Ni Jingxi hissed and gasped, but just as she was about to move to the side, a huge force suddenly pushed her forward from behind.
Just as she was about to lose face in front of everyone, the man who had already walked past them suddenly turned around, glanced at her, and rushed over to grab her arm.
When Ni Jingxi tried to steady herself after being pushed, she couldn't find anything to hold onto until someone grabbed her arm. She reflexively grabbed the other person's hand as well.
"Thank you." Ni Jingxi breathed a sigh of relief.
But when she looked up, she saw a pair of smiling black eyes; Huo Shenyan was looking down at her.
The sound of camera shutters clicking all around continued.
For a few seconds, Ni Jingxi's mind went completely blank. What should she say now? Should she pretend not to know her or say thank you?
Huo Shenyan chuckled first and said to her, "Be careful."
Ni Jingxi finally snapped out of her daze. Seeing that all the cameras were pointed at her and Huo Shenyan, she gave a polite and apologetic smile despite her inner resignation, and said, "Thank you."
“Be careful next time,” Huo Shenyan nodded, but as soon as he let go of her hand, he stared at her and chuckled, “This reporter.”
This is a reporter.
Ni Jingxi looked at the slight upturn of his eyes, the kind of smile that was clearly there, and her mind exploded instantly.
This person was flirting with her in public.
After Huo Shenyan left, Ni Jingxi returned to her original spot, but the area around her seemed to be enclosed by a barrier, and it was quiet and still.
Until Song Yu excitedly whispered in her ear, "Sister Jingxi, Huo Shenyan just saved you!"
Ni Jingxi turned her head and glanced at her, blinking, unsure whether the girl was joking or genuinely didn't know.
But Song Yu asked again, "What does it feel like to have Huo Shenyan hold your hand?"
Ni Jingxi was completely stunned this time.
Looking at her excited and innocent appearance, Ni Jingxi wondered if she would really faint if she knew that she and Huo Shenyan were still sleeping in the same bed.
However, everyone soon had to get down to serious business and didn't have time for gossip.
However, Ni Jingxi was unaware that the moment Huo Shenyan helped her up had already been filmed and uploaded to the internet.
She was still in the meeting room, intently waiting for her turn to ask a question.
The media were seated at the back, while guests were giving speeches in front. The first speaker was an entrepreneur from Singapore, who spoke entirely in English.
The reporter next to him said with a bit of a headache, "Although we can communicate in basic English without any problems, it's still difficult to understand these professional speech drafts."
Because it was an economic forum, many of the speeches involved specialized economic terminology.
Fortunately, Ni Jingxi had prepared thoroughly beforehand, so she wasn't completely lost. However, she was genuinely busy; she was responsible for news items, interviews, and scripts. Many entrepreneurs were attending, and she had contacted several beforehand, wanting to do a special interview with one of them.
After all, her newspaper was very famous, so it did get a response, but the other party kept getting stuck on the interview outline.
As soon as the meeting ended, Ni Jingxi rushed to where Song Yu and the others were. They had already finished editing the video.
This is for the official Weibo and WeChat accounts. As for the pictures and articles, we are also rushing to finish them. Ni Jingxi looked around and found that both the sofa and the chair were taken by others.
She sighed, picked up her laptop, and sat down on the floor.
After she typed the last word, quickly checked the draft, and sent it to her colleagues, Song Yu noticed her stop typing and quickly took the sandwich from her.
"Jingxi, have something to eat to tide you over."
Ni Jingxi glanced around and said in a low voice, "Eating isn't allowed here, is it?"
Song Yu quickly hid the sandwich in her bag and said anxiously, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"It's alright, you must all be hungry. Let's go out and get something to eat first."
Everyone knows from experience that boxed meals won't be provided in this kind of setting, and there aren't many restaurants around the venue, so everyone simply brought their own food to eat on the spot.
Ni Jingxi had brought a bag of sliced bread, which she had taken from the refrigerator at home that morning.
But the bread is in the car right now.
Just as she took the sandwich from Song Yu and said thank you, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. When she looked up, she saw Tang Mian rushing over.
He was also carrying two bags, which looked like they contained very heavy things.
Upon seeing Ni Jingxi, he immediately laughed and said, "I've finally found you! I was just about to call you."
It was the height of the morning sun, and since the parking lot was quite far from the ground, everyone originally planned to finish their sandwiches and quickly return to the venue to rest. So they found a shady spot here, and since there were no chairs, they simply laid out a piece of paper on the ground and sat down.
Ni Jingxi looked at him in surprise, but Tang Mian had already squatted down and opened the plastic bag he had brought.
Inside were bowls of hot boxed meals.
"Everyone's been working hard all morning, so let's have some boxed lunches to replenish our energy. Sandwiches will do as afternoon tea," Tang Mian said with a smile as he distributed the boxed lunches to everyone.
Although he was dressed in a suit and tie and looked very sophisticated, he had a gentle and approachable demeanor that made people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze.
As soon as everyone opened their lunchboxes, Song Yu exclaimed, "It's pork chops!"
Normally, people wouldn't think much of pork chops, but right now, when everyone is starving, a hot lunchbox with lots of meat suddenly appears out of nowhere, and they almost want to kneel down in gratitude.
Ni Jingxi was surprised that he would specially send over a boxed lunch, and said apologetically, "Thank you for your trouble, Tang Mian."
Tang Mian smiled and said, "It's nothing."
He then distributed coffee from another bag to everyone. People tend to feel sleepy at noon, and having a cup of coffee in hand means they don't have to worry about lacking energy for work in the afternoon.
This is just like Doraemon, giving you whatever you want.
Fortunately, Tang Mian didn't stay long; he left after delivering the items.
After he left, Song Yu whispered to Jingxi, "Jingxi, is this your boyfriend? He's so nice."
Ni Jingxi, who had just put a mouthful of rice in her mouth, almost spat it out when she heard this.
But someone was even more agitated than her. A male colleague on the other side lowered his voice and said, "Song Yu, you'd better shut up."
Looking at the two of them, Song Yu was momentarily at a loss as to what she had said wrong.
After Ni Jingxi finished eating, put away her lunchbox, threw it in the trash can, and went to the restroom before returning, Song Yu stood anxiously in the distance, holding her coffee.
After she walked over, Song Yu immediately said, "Sister Jingxi, I'm really sorry."
"What's wrong?" Ni Jingxi asked, looking at her.
Song Yu sobbed, "I really didn't expect Huo Shenyan to be with you..."
She had an urge to smash her watermelon head open; it was probably just full of water. She only knew Huo Shenyan because of the preliminary preparations for this forum.
At the time, I thought this young entrepreneur was so cool. She was usually a shut-in who loved anime and manga and didn't care about gossip online at all. Even if someone shared some gossip with her, she would righteously declare that she was a reporter for Xinhua News Agency, that she didn't create or spread rumors, and that she didn't care about gossip news.
This time, I really embarrassed myself.
The reason she was so excited to see Huo Shenyan today was that she felt he really resembled her favorite anime character. Both had a standard handsome, narrow face, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs—a perfect anime physique.
She really never expected that the other person was actually married to Ni Jingxi.
"No wonder I felt you two had great chemistry the moment I saw Huo Shenyan today, especially when he was holding your arm," Song Yu nodded solemnly.
Ni Jingxi was genuinely amused by her.
It's not surprising that no one knew they were a couple, since many people who don't like going online don't really care.
Besides, they announced their marriage two years ago, and they have almost never appeared together in public since then, so it's normal that they don't remember.
It turns out that she wasn't the only one who shared the same idea.
The image of Huo Shenyan turning back to support her that morning had already been circulated online, and now their names were trending again. If Ni Jingxi hadn't been so busy that she didn't have time to check Weibo, she probably would have seen it already.
However, the comments on the trending topics were mixed.
"Wow, so sweet! Grandma, your favorite couple is finally together."
"If it weren't for this video, I would have almost forgotten that these two are a couple. Seriously, are they really not divorced?"
"Yeah, I think they're so unfamiliar with each other."
“There’s no awkwardness here. It’s normal to act like this in a public place. Ni Jingxi just fell, and Huo Shenyan turned around to save her. Isn’t that sweet enough?”
"I also feel awkward, and besides, Ni Jingxi's life as a daughter-in-law in a wealthy family is too miserable."
“I also feel sorry for her. I’ve never seen her go on a shopping spree, and she’s still working as a junior reporter. Her in-laws must not like her.”
"You guys are a bit cynical, aren't you? Maybe they just enjoy their work." But the addition of two dog emojis at the end clearly carries a sarcastic tone.
As the trending topic climbed higher and higher, Tang Mian finally informed Huo Shenyan of the situation. Huo Shenyan then turned around and asked, "You mean Xinhua News Agency had previously requested an exclusive interview?"
Tang Mian nodded. Huo Shenyan didn't usually like giving exclusive interviews, but the secretariat handed this one over because it was an interview with Xinhua News Agency.
Huo Shenyan looked at him and said, "I agree. Let's accept it today."
Tang Mian was taken aback, but he understood what he meant.
Soon, Ni Jingxi also received the news. In fact, she had already prepared the interview outline, and the afternoon meeting had not yet started, so Ni Jingxi went to Huo Shenyan's lounge.
A photographer was also present this time, as they needed to take some photos as well.
Huo Shenyan, who was previously known for his reluctance to give media interviews, was unusually easy to talk to this time.
When he and Ni Jingxi sat facing each other, they both felt a strange sense of dislocation.
At this moment, they are Huo Shenyan and Ni Jingxi.
But they are also entrepreneur Huo Shenyan and journalist Ni Jingxi.
Although Ni Jingxi had prepared an interview proposal, it was mostly Huo Shenyan's impromptu remarks. He talked about the product innovation that Hengya Group was facing, and said that in addition to the communications business, they would continue to expand the AI business unit and the series of smart products that they were currently promoting.
He also discussed Hengye Group's business strategy in Asia.
Ni Jingxi looked at him as he spoke; he was mature, wise, and composed, with an air of calm confidence that seemed to have everything under control.
Even at the end of the interview, she still felt like there was more to say.
But the afternoon meeting was about to begin, so Ni Jingxi stood up and extended her palm: "Thank you for accepting my interview, Mr. Huo."
Huo Shenyan calmly grasped her hand: "You're welcome, reporter."
The two of them performed with remarkable composure, their acting skills enough to win an Oscar, while the others in the dressing room were at a loss for words.
It wasn't until Ni Jingxi asked Huo Shenyan to cooperate in taking a few photos that Huo Shenyan actually pulled her along.
Seeing his skillful and excellent acting, Ni Jingxi cooperated and took a few photos with him.
Ni Jingxi then left to revise the manuscript.