Press Conference

# Harbor Seat Banquet

The four-character phrase shot to the top of the trending searches.

The humiliating sight of Harbor City's richest man being abused occupied the top ten trending topics.

The media revealed that Ye Qingpu had been rushed to the ICU for emergency treatment after leaving the venue.

Because there had been so many media outlets present that day, Wang Jing, as the prime suspect, was swiftly detained.

A tidal wave of netizens flooded the doorstep of Wang Jing and his group, and the tide of public opinion quietly began to shift.

Although quite a few people still blamed the victim, the enraged netizens were truly formidable. The former group only dared to mull it over silently and did not dare voice their opinions online.

Leaning against his hospital bed, Ye Qingpu looked at the headlines and curled his lips in satisfaction.

An IV dripped into the back of his hand. Dressed in a loose hospital gown, he reclined against the bed and felt relaxed for the first time in a long while.

Compared to words, people were more willing to believe what they saw with their own eyes.

Transforming from someone thrust into the eye of the storm into a victim—wasn't that the quickest way to escape a public opinion crisis?

However, Ye Qingpu had not considered that angle at all in the beginning. It was only after taking the first sip of champagne Wang Jing handed him that Ye Qingpu, who had spent so many years in the business world, sensed something was wrong.

Still, he had not expected the other side's methods to be so forceful. If a cleaner had not happened to enter the storage room to retrieve tools for cleaning the restroom that guests had vomited all over, Ye Qingpu would never have escaped so easily.

Thinking of that, he clenched his hands in lingering fear.

He was quite a tenacious one himself... Ye Qingpu smiled helplessly.

"Boss, the media are still waiting outside the hospital."

As the assistant spoke, he carried in two lunch boxes.

"Let them wait. Leak the news that I'm awake and preparing to hold a press conference. Find the operations team and keep the banquet topic nailed to the trending list."

Ye Qingpu idly scrolled through his phone. Looking at the blank message screen, he felt a faint sense of disappointment. He stretched out a finger and pulled down the page, refreshed it, then pulled down again.

"While I was hospitalized, did anyone come looking for me?"

Ye Qingpu looked up as he asked. There was still gauze on his forehead, and the strangulation marks on his neck had yet to fade.

"Some business partners wanted to visit you, but I declined for you."

The assistant answered. How could he not see what his boss was hoping for?

"Mm."

Ye Qingpu responded softly. Just as he put down his phone, it began to ring. He picked it up and saw that it was Jiang Jifu.

"Fuck, are you okay, Uncle! That bastard Wang Jing is really inhuman!"

The moment the call connected, Jiang Jifu's concerned voice came through.

"I'm fine now." Ye Qingpu felt warmth rise in his heart. "Has work been going smoothly?"

"Same as always. Every day, I think about hanging myself during my commute. That idiot teammate of mine whose relationship got exposed, and that idiot asshole boss of mine..."

Jiang Jifu complained furiously.

Ye Qingpu simply listened quietly. When Jiang Jifu finished pouring out his grievances and had to hang up after being urgently called away, Ye Qingpu offered a few simple words of comfort.

"Um... Boss."

The assistant hesitated.

"If you have something to say, say it. I'm not so fragile that I'll be crushed by whatever you describe."

Ye Qingpu shot him a casual glance.

"The deputy mayor sent an invitation. He hopes you'll attend Young Master Jian's and... wedding tomorrow." The assistant spoke cautiously.

"Oh."

Ye Qingpu answered without even lifting his head.

Help, can someone please save this situation... The boss looks like he's about to shatter... The assistant stood there helplessly.

Food tasted like wax to Ye Qingpu. He understood that even if only one percent of 1.4 billion people were idiots, that was still fourteen million idiots, but he still wanted to ask: could they stop circling around him alone?

Had provoking him become some kind of recent trend?

The deputy mayor, Jian Wen, Wang Jing especially... and Pei Jiaqian too...

He was a colossal fucking idiot.

He always liked sweet-talking people into happiness, but vanished when it mattered... a typical scumbag who denied everything after getting dressed and loved sexually harassing people.

And Ye Qingpu had instinctively protected him the moment something happened... What an ungrateful bastard...

Such a huge incident had become known in every street and alley of Harbor City, yet he had not even sent him a message...

Ye Qingpu suddenly found his own thoughts amusing. He and Pei Jiaqian were not in any sort of special relationship.

That man was probably like those alphas and even omegas in high society—he only wanted to sleep with him. Once he got tired of him, he would obediently go back for a political marriage and lovingly embrace some soft, sweet-smelling omega... Ye Qingpu picked fish bones from his meal and smiled helplessly.

"Boss, are you sure you're not going?" the assistant asked tentatively.

"I'm not going. Tell them I'm unwell. Send some gift money or diamonds and jewelry, whatever you see fit. Remember to wish the newlyweds a long and happy marriage."

"Oh, right. Set the press conference for tomorrow. I want to cut through this mess quickly."

Ye Qingpu said.

The assistant nodded. He knew what kind of blade his boss meant by cutting through the mess, and he also knew exactly what kind of mess he was referring to.

.

Naturally, quite a few media outlets arrived at the press conference held by the richest man. With the earlier public opinion storm, everyone wanted to seize the hot story first. Still, some had remained at the so-called wedding of the century between the Jian Household and the Pei Household.

Ye Qingpu appeared as usual in a suit and tie, except this time he was seated in a wheelchair.

His leg had been pierced by something sharp, and he still could not walk. The only reason he had managed to leave the banquet hall on his own two feet back then was because of his ridiculous pride.

"Mr. Ye! What are your thoughts on the previous public opinion controversy?"

"Mr. Ye! Will you testify in court against Wang Jing?"

"Mr. Ye, how do you explain the recent trending incidents?"

"Mr. Ye! Is it true that you privately keep alphas?"

"Mr. Ye, can you explain the dating rumors between you and top idol Jiang Jifu?"

"Mr. Ye, what do you think of the May-December romance incident?"

Ye Qingpu: ...?

So you're the one, huh?

Ye Qingpu looked at the reporter who had said those three words, smiling without any warmth.

He patiently answered the reporters' questions one by one. Faced with some particularly tricky questions, Ye Qingpu also defused them cleverly with humor.

Looking at the pale, frail "beta" seated in a wheelchair before them, even the reporters who had asked harsh questions felt somewhat guilty.

Especially when Ye Qingpu covered his mouth and coughed for breath, some softhearted yet sharp-tongued reporters wanted to slap themselves twice—no matter how badly they wanted a hot story, they could not make things difficult for a patient who looked so utterly broken!

"Wait! Something big happened over at the Pei Household in East City!"

Someone in the crowd shouted.

Quite a few reporters pulled out their phones to search, then immediately began whispering among themselves.

Seeing that he had explained enough, Ye Qingpu ended the press conference on the grounds that he was unwell.

Just as his assistant pushed him away from the press conference venue, a black SUV came to a steady stop outside. Uniformed bodyguards swiftly spread out and surrounded the entire scene.

The media turned their cameras toward the imposing SUV. Their instinctive reaction was—this was going to be huge gossip.

While everyone was speculating about what sort of person might be inside, the car door opened, and a tall man in a black windbreaker, face mask, and baseball cap stepped out.

The tall man's aura was far from gentle. He limped slightly, yet carried a lazy air. Even with his mask on and his cap pulled low enough to conceal his face completely, it was not difficult to guess that his expression was dark at that moment.

Ye Qingpu motioned for his assistant to stop. His eyes shifted, and the corner of his eye twitched unconsciously.

As the tall man approached at an unhurried pace, Ye Qingpu's breathing tightened with every step. Yet his first instinct was to avoid him.

"Go."

Ye Qingpu glanced at his assistant.

The assistant understood immediately and pushed him toward the parking lot on the other side of the venue.

"Mr. Ye, what is your attitude toward Pei Jiaqian?"

Hearing that familiar voice, Ye Qingpu's heart trembled.

The assistant perceptively slowed to the gentlest pace possible.

"Make sure you get this clearly."

That sentence was directed at the surrounding media.

In the footage captured by the cameras, the man with a grim gaze strode straight toward Harbor City's richest man, pressed a hand to his shoulder, and turned his wheelchair around. He then removed his mask, tilted his head, and kissed Ye Qingpu's slightly parted lips, still open in shock.

But only Ye Qingpu himself knew that compared to a kiss, it felt more like a hunter's possessive bite on his prey.

He sucked in a pained breath, somewhat dazed as he felt the man's warm breath.

Pei Jiaqian let out a heavy sigh, bent down, and buried his head in Ye Qingpu's neck.

Not the scent of pheromones, but Pei Jiaqian's uniquely hormonal scent filled Ye Qingpu's nose. Warmth surged through his heart as he saw the hand braced against his knee trembling.

The assistant tactfully stepped aside.

Without lifting his head, Pei Jiaqian maintained the same position and weakly raised one hand.

The media noticed that a man with distinctly European features had somehow appeared leaning against the SUV, smiling with amusement. Then he said something, and the bodyguards stationed around the venue swiftly began clearing the area.

"That man looks familiar! Isn't he from the research institute..."

"The noble enigma with a mercenary army under his command?"

"Fuck, it really is him? Wasn't he in Europe? Why is he here?"

"That guy in the cap just now was Young Master Pei, right? Did this noble come with Young Master Pei?"

"Shouldn't Young Master Pei be marrying the Jian Household's young master?"

Among the media, some recognized Huo Sili, and they also recognized Pei Jiaqian, who had apparently fled his wedding for some unknown reason and come here.