Things Turn Bleak

Si Weimin strode fast towards his car. All the buzz made Si Weimin lost more interest in the art exhibit. The annoyance he felt towards Zhou Bingbing grew more and more. Instead of suffering inside, he decided to wait for Xu Jia Li outside.

He wasn't one to socialize because he was an introverted man. He preferred to handle business meetings and the likes. He walked fast until he reached his car. He took the chance to go outside and be freed from Zhou Bingbing.

He leaned on the hood of his car, raised his head up as he marvelled at the beauty of the night sky. He inhaled the crisp air and it brought relief to his being.

If it wasn't for Xu Jia Li he wouldn't even think of going. He took the phone on his pocket and dialled Wang Guo's number. A few ring and he heard his voice,

"CEO Si..."

"How's the rumour going?"

"As you've said, I haven't asked for them to be removed, leading the culprit to post more allegations and nasty things." Wang Guo paused for a while before he continued, "You are right, CEO. The culprit posted another article."

"And?"

"We are working on getting all the comments and defamation of these people. I've sent them all to the CyberCrime Department and put this thing legally. These people will be receiving their end of the bargain as the letter from the court will be on their doorstep early tomorrow."

"Good. Good. What else?"

"But CEO, Ms. Xu's reputation is on the edge. More articles about her dirty tricks in the industry are surfacing." Wang Guo gave emphasis to the words, dirty tricks, then he continued, "The fans are asking for her to explain. The movement to ban Sweet Memories is on the rise, CEO."

"Let them do as they please. These people will need to pay anyway as I'm a very vengeful person."

Wang Guo winced at the words because he knew how bad Si Weimin could be. 'Ah, the devil is so scary. I wish he could always be with Ms. Xu so he could loosen up a bit.' Out on his thought, he was startled when he heard him ask,

"Anything else?"

"We already found out who did the post which started all this."

"Okay, give me all the papers tomorrow. How about Thomas?"

"No news of him, CEO. After I called him, I can't contact him anymore."

"Contact him again. It had been two times already that Jia had been slandered online. Make sure I'll have enough evidence."

"I'll do my best, CEO." Wang Guo could only answer as he could feel the intensity of the situation. It's only been two days and news defaming Xu Jia Li had been on the rise. He knew that the devil won't let these things pass.

"Any news about what I asked of you?"

"None yet and our men are still looking for it, CEO."

"They are becoming incompetent!"

"C-C-CEO..."

"You have to give me answers about what happened to Jia's apartment before the night ends or you will have to file your resignation the very first thing tomorrow!"

He ended the call without waiting for Wang Guo to answer. He kicked the tire of his car until the anger he felt subsided. He felt useless. How could he fail to know these people who were threatening to hurt Xu Jia Li! He was irritated and anxious about the incidents involving her. He was becoming impatient.

Had it only been two days? It seemed that since he decided to let himself be known, things turned bleak. He leaned on his car again and put his phone back in his pocket.

Was it somehow his fault? Did Xu Jia Li get tangled up to those nasty rumours because of him? Wasn't it a good idea that he joined the film? More and more questions were boggling his mind.

He wasn't at all regretful but knowing that she's suffering from all these shits made him feel bad. However, now that he's close to her, he could look after her more.

He ran his hand on his well-combed hair, making him look ruggedly handsome. He loosened the tie on his neck as he began to ponder over the incident that morning – the letters, the carcass, the mess on Xu Jia Li's apartment, the blood and the red button. He left the red button on his vault for safekeeping after taking photos and sending them to Wang Guo.

He asked him to look discreetly for shops that sold that kind of button. He direly needed to know more about the incident. Remembering that Xu Jia Li's apartment was still a mess, he decided to ask her later on where she would stay. He would only be at ease if he knew that she was safe.

While pondering over these matters, a sudden movement on his left side going to the dark alley caught Si Weimin's attention. It was very dark as he parked his car near an alley farther away from the venue of the exhibit , trying to avoid the press.

He stood straight and focused his gaze on the darkness. He couldn't see anything. He slowly walked towards it, making his senses sharp for anymore movement he could feel. Before he even enter the dark alley, someone held his shoulder from behind which made him react on impulse.

He grabbed the hand on his shoulder, twisted it and held the man lock on his arm.

"What the fuck, bro?" The man shouted as he tried to wriggle away from him.

When Si Weimin heard the voice, relief flooded him, he was about to break the man's arm as he held it tightly – suffocating the man with his arm on his neck. He let go of him as he lightly punched his shoulder.

"What was that, bro? You almost killed me."

"Who told you to just hold someone without letting him know your presence?"

"What the fuck? I just arrived to satisfy the whim of someone! Fuck, bro! I'm on a special mission and you called me over." Thomas Young said while rubbing his arm. He furrowed his brows as he glared at Si Weimin.

"You should have been here yesterday."

"Bro, I'm in New Zealand. You are making me ditch my mission just for your whim. So, tell me, what is it?"

Si Weimin threw Thomas his unamused gaze before he turned his head and looked at the alley again. There was no sign of any movement or presence of life. 'Maybe I was just mistaken.'

He disregarded the incident and began to walk back towards his car. He still could hear the annoyance on Thomas' gibberish words.

He went inside his car and waited for Thomas Young.

"I need you to do something for me."