Chapter 158 - Scarlet's First Scandal

It didn't take long for the pictures to be circulated and they made their way to the headlines. Of course, this matter didn't just stop in China. In fact, Edward couldn't believe such a thing was happening to Scarlet. There was no doubting who that 'business partner' who invited Frost was after the headlines appeared. Scarlet had always been very careful and with the influence of the Wilde family, how could such a scandal appear overnight?

Something wasn't adding up. Edward decided to do some digging on Zhu Ming Yang. He didn't have a good impression of the CEO. Scarlet might have been tricked by the young CEO after being so blinded by her need to find dirt on Anastasia. Elfie and Edward weren't ignorant about the Pineapple Group's involvement with Anastasia's dirty deeds. Scarlet must have gotten careless trying to get close to CEO Zhu which resulted in the scandal.

Back in Jupiter Records, the company's president was in an important phone call with his daughter.

"How did this happen?"

Pamela sighed. "Sorry, dad. It's my fault. Scarlet met up with CEO Zhu once before for dinner and proposed a deal. He is a very influential person and it wasn't easy to turn down his persistent request for a meet-up. The job that Scarlet agreed to do was also very attractive for us to market Scarlet's new album. Nobody expected that this would happen."

Mr Ong sighed. He couldn't blame his daughter or Scarlet for that. With the singer's popularity, it would be considered a miracle that Scarlet only experienced her first scandal after so many years in the industry. Normal entertainers in the circle would already be attacked upon their debut but Scarlet managed to sail through her career without much resistance even without the Wilde family's influence in the earlier days.

"Forget it. What is done cannot be undone. For now, don't let Scarlet go anywhere alone. If possible, cancel all her jobs for a few weeks until the flames have died down. CEO Zhu must also be rather upset about the scandal. You should know what to do."

Pamela nodded. "Don't worry, father. I will personally go down to talk to the CEO and appease him so that he will not hold Scarlet responsible. Raven is already contacting the Wilde family to inform them about the situation. If it isn't good, we will send Scarlet back to America for a while."

Mr Ong hummed. "That's not a bad option. Scarlet can also pursue her higher education if things cannot be sorted out quickly enough. I will talk to Mrs Wilde about the idea. Keep me updated about what CEO Zhu's reaction is like. We need to coordinate statements with Pineapple Group to keep the flames under control."

Pamela understood what her father meant. While this was a terrible blow for both Scarlet and CEO Zhu, there were many ways to ride the wave and make the best of the opportunity presented. Currently, many eyes were on CEO Zhu and Scarlet. The media was hungry for anything they could get their hands on and should Pineapple Group's heir and the Wilde princess have any solid connection, it would be free publicity for both sides. The only people who would be hurt by the alliance would be the one releasing the news in the first place.

The more Pamela thought about it, the more convinced she was that CEO Zhu wasn't the man behind the scandal. Even if he was, it would not harm Scarlet's image. The girl was only sixteen and CEO Zhu was in his thirties. It wasn't possible to label Scarlet as a gold-digger because she comes from a wealthy and powerful family. If anything, CEO Zhu was the one at a disadvantage.

The capable manager gathered a lot of information from her network to find out more about Zhu Ming Yang's background. It was said that CEO Zhu wasn't very influential in his company even though he inherited it from his father. Nobody knew why Ming Yang's father suddenly decided to step down from his position and hand the reins to his son four years ago but there was definitely a reason for some strange rumours to be floating around.

While Pamela didn't have concrete evidence to support the claims she heard from bystanders about CEO Zhu, many said that he had the backing of someone more powerful than his father who helped to threaten the old CEO into handing over the company to his son. Nobody knew who the backer was but in four years under Ming Yang's leadership, Pineapple Group quickly rose to the top.

The CEO Zhu that many other people talked about was a merciless tyrant who ruled with an iron fist. It was a very different thing from how Scarlet described him to be at the party that she acted as his escort. The CEO Zhu that Scarlet knew was a gentleman who was bullied by the other directors for being young and immature. Many people were hostile towards CEO Zhu according to the singer and she saw them bullying the CEO in front of her.

While Pamela was busy dealing with so many phone calls about the rumours flying around the scandal, Scarlet remained emotionless to the scandal. Raven thought that it was weird because Scarlet kept palming her phone throughout that morning while they were in the office. Tina said that the singer didn't lose her appetite this morning and that was saying something. According to the caretaker who had watched Scarlet grow up, the girl would often lose appetite if something bad happened. For some reason, the bodyguard thought that Scarlet gave off a vibe that told them this was merely the calm before the storm.

For Scarlet, unlike the world that was thrown into a storm by her first scandal, she was waiting for a text. She didn't meet up with CEO Zhu without a reason and after that one dinner meeting, they exchanged numbers. Scarlet even invited CEO Zhu to the chat room for easier communication and found out quite a few things that she could use for their mutual benefit.

Firstly, CEO Zhu wasn't a gentlemanly person like how he projected himself in public. He might be a tyrant but he was a tyrant without any real power or influence. His father was still pulling the strings behind the scenes and there were only a few people that CEO Zhu could trust. Not even his secretary and personal assistant could be trusted which was why CEO Zhu reached out to Scarlet, hoping to ask for the Wilde family to be his backer.

Scarlet didn't mind offering assistance for the young and ambitious man after hearing CEO Zhu's resolve. He didn't want to deal with the underground in his generation and wanted to walk the righteous path for his future generations. The woman he fell in love with was a commoner who worked hard to support herself. They studied at the same university previously and had to keep their relationship under wraps because Ming Yang's father had fixed an engagement with Anastasia's daughter.

When the singer heard the name Anastasia, her face colour changed. CEO Zhu didn't miss it and told her everything he knew about that man. Although he wasn't too involved in the underworld dealings that his father managed using the Pineapple Group's influence, Ming Yang was observant enough and knew more than Scarlet.

The alliance between Scarlet and CEO Zhu was a mutually beneficial one. The CEO wanted Scarlet's support as a child from the Wilde family to break off his engagement with Anastasia's daughter as well as help him expose his father so that Pineapple Group can go back onto the right path. Scarlet stated her terms and wanted CEO Zhu to help her gather damning evidence and more information about Anastasia's organisation so that she can bring it down entirely. Their plan was simple. In order to cause a huge shake to that solid black foundation built by two big crime bosses, they needed to take the public by storm so that all eyes would be on them. With so much attention on them, it would be impossible for the police and government to ignore it if they were to act suspicious and stir up incidents that could expose the dirty dealings behind the scene.

This was only possible because of China's communist government. Media censorship was controlled within the country and it would be difficult for CEO Zhu to cause waves alone. Things were different if he were to get into an affair with an internationally known celebrity who was Chinese but belonged to the powerful Wilde family. That gala event wasn't a coincidence. The pictures were taken by businessmen who wanted to do dirty and smear mud on Ming Yang's name. Ming Yang allowed it and Scarlet helped.

Scarlet's phone vibrated and at once, she unlocked her screen to read the message.

Tyrant: It's done. Have you seen the forums? They're eating it up.

The singer grinned and texted her reply, getting confused looks from her caretaker and manager.

Scarlet: Perfect. Why don't you get someone to contact my agency so that we can conduct a 'proper' discussion?

Tyrant: Sounds good. I'll see you in the afternoon.

The singer wanted to laugh but had to contain it. Raven would get suspicious if she lost control. All that good acting will have gone to waste if anyone reports her back to the Wilde mansion's unofficial head of security. Claire would know that something is up and Elfie would be involved again. Thankfully, after having so many acting opportunities, Scarlet became a pro.

Behind her, all three of Scarlet's closest aides were staring at her full of confusion, worry and suspicion. That girl was definitely up to something again.