Although Pei Shi had dealt with it urgently, because Bai Tao's skin-exposure post had spread too widely and there was obviously a large-scale and planned promotion behind it, even if Pei Shi turned the tide, it was unrealistic to eliminate the impact that had already been caused in a short period of time.
In addition to the negative impact on Bai Tao, this news inevitably affected Pei Shi's upcoming stock market. For a while, rumors that Bai Tao and Pei Shi were in a divorce battle were rampant.
It seemed that not long after Pei Shi founded the company, he received real or fake inquiries from multiple partners and investors.
This was originally what Pei Shi hoped would happen the most, but compared to Bai Tao at this moment, Pei Shi realized that this matter could actually be so trivial.
He originally deceived and misled Bai Tao in order to gain market share, and his fear of divorce was due to his concern for the company.
At this moment, Pei Shi was still afraid of divorce, but it was no longer due to any external reasons.
He explained the situation to the investors honestly, arranged for someone to investigate the conspiracy behind the post, briefly explained the company's affairs, and then rushed to Sun Jing's house again.
There was no moment that made him want to see Bai Tao more than this moment, as if only then could he feel at ease.
The only thing to be thankful for was that when he met Bai Tao at Sun Jing's house before, she did not break down like he expected in front of this expose post, and was even quite calm.
While Pei Shi felt relieved, he also felt a vague sense of blame - he seemed to never understand her well enough, and was always helpless with her, so he had not been able to convince her to give up the divorce.
But the reality soon made Pei Shi realize that it was too early to celebrate.
He had just parked the car and was about to say anything to convince Bai Tao to take her home, but before he could even go upstairs, he received a call from Sun Jing -
"Boss Pei! Alright! Teacher Bai Tao ran away from home!!!"
When Pei Shi hurried downstairs, Sun Jing was already waiting at the door with an anxious look on her face: "I'm just going downstairs to buy some vegetables, and Teacher Bai Tao will be here when I come back." She handed the things to Pei Shi, "She only left this note..."
Pei Shi opened the note with a gloomy face. It was indeed Bai Tao's handwriting, with a line of large crooked characters written on it -
"I'm out of date. I just saw a post exposing someone's behavior. I feel ashamed to face people. I'm going to quit society now. My worldly ties are over. I'm leaving now. Jingjing, take good care of the dog. It hasn't pooped in three days. Remember to buy some probiotics."
Pei Shi's face turned completely black. He clutched the paper tightly, not expecting that even his wise considerations still left something out.
Deep regret filled Pei Shi's heart. He should have thought that, given Bai Tao's stubborn personality, how could she be as calm as before after such a big incident of being skinned alive
In the end, I made a mistake in a hurry. I didn't expect that Bai Tao didn't see the skin-exposure post at that time, so I let down my guard. I should have left just now and should have kept Bai Tao safe.
But this time she was not as lucky as before. Before, Bai Tao ran away from home and at least she was still in Rong City, but this time she really left Rong City.
Pei Shi asked a friend to retrieve the surveillance footage from the station and airport. He stayed in the monitoring room all night without getting any sleep, and finally found Bai Tao's fleeting figure at the Rong City Bus Station.
"She was heading southwest. There were four buses that day, all leaving Rongcheng, with different routes. I can contact the people in charge of the bus stations in our four cities to help find her, but the investigation will take time..."
In this situation, no matter how anxious Pei Shi was, he could only stay home and wait for news.
But when he got home in a tense mood, Pei Fei was already waiting at the door with a box of fruits in a happy mood.
As soon as she saw Pei Shi, she ran over excitedly: "Brother, I'm here to help you." She poked her head in and asked, "Now, are you and Bai Tao planning to divorce?"
Pei Fei walked into the house and confirmed that there was no sign of Bai Tao or any trace of her at home. Her face immediately lit up with joy: "Brother, is she really gone?"
Pei Fei seemed to be very happy now. She sat down on the sofa and said, "I have finally waited for this day!"
"Brother! You've worked hard! I was wrong about you before. Now that I've read the exposing post, I finally figured it out. You had to be so hypocritical to a scumbag like Bai Tao just for the sake of the company and the market, so that the outside world would think that your marriage was stable, right? But in fact, it's just a fake marriage."
Pei Fei smiled and said, "You know what, brother, your acting is really good. In order to create a loving image for the outside world, I thought that interaction with Bai Tao was real. But in fact, you can be sure. Although the market is important, it is difficult to live with someone like Bai Tao and pretend to be in love. Now that the exposure post has been published, it's like this anyway, so you don't have to tolerate her anymore. I have analyzed in the industry that this incident will also have a key impact on your market process."
"I didn't expect Bai Tao to be so concerned about her reputation. She sent out so many press releases. Now she deserves to be slapped in the face!" Pei Fei felt more relieved the more she thought about it. "But Bai Tao reacted so strongly. Could it be that she really believed it? She really wishful thinking. Even though you acted so sincerely at that time, you never told her that you loved her! How could you take it seriously if a man didn't express his love directly? She is so stupid..."
Before this, no matter how proud Pei Fei was, Pei Shi did not respond. The corners of his lips were flat, as if he did not hear what Pei Fei said. Instead, he stared at an empty nail on the wall in a daze. Pei Fei remembered that there was a painting bought by Bai Tao there.
Pei Fei thought that her brother's behavior at this moment showed that he was completely indifferent to whether Bai Tao left or not. However, when she just finished scolding Bai Tao for being stupid, she saw her brother turned around and suddenly interrupted her.
His voice was a little dry and hoarse, but he said it seriously: "So you women think that if you like someone, you must express your love directly, but does that mean it is not trustworthy?"
Pei Fei was a little confused, but still nodded: "Yes, many straight men believe that they can't say love without saying it, and they don't care about showing their inner feelings. This is cool and fashionable. They think that using their actions to convey love is the secret. But the problem is that they are so ordinary but so confident. They think that their actions are very touching and convey love, but in the eyes of us girls... We don't feel it at all! They think that the behavior of showing love, we don't get it at all. So when you talk about your inner feelings, how much you love the other person and how much you need the other person, the other person may not necessarily know it."
"I had a friend who was like this before. Her boyfriend kept saying he loved her, and she felt his love, so she proposed to break up. The boyfriend panicked and showed his diary to his girlfriend. My friend then realized with tears and laughter that he loved her so much, but she couldn't speak for the sake of face. Do you think this is a disease?"
Pei Fei dated several boyfriends while she was abroad, and she really wanted to share her emotional experiences with her brother. However, just as she was about to build up her emotions and open up to him, Pei Shi's phone rang.
Pei Shi picked up the phone with a nervous look on his face after just glancing at the incoming call number. Then Pei Fei heard her brother's usually calm voice with a slightly nervous ending: "Found it? Arrived at Yulin City South Bus Station and then left the station for ten hours and then returned to the bus station? Okay, I'll go right over."
Before Pei Fei could even say "brother" out loud, he saw his brother packed up his things and left at lightning speed. Although he had a calm face, Pei Fei was still sensitive to his brother's anxiety and panic. Could it be that the city was greatly affected by that expose post
Pei Fei just ran out of the house and wanted to say something like a caring sister, but she saw Pei Shi had already gotten into the Maybach. But after all, they were brothers and sisters, and when Pei Shi saw her, he was really moved—
"I feel wronged."
Pei Shi pursed his lips and said, "I have never been wronged when I was with Bai Tao. What you heard is also fake. I love her very much and need her very much. I will never divorce her. So Feifei, you should learn to be more objective to her and accept this reality. Bai Tao is very good. If you get along well with her, it will be your problem."
Pei Fei's brain didn't react at all. She was like an old machine that couldn't process too much information. She didn't digest the latest information from Pei Shi, and was still immersed in a question she had in mind: "Brother, what are you doing out so late now?"
"Chasing my wife."
Pei Shi finished his words concisely, and without waiting for Pei Fei's reaction, he started the car without mercy, leaving Pei Fei with a dull look in her eyes with a mouthful of pure and natural laughter...
*****
Pei Shi almost drove to the monitoring room of Yulin City South Bus Station as fast as he could, but Yulin City South Bus Station was a large transportation hub, and the platform where Bai Tao appeared had eleven bus routes heading in the same direction. It was impossible to find out which bus she took in such a short time.
Pei Shi frowned and asked, "Can this radio broadcast a missing person notice?"
After receiving a positive response from the staff, Pei Shi pursed his lips and walked towards the radio station.
…
*****
After Bai Tao ran away from Rong City, she wandered around aimlessly, like a criminal on the run. She was bored to death and arrived at Yulin City. After less than an hour, she felt that the food was too spicy and not to her taste, so she ran back to the South Bus Station.
The personnel at the bus station were more mobile and more difficult to check. In order to avoid Pei Shi's tracking, she deliberately did not take the high-speed rail, but chose the car. Fortunately, Rong City and the nearby cities were not far away by car. She bought a luxury bus ticket, which also had wifi, and the journey was quite comfortable.
I heard that Dujiang City in the west has wonderful river views and seafood, so Bai Tao took the bus to Dujiang City.
Dujiang City is a well-known tourist city. Bai Tao and an old lady who were traveling together started chatting excitedly after getting off the car. Bai Tao was thus passively introduced to the scenic spots in Dujiang City. Then she listened to them talking about the gossip about middle-aged and elderly relationships during their travels, and then the inside story of the turbulent factional fighting among old sisters.
There are still fifteen minutes left before the train departs. Soon, the station broadcasts a reminder:
"The No. 342 bus to Dujiang City is about to depart. Please go to Platform 5 to check your tickets..."
Bai Tao yawned, and didn't dislike the old lady's chattering noise behind her. On the contrary, she was grateful for and needed this kind of noise, because only this could allow her to temporarily escape from her own life and forget the predicament she had encountered.
Gossip and melon seeds go well together.
To prepare for the occasion, Bai Tao took out the melon seeds she had just bought at the convenience store, but just as she was about to start eating them, she was so frightened that she almost choked—
"I have an important announcement to make. I have an important announcement to make. Missing little Baitao, your parents are waiting for you at the radio station. Please contact the nearest police officer at the station and come to the radio station as soon as possible. Your father is waiting for you."
As if playing it once was not enough, it continued to be repeated over and over again like a kind of mental pollution, as if it would not stop until the white peach appeared.
The old lady in the back row of the train couldn't help but grumble, "Oh my goodness, whose child is this? How could he get lost at the train station? How does this father take care of the child?"
"Haven't you heard the saying? Men can take care of babies, but sows can't climb trees!"
"What a sin! The name sounds like a girl's. In a crowded place like the station, it is very likely that she has been taken away. There are so many trains, so don't let her be abducted and sold."
They were all married people with children. When this old lady talked about her child being lost, she was filled with righteous indignation: "How can a man like this find a wife? You ask him to take care of the child for a while and he will lose it directly."
Bai Tao also cracked the melon seeds. Her behavior this time was really embarrassing. Running away from home didn't cause much of a fuss, and her father and mother were on vacation abroad. Middle-aged and elderly people hardly surf the Internet. Bai Tao tested her parents the day before and found that they really knew nothing about her little thing in China. Now, listening to the radio broadcasting over and over again that her father was coming, her heart and eyes were filled with confusion and nervousness.
After all, the station continued to operate, and after a period of time, the missing person broadcast was finally switched to the normal train number broadcast.
Bai Tao was a little depressed, but decided to ignore it and continued eating melon seeds.
But not long after I started eating the melon seeds, the aunt in the back seat started a new commotion—
"Hey, come on, that boy is so handsome!"
"Oh my, how come he's more handsome than my brother Jin Dong! And younger!"
"Do you think I can get off the car in time to get the contact information of this young man? Is my daughter always looking for someone else on blind dates? Is she saying that she is obsessed with looks? In short, she must find a handsome son-in-law for me..."
Women all over the world, regardless of their age, have a common trait of liking handsome young men.
At the moment, Bai Tao was in no mood to admire the handsome passers-by walking outside the window. She didn't even take it seriously. To be honest, there were too many men who were more handsome than Pei Shi, and the aesthetic taste of the old aunts was probably not that good.
However, the old ladies probably haven’t seen much of the world, and their eyes were fixed on the window the whole time.
"Hey guys, does this guy look like he's looking for someone?"
"How come the owner of that clothing store borrowed a loud speaker?"
"Really? He's so handsome, is it possible that he works for that boss? That boss has been calling for the store to be sublet or to clear out the stock at a bargain price for a year! It's not okay for this guy to do anything else with his face. It's such a waste of talent. My daughter told me that nowadays, as long as a person has a good face, he can change his fate through a talent show..."
When Bai Tao heard this, she couldn't help feeling a little melancholy. This old lady's talk made her think of her crappy husband.
Hey, I don’t know how Pei Shi is doing
After the exposure post came out, has Shilai Technology been affected
Although from a different perspective, Bai Tao felt that she should jump up and curse the city to fail, but even at this moment, she found that she couldn't do that. In her heart, she still hoped that everything would go well for Shilai Technology. Of course, she felt that this was not out of softness towards Pei Shi, but simply because she had been collecting materials at Shilai Technology for so long and had feelings for her colleagues.
Since wandering around the world, Bai Tao has always maintained an ostrich mentality and has never surfed the two-dimensional world. Now, when she thinks of Pei Shi, she suddenly feels itchy and wants to take out her phone, but when she thinks of the overwhelming negative news and personal attacks before, Bai Tao becomes depressed again.
Just when Bai Tao's curiosity overcame her pride and she picked up the phone, the loud sound from the loud speaker outside shook her phone so hard that she almost dropped it.
"White peach!"
Damn it!
Bai Tao shook her head. Could it be that she was thinking about Pei Shi so much that she was hallucinating
This is Pei Shi’s fucking voice!
The two old ladies in the back seat were also shocked: "Oh my, this boy is the one who lost his child? He has a child at such a young age? He has a smart face but a stupid mind. He looks good, but how could he lose his child..."
Bai Tao stared, then opened the car curtain and followed the source of the sound. She immediately saw Pei Shi standing in the middle of the bus stop.
Trash Pei Shi, at this time, you are still taking advantage of me, and saying that the child is lost and the parents are waiting, do you want to be your own mentally ill father
Bai Tao couldn't help rubbing her eyes again in shock and confusion, to make sure she was not dreaming. The sound that followed made Bai Tao once again convinced that everything was happening in reality -
"Bai Tao, I know you are at the station. I don't know which car you are in, but I hope you can come down and talk to me."
This was a very low-quality loudspeaker. Even Pei Shi's usually pleasant and cold voice was a little distorted when it was transmitted through it, which made Bai Tao feel that the owner of the voice was anxious and nervous.
But how is that possible
Pei Shi was very panicked.
Talk? You still want to talk at this time? Do you really think this is a deal? We can negotiate business!
Stupid Pei Shi, go to hell!
Bai Tao felt both bitter and irritated, so she simply turned a blind eye to the situation. She pulled the car window curtains, covering her face at the same time, and then started to eat melon seeds to vent her anger.
But soon, her melon seed-eating quest came to an end again, because after a brief silence, Pei Shi apparently picked up the loudspeaker again.
A few seconds later, his voice echoed throughout the platform—
"Bai Tao, I love you."
"I was wrong. Just tell me, I can correct whatever I did wrong."
"I don't want a divorce because of the company, but because I love you, I need you, and I can't live without you."
"Oh my, this Bai Tao is the young man's daughter? Is she his wife?"
Bai Tao was still sitting there, but the old ladies in the back seat couldn't help themselves. They opened the curtains and took out their phones to take videos: "Is this a TV show? No wonder this guy is more handsome than a star! I uploaded it to TikTok, and I actually ran into a TV show today!"
Bai Tao secretly opened the curtains a little and looked out through the gap.
There was a constant stream of people coming and going on the platform, but she could still recognize Pei Shi at a glance.
This man was tall and had long legs, and he was wearing obviously expensive and high-quality clothes. He seemed to have an aura wherever he went.
Because of his speech with the loudspeaker just now, people on the platform more or less turned their eyes to him, and even some young people waiting for the bus started to make a fuss.
Making such a passionate confession in public was probably the last thing Pei Shi wanted to do in his life.
Although the content of the confession was bold and straightforward, the man's face was indeed a mixture of embarrassment that he tried hard to suppress and calmness that he pretended to be calm.
Although he had just said such explosive words, Pei Shi was still able to appear extremely calm. Bai Tao heard it with her own ears. Just looking at Pei Shi's expression at the moment, she would never have thought that he would be associated with the loudspeaker.
Bai Tao was of course moved by Pei Shi's passionate confession, but it all happened too suddenly. Her heart was pounding and she was sweating slightly at the bottom, but she didn't dare to believe it.
Is this another trick of Pei Shi
Is it that there is something wrong with him, and he needs to come out and refute the rumors and issue a statement saying that they are still in love as before
After all, this man has a long criminal record and is almost a fraudster!
Who knows whether he will risk everything this time to capture me
While wandering around, Bai Tao had a midnight dream, in which she reviewed every detail of her journey through time as if she was watching a movie in her mind. Thinking of how Pei pretended to know the truth and fooled her, Bai Tao felt embarrassed and angry.
This man is really good at acting. He knows exactly how to put on a good show in his mind, but on the surface he looks very affectionate and gentle.
So is he still trustworthy
Is what he said true
Bai Tao had suffered enough and been wronged enough before, so she was afraid of being embarrassed when facing Pei Shi's confession, so she finally decided to hold back.
And because no one responded, Pei Shi, who was standing on the platform, finally stopped being so calm and persistent. His face gradually became a little flustered. Everyone's inquiring and curious eyes fell on him, but this man was not embarrassed at all after the initial hesitation, as if he was doing something that he had to and should do, and therefore did not need to consider the eyes of others.
Soon, he regained control of his facial expression, repackaged himself with a knife-like coldness, and continued his "shouting career" almost expressionlessly -
"Bai Tao, we are still a legal couple. Even if you want a divorce, you need to do it now, but I don't think our relationship has broken down."
"The city is as important as you, the work is as important as you, everything is as important as you."
"Come here, I'm here to negotiate with you, you can do whatever you want."
The loudspeaker seemed to be of poor quality, and Pei Shi's deep voice was mixed with the noise and the natural bustle of the station, making it a little distorted.
An old lady in the back seat was even more certain that everything was a show, and she was discussing the subsequent plot with great interest—
"I said, the next thing is that the actress ran out crying, and then hugged the actor and cried bitterly. In the end, the truth was revealed. It turned out that the heroine didn't really love him and left him, but had a terminal illness that was incurable. As the two talked, the woman even vomited blood..."
"… "
Bai Tao was originally immersed in Pei Shi's affectionate confession, but when she heard the magic voices of the old ladies behind her, she was suddenly distracted. She put down the melon seeds and turned her head away: "Why did the woman have a terminal illness? Could it be that because the man defrauded the woman, he chased his wife to the crematorium when the time came? And why did the man just shout a few words with a broken loudspeaker, and the woman came out crying and holding her head? How could this man be so easy!"
An old lady chirped, "Oh, little girl, that's how it is in TV dramas, and it's even more so in real life. Women are too reserved. Men can just coax them a little and they'll find a way out. We women should still give men face. The greatest virtue of women is gentleness..."
Stop, stop.
Bai Tao decided that she had to continue fighting with the old ladies, otherwise she would be taught a lesson about women's virtues.
But because of the other party's words, Bai Tao wanted to get off the car even more.
What's the matter
Pei Shi just shouted twice, a so-called confession that no one knew whether it was true or not, and he just left happily
Such a big thing has happened, and the exposing post will not disappear out of thin air. It is too embarrassing to have such a big mess behind you.
Although she was a little moved by Pei Shi's behavior of shouting in the square, Bai Tao finally calmed down and decided to continue wandering around the world.
She checked the time and saw that her bus would be leaving soon.
When Bai Tao secretly turned to the window again, she found that Pei Shi, who was originally standing on the platform, was there.
For a moment, Bai Tao felt a little bit of as if it was expected, but also a little bit of sourness and sadness as her expectations were dashed.
Perhaps what the knowledgeable old ladies said was right. Holding a loudspeaker at the station was probably the limit of what Pei Shi could do for himself or the city. He gave himself such a way out, and when he got out, he lost his patience and took away all the steps.
After the sadness and grief, you will feel relieved.
Fortunately, I didn't get off the car just now and didn't stick my head around and get discovered, otherwise I would have been embarrassed.
Bai Tao immediately stopped eating melon seeds, feeling a bitter pain in her heart. Just as she was about to take out her headphones to listen to some piano music to calm herself down, she heard Pei Shi's voice again, clearer and louder than the last time—
"Bai Tao, there is something I have been forgetting to tell you."
Bai Tao was stunned, and peeked out through the gap in the car window curtains, only to find that Pei Shi had come back and brought a new loudspeaker with him.
So the man didn't just leave, but instead thought the broken loudspeaker wasn't effective enough and replaced it with a new one
So I can trust him a little bit...
Besides, from what he said, he kept forgetting what he said to me... Was he making another passionate confession
Bai Tao was wavering and struggling when she heard Pei Shi speak again with a calm face.
"I always forgot to tell you that the character design of the hero in your latest comic strip is very interesting."
ha
The man paused and continued, "You set the male protagonist to have bipolar disorder. Patients with bipolar disorder are both manic and depressed, and their emotions are very unstable. Intimate relationships are sometimes a burden to them. Both patients and their lovers are actually very painful and tortured. However, the male protagonist in your comics never loses his temper in front of the female protagonist. He is always warm and polite. This is obviously unrealistic."
"Also, your male protagonist's profession is a CEO, so why is he so free every day? How is it possible that his company hasn't collapsed yet?"
"The normal and reasonable development should be that his business goes bankrupt, the heroine loses her job, and he needs to be sent to the hospital to take medicine and get a rabies vaccine."
The flame in the heart of the white peach was growing rapidly.
For a cartoonist, each of his stories is like a child, the crystallization of his own thinking. And every creator has a certain filter for the protagonist of his work.
For Bai Tao, it’s okay to scold her, but it’s absolutely okay to scold her protagonist!
But Pei Shi obviously didn't know how to quit while he was ahead. He continued to speak through the loudspeaker: "And I personally think he doesn't have an emotional disorder, but rather a bit of schizophrenia. One second he is cold and cruel, and when he gets angry at the heroine, he looks like he has rabies; the next second he is suddenly doting and seems mentally retarded. His emotional changes are too sudden. Normal men don't behave like that..."
Damn Pei Shi, how dare you scold my leading actor?!
Bai Tao was simply going crazy. She completely forgot about her surroundings and the current situation. She directly opened the curtains and opened the car window, and began to passionately scold Pei Shi: "There is absolutely no problem with the personality of my male protagonist! Pei Shi, you stupid idiot! How dare you slander my protagonist! My male protagonist is the best in the world, perfect! Without any flaws! All readers say it is good!!!"
Bai Tao's shout really stunned the whole audience.
She felt relieved after shouting, but soon she found that it was wrong.
Following his own voice, Pei Shi quickly located Bai Tao's location. He put down the loudspeaker and had no intention of continuing the argument with Bai Tao. Instead, he pursed his lips as if relieved and walked towards the car where Bai Tao was.
It was at this time that Bai Tao finally came to her senses.
Grass!
Fell into a trap!
Trash Pei Shi really lived up to the old saying that knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle. He attacked the male protagonist just to provoke him to fight back.
A few minutes later, the tall, long-legged man appeared in front of Bai Tao's bus, which was about to depart. Then he walked up to Bai Tao with a calm and composed expression.
"I'll take you home."
Bai Tao was still alive, without making any sound or moving.
Pei Shi was also annoyed. He looked at Bai Tao, was silent for a moment, and then lowered his eyes -
"Bai Tao, I missed you so much."
The man said in a deep and sexy voice: "Can you come home with me?"