Chapter 41.2 (1/2)
Deep in the Act
Translator: Kotoni
Editor: Isalee
Quality Check: Isalee
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter 41.2
The sorrowful agent arrived early, and surnamed Li, is a woman in her forties. She wears gla.s.ses and wears short hair, her clothes are not prominent, but her posture is very strict. When she entered the door, Zhang Zhun looked at the watch, but not yet. Five o'clock, it should be flying over Taiwan from night. After shaking her hand, she said nothing, sitting on the small sofa to answer the phone, about half an hour later, Xiao Deng and Yu Xin arrived.
Zhang Zhun liked to rescue them and greeted them. Xiao Deng bought breakfast, but no one could eat it. He simply asked, like negotiation and confrontation, four people on one side, on the sofa and bed. Sit down.
“Explosion is not a big deal in itself,” Ms. Li opened the door: “There is no real evidence, just a reason to cover it, but we can not swallow this same-s.e.x scandal.”
This is a bit blaming, like the elders reprimanded the child who was in trouble, and Deng Deng immediately received: “Predecessors, we are the same here.”
“Now, Taiben has already written it,” Ms. Li ignored him, but curiously glanced at Zhang Zhun: “Our crisis public relations team has been mixing the water behind, you just need to stand up and clarify. ”
Xiao Deng frowned: “Why are we clarifying?”
“Oh, you don't pay, don't you make a sound?”
Zhang Zhun was humiliated by her words. The muscles of the lower jaw twitched painfully. Sitting across from him, he saw: “In fact, whoever clarifies does not matter, I…”
“The earrings are taken down!” Ms. Li gave him a sentence, and Zhang Zhun paid attention to it. The heart was still carrying the little fish earrings. He looked at the past with disdain, and he looked boldly back. They are so close, but can't say a sweet word.
Happy April Fool's Day! — thanks for the guest appearance by Google Translate XD. Hope everyone got a good laugh (and not too much of a scare!) lol. Please enjoy the actual chapter below:
As expected, Chen Hsin's manager arrived very early in the morning. Surnamed Li, the bespectacled woman in her forties sported a plain cropped bob and was rather nondescript in her dressing. Her expression, however, bore an edge of steely sharpness. Zhang Zhun glanced at his watch as he opened the door for her. It was not even five yet in the morning; she must have flown over from Taiwan through the night. After shaking his hand, she sat down on the couch without so much as a word and began answering calls on her phone.
Half an hour later, Chen Hsin and Xiao-Deng showed up as well. Zhang Zhun welcomed them with an immense sense of relief, freed at last from the oppressive presence in the room. Although Xiao-Deng had bought breakfast for everyone, no one had the appet.i.te to eat anything. After a brief exchange of greetings, the four of them took their seats on the couch and the edge of the bed, two on each side, as if sitting down for a negotiation, or a confrontation of some sort.
”This so-called 'breaking news' isn't much of a problem in itself,” Madam Li cut straight to the chase. ”There's no hard evidence to back up those claims. It'll take little effort to cover them up with some made-up reason. What we won't stand for, however, is the nature of the scandal. We find it rather hard to swallow such rumors about Chen Hsin's s.e.xuality.”
She spoke in a reproachful tone, much like an elder scolding a child who had gotten into trouble, and Xiao-Deng retorted at once, ”Our sentiments exactly. We feel the same about Zhang Zhun, ma'am.”
”Now, I've got a script all worked out here,” Madam Li went on. She paid no mind to the young man, though she darted an inquisitive glance at Zhang Zhun. ”Our crisis management team has already started muddying the waters. All you need to do is to make a public statement and clear things up.”
Xiao-Deng frowned. ”Why are we the ones issuing the statement?”
”Oh? Is a statement too much to ask for, even though you aren't paying a single cent?”
Zhang Zhun tensed, humiliated by her remarks, and his jaw muscles twitched painfully from the strain. Sitting across from him, Chen Hsin registered the older man's distress. ”It doesn't matter who issues the statement. I…”
”Take that ear stud off!” Madam Li snapped with a tilt of her head. Only then did Zhang Zhun notice that Chen Hsin was still wearing the tiny fish on his ear. Zhang Zhun's eyes, filled with longing, lighted upon the younger man; Chen Hsin met the gaze with a bold look of his own. Yet, as close as they were to each other in this very moment, they could not exchange even a single word of affection.
Both men looked away a split second later, but their fleeting glances were too emotional to be missed by Madam Li. How could she not see the blatant feelings in their eyes when she was seated right next to Chen Hsin? Fl.u.s.tered, Zhang Zhun bowed his head at once. Just then, his phone began ringing. Xie Danyi was calling, and he seized the opportunity to flee from the spot. He retreated to the far side of the room before answering her call.
”I only saw the news this morning,” Xie Danyi began, her placid voice strained with the effort of forcing herself to stay calm. ”How are you doing?”
Behind Zhang Zhun, a heated argument had broken out between Madam Li and Xiao-Deng. Afraid that Xie Danyi would hear the commotion, Zhang Zhun clasped a hand around the speaker. ”We're in the midst of deciding who's going to face the media.”
Xie Danyi heard the fight anyway; the two were too loud in their quarrel. ”Li Ling-Li is Chen Hsin's manager, isn't she? Pa.s.s her the phone.”