Chapter 698 Solve This Problem
Once Lu Jingyuan was done washing up, she called one of the housekeepers in charge of cooking and summoned her over to prepare lunch for them.
Of course, she knew how to cook, but she was too lazy to do anything that day. “Let’s go sit in the courtyard. We can come back in when lunch is done.”
She brought a plate of snacks and fruits as well as a pot of tea as she invited Ning Ran out to the courtyard.
There were various kinds of greenery in her courtyard, and the floral scent was pleasant. It was the perfect spot to sit down and rest.
Ning Ran sat down on the chair and grabbed herself some snacks. After taking a bite, her mood was lifted, and she immediately felt relaxed.
Lu Jingyuan poured some tea for Ning Ran. “I knew you would come looking for me today, but I didn’t think you’d be here so early. No, actually, you’re not early. I just got up too late.”
“How did you know I would come?” asked Ning Ran.
“You’re here because of the online drama, right? To tell the truth, I hardly pay attention to trivial things that happen on the internet, but since this is related to you, I found out about it,” Lu Jingyuan explained.
Ning Ran picked up her cup and took a sip of tea. The aroma of the tea was incredibly fragrant.
She felt that Lu Jingyuan was a shrewd woman who could understand things even though they weren’t explicitly stated.
Thus, she wanted to hear what Lu Jingyuan had to say before responding.
“I don’t know who took those pictures. Do you know?” Lu Jingyuan questioned.
In response, Ning Ran shook her head. “No. The bar was in a state of chaos at the time. Nobody would have expected someone to secretly take photos.”
“I bet Mr. Nan suspects foul play on my part. After all, most of the photos with me in them have been erased and replaced with photos that don’t include me. It’s such a hot topic right now, but I’ve suddenly been excluded from it. It’s no surprise that he would suspect me,” said Lu Jingyuan.
Sure enough, Lu Jingyuan’s straightforward attitude made their communication easy.
“No. He doesn’t suspect you,” Ning Ran clarified.
Upon hearing that, Lu Jingyuan believed her. “Mr. Nan handles important businesses on a large scale. In many cases, he can tell what the truth is. However, I’m sure some people suspect me. I am suspicious, after all.”
At first, Ning Ran wanted to tell Lu Jingyuan that the people in her company did suspect her, but in the end, she decided against it.
“I came here today to ask you what exactly is going on. That’s all there is to it. I’m free today, so I thought of coming here to eat your food and have a chat with you.” Ning Ran smiled.
“My family ordered someone to remove those pictures. To be specific, it was my brother who instructed someone to do it,” revealed Lu Jingyuan.
Ning Ran nodded. “You mean the kids’ uncle?”
“Yes. Their biological uncle. He’s seen the children in secret before, but they’ve never met him. My brother dotes on me. He doesn’t want the incident online to affect my daily life, so he used some of his power to get those pictures off the web,” Lu Jingyuan continued to explain.
Ning Ran stayed silent as she processed Lu Jingyuan’s words.
Using one’s power to erase those images sounded easy enough, but when she thought about it, it was no simple feat.
The idea was simple, but carrying it out was anything but.
Somehow, Lu Jingyuan’s brother had managed to get someone to delete the photos.
That wasn’t something that an ordinary person could pull off. It required an immense amount of power, and one would need both money and authority.
Nan Chen once said that Lu Jingyuan’s identity was a complex one.
From the looks of it, that was a complete understatement.
“I’m curious. What does your brother work as?” Ning Ran couldn’t help but ask.
“I can’t tell you that. I’m sorry. My family isn’t really involved in this, so I don’t want to drag them into this,” Lu Jingyuan replied while wearing a troubled expression.
Ning Ran shrugged. “It’s okay. I pried too much. I won’t ask again. It’s just that this is a bit of a difficult situation. I want to talk to you and see if we can think of a solution.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Lu Jingyuan declared.
Her statement left Ning Ran stunned for a moment. Is Nan Chen’s guess correct again?
Nan Chen had mentioned that since Lu Jingyuan was the top suspect, she would think of a way to handle the matter to prove her innocence.
“Can I ask how you’re going to take care of it?” Ning Ran inquired curiously.
“It’s simple. People online are slandering you. They’re accusing you of colluding with shady organizations and pressuring members of the production teams. There are two keywords here—colluding and pressure. Am I right?” prompted Lu Jingyuan.
Ning Ran nodded, motioning for her to continue.
“In that case, as long as you prove that you’re not ‘colluding’ or ‘oppressing’ anyone, it won’t be an issue anymore.” Lu Jingyuan shrugged.
“How can we prove that, though?” asked Ning Ran.
“I’ve already gotten someone to film a video. Once it’s done, I’ll get my friends to think of a way to make it go viral. We’ll be able to turn the tables.” Lu Jingyuan seemed to be filled with determination.
“What video is it? I’m so curious,” Ning Ran commented.
“There are three key people in the pictures. You, me, and that punk. I can get the punk to record a video where he personally confesses that he’s your bodyguard. The reason why he was with you at the bar was so that you could relax and enjoy yourself,” Lu Jingyuan elaborated.
“Since he’s your bodyguard, then it’s not strange that the two of you were together, right? You no longer have to worry about being accused of colluding. Instead, you just hired him. There’s nothing suspicious about hiring a bodyguard to protect your safety after getting here. After that, Li Xiaolong will deny having done anything to the members of the other production team, much less that you were the one who instigated all of it.”
Despite the fact that Ning Ran thought it was a good idea, something seemed to be lacking. “Will the netizens believe it?”
“Well, if that was all that we did, they would probably still be suspicious. Therefore, the police will also prove that this has nothing to do with you. They’ll say that someone else oppressed the members of the other production team and that the investigation is still ongoing. With an official statement, this whole situation will die down. Netizens will forget after a few days. Nobody will remember it anymore. Are you okay with how I’ve decided to deal with it?”
“Wonderful. I didn’t think you would take care of things like that. You sure are amazing,” Ning Ran praised happily.
“Not at all. I just happen to have a few friends who can help me. I never expected the situation to escalate to this point. I feel quite bad about it, honestly. I wanted to help you, but instead, I ended up dragging you down,” Lu Jingyuan admitted.
Ning Ran shook her head. “That’s not true. I’m very grateful to you, actually. We’re best friends. Oh, right. I have something to ask you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Does the kids’ father know that you’re staying here? Isn’t he coming to see them?” she questioned.
Lu Jingyuan stood up and stretched her arms a bit. “They don’t have a father.”
Her answer was the same thing that Ning Ran had heard from Lu Yunxue and Lu Yunbing.
“You can say that to the kids, but any adult would know that that’s impossible. You can’t give birth to a child out of thin air,” Ning Ran pointed out.
Lu Jingyuan revealed a gentle smile. “My love, you’re getting overly curious. There are many things that can’t be explained in just a few words. Not to mention, I don’t have to share everything with my best friend. I’ll talk to you about this when the time is right, okay?”
She had made it clear that she didn’t want to talk about it.
Truthfully speaking, Ning Ran didn’t want to keep poking her nose into it, either. The only reason she had asked was that Lu Yunxue had entrusted her with that task.
Since Lu Jingyuan didn’t want to answer, there was nothing Ning Ran could do.
