Chapter 157 - Idol Turned Heroine

CEO Zhu looked dashing and Scarlet couldn't help but be impressed by the man's fine taste. He was a gentleman from head to toe and offered his arm for Scarlet to escort her to the party.

"I'm very happy that you agreed to be my escort for this evening's party," he told her with a gentle smile although his eyes hid a glint of something else that Scarlet couldn't identify.

Still, she returned the smile with her own and thanked him for the invitation. "It is my honour. Thank you for supporting my works, I never thought that I'd have the opportunity to introduce myself to such prominent figures."

Ming Yang laughed at Scarlet's scripted reply. "Given your talent, I'm surprised that you have not met them earlier. It hasn't been many years since your debit in the showbiz world but already you have accomplished so much. I cannot wait to see more of what you can achieve."

Scarlet blushed a little at the honest compliment and looked away nervously, not knowing how to reply. While Ming Yang was a little dangerous and suspicious, the man had been nothing but nice to Scarlet from their very first meeting. He acted like a genuine fan and patron and that was what puzzled Scarlet the most. Was Ming Yang truly a fan of hers and had no other ulterior motives? Reading Ming Yang was confusing and as a writer who was used to observing others, this was the first time she found it so hard to read a person's character.

"You seem a little distracted tonight," Ming Yang commented when Scarlet fell silent.

The teen snapped out of her thoughts and apologised. At the back of her mind, she wanted to slap herself for letting her guard down. She was technically in the enemy's territory, why was she acting so relaxed and full of openings? Now that she thought about it, Jedd might have a valid reason to be concerned about her safety at such events. Even if Ming Yang wasn't a wolf, the same cannot be said about the rest of the guests at today's reception. Scarlet had to be more careful.

"My apologies, it's nothing."

The CEO wasn't buying it and the raised brow directed at Scarlet made the girl look away. She avoided his scrutiny and prayed that he wouldn't pry. Thankfully, Ming Yang was kind enough not to pursue the subject and changed the topic to something else that Scarlet could talk about with ease.

"You're quite the workaholic," Ming Yang's off-handed comment took Scarlet by surprise.

The wide-eyed look on Scarlet's face and parted lips made the CEO break out into a peal of boyish laughter. It was true that Scarlet worked very hard but nobody has ever commented that she was a workaholic before. The thought about Scarlet being addicted to working made her brain stop working for a moment as she tried to figure out if it was true. Thinking about her hobbies, Scarlet frowned. Ming Yang might have a point there but Scarlet wasn't sure. Does having a productive hobby like writing books count as work? Scarlet didn't exactly hate her work when she did it.

Ming Yang couldn't keep the amused smirk off his face as they walked to the resort's ballroom. Just an off-handed comment was enough to send Scarlet into an overthinking mode. The CEO was glad that he didn't choose another boring escort for this event. In fact, the girl's reaction made him quite confident in his choice of company for tonight. If everything played out like how he planned, Ming Yang would be watching some rather interesting drama take place later.

"We're here," he told the teen who had a frown as deep as the three gorges dam.

Scarlet blinked and nodded before readjusting her socialising mask. Ming Yang silently approved of the girl's professionalism and made his grand entrance. Almost at once, all eyes were on them when they entered the room. Scarlet shivered a little at the difference in temperature. The evening gown that Pamela and Tina helped her to pick out was sleeveless and the air-conditioning in the ballroom was brutal. Nevertheless, Scarlet gritted her teeth and smiled, enduring the cold even as it raised gooseflesh all over her exposed skin.

They must have greeted over thirty people in the last hour and Scarlet wondered how Ming Yang can exude so much patience in front of the shameless gentlemen who did nothing to hide the needles in their words directed at the young CEO. Of course, the writer was wrong. It wasn't patience that Ming Yang was displaying when he smiled and replied to the degrading exchange of words. It was forbearance and tolerance that he exerted with much difficulty in order to lay low in the radar as the new CEO. The old-timers who had a lot of power were still a threat to him so Ming Yang did his best to grin and bear with the insults blatantly thrown in his face.

This went on for a while more until one man made a comment that struck a nerve within Scarlet as well. Unable to hold back her fury, Scarlet glared at the president of a car company.

"Mr Shen, was it?" Scarlet smiled pleasantly although her tone was clipped and had an edge to it. "I believe you owe CEO Zhu an apology for what you just said."

Mr Shen wasn't expecting anyone to rebut and his eyes almost bulged when Scarlet demanded an apology from him in front of everyone. The room that was full of chatter and laughter was now a lot quieter after Scarlet spoke. Everyone, including CEO Zhu, was surprised that such a small girl had such a big audacity to tackle the elephant in the room. While Ming Yang tolerated the humiliation and bullying by the rest of his business partners, nobody was expecting his escort to stand up for him. It could be said that this was the first time in history that Ming Yang found himself an ally in his company.

Not many of the directors knew who Scarlet was but after she spoke, they were now interested.

"Wh-what did you say?" Mr Shen's face was changing from white to red every few seconds, unable to decide if he should be angry or scared that such a small girl could look at him with such a commanding stare.

"Mm, I believe you didn't hear it the first time. My Mandarin isn't very good so I'll rephrase it. Please take back what you said about CEO Zhu's leadership ability and apologise. I don't think it's nice to insult the achievements he created for Pineapple Group with his own efforts. Being born with a golden spoon might have been luck. However, the ability to inspire success has nothing to do with luck. I'm sure someone like you would be able to understand at least this much."

Ming Yang was impressed. No, he was awestruck. Scarlet was his idol ever since he saw her debut in China. Her earnest attitude for what she did and her strong personality that went against many Chinese stereotypes was what attracted him to her. Now that the girl he admired, who was one and a half head shorter, stood beside him, Ming Yang felt as if he was looking at his heroine. All the frustrations at not being able to say the things he wanted to say were thrown out of the window when Scarlet spoke up on his behalf.

Mr Shen looked alternating between Scarlet and Ming Yang before huffing and stomping off without even a word of apology. Scarlet's words were sharp like a razor and that merciless strike back at Mr Shen was like a declaration of war. At that very moment, the room of businessmen started deciding which camp they wanted to belong in. Seeing the girl who was hardly five-foot-tall stand so tall and proudly for what she believed in made them feel like sissies.

Some of the more cowardly directors came forward to offer their apologies so that they would remain on CEO Zhu's good side. Ming Yang relished in the moment of gaining the temporary upper-hand. The more malevolent ones simply excused themselves to leave the event early now that the mood was spoiled. Everyone was curious about the escort CEO Zhu brought with him this time but Scarlet never spoke up again for the rest of the evening until she excused herself.

The performance Scarlet put up garnered loud applause from the audience and the singer smiled angelically. Of everyone present in the room, Ming Yang was the one most affected by her performance. Seeing Scarlet perform in person was a true dream come true for a fan like him. She was terribly tiny in person when she stood beside him but on the stage, she ruled it like a queen. Her stage presence was bigger than his business empire and Ming Yang found himself falling for her all over again.

Some of the businessmen who stayed back changed their minds about Scarlet after watching her performance. They were moved by her talent and beauty so much that Scarlet was immediately offered job contracts and brand sponsorsh.i.p.s. Name cards were exchanged and Scarlet was pleased to know that out of the eight directors on her investigation list, six have approached her on their own accord. Of the remaining two, one left early and the other didn't look like he liked Scarlet at all.

"That was a wonderful performance," Ming Yang smiled after Scarlet broke free from the pestering business directors.

"I feel like I'm falling for you all over again as a fan," he said earnestly and kissed the back of Scarlet's hand.

The sudden action made Scarlet blush a little before laughing awkwardly. "Thank you, I'm very flattered. I didn't expect to be swarmed the moment I stepped down the stage."

Ming Yang smiled. "That only happened because you were too brilliant up on that stage. Now I'm feeling a lot of regret for missing so many of your live concerts. Do you always perform with so much energy?"

Scarlet grinned. "I have to or my composer will nag my ears off."

Ming Yang laughed when Scarlet let down her guard a little and shared with the CEO a little more about the people she worked with in the recording studio. While they chatted and laughed, many pairs of eyes followed them. For the directors who weren't happy with Ming Yang's position and influence, this was the perfect opportunity for a setup. With some clicks of their phones, hundreds of juicy gossip materials were ready to be sent to the printing house for tomorrow's headlines.

While Scarlet complained about the pressure of needing to hit impossible notes, Ming Yang cast a sideway glance discreetly and hid a smile while taking a sip of his champagne. He moved closer to the unsuspecting singer and allowed better pictures to be taken. Now that the fish had taken the bait, all he had to do was wait for it to be hooked.