Chapter 883: Midnight Current 2.0

"I remember a famous man once said... People should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Xiaoyun paused for a second, then continued.

"If, because Yuqi is my wife, I choose to avoid promoting her for the sake of avoiding accusations of nepotism, is that fair to her?"

The audience fell into silence. The host sat with his mouth closed as they waited for him to speak up again.

"There have been a few hiccups, no doubt about that... But does that really overshadow everything she had achieved?

All of the people’s lives that had improved under her? How many refugees had a bowl of porridge and a place to sleep because of her?

Or having a job? Or have an education? Or Healthcare that doesn’t require the patient to pay out of pocket for treatment?

Without her, all of these would have been drastically different, maybe for the better, or maybe for the worse. ℴℴ𝘮

But from what I know, she had done a fantastic job. She had brought the stability that I could never do as a college student who didn’t even graduate yet."

Xiaoyun could see the faces of the crowd starting to change. A hint of admiration and respect needed one more push.

"Also, there’s a little thing some of you might not know, but Yuqi is the mother of my daughter, Lianrong.

She had worked at the office day and night while pregnant, taking out her own time to work rather than being there for the baby.

All the sacrifices to help me do the office job meant for me. On top of a CEO resume that had years of experience managing the Songjia conglomerate.

Now, I just want to ask you all who doubted her. Should I really not promote her after all the things she has done for me? "

As Xiaoyun threw the ball to the audience, the crowd finally became moved as they started clapping on their own.

"That was a fantastic answer, Governor."

"Thank you."

"Ahem, now time for the audience’s and viewers’ questions! Governor, are you ready for the most random questions of all time?"

"I’m more than ready."

"Great."

The screen began to change once again as the music started playing. After a while, the transition finally ended.

"For those who haven’t watched this show, both the audience and the viewer, like you, can call or text this number to ask questions live.

In five minutes, the staff will select the most-asked question to be answered by the governor."

"You guys merged this part?" Xiaoyun quietly asked.

"The old one took too long."

"I can see that."

As the audience let out a small chuckle once again, a bunch of questions immediately started appearing on the screen.

Hundreds of thousands of questions were spamming rows after rows, vanishing as new ones replaced the old ones.

Only three minutes later did the number of questions submitted start to slow down.

"Ooo, looks like everyone is really interested in celebrity dramas." Liang Han murmured as the leaderboard appeared.

"Oh boy."

"Governor, you can skip questions if you want."

"Not happening. I’m not a coward. I ain’t about to ruin the spirit of the show to hide something."

After two more minutes, the question finally froze as the leaderboard quickly gathered all of the questions into a consolidated list.

"Okay, Governor, time for you to answer the ten burning questions from citizens. Three of them are from the audience, and seven of them are from viewers and listeners."

"Mhm."

As Xiaoyun looked at the first one, it was relatively easy. It was asking about his relationship with Houqin.

"Your relationship with Miss Houqin." Liang Han asked with a straight face.

"Houqin is my fiancée. We’re planning to marry after we get back from the trip to the capital. Hopefully no death flag is raised here."

The audience let out a small chuckle as Xiaoyun and the host shifted to the next two questions that are interconnected.

"Ooo, Governor, how old is Lily?"

"A wise man once said, ’Never ask a woman her age...’ But I know many of you are concerned because of her size.

But for the record, she’s currently attending college. That should tell you more than enough when it comes to her age.

And yes, she is my fiancée. Please don’t bother her in school, or you might vanish in some dark alleyway."

"Is that a threat, Governor?" Liang Han jokingly asked.

"If you want to test it."

"N-No, thank you... Ahem, fourth question. Governor, are you still looking for more women?"

"The answer to that is no. Unless all of my wives accept you, which has a near-zero chance of happening."

"So a chance is what you’re saying?"

"No chance."

"Sorry, ladies, I wouldn’t like those odds if I were you... Fifth question. Governor, are you related to Mrs.Leyan in any way?"

"I swear I feel like that question gets asked like every time, doesn’t it?" Xiaoyun questioned as he looked back at Liang Han.

"Well, not everyone had watched the old show, which is now uploaded on your favorite website at Midnightcurrent.CNGD!"

As the host shamelessly plugged his own website, Xiaoyun rolled his eyes as he ignored it completely.

"To answer that question, I was an orphan. I may look similar to Mr.Songming, but who doesn’t look similar to a middle-aged man in a suit?"

"You got a point, Governor. Sometimes my wife said I look similar to you in a suit in the morning after a few bottles of wine."

"You’re funny."

"Yep. Now for the sixth question. What’s your favorite position in bed... Governor, I really don’t think you should answer this."

"For once, I agree. Next."

"Seventh question: do you know how to cook?"

"Yes, I do. I actually worked part-time in high school at a restaurant. Although Leyan cooks at home most of the time."

"A man who can cook and lead an army. Now you’re asking for it. No wonder you get so many women chasing after you"

Xiaoyun could only awkwardly scratch his head as he let out a chuckle, with the audience chuckling as well.

"Next question, please."

"Eighth question. Are you, Governor, excited to go on this trip? This is probably assuming your trip to the capital."

"I’m going to be real, absolutely not. I had never left the province, and I’m quite scared to go somewhere so far away.

But someone has to do it, and no better person than I am to represent us. I really do hope I can make it back safely."

"I pray for your safety, Governor... Now the ninth question. Do you smoke, Governor?"

"No. My wife doesn’t let me. I don’t plan to smoke either since I have a lot of kids at home, and it sounds very expensive."

"Really? Not even when you’re away in Zhuhai?"

"I haven’t touched a cigarette in my life. It’s a bad habit... And to those who are watching or listening, don’t smoke, kids."

"True that. Now, last question, Governor. This is the one that everyone around Guangdong is dying to learn about."

As Xiaoyun waited for the question to appear, his heart beat faster and faster until it finally showed up on the screen.

His heart froze.

"Governor, are you, um..."

Liang Han hesitated. He didn’t expect this kind of question to appear on the screen. Even the audience was shocked by the question.

"Cut, cut, cut! Who the hell put this question at the top? Somebody is getting fired tonight, no, right now."

As a middle-aged man stood up within the crowd, it was none other than Shen Wen himself, who looked extremely frustrated.

"Shen Wen, relax. No need to get mad over what people want to hear. I’ll answer it as truthfully as I can."

Xiaoyun paused for a second as Shen Wen sat back down, his face still looking extremely angry at the clear hiccups in his news media.

"I don’t think I’m particularly savvy enough to answer this ideological question, but I consider myself a pragmatic person.

You can call me a fence-sitter, but whatever gets the best result for the people and me is the best option I always aim to achieve..."

"That’s a great answer. Thank you for attending our show today, Governor Chen." Liang Han quickly reached out his hands.

"Thanks for having me here."

---

"I’m so sorry, Governor. I really didn’t mean to force you to answer that question."

As Shen Wen ran backstage, panting heavily to apologize, Xiaoyun wasn’t really bothered by it as he signaled for him to calm down.

"I already said it’s okay. No need to apologize... Your workers are only doing their job. I don’t blame them."

"You... You sure?"

"Mhm. It’s better to be able to listen to people’s voices. Now, would you excuse me? I need to head back home for a nap."

Shen Wen stood in silence as he watched Xiaoyun step out of the building, entering an armored car before it drove away into the distance.