The Real Heiress Just Wants to Be a Lazy Fish - Chapter 62

Chapter 62: The Hongmen Banquet

Tao Yitong immediately knelt down to inspect the “person” who had collapsed and was spitting blood. An ordinary object could never elude her perception, but the cacophony in her ears reminded her that she had to deal with the crowd’s riot first.

Some people tried to run outside, but at this moment, Tao Yitong could not let anyone leave; no one knew if there was a suspect among those departing.

Activating her shielding, Tao Yitong released the beast soul of the Baku (Dream Eater), allowing it to “soothe” the terrified ordinary people.

Immediately after, she grabbed the unconscious person by the collar and gave them several slaps. These slaps were not merely physical hits to the face but were strikes against the soul. Regardless of whether it was playing dead or not, this thing had to wake up for her!

It had little backbone; after two slaps, it couldn’t hold out and begged for mercy. However, before Tao Yitong could interrogate it about where Jiang Zitan had gone, the perfectly human-shaped thing turned into a withered skeleton.

With the disguise shed, Tao Yitong recognized the origin of this thing. This familiar stench of rot—it was clearly a creature from the Ogre lineage!

Jiang Zitan’s face was pale from pain. The way her eyes were cast down gave her a helpless, shattered look, like someone who had recognized the truth and no longer had the strength to struggle.

“You… you are Zhao Rou?!” Xiao Ran had always felt this monster looked familiar. In her state of extreme tension, she didn’t know what her brain was thinking, but a sudden flash of the girl’s middle school appearance crossed her mind.

Zhao Rou glanced at her, her eyes full of gloom. Tao Yitong had swayed on the subway for a long time and missed her stop before she finally snapped out of it, taking a train in the opposite direction to return.

By the time she reached the company, she was thirty minutes later than the scheduled time. Just then, a black business van suddenly pulled to a stop.

The paint was glossy, and the aggressive model of the car was right in front of her. The sound of the brakes intimidated the surrounding crowd of blockaders.

The crowd parted slightly, their eyes focused on the slowly opening car door.

A trail of faint fragrance drifted out.

A long leg wearing over-the-knee suede boots stepped onto the ground first, the silver-chrome stiletto heel reflecting the light.

The next second, Jiang Zitan appeared before everyone’s eyes, dressed in a black one-piece suit dress and over-the-knee high-heeled boots—showing a section of snowy-white thigh to challenge the winter chill—and wearing oversized black sunglasses.

Her wavy curls, swept to one side, pushed her fully-realized aura to its peak.

She tilted her head slightly, looking at Tao Yitong, whose clothes had been pulled into a mess. She frowned slightly and let out a soft “tsk.”

Strangely enough, the entertainment reporters who had been aggressive enough to eat someone just a moment ago suddenly went quiet.

In front of Jiang Zitan, who was exuding a powerful aura in her high heels, the group turned cowardly. Some stood with their mouths wide open, wanting to ask questions, but were suppressed by the lead’s momentum, unable to utter a single word.

“You lot really know how to bully her, don’t you?”

Jiang Zitan stepped forward. Standing on ten-centimeter stilettos, her striking height made her taller than some of the men, and her aura was even more potent, causing several reporters to instinctively part to the left and right.

She came to Tao Yitong’s side, gave her a look, then bent down to pick up her hat, patted off the dust, and looked around: “Why are you all bullying our company’s little artist like this?”

No one answered.

With a posture of looking down upon all living things, Jiang Zitan grabbed Tao Yitong by the elbow and, without a word, dragged the girl in the white down jacket toward the car.

Tao Yitong was stuffed into the car. She only heard the three soft words “so stupid” whispered in her ear before her entire person was blocked by Jiang Zitan.

After finishing this, Jiang Zitan turned back leisurely and smiled at the crowd: “Go collect your travel expenses in a moment. Thank you for the long wait; the red envelopes provided will be larger. If I have news, I will release it immediately. Please do not write nonsense; we might have more cooperation in the future.”

The last sentence was a clever warning—there could be money to take, or there could be a loss of a job.

The crowd looked at each other as the black business van carrying Jiang Zitan drove away.

The reporters, finally coming to their senses: “Isn’t Jiang Zitan engaged to the top socialite Fu Mozheng? Why does it feel like she matches this little girl better?”

“Tell me about it. No one has ever captured a photo of Jiang Zitan and Fu Mozheng in the same frame, yet Jiang Zitan is willing to stand up for this little actress. How interesting! Gah! I was stupid just now and didn’t take more photos. I really regret it!”

“Tsk tsk, it’s like a dominant CEO protecting her wife. It’s actually quite ship-worthy.”

Tao Yitong sat in her seat, her fingers instinctively twisting the straps of her hat.

She didn’t dare turn around and could only observe Jiang Zitan out of the corner of her eye.

Outside the car, the temperature was low enough to see one’s breath, yet Jiang Zitan had stepped out with a section of her white thighs exposed. Wasn’t she cold?

Before her thoughts could settle, Tao Yitong saw Jiang Zitan give a slight shiver.

It was from the cold.

So even such a powerful person gets cold.

Tao Yitong hunched her shoulders and let out a soft laugh.

“What are you laughing at?”

The voice was very slight, but it didn’t escape Jiang Zitan’s ears.

Jiang Zitan stared straight ahead, her black sunglasses still on. She sat there with her arms crossed and legs overlapped, appearing to be in a foul mood.

“No, it’s nothing.” Tao Yitong quickly turned her head to look out the window, but she saw a black faux animal-fur coat on the front seat, which gave her heart a gentle tug.

Sure enough, many reporters had already surrounded the base of the Gaole Entertainment Building.

Those carrying cameras and holding microphones were everywhere.

Tao Yitong pulled her white baseball cap lower, intending to detour from the side, but was blocked by a sharp-eyed reporter stepping in front of her.

“This lady looks like an artist from Jiang Zitan’s company, right? Is it convenient to talk about the situation between Jiang Zitan and Fu Mozheng?”

As soon as he started shouting, more people discovered Tao Yitong’s presence and immediately swarmed over like a hornet’s nest.

These reporters were red-eyed with the desire to block someone, and seeing anyone who looked even slightly like they belonged to Gaole Entertainment, they crowded in.

Furthermore, Tao Yitong had a slender and graceful figure. Her ordinary short white down jacket paired with washed blue jeans, white Martin boots that cost 68 yuan (free shipping), and long straight chestnut-brown hair made her stand out remarkably in a crowd.

It wasn’t surprising they blocked her.

“Miss, are you going to Gaole Entertainment?”

“You must be an artist. Is it convenient to talk about the Triple Crown Best Actress, Jiang Zitan?”

“Is Jiang Zitan at the company? She’s getting engaged now, and to the top socialite Fu Mozheng. Does your company not have any internal news? Give us a scoop…”

At this moment, Tao Yitong finally understood what her manager meant by “be careful.” Having just entered the industry, she was still mostly an ordinary person and had truly underestimated the frenzy of entertainment reporters; she only wanted to escape the entanglement.

“No, no, I don’t know. Please let me through.” Jiang Zitan took a soft breath, her chest heaving slightly more than usual.

She restrained her temper but still couldn’t help letting out those three words: “So stupid.”

She snatched Tao Yitong’s phone and tilted her chin up: “Unlock it.”

Tao Yitong obeyed immediately without resistance.

Jiang Zitan tapped on the screen a few times, then stuffed the phone back into her hand: “You can contact me if anything happens. Don’t let something like today happen again.”

Tao Yitong clutched the phone, suddenly feeling it was hot, echoing the temperature hidden in her now pink earlobes.

Jiang Zitan: “My proposal is always valid. You can keep considering it, but you know I don’t have much patience. Answer me as soon as possible.”

Consider… consider the engagement?

Tao Yitong really wanted to ask questions, but just at this time, the phone that had been lying face-down on the leather sofa seat rang.

—It was Jiang Zitan’s phone.

The ringtone sounded exceptionally loud in the car cabin.

The first time, Jiang Zitan didn’t answer.

The ringtone rang again stubbornly, seemingly refusing to stop until answered.

Finally, Jiang Zitan flipped the phone over, saw the contact note, and frowned.

The note had only one word—”Fu.”

Tao Yitong happened to see it. Her eyes were naturally round almond eyes, and they widened slightly now, betrayed by her clear gaze that couldn’t hide her thoughts; curiosity was practically written on her face.

Jiang Zitan pondered for a moment before answering the phone: “Hello?”

A cold male voice came from the other side: “My sister wants to meet you.”

“Meet for what?”

Jiang Zitan’s voice was even colder, unlike her laziness when teasing Tao Yitong. She stopped dragging her tones, and her entire person regained that sharp and dominant aura.

“Aren’t you going to apologize for releasing that press release that affected my sister’s mood? She’s in the middle of major exams at the music conservatory abroad. You doing this will only affect her mood, yet she is still willing to return to the country to meet you regarding this matter.”

It wasn’t Fu Mozheng like she had thought; it sounded like Fu Mozheng’s brother.

Tao Yitong was quite surprised but pretended not to care, while her ears leaned closer and closer toward the phone.

Jiang Zitan caught this out of the corner of her eye. Her other hand, not holding the phone, rose to press her finger against her forehead.

She sighed, tilted her head slightly, and inconspicuously moved the phone closer to Tao Yitong’s side.

“I say, Second Young Master Fu, are you trying to shift the blame for the press release? I even suspected your family released it. Of course, I have no evidence and won’t speak recklessly, but you have no evidence either, so please do not open your mouth to slander me at will.”

But those entertainment reporters didn’t care who the person they met was; they caught whoever they could, wanting to dig up any scrap of information from anyone related to Jiang Zitan.

Mainly, they hadn’t caught the artists entering the building through the front door—the underground garage wasn’t open to the public, and people basically drove through there. Only the impoverished Tao Yitong got off the subway and relied on walking.

“Top socialite Fu Mozheng—the Fu family and Jiang Zitan’s family, Gaotong Group, are equally matched. Since news of the marriage has spread, they must have been dating for a long time, right?”

“Jiang Zitan won the Triple Crown Best Actress at 27. At the celebration party for her third trophy last night, did Fu Mozheng go? Did you see anything?”

“Do you also think Jiang Zitan and Fu Mozheng are a good match?”

Tao Yitong was naturally indifferent and unaccustomed to entangling with people, but as these sentences of “Jiang Zitan and Fu Mozheng” piled up one by one, she felt inexplicably stifled.

She pulled her arm out from one person’s hand, only to be grabbed immediately by another.

It was overwhelming, like being trapped in a mire falling over her head.

Finally, Tao Yitong frowned.

“Cough cough cough…”

“Back then… the teachers didn’t even care about you. It was she who rescued you from those bad students. And now, you are biting the hand that fed you!” Xiao Ran stared at her with gritted teeth. She never expected the story of the Farmer and the Snake to play out on Jiang Zitan.

“No… you are wrong.” Zhao Rou sneered, appearing very disdainful of Xiao Ran’s statement. “All of my pain is related to her!”

“I was recognized and brought back by the family just to get close to you, but you left without a shred of mercy. Consequently, I lost my value. Do you know what happens in this family once you have no value?” Zhao Rou’s beautiful skin peeled away bit by bit, revealing a state that was neither human nor ghost. The insults Xiao Ran was about to shout got stuck in her throat.

“If you had agreed to my terms, perhaps you wouldn’t have had to die so quickly.”

“You are from the Li family.” Jiang Zitan clutched her wound, her voice revealing weakness.

“Haven’t you already guessed? My biological father is a profligate son of the Li family…” Mentioning the Li family and her biological father, Zhao Rou’s eyes uncontrollably revealed an even deeper sense of resentment.

“Enough!” The old man beside them suddenly interrupted their conversation. He glanced at Jiang Zitan, seemingly seeing through her attempt to use Zhao Rou’s hatred to stall for time. “We don’t have much time to leave for your pleasantries. Take her to the back of the mountain. The ritual is only one final step away.”

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