Xiao Yi pursed his lips, his jaw muscles visibly taut. Without a word, he turned and left.
Xia Weiliang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Immediately, her expression turned grim again. With this delay, reporters would have likely found their way to her by now. What if they photographed her…
She dared not think about the consequences.
So…
Xia Weiliang knitted her brows, struggling before finally making a painful decision—
Teacher Xiao, I apologize!
The hotel's staff elevator required an employee card to operate and would not be discovered by reporters.
Xiao Yi stood inside the elevator, his mood less than pleasant.
Yan Zhi remained silent beside him. Xiao Yi had been a scandal-free celebrity since his debut, and coupled with his powerful background, no one in the industry dared to set him up.
This Xia Weiliang truly had no idea of the danger she was courting!
*Ding—*
The elevator reached the second basement level, and the doors slowly opened…
“It’s Xiao Yi!”
“Quick, quick! It really is him!”
“Xiao Yi! Can you answer a few questions for us?”
“After the awards ceremony last night, someone saw you entering the hotel with a mysterious woman…”
“So, is she your girlfriend? When do you plan to announce it?”
A barrage of cameras and microphones were thrust towards him.
Seeing the swarm of reporters guarding the area, both Xiao Yi and Yan Zhi were stunned.
Xiao Yi was the first to realize what was happening, his eyes darkening with a profound intensity.
Driver Da Yang, outside the cordon, jumped up and waved frantically, “Here! Brother Zhi, over here!”
Yan Zhi immediately shielded Xiao Yi, “Apologies, this is a private engagement. Please, members of the media, do not be overly intrusive! Kindly make way, thank you!”
Once they finally got into the car, the doors slammed shut, and Yan Zhi felt as if he could finally breathe again. “What’s going on? Why are the reporters blocking here?”
“I don’t know either. I was just waiting for you here, and then I saw them rush over, as if they had received advance notice!” Da Yang said with his usual bluntness. Yan Zhi’s expression changed upon hearing this.
Could it be…
Xiao Yi’s face darkened completely, his fists clenching. He enunciated each word: “Xia… Wei… Liang!”
At this very moment, Xia Weiliang had changed into clothes temporarily sent by her assistant, donned a baseball cap and sunglasses, and was swaggering out. The area outside the hotel entrance was empty, not a single reporter in sight!
She hadn't expected that Actor Xiao’s reputation would be so useful. After simply making an anonymous call to notify the media, not even a shadow of a reporter could be seen now!
She quickly got into a private car parked by the roadside. Her assistant, Nuomi, a girl with a round, endearing face, saw Xia Weiliang and pouted, on the verge of tears. “Wei Wei jie, we looked for you all night. Where did you go? You scared us to death!”
“I’m fine, I just drank too much.”
“But why is Actor Xiao here too…”
Xia Weiliang let out an uncomfortable cough, “We’ll talk about this later.”
Just then, a short-haired woman in a tight-fitting outfit strode over, pulled open the driver’s seat, and got in. Her voice was cool and clear, “The hotel surveillance has been completely handled.”
Xia Weiliang breathed a sigh of relief and gave the short-haired beauty a sweet smile. “A Yuan, thank you so much for this.”
Song Yuan said nothing but pulled out a payment QR code. “Five thousand, thanks.”
Xia Weiliang maintained her smile and took out her phone to transfer the money.
After confirming the money had been received, Ning Yuan started the car.
Nuomi cautiously leaned over and asked, “Wei jie, who is she? When she came to pick me up this morning, I thought she was going to kidnap me…”
“A private investigator, and also my elementary school classmate.”
“Oh, okay.”
Xia Weiliang raised her beautiful eyes and looked at Song Yuan, who was driving diligently. “A Yuan, thank you.”
Song Yuan dismissed it with a wave of her hand. “Taking money to do a job, nothing to thank for.”
Xia Weiliang merely smiled, not elaborating further.
In her previous life, when she got into trouble, everyone avoided her as if she were a plague. Many so-called classmates, neighbors, and childhood friends even jumped out to reveal all sorts of "scoops" for a pittance. Only A Yuan, looking at the camera with a serious expression, said that the Xia Weiliang she remembered was a good girl…