"It's okay, I know you didn't do it on purpose, and you don't want me to be in danger. I understand all of it, really."
Yan Xi saw Fu Yan Ting's guilt and heartache, and quickly spoke to comfort him.
If Yan Xi hadn't comforted Fu Yan Ting, he would probably have felt guilty for the rest of his life.
Fu Yan Ting had wanted to say more, but hearing Yan Xi's words, he smiled faintly, looked her over, and said, "Xi Xi, you are so kind. Meeting you is truly my good fortune."
After speaking, Fu Yan Ting worried Yan Xi might misunderstand, so he explained, "By the way, about the trending search of me and Xia Shi Xue online, that was all Xia Shi Xue's fabrication. Nothing of the sort happened. I've already handled it, and it won't bother you."
Yan Xi looked at Fu Yan Ting with an innocent expression and asked calmly, "What trending search with Xia Shi Xue?"
Fu Yan Ting was bewildered.
He was working so hard to explain and clear things up, only to find out Yan Xi didn't know anything?
Then what was the point of his efforts? The trending searches online had all been dealt with by him.
Even those who knew about the trending search had been dealt with by Fu Yan Ting.
Fu Yan Ting suddenly felt a pang of disappointment.
He had no idea why he felt the need to explain.
What good would his explanations do him?
"Right, today was supposed to be the court date. Seeing you like this, I'll call He Yun and have him contact Zheng Ze Min to postpone the hearing until you've recuperated for some time."
"The court isn't your family's business, why would they postpone just because you say so?"
"Don't worry, I have that kind of influence."
After Fu Yan Ting finished speaking, he called his assistant, Shen Hao Lin. When the assistant answered, Fu Yan Ting instructed, "Go and donate several hundred million to the court as funding."
Yan Xi's mouth twitched.
The court was an official institution; why would it need Fu Yan Ting's funding?
Fu Yan Ting saw through Yan Xi's thoughts at a glance and explained, "You don't know this, but people are greedy. The richer they are, the more they want money. To put it nicely, it's funding for them. To put it crudely, it's a bribe."
After speaking, Fu Yan Ting worried Yan Xi might feel burdened, so he added, "But don't worry, I don't lack anything, especially money. A few hundred million is just a drop in the ocean for me."
Indeed, a few hundred million was like a few dollars to someone else for Fu Yan Ting.
It was truly a negligible amount.
However, Yan Xi insisted that Fu Yan Ting not do this.
Fu Yan Ting knew that Yan Xi was someone who valued her pride, and doing this would make her feel uneasy.
Yan Xi shook her head and explained, "It's not that. I just want to attend the court session myself. Fu Yan Ting, I'm not the same person I was back then. Don't worry, I'm not as fragile as you think."
Fu Yan Ting wanted to say more, but Yan Xi took his hand and pulled him outside.
After leaving the back mountain, Yan Xi recounted how she had been held captive by a young pervert in Fu Yan Ting's club for days, with people monitoring her.
Originally, Yan Xi hadn't planned to escape.
After all, those people had taken good care of her and provided her with food and drink.
They hadn't asked her to harm Fu Yan Ting or force him to do anything he didn't want to do.
For Yan Xi, staying would have been an option.
But today was the court date. As the party involved, Yan Xi was more distressed than anyone by the embarrassing photoshopped pictures and wanted to clear her name, to prove they weren't her.
She had never taken such disgraceful photos or videos.
The first court session being postponed had been a significant blow to Yan Xi.
If it wasn't over, it meant Yan Xi would have to live with this scandal forever.
This matter had already caused Yan Xi considerable pain and impact.
Now, Yan Xi didn't know if it had affected Yan Zi Tong.
Yan Xi even dared not call Yan Zi Tong to confirm anything.
This period had been more painful for Yan Xi than death itself.
This was also why, after being held captive, Yan Xi hadn't tried to escape.
Yan Xi would rather have been confined and monitored by those people than to be out in the open, enduring the gossip about her private life.
But today was the court date, her last chance to clear her name. Yan Xi didn't want to miss it, hence her strenuous efforts to escape.
Fu Yan Ting looked at Yan Xi for a long moment before saying, "I'll call He Yun first and have him request Zheng Ze Min to delay the proceedings. I'll take you back to clean up, and we can go to court after you change into fresh clothes."
"No need. I want to go just like this."
Yan Xi paused, then looked at Fu Yan Ting and said, "Or, you think I look too disheveled and embarrassing, and you don't want to be seen with me? You can just take me out, that's all."
Fu Yan Ting frowned. He didn't mean it that way at all. To Fu Yan Ting, Yan Xi was beautiful no matter what. However, Yan Xi seemed to think otherwise, appearing to believe Fu Yan Ting was disgusted by her appearance, which led to her saying that.
Fu Yan Ting felt truly wronged.
Looking at Yan Xi, he said softly, "Alright, since you don't want to, we'll go to court as you are. I'll accompany you."
Fu Yan Ting had felt very uneasy during Yan Xi's disappearance these past few days.
He knew his life couldn't go on without Yan Xi.
Even with Yan Xi missing, he had quickly dealt with the trending search involving him and Xia Shi Xue, fearing Yan Xi would misunderstand if she saw it.
But seeing Yan Xi now, Fu Yan Ting felt much more at ease.
They walked out together and headed directly to the court. In the car, Fu Yan Ting still instructed his assistant to buy a high-end outfit and wait at the court entrance. As they got out of the car, the assistant stepped forward and handed the bag with the clothes to Fu Yan Ting.
Fu Yan Ting looked at Yan Xi and said softly, "Go change in the car first."
Yan Xi looked down and saw that her clothes were torn in several places from the wolf attack, making her look extremely disheveled.
Attending court in such attire was indeed not appropriate. She had to admit that Fu Yan Ting was quite thoughtful in this regard.
Yan Xi smiled gratefully at Fu Yan Ting, then took the bag and went to the car to change.
The assistant glanced at Fu Yan Ting and cautiously asked, "Boss, was Madam kidnapped? Why is she so disheveled?"
Fu Yan Ting gave his assistant a cold, distant look and asked, "Are you very concerned about Madam?"
The assistant realized he had asked the wrong question and quickly shut his mouth.
Fu Yan Ting then added, "Bring any important documents home for me to review these past few days. Nothing urgent; I'll look at them when I return to the company after a few days of rest."