70: Surrounded before going out

When they walked out of the elevator on the first floor, everyone was genuinely startled.

They had only known that people had arrived at the complex, but from the upstairs window, they only saw people gathered in the garden downstairs.

Who would have thought that all these people would actually squeeze into the lobby of their building!

What’s going on?

Su Qingxue’s face turned deathly pale in an instant.

As she looked at the scene before her, a chill ran up her spine to the back of her head.

They’re here.

Sure enough, they’ve arrived.

The image of the sky-high electric lights in the parking lot, and Lin Yu’s calm face, involuntarily flashed in her mind.

“What is this mess? Where’s the property management? How could they let everyone in!” Su Mother snapped back to reality, being the first to complain. “What if a stampede happens? They have no safety awareness at all!”

“Something’s not right,” Second Uncle pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the flickering lights. “Look at them, why aren’t they going upstairs, and why aren’t they leaving?”

The group looked closely and then discovered an even stranger detail.

These reporters indeed had no intention of going upstairs.

Nor did they show any signs of leaving.

They were blocking the center of the lobby, forming a circle, as if… having a meeting?

In the center of the circle, several seemingly veteran reporters were spitting as they fiercely debated something.

And those younger reporters and self-media bloggers on the periphery, carrying equipment, all craned their necks and pricked up their ears, their faces full of indignation, yet they looked frustrated and dared not step forward.

“This… what are they doing? Do they have to fight among themselves before an interview?” Auntie was completely confused.

“Let’s go, let’s take a look.” Second Uncle’s curiosity was fully piqued. He hunched his body, trying to squeeze through the gaps in the crowd.

“Hey, be careful, don’t let their equipment bump you, you can’t afford to pay for it!” Auntie whispered a reminder from behind.

Su Mother also pulled Su Qingxue, curiously following along.

Only Su Qingxue’s steps were as heavy as if filled with lead.

She didn’t want to go.

She had a strong premonition that once she got close to that circle, she would hear the very thing she least wanted to hear.

But her mother’s hand was gripping so tightly that she was powerless to resist.

“…Why! Brother Wang, we are also legitimate media, why do you get to ask first?”

A young reporter’s defiant voice came from the crowd, carrying an uncontrollable anger.

“Because we are Linzhou Daily!” another sharp female voice immediately retorted. “Our article can be on the front page tomorrow morning, what about yours? How many people will read your article?”

“Everyone is equal before the news! For such big news, whoever gets it first, it’s their skill!”

“Equal? Then go tell your editor-in-chief about equality! Right now, it’s a joint interview by several of our mainstream media to ensure maximum information dissemination, this is the optimal solution! Don’t cause trouble here!”

The group squeezed to the periphery of the crowd, just in time to hear the arguments clearly.

Auntie and Second Uncle exchanged glances, both seeing shock and excitement in each other’s eyes.

“Big news?” Second Uncle’s breathing grew a little heavier. “Joint interview? Could it be that some reclusive VIP lives in our building?”

“It must be!” Auntie lowered her voice, excitedly guessing, “Could it be that the retired old cadre upstairs was found to have embezzled hundreds of millions?”

“What nonsense!” Su Mother glared at her, but her expression was equally animated. “I think it’s good news! Didn’t you hear them say? They want to make a big splash! It must be that a neighbor’s child has made it big and soared to success!”

As she said “soared to success,” she unconsciously puffed out her chest, as if she were talking about her own Chen Rui.

“Everyone, quiet down!”

The middle-aged reporter, referred to as Brother Wang, finally lost his patience. He shouted, forcefully suppressing all the noise.

“I’ve already stated the rules! We go up first, get the core material, and share it when we come down! If anyone dares to break the rules and act on their own, don’t blame us few for joining forces to make sure he can’t survive in the Linzhou media circle anymore!”

These words were spoken with great weight, carrying blatant threats.

The young reporters who had been clamoring earlier instantly fell silent, their faces filled with humiliation and resentment.

“Alright, now let’s review the final draft!” Brother Wang ignored them and turned to his old colleagues beside him. “Condense the questions, don’t ask any unnecessary ones!”

“…”

“…”

The rest was not clearly audible.

But from the looks of it, they seemed to be preparing to move.

Brother Wang waved his hand, and the matter was settled.

“Let’s go, upstairs!”

He led the way, with several mainstream media reporters following closely behind, heading aggressively towards the staircase.

The rest of the people in the lobby could only watch enviously.

Su Mother, Auntie, and Second Uncle finally understood.

It turned out that this group of people wasn't fighting among themselves, but rather dividing interests and discussing how to share the news.

“What a big shot, to have such a grand display,” Auntie gasped.

“Who cares, it has nothing to do with us,” Su Mother pulled Su Qingxue. “Let’s hurry and leave, don’t join the commotion here, it’s troublesome.”

Second Uncle also nodded in agreement: “Exactly, the less trouble the better. We can’t afford to offend the people in this building.”

The group reached a consensus, no longer crowding into the throng, but instead carefully moving along the wall, through the gap between the crowd and the wall, towards the main entrance.

The crowd was truly too dense.

They were practically pushed along by the flow of people.

The metal edges of various camera equipment occasionally bumped into them, and the mixture of sweat and the heat from electronic devices made them dizzy and nauseous.

“Oh, my clothes!” Auntie cried out in distress as a camera lens brushed against her.

“Hurry up, hurry up!” Su Mother urged impatiently, one hand protecting her designer bag, the other tightly gripping Su Qingxue.

Su Qingxue followed passively, her face growing paler.

She just wanted to leave this place of trouble quickly now.

“Speaking of which, this display is much grander than the interview with Lin Yu five years ago,” Second Uncle remarked with a sigh, pushing his glasses up as he struggled to squeeze forward.

His voice wasn’t loud, but in the noisy environment, it was still clear.

“Isn’t it though!” Auntie immediately chimed in, her voice full of schadenfreude. “How glorious Lin Yu was back then, the genius of Linzhou! But what happened? He’s still a good-for-nothing now. I think, today’s event is definitely much more explosive than his back then!”

They chatted amongst themselves, completely unaware that a young reporter carrying a camera beside them suddenly paused when he heard the name “Lin Yu.”

The young reporter had been feeling disgruntled about being excluded by the mainstream media and was pricking up his ears, hoping to eavesdrop on some core information, but unexpectedly caught a keyword.

Lin Yu?

He turned his head suspiciously, looking at the group of people who were struggling to move through and complaining loudly.

Their attire was decent, unlike the ordinary residents of this building.

And they had just mentioned Lin Yu.

Could it be… “Wait a minute!”

The young reporter inexplicably spoke up, grabbing Second Uncle, who was walking at the very back.

“Hey, what are you doing!” Second Uncle was startled, nearly falling, and turned back to glare angrily.

“You… did you just say Lin Yu?” The young reporter was a little nervous, but more excited.

This question, though not loud, seemed particularly abrupt next to the departing reporter team.

Brother Wang and the others, who were about to go upstairs, all stopped in their tracks.

Everyone’s movements ceased.

“Yes, what about it?” Second Uncle frowned, looking displeased. “What we talk about is none of your business, is it?”

He hadn’t yet realized the seriousness of the situation.

“You… know Lin Yu?” The young reporter’s breathing began to quicken.

“Of course, we just came from his house.” Auntie eagerly replied, feeling inexplicably excited in front of the camera.

“His house?”

“Yes, Lin Yu is my great-nephew, is it strange that we came from his house?”

Boom!

The news people instantly transformed into hungry wolves and surrounded them.