Jun's countenance turned chilly. He dug his nails into his palms, itching to meet and punch the hell out of Gu Yating.
When will you be here, you bastard?
Zhan Yahui was grinning by Guiying's side as she greeted the fans. They stepped up to the podium, and she took the mic.
"Thank you all for coming here. I am Zhan Yahui, CherryBlossom's editor. I am honored to host this event today and let you meet the star author of Dream High, CherryBlossom."
"CherryBlossom!!!"
"We love you!"
"I am your biggest fan CherryBlossom!"
"You are so beautiful!"
The fans loudly cheered. Everybody had their phones out, recording CherryBlossom's entry and capturing her Goddess face in their cameras.
Guiying then took the mic from Zhan Yahui and faced everyone as she smiled. "Hello. Thank you everyone for taking your time out of your busy schedule to meet me."
The fans' hearts melted.
"Ah, her voice is so angelic."
"As expected of my Goddess."
"Isn't she the perfect beauty with brains?"
Guiying continued. "I am deeply honored that you love my books so much. It is my lovely readers who brought me to this place today and who showered me with their immense love. You have my gratitude," she bowed.
They clapped hard.
"We will always support you CherryBlossom!" The fans encored.
Zhan Yahui nodded with a signal. "Thank you for your patience, everyone. We will now start the event. Request you all to please maintain a proper queue to get your copies of signed books."
The staff brought three heavy cardboard boxes filled with Guiying's new book - To Capture Your Heart.
Jun wasn't interested in this signing event. He was particularly waiting for the incident that would implicate MissImperfectlyFine.
When would that be?
He remembered she would be forced to apologize in front of Guiying's fans to admit to ruining her books, which would take a heavy toll on her reputation. Though she wasn't kicked out from Dream High, it was the beginning of MissImperfectlyFine's downward trajectory in her career.
Then he faintly remembered another point while recalling the chain of events again.
I think Yunru said that Dream High did give a statement later on that she was innocent, but it didn't help much…What was it again?
His memories had gaps since he didn't follow those events that closely and because of his rocky relationship with Shui too.
Jun shrugged and walked around the other side with less crowd and went towards the cafe.
I will get to know it today anyway.
Jun was about to enter the lounge when he saw the woman from the elevator wearing shades and a mask, hurrying towards a room.
He furrowed his brows.
That room is where the books are kept.
Jun narrowed his eyes.
Is she…?
—
After the event had officially started, Ai
quietly stood away from the crowd, glancing left and right. She noticed a little boy crying and running inside the temporary store room where the novel copies were kept.
She straightened up and hastily looked around for his parents but saw nobody coming after him. Worried, she rushed into the room. The child was around six or seven years old, who was sobbing miserably, facing a wall.
Ai removed her shades and mask and gently called out. "Hello."
The boy was startled, and he looked back, frightened. "W-who are you? Why are you here?"
She gave a tranquil smile to ease him. "I saw you crying, so I got worried for you. You shouldn't be alone here. Where are your Mom and Dad?"
His face puffed up like a cute balloon. "I don't want Mom and Dad anymore! They…they don't like me at all!" He burst into tears.
Ai tilted her head. "Why do you think so?"
The boy gasped and sniffled. "I found a super cool game! But-but they don't want to buy it for me waaaaaa. I want that game. I said please many times but they say no!"
"So you ran away?"
"En! I don't like Mom and Dad anymore!" He cried.
"You shouldn't say that. They really love you. There must be some problem so they might not be able to buy it for you now. That doesn't mean they don't care about you. So, let's go back to them."
The boy refused to get convinced. "But I really want that game! A-All my friends in school have it…Only I don't. They make fun of me that I am poor…I hate it…"
Ai patted his head. "I understand. But your parents might also be helpless now. Give them some time and they can-"
He shook his head furiously. "No, I cannot do that! I told my friends that I will have the game tomorrow. If-If I don't have it, then they will laugh at me even more. I want the game, I want the game, I want the game!"
He started to run around the room, wanting to stay away from Ai.
"You are just like them!" He sobbed.
Ai widened her eyes. "Don't run around. There are books here," she ran behind him.
"Bleh!" He stuck out his tongue at her. Suddenly, he slipped and crashed onto a shelf. On top of it was kept a plastic can of printing ink. The can jolted from its place and was about to fall.
Ai sharply gasped. "L-Look out!"
She pulled the boy and covered him under her embrace and supported the shelf with her right hand. The can fell and ink spilled out of it on her. She tightly hugged him and felt herself getting soaked in the ink.
Ai slowly opened her eyes and checked on the boy. "Are you okay?"
He was frozen in shock. Something crashed because of him and Ai right now, looked like a ghost with her face smeared in ink. He was frightened out of his wits.
"Waaaaa…"
Ai consoled him. "Ssh. Don't cry. Everything is fine."
But it wasn't. The ink had fallen on the boxes too and Guiying's books copies in it got smudged with ink. Ink began to sleep inside the pages.
The boy understood seeing the ruined books that he had made a terrible mistake.
"Waaaaaa…" he cried. Terrified, he clutched onto Ai's dress. "I…I don't do it on purpose."
"I know you didn't."
"M-Mom Dad will be very angry at me…" he gasped. He was shaking in fear.
Ai smiled. "Don't worry. I won't let them know."
"R-Really?" He sniffled.
"Yes. Quickly go from here. I will handle everything-"
The shelf got heavier to keep holding onto for Ai, and her hand slipped, feeling numb. The shelf was going to fall upon them.
She covered the boy with her body once again and shut her eyes for the impact.
But then she felt getting pulled into an embrace herself. Feeling nothing falling upon her, she slightly looked up in confusion and froze.
It was Jun, who was covering her in turn as he held the shelf with his arm from falling.