A figure stood in the dark shadow of a corner and Xia Ning was surprised when she recognized the man.
The man looked emaciated. His eyes sunk deep into the sockets, his skin looked coarse, and his hair was as unkempt as a haystack. He wore an ordinary jacket, which couldn’t be warm enough for this weather.
“What? Surprised to see me?” said the man suddenly with a scornful voice.
Xia Ning pursed her lips and kept her silence.
“Your surprise actually reassures me. At least it proves that you still remember me.”
Xia Ning stared at the man with a frown. She then asked in a low voice. “What happened to you?”
“Don’t you know the answer to that question?” The man chuckled.
Xia Ning lowered her gaze but didn’t reply. Although she didn’t know what exactly happened, she had a feeling that it had something to do with her.
“Do you know how it made me feel when I saw all you people promote ‘Shengshi Weiyang’ out there and I was the only one left out?” The man growled. “I, Zheng Haodong, am supposed to be the main actor in the series! Who gave you the right to take that away from me? Xia Ning, why?!”
He asked through his gritted teeth as if he wanted to tear someone into pieces.
Xia Ning looked up at Zheng Haodong, then said in a stern voice. “Are you blaming me for everything?”
“Xia Ning, with everything that has happened, are you still going to deny it?” Zheng Haodong snorted. “I didn’t know you were the second-largest shareholder of SE Entertainment, nor did I know of your well-connected boyfriend. How silly of me, confessing my love for you like a moth flying into the flame.”
Xia Ning stared at Zheng Haodong with a frown. What was that supposed to mean? What well-connected boyfriend?
Taking a deep breath, Zheng Haodong went on. “I only wanted to tell you my feelings for you. What was wrong with that? What you people did to me wasn’t fair! You’ve ruined everything for me!”
Recovering from her initial shock, Xia Ning looked at Zheng Haodong and said in an indifferent voice. “I did no such thing. Zheng Haodong, you wanted to use me for your publicity stunts and I had every right to disagree with that and fought back! You cared about your personal interest and I had my own to protect. I won’t just stand here and let you vent your anger at me!”
“But what about my feelings for you? You can’t deny them!” said Zheng Haodong loudly. He stepped forward and reached out to touch Xia Ning’s face, but she avoided his hand. He looked pained when he looked at her again. “My feelings for you are real!”
Xia Ning looked at Zheng Haodong with an impassive look on her face. “But I have no such feelings for you!” Something seemed to strike her and she snorted. “If you really like someone, you shouldn’t try to use her to silence your other scandals, nor should you force her to admit that the two of you are in a relationship. You need to respect a woman if you really like her.”
“That’s easy for you to say!” Zheng Haodong smirked. “Do you like that man then? You’re with him because of his money!”
Xia Ning frowned at those words. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“Stop pretending already. I was shut out of the business and have fallen to this state all because of your man, Qiao Yu! He wants me ruined!” Zheng Haodong guffawed. “Aren’t you with him because he has money? Don’t make yourself sound so noble!”
Xia Ning was surprised. Qiao Yu? He had been involved in this Zheng Haodong business? Why didn’t she know anything about it?!
Over on the other end, Qiao Yu dialed Xia Ning’s number as he drove on the highway. The call went through, but her phone was switched off shortly afterward. Qiao Yu’s heart sank. What happened? Had she run out of battery?