Chapter 481 Envious
Chapter 481 Envious
Maria received a phone call from Peggy. "Mrs. Xi, your charms are extraordinary! Although your love has gone through some rough patches, I still envy you!"
"Why did you say that all of a sudden?" asked Maria.
"Aren't you aware of it yet?" said Peggy.
"Is there something important I should know?"
Peggy rolled her eyes. "Maria, you shouldn't focus all your attention on your work. You should check Weibo from time to time. Maybe you'll find yourself on the hot search list, and have become the heroine of the love story envied by thousands of people!"
Maria was at a loss for words.
'Is Peggy saying that I should check Weibo right now?'
She then opened Weibo that she hadn't seen in a very long time. A few minutes later, she finally found out what had happened.
Photos of James going to the airport to pick her up in person had already been posted by several reporters. Some posted, "Mr. Xi picked up Mrs. Xi in the airport in person." "Don't you envy their love?" "James and Maria embraced each other and kissed at the airport."
James must've approved the release of this news. The photos did show them kissing, while she was taking the bouquet of roses from her hands. And another photo showed them leaving the airport hand in hand.
Maria didn't seem unhappy in these photos. What the public perceived was that they were happily in love, and nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
When she saw how great those photos were, Maria thought that she should poach the reporters who took them, and hire them to become part of Fosun Entertainment Group.
HL Group's official account reposted a picture of them kissing at the airport. In that post, the company said, "We'd like to raise a glass to this public display of affection of Mr. and Mrs. Xi! By the way, the bouquet of 999 Blue Snow Roses that have been specially developed by Mr. Xi for his wife is something to be envied as well!"
Maria didn't know what to say about this.
It was so obvious that James was the culprit behind these posts.
Mentioning that she was Mrs. Xi, the roses, and the reporters were all a part of his plan.
Those who didn't know the truth would assume that they had gotten remarried, but in reality it was just a fluke!
Maria decided to ignore the Weibo accounts who sent her some private messages. She then locked her phone, and glanced at the bouquet of roses nearby.
Lately, James had been very considerate of her. He had given her a string of Buddhist beads in JT Nunnery, and she still hadn't had the chance to return that gift. He had been giving her various luxurious items recently, and his latest gift was these specially developed roses. NôvelDrama.Org content rights.
She walked over to smell the unique fragrance of these flowers. This was a scent that she had never smelled before, but she had to admit that its light aroma suited her preferences.
She had never seen or heard of these roses before, and it turned out that James' people were the ones who genetically engineered them into creation.
Once more, she took out her phone to send him a message. "Put a media blackout on the top search list about us."
"I will, if you promise to stay at the manor tonight," James replied.
"Never mind then!"
"Okay," he responded quickly.
At this point, Maria didn't know what to tell him. 'Bastard!'
A few days later, she and James met at a formal banquet involving their business associates.
This sort of party was a common occurrence to them, and it was rather difficult for them not to meet.
However, this time, Maria wasn't alone. She was holding onto a man's arm, and it wasn't James. He knew that she was going to attend this banquet, so he came early to save her a seat next to his.
Maria's companion for the night was also wearing a suit. He was tall, handsome, and charismatic. People could tell that his body was in shape underneath all those clothes.
James had been bedridden for two years, and it was normal that he had become skinny after being comatose all this time. It took him several months of intensive exercise routines to regain his muscles, and only four of his abs had returned. Although his figure wasn't as good as it used to be, it was still impressive that he managed to recover a physically -fit body in such a short amount of time.
All the other attendees didn't expect that Maria would bring another man here, so they were a bit embarrassed, especially the one who organized this dinner party.
As James sat at the host seat, he smoked a cigarette in silence.
In the eyes of everyone around him, he looked visibly upset.
Maria, on the other hand, looked quite calm for a tense situation. There was a smile plastered on her face as she held the arm of her escort. She sat next to James, while her companion sat next to her.
Perhaps she had done this to deliberately humiliate James tonight. When someone asked her who her "friend" was, she answered frankly, "I just came out of the Carnival Club. Kenny is the top model there. He can outdrink everyone in this party, I assure you. Come then, propose a toast to everyone for me, Kenny!"
Carnival Club was a famous night club in H City. All their members were good-looking. On the surface, the males and females were just models. But at night, they became whores and gigolos for the high class. Naturally, they cost a pretty penny. For a leading figure like Maria's companion during this event, she must've paid at least one million dollars to hire him.
If she needed him for other services, she would have to pay extra. And as long as the clients could afford it, the models would do anything for them.
Eventually, someone decided to mediate on this embarrassing display. "Ms. Song, I'd like to propose a toast to you. Let's see just how much Kenny can drink!"
While Kenny was drinking with several CEOs, Maria just sat next to them. She and James hadn't said anything to each other since her arrival.
Moments later, with a lit cigarette between his lips, James ladled some vegetable soup for Maria.
However, she just pretended like she didn't see the bowl at all.
"Don't you want it?" he asked.
"Sorry, I'm not hungry," she replied.
Many people heard their conversation, but none of them dared to interrupt. All they could do was pretend like they didn't hear a thing.
The following moment, James took out his phone and sent a message to someone. After that, he didn't do anything else.
Ten minutes later, while Maria was talking to someone, the private room was opened from the outside and a man came in. She recognized this person. He was the Carnival Club's manager. When he saw the crowd, he bowed to them and said, "I'm sorry for the intrusion, everyone. I'm looking for Kenny."
After saying something to Maria, Kenny walked out of the room.
Minutes later, he returned to give Maria a calling card. "Ms. Song, I'm sorry about this. I need to go. There's an emergency at home, and I have to deal with it."
With that, the man walked away, and Maria watched him leave.
She glanced at the card, gnashing her teeth in silence. James must've been behind this!
Thus, she turned her attention towards him and saw that he was talking to another CEO. He appeared as though he didn't notice the anger in her eyes.
Around thirty minutes later, the dinner party concluded. It was already quite late, so they all left the restaurant at the same time.
Other than Maria, there were only two ladies remaining, and they both had companions of their own.
Maria approached a man and greeted him with a smile. "Mr. Zhang, would you mind driving me home?"
Upon hearing her request, he became agitated. He glanced at the unmoving man next to him and stammered, "Well..."
He did want to drive Maria home, but he was too scared to do so.
Still wearing a smile, she said, "My home is on the way to yours, right? Are you not willing to help me?"
"Of course, I am!" The man smiled awkwardly. "It would be my honor to drive you home, Ms. Song."
Just when Maria was about to get in the car, James intervened. "Mr. Zhang, I may have to reconsider the project that you and I have just discussed."
His words made the man panic. They had already reached an agreement earlier.