Entangled: Crisscross - Chapter 101

Zhang Ying woke up with pains all over her body.

“You seemed to be in a good mood.” Manager Lin noted when Zhang Ying arrived in the living room of her house. Manager Lin was already there waiting for her to go issue an apology to Sera in public.” Did something happen?” Manager Lin asked.

“No. I just thought it’s useless to dwell on hurtful things anymore.” Zhang Ying responded with a gentle smile on her face. “Manager Lin, we should have breakfast together. I asked the maids to prepare some delicious food today.” Zhang Ying walked towards the kitchen with Manager Lin.

“These foods…” Manager Lin frowned. “Yingying… you were always mindful of your diet. How could you eat… Don’t tell me you are pregnant?”

“Manager Lin is funny. Ed and I agreed we weren’t ready for any babies yet. However… I have been too stressed in the past few days, Ed told me to take care of my body well. Last night, I realized he was right. I don’t want to faint again.”

“This child… you really are too softhearted. Yingying… I already warn you. If you keep this up, people will just continue to bully you.”

Zhang Ying didn’t answer as she started eating her porridge and meat. She doesn’t usually eat meat but this time, she wanted to gain some weight to prepare her body for the upcoming pregnancy. Zhang Ying thought she was too thin to birth another life, she needed to add some weight.

This was only possible because she doesn’t have any upcoming movies this year. She only has a few commercials, but those were not really that difficult and she could do it before her stomach will become bigger.

After her sumptuous breakfast, Zhang Ying and her manager went to the hotel where the press conference was supposed to happen. On the way, Manager Lin asked her if she was able to memorize the script that he gave her last night.

At exactly eight-thirty, the press conference started.

As usual, Zhang Ying donned on her gentle, tear-stricken face as she spoke. “Good Morning… my name is Zhang Ying.” She bowed at the reporters.

“I am here to apologize about everything. First, I am apologizing to the people that my mother hurt. She isn’t in her right mind and we are currently trying to find ways to improve her mental health.”

She continued. “Second, I would like to apologize on behalf of my mother. I am willing to accept all punishments that she deserves. As her only daughter, I am willing to do everything for my mother. I love my mother so much and I would never want to make her suffer.”

“Third, Miss Sera Zhang. I would like to apologize for dragging you into this matter. I have been trying to call you and I know you are upset about the news that is currently on the web. My team and I are trying our best to get rid of every piece of news out there. You didn’t wrong me. In fact, I was at fault for not preventing this from happening. I deeply apologize and I hope we can start fresh after everything. After all, both of us came from the Zhang Family.”

“Fourth, the video of my confessions about my mother’s crimes was true. My mother did all those things and as her daughter, I am only doing everything to help her out.”

“Fifth, it wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone or find excuses for my mother’s crimes. I already said that I am willing to be punished for what I did. However, I would like to beg you… please do not touch my mother. Please let her heal first.”

“Sixth, my matters are my own personal affairs. Please do not drag anyone else, especially the people that I really love.”

“And lastly, I would like to thank my supporters for the support and believing in me. I am beyond grateful for the support and love.” After saying this, she gave everyone a low bow.

“Alright…we will now accept questions.” Manager Lin, who sat next to Zhang Ying, said.

…

“Ah, this Zhang Ying is very shameless!” Lawyer Liu said. Right now, he was in Sera’s office, along with Sera’s secretary Ramik. “Over and over, she said that she was willing to accept punishment for the things that her mother did. She wanted to emphasize that she was a good daughter who loved her mother so much. How lame.” Basically, she was trying to divert all the attention towards her being the good daughter who only lied to protect her mother. “If mental health is a valid excuse for killing someone, then everyone can definitely kill anyone they hated and use mental health as an excuse. Tsk. What a stupid woman!

“This is why I hated people from the entertainment industry!” he added.

“Hmmm… that’s expected.” Sera started chewing on a cheese stick. She was calmly leaning against her chair. “I have delayed the articles because of her press conference. It would be released thirty minutes from now.”

“What articles?”

“Zhang Ying and her bad luck.”

“Huh?”

“Ramik… explain it to Lawyer Liu.” Sera was already typing on her keyboard again. She was calm and was acting like this doesn’t concern her at all.

“Ah, Lawyer Liu, someone wrote an article about Miss Zhang’s unfortunate events. All the people that had gotten close to her suffered a thing or two in the past. All of them suffered but in the end, Miss Zhang is always the one to apologize and make it all about her.”

“What do you mean?”

“One example is her previous personal assistant. She fell from the stairs and cannot walk now. After the accident, Miss Zhang held a press conference and apologized to everyone, saying that it was her fault. She said she had been overworking her PA. She also said she would shoulder all the expenses and even said she is going to give the PA monthly pension now that she couldn’t work anymore.”

“And what was so unique about this?” Lawyer Liu asked.

“Well… this happened to everyone around her. Miss Sera suffered, even her own mother suffered, most artists that are trying to compete against her also suffered some bad luck because of her.”

“Because of her?”

“Ah, yes. The article said that… Miss Zhang Ying is a bad omen and everyone that will get close to her would suffer. The list is really long. It includes the misfortune that her family has suffered so far. The article said that it was all Zhang Ying’s fault.”