Chapter 50: Twisting Black and White to Capitalize on the Hype

Meng Zexiao was striding forward on the path of turning over a new leaf, while Kong Lingxin was contemplating when she could make a graceful exit. She disliked this life of being "admired"; although it was filled with fine silks and brocades, it was also fraught with contention.

She had not been at the Meng family for long, yet she had experienced situations that previously only occurred in television dramas and novels. Fortunately, Kong Lingxin handled them with a certain degree of grace.

However, she still preferred her true self—a kindergarten teacher with a modest salary who would hesitate for a long time before buying a piece of clothing at the mall; though poor, her life was never short of laughter.

After coming out of Meng Zexiao's office, Wan Si began to process the documents on her desk. She did not hand over some of the important matters to Liu Feifei, knowing full well that this woman's flattery skills far exceeded her work capabilities.

Having finished her tasks, Wan Si left Dingsheng Tower. Yet, the moment she stepped into the elevator with her handbag, a pair of eyes was quietly watching her from behind.

Upon leaving Dingsheng Tower, Wan Si called Kong Lingxin to inform her that Huang Xiaoyong would be attending a movie promotional event in City B that afternoon, and she had already contacted the organizers to reserve front-row seats.

Wan Si's phone call was like a small pebble tossed into a stagnant pool, stirring up ripples in Kong Lingxin's heart. It made her feel that something lost for many years might just be regained. She did not ask to be reunited with Gu Yiming; she only hoped to use this opportunity to get Gu Yiming's contact information and reach out to him once her identity as Wang Lingyi was restored.

To Wan Si's surprise, Kong Lingxin did not dress up brilliantly and gorgeously as she had imagined. Instead, she wore the most ordinary sky-blue knit sweater and denim shorts, making her look exceptionally youthful and vibrant, though this outfit was far removed from the status of a wealthy tycoon's wife.

Seeing the astonished look on Wan Si, who was dressed in a professional suit, Kong Lingxin couldn't help but look herself over and ask, "What? Is something wrong?"

Looking at Kong Lingxin's adorable appearance, Wan Si couldn't help sighing that youth was truly wonderful. She said, "Nothing is wrong, this looks great. Since I am going out with you, I should change my clothes as well. This outfit seems too—"

Kong Lingxin said, "Alright, our figures are quite similar. I have plenty of unworn clothes upstairs. If you don't mind, you can pick one out, and that will save time."

Looking at Kong Lingxin's well-proportioned, standard figure with its graceful curves and a pair of long legs with an exceptional proportion, Wan Si felt admiration in her heart, but no jealousy.

After changing into the casual clothes given to her by Kong Lingxin, Wan Si felt much more relaxed all over. She said to Kong Lingxin, "A formal suit and skirt completely restrict a person's individuality. If I become a boss in the future, I will stipulate that my employees are allowed to wear casual clothes to work."

Kong Lingxin smiled and said, "You will definitely achieve your dream, because you respect other people's seemingly naive dreams."

When Kong Lingxin and Wan Si arrived at the venue, the entrance was already crowded with fans eager to see their idols and entertainment reporters. Although security guards were maintaining order at the scene, it still looked rather chaotic.

Wan Si had underestimated the fanaticism and enthusiasm of the fans at the scene. Slightly worried that something might happen to Kong Lingxin, she sought her opinion and asked, "Should we have President Meng send some security guards over? It is so chaotic here; if you were to get hurt, my responsibility would be immense."

Kong Lingxin found it amusing internally. Meng Zexiao's security guards might not even be able to beat her in a fight. She said, "You are not going out with me for the first time. Rest assured, I am not as delicate as you imagine."

Wan Si had indeed witnessed Kong Lingxin's agile moves yesterday, but yesterday's target was Liu Lin—a woman with no strength to truss a chicken and a mind consumed solely by perverted hatred. Today, however, the venue was packed with a vast sea of people.

Since contact had been made in advance, Wan Si reached out to the person in charge at the venue, and they led the two of them into the hall through the VIP passage.

Subsequently, media reporters entered one after another, setting up their equipment and waiting for the glamorous idols on the screen to appear.

However, what attracted Kong Lingxin's attention was not the huge portrait of Huang Xiaoyong in the exact center of the venue. She kept looking toward the entrance from time to time, feeling rather uncertain in her heart whether Gu Yiming would appear this time. After all, when Gu Yiming protected Huang Xiaoyong last time, his appearance stole all the limelight from Huang Xiaoyong.

She simply did not know how Huang Xiaoyong's agency would handle the matter. If Gu Yiming were allowed to continue following Huang Xiaoyong, there might be the awkward situation of the bodyguard stealing the spotlight once again. On the other hand, dismissing the bodyguard simply because he stole the limelight once would make the artist appear particularly petty.

Suddenly, a series of screams erupted from the crowd, with fans at the scene shouting their idol's name.

The host's voice was completely drowned out. Kong Lingxin felt unaccustomed to the high-decibel sounds behind her, but in order to see Gu Yiming, she kept telling herself to hold on just a little longer.

Sensing Kong Lingxin's discomfort, Wan Si leaned over and said to her, "Dingsheng Group will be sponsoring a charity event next time, and we will invite some first-tier stars like Huang Xiaoyong to participate. If you feel it is too noisy here now, we can let you interact face-to-face with Huang Xiaoyong when we attend the charity event next time."

Gazing in the direction where the VIP guests would emerge, Kong Lingxin replied to Wan Si, "It's fine. I just wanted to catch a glimpse of the real-life Huang Xiaoyong. Seeing him once is enough."

Kong Lingxin's casual attitude was worlds apart from the enthusiasm she had previously expressed for Huang Xiaoyong. Wan Si thought to herself—perhaps it was a case of illusion shattering upon meeting the idol in person. Only, this disillusionment came a bit too early.

Finally, amidst the surging waves of cheers from the fans, Huang Xiaoyong appeared before everyone's eyes, yet no sign of his bodyguard could be seen by his side.

Kong Lingxin's originally straight back slowly leaned back against the chair, a look of disappointment washing over her face.

Wan Si glanced at Huang Xiaoyong a few times: he was not as tall as Meng Zexiao, and his facial features could not compare to Meng Zexiao's good looks either; he simply looked very photogenic.

When Wan Si turned back to look at Kong Lingxin, the disappointed expression had not yet faded from her face. Thus, Wan Si assumed that Kong Lingxin had indeed experienced the "disillusionment upon meeting in person" that she had anticipated earlier.

Next came the host introducing the movie, introducing each actor's role in the film, followed by the director heaping praise on each actor, and finally concluding with the media Q&A session.

As the actor with the greatest box office draw at the event, Huang Xiaoyong naturally became the target that the media reporters rushed to interview. Soon, someone asked a question that interested Kong Lingxin. The reporter asked, "Hello, Xiaoyong. I am a reporter from Entertainment Frontier. A few days ago, you and your girlfriend attended a brand endorsement event together for the first time, which attracted widespread attention. Among them, your bodyguard was also warmly pursued by netizens. May I ask if you brought this spotlight-stealing bodyguard with you today?"

Presumably, before attending the event, Huang Xiaoyong's team had already prepared for reporters to ask this question. He answered fluently, "Today is actually an event to promote the movie, and I originally didn't want to talk about my personal life. However, since you asked, I think I should give a polite response. First of all, attending the event today is to promote the movie, and the security at the venue is handled by dedicated personnel, so I did not bring my bodyguard with me this time. As for the popularity of my bodyguard, I have also learned about it through Weibo, because many enthusiastic netizens have also tagged me. Knowing that everyone likes him very much, I even specifically asked him if he had any intention of transitioning into the entertainment industry. He said he would consider it if he could work with Brother Jackie Chan."

"Hahaha." The fans and entertainment reporters at the scene burst into laughter at Huang Xiaoyong's witty and humorous response.

Following the established procedure, the promotional event continued, and Kong Lingxin began to look around out of sheer boredom to pass the time.

Seeing these glamorous stars whom she had previously only seen on screen, Kong Lingxin didn't feel excited at all. Whether it was because her disappointment at not being able to see Gu Yiming had wiped out the excitement, or because she had already settled into her role as a wealthy tycoon's wife with unruffled composure, remained unknown.

When she finally heard the host announce the transition to the exclusive media interview session, Kong Lingxin and Wan Si immediately stood up to leave.

However, the moment the two of them stood up, several reporters suddenly aimed their cameras at Kong Lingxin and began taking pictures frantically.

Other reporters, unaware of what was happening over here, heard the clicking of the cameras and ran over out of herd mentality, fearing they might miss some news.

For a moment, Kong Lingxin and Wan Si had no idea what was going on to cause the reporters to abandon the dazzling stars on stage and photograph her instead.

Just as they were feeling puzzled, someone who looked like a reporter finally spoke up and asked, "Are you Kong Lingxin, the second young mistress of Dingsheng Group?"

Kong Lingxin did not know why they were interviewing her. Even if there were reporters conducting interviews, they should have been financial reporters.

Seeing that Kong Lingxin did not speak, another reporter took her silence as tacit agreement and said, "I heard that Mrs. Meng disguised herself as an entertainment reporter to find out that Bai Tingting was having an affair with your husband, and then encountered your husband and Bai Tingting having Western food at a restaurant. In a fit of rage, you used Western tableware to stab and injure Bai Tingting. Is there any truth to this?"

What was going on?!

Kong Lingxin had not expected that a matter could truly be twisted inside out like this. Who was stirring up trouble behind the scenes? Logically speaking, Bai Tingting had already been reduced by Meng Zexiao to a state where she had lost all ability to resist, and the savings in her pocket would barely sustain her basic living expenses—how could she possibly have the money to hire entertainment reporters to distort the truth and create hype?

Although she did not know the specifics of what had happened, Wan Si also had a wealth of experience in dealing with such crises. She stepped forward and said to the reporter who had just spoken, "May I ask which media outlet you represent?"

Seeing that Wan Si was dressed in casual clothes and looked unremarkable, the other party paid her no mind at all and continued aggressively, "Mrs. Meng, do you perhaps have a mental illness, such as manic disorder? I heard that yesterday at another occasion, you even beat up the niece of the Public Security Bureau chief."

Wan Si raised her head and said, "As media professionals, you are legally responsible for making such baseless claims! If you have the nerve to fabricate stories here, do you not even have the guts to state your organization? Let me tell you, even if you don't say it, I can still find out your organization. Just wait to receive a lawyer's letter!"

Following that, Wan Si said to the other whispering entertainment reporters, "Everyone, justice dwells in people's hearts. Mrs. Meng has always kept a low profile and lived quietly; she is a literature enthusiast. Today, Director Zhang's movie was adapted from a novel that Mrs. Meng particularly loves, so she simply wanted to come and see the promotional event. Never did we expect that no matter how low-key one is, they would still be exploited by people with ulterior motives for hype. There is only one truth, and I believe everyone will make their own judgment."

With that, Wan Si cleared the way in front and had Kong Lingxin follow her as they left.

Throughout the entire process, Kong Lingxin consistently smiled at the lenses, looking gentle, poised, and graceful.