Though Emma had managed to sidestep Hua Zheng's curiosity with a simple "personal preference," Hua Zheng remained intrigued about Emma's spouse. She knew Emma was tight-lipped and wouldn't reveal much.
So, she turned to Tang Mi, "Have you met Emma's husband? Is he handsome?"
Tang Mi chuckled, "Why do you care about his looks when he's your friend's husband?"
"Of course, I care. I need to know if he's good enough for our Emma," Hua Zheng huffed, deadly serious.
Hua Zheng genuinely admired Emma's appearance, realizing only after meeting her that there were people in real life who could rival movie stars in beauty. Moreover, Emma had a striking figure—slender and tall.
If Hua Zheng had even half of Emma's looks, she felt she could strut with pride.
Tang Mi laughed again, hinting, "You'll find out when you see him in person."
Hua Zheng looked at Emma with eager eyes, "Emma, when are you going to introduce your husband to us?"
Emma met her excited gaze, feeling a bit heart-wrenching.
If this girl knew the truth...
Before work in the afternoon, Emma received a call from Jason, who had taken to calling her during lunch breaks since she returned to work after recovering from her injury.
Shanghai in early winter had turned somewhat bleak, but the afternoon sun remained warm.
Leaning against the railing of the small balcony at the newspaper office, Emma held her phone to her ear, listening to his deep, sexy voice on the other end.
"Any cravings for dinner?" Jason asked.
Suddenly, Emma said, "My colleague saw my wedding ring today."
Jason paused, he had been sitting but now leaned back in his chair, slowly spinning to face the glass window overlooking the most bustling part of Shanghai, with its towering skyscrapers.
The city of steel and concrete seemed to harden people into unyielding iron and steel.
But hearing her words, he felt soft all over, including his heart.
Emma knew he was listening and continued in a low voice, "I told her, I don't have a boyfriend, but I have a husband."
The usually aloof man's eyes and brows lifted with a faint smile. If anyone saw him now, they'd be shocked.
Until he said in a hoarse voice, "Star."
At this moment, he wished to announce to the world that he was her husband.
Before leaving work, Emma made a special trip to the restroom. The scar on her face had healed, leaving only a faint red mark, but to avoid detection, she had put on makeup today.
Her skin was exceptionally fair, the kind that made her two shades lighter than others with the same foundation.
Emma planned to visit her grandmother in the evening. Jason had arranged for the elderly lady to go out and have some fun, under the pretext of getting her out for a while.
Her grandmother had indeed visited many places and sounded happy on the phone when she called back.
Today being Friday, Emma decided to visit her grandmother.
As she was leaving, she saw Lin Qinglang entering from outside. He hadn't been at the office all week, having taken a week off due to some family issues.
"You?" Emma looked at his disheveled appearance, hardly recognizing him as the once handsome and sunny young man.
Emma frowned, "What happened to you?"
"Ah, it's nothing," Lin Qinglang rubbed the back of his head.
Emma wasn't one to pry into others' privacy. She had only heard from Hua Zheng in passing that he had taken leave.
"If there's anything you want to talk about, you can tell me."
Emma had already turned to leave but at the last second, she turned her head and said this.
A faint smile appeared on Lin Qinglang's face.
Emma was truly cold on the outside but warm-hearted, which reminded him of when she used to tutor him. She always seemed impersonal, strictly focusing on teaching without engaging in small talk.
Sometimes when he tried to chat, she would sternly tell him that she charged three hundred dollars per lesson, and every extra word with her meant one less knowledge point he learned.
Lin Qinglang never took money seriously and immediately sneered, pulling out three hundred dollars from his pocket, offering to chat for forty-five minutes.
"Chat for forty-five minutes? That works too?" Lin Qinglang's brows finally eased a bit.
Emma: "That works too."
Her voice was calm and resolute without hesitation.
She never had any romantic feelings for Lin Qinglang. To her, he was just a student she encountered during her part-time tutoring, wealthy but with a good character. When she was his tutor, although he seemed disinterested in studying, he never caused her any trouble.
After receiving her confirmation, Lin Qinglang smiled contentedly.
Then he whispered, "I came today to resign."
Emma was taken aback, but not surprised. It was surprising for someone of his family background to work at the Shanghai Daily; now that he's leaving, Emma felt it was only fitting.
Emma smiled gently, "Then I wish you a bright future ahead."
"A bright future?" Lin Qinglang repeated the words, then suddenly chuckled.
He said, "What if I told you I'm planning to go to Syria? Would you still wish me a bright future?"
Emma was taken aback, clearly surprised by his words.
"Are you going to Syria?" Emma still couldn't believe it.
Seeing her reaction, Lin Qinglang found it amusing and nodded, "Not just Syria, but the Middle East in general."
Emma was at a loss for words.
But Lin Qinglang chuckled, "Not everyone's dream is to be an outstanding journalist like you. I also wanted to be one. I've always wanted to be a war correspondent, but my mother's health was never good, and she begged me to return home when I graduated."
No parent would want their child to face such danger.
Every day, the news reports on the wars in the Middle East or Africa, and even in recent years, there have been peacekeeping soldiers sacrificing their lives.
Anyone who sees such news would feel compassion and respect for their greatness.
But if it were their own child involved, they would never agree.
"Are you now..." Emma looked at his absent-minded appearance, feeling a sense of foreboding.
Lin Qinglang showed a bleak expression, "Now no one is stopping me anymore."
Emma's expression was solemn, but she didn't know how to comfort him. Finally, she softly said, "Please accept my condolences."
Lin Qinglang, as an intern, only needed to inform the HR department, hand over his work, and then he could leave. But before leaving, he walked up to Emma.
"This time I don't know when I'll be back in the country. I'll add you on WeChat now; you won't refuse, right?" Lin Qinglang looked at her and chuckled.
Emma took out her phone and added him on WeChat without saying a word.
After adding her, Lin Qinglang said, "I'm not adding you for any other reason; I just thought, what if I run into your dad over there?"
Emma froze.
This was something from when she first started tutoring Lin Qinglang. He teased her about no girl loving money so much. Emma whispered that she needed the money.
For half a class, Lin Qinglang kept asking her why she needed money.
Emma finally told him, out of annoyance, that her father had disappeared in Israel, and now she was the breadwinner for her grandmother.
She didn't expect Lin Qinglang to remember this after so many years.
Emma said solemnly, "Thank you."
In fact, since she married Jason, he had been sending people to look for her father. After so long with no good news, even Jason couldn't find him.
It's likely that he could only be...
Emma never dared to think this thought, but after so many years of fruitless searching, it still uncontrollably comes to mind.
Because of what happened with Lin Qinglang, Emma arrived at the nursing home not in the best of spirits. Even though she forced a smile when she entered, her grandmother still noticed.
"Did something Unhappy happen at work?" The elderly lady observed her expression and asked softly.
Emma shook her head, "No."
Her grandmother didn't believe her, whispering, "You're not usually like this."
Emma smiled and countered, "What should I be like?"
As soon as she finished speaking, her grandmother reached out and pulled at the corners of her mouth, creating a smile: "Smile, Jingxi looks beautiful when she smiles."
Emma was genuinely amused by her grandmother's action.
"Who taught you that?" Emma asked softly.
Her grandmother chuckled, "It was the nurse who took me out last time. She would pull at my mouth like this when taking pictures, saying it looks better when I smile."
Emma truly laughed this time.
She asked, "Did you enjoy your last outing?"
"I did, we even took a boat ride," the old lady mentioned the travel experience with the excitement of a child, eager to share with Emma.
Seeing her grandmother so happy, Emma also felt delighted and said, "If you like it so much, how about we plan another trip for you next spring?"
As the weather was getting colder, it wasn't suitable for the elderly to go out. If her grandmother enjoyed it so much, Emma could arrange another trip next spring, and if she had vacation, she could even accompany her.
But at this suggestion, her grandmother immediately shook her head: "No more, no more."
"Why not?" Emma was puzzled.
Her grandmother gave her a look, "It costs too much money."
This time, her outing was accompanied by a doctor, two nurses, and two bodyguards. The doctor would check her blood pressure and do some basic tests every day, while the bodyguards were responsible for her travel.
When they boarded the boat, one bodyguard carried the grandmother, and the other brought the wheelchair.
Although the old lady had been living in the nursing home for several years, she wasn't mentally impaired and knew how much it cost to have so many people serving her.
Emma smiled, "It's all arranged by Shen Yan, you don't need to save money for him."
"That's not right, Shen Yan should save even if he's making money now. You'll have children in the future, and you won't know how to take care of them. I can't help in this condition. You'll have to hire a maternity nurse, which is very expensive."
In the nursing home, the old lady often chatted with others, and they all talked about family matters.
Some elders would complain that their grandchildren's wives didn't have children after marriage, always saying they didn't have money and that hiring a maternity nurse cost twenty to thirty thousand a month.
Having heard these complaints often, the old lady naturally remembered them.
Nowadays, even with the help of in-laws and parents, young ladies were delicate and still hired nannies. The old lady thought her Jingxi was in an even more difficult situation; her mother passed away early, her father was missing and hadn't returned for so many years, his life or death was unknown.
Emma didn't expect her grandmother to consider so much and comforted her, "It's okay, even if it costs money to take you out, we still have money to have children."
Her grandmother was overjoyed, "So, you're planning to have children?"
Emma was taken aback, a bit dazed, not expecting to be caught off guard by her grandmother.
Finally, looking into her grandmother's expectant eyes, she nodded affirmatively, "I'll try my best to give you a great-grandchild soon."
"Good, good, good," her grandmother smiled.
She looked at Emma with relief and said, "If your mother were here, it would be so much better."
Her grandmother rarely mentioned her mother, and when she did, Emma was stunned.
After a while, she asked softly, "Grandma, do you miss my mom?"
"I do, every day," she was her daughter, and when she had to bury her, she wished she could have taken her place, wishing God would take her instead.
A faint smile appeared on Emma's face, and she spoke in an extremely soft voice, "Me too."
Thinking of her mother every day.
Emma returned home to find Jason already there. As she entered, he was by the door, wrapping his arms around her and gently nuzzling his cheek against hers.
Even though he was only wearing a thin sweater, his embrace was still warm, making her linger in his arms for a long moment.
"Did you visit your grandmother? How was it?" they sat on the couch, Jason holding Emma with his chin resting on the top of her head.
Emma: "Although saying thank you seems distant, I still want to say thank you."
Jason: "What's going on?"
Emma lifted her head from his chest, looking up at him and said, "I could tell that even though grandma kept saying the trip was expensive, she was really happy, genuinely happy."
Her grandmother had been mobility-impaired for a long time, and it was not easy for Emma to take her out. She hadn't been home for several years, but this time she had even left Shanghai to travel.
Jason: "As long as grandma is happy, that's all that matters. I was thinking of waiting until next spring to take her out again, but if she likes it, how about we arrange for her to spend the winter in Sanya?"
Shanghai's winters were indeed a bit cold, with a damp chill unique to the south, not suitable for the elderly.
Emma hadn't considered this and was taken aback for a moment. "You have a house in Sanya?"
But then she felt she had asked a silly question.
So she nodded and said, "I'll ask grandma's opinion later."
"Did you talk about anything else?" Jason asked with a smile.
He asked this because he had planned to accompany Emma to visit her grandmother, but she said she wanted to chat with her grandmother about some secrets between them.
He knew Emma was teasing him on purpose, so he teased her back in return.
But to his surprise, Emma nodded seriously and looked into his eyes, saying, "Grandma asked me when I would give her a great-grandchild."
Jason was taken aback by this, then his eyes lowered slightly.
His dark eyes were turbulent, and a suppressed desire welled up in them instantly. He leaned close to her, almost whispering in her ear, "Now."
With that, he lifted Emma into his arms. Her hands wrapped around his neck, and as she rose, her long legs tightly encircled his waist.
The peaceful tranquility of the living room instantly vanished, replaced by a warm intimacy.
This week, there was an economic summit in Shanghai, with many well-known domestic entrepreneurs attending, and Jason was invited as well. At ten o'clock in the morning, it was his turn to attend the conference.
He arrived early at the lounge to prepare, and the media outside had been waiting for a long time, just waiting for Jason to make his appearance.
Jason was dressed in a navy blue three-piece suit, and with the suit buttons slightly undone to reveal the waistcoat and trousers beneath, his excellent ratio of waist to leg length made him appear tall and elegant.
"President Jason, it's time for you to take the stage," Tang Mian said respectfully as he pushed the door open.
Jason nodded and fastened the buttons on his suit.
Tang Mian, staring at the ring on his hand, couldn't help but say, "There are many media present, you..."
"What's the matter?" Jason looked at him indifferently.
Tang Mian chuckled lightly, thinking he was worrying unnecessarily. Since his boss planned to go public, he should just handle it well.
So after Jason took the stage and picked up the microphone, the media below didn't notice at first. It wasn't until he started speaking that those in the front row noticed something.
One of the media sitting at the front quietly asked a colleague, "Is that a wedding ring on his finger?"
Another person looked closely for a while and was surprised, "It really does seem to be."
So the reporter in the front row quickly instructed the photographer to get some close-up shots of his hand.
As a result, before the meeting had even ended, the reporter couldn't help but tweet on their own Weibo.
And this tweet indeed quickly became popular, being retweeted tens of thousands of times in an instant.
"What? My husband is wearing a wedding ring?"
"Wow, Jason is actually married. What will his fan clubs do?"
Although Jason was low-key, his fame was not low, and he had never had any scandals, which made the public very curious about his love life.
Now that he suddenly wore a ring on his ring finger??
While everyone was debating whether Jason was really married, a famous paparazzi studio suddenly released a set of photos.
"Goddess and God of the camera meet in an ancient town. We thought they were lovers, but they were secretly married?"
Emma had just returned to the office from an interview, barely having time to sit down in her chair, let alone take a sip of water, when Hua Zheng, looking genuinely upset, turned to Emma and said, "Emma, do you know?"
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Emma quickly shook her head, "I don't know."
"My Shen Yan brother is actually married," Hua Zheng lamented, clearly heartbroken.
Emma opened her mouth, then asked, "How do you know?"
"It's all over the internet. He wore a wedding ring at an event today, and there's more..." Emma took a deep breath, her voice filled with helplessness, "Hua Zheng, listen to me, I didn't mean to..."
"Why would he be with Su Yiheng? I can't stand Su Yiheng," Hua Zheng complained, clearly upset and showing her fangirl mentality, but she really disliked Su Yiheng.
Emma: "..." What the hell is going on.
"Who said he's with Su Yiheng?" Emma asked urgently.
Hua Zheng handed over her phone, and at that moment, 'Jason Su Yiheng' was trending first on the search list, with a purple 'explosion' symbol next to it.
Emma quickly glanced down and saw that it was a paparazzi studio's tweet that had released a set of photos.
They were clearly taken at the mountain villa in Tongli Ancient Town, showing Su Yiheng and Jason leaving the villa's main gate one after the other.
This...
*
Jason's event ended over an hour later, and as soon as he returned to the lounge, Tang Mian pushed the door open.
"President Jason, there are leaks about you on the internet," Tang Mian said anxiously.
Jason smiled faintly, "There's no need to be too worried, I've been planning to make this public for a while."
Tang Mian looked shocked. He knew that as a special assistant, he should remain unshaken even when faced with a crisis, but Jason's confident smile still surprised him.
Finally, he coughed lightly and handed over the tablet in his hand.
He said, "You should take a look at this first."
Jason smiled lightly, thinking the internet must be in an uproar. After all, Emma is not completely unknown now, and no one would expect her to be his wife.
But when he looked down at the content on the tablet, the faint smile on his face suddenly froze.
After a moment of reading, he slowly raised his head and stared at Tang Mian, his voice tinged with anger, "What is this?"
On the tablet was the paparazzi studio's leak about him and Su Yiheng's rumored affair.
The paparazzi studio's scoop was just too perfectly timed. Just as financial journalists were reporting live from the scene with photos and videos confirming that Jason was wearing a ring on his ring finger, the paparazzi studio suddenly released footage of him and Su Yiheng leaving the same villa.
It wasn't a coincidence, as it was a villa in Tongli. Unless they had arranged it, how could the two be spotted in the ancient town at the same time? To prevent the public from claiming that they were fabricating a scandal with photos from different days, the paparazzi studio even provided video evidence.
These days, for any scandal, photos alone are not convincing enough. If the fans are strong enough, they can insist that even the most genuine photos are Photoshopped.
As soon as the paparazzi studio released the photos, Su Yiheng's fans quickly appeared to control the narrative in the comments section.
"Taking my precious Yiheng away, it's just a friend gathering. Let's not focus on such baseless gossip. Please pay attention to Yiheng's upcoming movie 'In This World, I Only Believe in You,' the story of a stubborn girl's journey in love."
"Okay, noted. Yiheng's candid photos are stunning, even in paparazzi shots."
"You guys are ridiculous, how many fake scandals do you need to create?"
However, the netizens were not idle, and some insightful comments from the public were also upvoted.
"Fans, don't deny it. Maybe your Yiheng is laughing in bed right now, after all, it's Jason."
"Taking my god-like brother away, my god's candid photos are too strong. I will continue to follow the new products released by your company. Much love."
This last comment, sarcastically implying that Su Yiheng's fans were overreaching, quickly got over ten thousand likes and was pushed to the top of the hot comments, as everyone knew that while Su Yiheng was a well-known star, Jason was also a male god.
In the newsroom, the entertainment team was clearly more lively. Many colleagues were caught off guard by this sudden scandal, even though they didn't have first-hand information. But they still had to post what they could, so they quickly followed the trend and forwarded the set of photos from the paparazzi studio.
From a distance, Emma heard someone ask, "Does anyone have Su Yiheng's agent's phone number? Or any staff from her studio?"
Shanghai Daily is a comprehensive newspaper, not just focusing on politics or economics, and the entertainment team also reports on various celebrity news.
Moreover, Shanghai Daily's Weibo account has millions of followers, although most are inactive.
But they still need to repost some hot news to increase exposure.
The economics team's desks are next to the entertainment team, and because they were talking loudly, Emma could hear some of their conversation.
At this moment, Hua Zheng was still lamenting, "Emma, you don't know how white lotus Su Yiheng is. Although everyone says she has a good background and temperament, I really don't like her. Her fans keep saying that our Yiheng sister graduated from a famous school and is a little princess, looking down on the stinky men in your entertainment circle."
Her tone was deliberately affected.
Emma understood better; so-called fans can be more harmful than beneficial, probably this is what it means.
Especially when she looked at the comments under the scandal tweet, many fans meant that this scandal was fake and must be trying to piggyback on our Yiheng's popularity.
Emma indeed knew the scandal was fake.
But to say that Jason was trying to piggyback on Su Yiheng's popularity, these fans really must be naive.
"It's okay, you have to believe in your Shen Yan brother," Emma looked at Hua Zheng, who seemed afraid that Jason would be at a disadvantage, and reached out to pat her head comfortingly.
Hua Zheng didn't want to believe it, but she was also in the news business and believed that there's no smoke without fire.
Many couples in the entertainment circle have always denied their scandals, and fans also deny them vigorously, but in the end, their own bosses would drop a marriage certificate, and everyone would be stunned.
Denials in the entertainment circle are really unreliable.
Moreover, at this time, Su Yiheng has not issued a statement to deny it.
Hua Zheng looked at her aggrievedly and asked, "Really?"
"I guarantee it with ten pounds of your flesh, they are absolutely not true," Emma said sincerely.
Hua Zheng's eyes widened, and she suddenly showed a relieved expression that was somewhat heart-wrenching: "I definitely can't lose ten pounds, so they must not be true."
Emma suddenly felt that it's not good to be too easy to coax a child, as they can be easily taken away.
Everyone around was busy because of this sudden scandal, but Emma was a bit too calm. It's not that she didn't care, but she felt that this scandal was too ridiculous, and she couldn't get angry at all.
She just found it ridiculous.
As for the photos and videos released by this so-called studio, Emma doesn't know if Su Yiheng was involved in it. If she is really fanning the flames, then she will be the one who will lose face in the end.