Drunk On The Night Breeze - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Now, it wasn’t just Ruan Lingfeng’s sister who had turned from a casual fan to a hater; Ruan Lingfeng’s colleagues had also reached a unanimous consensus: Tao Zhi was an absolute idiot.

When Ruan Lingfeng went to work the next morning, he was immediately dragged into a discussion about the scandal.

“I’ve followed so much celebrity drama, but I’ve never seen PR like this. No one would disagree if I said this is a disaster-level PR move, right?”

“Exactly. He hit someone and ended up at the police station. If he had just admitted his mistake, I’d respect him for being a man, but he’s still trying to white-wash it.”

“If there really were some ‘mysterious protected civilian Omega,’ shouldn’t they come forward and clarify things immediately?” The colleague turned to Ruan Lingfeng. “By the way, Brother Feng, weren’t you in the parking lot at that time? Did you see any mysterious Omega?”

The actual mysterious civilian Omega, Ruan Lingfeng: “…”

Because he didn’t feel like explaining his medical condition, Ruan Lingfeng had always claimed to be a Beta at the office. Only a few high-level executives and the HR Director had the clearance to know his true secondary gender. He certainly couldn’t jump out now and admit it.

Furthermore, he wouldn’t do what his colleagues suggested and go online to clarify.

It wasn’t out of ingratitude. He had thought about it.

In reality, the video that people dismissed as “staged white-washing” was telling the truth. However, because the timing of the release was suspicious and the content was too noble and idealized to seem realistic, no one believed it. Instead, it made everyone feel like it was a failed PR stunt.

At a time like this, if he came forward as the victim and laid out all the evidence, netizens would say: “Weren’t you supposed to be protecting the civilian’s privacy? Why are you parading them around now? Still claiming this isn’t hype?” If he stayed anonymous and gave a brief clarification, they would think: “Where did they find this hired actor? Anyone off the street could say these lines.” In short, no matter what he did, the outcome would be unfavorable.

Tao Zhi’s studio likely thought the same as Ruan Lingfeng. That was why they only asked for his help at the police station last night but didn’t request any further public clarification.

The best PR for this situation was likely to do no PR at all and wait for the internet to forget.

However, it was highly probable that every time Tao Zhi had an event in the future, someone would dig this up to mock him again.

The colleagues continued their gossip: “It’s so funny. Maybe their company spent the entire PR budget on buying hot searches for his new songs instead.”

“I don’t know if we’ll still collaborate with him, but I hope his career flops soon.”

Ruan Lingfeng sighed. He couldn’t say too much, but he could at least put in a good word. “Don’t say that… things might not be as they seem.”

The colleagues—especially those on Ruan Lingfeng’s team who had worked on the proposal—looked at him as if they had seen a ghost.

“Wait, Brother Feng, didn’t Tao Zhi give you major attitude when he was here for the presentation yesterday? Why are you speaking up for him?”

Quickly, another colleague “understood” the hidden meaning in Ruan Lingfeng’s words and translated them with supreme confidence.

“I get it! Brother Feng has always told us not to gossip about others in the workplace. But Tao Zhi really is an idiot. Since we’re all family here, it’s fine.”

Ruan Lingfeng took a breath, too tired to argue further. He smiled. “Are you all that bored? Get back to your desks, now.”

He pointed to a few people. “The rest of you, prepare the materials I asked for the day before yesterday. We’re having a small meeting at ten.”

The crowd dispersed.

However, Ruan Lingfeng never made it to that ten o’clock meeting.

While he was handling his current tasks, a colleague from the Project Management department came over to inform him that the contract for Tao Zhi’s concert project had been finalized.

Ruan Lingfeng was stunned. Judging by Tao Zhi’s behavior during the presentation, he had assumed the collaboration was dead in the water. Angry as he was, Ruan Lingfeng had later reviewed the situation, unable to figure out which part of the proposal had offended Tao Zhi so much that he stormed out before it was even finished, even calling him “disrespectful”… He hadn’t found an answer yet.

But even after being snubbed and enduring the subsequent awkwardness, Ruan Lingfeng had intended to adjust the proposal and try one more time.

No one turned down a high-quality project. Even with a few scandals, Tao Zhi was still a top-tier star.

Working for a “Top Stream” made a resume shine.

Plus, Tao Zhi paid very well.

Unexpectedly, before he could even make a move to fight for it, the other party had impatiently extended an olive branch.

It made no sense. He had heard that Tao Zhi’s team had searched through countless companies without finding a satisfactory plan. Why, in his case, would Tao Zhi agree to collaborate when he hadn’t even finished hearing the plan and seemed to actively dislike it?

Ruan Lingfeng, who had just told everyone not to gossip, couldn’t help but ask, “What kind of episode is Tao Zhi having?”

He was baffled. Surely it wasn’t just because he had testified at the police station last night? That would be incredibly unprofessional.

But Ruan Lingfeng liked this kind of “unprofessionalism.” As long as they got the project and the money, it was a good thing.

The colleague who had just been shooed back to work leaned in again. “Holy crap, we’re really doing the planning? Did Sister Anne go and fight for it?”

“Sister Anne” from the project department quickly waved her hands. “No, we didn’t do anything. They just suddenly confirmed the collaboration. Their people are coming over to sign the contract in a bit… so I came to tell Xiao Feng.”

“True. Tao Zhi’s team was probably too busy frantically white-washing his scandal yesterday to think about concert plans.”

The gossip started up again.

“Then it’s even weirder. If they didn’t have time to think about the plan, why did they suddenly settle on us?”

“Maybe it’s a trap.”

“And even if we do collaborate, I feel like this guy will be impossible to serve,” the chatty intern babbled on, failing to notice the office had gone deathly silent or that his deskmate was frantically winking at him. “Plus, he has violent tendencies. If Brother Feng says something that pisses him off, what if he gets hit? Does that count as a workplace injury?”

“How about you verify for yourself if getting hit by me counts as a workplace injury?”

“Huh?” The intern turned around instinctively and froze like a statue.

Tao Zhi was standing right behind him.

Is there anything more terrifying in the world than being caught red-handed bad-mouthing someone?

Especially when that person is a known hothead.

Snapping back to reality, Ruan Lingfeng stood up and put on his professional smile, stepping toward Tao Zhi in a welcoming gesture. Today, Tao Zhi hadn’t styled his hair; his bangs rested flat on his forehead, making him look less aggressive. He wore a black mask, and since his face was small to begin with, the mask and bangs left only his bright eyes visible.

To be honest, Ruan Lingfeng’s mind was also a mess seeing Tao Zhi suddenly appear in their workspace.

Even if the contract was to be signed today, it shouldn’t have been this fast, right? Without so much as a heads-up?

And usually, guests wait in the VIP lounge. Why was Tao Zhi strolling through the open office area like he owned the place?

Only to hear the group of people about to work for him huddling together to talk sh*t.

Ruan Lingfeng felt complicated, but he forced a smile. “Uh… what brings you here?”

He even used the formal “You.”

Tao Zhi’s face was so dark it could have powered a coal plant. He glanced at Ruan Lingfeng but didn’t answer.

He stepped past Ruan Lingfeng, pulled out his phone, swiped a few times, and slammed it down in front of the intern.

“Open your eyes and look closely,” Tao Zhi commanded.

The intern, who had been so bold just moments ago, was now shaking like a leaf. He didn’t even dare touch the phone, only leaning down to look at the screen.

It was white text on a blue background.

Tao Zhi barked, “Read it out loud! Read it to your colleagues!”

It was an official police bulletin.

In his wildest dreams, the intern never thought he’d be reading a police report until he almost burst into tears: “Incident Report… Regarding the online reports of a Mr. Tao (Male Alpha, 19 years old) assaulting another person in a parking lot in Yunxia District. After police investigation, the incident involved Mr. Tao witnessing an Omega being harassed and molested by an ex-boyfriend. The measures taken were to stop the harassment, and were not a case of intentional or unprovoked assault…”

As the intern finished reading tremulously, the office became so quiet you could hear the hum of the air conditioner.

“I told you I was acting for a good cause!” Tao Zhi looked at Ruan Lingfeng. His eyes were full of anger, but there was a faint, hidden trace of hurt. He fumed, “You didn’t even bother to explain for me! You just let these people curse me like this!!”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…”