Xu Zhuo's initial reaction was that he might be seeing things.
He composed himself and scanned the messages in the groups.
...
"Du Zong has been threatened with a knife? When did this happen? I've never heard of it."
"Where did that journalist dig up the news from?"
"He actually dared to ask a question at the reception, clearly trying to break a big story."
"How did that person slip in? I remember this media reception was notified in advance, and a few standard reports were supposed to suffice."
"I never thought Du Zong would also curse at people. But why was he so angry?"
"Who knows? Things at the top..."
...
Xu Zhuo looked around, and only a few of the Bingyou employees were checking their phones. They scrolled through with a gossip-filled expression on their faces and then gestured to others to check their phones.
The situation was expanding.
The media reception had only just begun, and it was unclear if it had been temporarily interrupted.
Xu Zhuo left the hall. The reception was being held in a large conference room downstairs, with a gap left in the door, murmurs could be heard from inside.
He gently pushed the door, and the security guard on the inside shot him a wary look.
"I'm from Bingyou." Xu Zhuo showed him his invitation. He wasn't originally eligible to be at the reception, but now he had to take a desperate measure.
The security guard, after carefully examining the text on the invitation and scrutinizing Xu Zhuo from head to toe, seemed to confirm that he wasn't a threat.
Xu Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief, pushed through the door, and realized that several security guards were stationed near the door. Some stood at the edge of the conference room, all on high alert, with their eyes fixed on the media inside.
The conference room was quite large. After all, it was not a completely public interview, so there weren't many people in the audience, only about half the seats were filled and everyone was whispering. On the stage was a long table covered in red cloth, with a small podium next to it.
A few Bingyou and Ouya executives sat behind the long table, looking worried, or with their phone held to their ear, quietly giving instructions to those below.
Xu Zhuo didn't see Du Ziyu on the stage. Employees from the Bingyou organization on the side of the meeting whispered, "Has Du Zong not come out yet?"
"It's been about ten minutes."
"Can the reception still continue? Shouldn't it be ending early?"
Xu Zhuo had intended to call Du Ziyu, but after hearing the conversation, he went over and asked, "Excuse me, where is Du Zong now?"
The person he spoke to looked up and was met with a gentle and handsome smile, and without any defense, answered, "Oh, he's in the lounge behind there."
She pointed to the left entrance in front of the meeting room.
"Thank you." Xu Zhuo turned and walked away, sighed deeply in his heart. If the people around Du Ziyu were all unreliable like this, how could he feel at ease?
There were several lounges, and he went straight to the one with a large crowd outside.
Two security guards stood by the door like door gods, and Xu Zhuo's heart sank. Had a violent incident occurred?
Several executives and secretaries standing outside the door saw Xu Zhuo coming over and scrutinized him simultaneously.
The security guard stopped Xu Zhuo, and a middle-aged man in a suit with thin-framed glasses frowned and asked, "What are you doing here?"
To avoid suspicion, Xu Zhuo had always been careful to keep his distance from Du Ziyu in the company, not only physically, but also careful and cautious when chatting to avoid inadvertently revealing too much information about Du Ziyu.
Now, when asked by an outsider, he hesitated, showing an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry."
He took a step back and called Du Ziyu.
The phone rang for a long time, and the guard's suspicion grew as his patience began to wear thin.
The man with glasses gestured, and the security guard came forward ready to usher Xu Zhuo away.
"Don't stay here, just leave!"
"Beep..."
The phone finally connected, Xu Zhu blocked the security guard's hand with his arm across his chest, and said, "Sorry, wait a moment - Hello, can you hear me? I'm outside your door."
When others heard his words, they all froze.
There was no response on the phone, and the security guard became angry. Although he was not as tall as Xu Zhu, the baton in hand gave him courage. He waved the weapon and said, "Get out of here! Or don't blame me for being rude!"
Click. Everyone turned to look, and the door behind them opened. A half-pretty face peeked out from behind the door, and a pair of dark eyes stared directly at Xu Zhu.
That was as clear as day.
Xu Zhu pushed aside the person blocking his path, "Sorry everyone, please move aside."
The executives and their assistants looked at each other, while Du Zong remained silent from the inside. They had been standing for so long, yet none of them could enter the room, and this young man made a phone call...
Xu Zhu squeezed into the lounge, and as he closed the door, he heard someone mutter, "Who is this?"
The soundproofing in the lounge was very good, and as the door closed, it cut off from the outside world, leaving only him and Du Ziyu in the room.
Xu Zhu clicked the lock, and Du Ziyu sat on the long sofa, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, hands clenched into fists.
His slicked back black hair was hanging on his face, with his expression hidden in the shadow.
"Ziyu?" Xu Zhu sat next to him and looped his right arm around his back.
The other person neither spoke nor looked at him.
Xu Zhu took his other hand and found that his hand was trembling slightly. Bending over to look at his face, he saw the tight furrow of his brow, his nose wrinkled, enduring immense anger.
Who had provoked him?
In his memory, Du Ziyu always had an icy demeanor in public, showing no emotions, and only revealing his emotions in front of him.
But never had he been so furious, barely able to contain his anger, trembling all over.
Xu Zhu was both distressed and worried, gripping his hand, saying, "Whether you want to vent by hitting someone, or if you want a hug, I'm here for you."
Du Ziyu turned his head to look at him, his eyes red, suddenly pulling his fist from Xu Zhu's palm and punching his arm.
Xu Zhu's forearm suddenly took a punch, and though it was quite forceful, honestly... it felt like scratching an itch.
He had practiced boxing, and had taken punches much stronger than Du Ziyu's, and his arm muscles were solid. He was even worried that if Du Ziyu punched him, it would scrape his skin.
He raised his palm, one after the other, to meet the successive punches from the other.
Du Ziyu was breathing heavily, but stopped after a few hits, and Xu Zhu hugged him, letting him lean on his body.
"Feeling better now? It's okay, if you want to hit me, just go ahead. Whenever you want to, don't hold back," Xu Zhu said.
Du Ziyu looked up at him, his eyes watery like a lost little deer.
"But for now," Xu Zhu gently cupped his icy face, the two of them drawing close, their breaths mingling, and murmured softly, "close your eyes."
He did so obediently, trembling eyelashes against his eyelids, showing his full trust in Xu Zhu.
He smiled, slightly lowered his head, and his lips touched Du Ziyu's moist and slightly dry ones.
At the touch of their lips, Du Ziyu's breath hitched, and his lips began to tremble, the hand that was resting on Xu Zhu's chest clenched his clothes.
Perhaps it was only for a few minutes, or maybe just half a second. Xu Zhu and he separated slightly, then came together again, tentatively extending his tongue, gently grazing it over...
Du Ziyu trembled even more violently.
Both of them were inexperienced, and Xu Zhu felt that this was the most strategic move in his life, desperately recalling the moments of kissing he had seen in movies and TV shows, imitating the actors' kissing style, while also being careful not to be too forceful, or too intense, for fear of scaring his beloved away.
But can love truly be controlled?
The position of sitting sideways on the sofa was inconvenient. Xu Zhu caressed Du Ziyu's lower lip, then used his strength to effortlessly lift him and sit him face to face on his own lap.
"Mmm," Du Ziyu exclaimed in surprise, but his voice was muffled by the sound of water.
Du Ziyu felt like he couldn't catch his breath, his head was spinning from lack of oxygen, and all the strength in his body had long since dissipated, relying only on the hands behind him to support his body and prevent him from falling over.
Xu Zhu struggled to separate from him, their lips now red and swollen, glistening with moisture, their eyes locked together, ready to come together passionately the next second.
"Are you okay?" Xu Zhu's voice was hoarse.
"Yeah," Du Ziyu nodded lightly, his cheeks blushing, with two teardrops hanging in the corner of his eyes.
At these words, Xu Zhu couldn't help but laugh foolishly, feeling fireworks exploding inside his heart.
It feels so good!
He could keep kissing like this forever, he was indifferent to any gala, or entertaining event!
But reality was still reality. They definitely couldn't go out looking like this, and Xu Zhu was not willing to let Du Ziyu go. So they stayed together to regain their breath.
He finally asked the question that had been on his mind: "Can you tell me what happened?"
Du Ziyu's emotions had improved a lot, and he played with Xu Zhu's tie knot with his fingers, and said softly, "Reporters were asking about the incident last time at the Light Eatery."
He had almost been stabbed at the Light Eatery. If Xu Zhu hadn't arrived in time, he might not have survived.
Xu Zhu didn't pay attention to the matter later and didn't know how it was resolved.
"I sued him, it was minor injuries, and he was released after a few days of detention," Du Ziyu drooped the corner of his mouth, playing with Xu Zhu's tie, "I didn't expect him to still be unrepentant, associating with bad reporters, wanting to make trouble for me."
Xu Zhuo still didn't understand: "Who is he after all?"
Du Ziyou frowned: "Yue Laiyong, a person related to Aoya."
"He isn't a high-ranking executive of Bingyou? How did he become related to Aoya?" Xu Zhuo exclaimed, "How could Bingyou's acquisition of Aoya be related to him? And why are you so angry? Were you provoked by something?"
"It's a complicated matter," Du Ziyou suddenly pulled Xu Zhuo, tightening his tie and choking him, "I don't want to talk about it, so stop asking."
"Okay, okay, let go of me quickly."
Du Ziyou "hmphed," released his hands, got off him, and went to the side to adjust his attire.
Willful little mischief!
Xu Zhuo felt a mix of love and hatred in his heart, after freeing his neck, he quickly stooped down, lifted Du Ziyou up, and held him with his arms under his hips.
It was the first time Du Ziyou was held like this by someone, he lost his balance and leaned forward, grabbing the other's head in fear and patting his back, "Put me down!"
"Are you still plotting against your beloved husband, huh?"
"Who, who's my husband!" Du Ziyou blushed even harder, like a lobster that was just ripe and ready to eat, "Let me down! You're too, too---too annoying!"
"My husband is not annoying at all," Xu Zhuo joked, "he's just a little mischief, but I'm hopelessly in love with him."
In terms of verbal sparring, how could the scholarly Du Ziyou compete with the experienced Xu Zhuo? He huffed and puffed, unable to say a word, almost on the verge of tears.
Xu Zhuo let go when things were going well, gazing into his eyes, and said seriously, "If you don't want to talk about it now, then don't. When you're ready to talk, come find me, I'll be at your service anytime."
He wiped the tears from Du Ziyou's eyes with his thumb and continued, "Is that journalist gone? Is this incident not causing much trouble?"
"The media present are all writing standard reports, just reach out to them, and as for other matters, let the subordinates handle it," Du Ziyou said.
Xu Zhuo nodded and helped him fix his hair, saying, "Let's go out, can I accompany you, maybe as your friend or something? Your security personnel aren't very reliable, just casually directed a stranger like me."
Du Ziyou glanced at him, displeased, "Have you used your charm on someone again?"
Xu Zhuo protested, "What 'again'!? I'm a person with good morals. Not long ago, I even received a 'good person' card, how could I do such a thing!"
Du Ziyou muttered, "Whether it's intentional or not, you still did that."
"Okay, you're right," Xu Zhuo surrendered, "I'll be more careful in the future."
Knock, knock, the door was knocked, interrupting their conversation.
The soundproofing of the lounge was good, so the loud knocking indicated an urgent matter.
"I'll go check," Xu Zhuo said to Du Ziyou, "you tidy up your clothes again."
He unlocked the door, stuck his head out, and asked, "What's wrong? Mr. Du will be out soon."
The man who knocked was the middle-aged man with glasses. His face was grim as he asked, "Where's Mr. Du?"
"If there's something, just say it," Du Ziyou's voice came from inside.
"Mr. Du," the middle-aged man cleared his throat, raising his voice, "Yue Laiyong, he... jumped off a building."