Just as Jingwei was about to feel optimistic about his circumstances, Shengli continued.
"Of course, you know there's a chance that it'll backfire terribly and you might have to live in a bunker for the rest of your days right?"
"Yes, but at least my neighbours won't have to deal with the press trying to blind them with camera flashes," he retorted.
"So magnanimous," Shengli said, only half-sarcastically this time around. "In that case, I'll disperse the reporters first, and our PR team will make an announcement about the press conference date. Do we have our story straightened out yet?"
"...No," Jingwei replied. "I just decided on this today."
Shengli sighed. That sounded more like the Jingwei he was familiar with. Impetuous. "Fine, then you contact our PR department and keep me in the loop while I get rid of the press. Hopefully we'll get everything resolved in two days."
While they waited for Shengli to get back to them, Jingwei and Xue Ning watched the crowd cautiously. It looked like it was growing with no way of stopping.
"I'm going downstairs to get them to leave." Jingwei decided.
Xue Ning stared at him as though he had grown a second head. "Are you crazy?"
"I have to do something! Just look at them!" He gave a frustrated sigh. "They're multiplying! My neighbours still can't enter their houses!"
Before Xue Ning could argue, a knock on the door distracted both of them.
"Are you expecting anyone?" Xue Ning asked suspiciously.
"No one other than Shengli, but he hasn't arrived yet." Jingwei said.
The knocking continued.
"Might as well answer it," Xue Ning said, "but you're to get behind me."
Jingwei nodded, but he had no intention of following Xue Ning's instructions. It was unlikely that a resident would hurt him right outside his home, but if there was a chance, he wasn't going to let Xue Ning get hurt shielding him.
Xue Ning opened the door, with Jingwei looming behind her like an overprotective watchdog in case there was any threat.
"Excuse me? Mr Sun? Is there any way for you to get those people downstairs to go away?" A hesitant voice asked. Xue Ning stared, there was no one in front of her.
Then she looked down, and found the owner of the voice. It belonged to a young girl.
Xue Ning blinked in confusion. This wasn't what she had expected.
"Oh hello," Jingwei said bemusedly. "May I know what your name is?"
"Hi Mr Sun, I'm Bai Yue," the girl said with a polite bow.
"Nice to meet you, Bai Yue," Xue Ning said, smiling. She knelt down to meet her at her height, the way she did to her kids in her martial arts class.
"Nice to meet you," the girl echoed, tilting her head curiously. "Are you Mr Sun's girlfriend? Can you ask him to make those people go away? My Baba and Didi can't come home because of it."
"Don't worry Bai Yue, I'll do it," Jingwei promised, also bending to meet her in the eye. "I'll go down right now, and tell them to leave so that your Baba and Didi can come home."
Xue Ning gave him an exasperated look, but she understood.
The both of them could have still told themselves that it was a smarter decision to wait for Shengli to arrive, but when confronted with the pleading eyes of a young girl, they were helpless to refuse. This girl had the bravery to come to his door and ask for help, how could they turn her away?
"Bai Yue!" A panicked voice came from the other end of the lobby. "Come back here!"
"Mama!" The both of them turned to the source of the sound, who happened to be a beautiful young woman in her 30s. Bai Yue ran back to her mom, instead she pointed at Jingwei and Xue Ning excitedly.
"Mr Sun is going to help! And he has a girlfriend!" She eagerly said.
"Bai Yue, it's rude to point at people." The woman scolded gently. "And you shouldn't be disturbing people to begin with, that's not polite." She turned back to Jingwei and Xue Ning who stood up to greet her.
She gave them a polite bow in apology. "I'm so sorry for any trouble my daughter caused, she's young, so she's still immature and doesn't watch her words."
Next to her, her daughter looked mightily offended and wanted to protest, lips pursed in an angry pout.
"Oh no, she wasn't rude at all," Jingwei hastily assured her. "Miss Bai Yue was very polite and well-mannered!" He then gave Bai Yue a gentle smile. Bai Yue blushed bashfully and looked down at her shoes.
Sun Jingwei really was a lady killer, Xue Ning thought fondly. Even young girls weren't immune to his charm. In the past, she would have felt disdain, but seeing him talk to Bai Yue without treating her like she's incompetent made butterflies flutter in her stomach for a different reason.
"If you say so," the mother said, giving the both of them a look of polite disbelief. Clearly she didn't think her daughter was well-behaved. "Come on Bai Yue, it's time to go back home. Don't disturb Mr Sun and his girlfriend."
She began to pull her reluctant daughter away, but before she could leave Jingwei began to speak.
"Madame! I'm truly sorry for the commotion my presence caused," Jingwei said sincerely, giving her a quick low bow. Xue Ning saw the look of shock that crossed her face. "I heard from Miss Bai Yue that your husband and son are still stuck outside because of the reporters. Rest assured, I'll be going down to resolve this now!"
"You don't have to," she replied weakly, horror slowly creeping into her voice. Her daughter must have run her mouth again, and of course Mr Sun and his girlfriend weren't going to scold her.
"Bai Yue, why did you tell this to Mr Sun?"
"But Mama! You were the one that said it first!" Bai Yue whined, stomping her feet. "You said he should man up and chase them away so Didi can come back and take his nap because it's all his fault to begin with!"
There was a painful silence.
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