"Firstly, let me thank the members of the press for taking the time to come here." Jingwei said, despite knowing full well that these vultures would have sooner gouged out their kidneys than to have missed this event.
A little feigned politeness never hurt anyone, and he knew they thought he was an idiot who probably meant every word - which made it a win in this scenario!
"I'll now be taking questions regarding the video that was shared on the 31st of August." Jingwei said. "Questions unrelated to this incident will be handled by the legal department."
The reporters didn't even wait for him to breathe before they started firing rapid questions at him.
"What happened on that day?"
"Was that you in that car?"
"How do you justify such reckless driving?"
"One at a time please," Jingwei said. "You first," he pointed to a woman that was wearing a white blouse and a charcoal grey pencil skirt. She didn't yell her questions, but instead put up her hand and waited for her turn to speak.
The logo on the mic in front of her indicated she was from CCTN, one of China's cable networks.
"Hi Mr Sun, I'm Min Rui from CCTN. My question is: what is your relationship with the past Superintendent Liu Shixing? Clearly you have been given a large amount of leeway when it one takes into account your past racing experience on public roads.
"Hi Min Rui, to answer your question, while I do have knowledge of who Liu Shixing is in a professional capacity, I can assure everyone that I do not have a personal or professional relationship with him, such that he would look the other way to indulge my driving habits."
Technically, what he was saying was the truth. The working relationship was between his father and Liu Shixing.
"Then how can you explain Liu Shixing's reluctance to arrest you?" Another reporter chimed in. It was CBS, one of the main TV channels.
"That is something you should be asking him. I cannot presume to speak on his behalf," he said dryly. Of course, everyone knew it was because his father was all-powerful. Jingwei didn't need to speak the obvious.
"How did you learn how to drive like that?" A reporter asked. He was from the Shanghai Tribunal. Jingwei looked at him in surprise. That was a unique question, but not unexpected.
"I've attended numerous go-karting courses and competitions as a child, and when I grew old enough to drive a car, I learnt how to drive race cars too."
Another reporter interrupted. "But the car you were driving wasn't a race car! Didn't you think that it would be something severely dangerous for you, your passenger and other commuters on the road?"
That question was from Pei Ling, CBC News.
"I assure you, I would not have done so if I didn't have a good reason. I have been driving for years, and you can certify it for yourself after you leave this place - I have never, unlike my peers, drove under the influence of alcohol, crashed into public property, or deliberately put innocent people in danger."
Jingwei ticked off each point with his fingers, staring straight at the cameras.
If his old acquaintance Bai Shi Ting was watching this press conference, Jingwei hoped he felt some form of guilt.
That poor old woman…
"Then what is your reason?"
"Please tell us!"
Reporters asked, sensing a delicious scoop.
Jingwei gave a grim smile. He even practised it in the mirror to ensure it conveyed the right amount of gravitas.
"You might have already seen the news on social media, or on the tabloids, about how my 25th birthday celebration at a club suddenly got cut short, and there was even an ambulance involved. To tell you the truth, two women tried to drug me that night."
He paused, just to ensure it sank in. Reporters were scribbling into their notebooks and recording it faithfully. "It was only because of the quick thinking of the bartender on duty that I managed to escape unscathed."
He continued, knowing that he held their undivided attention.
"While my family had hoped that it was a one-time situation, I also received threatening texts on my phone. In addition, I realised that my car was being followed a few days later, when I was on the way to dinner."
More reporters were looking surprised. Sun Jingwei was getting blatantly harassed? That was new. Most people would just stick to flaming him online. This was big news - assuming it was true!
"While this sounds exciting, is there any proof of your claims?" A reporter asked snidely. It was Jun Mu from CBTC. His face was fixed in a sneer. "Mr Sun, I'm here to report news, not your ramblings."
"I'm glad you asked," Jingwei said smoothly, letting his rudeness roll off him like water off a duck's back. This man would be eating his words soon. "Please watch the unedited video of the scene of my driving. I realise that the one floating around online cropped out a vital element."
He nodded to Shengli, who broadcasted the video with the projector screen. It was lucky that Shengli got this uncorrupted footage from one of the young men working at the Traffic Police.
He had it saved without telling his colleagues, because he personally found it dodgy that a black car was tailing JIngwei's car, yet none of his colleagues bothered to care.
And now that video was being broadcasted to all renowned media outlets in the room.
Reporters, cameramen, sound crews alike all watched in surprise that slowly turned into shock horror as they realised that Sun Jingwei was telling the truth - he was getting tailed by a certain black car!
"As you can see," Jingwei spoke, breaking the stunned silence, "I purposely drove recklessly to check if I was truly being followed, or was it my own paranoia from the previous drugging incident. To my surprise, I was indeed being tailed."
"Why didn't you go to the police about this incident?" Pei Ling asked, and it was a reasonable question.
"I didn't want to postpone my date with my fiancee."
After the press registered his words, all hell broke loose.
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