BDB Chapter 62

He walked forward for twenty or thirty meters before speaking with a darkened expression. “Be more specific. Jiang Rao is with me. What happened to her?”

“Ten minutes ago, Miss Jiang Tang’s Weibo account posted nine pictures. The photos included your and her marriage certificate, wedding dress photos, as well as pictures of Miss Jiang Rao embracing and kissing you. ‘Yanyan’ is scheduled for release in a month, and the promotional activities have recently been ramped up. Although the photos have only been exposed for a short time, netizens have already dug up Miss Jiang Rao’s identity.”

The person on the other end of the line hesitated for a moment, seemingly struggling with how to continue.

But what needed to be reported had to be reported. “Miss Jiang Rao has been subjected to severe insults.”

At first, Li Jueyan’s gaze was merely somber, but upon hearing this, his expression turned completely grim. “What are they saying about her?”

The caller stammered, unable to repeat the online comments word for word. “I’ll send you the link. You can see for yourself.”

Despite the caller’s timidity, working at Li Group and having risen to a position where they directly communicated with the top executives meant they were efficient in their tasks.

As soon as Li Jueyan hung up the phone, a text message arrived.

The phone was connected to the internet, though it only had the slowest 2G network. Browsing the web with GPRS made the loading speed quite sluggish.

Li Jueyan opened the webpage and, while waiting for it to load, glanced back in the direction he had come from.

Underneath her black dress, his girl seemed so small.

Her eyes were clear, and her features were perfectly aligned, striking the chords of his heart.

After living for over twenty years, most things had come too easily to him, leaving few things he cared about and cherished.

His heart rarely trembled due to external forces, but when he saw her, he couldn’t control it.

She was his treasure, and he needed to protect his treasure.

In the short time it took for the webpage to load, he looked down at the screen.

Even though he had anticipated that the online comments would be harsh, seeing strangers talk about her with such certainty and contempt still ignited a surge of anger and malevolence within him.

Who were these people? Did they really think that spewing filth online would go unpunished?

If he wanted, by this afternoon at the latest, the personal details of those who spoke the harshest would be on his desk. And if he still found them displeasing by then, their life trajectories would subtly and irrevocably change without their awareness.

He wasn’t a good person, nor was he afraid of breaking the law.

In this capital-driven society, such actions were incredibly easy to execute.

He wouldn’t let these people go, nor would he spare the Jiang family.

With this incident, Li Jueyan had no desire to stay at the cemetery any longer.

But the grave represented his parents. He seldom visited them, and given this rare occasion, he couldn’t leave in such a hasty manner.

Returning to Jiang Rao, he glanced at her and then knelt down in front of the gravestone.

Seeing him like this, Jiang Rao was a bit confused, unsure whether she should also kneel or do nothing at all.

In the moment of hesitation, she decided to join him in the act, but before she could bend her knees, he stopped her with one hand.

“There’s no need to kneel. Our family doesn’t have the custom of kneeling while sweeping the tomb. I’m kneeling to make a wish.” After saying this, Li Jueyan clasped his hands together in a devout manner.

Although Jiang Rao had lost her memory, she hadn’t lost basic common sense.

Her limited knowledge from over twenty years told her that making a wish in front of a gravestone wasn’t a usual practice.

However, this place wasn’t like any other, and the gravestone represented someone deeply connected to them. Questioning it wasn’t a wise choice.

She stood quietly beside him, and he didn’t make her wait long. The devout pose lasted only for a few seconds before he stood up.

With the tomb-sweeping done, he took her hand and led her back in the direction they had come.

On the way, Jiang Rao couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What did you wish for?”

Li Jueyan’s lips curved into a smile. “Haven’t you heard the saying? If you speak your wish aloud, it won’t come true.” He waited for her to ask again, but on the way back, she didn’t bring it up anymore.

Li Jueyan wasn’t sure whether to be angry or amused, but it was somewhat good that she didn’t press him further. If she had asked more, he certainly wouldn’t have had the patience to refuse.

He didn’t need to come up with a fake wish to deflect her curiosity, but the real wish was one he couldn’t share with her.

Not only was he afraid the wish might not come true, but also because his thoughts were impure.

He wished that she would never remember the lost memories.

He wished that one day she would willingly say she wanted to marry him.

His only wish in this lifetime was for her to stay with him forever.

However, saying that a wish won’t come true if spoken aloud didn’t mean that the wish would come true just because it was kept unspoken.

Energy could be divided, but a person could only be in one place at a time.

The rumors and gossip online were like empty chatter. Li Jueyan didn’t want Jiang Rao to know what others were saying about her, so he inevitably had to go to the company to handle these matters.

His girl was being very obedient. He told her that her body hadn’t fully recovered and that she shouldn’t go out, so she stayed at home to rest as instructed.

He didn’t leave anyone in the house, nor did he set up any bodyguards within her line of sight. However, the ancient castle was equipped with surveillance cameras both inside and out, so if anything happened, the bodyguards stationed not far from the ancient castle could quickly ensure her safety.

Of course, they could also prevent certain ill-intentioned outsiders from intruding.

These outsiders referred not only to the Jiang family but also to entertainment journalists. When he began to understand the situation, he realized how much he had underestimated her before.

He had previously claimed to visit the film set a few times, but his time there was minimal. So, while he had occasionally seen her performances, he hadn’t understood much or noticed any highlights in the script.

It wasn’t until he found some comments defending Jiang Rao amidst the online smear campaign that he realized, in such a short time, his girl had already gained her own fan base.

Amidst the overwhelmingly negative comments accusing her of being a homewrecker, there were those who struggled to survive, saying they didn’t believe such a beautiful girl could do such things, that it was rare to find someone in the entertainment industry who was both beautiful and talented. They advised not to take sides before understanding the truth and suggested that before labeling her, people should first watch the trailer for “Yanyan” and see if they still had any criticisms.

If these comments were seen by others, especially by fan circles, they would likely be met with scornful remarks. Yet, seeing these comments, Li Jueyan couldn’t help but smile.

He watched the movie trailer as advised by these commenters.

Her beauty was indeed captured well; the high-definition footage didn’t diminish her beauty in the slightest. Even though the later scenes of her in a suit seemed a bit less perfect compared to her natural elegance, the earlier scenes of “Yanyan”, before she was abducted, with her attire and the innocent brightness in her eyes, truly showcased her role as a fairy.

In reality, far from the script, she wasn’t just a fairy; she was a fairy with great acting skills.

In a fleeting scene in the trailer, her eyes, brimming with tears, conveyed emotions without the overt display common in many actors’ performances. That simple expression alone was enough to tug at one’s heartstrings.

She looked beautiful even when she cried, but he didn’t want to see her cry.

He especially didn’t want her to bear the brunt of unjust accusations.

Li Jueyan’s company had an independent public relations team. Since he wasn’t well-versed in handling online and entertainment industry affairs, he had instructed them to deal with the situation and then turned his attention to dealing with accumulated work and devising ways to deal with the Jiang family. What he hadn’t anticipated was that the team, in their straightforward and crude manner, had bought up the trending topic, yet the netizens weren’t easily pacified. Given the nature of this major news—exposed by a top-tier celebrity, involving hidden marriages, high-society grudges, infidelity, and the downfall of a rising star—no one was going to forget it easily.

Li Jueyan only learned of the situation as he was about to leave work.

Xiao Zhang hesitantly reported the inept solution provided by the PR team and explained that the situation had spiraled out of control. Jiang Tang’s Weibo post had been shared hundreds of thousands of times.

At that time, Weibo was just beginning. Though it had attracted significant attention as a new social platform, it was mostly used by influencers for self-promotion, with few celebrities joining. To have such a high number of shares was indeed surprising.

But this also proved that the scandal had become widely known.

The ineffective PR team had already been fired before Xiao Zhang reported this. However, with the situation as it was, a perfect resolution was even more necessary. No one understood better than him how much the president cared about Miss Jiang.

Facing the bright yellow, incandescent desk lamp, Xiao Zhang heard the president sitting behind the desk ask, “How do I verify my identity on this social media platform? Do I need to provide a photo of my ID card? Or do I need to provide a photo of my personal assets?”

Xiao Zhang was taken aback and looked up at the man. “Huh?”

Li Jueyan looked back at him. “Is it not acceptable for me to personally explain?”

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