Chapter 154: A Magical Night
Chapter 154: A Magical Night
"It's my media assistant, Liu, who manages my social media platforms and controls public opinion. I bet she's panicking right now." Zhao Manying explained with a mischievous smile.
Ji Xinghuo nodded.
During their previous chat, Zhao Manying had mentioned her private team, which consisted of several members, including a media assistant, an image consultant, a personal butler, a financial advisor, and legal counsel. Each of these individuals had their own assistants, bringing the total number of people in her private team to over a dozen, all working around her.
There was also a separate coaching team of a similar size, mostly hired by the club, who never interfered in her personal life.
Before Zhao Manying could answer the first call, another one came through.
Her social media accounts were constantly pinging, notifying her of new messages. Her phone screen refreshed frantically as data poured in like a waterfall.
Ji Xinghuo, witnessing this scene for the first time, was amazed. "You'd better take the call," he suggested.
"Alright."
Zhao Manying moved slightly to the side to avoid having Ji Xinghuo in the camera frame and then answered the call. A woman in her thirties appeared on the screen.
"Manying, is today April Fool's Day?" Her expression was one of urgent anxiety, yet she maintained an air of elegance as she asked the question.
"Don't worry, Liu Jie," Zhao Manying replied.
"My dear young lady, auntie is going to lose her hair over this!" Liu Jie's face could no longer hide her distress. "If you're not worried, I certainly am!"
Zhao Manying smiled but remained silent.
"Have you really fallen in love?" Liu Jie pressed.
"Yes."
"With whom?" Liu Jie's face showed her disbelief. "I follow you everywhere, and I know everyone you come into contact with. How come I didn't see any signs? It's not Shi Renzhong, is it? Don't tell me that after all these years of his pursuit, you've finally been moved?"
Zhao Manying frowned slightly. "It's not him."
"Then who is it? Cheng Sheng? Zhou Chaoge? Please don't tell me it's Lu Pingyuan..." Liu Jie rattled off several names.
Ji Xinghuo was familiar with these names.
They were either Zhao Manying's teammates or opponents in the Super League, all well-known superhumans on the ladder, extremely popular celebrities, or famous rich second-generation individuals within the country.
"Liu Jie, stop guessing," Zhao Manying said, her face showing displeasure as she glanced at Ji Xinghuo beside her. "He's an outsider, someone you don't know."
Liu Jie noticed her expression and immediately realized that the man in question was right beside her.
"Sir, please forgive me," Liu Jie's voice sounded, "I'm just concerned about Manying, and I don't mean any disrespect to you."
Ji Xinghuo nodded.
"He says it's fine," Zhao Manying relayed the message. "Liu Jie, just say what you need to say."
"Alright." Liu Jie spoke seriously, "Manying, it's your personal freedom to fall in love, and I've long been prepared for this. But before you make a public announcement, you should have told me so that we could minimize the impact and avoid any interference with your life and career."
"Sorry, Liu Jie. I acted on impulse," Zhao Manying said, but her face showed no sign of regret.
"Ai..."
Liu Jie sighed, "Now that things have come to this, I can only try to salvage the situation. I have a few plans in mind, and the best one is to hold a press conference immediately, with both of you present, making a public appearance and sincerely asking your fans for their blessings..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Zhao Manying interrupted, "Liu Jie, he doesn't want to appear in public."
Liu Jie paused for a moment, then continued, "In that case, we'll have to settle for the second-best option. We won't hold a press conference, but we'll quickly release an open letter on your behalf, emphasizing your request for privacy and the separation of your emotional life from your work. We'll also emphasize the value you place on your fans' support... When you face questions from journalists in the future, you'll need to be careful with your choice of words..."
Zhao Manying listened attentively, nodding frequently.
Ji Xinghuo, listening beside her, couldn't help but admire Liu Jie's expertise in media. Her thoughts were clear, and she had an extremely accurate grasp of public psychology.
Following her proposed methods would indeed minimize the impact of the news.
However, Ji Xinghuo also felt that it was a bit troublesome.
While Zhao Manying had always insisted that she wasn't a female celebrity, her influence was actually greater than that of a typical celebrity, and she needed to pay more attention to public opinion.
Perhaps she could afford to be nonchalant about it, but her team had to take it seriously and deal with the mess.
Zhao Manying spoke with Liu Jie for a few more minutes, intending to discuss further, but Liu Jie abruptly ended the call, eager to start dealing with the situation.
The next second, Zhao Manying's phone rang again.
"It's my mom."
Zhao Manying had no choice but to answer, and she chatted with her mother for a while. Fortunately, her mother was a reasonable woman who, after a few words of reminder, did not press further when she saw that her daughter was unwilling to reveal her boyfriend's identity.
Then came calls from her younger brother, the club owner, and her close friends from the team, all inquiring about the situation.
Zhao Manying kept her answers brief, maintaining the secrecy of Ji Xinghuo's identity.
While she was busy with the calls, Ji Xinghuo opened a social media app on his phone, and as expected, all the online media platforms were flooded with the news.
Within less than a minute of Zhao Manying's post, it had already topped the headlines of the Asia-Pacific Community and was rapidly spreading overseas. Five minutes later, the same message was trending on the social media hot search lists of all countries worldwide, with its popularity skyrocketing.
The situation was most intense in the Asia-Pacific Community, where the first page of the hot search list was dominated by topics related to Zhao Manying:
"The Sword Immortal has fallen in love!"
"First love."
"Who is Zhao Manying's boyfriend?"
"Zhao Manying makes her relationship public!"
"The hatred of a husband robbed is as deep as the ocean!"
The photo Zhao Manying had posted continued to rack up likes, surpassing 20 million in just 10 minutes. The number of comments and forwards increased at a rate of several hundred thousand per second.
Countless people rushed to comment, leaving their thoughts.
Ji Xinghuo browsed through these comments, and the most highlighted one was: "Who is he?"
The following highly-voted comments were along similar lines, expressing curiosity about Zhao Manying's boyfriend's identity and offering various speculations.
"That man has nice hands; he must be a handsome young man."
"Of course, she wouldn't look twice if he were ugly."
"You guys don't understand! Those are the hands of an Evolver. His fingers are long and slender, his skin is smooth and free of calluses, his tendons are strong, and his palm lines are extraordinary. He must be a super Evolver who has evolved at least four times, and his power must be immense!"
"I wish I were that hand, then I could touch Sword Immortal's hand too."
"Me too!"
"Why stop at the hand? What about other places?"
"So jealous."
"You worthless jokers, if I could switch places, I'd take that man's place in a heartbeat!"
"Then I'd take Zhao Manying's place."
"I'm so mad! Why did I have to check my phone before bed? I could've slept peacefully, only to find out this sad news in the morning. Boo hoo hoo..."
"Hey, Mr. Unknown, when you're holding Sword Immortal in your arms tonight, could you please caress her waist for me? That's my favorite part of her."
"Please caress her thighs for me."
"Can I lick her toes...?"
The comments became increasingly bizarre, leaving Ji Xinghuo speechless.
There were plenty of idle individuals in the Asia-Pacific Community who could afford to live comfortably without working, and they spent their abundant free time online, leaving quirky and playful comments.
One comment was more abstract than the next, and the trolling intensified.
Among them were many jokers.
No matter the trending news, they would always show up in droves, not necessarily with malicious intent, but when their numbers grew, they transformed any online discussion into an abstract art exhibition.
It wasn't limited to the internet, either. Ji Xinghuo noticed that his family group chat and various classmate groups were also abuzz with discussions and speculations about the news.
As Ji Xinghuo read through the comments, he felt a strange mix of emotions.
In the past, he had always been an observer of trending news, a casual bystander, but now he found himself at the center of public attention, with thousands or even hundreds of millions of people discussing him. It was a surreal feeling.
It was novel and odd, but at the same time, he felt a sense of pride and immense satisfaction for his vanity. He felt lighter than air, as if his very bones had lost a few ounces.
"Stay calm."
"Keep a level head."
Ji Xinghuo took a deep breath and suddenly understood why Zhao Manying had chosen to announce her relationship.
She wanted to experience unprecedented emotions, the immense sense of accomplishment, to transform her infatuation, and sustain their relationship.
"A woman's little trick..."
He smiled at Zhao Manying, who was still on the phone, and she returned a sweet smile, unaware of his thoughts.
After about ten minutes, Zhao Manying finally ended the call, even though her phone kept ringing. She silenced it and set it aside, complaining, "This is so annoying."
"That's what you get for being a public figure with such immense popularity," Ji Xinghuo said with a laugh.
"I'd rather just focus on the competitions, earn my contract salary and tournament bonuses, and live a quiet life without so much attention. I wish people would only care about my performance in the arena and not my private life," Zhao Manying sighed.
"How is that even possible?" Ji Xinghuo chuckled.
Zhao Manying's popularity was not just due to her incredible strength but also, and perhaps mostly, because of her stunning beauty.
At least seventy percent of her fans were there because of her looks, and only thirty percent were true fans of her strength, and that was after she had won several championships.
"I suppose you're right..." Zhao Manying acknowledged.
She snuggled up to Ji Xinghuo again and noticed that he was browsing through the comments on his phone. Her post had already accumulated almost a billion likes, and the number of comments and shares was in the tens of millions, with the numbers still skyrocketing. By morning, everyone worldwide would know about Zhao Manying's relationship.
The two of them enjoyed reading the amusing comments, occasionally sharing a smile, until they finished their barbecue dinner at one in the morning.
Qinghong, who had also eaten her fill, climbed back into her pocket, ready for a good night's sleep.
"We should head home," Zhao Manying said.
"Yeah."
Zhao Manying got up to pay the bill, put her sunglasses back on to conceal her face, and left the restaurant with Ji Xinghuo, their arms intertwined.
Soon, they arrived at the base of the Weiyang Building, and Zhao Manying asked, "Do you want me to give you a ride home?"
She remembered that Ji Xinghuo lived in the Qishan District, which was quite a distance away.
"No need," Ji Xinghuo shook his head.
"You're not expecting me to invite you upstairs, are you?" Zhao Manying teased.
"If you dare to invite me, I dare to go," Ji Xinghuo laughed, looking up at the towering skyscraper. Then he added, "I can't afford to buy a place in the Weiyang Building, but I could rent something nearby and experience the high life of the upper class."
"Are you planning to move?" Zhao Manying asked.
"I've been thinking about it, and my lease is almost up. I want to try a new environment," Ji Xinghuo replied, though he knew that life in any district of Chang'an would be convenient.
Of course, he wouldn't refuse the opportunity to move to a better place.
"I can keep an eye out for you," Zhao Manying offered, not one to dally with such matters. She waved and said, "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
Ji Xinghuo watched as she rode her light-wheel motorcycle around to the back of the building, where the parking lot was located. He sensed her entering the elevator through the magnetic field and ascending to the top floor of the skyscraper, returning to her spacious penthouse, where she lived alone.
As he gazed at the spot where Zhao Manying had disappeared, taking in the city's dazzling lights under the night sky, he savored the lingering sensation of her lips and couldn't help but exclaim,
"What a magical night!"
(End of Chapter)
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