Her phone died shortly after she left the police station yesterday. Because of Xiao Yichen's birthday party, she hadn't found a place to charge it. Besides, she ran into Su Yiheng at the party, so she didn't have much time to worry about her phone.
When I got home around 11 p.m., after charging and turning my phone back on, I received a flood of notifications.
They were all sent to her by Hua Zheng.
The other party called the newspaper directly to complain about her. It is said that the advertising department is extremely angry, and now even the editor-in-chief knows about it.
The voice messages Hua Zheng sent her were all tens of seconds long.
However, because she saw it too late, Ni Jingxi didn't reply to her, afraid of disturbing her rest that night.
Ni Jingxi remained silent. Huo Shenyan gently put down his spoon. "Are you worried about the newspaper?"
He guessed it right away.
Ni Jingxi smiled, her expression less serious, and shrugged slightly: "What's done is done, and I don't regret it. As for how the newspaper wants to punish me, I will accept it."
Huo Shenyan's lips curled into a slight smile: "Call me anytime if anything comes up."
After a pause, he said softly, "Next time, just call me directly."
Yesterday, when the police asked her to call someone to bail her out, she called Tang Mian. Calling Tang Mian was essentially telling Huo Shenyan.
Ni Jingxi nodded and gave a soft "hmm".
This feeling of having someone to rely on wasn't bad; she wasn't afraid even at the police station. She knew that even if Huo Shenyan wasn't in Shanghai, he would send someone to bail her out.
She just didn't expect that he would come back from Beijing so coincidentally.
During this time, Ni Jingxi and Huo Shenyan have been living in Xinghe Bay. This villa was Huo Shenyan's usual place of residence before he got married.
"I'm planning to turn that room on the second floor into your walk-in closet. What do you think?" Huo Shenyan asked in a low voice as they got into the car.
Ni Jingxi paused slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "No need."
Huo Shenyan remained silent.
Noticing his expression, she immediately said, "I'm not saying I don't want to stay here, it's just that I don't have that many clothes. The wardrobe in our room is enough for me."
Ni Jingxi always prioritizes simplicity and comfort in her clothing choices, and she doesn't actually own that many clothes.
Huo Shenyan chuckled lightly. Upon hearing his chuckle, Ni Jingxi immediately felt a jolt of alarm and said, "You're not allowed to buy me a bunch of clothes and bags."
This kind of plot has been played out in countless idol dramas. Ni Jingxi is afraid that Mr. Huo might also get to experience being the male lead in an idol drama.
"Hmm, I won't buy it." Huo Shenyan said with a smile.
Ni Jingxi nodded in satisfaction, but then Huo Shenyan bent down and tapped Tang Mian in front of him, saying casually, "Where's my wallet?"
He didn't like to carry anything on him; aside from his phone, which he would hold himself, Tang Mian would carry everything else for him. Tang Mian was taken aback and quickly took Huo Shenyan's wallet out of his briefcase.
This wallet is particularly thin, made of lambskin, and extremely soft.
After Huo Shenyan took the wallet in his hand, he reached in and pulled out a card. Not to mention, the black card held between his fair and slender fingers had an explosive visual effect.
Ni Jingxi looked down at it for a long time and thought that this hand was really damn beautiful.
After a long silence, she finally spoke: "For me?"
Huo Shenyan had actually prepared this card for Ni Jingxi a long time ago, but he just hadn't found the opportunity to give it to her. After they got married, they didn't have any major expenses. Other people need to prepare a car and a house for their wedding, but Huo Shenyan had all of those things.
As for Ni Jingxi, she lives a very simple life and doesn't have much material desire.
However, it's not that she's unwilling to spend money on herself.
She doesn't have much of a fondness for designer bags, but she is quite interested in various interview equipment. Her house is full of voice recorders that she bought, all for interview purposes.
She also bought the cameras and camcorders herself. She bought her first camera when she was in college, and it's still in pretty good condition.
Moreover, her computer has high specifications, so it can store the news materials she has accumulated over the years and she can also edit videos herself.
Huo Shenyan once saw a short video of her winning a gold medal in a competition with her roommates during her university years – "Black and White World".
It was about Go, China's oldest game of strategy, and perhaps it seemed rather amateurish compared to a well-developed documentary. But it was a work she created during her university years.
At this moment, Huo Shenyan's expression remained gentle: "I won't give it to you, you buy it yourself."
Ni Jingxi thought for a moment and then reached out to take it. However, after looking at the card repeatedly in her hand, she lowered her voice and asked, "Could this be the legendary black card?"
She leaned closer, her eyes displaying a rare playfulness.
Huo Shenyan leaned closer, his lips brushing against her ear, and deliberately lowered his voice: "Yes."
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Tang Mian felt an urge to jump out of the car right now. What was the boss doing? Was he playing house with his wife? And why was he deliberately lowering his voice? Was he afraid they would hear him?
Tang Mian had never seen Huo Shenyan so childish before. The Huo Shenyan he usually saw was calm and composed, someone who could control the entire situation even in the most complex and critical moments.
this……
Tang Mian felt that if he ever really couldn't continue working, he should write a memoir about being Huo Shenyan's secretary. If he did write that, his boss's fans would probably curse him to death.
Those fans will definitely think he's talking nonsense.
At this moment, Ni Jingxi felt his breath near her ear, slightly warm and close enough that she couldn't help but want to back away.
Until Huo Shenyan came closer again and kissed her ear.
He whispered, "Don't try to save me money. I earn money to support you."
It is said that men should earn money to support their families, and now there is a girl named Ni Jingxi in his little family.
He should support her.
*
After Ni Jingxi arrived at the newspaper office, Hua Zheng rushed in just before work started. As soon as she saw Ni Jingxi, she rushed over and hugged her tightly without even putting down her bag, asking, "Mr. Ni, are you alright? I was so worried about you."
"My phone died after I left the police station yesterday, and I didn't get home until after 11 p.m. to see your message. It was too late to reply, and I'm sorry I made you worry."
Seeing the anxious expression on her face, Ni Jingxi spoke softly.
Hua Zheng was relieved to see that she had no injuries on her face or body. However, since most of the people around had arrived, she quickly focused on the important points and said, "You must be careful today. Several senior leaders in the newspaper know about this. Yesterday, that company called to complain to the advertising department."
She glanced around and lowered her voice, saying, "They said they won't cooperate with our newspaper anymore. I heard the advertising department lost several million..."
Hua Zheng said this to give Ni Jingxi a heads-up and to prepare her mentally.
Seeing that Ni Jingxi remained silent, she added, "Lord Ni, a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. If the editor-in-chief starts swearing, just let him swear."
When this news first broke yesterday, Wen Tang had just returned from an interview, and the expression on her face showed schadenfreude, which was really annoying to see.
Sure enough, during the morning meeting, Ni Jingxi was called over by the team leader, Lao Zhang, who whispered, "The editor-in-chief was quite angry yesterday. This matter could be a big deal or a small deal, so you need to be quick-witted."
Ni Jingxi nodded.
Before heading to the editor-in-chief's office, Old Zhang made sure to get the details of the matter first. He was a kind-hearted man, just a bit of a lazy bum. After hearing Ni Jingxi's explanation, he sighed, "It's not your fault, it's just human nature. To be honest, the people in the advertising department have nothing to be angry about. What's the difference between this company and a swindler?"
But he's only saying this now; if it really reaches the editor-in-chief, he might not dare to speak up for Ni Jingxi.
As expected, when Ni Jingxi arrived, not only was the editor-in-chief there, but the head of the advertising department was also present. The advertising manager was somewhat excited when he saw her come in, and just as he opened his mouth to speak, he glanced at the editor-in-chief.
The editor-in-chief's surname is Yao, and he is in his forties but not yet fifty.
Editor-in-Chief Yao wasn't so angry now. He was really upset when he heard about it yesterday. But now he asked, "Xiao Ni, tell me why this happened. You're a journalist. How can you go and interview someone and end up getting involved in a fight?"
Ni Jingxi recounted the events as usual, her tone calm, without making any excuses for herself.
She just couldn't stand that person deliberately deceived the elderly, and even physically assaulted them.
So she just wanted to beat him up.
After listening, the editor-in-chief glanced at the advertising manager and asked, "How do you plan to handle this?"
The manager, stubbornly refusing to budge, insisted, "No matter what, you can't just come and hit someone. She can call the police. If it really is a scam, do you think the police won't do anything about it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the other three people in the office all turned to look at him.
Ni Jingxi sneered inwardly, thinking that this person must be an idiot.
Of course, Editor-in-Chief Yao's thoughts were similar to Ni Jingxi's. In fact, after he was angry yesterday, he thought about it again and felt that something was not quite right. After all, he had met Ni Jingxi before; she was a pretty young woman who wrote very well and was also very hardworking.
A girl like that wouldn't just get into fights for no reason, would she?
Hearing this now, I realize that what happened was indeed understandable.
At this point, the manager angrily said, "Editor-in-Chief Yao, you must deal with this matter seriously. Otherwise, if this sets a precedent, how will the newspaper be managed in the future? Just because she doesn't like the interviewee sent by our advertising department, she deliberately caused trouble like this. Isn't this going too far?"
"How many meals and drinks did my men go through to secure this sponsorship? Now look what's happened, millions are gone. Who's going to compensate for this loss?"
After hearing the manager's words, Editor-in-Chief Yao frowned. Indeed, no matter how excusable Ni Jingxi's actions were, they had indeed had a negative impact on the newspaper.
At this moment, Old Zhang coughed lightly and said, "Editor-in-chief, I've already criticized Jingxi. Her intentions were good, but she did make a mistake. How about this, punish her..."
He hesitated for a moment, then cautiously asked, "A month's salary?"
At this moment, Old Zhang looked pained. He was a bit stingy and very family-oriented, handing over almost his entire monthly salary to his wife. So when the idea of deducting his salary was proposed, he felt it was the worst possible punishment.
At that moment, the other three people in the room all looked at him at the same time.
If Ni Jingxi hadn't been desperately trying to restrain herself, she probably would have burst out laughing. Old Zhang's pained expression really made it seem like a huge punishment.
The advertising manager, on the other hand, seemed to be saying, "Are you kidding me?"
Thus, a disagreement arose again regarding the punishment of Ni Jingxi.
The expressions on everyone's faces varied as the office door opened and the person who entered came in. Then, Editor-in-Chief Yao stood up and walked over, quickly saying, "Editor-in-Chief, what brings you here?"
"Is this how you handle Xiao Ni's matter?"
To be honest, everyone was quite surprised, including Ni Jingxi. She didn't expect that even the editor-in-chief knew about her situation.
The editor-in-chief glanced at them and asked, "Have you come to an agreement?"
At this moment, the advertising manager took the lead and said, "Editor-in-chief, I think Ni Jingxi's incident is too serious and extremely detrimental to our newspaper's reputation. At the very least, she should be dismissed so as to serve as a warning."
Upon hearing this, Old Zhang couldn't hold back any longer: "How could he be fired? This is really too much."
Ni Jingxi was a little stunned. She couldn't help but look at the manager. She felt that she had never offended this person. He wanted to kill her.
Editor-in-Chief Yao also frowned, feeling that the punishment was too harsh.
The editor-in-chief glanced at the manager, smiled, and asked, "Is this your opinion?"
The manager thought the editor-in-chief was supporting him, so he nodded immediately and took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire: "I think only such punishment can prevent such things from happening again in the future."
The editor-in-chief nodded.
"Your advertising department has brought in a bunch of lousy clients for our newspaper, and I haven't even settled accounts with you yet. Do you really think the editorial department is your advertising department's backyard, where you can send your reporters to interview whenever you want? It's understandable that you were thinking of the newspaper before. But you don't even have the slightest bit of professional ethics and conscience as journalists."