Upon hearing the word "reporter," those who had initially acted as if it were none of their business and that an apology was absolutely out of the question began to panic.
President Qiao sneered: "Are you trying to scare us? So what if we're reporters? This is just normal drinking and socializing."
Ni Jingxi remained expressionless: "As far as I know, there are public officials among you here. If it gets exposed that you're frequenting such a high-end club at this time, do you think you can still keep your position?"
Mr. Qiao's eyes widened, completely unprepared for Ni Jingxi's sudden insight. There were indeed government officials among them, and their gathering was indeed a business meeting. However, the authorities were cracking down hard, and public opinion was extremely strict. Even without any money-for-power transactions, this was enough to put them in a difficult position.
One person immediately became restless.
But Ni Jingxi wasn't going to let them off the hook. She continued, "There must be some company executives here too. Forcing women to drink alcohol is a form of workplace sexual harassment... But if you're all like this CEO Qiao, who's fearless and doesn't care about apologizing, then you don't have to apologize."
Ni Jingxi sneered. It's not uncommon for company executives to be forced to resign after something like this happens.
She wanted to see how many people were truly fearless.
The entire private room fell into a deathly silence.
Moreover, the door to the private room was open at the time, and many people came over to see what was going on after hearing the commotion.
Finally, someone stood up from the table, picked up the wine glass in front of him, drank three glasses in a row, then reached down to take the coat off the rack behind him and held it in his hand. When he walked to Tang Mi's side...
"I'm sorry, Miss Tang."
The man didn't dare look at Tang Mi. After saying something, he picked up his clothes and left the private room.
Soon, the other people in the private room stood up one after another, drank, grabbed their clothes, and finally walked over to Tang Mi.
"I'm sorry, Miss Tang."
...
"I'm sorry, Miss Tang."
In the end, only President Qiao remained in the entire private room. He glared at Ni Jingxi with his neck stiff and sneered, "I'm not apologizing, what the hell can you do to me?"
This Mr. Qiao owns his own company, and he feels he is not afraid of Ni Jingxi's threats.
"Wow, it's so lively here." Suddenly a voice came from the doorway.
Mr. Qiao turned his head and was immediately stunned: "Mr. Xiao."
Xiao Yichen walked in unhurriedly from the door with one hand in his pocket. There was no surprise on his face. After glancing at President Qiao's face, he looked at Ni Jingxi and said in a particularly gentle tone, "Jingxi, you came over here without even calling me."
His attitude was gentle and affectionate, giving the impression that he was very familiar with Ni Jingxi.
President Qiao glanced at the two of them suspiciously. Of course, he knew who Xiao Yichen was.
But even he was so polite to this reporter, could it be that the other party really has some powerful background?
"Something came up, so I had to come over at the last minute." When Ni Jingxi spoke to Xiao Yichen, her expression softened and became less cold, revealing a hint of a smile.
Xiao Yichen was standing at the door just now, originally intending to come in and help, since a young woman had to confront so many grown men.
He was afraid that Ni Jingxi would suffer a loss.
He also had an investment in this place, so it could be considered his territory. If Ni Jingxi suffered a loss on his turf, Xiao Yichen felt that Huo Shenyan would definitely cause him trouble when he returned from abroad.
As a result, he was delayed at the door for a while, and Ni Jingxi directly seized the vital point of these people.
He must have found it quite enjoyable to hear.
At this moment, President Qiao still had an arrogant demeanor, so Xiao Yichen stopped standing outside and just watching.
He looked at President Qiao and chuckled softly, his tone seemingly conciliatory: "President Qiao, what you did today was unethical. Even if the young lady needed your help, she shouldn't have been forced to drink like this."
Although Tang Mi could barely stand at this moment, her eyes were red.
Anyone can see that this is because he drank too much alcohol.
"Say sorry and let's call it even today. Otherwise, it's easy for me to talk to others, but it might be difficult for them." Xiao Yichen's tone was polite, but the meaning behind his words was not so polite.
In particular, Xiao Yichen walked up to him, seemingly affectionately put his arm around his shoulder, and whispered a few words to President Qiao.
To everyone's surprise, Mr. Qiao's expression changed instantly after hearing this.
His previous arrogance vanished completely, and he said anxiously, "President Xiao, you must help me. I really didn't mean to make things difficult for Miss Tang. If Miss Su hadn't asked me to look after Miss Tang for her, I definitely wouldn't have done this."
His words, spoken in a moment of panic, stunned both Ni Jingxi and Xiao Yichen.
Ni Jingxi looked up at Xiao Yichen, who was also looking at her; they were clearly thinking of the same person. Xiao Yichen's expression changed; he truly hadn't expected this matter to involve Su Yiheng.
Ni Jingxi remained calm and said in a composed manner, "Call Su Yiheng now."
President Qiao's expression changed again; this guy was really pushing him to the brink.
“Fight now, and I won’t cause you any trouble,” Ni Jingxi said calmly.
In the end, President Qiao took out his phone and decided to stay away from these big shots. He genuinely thought it was a minor matter and even hoped that handling it well would help him build a relationship with Su Yiheng.
President Qiao has a close relationship with the Su family, otherwise Su Yiheng wouldn't have asked him to do this.
After the call was dialed, it was answered shortly afterward. There was obviously some noise around, as if the other person was on a film set, until a quiet voice came from the other end: "Hello."
"I am Ni Jingxi," Ni Jingxi said, getting straight to the point.
The person on the other end didn't hang up immediately, but they didn't say anything either.
As Ni Jingxi held the phone to her ear, her knuckles turned slightly white from the force: "Su Yiheng, if there's a next time, I'll tear you to pieces."
With just one sentence, she hung up the phone.
Xiao Yichen couldn't help but lick his lips, feeling a dryness in his throat.
Suddenly he realized that Su Yiheng would never be a match for Ni Jingxi; this girl possessed a reckless and aloof aura. Su Yiheng could pull off some tricks, but if the two were to truly face off, even if Ni Jingxi were alone...
She really will tear Su Yiheng apart.
When Ni Jingxi took Tang Mi out, the cold winter wind outside immediately made Tang Mi shiver.
It was the liveliest time of night in Shanghai, with cars forming long lines and flowing endlessly on the streets. The upscale club behind us was decorated in a low-key yet luxurious style, with dazzling crystal chandeliers hanging in the lobby that could be seen from the entrance.
The two women stood at the doorway, neither of them saying a word.
After a while, the cold wind dispersed some of the smell of alcohol, and Ni Jingxi turned to Tang Mi and asked, "Shall I take you home?"
"I want to eat hot and sour noodles," Tang Mi said, even smacking her lips.
When Ni Jingxi looked at her expressionlessly, Tang Mi actually smiled and asked, "Lord Ni, have you had dinner yet?"
"No."
So she ended up driving Tang Mi to eat at the hot and sour noodles stall near the high school gate. The owner was from Chongqing, and his hot and sour noodles were extremely spicy. If you didn't tell the owner to put less chili, you definitely wouldn't be able to stand it.
After the two entered, they chose a table and sat down.
There were only the two of them in the shop at that moment. It's normal that no one comes to eat at this time since students are all in evening self-study.
After Ni Jingxi ordered two servings of beef hot and sour noodles, Tang Mi immediately raised her hand: "And two servings of duck heads."
“I won’t eat it.” Ni Jingxi frowned.
Tang Mi stared at her: "I'll eat two portions by myself."
"..."
Ni Jingxi thought for a moment and then said, "I'm sorry."
Tang Mi was still a little dazed when she heard her words and immediately looked up, "What are you apologizing to me for?"
Previously, when Ni Jingxi heard Hua Zheng say that her studio's investment had failed and even her partner was having problems, Ni Jingxi thought something had happened. However, after President Qiao let slip the secret just now, she realized that it must have been Su Yiheng who was behind it.
Su Yiheng didn't dare to attack her directly, so she targeted the people around her.
Tang Mi was entirely implicated by Ni Jingxi.
Tang Mi: "You mean Su Yiheng's matter?"
She propped her head up with her hand, her voice muffled, "I haven't liked her for a long time. Sure enough, a woman's intuition is always right. Why are you apologizing to me? You had a great time tonight."
Those who had arrogantly forced her to drink ended up apologizing to her one by one.
Tang Mi felt relieved, and she felt completely at ease.
As for starting her own business, she's pretty relaxed about it. "It's okay, I can just find another job. Besides, I have hundreds of thousands of followers on my WeChat official account, so I won't starve even if I just take on some advertising."
Seeing that Ni Jingxi was still silent, Tang Mi flattened his palms and placed both hands on the table, looking just like a primary school student sitting upright.
She said, "Jingxi, you have no idea how handsome you are tonight, really. The fact that you came proves that our friendship over the years has paid off, and besides, you even helped me get revenge."
Suddenly, Tang Mi's tears fell.
These past few days she's been hitting walls everywhere. Suddenly the investment disappeared, and her partner said they couldn't continue working together. Before, when she resigned, she confidently told her parents that her own business would only succeed and never fail.
She also boasted that she had carefully considered her decision to start the business.
So she desperately started looking for investment again. She finally found someone who was interested and invited her to dinner. Tang Mi didn't dare refuse.
She didn't dare refuse when she was being urged to drink at the dinner table.
That's really pathetic.
Two young women, fresh out of college, sat at opposite ends of a table, gazing at each other. Ni Jingxi had known Tang Mi for so many years and had almost never seen her shed a tear.
Even if Tang Mi is heartbroken, he'll at most take her out for a big meal, and she'll recover quickly.
This girl seems to have a naturally carefree attitude.
But even such a carefree girl has been forced onto this path. Ni Jingxi felt an indescribable sadness in her heart. If it weren't for her, Tang Mi wouldn't be like this.
“I told you before, you can call me if you need anything,” Ni Jingxi looked at her, “If you’re looking for investment, why didn’t you tell me? Have you forgotten whose wife I am?”
There were tissues on the table, but Tang Mi raised her hand and used her sleeve to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
She snorted: "Your wife works at the newspaper all by herself now. If I were to ask you to get help from your husband, Mr. Huo, I wouldn't be able to bear the embarrassment."
Tang Mi knew Ni Jingxi's personality. Even she herself didn't rely on Huo Shenyan. If her friend were to hold her back, what kind of behavior would that be?
Ni Jingxi remained silent until, after a long silence, she whispered, "I have money."
"Alright, alright, you have money, and our Ni Bao has money too." Tang Mi was still a little drunk, and the nickname he usually found cheesy now came out very naturally.
Ni Jingxi: "..."
“I’m not kidding you, I’ll invest in you. Is five million enough?” Ni Jingxi asked her.
At this moment, the proprietress brought out the hot and sour noodles, placing a bowl in front of each person. As she left, she smiled and said, "Mix it before you eat."
Tang Mi picked up her chopsticks and lowered her head to eat.