Between her embarrassment and annoyance, a familiar scent wafted over her, instantly relaxing her tense and delicate body.
She scolded herself in secret. She thought there was a thief in the house, but didn’t expect this bold man to sneak in through the balcony again, just like last time.
After a long while, Ling Chen finally moved his lips away, his clear eyes staring intently at the beauty beneath him, filled with deep affection.
Nanrong Wanqing felt embarrassed under his gaze, her cheeks flushing red. She couldn’t help but turn her head away, pushing against his robust chest with both hands, rebuking him: "I’ve already said I need to rest."
Ling Chen chuckled: "Why not rest and enjoy at the same time? What’s wrong with that?"
Hearing the word ’enjoy,’ Nanrong Wanqing felt a huge wave of embarrassment. Before she could retort, a warm breath washed over her face, and her lips were sealed again. She panicked at first, but gradually, she entered a blissful state, feeling that nothing in this world was more wonderful than this.
Feeling Ling Chen’s breath gradually become heavier, a sliver of remaining rationality in Nanrong Wanqing immediately stopped him, her voice shyly retreated: "Don’t..."
Ling Chen lifted his head, staring deeply at her, his throat felt dry as he asked: "Wanqing, what’s wrong?"
"I’m sorry, I... I was thinking... to wait until our wedding day..." Nanrong Wanqing closed her eyes, too shy to look at him. She wasn’t resisting Ling Chen, it’s just that she wanted to save the most precious part of herself for the most meaningful day.
Ling Chen smiled softly, his mood calming down as he gently caressed her smooth cheek, softly saying: "Don’t worry, I’m not in a hurry. What’s mine will eventually be mine, don’t you think?"
Nanrong Wanqing didn’t speak, just buried her head in Ling Chen’s embrace like a lazy kitten, enjoying his warmth.
Thus, the two lay quietly together, drifting off to sleep.
After breakfast, Ling Chen checked the time and was preparing to accompany Nanrong Wanqing to the company when Liang Zhao Hui briskly walked in from outside the villa and said: "Ling Chen, there are reporters looking for you outside."
"Reporters?" Ling Chen paused, surprised.
Liang Zhao Hui smiled and said: "Yes, they said they would like to interview you about your act of bravery yesterday."
"I won’t see them." Ling Chen waved his hand without hesitation, "Help me drive them away."
Su Lin, who was sipping porridge, muttered: "It’s only 7:30 in the morning, and they are already blocking the door. Those reporters are really dedicated."
"They just want to get firsthand information for a scoop." Liang Zhao Hui then looked at Ling Chen and asked, "Are you sure you won’t see them?"
"Definitely not." Ling Chen looked unwilling. Those media who had reported on him without his consent had already annoyed him. The idea of interviewing him was not even worth considering.
"You should go see them," Nanrong Wanqing urged: "Those media know you are an employee of Hongyu Group. Even if you don’t see them now, they will find you at the company. I’m not afraid of anything else but those unprincipled reporters. In order not to cooperate, they may deliberately smear your reputation to attract attention. Especially the online media nowadays have no moral bottom line; they are capable of anything for clicks and heat."
"Wanqing has a point," Su Lin agreed: "The online troll army is scary. One misstep, and you could ruin your reputation. Just do the interview. You can just casually answer a few questions and be done with it, it’s not like you’ll lose a piece of flesh."
With that, Ling Chen considered it for a while and then grudgingly agreed.
What Nanrong Wanqing said made sense; he couldn’t let these unprincipled media ruin his reputation over such a trifle. Besides, his identity has already been exposed, so it didn’t matter anyway.
"Liang, please ask them to sit in the guest room for a bit, I’ll come over after breakfast."
Ten minutes later, at the insistence of Su Lin and Nanrong Wanqing, Ling Chen changed into a sharp suit, looking dashing and heroic, with hair gelled back. According to the two ladies, since he would be on camera, he ought to look handsome.
Ling Chen couldn’t help but complain that those reporters really had nothing better to do. He was just a small fry, and wasting their time interviewing him seemed pointless.
When he arrived at the guest room, he pushed the door open and saw two people sitting inside, a young man and woman. The man, carrying a camera and tripod, was dressed casually; the woman, in a western-style business skirt with a white blouse, paired with black stockings and high heels, had an attractive face with light makeup on.
The female reporter approached him proactively, shook hands, and apologized with a smile, "Sorry to bother you so early. My name is Dai Ying, and I’m a journalist from the LeFeng online platform. This is my assistant, the cameraman Hong Gang."
Ling Chen nodded: "I’m in a hurry to get to work, can we please make this quick?"
"Mr. Ling, don’t worry, we won’t take up much of your time, please sit!"
Once they settled, Hong Gang set up the tripod, mounted the camera, and aligned it with Ling Chen’s position. After adjusting it, Hong Gang gestured to Dai Ying that everything was ready to begin.
Dai Ying maintained her smile, extended the microphone to Ling Chen, and asked: "Mr. Ling, I understand that you only joined Hongyu Group a few months ago. What was your job before that?"
"I was in the military, just recently discharged."
"So, Mr. Ling is an ex-soldier, no wonder you are so skilled. What were you thinking when you saved that person? Weren’t you concerned about your own safety?"
Ling Chen patiently endured and selected some positive reasons to explain: "I’m a soldier, my duty was to protect the country and serve the people. Even though I’ve been discharged, I have never forgotten the training the country gave me."
"Mr. Ling truly deserves respect as a soldier," Dai Ying said with a gentle smile, a glint of something cold and subtle flickering in her eyes. Then, she turned to glance at Hong Gang.
The two exchanged knowing looks, nodding silently to each other.
Then, Hong Gang lightly pressed a button on the camera.