up his hands and gently rub her head, caressing her gently down to her chin, "What’s better is for you not to think about what’s happening outside the hospital. Did you see your mother?"
AiLin nodded, "I have been thinking as well. I have always wanted to do my revenge alone but considering your words, you’re right. I might have been too absorbed with revenge and doing it by myself, but in the long run it could bring harm to ." She looked at him, holding his hand, "I want to lean on you, to learn how to lean on. When it gets too difficult for you, I can lift the burden again. If you like that better that is- but if it’s too diffic-"
"I will," Li ZiChen reached out his hand tugging her fingers tighter, "Will you allow to do it with you?"
AiLin found it surprising that Li ZiChen was looking forward to help her- sothing she thought would have been a burden to him instead. Yet he was eager, wanting to do it so much that he had smiled.
But what she didn’t know was that Li ZiChen wasn’t happy he could avenge her. He was happy about that too, of course, but not only that. To hear that AiLin wants to lean on him,
it ant that she was choosing to trust him, to let him be a part of her battles, her pain, and her journey. It was sothing deeper than revenge, it was the bond forming between them, unshakable, undeniable.
AiLin exhaled softly, watching him as if morizing his face. "Then, we’ll do it together," she said, squeezing his hand back.
Li ZiChen chuckled, his grip firm, steady. "Together," he echoed, sealing the promise between them before pulling her deep into his embrace. Finally. Finally he could destroy all those filthy vultures under his feet, to make them struggle and live life like it is Hell, make sure they suffer, make sure they couldn’t remain in earth anymore and that there would be no single place that would ever accept them.
He was looking forward to it as the warm from his body ward up AiLin’s cold one but his heart was colder than ice.
One afternoon, Jiang ngYao in his office had crumpled another news and threw it across the floor. He ruffled his hair roughly, pushing it to the back of his head as his eyes glared at the headline. Then it shot back to the chief of the project with an annoyed sigh, "The company’s image isn’t at its best right now. Our stocks are plumting faster than waterfall and what is this- why couldn’t you simply stop this nonsensical rumors from being put to the newspaper?"
The chief carefully eyed the newspaper which headline yelled aloud of "UNFAIR TREATNT OF JIANG COMPANY. WORK HERE FOR TEN YEARS, THE WORDS OF THE DIRECTOR WHO HAD BEEN PUSHED FROM HIS POSITION TO A NEPO BABY."
This wasn’t the only headline that had made it to the newspaper. In fact there was nurous others. So, so, SO damn many that it was driving Jiang ngYao to insanity. There was so others that said about the possibility of his father accepting bribery and cutting costs when it cos to the construction of many of their buildings.
There wasn’t only about the Jiang Company, however, even more about how Jiang NianNian was heard bullying a fellow designer in her previous company which had caused the designer to choose fleeing away from China. The said bullied designer had ca with an anonymous post, also stating that they understood why the Jiang Family would so easily lie about so much money considering that Jiang NianNian was also good at weaving lies.
Jiang ngYao’s hands curled into fists on his desk. His jaw tightened so hard that a sharp ache crawled up his temples, but he barely noticed. The newspaper—crumpled, discarded—mocked him from the floor. Another hit to his company. Another stain on his na. Another sign that everything was slipping through his fingers.
This wasn’t just a coincidence.
He shot a sharp look at the chief of the project. "Who the hell is leaking this? The dia doesn’t just pull this out of thin air!" His voice was edged with barely restrained rage.
The chief hesitated, his lips parting slightly before he pressed them shut. "Sir, we’re still investigating. There have been multiple anonymous sources feeding the dia, but we haven’t been able to trace them yet."
"Anonymous sources?" Jiang ngYao let out a humorless chuckle, leaning back in his chair. "What a convenient way of saying you have no damn clue." His fingers tapped against the polished wood of his desk, his mind whirling.
This wasn’t just the dia stirring up gossip. Soone was feeding them information. Soone knew exactly where to hit.
His father’s alleged bribery. The accusations of cutting costs in construction. The forr director’s demotion. His own reputation as a "nepo baby."
Too precise. Too thodical. Too damn personal.
Jiang ngYao’s pulse throbbed against his throat. His company had faced bad press before, but this? This was sothing different. It felt like an attack—like soone had carefully stacked the dominoes and was now knocking them down one by one.
But who? Who-
Then a call suddenly rang, a new number but a number that so many businessn would kill so they could have it.
"Li ZiChen" the phone call nad, stating the person and perhaps the devil behind all Jiang ngYao’s suffering.
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