Tsk.
Looks like Pei’s survival situation is pretty dire!
The fifth day of the Lunar New Year.
Qiuyun didn’t know whether she would be free that day, so she set a reminder on her calendar: if nothing came up, she would go check on him.
-
Qiu Ze had no idea that his older sister was working as an assistant at the Jiang residence, much less that she had helped the young miss rise to the position of new chairwoman. All he knew was that the company had been extremely busy lately, with employees being shuffled around constantly. Everyone wore an expression that seemed to say they had no idea how much longer they would last.
“Qiu Ze, congratulations! You’ve gained even more V-fans on the app. You’ve climbed all the way to eighth place in less than six months,” Mingxi said.
Qiu Ze grinned. “Really? I owe it all to the fans.”
Before MR Company’s trainees officially debuted, they were already expected to cultivate a fan economy. The company had a dedicated app where fans could sign up for memberships, paying fifteen yuan a month or 120 yuan for a year.
Every V-fan received seven votes each month. They could split them up or cast them for several trainees they liked.
The trainees’ rankings were calculated at the end of every month. For the following month, their training resources, screen time, and other opportunities would all be allocated according to their rankings.
Mingxi leaned closer. “You know, right? Our company has recently undergone a massive shake-up. All the senior executives have been replaced, and apparently they’re planning a lot of new projects. One of them is a survival show.”
“Huh?” Qiu Ze asked. “You mean the kind of variety show where idols can make their debut?”
His sister had sent him a message two days ago, ordering him to watch more of the survival shows that had aired in the past so he could learn what he should and shouldn’t say on camera.
She had even said she would quiz him on it later.
“Exactly. Our company is the producer, and we’ll need to work with a platform to broadcast it. You know how popular survival shows used to be, right? This will be the first one in ages! If the show gives us enough standout moments, it might become a huge hit overnight!”
Qiu Ze scratched his head. “Aren’t the standout moments up to the production team and the editors?”
“Our company is producing it, so of course they’ll favor our own people!” Mingxi bumped him with his shoulder. “You know, right? The person in charge of this project is a woman over thirty. I hear she really likes pretty young boys.”
Qiu Ze completely missed the implication. “Oh. Then can we participate? Wouldn’t she have to avoid any suspicion of bias?”
“…”
Mingxi patted him on the shoulder and said nothing more. After all, there were cameras in the practice room too.
Once Mingxi left, Qiu Ze continued practicing.
The app was filled with messages from fans. They all loved watching him work hard at dancing, saying that he seemed full of energy and determination.
He was a boy who had grown up unloved by both his parents, with an older sister who had only recently begun acting dependable. It was the first time he had been surrounded by so much pure affection. He was happy, but also a little overwhelmed, afraid he didn’t deserve everyone’s love. All he could do was train even harder.
-
The charity event at the orphanage in December had ended, and the group’s annual meeting was coming up at the end of the month.
Seeing that the time was right, Qiuyun contacted CEO Liang and asked her to find two people from the publicity department—people who knew how to keep their mouths shut—and begin laying the groundwork for the matter.
But before the public found out, the old master had to be informed first.
Otherwise, if someone with ulterior motives—namely, Ge Furen—whispered a few words into the old master’s ear, Qiuyun might instead be accused of having bad intentions.
Naturally, that task was handed to the young miss herself.
“Grandpa, could you give me a little more money?” Jiang Chuling came to the main residence first thing in the morning. She had skipped breakfast and claimed that she had come to keep her grandfather company.
Breakfast was much more relaxed than the formal family banquet held every weekend.
The old master looked puzzled. “You’ve already used up the money I gave you?”
“No.” She shook her head. “A few of my good friends are sick, and they need money for medical treatment. I don’t have that much.”
“Friends?” the old master repeated. “What kind of friends? How could their families not have enough money to treat them?”
In their social circle, what family would be so heartless as to refuse to pay for their own child’s medical care?
Jiang Chuling explained, “They’re not friends I met through my family or school. I met them at the orphanage.”
“An orphanage?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Jiang Chuling told him everything she had done recently. By the end, her eyes had turned red.
“It’s so sad. It hurts them even to walk.”
The old master gave Butler Lin a look. His longtime aide understood immediately and quietly left the dining room to verify the matter.
“All right. I’ll send someone to look into it. If it’s true, we’ll help pay for their treatment.”
“Okay!”
After breakfast, Jiang Chuling followed Sister Xiaoqiu’s instructions and stopped there without saying anything more. She had come that morning simply to ask for money.
Twenty minutes later, Butler Lin entered the study and opened his computer.
“Sir, I can’t explain this properly. You’d better see for yourself.”
The email attachment contained the photographs taken by the media last time.
Little Seven looked lively and adorable, playing happily with the children at the orphanage, carefree and full of life.
The things she had donated were especially thoughtful. It was obvious at a glance that she had put considerable effort into preparing them. The orphanage director was so moved that she had been in tears, saying that the orphanage had desperately needed exactly that kind of medical equipment.
Such a detailed donation was far more touching than a cold figure on a check.
There was even a video. Little Seven promised the children that she would come back next time and said she would bring them cookies.
After watching it, the old master frowned. “How long ago did this happen? Why have I never seen any reports about it?”
Butler Lin hesitated. “Madam was there that day as well, and she suppressed the story.”
The old master’s face darkened. “Why?”
Butler Lin ventured, “Perhaps Madam donated money that day too, but…”
After decades of navigating the business world, the old master understood at once.
“She was simply overshadowed.”
To be honest, the old master was genuinely angry this time.
Ge Qingyang usually played a few petty tricks. They were harmless, and since the two of them were married in name only and he felt that he owed her, he had let many things slide.
But this time, she had truly lost sight of what mattered.
It didn’t matter who had made the donation. As long as it had been done by a member of the Jiang family, it had to be reported in the newspapers!
Yet she had concealed the matter for her own personal benefit, damaging the interests of the group and the Jiang family. That was something the old master could no longer tolerate.
He ordered, “Have someone report this. Find a suitable angle and don’t make it sound too stiff.”
Before National Day, the president of the Jiang Group had just weathered a wave of negative publicity. Although the matter had been forcefully clarified, it had still become a favorite topic of gossip over tea, dragging down the group’s image.
With the annual meeting approaching, the group needed to present a positive image to steady the directors and shareholders and improve its standing in the public eye.
Butler Lin said, “Understood. I’ll contact the media and arrange another interview about Seventh Miss’s charity work. Then we can naturally bring up the previous event.”
“Mm.” The old master rolled the walnuts in his hand. “Call her in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ten minutes later, Ge Furen arrived at the study. In a gentle voice, she said, “Are you having a headache, dear? Shall I massage your temples?”
“Stand there.”
The old master stopped rolling the walnuts and fixed her with a sharp gaze.
“Why did you order the orphanage visit in September to be suppressed and forbid it from being published?”
