Explanation

As soon as Liang Xiaoyuan entered the company, he received news about Shen Tong's situation. Feeling anxious, he immediately called Shen Tong to check on her.

"Hello, Shen Tong, how are you? Are you alright?" Liang Xiaoyuan asked urgently as soon as the call connected, not waiting for her to speak. "I just got to the office and heard about your situation."

"I'm fine, doing well actually," Shen Tong replied. She was preparing to go to the filming location with Su Xiao. Receiving the call made her feel more at ease, warming her heart.

Su Xiao watched from the side as Shen Tong's expression softened instantly. He couldn't help but wonder who was calling her, but Shen Tong turned away, ignoring his curiosity.

"Mm, you should be careful," Liang Xiaoyuan gently comforted her. "Gossip reporters are like that. You have to be mindful of your every move, or you might get smeared without even knowing it."

"I know, I'm not someone to be trifled with either. They've given me a chance to be in the spotlight, I'm almost grateful," Shen Tong said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"You didn't do this on purpose, did you?" Liang Xiaoyuan asked nervously. He had considered the possibility, but from what he knew of Shen Tong, she wasn't the type to do such things. Still, he couldn't help feeling uneasy until he got confirmation.

Shen Tong quickly explained, "Of course not! I was shocked when I saw the newspaper. I had no idea the clothes Su Xiao gave me were a couples outfit." She added with a smile, "But their promotion has saved me a lot in advertising fees!"

Su Xiao looked at this cunning girl with a black face. Only she would think of the benefits in this situation.

Hearing this, Liang Xiaoyuan was completely relieved. He laughed and said, "That's true. But that reporter's camera must be terrible, it made you look so ugly."

Shen Tong complained, "Hey, hey! I'm naturally beautiful, I look good no matter how I'm photographed. You're just finding ways to insult me!"

"Haha, hearing you say that makes me feel much better!" Liang Xiaoyuan said warmly.

"Mm, I have something to do now, so I'll hang up. Bye!" After a while, Shen Tong happily ended the call, her heart as sweet as if filled with honey.

Su Xiao looked at her with disdain. Shen Tong rolled her eyes at him and said, "Don't think what I just said was true. You've caused such a big trouble, it will only tarnish your image."

Su Xiao let out a light snort without speaking. Just then, the elevator doors opened, and he strode out of the small space. As soon as they left the company, a large group of reporters swarmed towards them.

"Su Xiao, who was the girl beside you at that time?" A sharp-eyed reporter who spotted Su Xiao quickly asked.

"Su Xiao, are you dating Chen Xiaoyong?" Another reporter pushed forward.

"Su Xiao, please tell us, what's the relationship between the three of you? Did you do this intentionally?" A reporter asked sharply.

"Su Xiao, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

"Su Xiao, are you silently acknowledging all of this? Is the report true?"

The continuous questions and interrogations bombarded Su Xiao. He looked at the reporters in front of him impatiently, standing arrogantly in place, his expression becoming increasingly cold and his mood worsening.

Shen Tong had been walking slowly behind, but seeing Su Xiao surrounded by reporters in seconds, she inwardly exclaimed "Not good!" and quickly ran in front of Su Xiao. Facing the flashing magnesium lights, microphones, and reporters, she said with a smile, "I'm sorry, we have no obligation to answer these questions."

The reporters were startled by the sudden appearance of the girl. Shen Tong, seizing the moment before the reporters could ask questions, said sweetly, "I'm sorry, we have matters to attend to, so we'll be leaving now."

With that, she pulled the visibly impatient Su Xiao, who was barely containing himself, trying to push through the crowd to get to the filming location. The paparazzi quickly reacted, swarming around them like flies, and began to attack the two simultaneously.

"Excuse me, what's your relationship with Su Xiao? Are you the woman in the photo?"

"What's your relationship?"

"Was this incident pre-planned by you?"

"Have you considered the impact of this incident?"

The reporters' questions became increasingly tricky and harsh.

As a manager, Shen Tong reacted quickly. While trying to push through the crowd with difficulty, she loudly explained, "I'm sorry, we can't give too many explanations about this matter. Please let us through."

Unfortunately, the deliberately blocking reporters were too strong, and Shen Tong made little progress despite her best efforts. Su Xiao, who had been enduring silently behind her, was getting increasingly pale. He frowned at these people so keen on others' gossip, and finally burst out, "Enough!"

The reporters quickly turned their focus to Su Xiao. "Su Xiao, are you going to explain now?" "Please tell us, who was that woman?"

"Manager." The answer came from Su Xiao's cold lips.

Shen Tong was bewildered by this sudden turn of events. She inwardly wailed, why did Su Xiao say it! She was planning to use this to string them along!

"Is it the woman beside you?"

"What were your feelings when you gave clothes to your manager?" The reporters, sensing gossip, continued to ask.

Su Xiao tightly closed his lips, his face showing no intention of further explanation, leaving the mess to Shen Tong. "I am Su Xiao's manager. You can ask me anything. As for the conspiracy the reporters mentioned, it doesn't exist. I don't know which newspaper made it up, but I could sue you for defamation. Su Xiao gave me clothes because he saw how busy I was every day and didn't have time to buy nice clothes for myself..."

Before she could finish, a reporter interrupted, "Then why were they couple outfits?"

"In our little friend Su Xiao's eyes, these aren't couple outfits, but family-style clothes symbolizing a good brother-sister relationship," Shen Tong said with an appropriate smile, then continued after a pause, "Besides, I usually take care of his daily life. He's quite dependent on me, like a child. And who knows, maybe a friend gave them to him, and he found it too troublesome to throw away, so he gave them to me." This also created a frugal image for him.

Shen Tong glared timely at the person beside her, giving the reporters a seemingly reasonable answer, playing tai chi with them. "I hope our reporter friends won't dwell on this matter too much. He's naturally cold in personality, but actually quite childish inside. If we keep arguing, our little friend Su Xiao might cry."

The reporters all laughed in unison, understanding that she was explaining Su Xiao's cold and impolite attitude earlier.

Su Xiao looked at Shen Tong who was protecting him, his heart a mix of emotions - curiosity, gratitude, joy - that he couldn't quite describe.

"I also request our reporter friends not to overly publicize my existence. As a manager, I should keep a low profile. Otherwise, if I steal my artist's limelight, we won't have any sales," Shen Tong hinted at them to downplay her existence. "If there are no more questions, we'll be leaving now. Sorry, please make way."

The gossip reporters, seeing there was no more scoop, were disappointed. But inwardly, they approved of and liked Su Xiao's manager's handling of the situation.

This incident caused a brief stir but ended quietly, with only a small clarification in a corner of the newspaper. The matter was finally settled, and Xia Zixuan didn't inquire about it further.