Did this mean that Tangning was responsible for the loss of two lives?
The public immediately erupted into discussions.
“Couldn’t she have peacefully remained as a diamond manager? Why must she stick her nose into everything? She even tried to create a so-called national sci-fi film and caused someone to lose their life.”
“I really want to know what Tangning’s thinking. I can’t understand her…”
“Who would go watch a domestically produced film that resulted in a death? That’s extremely auspicious!”
“Please, Tangning, if you don’t want to act then don’t do it, stop acting recklessly, you’ve already killed two people.”
Although the negative comments were expected, Long Jie and Lin Qian still felt that it was too extreme.
“Should we get Qiao Sen’s daughter to rectify things?”
“No need. Don’t drag Qiao Sen’s daughter into this mess,” Tangning rejected as she shook her head. “I’m fine, you guys don’t need to worry about me. When I first decided to announce Qiao Sen’s death, I already expected the consequences.”
“OK. But, be aware that President Fan will definitely take this opportunity to cause trouble…”
“I hope he does!” Tangning looked at her computer screen as she said in an extremely cold tone, “An a*sshole is an a*shole because they don’t know how to be considerate even when you’ve already shown them mercy.”
Qiao Sen’s death was a huge blow for Tangning, but it also made her realize many things. Just like Mo Ting said, life had always been difficult in itself, yet one had to be ready for accidents to happen at any time. So, rather than sitting around and waiting for accidents to happen, it was better for them to live happily. That way, when they grew old someday, they could look back on their lives and not feel like it was a waste.
“You guys go ahead and work. I don’t need any company.”
If someone else was in Tangning’s position, they would not be able to persist under such difficulties.
Especially now that the director passed away and the public were insulting and criticizing her.
Worst of all, President Fan was constantly monitoring them and waiting for a chance to strike.
Not only was he an a*shole, he even secretly inquired about ‘The Ant Queen’s’ filming location and posted photos of their progress online.
An exploitative act like that was extremely disgusting.
Later on, President Fan even manipulated the netizens into demanding Tangning for an apology and tried to force her to cease filming.
He practically did all he could to make Tangning suffer.
Of course, for Luo Sheng and Xing Lan, who had already transferred to Hai Rui, this incident didn’t affect them much at all. Luo Yinghong, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. Many of her recent activities were canceled for no reason, and even though she didn’t investigate the matter, she knew exactly who benefited from it all.
But, Luo Yinghong did not blame Tangning. After all, during her most difficult time, Tangning helped her back on her feet. So, even if the entire world turned on Tangning, she would never oppose her.
5 days later, a memorial service was to be held for Qiao Sen. Although the public criticized Tangning, their level of respect towards Qiao Sen increased. This was because they thought Tangning had ‘tormented’ him to death. When they took into consideration everything else he had done in the past, they all agreed that he was well-deserving of respect.
This was what Tangning wanted…
Hai Rui’s board of directors weren’t pleased with this incident, but after what happened with Director Lin, they did not dare to challenge Mo Ting’s authority.
Either way, Mo Ting did not instruct Hai Rui’s PR to do anything, so it was obvious that the couple knew what they were doing even though the public were attacking them.
“Memorial service? If she dares to attend, I’m going to make her life miserable!” President Fan sneered as he looked at the news about Qiao Sen.
Meanwhile, many people called Hai Rui during this time, requesting for Tangning to not go around causing trouble…
Lu Che was helpless towards these phone calls.
“President…”
Mo Ting pretended not to hear a thing. After quite some time, he finally lifted his head and said, “Tomorrow, help me hire another 30 people for the customer service department. If anyone calls, directly counter their complaints.”
“There are also a lot of programs that want to invite the Madam as their guest.”
“Both you and I know their motives,” Mo Ting looked at Lu Che coldly. “How many times have I respected Tangning’s wishes by not doing a thing even though she’s being criticized? This time, I’m not going to listen to her.”
“So, what you’re saying is…?”
“Select the most well-renowned program and tell them that Ning accepts their invite…”
“And when the time comes…?”
“I’ll go on the show instead,” Mo Ting replied.
Lu Che nodded his head and did as he was told.
Many people thought that Tangning was crazy for announcing Qiao Sen’s death because she was practically asking to be scolded; she obviously had the option of quietly dealing with the matter. But, those that knew her, understood that she would do anything for her friends. If she had not done what she did, Qiao Sen would not be receiving the amount of respect that he was currently experiencing. Even though he had already passed, this respect was what he deserved and Tangning’s actions were the only way to make the public aware of it.
Over the following few days, An Zihao stayed at home to do all forms of research. It wasn’t until the fourth day that he finally stepped outside. As he arrived on the set of ‘The Ant Queen’, the crew did not particularly acknowledge him, but he still vowed to give his all.
Tangning accompanied him to the set and when the crew saw her, they all complained about the unfairness that had been thrown upon her, “The public’s criticism has gone too far. How could they be so mean?”
“Exactly! Director Qiao Sen’s death was a complete accident. Besides, these people have absolutely no idea how much Qiao Sen loved and cared about this film.”
“There’s no point talking about this now. I have no plans to clarify the matter. You guys simply need to focus and use your best efforts to guarantee me that, two years from now, when ‘The Ant Queen’ gets released, today’s suffering would be all worth it. I’m not afraid of the scolding, I’m afraid that I won’t do Qiao Sen’s passion and determination justice. So, I hope you can all help me…”
“Don’t worry, Ning Jie, we will keep on going as though Director Qiao Sen is still alive.”
“Zihao, everything’s now in your hands,” Tangning placed all her hope in An Zihao: the only person in the field that she could trust to help her at a time like this. After all, every other director she had ever worked with was currently afraid of being slandered…
“Don’t worry,” An Zihao patted Tangning on the shoulder.
Of course, Tangning was unaware that Mo Ting would be attending a program on her behalf at 8pm that night. It was coincidentally just before Qiao Sen’s memorial service. So, just as night hit, Mo Ting notified Tangning that he had something on that night and would be returning home late. When Tangning heard this, she did not suspect a thing…