CHAPTER 239: CHAPTER 239: MANIPULATION BEHIND THE SCENES

Thirty minutes later, in the master bedroom on the second floor.

Tang Xiaowan lay on the soft, large bed, her face pale and eyes tightly closed.

Her wet dress had been changed by Tang Mei.

In the adjacent living room, Leng Lingxiao sat on the sofa, recalling everything that had just happened, his heart filled with confusion and unease.

Could it have been that the kiss lasted too long?

Navigating the maze had already exhausted her greatly, and I still... It’s all my fault!

I hope nothing’s wrong, please let there be nothing wrong.

As Leng Lingxiao was reflecting on his actions, Tang Mei came out, holding a wooden silver needle box, her profound eyes showing neither joy nor anger.

Leng Lingxiao quickly walked over to her, extremely anxious, like a child who had made a mistake.

"Grandma, how is Tangtang?"

His voice was especially low, his gaze intense, and to those unaware, it seemed as if he was awaiting a sentence.

Seeing this, Tang Mei’s eyes softened with a smile.

"Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. It’s just a big emotional fluctuation, plus the effect of the medication inside her body, so... A few hours of rest and she should recover, no worries."

"What? Medication effect?" Leng Lingxiao was shocked, staring steadily at Tang Mei.

Tang Mei raised an eyebrow, "Qingxin Pill."

She didn’t want to beat around the bush any longer, so she simply broke it down straightforwardly, after all, her heart was in the right place.

"How could that be?" Leng Lingxiao found it hard to believe, pausing for a few seconds before lowering his voice, "I indeed gave Tangtang a bottle of Qingxin Pills, but recently Tangtang, in order to recover her memory quickly, secretly increased her dosage and showed a reaction to the medication. Fearing it would harm her body, I switched the medication a couple of days ago with sedative pills."

Tang Mei listened and nodded slightly.

In fact, while administering the acupuncture to Tang Xiaowan just now, she had already noticed something was off, suspecting improper medication. Combined with Tang Xiaowan mentioning earlier that she seemed to have been to Lingxiao Manor before, it only confirmed her suspicions further.

Fortunately, it wasn’t severe. The unabsorbed part had already been expelled, and a little rest would suffice.

Tang Mei appreciated Leng Lingxiao’s honesty.

"It’s okay, they’re just residual effects of the drug reaction. She will recover after some rest."

"I’m sorry, Grandma, it’s all my fault for not consulting with you in advance, but I was really worried Tangtang would forget about me completely. I truly can’t be without her, I’m sorry."

Leng Lingxiao clenched his fists, filled with self-reproach.

He truly feared that Tang Xiaowan might never recover her memory, yet he didn’t want her to test drugs on herself due to the dreadful side effects. After all, compared to memory, being alive was most important.

In the end, Leng Lingxiao could only painfully decide to temporarily halt the medication, using other drugs to replace the Qingxin Pills.

"Since I dared to give you the prescription, I wasn’t afraid you’d try it. I just didn’t expect... your efficiency in handling this to be so high. Bring the medication over later for me to check, and go change your clothes quickly. Tangtang is fine, don’t worry."

"Can I go in and see Tangtang?" Leng Lingxiao asked, frowning, still very unsure.

"Yes, you can, go ahead."

Watching Leng Lingxiao’s dampened shirt, Tang Mei shook her head, momentarily unable to differentiate whether it was from the fountain water or excessive worry.

...

Jin City, Yishen Group.

In the lobby on the first floor, dozens of reporters holding microphones and cameras nervously awaited the appearance of Li Zishen, the chairman of Yishen Group. Flashes of cameras flickered continuously, like stars in the night sky.

Just then, the elevator doors opened.

Li Zishen walked out of the elevator, composed and unflustered. Seeing him appear, the reporters immediately swarmed around him, surrounding him completely.

Microphones stretched towards Li Zishen’s mouth like long guns and short cannons, competing to get closer.

He scanned the room intensely.

In fact, before the video conference had even ended, Li Zishen had already received news that some odd-looking people were steadily entering the group building.

He suspected they were disguised as reporters but hadn’t had time to confirm.

Unreasonably blocking them was definitely not the first option.

Li Zishen actually wanted to meet them, gauge their intentions, and see if they were related to the strange threatening call he had received.

"Excuse me, Mr. Li Zishen, is Jinyuan Hotel your personal property, or does it belong to the group? Could you clarify?"

"Personal property, unrelated to the group."

"Mr. Li Zishen, regarding the food poisoning incident at Jinyuan Hotel, could you give us a brief overview of the actual situation?"

"We adhere strictly to the results of the investigation."

"Mr. Li Zishen, have you found the specific cause of the food poisoning yet, and is it related to poor hotel management?"

"Regarding the hotel’s hygiene and safety, we firmly believe that there are absolutely no substandard practices. This morning, we actively cooperated with the relevant departments in their investigation and evidence collection, and we believe that results will soon be forthcoming. Thank you for your concern!"

Various questions continued.

In this chaos, a young man wearing black and a duckbill cap was observing everything from a hidden corner of the hall.

It was very secluded, a blind spot.

He fiddled with something black that looked like a car remote, seemingly orchestrating the chaos, expressionless, yet his eyes revealed a hint of smug disdain.

The man in black pressed a button on the remote, and the reporters suddenly became more agitated.

Their questions became more pressing, some even concerning Yishen Group’s trade secrets, and this sudden turn of events put immense, invisible pressure on Li Zishen.

"Serves them right, they had it coming!"

The man in black sneered twice, continued pressing the remote, and the atmosphere on site grew even tenser, the questions ever sharper. Amidst the turmoil, Li Zishen struggled to keep his cool and earnestly answered each question.

Then, two men in security uniforms quickly broke through the crowd.

Though they appeared gentle and respectful, they forced their way through the journalists, successfully escorting Li Zishen out of the hall until he got into a black sedan and then returned.

Watching Li Zishen’s departing figure, the man in black’s lips curled into a cold smile as he pocketed the remote and disappeared into the crowd.

Inside the car, Li Zishen was deep in thought.

Just after nine in the morning, the poisoning incident at the Jinyuan Hotel had already attracted widespread attention.

As it trended on hot search, various criticisms arose, including doubts about the hotel’s hygiene, concerns about the guests’ conditions, and suspicions of foul play by competitors.

But all this was within Li Zishen’s expectations; thus, he took no drastic measures, just waited for the test results to be announced publicly.

Unexpectedly, many strange people turned up, ultimately revealed to be disguised reporters.

Their appearance in the hospital or at the Jinyuan Hotel wouldn’t have been surprising, but their presence in the group building, unrelated to the poisoning incident, was peculiar.

Li Zishen suspected that this sudden blockade was orchestrated by someone aiming to smear Yishen Group to drag him down, or perhaps he had cut off someone’s financial path and they were seeking revenge.

Combining this with the threat call from the day before and a recent theft of sample medications further convinced him of his judgment, which couldn’t be more correct.

"Chen Xin, immediately pull the surveillance footage from the building and carefully compare it with those who interviewed Ling Xiao right after the opening ceremony."

"Yes, Brother Shen, I’ll arrange it right away."

The sedan sped away, and as Li Zishen’s eyes lowered, he couldn’t help but worry about Tang Xiaowan.