Every time I got home after midnight, I would be given a good spanking by my parents, a combined attack from both of them.
But today was different.
The way my parents looked at me, they were practically on the verge of setting off two strings of firecrackers to show their surprise and pride.
My mom went even further. She secretly coached me, saying, “Keep it up. Next time, come home at dawn.”
Me: …
I took a shower and went to bed.
The scraped part of my ankle stung a bit when it got wet.
I couldn't help but recall the scene when Rong Bo put on my shoes for me.
To be honest, my heart still fluttered a little.
But it was just a kind of vanity that comes from a young girl's heart being satisfied.
After all, I knew he didn't really like me.
But as an ally, tolerating me to this extent... was it a bit too much?
The next morning, I was woken up by my phone. My assistant called and said something big had happened.
When I checked the internet, I was on the hot search.
Some enthusiastic netizen had taken the photos that “Wuxin” had captured and posted them on their WeChat Moments. Then their friends shared them online, and they were crazily forwarded overnight, making it onto the hot search.
It was a picture of the big shot kneeling on one knee to put on my shoes while I was sitting in a sports car.
High - definition.
Uncensored.
Quite revealing.
There was no way I could deny it.
I panicked.
It wasn't because my hard - earned reputation, built without relying on scandals, was about to be ruined.
I was worried about this fearless netizen. Did they know who they had offended? They might end up in jail.
Just as I was about to call Rong Bo, my bedroom door was burst open by my parents.
“You little rascal! You're going too far!”
“How dare you make Rong Bo put on your shoes!”
“Is this how your parents taught you??”
“Look how arrogant you've become!”
“Being so showy and getting photographed!”
I was so wronged.
I was sure there was no one in the parking lot last night before I got all cocky!
Damn it.
Could it be that Rong Bo staged this himself...
But he was so concerned about his image as a domineering CEO. He probably wouldn't do this on purpose.
So was it my rival who did it?
But with the power of the Rong Group, how could they just let this kind of gossip ferment all night without taking any public relations measures?
I felt a bit uneasy. Without having breakfast, I rushed straight to the company.
My assistant and colleagues looked at me with smug expressions: “Congratulations, President Song! You're one step into the wealthy family!”
Yes.
One step.
The other foot was still outside.
Right now, I, President Song, was in a rather awkward situation.
I knew how powerful the online keyboard warriors were.
One mouthful of spit from each person could drown your whole family.
So I asked my assistant to pick out a few nice comments to calm my nerves.
Assistant: “Aahh, this is exactly the kind of scene you only see in romance novels! The ice - cold domineering CEO kneeling to put on shoes for his little wife! Our Xingzai is so awesome!”
Assistant: “Xingzai looks absolutely gorgeous from this angle. It's like the face of a romance novel heroine!”
Assistant: “I didn't expect the big shot to be so doting! It's so sweet! They're the real - life version of the male and female leads in my favorite novels!”
Assistant: “Sure enough, rich people end up together. I'm shipping this CP!”
I pursed my lips and nodded, then asked my assistant to pick out a few nasty comments to test my heart's strength.
Assistant: “The big shot has such good taste, but his taste in women is not so great.”
Assistant: “It turns out she became famous by relying on a sugar daddy after all.”
“Who's so bold to take pictures of the sugar daddy? They won't even know how they died!”
“Maybe they staged this themselves. I didn't realize Xingzai was so scheming.”
“Xingzai, you're so disappointing. I thought you were so high - minded, but in the end, you still bowed to the capital big shot.”
“If Xingzai can marry Rong Bo, she'll be the most successful internet celebrity. But the big shot is probably just playing around.”
Me: “How much does it cost to get a studio to delete the negative comments?”
Assistant: “It depends on the scale. At least a few million.”
Me: “... Oh, then let them scold.”
Assistant: “...”
Me: “How much does it cost to remove the hot search?”
Assistant: “That'll cost at least tens of millions. President Song, do you have this budget?”
Me: “No.”
Assistant: “...”
Me: “Alright, alright. Say some more nice things. It's free and can cheer me up.”
Assistant: “The good news is that you've gained over a million followers overnight.”
Assistant: “The stock of your father's listed company has also risen.”
Assistant: “Ninety - nine percent of the comments are praising you. Only a small fraction are jealous of you.”
I sighed. “Now my rivals who don't like me must be secretly happy.”
Assistant: “No, President Song. Especially your biggest rival, Annabel. She just got on the hot search because she was blocked.”
Me: “Blocked? Why?”
My assistant shook her head. “I don't know. Her account, which she'd painstakingly managed for six years, was blocked, and her online store was taken down. Her sugar daddy has obviously abandoned her. All her hard work over the years has gone to waste.”
Me: “...”
Normally, whenever I had a small mishap during a live - stream, she would follow me around and mock me in several videos. Just because I was more popular than her and wasn't afraid of the brand sponsors, she'd always been secretly looking for opportunities to play small tricks on me. It was so annoying.
I thought she'd finally get a chance to make fun of me all over the internet for a year because of this incident.
But instead, she was finished.
I didn't feel any joy of schadenfreude.
Instead, I vaguely worried if there was any connection between these two things...
Assistant: “President Song. Annabel's assistant called and said there's an urgent matter and she wants to talk to you.”
Me: “You've got to be kidding me?”
I took the phone. “Hello?”
The person on the other end was sobbing. “Miss Song... H - hello... I'm Annabel... My real name is Zhang... Zhang Cuihua...”
Me: “... Okay.”
Zhang Cuihua: “Could you please put in a good word for me... Please don't go too far. I still have a lot of contracts... I can't just have my account blocked like this... Now my sugar daddy has blocked me as soon as he heard the news... I'll be bankrupt just paying the liquidated damages...”
I was completely confused. “Are you sure you're... looking for me?”
Only then did Zhang Cuihua say, “I secretly took those photos... But I just made a snide comment about you in my WeChat Moments... I didn't expect it to cause such a big stir!”
Me: “...”
Well, I'm really sorry.
You can mess with me.
But if you mess with the big shot, it's a dead end.
Seeing a well - known blogger on par with me fall from the altar overnight, all because of a single word from Rong Bo.
Suddenly, I felt so small and powerless.
I had a feeling of waking up from a dream and shivering with fear.
Zhang Cuihua: “I thought a powerful big shot like President Rong could easily suppress a hot search if something went wrong. But I waited until dawn and you guys didn't do anything...”
Me: “...”
Yeah.
The public relations team of the Rong Group wasn't useless.
Presumably, the iceberg must have received the news immediately.
But what could have made him tell the public relations team, “Let it be”?
It couldn't be that he loved me so much that he couldn't wait to announce it to the world.
Zhang Cuihua: “Mr. Rong loves you so much. He'll definitely listen to whatever you say. I'm sorry. I was blind and offended you, Miss Song. Please be magnanimous and help me...”
I said coldly, “Do I look like the Virgin Mary to you?”
Zhang Cuihua: “... No.”
Me: “Then why are you still asking me for help? Who gave you the guts to take those photos secretly? What were you thinking when you posted them?”
Zhang Cuihua probably didn't expect me to be so heartless. “... I'm sorry, Miss Song. Please don't go too far. Have mercy on me. Right now, only your words can make Mr. Rong listen...”
Me: “I don't think he'll listen.”
Zhang Cuihua, probably desperate, said whatever came to her mind. “Well... Why don't you give it a try?”
I thought for a while. “Okay.”