Cheng Xiran knew exactly what was on his mind.
All he wanted was to use this incident to reap more benefits for the newspaper.
Before Cheng Xiran could say anything to Helian Duo, he continued, "Oh, Xiran, you'd better write two more press releases. Write down all the stories between the two of you. In this way, we're going to make a fortune!"
Helian Duo rolled his eyes at him impatiently.
But Cheng Xiran suddenly got interested. On the surface, she still nodded and agreed, "Sure, I'll go and write them right away."
Xue Lianyu only felt that Cheng Xiran was extraordinarily obedient today. At the same time, he secretly calculated the recent profits of the newspaper. The more he calculated, the deeper the smile in his eyes became.
Chu Liyin couldn't stand his look, so she started to sneer. If it were in normal times, Xue Lianyu would have argued with her long ago. But today, there was not a trace of anger on his face. He even smiled at her.
"You seem to like grinning at people lately..." Chu Liyin pouted. After she took Cheng Xiran's arm, she continued, "I'm not one of your flirty beauties. You'd better not look at me like this. It gives me the creeps."
Xue Lianyu looked a bit aggrieved. "How could that be? All the women in the capital like to see me smile. Why don't you like it?"
Cheng Xiran couldn't help but interrupt and asked softly, "Liyin, do you know what happened when Xue Lianyu came to find us in Fenzhou the other day?"
Seeing the confusion on her face, Cheng Xiran continued, "He traveled all the way here to see us, all for you..."
Before Cheng Xiran could finish her sentence, Xue Lianyu interrupted her abruptly, "Xiran, this is my private matter. How can you just tell others about it?"
Cheng Xiran stopped talking. But Chu Liyin, who had only heard half of the story, naturally wouldn't let it go. She started to pester Xue Lianyu.
Finally, she began to plead with Xue Lianyu.
It was obvious that this guy was overjoyed. So Cheng Xiran just let the two of them entangle with each other on one side. Her gaze then fell on Helian Duo, who was staring at her not far away.
He just quietly looked at her. There was no ripple in his eyes, but it was somehow unusual. She always felt that there was a bit of tenderness in his gaze. Otherwise, how could she have suddenly fallen into it?
To indirectly take revenge on Xue Lianyu, Cheng Xiran wrote a lot about his amorous affairs. As for the story between herself and Helian Duo, she couldn't write it down exactly as it was. So she added and deleted some parts on her own. Fortunately, the story could still hold up.
She didn't dare to write it too sweetly because she thought that she could save some dignity for herself when their relationship was exposed.
Helian Duo read the article and seemed a bit dissatisfied. "I always feel that this time your writing is not as good as before. Before, it gave people the feeling of true feelings. But this one always seems to be missing something."
"Writing the same thing over and over again is boring. There's no novelty. And this is just to get by."
Cheng Xiran snatched the manuscript from his hand and then handed it to the shopkeeper.
Helian Duo noticed the subtle change in her expression and slowly asked, "You've been in a bad mood these two days. Why do you seem to be so irritable?"
Cheng Xiran was still thinking of an excuse for herself when she saw Zuo Yan rushing upstairs.
"Your Highness, the Prince of Qi said that he would like to invite you and the young lady to his mansion for dinner tonight to celebrate the Emperor's bestowal of marriage."
Before Helian Duo could say anything, Cheng Xiran directly refused, "I'm not going. I don't want to see Cheng Zhiyue's smug face. And I don't want to have anything to do with that Prince of Qi."
"Don't be afraid. I'll protect you..." Helian Duo gave her a deep look and then instructed Zuo Yan, "Go to the mansion's treasury and pick out some good things. Have them prepared and send them over together tonight."
Zuo Yan took the order and withdrew. Cheng Xiran was still savoring the first half of his words.
Seeing her in a daze, Helian Duo stepped forward and snapped his fingers in front of her. Cheng Xiran immediately came to her senses.
"Okay, now go downstairs and get dressed."
With that, he called Zhuque over and gave her a few instructions. It was probably to ask her to dress Cheng Xiran up more gorgeously.
Zhuque got excited when she heard this. She immediately pulled Cheng Xiran downstairs to get dressed up.
Helian Duo also left Xue Lianyu and Chu Liyin, who were still playing around. He said to himself, "I also need to go back and get dressed up."
Xue Lianyu was stunned on the spot. It was the first time in his life that he had heard such words from Helian Duo.
"It seems that A Duo really likes Xiran."
Seeing him staring blankly at the back of Helian Duo leaving, Chu Liyin couldn't help but reach out and pat him on the shoulder. She joked, "Come on, are you really happy for the Prince? Or do you still can't forget your sister even now?"
"What are you talking about? My liking for Xiran was all in the past. Since A Duo and she are in harmony, as his brother, I naturally sincerely bless them. How could it be as dirty as you think?"
Xue Lianyu made a face at her.
But Chu Liyin didn't care. "I'm just advising you to stop having any bad thoughts about your sister. Otherwise, I won't let you off either."
The two of them then had another long argument.
On this side, Zhuque dressed Cheng Xiran up so gorgeously. Not to mention the bright and colorful clothes, even the accessories were carefully selected by her and Yun'er for a while before they finally decided.
Cheng Xiran just let them do whatever they wanted and didn't interfere. Anyway, the final result was good. She looked like a charming young lady.
After they finished, the sky had already darkened. And Helian Duo happened to appear at the door of the newspaper office at this time, attracting a crowd of onlookers, but no one dared to step forward.
So in full view of everyone, Cheng Xiran was helped onto the carriage by Helian Duo. There were exclamations all around.
"I knew it. Miss Cheng and the Prince have been secretly together before. They just made it public now!"
"Do you think it's because Miss Cheng is pregnant and they can't hide it anymore? Even though the Prince still has feelings for that female spy in his heart, he still has to yield. That's why he suddenly asked the Emperor for the bestowal of marriage?"
At this time, there were still people shipping Helian Duo and the female spy?
"No, no. Maybe the Prince is just marrying Miss Cheng to cover up the fact that he has a fondness for men?"
Cheng Xiran couldn't stand listening anymore.
"What kind of strange things are these?"