The Villainous Celebrity Wife of the CEO - Chapter 133.2

“I’m sorry, ah, Miss Su.” Through the intermittent radio waves, the embarrassment and guilt in the Chief Director’s tone remained audible: “We didn’t mean to leave you alone. It’s just that under those circumstances…”

“What ‘sorry’ or ‘not sorry’ are you spouting?” Su Jishi said, “Safety tips before a plane takes off advise that if you encounter an unexpected danger, you should take care of yourself before you can help others. I had already fallen at that time. Even if you really rushed to save me, it would have been ineffective except for getting buried with me.”

Out in the wild, life and death ordeals were a common occurrence. Su Jishi was fully mentally prepared from the first day she set foot on this road.

She smiled: “I also want to thank you guys for helping me persuade Xiao Xia. If she had foolishly rushed back, I would have had to find a way to save her.”

The Chief Director nagged: “Don’t mention it, don’t mention it…Miss Su don’t worry, I will report this matter when we get back to the TV station the first chance I get. You have saved so many of us. I must winover primetime exclusive interviews with your character and set all supporting promotional materials in place. When the first episode of the variety show airs, you can rest assured that your shots will be…”

“No need.”

“Huh?”

“Director, this is an act of God.” Su Jishi’s eyes were slightly closed, and her tone slowed down: “I don’t want to use other people’s suffering to set up a persona for myself.”

*

Three days later.

In the north of Sulawesi Island, there was a small town with beautiful scenery and dense population, Manado.

Because of its unique fault structure, Manado was exceptionally rich in underwater resources and had been selected by National Geographic as one of the ‘Top 10 Dive Sites in the World’, even ranking above Palau and the Great Barrier Reef. As a city favored by God, Manado welcomes many tourists every year.

Xiao Man was one of them.

She was a veteran diving enthusiast. At the end of the year, she took all her annual leave and flew to Manado for a diving trip.

However, she didn’t expect that Sulawesi Island would be hit by a volcanic eruption and a tsunami at the same time as she landed in Manado!

Fortunately, the tsunami’s landing point was on the west coast of the island, while the volcanic eruption was in the middle of the island. Both locations were hundreds of kilometers away from Manado, so her safety was not affected for the time being.

However, the volcanic ash that rose into the sky affected flights, and the tsunami affected local communications. It wasn’t until this morning that television sets and phones regained sound and shadow again.

Facing a natural disaster for the first time, no matter how courageous Xiao Man was, she would inevitably be apprehensive.

Last night, she attended a local prayer event. Thousands of people gathered under the landmark ‘Christ Blessing’ and prayed silently, hoping that casualties would be minimized.

All news from the affected areas was passed on by word of mouth because of the communication disconnection. Some said the waves were 10 meters high and thousands of people died on the west coast; others said the volcanic ash spread over 20 kilometers around and scalded countless villagers to death…The more the news spread, the more outrageous they became. Xiao Man felt too scared to close her eyes. As soon as she fell asleep, endless nightmares would haunt her.

The good thing was that communication lines were finally restored in the morning.

When Xiao Man got up, the lounge area of the hostel was already full of people. The TV was turned up to maximum, and everyone was watching the screen intently, following the news reports.

They were watching the local Indonesian international news station. The cameraman was aboard a helicopter, and the camera had a bird’s view of the disaster-stricken area.

Similar to those rumors, the snow cap-like ash covered all the villages and towns at the foot of the mountain. The area was dead silent, with the remains of cows and sheep seen on the roadside. Luckily, the victims were evacuated in advance and were now gathered in government resettlement sites, where they would be provided with tents, clothes and necessary food.

The reporter went deep into an evacuation site for an interview. She first interviewed the government staff and then gave a few shots to the villagers lining up for food. Surprisingly, a few Chinese figures appeared in the long line.

Although they were also an Asian race with black hair and black eyes, the appearance of the Chinese was distinctly dissimilar from that of the locals in Indonesia. Those Chinese figures, in particular, exuded a temperament that was unlike backpackers traveling there.

The reporter immediately went after them. She stopped the oldest man among them and held the microphone out to him.

“Hello, I’m a reporter from Indonesia’s international news station. May I ask if you’re Chinese tourists?”

“Ah…” The older man faced the camera rather awkwardly and replied in English with a typical northern Chinese accent, “We are not tourists. In fact, we are also from a TV station…”

“Are you all also journalists?”

“No, no. We came here to record a variety show and had planned to leave the day before yesterday, but we encountered the volcanic eruption on the way down. If it weren’t for one of our members’ rich experience, I’m afraid…” his speech came to an abrupt end. Perhaps the man felt ashamed of himself. He did not want to say anything further and left in a hurry with a wave of his hand.

Inside the youth hostel, people sitting around the television set quickly bet their hot eyes on Xiao Man and curiously asked, “Xiao Man, are all those people Chinese celebrities?”

Xiao Man carefully recalled the characters that appeared in the camera and said hesitantly, “Perhaps? Maybe they are staff members.”

Did a variety show crew come to Sulawesi to record a program recently? She was fond of following entertainment gossip, but many variety show schedules were kept secret. She couldn’t think of any unlucky variety show that had bumped into such a disaster even if she tried racking her brains.

Fortunately, everyone’s attention was soon drawn away by the next news.

The indoor anchor switched the camera to the west coast —— there were houses collapsing, waves crashing, and waves of marine debris being washed up on the shore. It bore semblance to a bloody revenge of the underwater world on human society.

Looking at the wreckage pushed up and swept away by the sea foam, Xiao Man heaved a shiver, as if her heart had been thrown into the abyss for a dip. Whenever she dives into the sea, she always sees a lot of garbage on the bottom.

The colorful coral reefs and smart swimming fishes should have been living in the clear seawater. However, their homes had been unknowingly occupied by human creations.

From small plastic bags to large metal waste, these garbage encroached on the ocean inch after inch. They weren’t degradable and could only float in the ocean currents for hundreds and thousands of years . Whenever a tsunami occured, the ocean would carry this filth with it and wash up on the shore, taking revenge on the arrogant humans.

Xiao Man recalled the flyer that her diving instructor handed her —— join the Marine Conservation Organization and protect the ocean she loved!

Back then, she felt that such things had nothing to do with her. She was here on vacation, not to save the world. She was diving for the sake of posting beautiful photos, so why should she bother picking up ocean trash?

But at this moment, she suddenly realized how superficial she was. The ocean was part of the earth, and humans were too. Even if her ability was limited, she still had to do something.

Aerial footage skimmed the shoreline and silence reigned inside the youth hostel.

A news voiceover from off-camera slowly narrated.

“Our station has received information. Before the tsunami made landfall, a Chinese businessman provided twenty buses to help transport the victims, and several thousand people were moved to safety without incident. It was the help of this businessman that kept the tsunami casualties to a minimum! Presently, the victims are resting in the premises provided by this businessman. The government dispatched a medical rescue team there yesterday, while victims from other areas have been transferred one after another. Now, let’s interview the Chinese businessman.”

Chinese businessman! It was a Chinese businessman!

Because of the anti-Chinese incident in Indonesia more than 20 years ago, a score of ethnic Chinese died in the bloody conflict. Consequently, the relationship between China and Indonesia once dropped to a freezing point. It was only when a new Indonesian leader came to power in the last few years that the relationship between the two countries eased while attracting investment.

However, in the minds of many locals, Chinese businessmen were in their community to ‘profit’. Who would have thought that before a natural disaster struck, a Chinese businessman sent buses and transported so many victims?!

Hearing this, Xiao Man felt as if heat was bursting out of her body, along with a sense of pride with the honor.

She couldn’t help but raise her head and lean forward slightly, wishing to get a little closer so she could hear the next interview clearly.

Soon, the camera switched to a location outside.

In the camera, a man in a suit and a gentle manner with glasses appeared in the lenses.

He was fair-skinned, slim, and a little slick… Was he the kind-hearted Chinese businessman? Strange; he didn’t look like a ‘Big Boss’.

Sure enough, in the next interview, the man with glasses claimed to be ‘President Mu’s’ secretary. President Mu was low-key, so he let his secretary replace him and give a concise narrative of the circumstances.

The secretary was very eloquent and fluent in English. In just a few words, he described the situation as dangerous, and at the same time praised his boss, President Mu, for his determination, bravery and commitment. Finally, he said in a light-hearted tone, “President Mu is very grateful for the cooperation of the drivers of the convoy and rewarded them with 100,000 each in his personal name.”

Xiao Man: “…”

Others in the youth hostel: “!!!” Different languages of the ‘hell’ burst out at the same time. They looked at Xiao Man with burning eyes and asked her, “Are all your Chinese businessmen so rich?! I can go and drive for him too!! Xiao Man, do you know him? Introduce me to him!!”

Xiao Man promptly shook her head: “I am poor traveler staying in a hostel. How could I know any big Chinese boss?”

Such a young, kind-hearted and most importantly rich man must not be too handsome —— if he was, how good a woman had to be to be worthy of him, ah?

Before Xiao Man could retrieve her thoughts, an urgent call suddenly came from the TV.

In the background, a nurse rushed out from the tent with the Red Cross sign, calling out loudly: “Volunteers, are there blood donor volunteers available? We’re in urgent need for AB blood, type AB! 200ml!!!”

The nurse didn’t notice that five meters away from her was the live broadcast of Indonesia’s international news station, and her shout interrupted the ongoing interview.

The reporter in front of the camera froze and subconsciously looked back toward the nurse. The cameraman also immediately advanced the camera to include the nurse’s anxious look.

When a natural disaster strikes, blood banks usually will soon run out of stored blood. Without the supporters’ voluntary replenishment, rescue operations cannot proceed. Xiao Man remembered that when the Sichuan earthquake occurred ten years ago, there were many blood donation trucks on the streets and long lines of enthusiastic citizens, donating blood for disaster relief.

Xiao Man had AB blood type and had been exercising and donating blood regularly since then. When she heard the urgent call from the nurse on camera, she wished she could fly there and offer her blood.

However, someone else responded quicker than her ——

—— She only saw a tall young woman, darting from a distance. She ran while pulling up her cuffs, revealing glittering white delicate arms.

“I’m AB type.” She had a picturesque brow and a determined look, devoid of the slightest trace of fear: “I’ll do it.”

Neither the girl nor the nurse knew that this scene was faithfully recorded by the live camera and conveyed through the airwaves to the countless viewers, watching in front of their television sets.

These viewers included foreigners in Indonesia, more compatriots from other countries in Southeast Asia, and…the same as Xiao Man, tourists from China!

“Ah!” Xiao Man let out a shriek and covered her mouth.

She knew the girl in the camera —— the top traffic artist[1] in the entertainment industry, Su Jin!