*For Titania23 and Aki_2398*
Mei Yin was pulled back down to Earth as Li Han grabbed her shoulder and smiled at her. She could no longer think. Don't smile like that, it's difficult to breathe! Once her heart settled in its rightful place, she started to hear the voices of all of the reporters and the cameras flashing lights were near blinding. There were too many questions- 'How did you secure such a deal with Li Group?' 'Where did you come from?' 'Who are your parents?' 'What connections do you have?'. The only thing the media didn't say was 'which golden thigh did you hug for all of this to happen'.
Mei Yin was sure that when she woke up tomorrow there were going to be some rumors about tonight. She would be lucky if she got a good night's rest. Li Han raised his hand and all of the voices stopped. He asked Mei Yin in the lightest voice he could manage. He spoke at a volume only for the two to hear. "Would you like to say something or answer any questions?"He didn't want to overwhelm her with so much spotlight in one day. He knew that after today she would be the topic of interest for the rest of her life- their lives.
Mei Yin looked at him and could tell that he would be able to handle every situation so she held up two fingers and decided to answer only two questions. Li Han nodded and handed her a mic. He closely watched the media as she began to speak. "Hello everyone, my name is Xin Mei Yin." Li Han made it clear that she would only be answering two questions. Mei Yin could not say this, but it would be okay coming from Li Han as he was essentially a king and no one can disobey a royal decree.
The reporters looked around at each other almost as if engaging in a silent battle to see who would be lucky or assertive enough to ask the first question. Newer and less acclaimed reporters knew that they had no shot, so they could only hope that another reporter would ask what they wanted to ask. However, they did not know that Mei Yin could care less about senior and junior culture. She was constantly back and forth from China to America so much that gradually over time she stopped caring about it. If only the reporters knew she would pick on people randomly, maybe they would have fought more for a chance to speak.
Mei Yin looked through the sea of reporters and casually scanned their names before stopping at one of the reporters. "The first question goes to Mr. Cai with China National. Please ask your question." As Mr. Cai stood from his chair and grabbed a mic from a member of staff, audible gasps could be heard throughout the conference hall. Li Han was well aware of this reporter. Mr. Cai was known for his strong questions and extreme conservatism. No one got away from him alive- except Li Han. Li Han knew that if Mei Yin could handle this reporter, then she could handle anything.
"I want to know how you met the infamous CEO Li. We all know that he isn't exactly someone that just anybody can meet if they wanted to. We also know that you have no presence in the industry. Nor do you have the proper backing essential enough to secure such a role. So my question to you is: what or who did you do to be able to even look at him in the same room?" Reporter Cai was implying that maybe Mei Yin had partaken in indecent relations for two minutes of "fame". His words were powerful and full of confidence.
Mei Yin knew that he wanted to pull out the ugly in her by speaking in such a way. Too bad for him, she had dealt with passengers five times as bad as him! Mei Yin smiled gracefully and calmly responded. "Mr. Cai, you are technically calling me a nobody. You are not wrong for saying this because in hindsight I am. Mr. Cai is also implying that I have or would have had to bed someone in order to stand before you, other members of the media, and its consumers. Mr. Cai hindsight is twenty-twenty."
Mei Yin had such a powerful aura around her that the reporter could do nothing but stand at his seat. Other reporters also took note of Mei Yin and her way of answering questions. "I'm not sure if you are aware of Mrs. Mo; Tangning, but she is my idol. Like Tangning I too have a bottom line and I have my own boundaries set in place to protect myself, quite similarly to everyone else. I don't really like to play tai chi with my answers so I'll respond directly. I didn't find him. He found me. I didn't ask him. He asked me. CEO Li is an extravagant man but I am also precious to someone. As an important figure in media, I would think that you can distinguish right from wrong and make proper judgments as the number of eyes on you are far greater than the number of eyes on me."
She was too scary. Mei Yin had single-handedly dismantled the one man who ruled over Chinese media. There were too many celebrities and public figures who cracked under the pressure of reporter Cai and ultimately had to either leave the industry or work from behind the scenes. Reporter Cai was like a fish out of water. No one had ever disrespected him as she did. As he bawled his hand into a fist he made a personal vowel to get back at her and put her in her place.