Chapter 189 Private Affairs

Near the Central hi~o(*￣▽￣*)ブ Garden Hotel, an old Toyota SUV was parked.

An entertainment reporter named Song Zhe was investigating a second-tier male star's extramarital affair. A very patient man, he had waited all night and finally got solid evidence.

The man and woman, who had entered the hotel one after the other last night, didn't leave until this morning, separately.

With a half-minute gap between them, plus other intimate photos, it was enough to sell these pictures for a good price. His living expenses for the month were barely covered.

Speaking of this entertainment reporter Song Zhe, he had a bit of history with Su Yehao.

Back when he was still studying at Donghuang Rose Middle School, Song Zhe had collected information about him, linking Su Yehao with Zhao Yimeng, Linda Yun, and others, fabricating a sensational, baseless scandal.

More than three years had passed since that scandal.

Su Yehao was now a super-rich man ranked very high on the Forbes rich list.

However, reporter Song Zhe had hardly changed during this time, except for moving from Casino, 1997 to Hong Kong.

He still didn't have a stable job, was still alone, and still impoverished. When he had money, he spent it on drinking, picking up girls, horse racing, and gambling. When he was broke, he occasionally slept in his car.

According to Hong Kong's housing prices, even renting was expensive, let alone buying property. Without parental support or a stable income, he was just getting by day to day, and his future looked bleak.

Having just pulled an all-nighter.

After finishing work, Song Zhe, dozing off, drove to a wonton noodle shop in a nearby alley.

He planned to fill his stomach first and wait until the newspaper office staff started working before sleeping, so as not to delay turning the photos into cash and miss tonight's gambling.

While listlessly eating breakfast, two young men in suits came to the table next to him.

Central was full of financial and trade companies, and it was still a while before work, so the wonton noodle shop was doing very well.

The two young men read newspapers while waiting for their food.

One of them suddenly pointed to the financial section of the newspaper and said gloatingly:

"Wow, the Nasdaq fell sharply again overnight! Yanwenzi Group of Taizi Hao is being shorted, losing more than $500 million! I knew it, his company's performance is so bad, why is it worth more than $10 billion?"

His companion disagreed and said calmly:

"Five hundred million dollars is nothing to Taizi Hao, he probably made it back by hedging and shorting. Yanwenzi Group's decline this year is not small, but he himself has made a lot of money. Besides, he holds more than 70% of the shares, so being shorted won't hurt him too much. My cousin specializes in US stock investment and speaks highly of Taizi Hao."

"That's right, I almost forgot that he also likes to invest. With that kind of money, how could he not hedge risks..."

Listening to their conversation.

Entertainment reporter Song Zhe sat next door, absentmindedly eating his noodles.

He suddenly recalled the first time he met Su Yehao, who was just a high school student back then. Apart from being rich and handsome, there was nothing special about him.

Precisely because he had seen him before, Song Zhe found it even more incredible.

He also remembered that the hi Garden Hotel, which he had been guarding all night, seemed to be owned by Su Yehao, which made him sigh silently, marveling that some people were winners from birth.

At first, Song Zhe didn't pay much attention.

Busy eating his noodles, he heard one of them say, "By the way, do you think someone might have received advance notice of Taizi Hao's company being shorted, knowing that his health isn't very good? My girlfriend works at Mountbatten Hospital in Sheung Wan and heard that he's been going to the hospital frequently these past few days, with bodyguards guarding the ward door."

"Really? That's unlikely, I saw his motorcade on the road not long ago."

"Who knows..."

Spoken without thinking, heard with intent.

Reporter Song Zhe was stunned, thinking that with Su Yehao's status, and his family running a hospital, he could totally ask a doctor to come to his house for a consultation to ensure privacy.

If it were just a minor ailment, how could he go to the hospital multiple times, even to the point of needing a hospital room?

Out of professional sensitivity.

Song Zhe immediately realized that this news seemed worth investigating.

As the newly crowned richest man in Hong Kong, exclusive news about Su Yehao could always sell for a high price, no less than those Heavenly King and Goddess-level actors and singers.

No sooner said than done.

Song Zhe sold the infidelity photos and mentioned the possibility of Su Yehao being ill to the newspaper editor he often worked with, asking how much he could get if he found out the details.

Low-end tabloids would publish anything as long as it could attract attention.

Learning that reporter Song Zhe might have caught exclusive hot news about Su Yehao, the editor immediately told him that it would be at least four thousand dollars, and the sicker he was, the higher the price.

Hearing this, Song Zhe got excited.

Unfortunately, he was too sleepy, so he went back to his car to catch some sleep first...

...

Su Yehao only knew that visiting Nong Qingying frequently might be a bit risky, but he had no idea that he had been targeted for no reason.

Just for a mere four thousand dollars.

Even a bowl of Chef Dai's fried rice at the Lisboa wouldn't cost that little, but it just so happened that there were many people in the hospital, and even though they had tried to keep it secret, the news still spread outside the hospital.

Indeed, there was no wall that didn't leak.

It could only be said that his low-key behavior had aroused the curiosity of many people. Within Mountbatten Hospital in Sheung Wan, rumors had gradually spread privately. Even though the hospital's senior management and attending physicians had repeatedly issued gag orders, some people still heard gossip about Su Yehao frequently visiting a beautiful pregnant woman.

Fortunately, the private hospital paid high salaries, and very few people dared to risk their careers, so the news was only circulating internally for the time being, and hadn't spread outside.

If there were no accidents, perhaps this explosive gossip would eventually be digested internally.

Unfortunately, Song Zhe had no work to do recently, and he had lost all his money gambling, so he turned his attention to Su Yehao.

After preliminary investigation.

Song Zhe found that there were indeed bodyguards guarding the VIP ward area of Mountbatten Hospital in Sheung Wan, and he couldn't get in at all. So he had to choose a clumsy method, waiting on the only road leading to the ward.

After observing for two consecutive days, Su Yehao also came for two days, but he didn't seem to be sick at all, but rather visiting a patient.

He thought it might be a sick family member or friend.

Reporter Song Zhe almost gave up pursuing the lead, but this time luck wasn't on Su Yehao's side.

On the last day of November.

With only about a week left until her due date, Nong Qingying was really bored in the ward.

Taking advantage of the night, Su Yehao helped her out for a walk, and was finally spotted by Song Zhe, who was about to finish work. He took out his SLR camera from afar and hurriedly took a few blurry photos.

He didn't get a clear shot of Su Yehao's face, nor did he figure out Nong Qingying's identity. The photos only showed blurry figures in the night, and they were all wearing masks. One could vaguely see the woman beside him with a bulging belly.

For Hong Kong's gossip tabloids, which relied entirely on speculation based on a single photo, this was nothing.

Overjoyed, Song Zhe immediately called the editor and said:

"I've got exclusive news about Taizi Hao! This is sure to shock the entire city, and it's not just a few thousand dollars, but at least a hundred thousand! Considering that Uncle Ho usually takes care of me, I'm willing to talk to you first. Can you pay up? Give me a straight answer. I guarantee it will make your newspaper famous!"

"Is it necessary to exaggerate so much, asking for a hundred thousand right off the bat? Tell me what kind of news it is. I told you before that the sicker he is, the higher the price. Is he about to die young?" the editor on the other end of the phone asked.

Reporter Song Zhe couldn't hide his excitement and said enthusiastically:

"I guessed wrong before. The truth is even more sensational than that. I'm not new to this business. I won't give you the photos until I see the money."

"...You wouldn't have lost money gambling and want to scam me, would you? If you really caught big news, wouldn't you go to Taizi Hao to extort him, instead of selling it to our newspaper? I don't believe it, unless you show me the photos first."

After hearing the other party's words, Song Zhe thought it made sense and replied with a smile, "Thanks for the reminder, Uncle Ho. I have a call now, I'll talk to you later!"