311: [Bonus chapter] They truly hate her.

[Bonus chapter] They truly hate her.

"Hahaha! This is amazing! Really! Hahaha! Oh, goodness! I thought I had seen everything in my two-decade-long career, but I guess I was wrong! Hahaha!"  2

Director Guan's loud wave of laughter echoed across the function hall of the private resort. When Dominic dropped a grenade right before everyone, no one immediately recovered. 

Who would?

The revelation that no one fathomed to know today was enough to shake the media. Yet, he acted as if it wasn't surprising at all! If not for the food truck delivery — that Dominic brought in the set to treat everyone to dinner — coming in to interrupt the silence, they would probably still be in the same room, flabbergasted. 

"Heaven, you silly girl!" Director Guan pointed at Heaven, who was just sitting across from him. "How come you didn't tell me that you are already married?"

"Director Guan, it's not that big of a deal." Heaven chuckled, glancing at her husband beside her. "Moreover, you know the entertainment industry. I don't want to expose my family to the prying eyes of the public. Some paparazzi sometimes cross the line as well."

"Right, right." Director Guan nodded approvingly. "That's right. Protecting the family is important. But still..."

He took a deliberate pause, darting his eyes between the couple. "How did I miss this?"

Heaven and Dominic looked back at the man across from them. She was smiling while Dominic maintained a straight face. Ever since Director Guan recovered, he had been so loud. Although the latter was still careful toward Dominic, he seemed very happy and pleased. 

'I wonder why,' wondered Dominic to himself. 'I don't think it's bad, though. He seemed reliable.' — reliable enough to guard Heaven from any advances from daunting actors in the industry. 

"So the rumors about Miss Shen are false, huh?" Director Guan confidently mentioned, as if this was what made him happier. 

The people at the table understood Director Guan's meaning without him saying more. The tension between Director Guan and Paula Shen's management was steadily increasing. The reason that Director Guan was holding back was because of the silly rumors circulating about Paula and Dominic Zhu. 

It turned out the ZYON Group simply supported Paula because of Heaven. 

Dominic didn't need to say that directly because everyone already made their conclusions. Not many of them liked Paula from how she acted in the previous weeks. Paula was bearable at the start of the production, but the longer the filming, the more terribly she treated everyone. She would even throw a tantrum at Director Guan, giving everyone a hard time and delaying the filming to the point they were all suffering.

"I don't understand why my name is often mentioned along with Miss Shen." Dominic broke his prolonged silence, earning everyone's attention as they were all intrigued by his thoughts on this rumor. "It makes me wonder what sort of nonsense rumor is being spread about me."

"Hehe. CEO Zhu, it's not that bad." Director Guan grinned until all his teeth were showing, leaning closer to the table. "It's just that some people say misleading stuff --"

"Miss Shen's management misleads people into thinking she's your woman, Mr. Zhu." Much to everyone's surprise, Leo chimed in and didn't even filter his remarks. Leo maintained a friendly and harmless smile, eyes on Dominic. 

"Until that time in the cafe, I've always thought you and Miss Shen have a special affair," Leo continued, almost making everyone speechless at how he went straight for Paula's jugular. "Although I'm partially at fault for believing such rumors, I can't fully blame myself. After all, when people claim something, you give them the benefit of the doubt, and with no clarification from the involved party, the false claim just makes it more believable."

Everyone had their wide eyes fixed on Leo's harmless face. Some even had their jaw completely open. 

Did Leo and Paula fight?

Why would Leo reveal everything and had spoken everyone's thoughts regarding the matter? More than the relief, they were simply stunned! Surely, Leo was a patient guy, but it seemed Paula Shen brought out the demon hibernating in him. 

"I see." Dominic rocked his head, getting a grasp of the rumors people kept mentioning. "I didn't bother with any rumors before, but it seemed it did have its effect."

He glossed his eyes over the people sitting around the same long table. As he did so, Heaven also did the same. Her face slightly twitched, seeing that no one seemed to have the energy to defend Paula from Dominic. 

'I know they sort of dislike her, but I didn't realize it was to this extent,' Heaven thought, sighing inwardly. Her eyes then settled on Leo, catching him glancing at her for a moment before refocusing his attention on Dominic. 

'I guess he finally realized that Paula played him.' Heaven let out another sigh of relief, pleased that Leo woke up from his delusions. 'Though I'm surprised. I didn't think he would try to destroy Paula the moment an opportunity arises.'

"I don't think I owe anyone an explanation, but to clarify, I have no such relationship with Miss Shen." Dominic's voice was deep and calm, but it was loud enough to reach the attentive ears at the other long table in the resort's function hall. "The person that connects me with her is my wife."

Dominic paused, reaching for Heaven's hand while maintaining his poise. "Please forget those ridiculous rumors. It hurts my pride that people think I have no standard at all."

Woah…

Dane Zhang, who was just around the hall, almost choked on his own breath. Meanwhile, Bear, who was standing near Dane, lowered his head to hide his grin. 

"Pfft!" Unlike everyone who was speechless by Dominic's insult with such a serious tone, Leo couldn't help but laugh out loud. Following Leo's reaction was Director Guan, giving light to the words spoken at this dinner. 

'God…' Soon, the laughter and snickers grew louder, making Heaven feel sorry for Paula. 'They truly hate her.'

The meal continued in a lively atmosphere as everyone was just pleased with the fact that Paula was a fraud. On the other hand, their perspective toward Heaven, who turned out to be their boss' boss's boss's wife, changed for the better. 

Little did everyone know, another reason to hate Paula was already brewing.

pqdm.com