Chapter Ninety: The Hero to the Rescue

Li Keke was plunged into utter despair when a message suddenly popped up on her phone.

It was said that Jiang Jize had recently gone to the film set for a secret meeting with Bai Chenxi.

Bai Chenxi. Bai Chenxi.

Because of those three words, the lifeless light in Li Keke’s eyes ignited once more.

Why? Why was it always you? Why were you the one who could find someone like Jiang Jize, while I was left with someone as vile as Car Boss?

We are all the same kind of people. What makes you better than me?

Bai Chenxi, if I cannot have peace, neither will you.

For the past few days, Bai Chenxi could not tell whether she was imagining things, but she kept feeling as though someone were following her.

At first, she was careful, always going out and coming back with Xiao Yu by her side. Yet several days passed without incident, and even Bai Chenxi began to wonder if she had simply been overthinking.

That day, Xiao Yu went to the car to fetch something, and Bai Chenxi waited by the elevator. With her head lowered, she was playing on her phone when she heard someone call out, “Bai Chenxi.”

She did not think much of it and turned naturally to answer. That was when she saw a masked man fling something from his hand toward her.

There was no time to dodge. Bai Chenxi raised her arm to shield her face.

She was not splashed at all, but instead found herself protected in a man’s arms.

Seeing that his target had missed, the attacker threw away the bottle and fled. Because they were in the lobby, security quickly chased after him.

Bai Chenxi looked at Xia Yan, who had suddenly appeared to shield her, and asked anxiously, “Xia Yan, are you all right? Take off your clothes first.”

Xia Yan’s assistant also hurried over, asking in alarm, “Brother Yan, are you okay?”

The assistant carefully checked Xia Yan’s body and, seeing that it was only water, finally relaxed.

Xia Yan had been walking behind him the whole time. The assistant had only seen a blur of movement, and then Brother Yan was suddenly in front, even stepping in to block the thing thrown at Bai Chenxi.

It had scared him half to death. He felt as if his heart had stopped for a moment.

Seeing that Xia Yan’s hair was wet too, Bai Chenxi was so anxious she was nearly in tears. “Is there anywhere you feel unwell?” As she spoke, she reached out to wipe his hair.

Xia Yan stopped her hand and comforted her. “I’m fine. It was water.”

Seeing that Xia Yan did not sound as though he was comforting her, Bai Chenxi immediately relaxed and sank weakly to the floor. “You scared me to death. Thank goodness it was only water.”

At the same time, the manager ran over and asked, “Miss Bai, Mr. Xia, are you both all right? We have already called the police, and an ambulance is on the way. We will help the two of you with some basic treatment first.”

Xia Yan took off his soaked jacket and said to the manager, “It’s fine. It was water. There’s no need for an ambulance.”

His words made the manager sigh in relief as well. If anything had truly happened to these two celebrities in their hotel, the liability would have been far beyond what he could bear.

Xia Yan crouched down and held the trembling Bai Chenxi in his arms, gently patting her back to soothe her. “All right. It’s over now.”

When Xiao Yu came back with the item, this was the scene she saw. She quickly walked over, took Bai Chenxi from Xia Yan’s arms, and asked, “What happened?”

“Just now—” the assistant began, but Xia Yan cut in. “Take her upstairs first. We can talk later.”

In the room, Bai Chenxi held a cup of water and felt the warmth in her hands before she finally began to calm down.

Xiao Yu was on the phone nearby, learning about the progress of the matter. Bai Chenxi looked at Xia Yan, who was seated to the side, and said, “Xia Yan, thank you for today.”

Hearing her thanks, Xia Yan relaxed his brows and pretended not to care. “It was nothing. I just happened to see it.”

“Thank you.” Bai Chenxi repeated solemnly. How could something as simple as “happened to see it” account for what he had done? In a situation like that, not everyone would have the courage to step in. What if it had not been water, but acid?

Xia Yan might call it a coincidence, but Bai Chenxi could not think of it that way.

Seeing the word gratitude practically written all over Bai Chenxi’s face, Xia Yan suddenly felt uncomfortable.

“I only helped you because I happened to see it. Let me warn you, don’t go clinging to me, and you’re not allowed to tell anyone about this.”

He glanced at her with obvious disdain and continued, “I don’t want to end up with some strange scandal because of you.”

Bai Chenxi looked at him with the indulgent expression one might reserve for a child. “Mm, I won’t say anything. I promise.”

Under her gaze, Xia Yan felt that something was off. Then he saw Xiao Yu finish her call and walk over, so he said, “We still have things to do, so we’ll be leaving first.” Without waiting for a reply, he pulled his assistant up and headed out.

The assistant, however, looked back inside with some reluctance, thinking regretfully: What a perfect opportunity to learn.

He had discovered that Bai Chenxi’s assistant, Xiao Yu, was practically his model of excellence, a beacon in an assistant’s career. Every time he interacted with her, he felt that he still had a very long way to go on the road to becoming a real assistant.

What a fine chance this was to observe crisis management, and Brother Yan had dragged him away just like that.

The assistant cast a resentful look at Xia Yan’s back. Did you know you just killed my chance to become an outstanding assistant?

Inside the room, after Xiao Yu finished her call, she came over and said, “The person has already been caught. He said he was a fan of Meng Ling. He claimed that when he saw you bullying Meng Ling on set, he wanted to avenge her.”

Meng Ling. It was Meng Ling again. Bai Chenxi truly felt baffled. What had she done to deserve this, to be treated like a thorn in someone’s side? One Li Keke had barely gone, and now there was another Meng Ling.

Was she supposed to be on some pilgrimage, bringing along demon-slaying duties as well?

“The police just called and said they need us to give statements. If that happens, this matter probably won’t be able to stay hidden.”

“Why hide it? I’m clearly the victim. Am I supposed to ignore my own safety just to avoid a few mindless comments?”

Bai Chenxi said without room for dispute, “I will never allow people to commit crimes under the banner of being fans.”

Very quickly, the news spread that Bai Chenxi had gone to the police station to give a statement after a malicious fan attack.

Because no one knew the full details, some netizens said Bai Chenxi was just stirring up publicity again, while others sneered and mocked her. Knowing that their girl had been viciously attacked, her fans flooded the comments under her social media posts with concern.

At the same time, rumors also spread that Xia Yan had heroically rescued her. At first, the fans tried desperately to distance him from it all, insisting they wanted no association with their idol.

A few particularly aggressive ones had already begun cursing under Bai Chenxi’s social media posts. Though Bai Chenxi had not said a single word, since the matter involved her, the netizens felt she ought to endure the backlash.

Many people had witnessed the incident in the lobby, and because the public had long been conditioned by an instinctive love of spectacle, someone quickly uploaded the footage online.

The video captured the entire scene of Xia Yan’s heroic rescue, as well as the later moment when he crouched down to comfort Bai Chenxi.

Once the video was seen, the online mood shifted at once. Many people began digging into what relationship these two might have.

Compared with the harmless attacks from fans, gossip and scandal were obviously far more alluring.

Many had guessed that Bai Chenxi might have some connection to Mo Li. His earlier intervention in an interview had already given netizens a faint hint.

They had thought Mo Li was about to break his own record of never being linked to scandal, but unexpectedly Xia Yan had suddenly appeared instead.

While netizens busied themselves feasting on gossip, Xia Yan’s fans were in an uproar. Xia Yan was now a top-tier idol at the height of his popularity, and rumors like this were no small matter.

Some fans said they believed in Xia Yan, some threatened to unfollow, and others ran to Bai Chenxi’s social media to hurl abuse.