Volume 13
Chapter 20: The One in the Spotlight
In the distant Mulan City, the girls at home were gathered around the TV, holding their breath. The moment the man in sunglasses came out, An Baili cried out in pleasant surprise, “It’s Li!” Even if it were just a single strand of Lu Li’s hair, she felt she could recognize him.
Zou Yameng sat in the middle, frowning as she scrutinized the somewhat blurry figure on the TV screen. Is that really Lizi? Why is he dressed so formally? With that kind of hairstyle? And he’s surrounded by a group of tall and sturdy bodyguards… Is that really the younger brother who depended on her in the Low-Rent District?
The Little Tiger was the most uneasy among the group of girls. She felt that the already distant gap between her and Lu Li had suddenly widened even further. Lu Li was like a prince from a fairy tale, while she was a little toad in a stinking ditch. Her mind was filled with random thoughts. She felt that if she were to secretly disappear one day, Lu Li wouldn’t even care. If one day Lu Li forgot about her, then she would just secretly go home…
Wen Hupo, on the other hand, appeared much calmer. Of course she was calm. She was a bona fide two-lifer, not like An Baili who only lived for Lu Li. She turned her head and studied An Baili’s expression. An Baili’s face wore a cheerful smile that had never appeared in her past life. She was genuinely proud of Lu Li.
So good. Everything is as you wished, she thought.
…
On the TV, Lu Li entered the building under the escort of the bodyguards. The screen cut back to the host. “What our audience just saw was the rumored new helmsman of Shenzhou Energy. He seems a little too young. Polls show that seventy percent of people believe he is just a scapegoat pushed out to receive the mess of debts. Just like Christ, sent to the cross by his compatriots. Oh, my apologies.”
Zou Yameng didn’t understand much about these things. Her gaze lingered on the trophy on the shelf behind the TV for two seconds, then she asked, “Is Lizi really being pushed out to be a scapegoat?” An Baili shook her head blankly. How would she know these things? All her knowledge revolved around Lu Li.
Wen Hupo said, “No. The masses always like to guess at the superiors with the most malicious thoughts. Lu Li was actually invited by the Fourteenth Princess to be a savior. The most special thing about him is that he has countless connections with the Chu family. To make an inappropriate analogy, only the glue of his brand can stick two families that were originally like fire and water together.”
Zou Yameng shook her head. “These are all too complicated. I’ve never heard of any families or princesses in my life. I didn’t go to high school, and my mind isn’t very sharp. Hupo, can you tell me if he, Lizi, will be safe?” Her tone was full of worry. An ordinary person, seeing Lu Li, would marvel at how far and high he had come. But when Zou Yameng saw him, she would only worry if he was cold, if he was hungry, standing at such a high place.
Wen Hupo was stunned for a moment, her tone softening. “He will be safe. He promised he would come back.”
Zou Yameng looked around. One, two, three. The number of girls around Lizi had unknowingly grown so much. To think, back when she and Lu Li were celebrating his admission to Chuanhai No. 1 High School, she had even hypocritically advised Lizi not to get into a relationship too early, to wait until university to find a girlfriend. To think, back then, they had worried day and night about Lu Li’s university tuition. She never thought that a few years later… Zou Yameng’s nose stung. She couldn’t describe the feeling. There was some gratification, and also some loss.
…
The female host entered the large conference room with a microphone. On the table in the very middle of the stage was a nameplate: Lu Li.
Zou Yameng switched through several channels and found that besides the movie channel, all of them were broadcasting this press conference live. What she didn’t know was that the Shenzhou Energy Group was the aristocratic family’s industry that was most closely related to the people’s livelihood, the most “down-to-earth.” A reshuffle within the Shenzhou Energy Group represented a drastic fluctuation in future prices. All the ordinary people in the entire country were worried about whether their water and electricity bills would rise, whether gas would become more expensive.
After waiting for a while, the time in the upper right corner of the screen reached 12 o’clock sharp. Lu Li led a group of people in from a side door. The sound of camera shutters was incessant. At this moment, Lu Li had taken off his sunglasses, revealing his overly young face. He seemed to be wearing makeup today, with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, red lips and white teeth. On camera, he looked so graceful he didn’t seem to be of this world. Zou Yameng had always thought her Lizi was good-looking, not at all inferior to the stars on TV. Looking now, it was indeed so.
…
Lu Li’s hair was combed back, making him look much more mature in temperament. The moment he sat down, someone bowed and handed him a speech. Lu Li on the TV roughly flipped through the speech, then tossed it aside without looking at it again.
“He has courage.” Old Master Chu spat out a tea leaf. “To be able to speak without a script at such a major occasion, this boy is quite confident in his eloquence.”
Chu Jingyi said in a small voice, “He’s always been very eloquent.”
Chu Xiaodong sighed slightly. When did his daughter become like this? Of course he was eloquent. If he wasn’t, how could he have spun you, you silly girl, in circles?
…
Sitting beside Lu Li were the members of the Shenzhou Energy Group’s leadership team. They had been arranged by Zhu Xi to sit in the deputy positions to Lu Li, in order to help him out when reporters asked tricky questions. Lu Li even felt that the middle-aged man on his left looked a little familiar, as if he had seen him on TV when he was a child. When Lu Li looked at him, the man even gave him a kind smile. Fate is so strange. A high-ranking official he couldn’t have aspired to in the past was now sitting in his deputy position, doing the work of cleaning up his messes.
Lu Li also knew this was only temporary. If he couldn’t bring the Yan family back from the dead, then these high-ranking officials could just pat their butts and leave, while he, Lu Li, would probably have nowhere to run.
“Chairperson, can we begin?” someone asked respectfully, leaning close to Lu Li.
Lu Li was still not used to this feeling of being respected by everyone. He said in a low voice, “We can begin.” He still preferred the clichéd script of being looked down upon on the street, and then transforming into a dragon king. At least he wouldn’t be covered in chains like he was now, with who knows how many people staring at him even when he shifted his butt slightly. After the Yan family’s matter was settled, Lu Li wanted to go back to Mulan. He really wasn’t very suited to be a superior who gave orders. It sounded a bit unpromising, but he just wanted to guard his small home and be happy and carefree with the girls.
“Please be quiet. The press conference is about to begin. Please maintain silence in the hall.”
Taking advantage of the last few minutes before the official start, Lu Li closed his eyes, not to deliberate on his opening remarks, but to think about An Baili, Wen Hupo, Chu Jingyi, Zou Yameng, Chen Jianing, Zhu Xi, and Zhu Qiao. They should all be watching TV at this moment. He wondered what they were thinking now. Especially Jingyi, would she be surprised by the change in his status?
He cleared his throat and, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, spoke his first words to the land of Shenzhou into the microphone: “Good afternoon, everyone. I am Lu Li, Chairperson of the Shenzhou Energy Group’s Inspection Committee. On behalf of the Shenzhou Group, I will be speaking at this press conference.”
