Chapter 118: The Beauty's Scheme
"Zhang Yang, if you don't get up, I'm gonna make you," Qiao Xier glanced at Tian Tian and Liu Zixuan beside her, clearly signaling they were her accomplices.
Zhang Yang helplessly raised his head, looking at the group of beautiful women staring at him like tigers eyeing prey, and asked speechlessly, "You and Yang Jing can just go. Why drag me into it?"
"Hey, hey, you're the company's legal representative. Not hosting the unveiling ceremony and letting us two subordinates go instead—that's just not right, is it?"
Just thinking about facing dozens of women later made Zhang Yang's head ache. After some thought, he decided it was better to refuse.
But before he could speak, Lulu, who had been silent all along, stood up, pulled Qiao Xier, Gao Qi, and the others aside, and whispered, "You guys go ahead. I'll talk to him."
Qiao Xier glanced at her, and Gao Qi nodded. "Let this little girl handle it. She's got more tricks up her sleeve."
"Alright, we'll wait for you there!" Qiao Xier gave Xu Danlu a hopeful look, then left with Liu Zixuan and the others, while Gao Qi hid to the side with a mischievous grin.
Zhang Yang sighed in relief and asked Xu Danlu, "What did you tell them to make them listen to you like that?"
Xu Danlu looked at the departing Gao Qi and the others, smiled, and said, "I just told them not to waste their breath. By the way, do you know today's press conference will be broadcast nationwide?"
Zhang Yang nodded. "Of course I know."
"It's your chance to get famous."
"I know that too!"
Xu Danlu nodded. "Then do you know why Sister Qiao wants you to go up there?"
Zhang Yang looked at her, puzzled. He really couldn't figure out Qiao Xier's real intention. "Is there another reason?"
"Think about it. Once you're on stage, with your identity as the president of Nuwa Company, you'll instantly become famous and your worth will skyrocket. Don't you get what Sister Qiao's planning?"
Zhang Yang seemed to half-understand, half not. Xu Danlu rolled her eyes and said softly, "You really don't get it? The higher your status, the better your chance of marrying Sister Qiao. The more famous you get, the more the Qiao family will value you. The more they value you, the better your chances of winning her. Sister Qiao is basically chasing you in a roundabout way. Don't you see that?"
"If you don't go up there today, it's like rejecting Sister Qiao's goodwill. Or have you decided to give up on her?"
"Uh…" Zhang Yang got completely tangled up in Xu Danlu's words, and before he knew it, she had dragged him onto the stage. When he looked back, Xu Danlu was smiling sweetly and waving from below. Damn it, he'd been tricked.
Gao Qi quietly walked up behind Xu Danlu and gave her perky butt a squeeze. Xu Danlu wordlessly slapped her hand away.
"So how'd you handle your man?" The busty woman slipped an arm around Xu Danlu's slender waist, pressed closer, and sneakily groped her again.
"What do you mean handle?" Xu Danlu grabbed her wandering hand helplessly. Seriously, her boobs were already huge, soft, and fair—why did she always have to touch someone else's?
Gao Qi pointed toward Zhang Yang on stage. "You know Zhang Yang's always low-key and loves to act all mysterious. Why'd you push him up there?"
Xu Danlu snapped back, "You were there too, why didn't you say anything? Besides, don't you also want your man to shine in front of everyone?"
"Of course I do. But I know you don't. You just want a quiet life with him." Gao Qi grinned, glancing at Zhang Yang and Qiao Xier on stage, then back at Xu Danlu. "That's why I don't get you. The hotel kiss photos from last time already spread everywhere, and now they're standing together again. Even an idiot can tell they're a couple. No one would ever guess you're the real one."
Xu Danlu chuckled. "You're bringing up who's the real one now? When it comes to love, there's no such thing as who came first."
"You're so generous." Gao Qi wrinkled her nose. "You must have another plan. Spit it out, or I'll leak those pictures of you and Zhang Yang doing that old man's cartwheel position in bed…"
"When… when did you take those?" Xu Danlu was speechless.
"Heh, see? You think you're clever, but I'm not that easy to fool." Gao Qi giggled wickedly.
Xu Danlu raised her hands in surrender. "Fine, you win."
She looked up at Zhang Yang, who was taking photos with Minister Chen from the Health Department, and said quietly, "Besides helping him gain fame to match Sister Qiao, I'm actually worried about his safety. Don't be fooled by how glamorous he looks now. Behind that, he's made a lot of enemies."
"With Nanxing One and the Rehabilitation Center coming out, every company researching anti-cancer drugs and every hospital treating malignant tumors is facing bankruptcy. The manufacturers of expensive radiotherapy machines are crying their eyes out. Do you think they'll take it lying down? Forget the rest—Bai Pharmaceuticals, who were supposed to launch their Elan product today, probably want to eat Zhang Yang alive. I'm worried their hatred might shift toward Yangzi."
Xu Danlu sighed softly. "Even if Yangzi hides in the shadows, they can still easily find him. If they really want to act, who's easier to deal with—an unknown Zhang Yang or a world-famous one?"
Gao Qi suddenly understood. "So that's why you made him go on stage. Once he's a public figure, even if someone dares to move against him, they'll have to think twice, right?"
Xu Danlu nodded, watching Zhang Yang on stage. "You could say that it makes most people hesitate, but a few might go even further. Whether it's right or wrong, it's hard to say now."
"Still, we need to show them that taking on the rising Nuwa or Zhang Yang won't be that easy." Xu Danlu lowered her head slightly, looking at her toes, and said softly, "Since we've chosen this path, we might as well go all in. Before others can swallow us, we'll turn into a hedgehog first."
"Huh? Bai Wensheng, what's he doing here?" Gao Qi suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure at the door. It was just a flash, but she recognized him.
"Qi-jie, are you sure you didn't see wrong?"
"I'm sure!"
Xu Danlu sneered coldly. "Looks like Bai Pharmaceuticals' press conference has completely crashed today. He probably didn't expect the Rehabilitation Center to open on the same day. That Bai Wensheng still has the mood to show up? His son's been arrested, their product can't be launched, and he still comes here. That only means two things—either he's desperate or he's found a new backer."
"What should we do?" Gao Qi asked worriedly.
Xu Danlu pointed her chin toward Zhang Yang, who was being interviewed by reporters. "Ask him. We're just here to watch the show."
Meanwhile, Zhang Yang, the 'actor in the play,' had just finished the unveiling ceremony and was now being interviewed exclusively by a beautiful CCTV reporter alongside Qiao Xier and Yang Jing. "Mr. Zhang Yang, we all know that Miss Qiao Xier is one of the developers of Nanxing One. Now she's also the head of the Pharmaceutical Department at your Nuwa Company. Does this mean that in the future, Nanxing One will be produced by Nuwa Company, forming a complete chain—your pharmaceutical department producing the drugs and supplying them directly to the Rehabilitation Center?"
"Of course!"
"May I ask, how does it feel to be the boss of a future Nobel Prize winner?"
Zhang Yang winced. What kind of question was that? He glanced at Qiao Xier speechlessly. Shouldn't she be the one answering that? Why the hell did she insist on taking the position of Pharmaceutical Director when Nuwa was first founded?
"Well, when Director Qiao heard I was starting the company, she immediately volunteered, driven by the noble ideal of benefiting humanity. She even decided to join without asking for a salary. I'm truly grateful…"
Beside him, Qiao Xier rolled her eyes. When the hell did I ever say I didn't want a salary?
"But recently, rumors have been spreading online, including a photo of you and Miss Qiao Xier being intimate in an elevator. Some say you're actually lovers. Now that she's joined your company for free, does that mean the rumors are true? Are you and the Qiao family's eldest daughter a couple?"
Zhang Yang looked at the beautiful, young, and cute CCTV reporter with bangs and thought, what the hell kind of question is this? You should be in entertainment news. You really know how to stir shit up, don't you?