Chapter 51: Crisis Management

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It was not long before a gossip post appeared online under the headline, “Suspected Husband’s Affair: Wife of a Super-Wealthy Family Slaughters Famous Actress.” It spread with astonishing speed; in just over an hour, the number of reposts had already approached one hundred thousand.

At the same time, someone on Weibo, claiming to be a fan who had attended a promotional event for a film starring Huang Xiaoyong, posted a detailed account, complete with photographs and text, describing how Kong Lingxin had been “interrogated” by entertainment reporters at the scene.

For a time, the gossip became the hottest topic of discussion throughout the city.

Stories about wealthy families had always fascinated the public. With a famous actress thrown into the mix, the scandal became even more explosive. To make matters more sensational, the wealthy party involved was none other than the second daughter-in-law of the Meng family, a woman who had rarely appeared in public. Ordinary people were endlessly curious about the lives of the rich. It could be said that this topic—and the people involved—had captured everyone’s attention.

The public-relations team at Dingsheng Group quickly took notice of the rumor. The PR manager immediately reported the situation to Meng Haoquan. When Meng Haoquan heard the news, he flew into a rage and ordered his secretary to summon Meng Zexiao to his office at once.

Meng Zexiao learned about the rumors flooding the internet less than a minute after his father did, so he was not surprised when Meng Haoquan called for him.

In the past, Meng Zexiao had often made the entertainment headlines because of his ambiguous relationships with various actresses. Meng Haoquan had usually turned a blind eye and never summoned him specifically to reprimand him over such reports. But today, Meng Zexiao was not surprised by the summons. After all, Kong Lingxin was involved, and the rumors were particularly damaging.

Seeing his beloved son’s indifferent expression, Meng Haoquan exploded.

“Just look at the mess you manage to create every single day!”

Meng Zexiao thought his father was making far too much of it. With the strength of Dingsheng Group’s PR team, these reports could easily be removed from the news sites. There was no reason to waste energy over them.

He said dismissively, “You don’t need to worry about this, Dad. I’ll handle it.”

Meng Haoquan slammed his palm onto the desk, a rare display of anger toward his son.

“You keep saying you can handle it. Then let me hear how you plan to handle it.”

Although Meng Zexiao was deeply irritated at being shouted at by his father in front of the secretary and PR manager, he had always held his father in awe. He could only suppress his impatience and explain, “Dingsheng Group has plenty of advertising partners. If any of them dare report on this, we can simply withdraw our annual advertising contracts.”

Meng Haoquan’s face turned livid. Pointing at the PR manager, he said, “Manager Wang, explain the implications to him.”

Manager Wang addressed Meng Zexiao with utmost respect. “Second Young Master, this is the age of self-media. The number of Weibo users has surged, and any one of them could become the source of dissemination. It is extremely difficult to control.”

Before his son could respond, Meng Haoquan said impatiently, “Look at you. Aside from causing trouble for me every day, do you even know how much the world outside has changed? With information so advanced and so many channels for spreading news, you can’t simply block whatever you want.”

Manager Wang added, “Exactly. As the chairman said, public relations can no longer be handled by suppressing information. A single misstep could easily produce the opposite result.”

Meng Zexiao shot the PR manager a cold glance. “If handling public relations were really that easy, why would we pay you such a high salary?”

After that remark, the PR manager stood silently to one side and did not dare say another word.

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Completely defeated by his son’s domineering nature, Meng Haoquan wore an expression of helplessness.

“Tell me exactly what happened. Lingxin doesn’t look like the sort of person who would attack someone.”

This was the first time in the year since Meng Zexiao’s marriage that Meng Haoquan had asked about the couple’s affairs. In the past, no matter how many consecutive days Meng Zexiao spent on the entertainment pages, Meng Haoquan had never asked a single question.

As long as Meng Zexiao did his job well, Meng Haoquan had apparently never cared how chaotic his marriage or private life might be. Besides, to many people, the messy personal lives of wealthy young heirs were hardly considered a serious flaw.

Meng Zexiao felt that his father’s behavior today was entirely unlike the father he knew. Nevertheless, he honestly recounted everything that had happened.

After listening, Meng Haoquan exchanged a glance with the PR manager and the secretary, silently asking for their opinions.

The secretary spoke first. “Based on what Second Young Master has told us, I believe someone must be manipulating things behind the scenes. The mastermind must know the lives of both Second Young Master and Second Young Madam extremely well. It is probably someone Second Young Master knows.”

The PR manager said, “For the rumor to spread so rapidly in such a short time, the other side must have employed an army of online posters. I suspect this was planned long ago.”

He then turned to Meng Zexiao. “Bai Tingting appears to be the prime suspect, but she would not have been capable of arranging something this thoroughly. She also lacks the financial resources, and there would be no reason for her to challenge someone far more powerful than herself. The real mastermind must be someone else. Second Young Master, think carefully. Have you provoked or offended anyone recently?”

Meng Zexiao glanced at the PR manager and found the question amusing.

“I’ve offended plenty of people. If you investigate according to that approach, you won’t get anywhere for quite some time. By the time you find the culprit, the whole thing will be ancient history.”

Seeing that his son refused to speak properly to his subordinates, Meng Haoquan simply dismissed the secretary and the PR manager. Soon, only father and son remained in the enormous office.

Meng Zexiao had already prepared himself for a long-winded lecture, but he never expected Meng Haoquan to ask, “I heard that your relationship with Lingxin has improved recently?”

For a moment, Meng Zexiao could hardly believe his ears. Had the business titan who had dominated the commercial world for decades truly grown old? Had he finally remembered that he had a family?

After a long pause, Meng Zexiao replied, “It’s all right.”

Clearly dissatisfied with the answer, Meng Haoquan said, “I don’t care what you used to think of Lingxin. Don’t forget that your grandfather and I arranged this marriage for the two of you. Your grandfather is gone now, so I can tell you clearly, both on his behalf and on my own: apart from Lingxin, you will not bring any other woman into the Meng family.”

Meng Haoquan’s expression was grave, and his tone was exactly the same as when he discussed business with Meng Zexiao. For a moment, Meng Zexiao felt disoriented. Was his father really discussing marriage and romantic feelings with him?

When Meng Zexiao remained unresponsive, Meng Haoquan raised his voice.

“Do you understand?”

Meng Zexiao lifted his head and stared steadily at his father.

“I understand.”

But inwardly, he was deeply resentful. His elder brother could date, marry, and work without their father interfering. Meng Zexiao had always assumed that his father would only meddle in his career.

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Although he had been forced to marry Kong Lingxin, his father had never interfered in their married life. That had spared Meng Zexiao the pressure of facing him. But now things had changed: his father was meddling in every aspect of his life.

Meng Zexiao tried to get to the bottom of it.

“Dad, you never used to interfere in my marriage. Why are you suddenly so concerned now?”

Meng Haoquan rubbed his temples, looking exhausted.

“Zexiao, your father is getting older. Sooner or later, I’ll have to hand Dingsheng Group over to you. Our company may be powerful now, but the business world is a battlefield, and the situation can change in an instant. You need a stable family so that you can focus on fighting on the front lines. I never interfered before because I knew Lingxin loved you and would never willingly leave you. But things are different now. You are no longer the only person around whom her life revolves. As far as she is concerned, you may be dispensable. I suspect she may even wish you weren’t part of her life at all.”

Although Meng Haoquan spoke with considerable emotion, Meng Zexiao could tell that his father’s words did not reflect the true situation.

Among young heirs born into families like theirs, who did not have several wives and lovers outside the home? Even among his father’s generation, it had been common for men to keep several companions. Yet how many had truly ruined their family fortunes simply by indulging in women outside the marriage?

Meng Zexiao understood his father. If Meng Haoquan did not wish to discuss something, no amount of probing would make him reveal it.

Meng Haoquan continued, “Lingxin’s greatest grievance against you must be your habit of getting involved with other women. You’re nearly thirty now. It’s time to settle down and take proper care of your own family. If Lingxin hadn’t miscarried, your relationship would never have deteriorated this far. In a few more months, I might even have become a grandfather. What a pity. Perhaps it was simply fate.”

Meng Zexiao had never believed in fate, only in his own abilities. Hearing his father utter those words stirred a trace of pity within him. Perhaps this formidable man really was growing old.

Following his father’s lead, Meng Zexiao said, “All right, Dad. I understand. I’ll treat Lingxin better from now on.”

There were some matters a father could address only indirectly, especially a father of Meng Haoquan’s status.

Meng Haoquan chose to end the subject and instead asked his son, “How did you find the dinner hosted by Chairman Song last time?”

At the mention of that dinner, the first image that came to Meng Zexiao’s mind was Kong Lingxin dancing with Liu Hanyi, chatting and laughing happily. A sour taste of jealousy rose in his heart.

He answered his father, “There was nothing particularly memorable about it.”

Meng Haoquan shook his head in exasperation.

“It was such an important dinner, and all you can tell me is that it was nothing special? I heard you even left early.”

Meng Zexiao felt somewhat irritated. Apparently, no matter what he did now, there were eyes watching him from behind the scenes. He had never intended to attend the dinner in the first place. It was only because his father insisted and his mother called him several times that he had finally agreed to go.