Chapter 344: Unexpected news
Beijing, Zhang group.
The Zhang brothers from different branches of the family, Zhang Xian, grandpa Zhang, Zhang An and Yura all gathered at the headquarters of the Zhang group for a meeting following the wild theories flying around on the internet relation to the scandal which had been caused by the divorce.
Half of the public relations department from the Zhang group and Light entertainment went as well because this was a crucial matter, something which was affecting both companies.
They sat in the closed conference room on the highest floor, away from all prying eyes and curious ears. Even though most employees were trying not to show it in front of their superiors, they were excited by the events happening.
In a meeting chaired by Zhang Bo in his capacity as the chairman, one by one, they all suggested what they thought to be viable solutions to the problem and they were going through those suggestions at the moment and mostly tossing them out of the window.
The latest suggestion was that Zhang Xian and Yura put off the divorce for a while.
Everyone was waiting for Yura's response to this.
For the sake of the company, Zhang Xian was willing to do anything so he remained silent. Also, his father had told him to do and say nothing but observe. She he was quiet in seat paying apt attention without missing a single word.
Yura tapped one of her fingers on the table and shook her head. "It's not an option." she said. "Even if we deny the divorce for now, it won't erase that woman's existence. As we talk right now, reporters are digging up more information on how long they lived together, how long they were married, what kind of life they lived. Before the day ends, they will even have everything." She looked at Zhang Xian and added, "They already have information about your third son, after all, he rose to fame and lived in the lime light last year. Let's not waste time and just tell the truth."
The head of the Zhang group's public relations team, Yu Hua winced and shook his head.
"Madam, with all due respect the truth is not good for us. The truth will bring the morals of the Zhang family into question which in turn affects the clean image of the company. The big issue is not that you are getting divorced, it's that director Zhang has two wives."
Attorney Jacob cleared his throat deliberately. At the beginning of the meeting, he had told everyone to avoid mentioning the two wives issue or sensationalizing it because it was just irrelevant and legally impossible.
"We should release his medical reports and exaggerate the damage suffered by director Zhang." Someone from Light entertainment suggested.
Yu Hua winced again and shook his head. "This is not a celebrity drug scandal we are trying to cover up. If we lie about his health and it is discovered the company....."
"Yes, yes, the company image will suffer a blow." Zhang Bo muttered.
He raised his voice and said sternly, "He had amnesia for all these years it's not as if we are faking the dire condition of his health. He was in and out of the hospital consistently for years."
Grandpa Zhang had been silent for a while and observing just like Zhang Xian. He stepped in however at this point.
"Do not release his medical records. Information like that is like a double edged sword. When people find out that you have a weak heart, they can trigger a heart attack deliberately to kill you. Find another solution because this one is not good."
"A press conference apologizing...."
"No." Many voices answered at once.
Even Caishen included his voice among those that rejected this suggestion. In all this, nobody had committed a deliberate crime or act which they needed to apologize for.
An apology to the public would only be a declaration of guilt and also boost the matter, causing it to continue thriving on the lips of the citizens.
Suddenly, it seemed like all had come to a standstill. Around the room, silence reined for a while as they all contemplated on the solutions that had been rejected and the ones which came closest to solving the problem.
Yura looked at the time, impatience in her eyes. It seemed, she was ready to get out of the room. Her attitude had portrayed two things, one she was not calling off the divorce and two, she didn't care if people wanted to talk about it.
She had known that it would eventually come to this once the news of the divorce came out. What she had not anticipated was that it would be this soon.
Zhang An sighed and she looked around the room curiously because suddenly she was finding the whole thing pointless. "Why are we stressing over this? It looks like whoever the insider is that leaked the story got all their facts correct. If we deny anything and get caught, we give wings to the story. Let's just make a generic statement acknowledging the divorce and ask for privacy while the matter is handled internally. Let us bore them into giving up. As long as we don't entertain them, people will eventually get tired and move on."
"I agree." Caishen said.
The entire time when everyone was thinking of a solution, he was reminded of the news that followed after his accident and when it became public that he was paralyzed. The netizens had discussed him enthusiastically but eventually, they gave up and moved on.
"If you want to stop something from growing, don't feed it. We should just do what Zhang An has suggested." he told them.
"But it will get worse before it gets better. This is only the first day and the beginning." Zhang You, from the third branch of the family said. "Why don't we send uncle's other woman abroad. I am sure that reporters are already looking for her. We haven't heard anything good about her so far, everyone knows that she is loud mouthed. Is anyone here sure that if we ignore the problem she will do the same. What if she decides to do an interview?"
"She is locked up tight in the house so she shouldn't worry anyone." Grandpa Zhang told them.
Suddenly the door was opened and someone came badging in. It was grandpa Zhang's personal bodyguard who hurried over to his side and whispered something to him.
Grandpa Zhang's face fell and he stood up abruptly. It was obvious from his pale face that he had received bad news.
"End the meeting right now and get all your assistants...no, we should...." he seemed confused as he was unsure of what he wanted to say next.
"Grandpa, what's the matter?" Zhang An asked first.
Grandpa Zhang opened his mouth and closed it. He wanted to respond but he appeared to be in shock.
At around that time, everyone received a phone call or a text but before they could read or answer them, they received unexpected news.
Grandpa Zhang's bodyguard turned to everyone and said gravelly, "The second elder is dead."