Chapter 58

Originally, the scene of a rich, handsome man driving a luxury car and laying out roses in front of the Imperial City TV building to confess his love had already become a trending topic online. Now, suddenly someone came out and claimed it was actually a publicity stunt by the female host, which immediately caught the attention of countless people.

Some self-proclaimed "worldly-wise" individuals eagerly jumped in, saying they had already suspected the event had a hint of staged publicity. How could there be so many rich and handsome men in the world? They casually throw around gemstones and diamonds, but these so-called gems might be just cheap trinkets from a street vendor.

As for the luxury cars and bodyguards, it was all for show—probably just rented for a high price.

Within just a few hours, the topic of "The host hiring someone to pose as a rich and handsome man to confess his love" skyrocketed to the top of the trending list on Weibo. Countless netizens expressed their shock, saying the host's innocent face now seemed like a calculated act. There were so many young female hosts in the Imperial City TV station—how could she be the only one with real hosting skills?

Netizen 387: "I have a friend who works in the industry. Apparently, this host graduated from a no-name university, her family has some money, and she got into the station through connections. She's been manipulating the older audience by pretending to be innocent. It's disgusting."

Netizen 439: "She even deceived the elderly, what kind of person is she? She doesn't even look that good. How can so many rich, handsome men be blind enough to fall for her?"

Netizen 455: "To the netizen who said the host isn't that pretty—maybe you should look in the mirror before you speak."

Netizen 462: "Is the person defending Yan Xi really one of her paid agents? How much did your master pay you to defend her? Using such a low-end trick to hype things up and think we're all fools?"

The online arguments were intense, with some netizens fiercely criticizing Yan Xi as if she were a street scammer stealing money from the elderly or kidnapping children.

"Teacher Xu, you need to be colder and more arrogant. Yes, just like that look. Take three steps to the left—perfect! Great, we've got it."

Once the shooting stopped, Xu Qiaosheng took off his prop glasses, sat down on a rest chair, and murmured to his assistant, "This isn't a domineering CEO, it's more like the foolish son of a landlord. The female lead must have a screw loose to fall for this guy."

"Cough," the assistant handed Xu Qiaosheng his phone. "Xu Shao, why don't you check Weibo?"

At that point, Xu Qiaosheng, being an avid netizen, grabbed his phone and started scrolling through Weibo instead of continuing his complaints about the script.

"Wait, my second cousin's wife is getting accused of faking the rich guy confession for publicity?" He clicked on the video in curiosity and burst out laughing. "Fake rich guy? This is clearly Brother Yi and Song Chao. If those two are fake rich guys, then I must be a beggar."

But when did Brother Yi manage to get Dahe to fall for him? Just a few days ago, he was still secretly browsing tips on how to woo women. Amused, Xu Qiaosheng closed Weibo and started going through his contacts.

Such a fun incident—he had to share it with Wang Zi and the others!

"You've been in Haishi for so long, and you've only been back to the Imperial City for less than half a year. How would you know where to find good food?" said Yuan Yi, savoring the dishes on the table, which were delicious and the ingredients top-notch, though the location was a bit out of the way.

"Don't underestimate the amazing powers women have when it comes to food," Yan Xi put down her chopsticks and took a sip of freshly squeezed juice. "When we want to, we can become the best detectives."

"You women just like to..." Yuan Yi was about to say something about women's obsession with food, but when he saw Yan Xi's smiling face, he changed his tone. "You women are just really good at this, unlike us men who are so rough and careless."

A man's pride can occasionally be put aside—it's fine. Besides, Yan Xi really was excellent in this area, and admitting defeat is the mark of a true man.

They continued chatting and laughing, as if forgetting everything that had happened in the afternoon, their relationship growing even closer.

After dinner, Yuan Yi received a call from Xu Qiaosheng and learned about the online drama.

"What's going on?" Yan Xi, holding her bag, was about to leave when she noticed Yuan Yi's expression had changed. "Is something wrong?"

Could it be that the Yuan family heard about this and now wanted Yuan Yi to break up with her? This sounded like a plot straight out of a wealthy family drama—if the parents didn't object to their child's relationship, it'd be a scandal.

Yuan Yi hung up the phone, turned to Yan Xi, and said with a smile, "Someone online is claiming you paid to hire a fake rich guy to confess your love for publicity."

"Ah?" Yan Xi was stunned, and after a moment, she sighed, "Looks like I've made some people hate me." This kind of smear campaign was straight out of the entertainment industry. Was she, a host with little fame, really worth someone paying for marketing to blacken her name?

They left the restaurant, and Yuan Yi opened the car door for Yan Xi. "I'll handle this for you."

Yan Xi looked up at him. "How are you going to handle it?"

"There's nothing more convincing than hearing from the person involved," Yuan Yi got into the car, opened Weibo, and said to Yan Xi, "Who's saying I'm a fake rich guy?"

The confession video had already gone viral on Weibo, so finding it wasn't difficult. Yuan Yi found the post with the most comments, shared it, and commented:

Yuan Yi: "Yan Xi is my girlfriend. She doesn't need to fake a confession. I'm not a fake rich guy. Some misleading marketing accounts, you'll be receiving a lawyer's letter soon."

When Yuan Yi's comment appeared, people initially thought it was just another internet troll. But when they clicked on it, they almost fell to their knees in shock. They couldn't help but think back to the mysterious girlfriend incident that had just made headlines. At that time, numerous marketing accounts had deleted their posts and publicly apologized, including the movie queen Zhao Feifei, who posted two public apologies—one for Mr. Yuan and one for his mysterious girlfriend.

So, the "fake rich guy" they were mocking was actually the mysterious girlfriend's real partner?

People remembered that some netizens who mocked the "mysterious girlfriend" had received lawyer's letters, and some had even been taken to court. They started deleting their comments in fear.

Marketing accounts were in a state of shock. They had only wanted to make a quick buck, but now they had stirred up trouble. This was worse than the last time—they had directly accused the girlfriend of faking publicity. They were done for.

Yuan Yi's post sent netizens into a frenzy, and those who had previously criticized Yan Xi were mocked and embarrassed.

Netizen 1: "You're so capable, go hire two rich guys to help you with your publicity!"

Netizen 2: "If she can get a big shot like this to help with her publicity, why is she still a small host? Instead of running around in the wind and rain to shoot, she might as well go to the national station!"

Netizen 3: "I just went to check out Yan Xi's Weibo. She's like a breath of fresh air in the hosting world. She only reposts show previews and brags about how beautiful the succulents she bought are. But I noticed, every picture has the same iron-clad desk and the same flowing succulents."

Netizen 4: "A host who can't even keep succulents alive, yet she's being ridiculed by netizens and doesn't even speak up. She clearly has a rich boyfriend but never flaunts their love. Even though people are slandering her today, she doesn't say a word. Instead, it's her boyfriend who can't stand it and speaks up for her. Suddenly, I think she's cute. I'm switching to her fan club."

Netizen 5: "Some people's hearts are so dirty. When they see a girl being pursued by a great guy, they claim it's all for show. As a loyal fan of 'The Things Around Us,' I think the host girl is super cute. It's totally normal to be pursued by a great guy. Plus, she was firm in rejecting her pursuers without hesitation. Such a good host is being slandered, so there must be some kind of conspiracy behind it."

Netizen 6: "Am I the only one who thinks the rejected suitor... might be the most outstanding of the younger generation from the Song family?"

Yan Xi was scrolling through the comments online, laughing so hard she was holding her stomach.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Netizens said that if you're going to stir up a scandal, you first need to set a small goal, like getting two rich young men to publicly confess." Yan Xi handed the phone to Yuan Yi, "These netizens are so creative."

"They were just insulting you earlier, and now you're praising them for being creative?" Yuan Yi was furious after reading the comments, but he was surprised to see that Yan Xi, the person being targeted, didn't care at all.

In fact, Yan Xi wasn't angry at all; on the contrary, she was quite pleased. If it weren't for these people, how would Yuan Yi have spoken out publicly and acknowledged her as his girlfriend? A few insults here and there were nothing, but the closer the person around you got, the bigger the deal it would be.

"Most netizens are just passersby. They're not really trying to slander me. It's obvious that someone paid for a marketing team," Yan Xi said indifferently, "Using such low tactics to take down a competitor is the dumbest and most despicable way."

For example, before they went around spreading false rumors about her, they should have at least investigated the identities of Song Chao and Yuan Yi. They just spewed lies without any thought, not afraid of offending someone untouchable.

"By the way," Yan Xi suddenly looked up at Yuan Yi, her eyes sparkling like dazzling stars, and Yuan Yi nearly forgot who he was and where he was. "Thank goodness you're here to defend my honor."

Seeing Yuan Yi's cheeks flush, staring at her in a daze, Yan Xi knew that the person close to her had some feelings for her too. She leaned in a little more, her smile even sweeter and more innocent. "Yuan Xiaoer, thank you. It's really nice to meet a friend like you."

"N-No need," Yuan Yi blushed, "Don't get so close."

He was afraid that his heart, which was beating loudly, would be heard by Yan Xi. Finally, he had a reason to make others believe that they were a couple and prevent other men from approaching Yan Xi. He didn't dare to let Yan Xi realize his scheme.

"Oh," Yan Xi leaned back with a smile, "If you tell others that I'm your girlfriend, do you think your uncle and aunt will be mad at you?"

Yuan Yi froze for a moment before remembering that "uncle and aunt" referred to his parents. He spoke calmly, "I don't need anyone else to make decisions for me."

"I see," Yan Xi took a drink from the small fridge, "Here, can you open this for me?"

After Yuan Yi opened the bottle, he realized what she meant. He silently stared at her. Would it hurt if she didn't make things difficult for him?

"Thank you," Yan Xi smiled innocently, "This teaches us a lesson: sometimes leaving a little room when speaking helps save face."

Yuan Yi: ...

When they arrived at Yan Xi's apartment, as she was getting out of the car, Yuan Yi called her, "Don't worry about the online stuff. I'll help you figure out who's behind the smear campaign."

"Thank you, Big Brother Jin," Yan Xi stood by the car door, looking at Yuan Yi, "You're so nice. Maybe I should just stick with you for life."

Yuan Yi looked at her for a few seconds and nodded, "Okay."

"Really?" Yan Xi tilted her head and extended her pinky finger at him, "Let's make a pinky swear!"

"Yan Xiao Xi, aren't you childish? You're over twenty, and you're still playing those kindergarten games," Yuan Yi complained, but his hand reached out of the car window with a "What can I do, I have no choice but to cooperate with you" expression, "Fine, let's do it."

"Pinky swear, a hundred years no change, and if anyone breaks their word, they're a pig."

Their fingers were pressed together, soft and warm. Yuan Yi looked at this woman smiling out the window, and it felt like the entire world had quieted down.

He had never been as certain as he was in this moment that he was utterly captivated by this woman. Despite her contradictions, despite her not being overtly sexy or glamorous, and despite her sometimes sharp, cutting words, he couldn't help it—his eyes, brain, heart, and entire body just couldn't control the fact that he liked her.

He had no choice but to accept it.

"Okay, a hundred years, no change."

The night breeze picked up, and Yan Xi reluctantly pulled her hand back. "Well, I'm going inside now. Be careful on the road, and tell the driver to go slow."

"Ah, I almost forgot," she reached up to take the diamond necklace off her neck, "I'm returning this to you."

Yuan Yi didn't take it. Instead, he looked at Yan Xi and said, "Why are you giving it back to me? I'm a grown man—do you think I'll wear this? I don't have any other women around, and if you don't wear it, it'll just sit in the box gathering dust."

"But it's too expensive..."

"Do you need money?" Yuan Yi interrupted her.

Yan Xi shook her head.

"Then do I need money?"

She shook her head again.

"See?" Yuan Yi closed her palm gently. "Since money is just a number to us, whether something is expensive or cheap doesn't matter, right? Since you've called me 'Big Brother Jin,' are you afraid that I'll give you something?"

Yan Xi: This rich guy was so effortlessly refined; she couldn't argue with him.

"You just wear it because it's pretty," Yuan Yi said, seeing her hair fluttering lightly in the night breeze, "It's cold outside. Go in quickly."

"Alright," Yan Xi didn't insist on returning the necklace. "Good night."

"Good night." Yuan Yi waited until he saw her go inside before slowly rolling up the car window.

The next morning, when Yan Xi entered the TV building, she noticed that her colleagues were even friendlier than before. When she ran into an employee from the advertising department in the elevator, they even主动 greeted her.

The colleagues at the channel were still okay. Though there were a few jokes, the atmosphere was generally fine, and no one deliberately said anything mean. Shortly after lunch, Director Jin came to find her and took her upstairs to meet the station's leaders.

Once in the office, Director Jin introduced her to Director Yang from a certain department.

Having worked at the station for several months, Yan Xi had only met some of the station's leaders in meetings, but never had a chance to really talk to them. After politely greeting Director Yang, she was invited to sit down. Director Yang then began asking if she had encountered any difficulties in her work and whether she was adjusting well to the station's environment.

Yan Xi praised every department she could think of, which made Director Yang smile even more warmly. "The reason we called you here is that the station is planning to nurture two new talents. After discussing with Teacher Shen Xingyan, she feels that your temperament and hosting ability meet her requirements. So, we're planning to have you learn some hosting experience from her. You should be familiar with the programs she hosts here, and we'd like you to choose one that fits your hosting style. If there's no issue, you'll be hosting with Teacher Shen."

To prevent any misunderstanding, Director Yang quickly added, "This decision was made a couple of days ago. We intended to notify you yesterday afternoon, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we could only get to it today."

Before Yan Xi could say anything, there was a knock on the door. She glanced at Director Yang and swallowed the words she was about to say.