CEO, I'm Not The Girl You Once Knew (Hiatus)

Three

If ever a fairytale princess popped out of the storybook and had come to life, it would definitely be Ai Wei.

Born with a golden spoon, she was the only daughter of a wealthy oil tycoon, who had made it his life's mission to make her happy. Although her mother had died giving birth to her, the stepmother that replaced her soon adored Ai Wei too. And maybe fairy godmothers did exist too, and gave Ai Wei bountiful blessings on her crib, because Ai Wei wasn't only rich, she was also beautiful and clever.

She was the kind of girl every female in the world wanted to hate, but you couldn't simply hate her, because Ai Wei was kind too.

And like every fairytale princess, Ai Wei needed a fairytale prince. And that came in the form of Lin Zhicheng.

Lin Zhicheng was born from the same background as Ai Wei, and even back then when he was still young, the world was already his stage, the people his pawns, and the spotlight directed solely on him.

When he reached thirteen, it became obvious to everyone that he was going to surpass even his famous father in both looks and brilliance, and was going to make their already wealthy company reach even greater heights. He became more popular as he grew older, having more fans than top actors and singers in the entertainment industry. Lin Zhicheng had been scouted more than once by modeling companies, but constantly refused. He was completely focused on his studies, and was even enrolled in the most prestigious university in the country.

In Ai Wei's memories, he and Ai Wei had formally met there. They were classmates in middle school too, but Lin Zhicheng had barely spared her a glance back then. Ai Wei was already in love with him, because he was the only boy who didn't pursue her. When she heard that he was going to study at that specific prestigious university, she didn't hesitate but immediately took the course he was taking, so that they wouldn't have separate classes.

It didn't take long for Ai Wei and Lin Zhicheng to become a couple. Although Lin Zhicheng was previously uninterested in women, something about Ai Wei made him notice her. Ai Wei thought it was because she didn't badger him, like most of their other co-eds. She simply wanted to be with him, and whether he talked to her or not made no difference in her mind.

Their relationship made shocking news worldwide, but because they were obviously right for each other, it didn't take long for their relationship to become easily accepted.

And so the fairytale princess and the fairytale prince found each other, and fell in love. What should have came next if it had been a typical storybook would be their grand wedding and their soon happily ever after, but that didn't happen. The fairytale princess died, and as for the fairytale prince...

"Yes, Peng, it's all over the internet. Apparently, Lin Zhicheng wasn't aware that his newest one-night stand, the wife of a prominent politican, liked to film her, ah, sexual relations with the men she was seeing, and when he turned down her offer to be an exclusive friends with benefits with him, she had gotten mad and posted the video online."

"Which had now garnered twenty-two million views, and—this is simply unbelievable—only in a single day, Yang. She might have thought she would get her revenge on Lin Zhicheng by posting the video and ruining his reputation and that of Coeval, but I have to tell you, it backfired big time. The top trending search word right now in Weibo are the words 'Lin Zhicheng' and 'video scandal'. Not only that, but its been trending in various social media too. It had given Coeval so much attention, the number of their clients just shot up above the charts."

"Doesn't help that Lin Zhicheng's performance in the video was outstanding, Peng. We got reports coming in that the video had been uploaded on various porn sites and is now their top one seller, with comments mostly coming in from women gushing about Lin Zhicheng's body."

A momentary pause as reporters Ying and Peng had a good laugh about this.

"The paparazzi are going crazy with this. They've been stationed in front of his mansion for twelve hours now, with no sight of the world's infamous bachelor. Word's out that he had flown to—"

Shi Xiao Xi had tuned out the announcer's voice, going numb with shock. Lin Zhicheng and a video scandal were two words Ai Wei wouldn't have thought to string together in a thousand years, because the Lin Zhicheng in her memories, although often distant, was kind and conscientious. And he was not the type to pursue a relationship with an already married woman!

Just what happened to him? she thought, as the television flashed a recent photo of Lin Zhicheng in a charcoat suit and tie, looking confident and assured as his assistant opened the door to his car. Sunglasses hid his eyes from view, but the corner of his lips were quirked, almost as if in amusement.

Shi Xiao Xi compared the man to the youthful boy in Ai Wei's memories, and it seemed that only his looks had stayed the same. Back when Ai Wei was still alive, although Lin Zhicheng was still unapproachable during special events, there was at least a chance of greeting him and being rewarded by a small smile.

Right now, even in a 2D copy such as a blurry picture shot from a hidden paparazzi camera, the frosty aura he emitted was so palpable, Shi Xiao Xi could almost see the five feet barrier separating him from his assistant.