Chapter 9: Rekindled love, or a long-planned plot
1432 Words
The night breeze was cool.
After returning to Li's house from the dinner, the first thing Su Wanyin did was to kick off her high heels, collapse on the sofa, and let out a long sigh.
Tonight, she was like a person pushed to the edge of a cliff. She smiled gracefully in the wind, but she had to carefully maintain her balance and dared not relax at all.
"Mrs. Li's style is the most dazzling tonight."
The man's low and magnetic voice sounded behind him, with a bit of teasing.
Su Wanyin looked up at him and snorted coldly: "When did President Li become so good at praising people?"
Li Jingchen's mouth curled slightly, walked to her side and sat down, naturally put her ankle on his leg, and gently rubbed her instep with his fingers.
She was startled and instinctively wanted to retract her foot.
"Don't move." He said in a low and powerful voice, "You've been standing in these shoes for three hours tonight, don't pretend you're not tired."
Su Wanyin stared at him, her throat moved slightly, and her heart skipped a beat in a bit of a cowardly way.
She didn't expect Li Jingchen to be so... considerate.
He has always been calm and restrained, and most of the time he is like a precisely operated machine, but tonight, his details surprised her a little.
What's more surprising is that she didn't reject this approach.
"Li Jingchen," she suddenly said, in a serious tone, "Are you... a little too into the play?"
He paused and looked at her.
"Didn't we agree to just cooperate?" She looked at him, her tone calm but with a hint of temptation, "You are like this now, people will misunderstand."
Li Jingchen was silent for a few seconds, and suddenly asked back: "Then did you misunderstand?"
Su Wanyin was stunned, and didn't expect him to say something back to her.
She turned away and whispered, "I'm just reminding you."
"I don't like reminders." He said in a low voice, approaching her, "I prefer you to tell me on your own initiative - do you really want to continue acting?"
"..."
Su Wanyin couldn't answer for a while.
She knew that Li Jingchen was never a person who liked to waste time and emotions.
He did this either because he was really moved or because he had other intentions.
"I just want to protect myself." She whispered.
Li Jingchen stared at her for a long time before standing up: "Then remember, now, it's me who protects you."
After saying that, he turned and went upstairs, his back was tall and cold, but with an indescribable sense of oppression.
Su Wanyin sat there in a daze, as if a stone had been thrown into her heart, causing waves.
It's not that she didn't notice that Li Jingchen's attitude towards her was quietly changing.
But she didn't dare to confirm it, let alone believe it.
Because she knew that once she sank into it, she might lose everything.
The next morning, Su Wanyin got up early and checked the news out of habit.
The first article on the homepage was: "The secret marriage of the Li family president has resurfaced, and the identity of the mysterious woman is about to be exposed?"
Her heart was shocked and she clicked on the page.
There were a few blurry photos on it - she and Li Jingchen attended the dinner last night. Although the angle was tricky, her outline could still be vaguely seen.
The comment area was already boiling:
"Is this the legendary secret marriage partner? She looks too much like a high-end hostess..."
"Isn't it Lu Wanqing? How did she become another woman?"
"President Li has a really unique taste..."
"Will the Li family accept such a person? Wait, is she... the legendary 'Su Yin' in the modeling circle?"
Su Wanyin's fingers tightened.
The name "Su Yin" was the stage name she used in the modeling industry in her early years - she had never mentioned that experience to anyone.
Even Li Jingchen didn't know.
This news came so accurately that even the former identity was dug out. It could only be that someone was behind the scenes fanning the flames.
She suddenly remembered that the eyes of those noble ladies who whispered in the corner of the cocktail party last night seemed not just gossip, but more like premeditated.
Soon, Lu Wanqing's name quickly rushed to the second hot search.
[Lu's daughter publicly denied the engagement, suspected of being interfered by a "third party"? ]
Click in, it's an interview video.
Lu Wanqing wore a white dress, and in front of the camera, she was tearful and said softly: "Achen and I have been childhood sweethearts since we were young. It was the elders who had been bringing us together. I never doubted that he would marry me... But he got married suddenly, and I didn't even receive any news."
The reporter asked: "So you were kept in the dark?"
Lu Wanqing bit her lip, her eyes reddened: "I don't want to say who is right or wrong... But I am really heartbroken."
Su Wanyin sneered after watching the video.
Lu Wanqing had completely torn her face off - she appeared as a "victim" and was pushed into the crater of public opinion as a "third party".
She had never actively fought for anything, but was forced to the forefront again and again.
The phone suddenly rang, and it was an unfamiliar number.
"Ms. Su, I am the deputy editor-in-chief of the Capital News Weekly. We have a group of photos of you in your early modeling period. I wonder if it is convenient for you to come out and talk? We hope to hear your personal response..."
Her face was cold: "I refuse to be interviewed, and I don't accept any form of revelations."
The other party smiled: "Ms. Su, don't be too nervous - if you refuse to respond, we can only do 'factual reporting', and we can't guarantee how 'objective' the content is."
"Threatening me?"
"Just providing an opportunity to clarify myself."
The moment she hung up the phone, she finally understood - this was not an ordinary public opinion storm, but a hunt around her.
They didn't want her to be "Mrs. Li".
Ten minutes later, Su Wanyin walked into the study room. When she pushed the door open, Li Jingchen was looking through the documents.
She put her phone heavily on the table: "Did you see the hot search?"
He nodded: "I saw it."
"Do you know who posted the news?"
"Yes."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Li Jingchen slowly raised his head, his eyes deep: "What do you want me to do?"
"Issue a statement for me, open my marriage, and clarify everything." Su Wanyin said straightforwardly.
He raised his eyebrows slightly: "Isn't this what you have been refusing?"
"I am not afraid of rumors." She looked at him directly, "but I can't accept that you let them destroy me."
Li Jingchen stood up slowly, walked in front of her, and said calmly: "Are you sure? Once it is announced, you will have no way out. You will be labeled as "Mrs. Li", lose your freedom, and even your past will be dug up - modeling experience, unmarried children, every step you take will be magnified and scrutinized."
"I have never been free." Su Wanyin said word by word, "You pushed me to this position, you should give me strength."
After a long time, Li Jingchen finally nodded.
"Okay."
"Tomorrow at ten o'clock in the morning, the Li family will issue an official statement to recognize our marriage relationship."
"If the media doesn't believe it, I will personally take you to the press conference."
Su Wanyin was stunned.
She thought he would hesitate, refute, and use "contract marriage" to refuse to take risks.
But she didn't expect that he agreed so straightforwardly.
"Why are you so cooperative?"
Li Jingchen stared at her for a long time, and suddenly said: "Because of you, you are no longer a supporting role."
Su Wanyin's heart was shocked, and a trace of confusion and complexity flashed in her eyes.
She thought she had always been "outside the script" and just a pawn in Li Jingchen's plan.
But now, he admitted that she has become the protagonist.
Is it false? Or true?
She can't tell.
But she knows that she can't take another step back.
Because from tomorrow on - the whole world will know:
She is Mrs. Li, rightfully so.
- Writer
