Chapter 44 - Compassion (1/2)
The comment section of the live broadcast blew up as soon as Zhong Yan brought out the rabbit. As for what Zhong Yan said later about his apologies to the innocent Capital Research Institute, how he will take the responsibility to investigate the related media, and so on, nobody paid attention. While he spoke, the rabbit bun was moving about on his palm. Every time the rabbit moved, the comment section below would be filled with screaming.
When Zhong Yan finished the clarification segment and entered the Q&A session, he bent over to put down the rabbit, which drew strong protests from the comments section. Zhong Yan smiled helplessly and tilted the lens slightly downwards. He said patiently, “The rabbit will feel uncomfortable if I keep handling it. It’s time for it to sleep.”
Everyone could see the large box on the ground. Half of it was filled with blankets that were red, orange, and yellow. With how white the rabbit was, the contrast was very eye-catching when it cuddled against the blankets.
They were all screaming about how cute the scene was in the comments section; only Adrian’s mouth was twitching. He recognized the box as the box of the cleaning robot at home. The box was usually stuck in place while the cleaning robot was out, so Zhong Yan must have taken the box while the cleaning robot was out at work; he didn’t even know what the cleaning robot was going to do if it returned to the storeroom to find the box missing.
“Alright, we still have ten minutes, so please ask any questions you may want to know before the time ends.” Zhong Yan straightened his body and turned back to the camera. With the rabbit gone, the intimate aura from his body went as well. Even though he was dressed in casual home clothes, he still sat upright with a solemn face, which made it hard for the audience to joke around.
“Firstly, my friends from various circles in society have been concerned about the progress of ‘Butterfly’s’ implementation in Navi System, correct? Regarding that, the Supreme Council has always placed the interests of the Navi System’s citizens at the forefront, so we need to make full considerations…”
He began to speak his way around the questions eloquently. For the Public Relations Department, they could understand both the inner and outer implications of his words; it was a basic requirement. Ping Yan listened for a while and whispered to Adrian, “Is he trying to drag things on?”
Adrian responded, “The capital never had that plan to begin with. They haven’t figured out our might, so they dare not face us directly. The Intelligence Department will catch you up to speed.”
It seemed reasonable for him to say this much, but if you thought about it carefully, you would realize that it was almost equal to saying nothing.
Zhong Yan saw a question pop up in the comments section.
May I ask why Counselor Zhong Yan has taken this long to divorce Commander Yate?
“Strictly speaking, even though the fine was under ‘divorce-related fines’, we’re still not married yet.” He responded with a few sentences to drag on the time. But at the lower-left corner, a small video frame that only he could see was playing. His assistant team had finished typing out a good answer key for him. “Respect ‘Butterfly’s’ decision. You do not know why Yate is not paying.”
Indeed, that was the safest answer for his position, but the times are different now.
The era of the nation’s belief in artificial intelligence was about to undergo earth-shaking changes. The assistant was not sure which direction the trend would go, but Zhong Yan could not be clearer.
Or perhaps, you could say that he had decided on a direction and was set on pushing towards the era to that direction himself, so he could not answer in that way right now in case it was used against him in the future. What’s more, it also went against his own personal agenda. He needed an intriguing enough reply to draw everyone’s attention towards a different direction.
“I do not have many communications with Mr. Yate so I’m not sure what his thoughts are. But as for me personally…” Zhong Yan spoke in a natural tone, “The fine is too heavy for me, that’s all.”
The audience was in awe.
“So it’s really because you can’t afford the fines? How high is the fine?”
“Is it that the two of them cannot afford the normal fine, or can one of them not afford the five-fold fine?”
“What kind of joke is this? How high can a divorce penalty be? Wouldn’t it be a hundred thousand at most? Five times would only be five hundred thousand.”
“I think he really can’t afford five hundred thousand. Didn’t they say that Councilor Zhong Yan’s house in the Capital is rented?”
“Does that mean…he has the intention to refuse? He must be crazy, refusing ‘Butterfly’s’ proposals less than two years after joining the council? Is he trying to kill his own career?”
“He’s going to be following down Vahl Cayman’s footsteps. Is he not thinking clearly?”
“Seems like he really hates Yate.”
Ping Yan watched Adrian’s reaction. There was a change in his expression as if there was some confusion, but before she could take a good look, a knock sounded from the door.
“Enter,” said Adrian.
The soldier saluted him and said, “Commander, the adjutant is in the Intelligence Department. Please go take a look, there’s news from the capital.”
“I’ll be heading off.” Adrian stressed to Ping Yan, “About the absence of the child, I’ll leave it to you to deal with.”
“You should actually upload some photos of that rabbit to your page.” Ping Yan stood up to see him off, and suggested, “It’ll be good for improving your image. Those of us from the inside know that you’re very approachable, but according to this year’s survey, especially from other star systems, there are some people who’ve misunderstood you as someone who’s too stiff and grim. We’re going to be coming out of Navi soon after all…”