"Not until recently. He just got it last night. Don't you remember that my old man has always wanted to work with the Beifeng Group? Last night, Lu Zhanbei's assistant called him and said that Lu Zhanbei was willing to talk to him personally. He then gave Lu Zhanbei's number to him."
Tong Yi replied, "Oh."
'So that's how he got Lu Zhanbei's private number.'
"However, it's strange. My old man has wanted to collaborate with the Beifeng Group for as long as I can remember. He's been waiting for the Beifeng Group to contact him for the longest time but to no avail. They suddenly agreed to a collaboration last night, and my old man even discussed the details with Lu Zhanbei personally. You couldn't have known but my old man was over the moon. He locked himself in his study and sounded as if he was laughing to himself, like a crazy person."
Tong Yi was once again rendered speechless by Ling Rui's words. Who would say such things about their own father?
"Ah, right." Ling Rui who was on the other end seemed to have suddenly thought of something. "Last night, my old man came out of his study in a great mood after ending the call with Lu Zhanbei. I recall him saying something about Lu Zhanbei going on a business trip the next day, so the details of the cooperation had to be finalized that very night. I'm guessing his phone is switched off because he's probably on a plane right now."
"Okay." Tong Yi walked toward the car. Since he was not around, there was no need for her to go into the building.
"I just realized something strange."
Tong Yi casually asked, "What is it?"
"Yesterday, the news about you and the Lu brothers was all over the internet. Your name practically became synonymous with a scumbag. Today, all the news has disappeared without a trace. It was as if everyone had lost their memories overnight."
"Oh," Tong Yi replied lightly. Her only purpose here was to save Lu Zhanbei. She didn't care about anything else.
This was just a game world. She would leave after saving Lu Zhanbei. Her reputation here was meaningless to her.
"Don't you find it strange?"
Tong Yi came to the side of the car, opened the door, and sat inside, saying absent-mindedly, "A little bit."
"How is this just a little bit? To be able to cover up all the news in just one night, is this something that any normal person can do?"
Tong Yi's hand that was about to start the engine stopped. Only then did she start to realize that she might have a real problem. She has been in the entertainment industry for over two years, she knew the price that had to be paid to suppress such big news.
A public relations team, marketing strategies, managing interpersonal relationships, and so on would require a lot of manpower and financial resources, not to mention it was next to impossible to make such an explosive piece of news disappear overnight.
"Lu Moxi doesn't have that kind of ability. The only person who could have done this is Lu Zhanbei." Ling Rui's doubtful voice came from over the phone. "But that doesn't make any sense. The news this time doesn't affect Lu Zhanbei at all. It was all criticisms about you. Why would he meddle in your business?"
Tong Yi was about to say that it probably wasn't Lu Zhanbei's doing when Ling Rui's surprised voice rang out first. "Holy sh*t, could it be that Lu Zhanbei actually likes you?!"
Tong Yi rolled her eyes internally. "If he likes me, why didn't he get engaged to me? If he likes me, why didn't he give me his phone number?"
"About this…"
Her phone suddenly vibrated. Tong Yi moved it away from her ear and looked at the notification. Lu Zhanbei's name flashed on the screen. Tong Yi quickly spoke into the phone, "I'm going to need to hang up now." Then, she cut off Ling Rui's call and answered Lu Zhanbei's call. "Hello."
Two seconds later, he asked, "What's up?"
His voice was deep and cold. Even through the phone, Tong Yi could feel the other party's domineering aura.
It was the voice belonging to Lu Zhanbei.
"Does missing you count?" Tong Yi was surprised that she could say something she had never said in real life.
Was it because she had gotten used to saying it after having said it a couple of times? Or was it because this was the game world, where one could utter words without being held responsible for them?
Probably both.