"..."
Ni Jingxi looked at him casually: "Mr. Huo, I think you've changed."
He's become too repressed and lewd.
Fortunately, Huo Shenyan didn't say much to her and went to the bathroom to take a shower. After he came out, he lifted the covers and got into bed when his phone, which was on the bedside table, rang.
It was Zhong Lan who opened it.
Zhong Lan went abroad these past few days, probably because of the time difference.
Huo Shenyan had just answered the phone when he heard Zhong Lan's joyful voice on the other end: "Son, congratulations, you are now a person with an official title."
Huo Shenyan chuckled, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
Before he could even speak, Zhong Lan impatiently asked, "So when are you planning to have the wedding?"
"We're not considering it yet..." Huo Shenyan wanted to say that he hadn't thought about it yet and needed to discuss it with Ni Jingxi.
But Zhong Lan interrupted him in surprise: "You still don't want to have a wedding?"
"If you do this, netizens will call you a scumbag," Zhong Lanyu said quietly.
Huo Shenyan: "..."
He is not.
Chapter 45
Zhong Lan has been accompanying Huo Zhenzhong on a business trip to the United States these past few days. She had a slight cold last night and took some medicine. She slept until after nine o'clock this morning, but unexpectedly, her phone started ringing off the hook.
On WeChat, she received messages from friends she frequently contacted and those she rarely contacted.
They were all inquiring about Huo Shenyan's sudden marriage.
Zhong Lan then learned about the situation in China. After she finished dealing with these trivial matters, she remembered to call Huo Shenyan.
Because the room was so quiet, Ni Jingxi could hear Zhong Lan's voice even through the microphone.
She and Huo Shenyan heard the words "scumbag" almost at the same time.
Even Huo Shenyan was momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter, "What are you talking about?"
"Isn't that right? I'm doing this for your own good. If you two never have a wedding, people will think that Jingxi doesn't want to have a wedding. They might even think of me as a wicked mother-in-law."
At this moment, Zhong Lan felt like she had just come to her senses. She was so busy laughing at her son that she hadn't even thought that this matter would involve her.
The story of an ordinary girl marrying into a wealthy family and being constantly harassed by her mother-in-law is a favorite trope of the media.
Moreover, when she was in Hong Kong, many of her acquaintances' nephews and nieces liked to date female celebrities in the entertainment industry, and they often complained when they got together.
These kinds of secrets about wealthy families are also a favorite of Hong Kong tabloids.
Zhong Lan said angrily, "No, you have to hold the wedding as soon as possible. Even if it's for the sake of your mother's reputation, you have to hold it as soon as possible."
Although she had indeed harbored some resentment towards Ni Jingxi, she never objected to their wedding from beginning to end.
Zhong Lan felt that she refused to take the blame.
Huo Shenyan felt that if he continued talking like this, things would get unclear, so he said helplessly, "Mom, it's past 11 p.m. in China now. We need to rest. We have to go to work tomorrow."
Fortunately, Zhong Lan knew that they needed to rest, so she didn't say anything more and hung up the phone without hesitation.
But when Huo Shenyan heard her call out the word "wedding" before hanging up the phone, a look of bewilderment appeared on his face once again.
After he put down his phone, he turned to look at Ni Jingxi and said, "You heard everything, right?"
Ni Jingxi smiled and looked at him: "I'll do whatever you say."
Her attitude was no longer hesitant as before. In fact, Huo Shenyan had mentioned it to her before, but when she showed a slight reluctance, he would change the subject.
This was the first time her stance had been so clear.
Huo Shenyan answered almost without hesitation: "Next year, how about next year?"
A wedding is a huge undertaking. You have to invite guests in advance, decide on the venue, and handle all sorts of other complicated matters. Even the choice of wedding favors is a very particular thing.
He didn't want to rush things and leave any regrets.
It's better to take your time and prepare slowly, so that everything can be perfect.
Looking at his serious expression, Ni Jingxi nodded: "Okay, next year."
Winter has quietly arrived, and next year is not so far away.
*
Because Ni Jingxi hadn't brought her car back last night, she went to work with Huo Shenyan this morning. Driver Lao Xu dropped her off at the company building first, and as soon as the car stopped in a temporary parking space, Ni Jingxi got out.
As she got out of the car, another car pulled up behind her.
As the bright red Audi TT passed by her, Ni Jingxi glanced up and saw Wen Tang through the fleeting windshield. It seemed Wen Tang was indeed driving such a car.
However, Ni Jingxi didn't think much of it and went straight into the main entrance of the building.
There was still a bunch of people waiting for the elevator outside. Since there was still plenty of time, Ni Jingxi randomly chose an elevator and stood in line.
She had barely stood still when she heard a woman's voice from her side and behind her.
"Look, look, isn't that Ni Jingxi?"
"Wow, it really is her. I was thinking when I saw the news yesterday, I wonder if she'll still be working in this shabby building after it's been exposed."
Although the two girls spoke very softly, their voices still managed to reach Ni Jingxi's ears.
Ni Jingxi stared down at her phone, surrounded by unabashedly probing gazes.
It wasn't until a hand patted her shoulder that Ni Jingxi turned around and saw Hua Zheng standing behind her with a smile on her face. She exclaimed in surprise, "It seems I really did arrive quite early today, as I've already bumped into you, Lord Ni."
"Have you had breakfast?" Hua Zheng's voice was still a little out of breath, clearly indicating that she had rushed over.
Ni Jingxi nodded: "I've already eaten."
Huo Shenyan gets up at six o'clock every morning, so after exercising, he usually makes breakfast, which is usually a simple fried egg and toast. But every time Ni Jingxi gets up, he has already prepared everything.
This made Ni Jingxi feel guilty.
Hua Zheng held up the breakfast she had just bought and said with a smile, "Do you want some rice balls? There's a breakfast shop next to where I live that sells really delicious rice balls."
"I have reservations about your opinion on how delicious it is," Ni Jingxi chuckled.
Hua Zheng sighed in dissatisfaction, "It's really delicious. I'll give you some when we go upstairs."
Ni Jingxi spoke to Hua Zheng as usual, her expression calm, with a faint smile occasionally appearing on her face.
Many people around her took the opportunity to scrutinize her closely.
Ni Jingxi has the kind of looks that everyone finds beautiful at first glance.
However, her appearance is somewhat cold.
Especially when she listened to Hua Zheng speak with a calm expression, her eyes on her soft-featured face were clear and cold, exuding a special charm that, while not sweet, was the kind that many girls liked the most.
It wasn't until they went upstairs and entered the newspaper office that Hua Zheng whispered, "The atmosphere in the elevator just now was just...unbelievable."
She had taken the elevator so many times at the company, and she had never encountered this situation before.
The elevator was unusually quiet, and she could even feel people staring at her.
The morning was supposed to be the regular meeting time, but Wen Tang, who was clearly at the company, did not attend and instead went to the editor-in-chief's office.
After the meeting ended, Ni Jingxi had just returned to her desk when she was suddenly called into the editor-in-chief's office.
At this moment, Lao Zhang and Wen Tang were both present, and Editor-in-Chief Yao was sitting behind his desk, holding a tablet computer and carefully looking at the things on it.
After examining the photo carefully and repeatedly, he looked up at Wen Tang and asked, "Are you sure this photo was indeed taken from the school cafeteria's storage room?"
"It's confirmed. The student's parent went in and took the photos secretly. They took the photos yesterday and originally wanted to upload them online immediately, but I persuaded them to upload them to our official WeChat account instead, because it would have a wider reach."
Previously, due to Dadi Kang's article, the number of followers on the Shanghai People's Daily's official WeChat account increased tenfold.
Originally, the Shanghai People's Daily was not a top-tier newspaper even in Shanghai, but this article not only solved Dadi Kang's problem, but also greatly increased the newspaper's reputation.
Wen Tang spoke earnestly, but inwardly she was impatient, because she didn't understand why Editor-in-Chief Yao had called Ni Jingxi in at this time.
"Editor-in-chief, I've been following this news story," Wen Tang said, frowning but still managing to say it.
Editor-in-Chief Yao gave her a calm look: "Logically speaking, this kind of news shouldn't be your economics group's business."
Pointing to this report, Wen Tang confidently declared, "Shanghai Jiarui Middle School is a private school, but its basic tuition fees for students are over 100,000 yuan per year. Moreover, it has branches not only in Shanghai, but also in cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou. The Shangrui Group behind it is also a well-known domestic education group, which was listed on NASDAQ in the United States in 2016."
"So I think how can something involving such a well-known education group be unrelated to our economics team?"
"Ni Jingxi, come here." After hearing her words, Editor-in-Chief Yao called over Ni Jingxi, who had been standing in the corner.
After Ni Jingxi walked over, Editor-in-Chief Yao placed the tablet on the table and tapped it with her finger: "Take a look, what are your thoughts?"
Ni Jingxi reached for the tablet and picked it up, glancing down at the photos on it. She was initially shocked. The first picture showed rotten fruits and vegetables; the tomato was clearly cracked and even had mold growing on the edges.
The subsequent pictures were also extremely disturbing, with visible mold on the food and a dirty, dark kitchen background.
There were about ten photos in total. Ni Jingxi looked at the pictures and then looked at a few of them that looked particularly terrifying.
"Are these things from the school cafeteria's storeroom?" Ni Jingxi said in a low voice.
At that moment, something inexplicably popped into her mind: the phone she answered that morning, and the anxious, impatient voice of a man.
At this moment, Ni Jingxi turned around and looked at Wen Tang.
Wen Tang was already quite displeased by Ni Jingxi's sudden involvement, and seeing her looking at her with that kind of gaze, she immediately became annoyed and said, "These were taken by the students themselves, risking expulsion from school."
Ni Jingxi frowned immediately: "You just said that the photo was taken by the parents?"
Wen Tang was taken aback by her question.
At this point, Editor-in-Chief Yao frowned and asked, "Xiao Wen, you can't take shortcuts when doing news. Where did you get these photos from?"
"Editor-in-chief, please believe me. I'm willing to bet my entire journalistic career that these photos were indeed taken secretly by students and then sent to me by their parents."
Wen Tang, fearing that Editor-in-Chief Yao might hesitate, said, "If the editor-in-chief is worried that this report might have any negative impact on the newspaper, then I can publish it on my personal account."
Editor-in-Chief Yao sighed.
Finally, he said, "I agree to release it, after all, it concerns students, and school food safety issues are the most serious."