The reporters’ eyes lit up, and one hurried to say, “You can call your mommy right here.”
“Oh, okay.” Jian Sheng nodded obediently.
Many people inwardly cursed the reporter for being truly despicable.
What kind of person bullies and deceives a child who knows nothing?
Yet, no matter how much sympathy and pity they felt for the little girl, no one stepped forward to stop it.
One by one, they activated their recording devices, unwilling to miss any potential scoop.
Jian Sheng’s own phone was held by Jian Xiuhuan. Jian Sheng asked her cousin for her phone.
Jian Xiuhuan hesitated before handing his phone over.
“Sheng Sheng, are you sure it’s alright?”
He knew Sheng Sheng was much smarter than a normal child, and he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her.
So, he chose to support Jian Sheng’s decision.
However, he couldn’t help but worry.
Jian Sheng shook her head, “Cousin, trust me, and trust Mommy.”
Jian Xiuhuan nodded. While the reporters’ attention was focused on Jian Sheng, he quickly sent a message to his aunt and uncle on his own phone.
He briefly explained the situation.
Some were surprised that Xiuhuan carried two phones, but they didn’t think much of it.
The phone rang, and it continued to ring for over a minute.
Then, a mechanical voice replied, “Hello, the mobile phone you have dialed is switched off. Please try again later.”
Jian Sheng then remembered that Mommy had turned off her phone earlier due to the incessant calls.
The reporter, seizing the opportunity, pressed on, “Little one, did you intentionally call a switched-off number to try and evade us?”
Jian Sheng pursed her lips.
She had overheard the conversation between her cousin and the manager. Although she didn’t understand some of the terms,
she knew that if the reporters found out about the trouble caused by her cousin’s fans, it would have a negative impact on him.
The explanation turned over in her mind, but ultimately, she didn’t say it aloud.
Instead, her expression became even more aggrieved.
The reporter continued to drone on, as if Jian Sheng were deliberately avoiding the topic.
Jian Xiuhuan’s eyes turned cold. “Brother Wang, please escort this reporter out and note down which media outlet she belongs to. I will not accept interviews from them in the future.”
Brother Wang called out, and the reporter was immediately dragged out by security.
As she was being pulled away, the reporter shouted,
“Xiuhuan, I was invited by you! You can’t treat me like this! You are evading the issue! This is censorship!”
Upon hearing the word “censorship,” Jian Xiuhuan’s eyes grew even colder.
Wasn’t this exactly what these people had been doing, and then projecting onto him?
After the reporter was driven away, Jian Xiuhuan surveyed the crowd indifferently. “You can ask questions, but do not pressure a child. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee what I might do.”
A stir went through the assembled media.
This was a blatant threat!
Under normal circumstances, which celebrity would dare to speak so harshly to the media for the sake of their image?
Did Xiuhuan truly not want to continue in the entertainment industry anymore?
After her mother’s call went unanswered, Jian Sheng dialed her uncle’s number.
The call was answered just two seconds later.
Jian Sheng put the call on speakerphone.
A gentle, deep, and somewhat casual voice came from the other end of the phone: “Sheng Sheng, what is it?”
Such a charming voice.
The media present automatically imagined the handsome face of the man on the other end.
Could this be the little girl’s father?
The reporters speculated among themselves, but Jian Sheng soon dispelled their thoughts.
“Uncle, are you still with Mommy?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Can you please hand the phone to Mommy? I have something I want to ask Mommy.”
“Okay.”
The man’s voice was brief and powerful, unconsciously making people relax.
The reporters felt a pang of envy.
Was the Jian family’s genetic makeup really that good?
Never mind Xiuhuan, who had become a top-tier celebrity with immense national popularity in the past two years. The little girl and her mother were both top-tier beauties.
Now, this uncle, judging by his voice, would certainly not be lacking.
Although they were a bit disappointed that he wasn’t the little girl’s father,
their spirits were immediately reignited by the subsequent conversation.
Jian Junruo’s gentle and worried voice echoed through the phone, “Hello, Sheng Sheng? Aren’t you with Xiuhuan right now? Is something wrong?”
Those who had been watching Jian Sheng’s every move perked up, exchanging glances.
They confirmed with a look that they were on the same page.
This was too good an opportunity to miss; a chance to guide the narrative.
However, before they could speak, Jian Xiuhuan stepped forward.
His cold gaze swept over each of them, “I said, don’t push it too far.”
Recalling the precedent of the reporter being kicked out, the reporters’ hearts tightened, and they retracted their eager microphones.
Jian Junruo was startled and immediately understood that something major must have happened.
“Mommy, everything is fine here. Don’t worry,” Jian Sheng quickly reassured her.
These people were truly despicable!
The onlookers inwardly cursed again.
The little girl’s heart ached.
What an understanding little girl she was! How could these people bear to pressure her like that?
Jian Sheng asked in her childish voice, “Mommy, I want to ask, after Mommy became pregnant with me, how were the school and legal procedures handled?”
Her voice was soft and sweet, as unique to a little child.
But those present clearly noticed that after being put down by Xiuhuan, the little girl was regaining her composure at an astonishing speed.
Her answers and questions displayed a shrewdness and directness that many adults lacked.
When she had been held by Xiuhuan, the little girl had still been trembling with fear.
How much hardship must the little girl have endured to possess such a calm approach to handling things!
Facing such a large situation, she was still comforting her mother, not wanting her mother to worry.
Many women felt a surge of maternal instinct, their eyes welling up with tears, and they looked at those reporters with condemnation.
Jian Junruo was silent for a moment.
She had just finished reading the message Jian Xiuhuan had sent, and she gripped her phone tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.
She wished she could fly there immediately and bear all of this for Sheng Sheng.
But she couldn’t; she had to remain calm.
Sheng Sheng had already done so much for her, she couldn’t hold her back.
Taking a deep breath, Jian Junruo recalled how she had handled things back then.
Her gentle voice, transmitted through the phone, spread throughout the venue.
“Back then, I became pregnant with Sheng Sheng due to an accident. I was doing my internship during my senior year, and most of my classes were completed.”
“Neither my husband nor I had planned to get married so early. After discovering I was pregnant, I considered terminating the pregnancy.”
At this point, Jian Junruo’s voice carried guilt, but more so, tenderness.
“But when I reached the hospital, I hesitated.”
“This was a life gifted to me by heaven. I couldn’t selfishly deny her the chance to come into this world because of myself.”
“So, I secretly went to Jiang City and gave birth to the child there.”
“After resigning from my internship company, I joined an online graphic design studio, taking on freelance work to support myself.”
“The school’s internship requirements did not specify the internship company or location, so I obtained an internship certificate from that studio.”
“In my senior year, the school’s regulations were very lenient. If you had your own work, you hardly needed to attend classes.”
“You only needed to submit your thesis according to your advisor’s requirements and then return to school for the defense.”
“I believe anyone who has attended university knows this, so the rumors online about me dropping out due to pregnancy are fabricated.”
“As for having a child out of wedlock…”
“Regarding childbirth out of wedlock, the country has no explicit legal provisions.”