"Xia Zhoubing with a buzz cut."
Xie Xi, having pulled out a squeaky frog toy from who-knows-where, squeezed it while frowning: "Why is a buzz cut trending too? This guy was trending the day before yesterday for his fingers, a week ago for having long legs. Trending this many times a month, he might as well just call himself Xia Feifei / Xia Boiling."
"Brother Xi, let's look at the next trending topic," Zhang Dong said, remembering the program's monitoring cameras around them, trying to steer the conversation away.
"Is he that handsome?" Xie Xi asked instead.
Zhang Dong: "Brother Xi, in my eyes, you are the only most handsome person in the industry."
[Hahahaha, the assistant's flattery.]
[Hahahaha Xia Feifei / Xia Boiling, that's brilliant!]
[So Xie Xi also thinks Xia Zhoubing's trending searches are too frequent, just like me. Did he buy a monthly package?]
Xie Xi wasn't buying Zhang Dong's act at all. He directly reached for his phone to look at the photos, opening several to examine them carefully: "Average. Didn't You Feibai also trend with a buzz cut last year? He looked better than this Xia Zhoubing."
"Yes, yes, Brother Xi, I think you should go to sleep." If he kept reading and making sarcastic remarks like this, who knows how many people Xie Xi would offend.
"You haven't finished reading all the trending topics," Xie Xi glanced at Zhang Dong, thinking his memory was terrible.
Zhang Dong immediately put his eloquence to work, reciting all the trending search terms within a minute.
Xie Xi's attention was clearly no longer on the trending searches; he remembered something: "Last year, You Feibai trended with his buzz cut, legs, hands, and even eyelashes. Xia Zhoubing is still missing the eyelashes."
Zhang Dong almost wanted to kneel and beg his brother to stop talking—the cameras were still on!
Last year, when You Feibai's popularity peaked, even a single strand of his hair was scrutinized. Combined with his genuinely excellent qualities, those trending searches weren't surprising. Now, with Xie Xi pointing it out, anyone with half a brain would realize Xia Zhoubing was following You Feibai's playbook.
[Now that Xie Xi mentions it, it really does seem that way.]
[Shocked. As a fan of You Feibai, I didn't even realize Xia Zhoubing was copying my idol's strategy.]
[Even though they're both actors of the new generation, the gap between them is so huge. Who would have thought? Isn't this overreaching?]
[Xie Xi is really daring to speak his mind! Suddenly want to switch fandoms.]
[I have a question. Didn't Xie Xi go for tutoring? And he even hired the famous Professor Ye. Why does he need his assistant to read trending searches to him? Can't he read that little text? No wonder his handwriting is so poor.]
[? It's just reading a trending search. Why are you making such a big deal?]
[Actually, I'm also puzzled. Xie Xi's speech and demeanor don't seem like someone uneducated, so why does he make so many typos? And it's not just reading trending searches; several times when there was text to read, it was that assistant reading it. He didn't look at it himself.]
[Celebrities undergo specialized training, so of course their demeanor doesn't seem uneducated.]
[But still, Xie Xi seems to have not changed at all since his debut, except his face matured. You can find this info on any gossip account.]
[Does your family require academic qualifications for singing now? How annoying!]
Actually, by saying this on the program, Xia Zhoubing's team could easily paint Xie Xi as narrow-minded, looking down on a second-tier actor—there were several ways to smear Xie Xi.
But there was one very unfortunate coincidence.
Although the third episode of "Their Lives" was airing now, it was filmed at least two weeks prior. And tonight, two weeks later, right after the episode aired, the last trending search from the package Xia Zhoubing's team bought last month went live.
It was precisely "Xia Zhoubing's Incredible Eyelashes."
The team was waiting for a wave of praise and compliments from the public, but the top-liked comment was: ["I'm so embarrassed I could dig out a three-bedroom apartment with my feet."]
The second comment was: ["Are you the great prophet? Xie Xi"]
[Damn, hahahahaha! So awkward. I'm genuinely embarrassed for Xia Zhoubing.]
[No way, is he really copying my idol's path?]
Because of this coincidence, Xie Xi quickly trended himself, paired with the tag "Prophet Xie Xi."
By the time Xia Zhoubing's team reacted, the fact that they had bought trending searches mimicking You Feibai's was already known across the internet. Taking down the trend was useless.
Xia Zhoubing could only swallow this bitter pill, mentally noting a grudge against Xie Xi.
...
The change in Tianqiu Tech's shareholding structure didn't cause much of a stir within the company. Everyone was busy with their own work, and besides, the company operated no differently than usual. It was just that Ye Qiusuo was now the undisputed largest shareholder, practically able to decide all matters.
The first thing Ye Qiusuo did was to find a spokesperson—someone to represent Tianqiu externally without holding power, a non-executive spokesperson.
It needed to be someone internal, familiar with the company's processes, but not particularly versed in technical details. Ye Qiusuo directly skipped the researchers. However, people in other positions also often had technical roles and weren't especially skilled with words, likely unable to withstand the media's intense questioning.
Finally, Ye Qiusuo set her sights on her own assistant. She felt Zhao Guiyin met these conditions.
"Spokesperson?" Zhao Guiyin, called into the office, was momentarily stunned after hearing Ye Qiusuo's explanation.
"The spokesperson salary will be calculated separately for you, if you're willing."
Suppressing the mix of emotions in her heart, Zhao Guiyin immediately agreed, "I'm willing!"
And so the matter was settled.
Ye Qiusuo became somewhat less busy because two projects were temporarily paused due to funding issues. Her main focus shifted to the dyslexia glasses. The data collected from several hospitals was almost ready for experimental use.
She planned to first try making a pair of glasses for Xie Xi. After all, he was the investor and deserved to be the first to receive a pair.
The lenses of these glasses looked no different from ordinary ones, but the material was completely different and relatively expensive. Both the frames and lenses contained chips that could correct and fill in missing or incorrect characters.
After the company stabilized, Ye Qiusuo concentrated on researching the glasses and successfully designed a prototype just before the Minor New Year.
However, remembering that Xie Xi was a major celebrity, ordinary frames might not be suitable. She specifically asked her assistant to invite a frame designer to create a more... fashionable pair of glasses.
Or perhaps several pairs, so he could switch them up.
The designer, a bit flustered, came in, glanced at Ye Qiusuo, and suggested, "Your face is small. Large frames would obscure your features and put more burden on your nose bridge. The pair you're wearing now suits you very well."
He thought she wanted frames designed specifically for her.
Zhao Guiyin coughed and whispered to the designer, "This is the person in charge of our glasses project. The person needing the frames isn't her."
Only then did the designer notice she was wearing a lab coat like the others, with an ID badge on her chest.
"Please design a few frame styles suitable for him. Later, we'll design mass-market frames based on the data," Ye Qiusuo said, pulling up a photo of them together on set from her phone to show the designer.
The designer stared at it for a moment, then asked, "Is this a custom order for this client specifically?"
Ye Qiusuo nodded.
"In that case, could we obtain precise facial measurements for this client? That way, the designed frames would fit him to the greatest extent possible."
"Can't you tell just from the photo?"
"I can get a general idea, but to design frames that both suit him and are comfortable to wear, I'll need his measurements." The designer loved working on these custom single-prescription glasses—it was where his skill truly shone.
Ye Qiusuo put her phone away. "Let me ask him first."
