Chapter 51: Press Conference

After hearing what I had to say, Lin Xingfan and Ji Leqing both cast sympathetic yet helpless expressions at me.

That evening, I received a phone call from Zhao Xinze, exactly as expected.

Before answering, I held the phone a bit further away from my ear and tapped the accept button, immediately hearing Zhao Xinze's voice shouting from the earpiece so loudly it was almost cracking.

"Holy shit, Jiang Jian, the good news you told me today—is it about the Long'an project?!"

"Yeah, the project managers from Zhaohui and Long'an contacted you? They move pretty fast."

Unable to contain his overwhelming excitement, Zhao Xinze blurted out, "Damn it, Jiang Jian, how on earth did you pull this off? The Long'an project is several times bigger than this one with Xunxing!"

"It's nothing. You can take this order with peace of mind. But since Long'an is such a huge corporation, you need to prepare for all eventualities. You can't let yourself get caught off guard the way you did with Xunxing."

After a brief pause, I added, "Opportunities to manipulate Xu Zhixia don't come around often. This is about the most I can do for Jianxia now."

Immersed in the thrill and excitement of securing the Long'an project, Zhao Xinze completely missed the hidden meaning behind my words and simply replied, "Don't worry, I'll definitely make thorough preparations this time. Once Xushuo finishes churning out this batch of goods for Xunxing, I'll go check out a few other factories to gear up for the Long'an project."

"Mhm."

I put down my phone and gazed out toward the direction of Xiyuan. I wondered how my mother was doing right now.

Once the press conference concluded and my car was repaired, I would go back and bring her here.

To prevent public opinion from fermenting any further, Xu Zhixia acted swiftly. Early the next morning, she had little Zhu call me to notify me to come over and sign the contract, followed by attending the press conference in the afternoon.

"Xu Zhixia sure is in a rush right now."

Since a press conference was being held, there would undoubtedly be a swarm of reporters hovering around the company. If I drove over in Ji Leqing's car, I'd probably be investigated down to my bare roots within half an hour.

I'd better just take a taxi.

When I arrived at Zhaohui, Xu Zhixia was sipping coffee in her office. Seeing me walk in, she immediately bared her teeth in a resentful glare.

"The contract is on the desk. Read it carefully and sign it."

I sat across from Xu Zhixia, scrutinized the contract twice, picked up the pen to sign my name, and then stamped it with Jianxia's official corporate seal.

Seeing how cautious I was, Xu Zhixia sneered contemptuously, "Did you really think I would tamper with the contract? If I wanted to deal with you, I wouldn't need to resort to such petty, underhanded tricks."

I chuckled softly, put away the seal, and looked at Xu Zhixia with a gaze that held acknowledgment and respect, but utterly devoid of love.

"President Xu is indeed a trustworthy businesswoman, but I was simply conducting business by the book."

Xu Zhixia froze for a moment, then unnaturally averted her gaze. "Hmph."

Now that the contract was signed, I cut straight to the chase. "Tell me, how does President Xu want me to cooperate at the press conference?"

"Just read what's written here."

Xu Zhixia pushed an A4 sheet of paper across the desk to me. It outlined the likely questions the reporters would ask, how I should answer them, and how I was expected to cooperate with her.

However, further down, it also stated that I had to move back into Xu Zhixia's villa.

Seeing this clause, I furrowed my brow. "Why do I have to move back into your villa? That has nothing to do with clearing up the rumors. I don't agree to this."

Clearly not expecting me to refuse, Xu Zhixia failed to conceal her astonishment before letting out a mocking scoff. "Jiang Jian, what kind of act are you putting on? It's already gracious of me to throw you a lifeline and let you crawl back, and yet you're refusing?"

"I can let bygones be bygones regarding the days you spent running around and fooling around outside, but once you come back, you must behave yourself and stop stirring up trouble for me."

Xu Zhixia's attitude toward me was as vile as ever. I directly tore the piece of paper to shreds and flung it right into her face. "Xu Zhixia, don't push your luck!"

"Jiang Jian, you are always so naive. Do you have any idea how many eyes will be watching the two of us once our relationship is made public? If you dare to keep living outside at a time like this, do you take everyone else for fools?!"

"Do you think I'm dying to play the loving couple with you? I'm doing this for the Xu Group!"

Having said that, Xu Zhixia suddenly looked at me with a knowing expression. "You couldn't possibly be unable to let go of your ex-girlfriend and still want to live outside just so it's convenient for you to carry on with her?!"

To think Xu Zhixia was once again splashing dirty water onto Ji Leqing, I slammed my hand hard against the desk, leaped to my feet, and glared fiercely at her.

"Bulls***! When you were out whoring around with toy boys and even brought them back to the villa, why didn't you think about a day like this?!"

"If you hadn't condoned those scumbags riding roughshod over me, could all of this mess have happened?!"

"Do you want to know why I refuse to move back? Because just looking at you makes me feel filthy, let alone stepping foot in the house where you've stayed!"

"Bastard, what did you say?!"

Xu Zhixia was so stunned by my verbal lashing that her expression grew vacant, and tears slowly welled up in her eyes. "Jiang Jian, how dare you curse at me like this? You weren't like this before. If that bitch wasn't backing you up, would you even have the guts?!"

Never had I expected Xu Zhixia to actually bring up the past herself. I let out a cold laugh. "Xu Zhixia, you have no right to mention the past."

Xu Zhixia fell silent for a rare moment, then raised her head to look at me coldly. "At least three months. For the next three months, you must publicly pretend to be a loving couple with me and not give those people any more loopholes to exploit. Otherwise, Jianxia can just wait to go bankrupt. I, Xu Zhixia, mean what I say."

I knew Xu Zhixia possessed the capability to do just that. The projects with Xunxing and Long'an could not guarantee Jianxia lifelong prosperity unless Jianxia could innovate and develop exclusive patents. Otherwise, even if we managed to break into overseas markets in the future, it would be all too easy for the better-resourced Zhaohui to muscle us out.

"Fine, I promise you. But it's strictly a superficial act—don't expect me to be the way I used to be. I don't love you anymore."

Xu Zhixia didn't pay attention to my concluding remark; in a flash, her expression reverted to that cold, callous mask of disdain and contempt.

Little Zhu produced a ring box and handed it to me. Inside was a pair of diamond wedding bands. The diamonds gleamed brilliantly under the light—a symbol of happiness that now felt bitterly, glaringly ironic.

"Hah, she really is committed to putting on a full show."

I put on the men's ring. The size wasn't quite right; it felt a bit loose on my ring finger. It was probably bought according to Pei Zhihang's old ring size or picked out at random—either way, it certainly didn't belong to me.

At the afternoon press conference, I wore that hypocritical "wedding ring" while facing the reporters' barbed questions.

The reporters' attacks were primarily directed at my alleged "infidelity." To address this, I simply brushed it all aside by claiming that Ji Leqing was a longtime medical friend of mine.

"Mr. Jiang, as a man, how have you been able to accept concealing your marital relationship with President Xu for so many years?"

"Was it because of a disparity in your backgrounds, leaving you with no choice but to endure it in silence?"

This question was both malicious and deeply offensive, entirely absent from the original lineup. Whichever media outlet this reporter was from, I was definitely going to remember them!

I curled the corners of my lips into a polished, official smile, pulled Xu Zhixia into my arms, turned my head to look at her, and said, "It's because I love my wife that I don't care about outside judgments. I believe Zhixia feels the same way about me."

Xu Zhixia stared at me in a daze. For some reason, she couldn't utter a single word in response.