Huo Shenyan naturally understood the meaning behind her words and couldn't help but chuckle as he asked, "Are you very disappointed?"
Ni Jingxi nodded without hesitation: "Disappointed."
He only realized how big the bed was after he left. Ni Jingxi woke up this morning to find that she had moved from one side of the bed to the other.
Actually, she is usually a very quiet sleeper and wouldn't do something like this.
But without him, even falling asleep seems a little difficult.
At this moment, Ni Jingxi didn't hesitate to express her longing for him. Her usually cold voice softened as she said, "I miss you."
Huo Shenyan was sitting behind his desk. He was staying at the Huo family mansion in Hong Kong tonight. He was staying in Hong Kong temporarily because there had been some problems with Hengya's communications project in the Middle East.
Due to international relations reasons, Hengya supports these projects through third-party companies.
Now that the situation in the Middle East has changed again, he needs to stay in Hong Kong to deal with these issues.
Therefore, it will be delayed for a few days.
Huo Shenyan heard her soft voice and couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart. He looked up at the black ring box on the table and lowered his voice, as if he were whispering in her ear, "Be good, I'll be back soon."
He was already imagining in his mind what her beautiful fingers would look like wearing that ring.
*
The next day, the article's impact did not diminish; in fact, after Daichi Kang's lawyer's letter appeared, relevant departments even began investigating Daichi Kang.
There was a sense of impending storm and uncertainty.
The newspaper's official WeChat account has been flooded with comments these past two days, and even Ni Jingxi's own Weibo private messages are about to explode. Some people want her contact information hoping that Ni Jingxi can stand up for him, while others are desperately confessing their love to her.
Of course, there were also many, many people who came to criticize her.
Just like those who doubt Dadikang products, many others have unwavering faith in the company, believing not only that it can cure their illnesses but also that it can bring them wealth.
The vulgar language in the private messages was simply unbearable to look at.
In the end, Ni Jingxi simply stopped looking at Weibo altogether.
As for the receptionist, she's been going crazy these past two days because the newspaper's phone is ringing almost every second, and most of the calls are from people looking for Ni Jingxi.
Even when Tang Mi came to have lunch with Ni Jingxi at noon, he jokingly said, "You're famous now, but it's good that we can still have lunch together."
"It's alright, you'll have to wait in line if you want to have dinner with me again in a few days," Ni Jingxi said casually.
Tang Mi: "..."
However, after finishing his meal, Tang Mi still reminded him, "Be careful these next few days."
"What?" Ni Jingxi looked up at her.
Tang Mi sighed, frowned, and said helplessly, "You've ruined so many people's livelihoods this time. People die for money, birds die for food, and who knows how many people are watching you now."
Tang Mi's concern was not unfounded.
After all, there have been instances of journalists who dared to confront the darkness and bravely report on it being retaliated against.
Tang Mi was genuinely worried that she might be getting involved in such a huge network of interests, a network teeming with countless people.
Ni Jingxi didn't laugh at her for worrying unnecessarily, but nodded and said, "I'll be careful."
In the afternoon, she received a call from someone claiming to be a courier.
Ni Jingxi frowned and said softly, "Express delivery?"
However, since the package was being delivered to her old house, she didn't think much of it and asked the other party to leave it across the hall, saying she would pick it up that evening.
When Ni Jingxi buys things online, she usually fills in her home address.
She recently moved to a villa and keeps forgetting to change her address; this has happened several times.
She happened to have some things left at the old house, so after working overtime at the newspaper office until around 8 o'clock, she took a taxi directly home.
There's hardly any light in my neighborhood at this hour; it looks quite quiet.
After she got out of the car, she received a WeChat message from Huo Shenyan asking if she was at the newspaper office or the company.
So Ni Jingxi reached out and pressed the voice button, telling him she was coming to the old house to pick up something. She went upstairs to get it, but didn't expect any delivery.
Ni Jingxi assumed the deliveryman hadn't left it, so she didn't ask any further questions. She took her own packed luggage and carried it downstairs.
When she got downstairs, as she was pulling her suitcase outside, a black sedan suddenly stopped in front of her. As soon as it stopped, the back doors were pushed open at the same time, and two men of similar height, dressed in black, wearing masks and hats, walked straight towards her.
Although it wasn't past midnight, the two people dressed like that didn't look like good people.
Ni Jingxi almost instantly dropped the box, turned around, and ran back. It was a dark alley, but just a few dozen meters ahead was a bustling main road.
She didn't believe the other party would dare to be so arrogant again.
The two men hadn't expected her to react so quickly, and they chased after her, cursing under their breath. The difference in speed between men and women was simply too great; in almost a few seconds, Ni Jingxi had been caught up.
She had just been grabbed by the other party when she was slapped across the face.
The other person used all their strength; when the slap landed, Ni Jingxi's body leaned backward. If the other person hadn't been holding her back, she would have definitely fallen to the ground.
Instantly, she felt tinnitus filling her mind.
There was even a fishy-sweet taste in my mouth.
After hitting her, the man tried to pull her into the car. Ni Jingxi knew that if they dragged her into the car, she didn't know what would happen, so she struggled desperately without caring anymore.
She still had her bag on her, and she practically screamed as she opened it and took something out.
As she raised her hand and pressed it down hard into the other person's eyes, a scream pierced the silent night. The pungent smell quickly dissipated in the cool air.
This person really didn't expect her to do something like that. It hurt terribly, and he immediately knelt on the ground, desperately covering his eyes with his hands.
Seeing that his companion had been taken advantage of, another person quickly came over and grabbed Ni Jingxi.
Ni Jingxi wanted to continue her rant, but the other party was already on guard and directly pried her fingers apart. The excruciating pain made her unable to help but let go.
The next second, she was knocked to the ground by the other party.
"You filthy bitch, you dare to fight back!" the other person cursed as they hit him.
The man seemed to give up on pulling her into the car and instead started punching and kicking her as she lay on the ground. Ni Jingxi covered her head with her hands, but the man's punches and kicks still rained down on her.
She never begged for mercy until she thought she was going to be beaten to death there, when in her dazed state she felt someone coming.
In a daze, she seemed to see Huo Shenyan.
She must be dreaming. Because she was in so much pain, she dreamed that he came to save her.
"Huo Shenyan." She called out this name with her last bit of consciousness.
Author's Note: Shen Yan must be heartbroken to death!!! (Why do I feel like I'm the one who'll get beaten to death first?)
*
Chapter 28
Shanghai Pudong Airport.
When Huo Shenyan got off the plane, a gust of wind blew by, and he felt a little chilly because he was only wearing a very thin black trench coat.
November has arrived in the blink of an eye, and another winter is just around the corner.
"Mr. Huo, please get in the car first." Tang Mian saw that the car had driven to the helipad and noticed that the wind was a bit strong, so he immediately asked Huo Shenyan to get in the car first.
Soon, the car arrived at the VIP lane.
The bodyguards who had been following behind him were pushing a luggage cart. Huo Shenyan was walking at the front, looking down at his messages.
He was supposed to return tomorrow, but the meeting ended early, so he flew directly back to Shanghai without telling Ni Jingxi. Who knew she was also working overtime at the company?
"Mr. Huo, shall we take you straight home?" Tang Mian asked, turning his head from the passenger seat.
Huo Shenyan looked up and saw a voice message from Ni Jingxi on his phone, telling him that she was going back to her old residence to get some things later.
He said calmly, "Let's go pick up Xingxing first."
Tang Mian agreed and whispered something to the driver, Lao Xu.
Both Hong Kong and Shanghai are extremely prosperous metropolises, but unlike Hong Kong, Shanghai is more open and bright, while Hong Kong, even among its skyscrapers, feels extremely cramped. Especially the densely packed lights inside the high-rises—perhaps only in Hong Kong can one see this.
The Huo family has been in Hong Kong for decades and are already top-tier wealthy families living in places like the Mid-Levels.
However, after the reform and opening up, they still chose to return to Shanghai without hesitation. In addition, Zhong Lan's identity was special. She was born in Beijing and was a child of a high-ranking official. Her father was a general with a star on his shoulder. Under such background, the Huo family has always been regarded as a source of "red capital".
Therefore, there is considerable international opinion regarding Hengya Group, which believes that Hengya's large market share in the communications field is inseparable from government support, and that this support is mutually reinforcing.
Hengya Group is highly likely to endanger the communication security of other countries.
This kind of argument has been heard constantly, and now it seems to be getting more and more prominent.
Huo Shenyan, as the CEO of Hengya Group, is about to face such external difficulties. Last night, he also talked for a long time with the old man, who has been recuperating in Hong Kong recently.
The elevated road wasn't too congested at this time, and it only took half an hour to get to the old house area.
When Huo Shenyan got out of the car, Tang Mian followed him out and said, "Let me go up with you."
"No need, you can all wait here." Huo Shenyan waved his hand.
Because the area is full of old houses, the alleys are narrow and the roads aren't in great condition; ordinary cars can barely squeeze in. But it's not so convenient for Huo Shenyan's Bentley to drive in.
Although Huo Shenyan told them to wait in the car, Tang Mian still got off the bus and stood for a while.
...
Ni Jingxi took out a spray bottle and sprayed it directly into the other person's eyes. Then, without any hesitation, she kicked the person below. At this moment, she had no scruples. It was clear that the other person was coming to cause her trouble, and her first thought was to protect herself.
But if you knock one down, there's still another one left.
The disparity in strength between the man and the woman was too great. Even though Ni Jingxi tried her best, she was still knocked to the ground by the other party's punch. The sound of the fist hitting her body was muffled and deep, but it was so clear in this quiet alley.
Huo Shenyan walked up the stairs and saw a car parked there.
He frowned slightly, wondering why the car was blocking the road, until he heard a noise next to him and looked up to see a man waving his fist.
"You bitch, how dare you talk nonsense and be so fierce..."
Huo Shenyan clearly didn't see who was lying on the ground, but his heart skipped a beat, as if he sensed something, and he quickly ran over there.
When he finally saw the person above him clearly, his blood rushed to the top of his head like a floodgate being opened.