Seeing that Xue Jing wasn't faking it, Su Mianmian gently tugged at Gu Yizhou's sleeve. "Gu Yizhou, saving lives is the priority."
Gu Yizhou glanced at the obedient and kind Su Mianmian beside him and sighed silently. He bent down and picked up Xue Jing, politely placing his hands on her back and the back of her knees. He didn't even look at her, his eyes only focused on Su Mianmian. "Walk slowly, don't fall."
Lying in Gu Yizhou's arms, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat, Xue Jing felt that being beaten today was worth it. "Azhou, my face hurts so much, and my stomach hurts so much too. Do you think I'll be disfigured?"
Gu Yizhou said coldly, "No, just a few slap marks. Some ointment will do." Before he finished speaking, Gu Yizhou had already put Xue Jing in the car and closed the door for her.
Xue Jing, realizing what was happening, hurriedly pressed her face against the window, looking at Gu Yizhou. "A-Zhou, aren't you coming to the hospital with me?" Gu Yizhou shook his head. "Mianmian hasn't eaten yet. The driver will take you there. I'll contact Jiang Ning later and have him go to the hospital with you."
With that, Gu Yizhou patted the car door without hesitation, signaling the driver to start the car. Only after the car had completely disappeared from their sight did Su Mianmian belatedly realize, "Gu Yizhou, Xue Jing is so badly injured, is it alright if we don't go?"
Gu Yizhou pulled Su Mianmian back towards the Japanese restaurant. "It's fine, don't worry. Jiang Ning will go take care of her later." Su Mianmian said "Oh," and added, "It's lucky you were there earlier, otherwise, I don't know what those two men would have done to Xue Jing."
"She's an adult. Knowing that the other party was two grown men with ill intentions towards her, and still going to the banquet alone, she should bear the consequences of her actions."
Gu Yizhou's tone was calm and indifferent, as if he were discussing someone completely unrelated to him. Su Mianmian couldn't help but feel curious. "Isn't Xue Jing your classmate? I thought you two got along quite well, so why..." Why was he so indifferent to her?
Before she could finish her sentence, Gu Yizhou turned his head and gave Su Mianmian a deep look, his eyes filled with a smile. "I can't help it, Mrs. Gu is jealous. I don't want to see some little girl crying and hiccuping again later." "Gu Yizhou!"
Su Mianmian was instantly embarrassed. "That was a misunderstanding before, I've already apologized to you, so don't tease me anymore." Gu Yizhou couldn't suppress his smile. He was increasingly fond of teasing Su Mianmian, thinking she was the cutest girl in the world.
...Over here, Xue Jing had just been taken to the hospital when her manager and Jiang Ning arrived. Jiang Ning had already heard the general situation from Gu Yizhou and was extremely anxious on the way. Now, seeing the injuries on Xue Jing's face, she felt both heartache and anger.
"Those two bastards dared to lay a hand on you! Next time I see them, I'll kill them!" Xue Jing's face was grim because Gu Yizhou hadn't personally brought her to the hospital. "Kill them? A-Zhou already taught them a lesson for me. Don't cause any more trouble." Jiang Ning knew that if Xue Jing wanted to stay in the entertainment industry, she wouldn't want to make a scene. She frowned and sighed.
"We really owe A-Zhou a lot for being there today. Once you're feeling better, we'll treat him to dinner to thank him properly." Xue Jing didn't respond. While Jiang Ning went to pay the hospital fees, her manager asked her in a low voice, "What happened? Weren't you having a good chat with Director Wang and the others? Why did it suddenly turn into that?" "Also, what's your relationship with President Gu of the Gu Group?" Xue Jing frowned. She hadn't told anyone about her acquaintance with Gu Yizhou. Why was her manager suddenly asking her this?
Seeing Xue Jing's suspicion, her manager, A-Shan, didn't hide anything from her and showed her photos on her phone. "You were so careless! There were paparazzi outside the Japanese restaurant just now, and they took pictures of everything that happened. The company is trying to suppress it for you now."
Xue Jing flipped through the photos one by one. There were pictures of Gu Yizhou beating up the director and investors for her sake, and others of him carrying her to the car. Their features were clearly captured; they were both handsome and beautiful, every frame pleasing to the eye.
As Xue Jing looked at the photos, a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips. "No need to suppress it." A-Shan hummed in surprise. "What do you mean?" Xue Jing handed the phone back to her. "I said no need to suppress it. The new movie is about to premiere, isn't it? We can use this to generate some buzz."
"Are you crazy? That man is President Gu! Who would dare to use his name for publicity?" Xue Jing glanced at Jiang Ning, who was walking towards her. "Just do as I say, and I can guarantee Gu Yizhou won't cause trouble for the company."
...The next morning, Gu Yizhou and Su Mianmian were having breakfast in the restaurant when Gao Ze walked in with a serious expression. "Mr. Gu, something's happened." Gu Yizhou was peeling a hard-boiled egg for Su Mianmian when he heard this. Without even looking up, he said, "What is it? Why are you in such a panic?"
Gao Ze glanced at Su Mianmian, hesitant. Su Mianmian assumed he was going to discuss something confidential with the company and stood up. "I'm almost finished eating. You two talk first."
Gu Yizhou grabbed Su Mianmian's arm and placed the peeled egg on her plate. "Sweetie, finish this egg."
Seeing Su Mianmian obediently sitting down to eat the hard-boiled egg, Gu Yizhou slowly raised his head and looked at Gao Ze. "What is it? Speak." Seeing that Mr. Gu didn't seem to care about Mrs. Gu, Gao Ze had no choice but to report to Gu Yizhou.
"Mr. Gu, you and Miss Xue are trending on social media." "Trending?" Gu Yizhou frowned slightly, took the tablet from Gao Ze, and casually browsed through it. It contained photos of him and Xue Jing outside the Japanese restaurant last night, and the news headlines were increasingly sensational.
#Gu's Group President's Fury for a Beauty##The Man Behind Popular Actress Xue Jing is Actually Gu's President##Hero Saves the Beauty, President Gu's Love for Xue Xiaohua is Overflowing Even Through the Screen# and so on, the search volume is still rising sharply.
Gu Yizhou's brows furrowed more and more as he looked at the photos. "Go check which media outlet broke the news." Gao Ze lowered his head. "I've already checked. It was Miss Xue's company that broke the news themselves." Xue Jing's company broke the news themselves. What is Xue Jing trying to do?
Su Mianmian peeked at the photo of Gu Yizhou and Xue Jing on the tablet. The angle of the photo was really good, making the two look like a couple. In contrast, she, who was blurred out next to them, looked like an outsider.
Gu Yizhou noticed Su Mianmian's gaze on the tablet and squeezed her hand. "Don't look at these, I'll take care of it right away."
Su Mianmian said "Oh," and was about to say something when Gu Yizhou's phone rang. Gu Yizhou glanced at the caller ID, frowned, and answered. "Jiang Ning?" "A-Zhou, it's me. Can I ask you for a favor?"
Gu Yizhou glanced at Su Mianmian imperceptibly. "Go ahead." Jiang Ning was really embarrassed to speak, but Xue Jing had repeatedly pleaded with him last night.
"You've probably seen the news about you and Xue Jing trending on social media by now, right? Could I ask you, for the sake of our years of friendship, not to clarify things yet?"
Gu Yizhou roughly guessed Jiang Ning's intentions. After a few seconds of hesitation, he said, "Jiang Ning, it's not that I'm unwilling to help you, it's just that I'm a married man now. Being inexplicably linked to other women like this will upset my wife."
"I know, I know it will definitely put you in a difficult position, but Xue Jing's situation is special. The two people who hit him yesterday are very influential in the entertainment industry. If Xue Jing really offends them, she'll definitely face difficulties in the future."
"A-Zhou, right now, in the entire Jiangcheng, you're probably the only one who can help Xue Jing. If you're willing, can I personally call Mianmian and explain?"
"I don't want to, and you don't need to call Mianmian."
Gu Yizhou replied without hesitation as soon as Jiang Ning finished speaking. "Jiang Ning, friendship is one thing, but moral principles are another. I'll have someone remove the trending topic immediately. As for Xue Jing, not pursuing legal action against her company is already the greatest leniency I can offer."
Gu Yizhou finished speaking and hung up the phone. Su Mianmian had heard the entire conversation between Gu Yizhou and Jiang Ning and tugged at Gu Yizhou's sleeve.
Gu Yizhou looked at her, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes. "Mrs. Gu, you're not going to defend Xue Jing again and make me have a scandal with her, are you?"