117: Chapter 117 Rumors are flying everywhere, but I don't care at all.
In the early morning of Los Angeles, the fog had not yet dissipated.
Yet, long lines had already formed in front of the newsstands.
The Sun, the Los Angeles Times, and even the Wall Street Journal, which is always known for its seriousness, all had surprisingly identical front-page headlines today.
A photograph.
The background of the photo was dim, and one could vaguely see the wreckage of a menacing tank.
And in the shadow of that steel beast, the figures of a man and a woman were intertwined.
Although it was only a silhouette.
But the man's posture, straight as a spear, and the woman's iconic wavy long hair were enough to instantly send the world's gossip-hungry masses into a frenzy.
Not to mention that the highly recognizable black leather jacket the woman was wearing had been torn in half.
The bold black headlines bombed people's eyeballs like bombs:
"Shocking! Mysterious Eastern tycoon engages in 'casting couch' with Hollywood best actress winner on set!"
"The Truth Behind Century Pictures Changing Hands: A Five Hundred Million Dollar Romantic Transaction?"
"Tank and Beauty: Angelina spends the night at the studio, suspected of spending a romantic night with the new boss!"
The internet exploded.
Twitter, Facebook, and even Weibo across the ocean had their servers running hot because of this photo.
Eight of the top ten trending searches were related to the name "Chen Yuan".
In the comment sections, there were no expected curses or moral judgments; instead, they were filled with a ludicrous frenzy.
"My God! This physique, this back profile, he is simply a walking hormone!"
"Am I the only one focusing on that tank? Why is there a real tank on set? Is this film crew planning to go to war?"
"Don't be sour, upstairs. This is the power of capital."
"Throw five hundred million dollars at it, and never mind a best actress winner, even the Statue of Liberty would have to come down to dance with you."
"I want to submit my resume to Umbrella! This boss is so stylish, I'd be willing to even shine his shoes!"
The trend of public opinion bizarrely shifted towards worship.
In this world that admires strength, a man who possesses absolute power and wealth, even if he does something outrageous, will be interpreted as "romantic" and "charming."
And at the center of the whirlpool of public opinion.
New York, top floor of the Titan Center.
Chen Yuan was wearing a loose silk bathrobe, sitting at the dining table in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
He held a knife and fork in his hands, elegantly cutting into a medium-rare Wellington steak.
Alice stood to one side, holding a cup of freshly brewed Blue Mountain coffee.
"Boss, this photo was taken well."
Victor stood to the side, holding a tablet computer, with a gloating smile on his face.
"It's just that the angle is a bit tricky; it didn't fully capture your muscle definition."
"But the atmosphere is spot on; female fans nowadays are just into this."
Chen Yuan speared a piece of beef and put it into his mouth.
Chewing slowly.
"What does the Public Relations department say?" he asked casually.
"The Public Relations department is in an uproar."
Victor wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Those guys in charge of image management are asking if we need to issue a statement to clarify? After all, this involves... ahem, workplace harassment."
"Clarify?"
Chen Yuan put down his fork and picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth slowly and methodically.
He turned his head, looked at Victor, and a trace of playfulness flashed in his eyes.
"Why clarify?"
"This is free advertising."
Chen Yuan pointed to the photo on the screen, which, although blurry, still showed the intimate posture of the two.
"Now the whole world knows that the new boss of Century Pictures is a man who is both wealthy and charming."
"This only has benefits and no drawbacks for improving the company's image."
"Besides."
Chen Yuan picked up the coffee, took a sip, and his eyes were deep.
"Compared to a boring boss who only knows how to sit in an office signing documents, the public prefers to see a flesh-and-blood, even slightly 'bad,' ambitious overlord."
"But..."
Victor hesitated, his fingers swiping a few times on the tablet.
"That newspaper that broke the story is 'Gossip Weekly'. Their mouths are notoriously foul."
"The editor-in-chief just published an editorial implying that you used force... and also said they would expose more sensational news about your private life later."
"They want to use this to extort hush money."
"Extort me?"
Chen Yuan chuckled, as if he had heard some huge joke.
He stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.
Beneath his feet was the bustling Manhattan, with heavy traffic and the masses of common people like ants.
"Victor, you've followed me for so long, have you still not learned my style of doing things?"
Chen Yuan looked at the clouds outside the window, his voice calm.
"In this world, there is nothing that money cannot solve."
"If there is, it's just that not enough money was given."
He turned around, looking at Victor, his eyes flashing with a heart-palpitating domineering aura.
"Go and buy that newspaper."
"Huh?" Victor was stunned, his mouth wide open.
"I said, buy that newspaper, along with their parent company, all of it."
Chen Yuan's tone was understated, just like he was talking about buying a head of cabbage.
"Since they like to write news about me, then let them only write the news I want to see in the future."
"Tell that boss that I will give him a three-fold premium."
"If he is sensible, he can take the money and go to Hawaii to retire. If he is not sensible..."
Chen Yuan paused, the smile on his lips turning a bit cruel.
He looked at Alice in the corner.
"Then let Alice go talk to him about the issues of 'human anatomy'."
Alice nodded slightly, the silver dinner knife in her hand spinning around her fingertips, flashing with a cold glint.
Victor shuddered.
He knew his boss's methods too well.
What "human anatomy," that clearly meant taking a person apart and reassembling them.
"Understood! Boss! I'll go do it right away!"
Victor put away the tablet, turned around, and was about to go handle the task.
This feeling of taking a checkbook to smash people is simply more satisfying than robbing a bank.
But just as he walked to the door.
His footsteps suddenly stopped.
The front desk extension phone rang.
Victor picked up the phone, listened for two sentences, and his originally excited expression instantly froze.
His complexion became a bit strange.
Even carrying a trace of indescribable awkwardness and... sympathy.
"What's wrong?"
Chen Yuan noticed his abnormality and raised an eyebrow, "If it's Jessica wanting to renew, just say I'm not free today."
"No... it's not Miss Jessica."
Victor turned around, swallowed his saliva, and pointed outside the door.
"That... boss."
"The front desk says there is a group of Chinese people downstairs arguing to see you."
"They have no appointment, and no invitation letter."
"The security guards wanted to chase them away, but the young man leading them..."
Victor paused, carefully observing Chen Yuan's expression.
"He claims to be your... cousin."
"He also said he is representing the Jinghai Chen Family, bringing the 'Supreme Order' from the family's Council of Elders."
"If you don't let him come up, it is disrespectful to the ancestors."
The air suddenly went quiet.
The originally relaxed and playful atmosphere disappeared without a trace in this instant.
Chen Yuan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
His back was still straight, but the air pressure around him was rapidly dropping.
A layer of coldness, colder than polar glaciers, slowly covered his eyes.
"Chen Family?"
He chewed on these two words, and no emotion could be heard in his voice.
Only endless mockery.
"Supreme Order? Ancestors?"
Chen Yuan turned around and walked to the desk.
He picked up the box of expensive Cuban cigars and slowly and methodically cut one.
"It seems that those old guys still won't give up."
"Even though I've blacklisted their numbers, they can still smell the scent and find me."
"Really like a bunch of flies that can't be shaken off."
"Snap."
The lighter's flame flared up.
Chen Yuan lit the cigar and took a deep drag.
The acrid smoke circulated in his lungs, taking away a trace of irritation.
"Boss, how about... I let the Tyrant throw them out?"
Victor asked tentatively, "Or just stuff them into concrete buckets and fill the sea?"
"No."
Chen Yuan waved his hand and exhaled a puff of thick smoke.
In the swirling smoke, his eyes became deep and dangerous.
"Throwing them out is too cheap for them."
"Since they have come, they are guests."
He sat back in the boss chair that symbolized supreme power, legs crossed, his posture wild and unrestrained.
"Let them come up."
Chen Yuan looked at the door, the corners of his mouth curling into a chilling arc.
"Just right."
"I also want to see just how thick their skin is to dare to run to my territory and act wild at this time."
"Bring them to see me."
"I want to see if this so-called 'Supreme Order' can stop my bullets."