Hidden identities of the AI Heiress
Chapter 697 - Chapter 697 Chapter 697 The Dad Who Lost His Temper for

Chapter 697: Chapter 697: The Dad Who Lost His Temper for Professor Qiao Chapter 697: Chapter 697: The Dad Who Lost His Temper for Professor Qiao Mr. Qin felt annoyed.

He had calculated everything, but he hadn’t anticipated Pei Yao as a variable.

If he had known that Pei Yao was so romantically foolish to go to such extremes for a woman,

he would have been even more cautious and planned everything more thoroughly.

He had no idea what benefits Pei Yao had given Professor Qiao to make him come forward personally.

Mr. Qin’s expression showed his irritation; now that the plan was disrupted, what should he do next?

Acquiring the Lu Family’s company was no longer an option; the urgent priority was to clear his name and wait for another opportunity to take action.

As for Lu Shiran, it seemed that he could only give up on that for now.

Even if the Lu Family’s stock market was saved, the public opinion wouldn’t spare them.

The deaths indeed occurred at the Lu Family’s construction site, and there were definitely issues with the safety helmets; if they didn’t clarify this clearly, their reputation might not be salvageable.

Thinking this, Mr. Qin’s mood, depressed due to the disrupted plans, slightly improved.

Just then, Xiaozhang suddenly exclaimed,

“Master! There’s trouble.”

Mr. Qin reflexively responded, “Indeed, your master is in a lot of trouble.”

“Master, the Lu Family is making a move.”

Mr. Qin was shocked, “What are they planning to do?”

Xiaozhang replied, “They are going to hold a press conference to explain the incidents that happened to the Lu Family these past few days, and almost all media have mobilized.”

Originally, the issue hadn’t escalated enough to attract all media attention.

But with Pei Yao and Li Hanzhou stirring things up, all media focus had shifted there.

Moreover, with Lu Zhanxing being a popular celebrity, even media from the entertainment industry were paying attention to them.

Mr. Qin’s expression dramatically changed, his heart beating a bit faster, and he reassured himself, “Could it be that they want to make a public apology?”

Yes.

That must be it.

With the construction site incident, he had planned everything so meticulously that the Lu Family couldn’t possibly discover anything.

Mr. Qin closed his eyes to think, and moments later, he opened his weathered, sharp eyes, “Keep a close eye on Director Xia.”

“Yes.”

Mr. Qin then asked, “Is the mole still behaving?”

“Master, rest assured, our people have been watching them. Since the Lu Family ran into trouble, he has been staying at home under investigation, and the Lu Family hasn’t discovered yet that we had bribed the safety helmet purchaser.”

“Good.”

Mr. Qin felt even more at ease.

It seemed the Lu Family really was about to hold a press conference to make a public apology.

Determined to win, Mr. Qin sneered, “Go, release the information that the Lu Family is holding the press conference because they feel guilty and want to make a public apology.”

Mr. Qin prepared to stir up hatred against the Lu Family, intending to make them suffer a complete downfall.

…

Suddenly, a topic appeared online.

The Lu Family is holding a news conference because they feel guilty and want to use an apology to quell the public’s anger and cover up their crimes.

Now the opinions online were extremely polarized.

Some believed that the Lu Family was being wrongly accused, while others thought it was all manipulation by capitalists.

With this topic suddenly emerging, those who opposed it were even more agitated.

See? The Lu Family is apologizing. All talks of conspiracy and being framed are false; otherwise, why would they apologize?

Some people were shouting down with capitalism as they flooded into the live stream.

Under the Qin Family’s manipulation, the popularity of the live stream at the news conference instantly climbed to the top of the daily charts.

Some curious folks also couldn’t help but click in to see what exactly was happening.

Old Master Qin was extremely pleased with this phenomenon.

He wanted the Lu Family to completely lose face and have their pride ground into the dust.

…

Lu Jingzhi had informed Lu Xian and Lu Rui about what was happening online.

“Dad, Uncle,” he pondered, “this topic appeared too suddenly. It must be someone manipulating public opinion.”

Lu Xian glanced at it and instead smiled, “The bigger the fuss, the better. The more attention it gets, the whiter we can wash ourselves.”

Thanks to Lu Zhanxing, who often complained to his family about the entertainment industry, Lu Xian was very knowledgeable about the internet.

Lu Rui squinted his eyes, “It seems the person behind this can no longer sit still. I bet Director Xia has been in contact with them.”

“Yes, they indeed contacted each other.” Lu Jingzhi regretfully said, “We traced the signal, but unfortunately, their technology is superior to ours.”

Lu Xian hadn’t immediately arrested Director Xia upon exposing him because he was confident that Director Xia would contact the other party.

They might be able to catch a small tail of the other party, and everything turned out just as he had expected.

Now hearing this, he wasn’t in a rush, “I anticipated this; Director Xia is a very cautious person. He definitely checked the other party out, and since he doesn’t know who it is, that means he didn’t find out.”

Lu Rui said, “Let’s not think about these things for now. The pressing matter is the news conference.”

“Hmm.”

At that moment, there was a knock on the door of the office.

The secretary pushed the door open, “President Lu, the press conference is ready. We can begin now.”

Lu Xian nodded his head, instructing the secretary to go ahead with the preparations, and then craftily said, “If the other side wants to make a big deal out of this, then let’s make it bigger. Inform the publicity department to hype it up and announce that we are indeed going to apologize to the public.”

“Okay.” Lu Jingzhi thought this was a good idea.

The higher the heat, the more furious the other party would be when the truth was revealed later.

…

Lu Shiran had noticed since earlier that his sister was checking her phone from time to time.

With her little brow furrowed and her small face serious, she looked quite adorable trying to act like an adult.

But as she checked it more often, Lu Shiran couldn’t help but ask.

“Little sister, what are you watching?”

He rarely saw his sister so concerned about something.

Qiao Yun lifted her head, her voice flat, “Waiting for the news conference.”

Lu Shiran exclaimed, “As expected of my sister, always focusing on something different from others.”

Qiao Yun hummed in response, her tone unchanged, “It’s the Lu’s news conference.”

“What?”

“What conference?”

Lu Shiran and the Old Master asked simultaneously.

The Old Master was so shocked that he sat up abruptly, “What are you holding a press conference for?”

Qiao Yun said, “To explain the events of the past few days.”

The Old Master’s eyes widened, “How do I not know about this, why didn’t anyone tell me!”

Qiao Yun thought, there’s a lot you don’t know.

After a moment of confusion, the Old Master quickly said to Qiao Yun, “Quick, let me see. These rascals, such a big matter and they didn’t tell me!”

There was a television in the hospital room. Qiao Yun simply turned on the TV to let the Old Master follow the news conference in real time.

After preparing herself, she glanced at the old man and noticed that his hands were trembling, unsure whether it was from excitement or worry.

Qiao Yun opened her mouth, clumsily comforting him, “Grandpa, don’t worry, they can handle it. You have to believe.”

The old man took a deep breath and smiled, “I’m not worried.”

It was apparent he was just humoring Qiao Yun.

Seeing this, Qiao Yun didn’t press further. She was not good at consoling people anyway; the old man would find out soon enough.

“What are you watching so intently?”

The grandmother entered from outside and saw the three generations focused on the television.

The old man waved his hand, “Go on, don’t disturb me.”

Lu Shiran explained on behalf of the old man, “Grandma, we’re watching the Lu Family’s news conference.”

To her surprise, the grandmother’s main concern was, “Didn’t I tell you not to let your grandpa know about the corporate matters? Why did you tell him?”

The grandmother was just looking out for the old man’s well-being, fearing that the corporate issues might aggravate him to death.

Lu Shiran felt wronged–it wasn’t his doing. But to protect his sister from the grandmother’s blame, he decided to endure it.

Ah, he really was an incomparably good brother in the world.

Qiao Yun glanced at Lu Shiran, who had a face ready to bravely sacrifice himself, and silently raised her hand, “It was me.”

The grandmother: “Uh …”

Looking down at Qiao Yun’s bright, innocent, and beautiful eyes, the grandmother smiled, “So it was Qiaoqiao who said it. Then it’s okay.”

Qiao Yun nodded obediently, turned to look at Lu Shiran, and winked at him.

See, it’s alright now.

Lu Shiran: “…”

In the end, he was the one who had paid wrongly.

“Move over,” said the grandmother, making Lu Shiran move to the side to occupy the best viewing spot, equally anxious as she stared at the television.

A twitch appeared at the corner of Lu Shiran’s mouth.

So ruthless towards him, weren’t they afraid he would defect to the Qin Family?

…

At that moment, the media had already gathered at the Lu Family’s press conference hall.

The hall was extraordinarily large, capable of accommodating hundreds of journalists. Because the Lu Family members had not yet appeared, only the victims’ families were present.

So the media first conducted a round of interviews with the family members.

The man had tried calling the person who had contacted him earlier, but failed to reach them, feeling a bit intimidated.

Now under the spotlight and driven by vanity, his statements became even more unreserved.

Various denunciations and condemnations of the Lu Family came spilling out.

The journalists who managed to attend were all screened professionals and did not ask reckless questions simply based on the man’s unilateral claims.

Meanwhile, the live chatroom had erupted into chaos.

Right as the man was still lamenting about how difficult his father’s life had been and how much his heart ached,

The three members of the Lu Family appeared.

Since Lu Xian managed the corporation, Lu Rui and Lu Jingzhi did not overshadow him and let Lu Xian take the lead, sitting themselves off to the corner.

The news conference officially started at seven.

The journalists who had been surrounding the man immediately shifted their focus to Lu Xian.

A reporter, unable to control themselves, was the first to ask Lu Jingzhi, “Young Master Lu, are the online revelations true? Was the story of Lu Ting’s biological father saving you all orchestrated by him? Did Lu Ting truly commit acts against your own sister?”

Lu Jingzhi frowned, but before he could respond, Lu Rui lifted his hand imperiously, “Please ask this reporter to leave!”

The security personnel nearby immediately stepped forward and forcibly escorted the still dumbfounded reporter out.

Lu Rui said to the quiet reporters, “My daughter has nothing to do with this whole mess. We won’t answer any questions about her, but I can tell you that my daughter is fine. Any disparaging news about her is false reporting, and if anyone dares to defame my daughter again, I will sue them to the end!”

The live broadcast erupted.

“Although I think kicking someone out doesn’t seem very nice, I have to say this is what an exceptional father would do.”

“Damn, this man is fatally charming. Allow me to be smitten for a minute.”

“Speaking of which, the Lu family members are all so handsome.”

“Heh, you bunch of nymphos, the Lu family is too rude, driving people away for no reason. Aren’t they the ones who called this press conference?”

“Idiot, if your daughter was the one being slandered, I bet you’d want to kill someone too.”

Lu Rui’s action sent the temperature of the press conference soaring again.

#NationalGoodDad topped the trending searches.

The scene of Lu Rui authoritatively driving the reporters away for Qiao Yun was turned into GIFs and memes, unexpectedly going viral.

In the hospital room, the old man slapped his thigh excitedly, “Well done.”

Qiao Yun pursed her lips, then nodded vigorously.

She was quite happy that her family’s efforts were being reciprocated.

Back at the press conference venue.

The reporters present were somewhat dumbfounded by the situation.

Lu Rui gently tapped his finger on the table and looked at the remaining reporters, “We can continue now.”

The reporters: “…”

Obviously, this tactic of making an example was highly effective, and the next person to ask a question did not dwell on Qiao Yun’s issue.

“Please, do you disregard the lives of your workers? Otherwise, why would you purchase substandard safety helmets for them to use?”

Finally, the topic was back on track.

The ignored man immediately cried out, “Do you even need to ask? The facts are right before our eyes! You corrupt corporations will eventually face retribution!”

The man was trembling as he spoke, his eyes reddening, looking extremely pained.

The online audience was very sympathetic towards him.

A journalist pressed on with the attack, “It’s said that this press conference was called because you want to apologize to the public, is that right?”

The Qin Family’s grandfather was also paying attention to this press conference and heard the journalist’s question.

He sat upright, his eyes unblinking, wanting to etch the next scene deeply into his mind.

Lu Xian, however, appeared relaxed. He looked at the man, “You tell everyone that you wanted to seek justice for your father, right?”

“Exactly.” The man did not deny these words, he even said it so forcefully that even he started to believe in his initial intent.

“Great, I have a video here. Everyone might want to watch it.” Lu Xian then signaled his secretary to play the video.

Following the command, the secretary, in front of all the reporters and the online audience, turned on the projector.

In the video.

A man in his fifties was kicked to the ground, and a young man, while kicking him, cursed, “You dead old man, are you going to give it or not! Just hand it out quickly, don’t think I don’t know you have just been paid.”

“You unfilial son, I am your dad, how can you hit me, aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning!”

The man spat, “So you acknowledge I’m your son. Now, your son is being chased by creditors to the point of having my hands chopped off, and you won’t help me? I’ll kill you.”

As he spoke, he kicked even harder.

The reporters were stunned.

They could see clearly, the person in the video, claiming to seek justice for his deceased father and not wanting a penny, was the son of the victim.

And the person being beaten was the actual victim of the whole incident.

Lu Xian looked at the man whose face had turned pale, and said ominously, “Do you still dare to claim that you were seeking justice for your father?”