Chapter 44: Holding a Press Conference

Days passed, but the Yang Family still couldn’t find out who was playing tricks behind the scenes. Later on, those media reporters even blocked the entrance of the Yang Family’s estate. They staked out Yang Bingyu and Ye Xuan every day. As soon as the two showed their faces, the reporters would swarm them, asking impossible questions.

The situation escalated, and even the Yang Family struggled to withstand the pressure of public opinion. Left with no choice, Elder Yang had to personally negotiate with Lin Aoxue. He planned to hold a joint press conference with her to clarify the relationship among the three of them.

"What, you only think of our Aoxue when your Yang Family can’t handle the heat? When you deliberately hosted that partnership banquet and had someone publicly humiliate the Lin Family, did you never consider that the tables might turn?

"We won’t attend this press conference. Besides, this public opinion doesn’t have much impact on our Lin Family anyway."

Lin Guodong finally felt vindicated. With his chin held high, he flatly rejected Elder Yang’s request, a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes.

Although he didn’t know who was giving the Yang Family a hard time, as long as it vented his frustrations, it didn’t matter who was behind it. Back then, the Yang Family had humiliated the Lin Family in every possible way, and the Lin Family even had to beg just to discuss a partnership. Now, the tables had finally turned, and it was their turn to beg him.

"You! Lin Guodong, don’t think we don’t know it’s you Lin Family members pulling strings behind the scenes. Never celebrate too early; there will always be a day of retribution for doing evil deeds.

"Our Yang Family only agreed to partner with your Lin Family because Lin Aoxue came to beg my grandpa. We originally wanted to help out of the goodness of our hearts, but who knew you’d bite the hand that feeds you? You deserve to be bullied by Su Xiaobai!"

Seeing Lin Guodong’s punchable face infuriated Yang Bingyu. SLAM! She slapped her hand on the table and yelled.

Being reprimanded by a junior like this, Lin Guodong’s face instantly fell. "Yang Bingyu, you need evidence when you speak. What proof do you have that our Lin Family did this? If you have none, then keep your mouth shut. If someone with ulterior motives overhears this, it’ll just give them more ammunition against the Yang Family."

Yang Bingyu was left momentarily speechless, panting heavily in anger. She glared fiercely at Lin Guodong, unable to utter a single word for quite some time. Over the past two days, those media reporters had made her too afraid to even leave the house, as she would be cornered the moment she stepped outside. What was even worse was that some paparazzi had scaled the walls into Yunju Mountain Villa, keeping a twenty-four-hour watch and stripping her of any privacy whatsoever.

"Guodong, our Yang Family genuinely wanted to help you with the partnership. Su Xiaobai barging in that day was also beyond our expectations; we didn’t intend to humiliate you.

"If our Yang Family wanted to make a laughingstock out of you, we wouldn’t have stepped in to help in the first place. We would have just watched Aoxue be forced to marry Su Xiaobai."

Yang Zhennan looked at Lin Guodong and sighed, explaining in frustration.

Although the Yang and Lin Families hadn’t been particularly close in the past, they both fought in the business world and had crossed paths before. Lin Guodong didn’t have much of a head for business. The Lin Family used to rely on the old madam to keep things afloat, and now they relied on Lin Aoxue. Furthermore, Lin Guodong was narrow-minded and extremely vindictive. It was no surprise that he still held a grudge over what happened last time.

Hearing Elder Yang’s words, Lin Guodong fell silent. In truth, if he just used his brain for a moment, he could figure out the reality of the banquet. For a powerhouse like the Yang Family, dealing with the Lin Family would be a piece of cake; why would they go to the trouble of organizing a banquet to do it? It was just that the events of that day were far too humiliating. He had been mocked continuously in front of the company’s other shareholders, and he simply couldn’t swallow his anger. He didn’t dare offend Su Xiaobai, so now that the Yang Family was in trouble, how could he resist taking the opportunity to kick them while they were down?

"Grandpa Yang, I agree to hold the press conference. Bingyu and Ye Xuan didn’t do anything wrong in this matter, yet they are suffering so much unprovoked criticism. I feel terribly guilty about it.

"I’ll explain everything clearly to the media when the time comes, so please don’t worry. As for the specific arrangements for the press conference, I’ll leave them in your hands, Grandpa Yang."

Lin Aoxue, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up. She wore heavy makeup today. Although she tried hard to hide it, Ye Xuan could still see the exhaustion in her eyes.

"Has she not been sleeping well these past few days? Why does she look so exhausted? Or has Su Xiaobai made things difficult for her again?" he thought. Unconsciously, Ye Xuan began to worry about Lin Aoxue once more.

"Great, great. Then let’s schedule it for tomorrow afternoon." Elder Yang’s face lit up with joy when he saw Lin Aoxue agree. As long as she was willing to step forward, the rumors about the three of them could be put to rest.

Elder Yang had originally wanted to have a meal with Lin Aoxue and Lin Guodong, but Lin Aoxue declined, citing company business. He knew full well it was just an excuse, but since she didn’t want to stay, he wasn’t going to lower himself to curry favor. If he hadn’t needed her help this time, the Lin Family’s status wouldn’t even qualify them to sit at the same table as Yang Zhennan.

"Hmph, Lin Aoxue finally did something right," Yang Bingyu scoffed as she watched Lin Aoxue’s departing figure.

"Alright, it’s good that the matter can be resolved." Ye Xuan looked at her and shook his head helplessly. He couldn’t figure out why this girl harbored such great hostility toward Lin Aoxue. The two of them hadn’t had any previous entanglements.

"Are you still hung up on Lin Aoxue? I saw you staring at her just now. It was oh-so-affectionate."

For some reason, Ye Xuan actually detected a hint of jealousy in Yang Bingyu’s words.

"I’m innocent! I only looked at her twice the entire time. When did I stare? Besides, she was sitting right across from me. It’d be hard not to look at her." Ye Xuan didn’t even know how to defend himself anymore. Lately, Yang Bingyu was always asking him impossible questions.

For example, would he remarry Lin Aoxue? If Lin Aoxue came back begging for reconciliation, would he agree? If his answers dissatisfied her even slightly, Yang Bingyu would sulk and ignore him for a whole day. This put Ye Xuan in a terribly awkward position.

If White Snake were here, he could have eased the tension between them. Unfortunately, White Snake was recovering from injuries in the hospital, leaving only him and Yang Bingyu in the massive Yunju Mountain Villa. Coupled with the fact that they were surrounded by reporters and couldn’t leave, the two of them were forced to stare at each other inside the villa. When Yang Bingyu asked him those questions, Ye Xuan literally had nowhere to hide.

"Bingyu, I’ve answered this question countless times. Lin Aoxue and I are in the past, and there’s no possibility of us getting back together. Stop making things difficult for me," Ye Xuan said, rubbing his temples in utter helplessness.