Marriage Seduction Addiction

Chapter 415 Public Sentiment
Two days later, while Tang Xu was at work, her phone suddenly received a notification.

Upon seeing the notification, Tang Xu's eyebrows twitched involuntarily.

This is news about Zhao Jinsheng, a shareholder of Yan's Group.

Although Tang Xu already knew that Zhao Jinsheng would have some scandals exposed that day at Chunshan, she clearly underestimated how "ugly" the news was.

Zhao Jinsheng, one of the shareholders of Yan Group, was exposed for a major sex crime scandal, causing an instant public outcry.

Because of the large number of victims and the egregious nature of the case, it has sparked a huge amount of discussion online.

While browsing related information online, Tang Xu couldn't help but furrow her brow.

Besides the focus on the event itself, Zhao Jinsheng's status as a shareholder of Yan's Group has also attracted some attention.

Ultimately, this was still a problem with Zhao Jinsheng personally. Although Yan's stock price also experienced some fluctuations as a result, it did not have a significant impact overall.

Yan's public relations department released a statement, making it seem as if the whole incident had little to do with Yan, and everyone's attention became more focused on the case itself.

However, no one expected that the Zhao Jinsheng incident was just the beginning.

A few days later, news suddenly broke that Zhao Jinsheng was not the only one involved in the case; several accomplices were also implicated!
The incident caused an uproar, with people discussing the other accomplices and trying to uncover their identities by piecing together information from Zhao Jinsheng's social media.

Under these circumstances, Zhao Jinsheng's status as a shareholder of the Yan Group was immediately magnified, and several Yan Group shareholders who were on good terms with him became the main suspects.

Although it was only a suspicion, a tidal wave of attacks still surged towards the Yan family.

However, the Yan family has been rooted in Huai City for many years and has a solid foundation. Even though its market value evaporated for two consecutive days due to public opinion, it was not a particularly big crisis for the Yan family.

Based on past experience, even if the stock price suffers consecutive setbacks after such an event, it will gradually stabilize after the public outcry subsides.

Although the attacks continued, judging from the development history of the Yan family, no one thought that this accidental event would have a significant impact on the Yan family.

Although Tang Xu was also concerned about the incident, she hadn't discussed it with Yan Shiyu.

Firstly, she didn't want to comment on such a heinous incident that could be definitively concluded. Secondly, affected by this incident, Yan Shiyu was very busy for several days, and one night he didn't even come home.

Under these circumstances, Tang Xu felt that it was better to let him rest more and there was no point in discussing this matter with him anymore.

Moreover, if revealing this was part of his plan, then Tang Xu felt he only needed to wait for the outcome.

Two more days passed, and the public finally received the official report on the case.

The report clearly stated that in addition to Zhao Jinsheng, several other accomplices involved in the case have also been apprehended, including several senior executives of the Yan Group who were close to Zhao Jinsheng!

In an instant, public opinion was once again completely ignited.

The anger that had been building up for days instantly coalesced into a single force, which was then lashed out at the Yan family as a whole.

Calls from all sides demanded the discovery of all those involved in the crimes and a thorough investigation of the criminal evidence against the Yan family's top management. Suddenly, the Yan family seemed to become the target of attacks from all over the world.

Yan's stock price plummeted instantly, drawing attention to all stakeholders and making them the subject of intense media scrutiny.

Of course, the attitude of CEO Yan Shiyu is the one that has attracted the most attention.

However, Yan Shiyu, who had always been on good terms with the media, adopted an evasive attitude after the incident. He did not accept any media interviews, did not express any opinions, and there was not even a word about it circulating within the company. For a time, public opinion was in an uproar.

Although the public relations department promptly issued a statement saying that the Yan family would always support justice and the prosecution, from the outside perspective, such official rhetoric was meaningless. Judging from public opinion and stock market performance, such a statement did not play any role in "putting out the fire".

But then, another incident occurred that added fuel to the fire—

One of the shareholders of Yan's Group, already harboring resentment due to the impact on his interests, and having been besieged by the media and public opinion for days, finally reached his breaking point and vented his anger at a dinner party one day.

"These netizens are just a mob. How could those lowly people know the rules of the game at the top? How many of the senior executives of those listed companies can withstand scrutiny? If they're going to investigate, they should investigate thoroughly. They should just investigate all the listed companies in the country and see whether these companies or those ants will die first!"

This was originally a remark made at a private gathering, but it was leaked by someone, and the video clip of the remark was wildly forwarded and circulated, triggering an even bigger public opinion storm in just a few hours.

Suddenly, the Yan family became the target of public criticism, besieged and blocked. Some even clamored that such a company should be completely destroyed and rotten, calling on the public to boycott the Yan family and put into practice what that shareholder said—let's see who dies first.

When the Yan family became the center of a media storm, Yan Shiyu remained silent. Some media even photographed him in the kitchen of a century-old restaurant during the two days when the controversy was at its worst, seemingly still in the mood to learn how to cook.

In the midst of such a major public opinion crisis, the calmer the person involved appears, the less the incident has affected him. This seems to subtly confirm what the shareholder of Yan's company said, which will undoubtedly further incite public anger.

Amidst this uproar, Ji Yan celebrated her 27th birthday.

Originally, Old Master Yan intended to introduce Ji Yan to the outside world at his birthday banquet, but due to Yan Shiyu's deliberate obstruction on the day, no guests arrived and Ji Yan was blocked on the road and unable to appear, so the entire plan was shelved.

Ji Yan's birthday was originally another great opportunity.

Ji Yan's injury was not a big deal in itself, and many things could still be carried out as planned. However, the Yan family was caught up in this turmoil.

In those days, the Yan family mansion was bustling with activity, with countless people coming and going every day. Even those who didn't understand the implications knew that this matter had definitely had a significant impact on the Yan family.

Projects that begin to fester from within are often the hardest to repair. Moreover, since Yan Shiyu took over the Yan family, he has become a target of criticism, and there have been many bystanders who have taken the opportunity to stir up trouble and add fuel to the fire. At present, the Yan family is beset by internal and external troubles and is in a huge crisis.

During those days, Old Master Yan met with people from morning till night, sometimes going out two or three times a day. Since handing the Yan family over to Yan Shiyu, he hadn't been this busy in a long time. Whether his over eighty-year-old body could withstand such torment was another matter, but his mood was certainly not at peace.

Therefore, Ji Yan stayed indoors almost all those days, even canceling her daily rehabilitation training. Many people came and went from the mansion, but she mostly just sat behind her window, watching coldly.

Until the day before her birthday, after seeing enough of those sorrowful, unfamiliar faces, she finally saw a familiar face—

Gao Yan. Actually, Gao Yan had already come once a few days ago; that time, he came to see her.

"Mr. Yan said that the old house might become very noisy in the coming period. If Miss Ji is willing, she should go back to Qiushuitai to recuperate. It is quiet there, and there are people to take care of her when she comes and goes. It is very convenient."

Ji Yan remained unmoved by such a suggestion.

This time, Gao Yan clearly had another purpose. The fact that Butler Li was standing at the door watching him when he got out of the car indicated that he was there to see Old Master Yan.

Ji Yan sat there quietly, watching Gao Yan follow Butler Li into the room with a blank expression, before quickly looking away.

She didn't know how much time had passed when there was a sudden knock on her door, which had been quiet for many days.

Ji Yan turned around and said "Come in." Then she saw the door being pushed open, and Gao Yan poked half his head in. When he saw her, he gave her the usual formulaic smile, "Miss Ji."

"what's up?"

Gao Yan said, "Tomorrow is your birthday. Mr. Yan will personally cook a meal for you at Qiushuitai to celebrate your birthday. I hope you can do me the honor of coming back."

"Really?" Ji Yan's expression remained unchanged. "In the current situation, even this place is starting to prosper, yet your Mr. Yan has time to cook for you personally?"

“Mr. Yan knows what’s more important,” Gao Yan said. “Miss Ji, you’ll be going back tomorrow, right?”

Ji Yan glanced at him, then turned her face away without giving any answer.

Her reaction was within Gao Yan's expectations. Fortunately, Yan Shiyu had only sent him to deliver a message. As for Ji Yan's attitude, it didn't really matter to him.

Therefore, Gao Yan didn't say much. After relaying the message to Ji Yan, he quickly turned and left.

Ji Yan remained seated by the window, watching his car drive away, her expression unchanged throughout.

……

Since Tang Xu got off Jiang Beiheng's car halfway through the journey last time, she hasn't contacted Jiang Beiheng for some time, nor has she visited the Jiang family again.

It wasn't until Ji Yan's birthday that her car drove into the Jiang family's gate again.

Yingjie spotted Tangxu's car through the kitchen window and was so happy she almost shouted out loud. She quickly wiped her hands and ran out to greet Tangxu.

Tang Xu got out of the car, glanced at the two cars parked next to her, and turned to ask Sister Ying, "Are there any guests here?"

“It’s someone from the company,” Sister Ying replied. “They came right after lunch, and I don’t know what it’s about. They’ve been upstairs for over two hours… The gentleman didn’t even take a nap, so he must be very tired. I didn’t want to go up and interrupt him, but thankfully you’re here. Hurry up and check on him.”

Because Tang Xu hadn't come for several days, Ying Jie had vaguely heard that she seemed to have had some kind of conflict with her husband. Fearing that she might turn around and leave, she came forward and pulled Tang Xu inside.

Unexpectedly, the two of them had just entered the room when they saw Jiang Beiheng and two Jiang family directors coming down from upstairs.

Tang Xu looked up and met Jiang Beiheng's gaze. Seeing that his expression was as gentle as ever, as if nothing had happened, he simply smiled and said, "You've arrived?"

Tang Xu responded softly, then quickly looked away and greeted the two directors.

Many of the directors of the Jiang family were old friends of Jiang Beiheng and were quite familiar with Tang Xu. Although Tang Xu was no longer Jiang's daughter-in-law, they still exchanged a few pleasantries before taking their leave.

Tang Xu, as a junior, saw the two people out of the house before returning inside. She placed a bag she had put down earlier in front of Jiang Beiheng and said, "When we were in England, you said this nutritional supplement was good. My friend came back from there this time, so I asked her to bring some back with her."

Jiang Beiheng was delighted to hear this. He took the bag, looked at it, and said, "This is great. I was just about to ask Secretary Chen to buy some, and you just happened to deliver it."

After saying that, he instructed Sister Ying, who had brought out the tea, to put the things upstairs.

Tang Xu took the tea that Sister Ying handed him, placed it on the coffee table in front of him, and then asked, "How have you been feeling these days?"

“It’s nothing serious,” Jiang Beiheng said. “It’s just that you haven’t come to talk to me for a while, and I often feel that this room is strangely quiet, and I feel cold all over.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu's expression changed slightly, and he said, "You feel cold all over. That's probably because no one is talking to you. Haven't you been to the hospital?"

Jiang Beiheng laughed and said, "We do check-ups all the time, what could possibly be wrong? It's just that we're getting older, and even if we don't have any other serious illnesses, some other problems will eventually start to surface."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu seemed unsure of what to say and fell silent.

Jiang Beiheng glanced at her expression before speaking, "Are you still angry with me?"

"As I said, I wasn't involved, so I have no right to be angry with you," Tang Xu said calmly.

Jiang Beiheng simply smiled and said, "I'm already very happy that you still came to see me. Why don't you stay for dinner tonight?"

"Don't you have anything else planned for tonight?" Tang Xu asked. "Won't it bother you if I stay?"

"What else could I possibly want?" Jiang Beiheng said. "I'm more than happy that you're staying for dinner."

As he spoke, Jiang Beiheng turned his head, preparing to instruct Yingjie to prepare dinner properly.

Tang Xu felt a suffocating sense of helplessness, which had been spreading in her heart ever since she entered the Jiang family's gate. Now, it had finally reached her heart and she could no longer bear it.

She looked at Jiang Beiheng and finally couldn't help but ask, "Don't you really know why I came here today? I haven't come for so many days, but I came today of all days. Even if you were to guess, you should be able to guess why I came, right? Why aren't you angry? Why are you so calm and collected, as if nothing has happened?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Beiheng turned around, and when his gaze fell on Tang Xu's face, it remained warm and kind.

“Because for me, it’s not just my children who are my blood relatives, but also you,” Jiang Beiheng said. “So no matter what, I hope that we can be family forever.”

Tang Xu's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at him and asked, "So, even if you already knew what was going on, you'd rather pretend you didn't know?"