CH 141

Xing Conglian patted him on the back with some force and then let him go. The process was short.

Lin Chen even had a hard time understanding the meaning of this hug. It was probably encouragement, support, or worry. It wasn’t until now that Lin Chen realized Xing Conglian was a typical example of someone who didn’t display his emotions. He couldn’t even figure out why Xing Conglian gave him this hug, but naturally, this hug came too suddenly, and the posture was ambiguous. There was still the slight heat that Xing Conglian left on his body, which made his ears red.

Lin Chen thought this reaction was normal, but when they opened the door and saw the strange eyes of Wang Chao examining them, he felt inexplicably guilty.

The TV in the living room was turned on, and the chaotic background sound of the live broadcast filled the entire room.

The noise of people, the same broadcasting sound of new reporters, and the occasional sound of cars driving into the embassy fill the entire picture, creating a complex scene that made people feel excited, like they were witnessing history in the making.

The embassy of Xinni stood against such a complicated background of sounds. The main building of Xinni was standard Xinni architecture, with red walls and gray tiles. Because it was an equatorial country, the rainforest atmosphere gave off a calm feeling, much like the rainforest nations’ guardians protecting the people of that land from the evil that it bred.

After the panoramic view of the street, the director finally cut the screen to the reporters at the scene. Lin Chen looked at the sign and saw Yongchuan Satellite TV doing a live feed.

“In response to yesterday’s uproar over the throat-slitting case and the previous case of sexual assault, singer Li Jingtian will hold a press conference at the entrance of the Xinni Embassy at 12:00. Previously, Mr. Li Jingtian’s manager, Ms. Liu Ying, revealed to reporters that due to multiple instances of unfair judicial treatment suffered in China, Mr. Li Jingtian will choose to return to Xinni at 15:30 this afternoon under the protection of embassy personnel. We will contact Inspector Huang Ze, the Inspector of the Supervision Department of the Police Department, on this matter.”

Lin Chen sighed inwardly. What a coincidence.

A moment later, Inspector Huang’s gloomy face appeared on the TV screen. He was wearing a plaster cast. Obviously, he was injured in the stampede accident yesterday. The interview location isn’t in the hospital but in the office building of the police department. Behind Huang Ze was a huge golden police badge. Presumably, they made too much noise yesterday and today, so Inspector Huang had to end his sick leave early to deal with this mess.

Naturally, this was what Lin Chen was guessing was in Huang Ze’s mind.

Facing the reporter’s microphone, Huang Ze’s face was livid.

“May I ask if the Hongjing Police have determined that Mr. Li Jingtian committed sexual assault against Xu Ran, and therefore the investigation on that case has been reopened? At the same time, what is the official position of the Supervision Department regarding the unauthorized cross-provincial investigation by the Hongjing Police and the threat to Mr. Mu Zhuo, an artist of CA Entertainment?”

“I’m sorry, the case is still under investigation, so I have no comment.” Huang Ze’s voice was so cold that it seemed to freeze everything as it dripped to the ground. He looked deeply into the camera. Lin Chen had the illusion that this was a warning to him.

Because Huang Ze was difficult to deal with and seemed too lazy to deal with them, the director deftly cut the picture and switched to the previous interview with Mu Zhuo.

On the bustling lawn, Mu Zhuo faced the media alone. It seemed to be a routine interview before the Watermelon Music Festival. The youthful rocker on camera looked angry. He complained, “Why are we artists always in a vulnerable position? The pervasiveness of entertainment journalists has robbed us of our dignity and privacy. Usually, when we call the police, we don’t see them investigate so seriously. Why do the police have to hold so tightly when it comes to artists? The point is, the questions they asked me about Jingtian blew me away!”

A reporter asked, “Is the Hongjing Police still investigating the sexual assault case of Mr. Li Jingtian against Ms. Xu Ran?”

“Yes! They tried forcing me to say that Jingtian was guilty, but Jingtian is not that kind of person. I swear on my character!”

That was the end of the lawn interview recap.

Lin Chen could imagine how crazy the audience in front of the TV, especially the female fans, would be when they hear these words, but he felt calm. Mu Zhuo had such a smug look on his face when he said “character”, as if no one in the world would ever find out what he had done.

“Consultant Lin…” Lu Xu, who had been coaching, bit the coffee table, and suddenly looked up.

“What?”

“Can I throw up?”

Lin Chen frowned. Lu Xu was expressing dissatisfaction with Mu Zhuo’s speech. Even a person like Lu Xu felt disgusted and wanted to vomit, which showed just how revolting Mu Zhuo was.

Although the live broadcast was still in progress, the flashing pictures could no longer arouse Lin Chen’s interest.

Sometimes, a photo of Xu Ran would appear on TV, and sometimes it would cut to the stampede in the shopping mall yesterday. His and Xing Conglian’s names were repeatedly mentioned.

The news briefly mentioned their contribution in dealing with the stampede in Ansheng International Mall and then sorted out the context of their cross-provincial pursuit of Li Jingtian’s case overnight. They were like two vicious dogs chasing Li Jingtian, determined to put him to death, which was actually the reality.

Interestingly, in the timeline compiled by the reporters, the section regarding Royal One was erased. It wasn’t difficult to guess who was behind the promotion of these news reports.

In fact, Lu Xu was right. CA Entertainment was more powerful than they thought.

The live broadcast footage once again returned to the entrance of the Xinni Embassy in Yongchuan. The sky was blue, and the clouds were white. The tall ginkgo and camphor trees around the embassy were lush. The reporters surrounded the embassy in an orderly manner. The official press conference was about ten minutes away. The reporters who were still outside the embassy were probably those who were not invited because the media behind them weren’t big enough.

The real location of the press conference was a two-story assembly hall next to the Xinni Embassy, which technically wasn’t within the scope of the Xinni Embassy, so photography and recordings were allowed.

The director finally cut the picture to the door of the assembly hall.

People holding protest signs surrounded the garden outside the two-story building. They wore red t-shirts and black masks, which were the standard outfits for Li Jingtian’s fans.

The slogans on the protest signs they held roughly showed things like “Defend”, “Jing*Tian”, “Police Injustice”, and “Equal Treatment”. The slogans were painted on pure black cardboard in blood red or white by fans, which particularly showed a bleak scene.

A similar situation probably only occurred where there was a major territorial dispute. In any case, it seems quite odd that such a thing would appear at a singer’s press conference.

To be honest, Lin Chen didn’t expect that things would develop into such an uproar. Theoretically, no matter what the attitude of Xinni was towards Li Jingtian, while they could provide him with diplomatic protection, they shouldn’t show such a clear attitude towards protecting him. But now, not only had the Xinni Embassy done so, but they also had the momentum of protecting him all the way to the end, to the point where an ordinary criminal case was about to escalate into a diplomatic dispute.

However, the term “diplomatic dispute” may not be appropriate, since both foreign and domestic fans were actually supporting Li Jingtian, while they were the enemy.

Lin Chen thought that for Li Jingtian, just imagining the attention cast on him from their country and abroad, he was probably in an orgasmic state.

It could be said that Lin Chen was probably the person who knew Li Jingtian the best in the world.

Li Jingtian was indeed extremely happy now.

He was sitting in a dressing room backstage at the assembly hall, holding a glass of lemonade while biting the straw carefully. The reason he was careful was that the makeup artist had just applied the last layer of powder on him, making his lips paler. Naturally, he couldn’t destroy such an outstanding work of art.

He put down the cup and let the makeup artist adjust his final makeup. The person in the mirror looked weak and haggard, like crystal glass that could break at the slightest touch. If he appeared in front of the public, even onlookers who didn’t like him would be sympathetic.

After all, as a poor artist who was coerced by the police, after experiencing so many things, he was disheartened and was ready to leave. Was there anything more explosive than this?

He didn’t know what kind of medicine those two policemen had wrongly taken when they wanted to investigate an old case from nine years ago, so much so that the company executives, who originally wanted to calm things down, finally decided to fight back. The counterattack strategy had nothing to do with him. Whether they would win or not, naïve people would always believe that good always prevails over evil, which was quite laughable.

And as long as he enjoyed the benefits during this period—the thought of his face appearing in streets and alleys, the thought of his voice filling the big screens in commercial squares, the thought of drivers in every car on the road waiting to hear him speak—Li Jingtian was so excited that his groin had hardened to the point where he could cum at any moment.

Just when he was immersed in such a pleasant fantasy world, a worried woman’s voice suddenly sounded beside him. “Jingtian, is this really okay?”

Li Jingtian almost trembled. He wanted to pick up the chair and smash the woman on the head, but he held back. Of course, the news he wanted wasn’t that a top star had killed his manager, so it wouldn’t happen. He must not get too excited.

“It’s fine.” Li Jingtian pushed away the makeup chair and stood up. He patted Liu Ying on the arm and said softly, “Everything is arranged at home. We’ll be safe.”

“But do we really have to make things so big? Anyway, we’re leaving soon. Wouldn’t it be causing too much trouble holding a press conference?”

The woman raised her head. Under the exquisite makeup, she revealed a timid gaze. This face, especially the cautious eyes, made Li Jingtian almost unable to contain his anger. He took a breath to control his emotions and said, “We have backed down. If this was just about my reputation, I could leave it at that, but now this matter is related to the reputation of my family. Grandpa called specifically, so I really can’t back down anymore. Sorry.”

He said this with such emotion that the idiot woman in front of him really looked like she was moved.

“It’s time. Let’s go.” He put down his glass as he said this to her.