Friday.
The first episode of the variety survival show Dawn Plan officially went online.
There were no tutoring lessons today, so Jiang Chuling pulled Sister Xiaoqiu and Little Heng onto the sofa to watch it together.
It was a way to commemorate the first program produced by their company.
The theme of the first two episodes was “The Night Before Dawn.”
The first episode featured solo stage performances, after which the mentors would rate the trainees and assign them to different classes.
After that came a hidden segment: trainees could challenge someone ranked above them in a Dark Night Challenge, with the audience voting online for one day.
The winner would immediately exchange rankings with the other trainee.
This time, Producer Luo had specifically added an interactive feature that allowed online viewers to participate as well, giving them the power to determine the trainees’ fates from the very beginning.
It increased audience engagement.
“This guy is so greasy,” Jiang Chuling complained to Yu Heng. “And his dancing is terrible. Cross him out.”
“Okay.”
Yu Heng drew a huge X beside the trainee’s name on the program list in her hands.
The list had been given to them by CEO Liang.
Once the show ended, the winning trainees would debut as a boy band, which their company would manage and operate.
As chairwoman, Jiang Chuling had the final say over which members stayed and which were eliminated.
Anyone she disliked could be crossed out directly.
Before long, it was time for the trainees from their MR company.
Jiang Chuling sat up straight.
CEO Liang’s information contained nothing but photos. She was curious to see what kind of person Sister Xiaoqiu’s younger brother was.
The screen was plunged into darkness.
Then the music began. One spotlight after another swept down, illuminating handsome young men with flawless makeup and carefully styled outfits as they appeared onstage.
It was an energetic song. Judging from their performance, the members had clearly trained together for quite some time. Their pitch, timing, and overall coordination were all above average.
As the camera swept past, Jiang Chuling spotted the name tag “Qiu Ze” on one of the outfits.
She narrowed her eyes and scrutinized him frame by frame.
Because the group’s overall performance was highly polished, the mentors awarded two S-ranks, four A-ranks, and one B-rank.
Qiu Ze received an A.
Qiuyun was fairly satisfied with the result.
At least he wasn’t the only one to receive a B.
Next, she sent the voting link to all her elementary, middle, and high school group chats.
—Sorry to bother everyone! My younger brother is taking part in the survival show Dawn Plan. If you have time, please take a look. Even if you’re busy, you could click in and help vote for him. I’ll send red envelopes as thanks!
—[WeChat red envelope]
The group chats had been quiet, but the moment Qiuyun sent in a red envelope, it caused a tremendous stir.
—Oh my god! Everyone, hurry and grab it! I got more than two hundred yuan!
—Qiuyun, you’re loaded! So generous.
—No need to say anything else. Vote, vote, vote!
—What do you mean, your younger brother? He’s my younger brother too! We have to support our boy!
Qiuyun sent a thank-you message.
Some people were jealous, but they couldn’t very well take her money and then badmouth her.
Before long, the class monitors from elementary, middle, and high school all sent her private messages. They were full of polite small talk, but they all had the same underlying purpose:
When would she be free to attend the class reunions everyone was organizing?
Elementary school was fine. So much time had passed that no one knew how any particular classmate had turned out.
In high school, the original Qiuyun had dropped out, so she had spent little time with her classmates. Most of them were still studying and had yet to enter society, making them relatively innocent.
Middle school was different. With someone like Jiang Yali acting as a fuse, it was the most likely to contain hidden dangers.
So she agreed only to attend the middle school reunion.
echo: How about May Day? I’m usually too busy with work.
The class monitor immediately agreed and shared the news in the smaller group chat.
On the large screen, the next trainee’s stage began. Yu Heng, however, noticed that both Sister Qiu and Miss were looking at their phones. Miss, in particular, was typing furiously, clearly engaged in a heated online argument.
Yu Heng shook her head and continued seriously judging the abilities of each trainee.
“Miss, it’s nine o’clock. Time to put your phone away,” Assistant Chen said as she arrived right on schedule.
Jiang Chuling didn’t even look up. “Almost.”
Assistant Chen turned helplessly toward Qiuyun, silently asking her to persuade the girl.
Qiuyun said, “What are you busy with, Miss? Why don’t you let me handle it for you?”
Jiang Chuling froze.
She couldn’t exactly admit that she was insulting her younger brother online.
“Little Heng.” Jiang Chuling handed her phone to Yu Heng. “You handle it for me. In the group chat, ask people to like the post and share it wherever necessary.”
Yu Heng took the phone. After seeing what was on the screen, her eyes suddenly widened.
Jiang Chuling immediately shushed her and signaled for her not to give anything away.
Assistant Chen didn’t care about any of that. As long as Miss put her phone down on time, that was all that mattered.
Qiuyun merely smiled and didn’t interfere with the silent exchange between the two girls.
The show was split into two episodes, with the second half scheduled to air the next day.
Since it was the first survival show to be produced in five or six years, it quickly made several trending lists.
Qiu Ze, whose looks were striking and whose singing and dancing were both solid, even earned himself the nickname “Handsome Foodie.”
There was no other reason for it. People had simply never seen such a down-to-earth handsome guy who came to a survival show still thinking about food.
Sunday evening.
This should have been the day they went to the main house for dinner, but because of everything that had happened before, the tradition had been put on hold and had yet to resume.
For one thing, the Old Master didn’t want to see an empty seat at the table. It would serve as a constant reminder that he had failed to manage the household and maintain proper discipline.
For another, he was currently busy settling accounts with Huayao Group and the Ning family, leaving him no time to spare.
After finishing a video conference, the Old Master rubbed the bridge of his nose and had Technician Hu come in to massage his legs.
Not long afterward, a call came in.
“Chairman, it’s done.”
“Good!” Delight appeared between the Old Master’s brows. “Make sure you clean up the evidence. Don’t let anyone find anything they can use against us.”
“Don’t worry, Chairman. The human body isn’t that sensitive. If the temperature is raised by just two or three degrees from a single-digit Celsius level, it’s very difficult to notice.”
“But vaccines are different.
“As long as the temperature remains that way for several hours, the active ingredients inside will become ineffective.
“All we need to do is alter the number displayed on the temperature monitor.”
After hanging up, the Old Master instructed Butler Lin, “Have Eldest come over.”
Technician Hu’s eyes flickered. He raised his head and said, “Master, I think the stiffness in your tendons has eased up a little today. How about I go get a different massage oil—one better suited for relaxing the muscles?”
The Old Master had something else on his mind, so he casually replied, “Mm.”
Jiang Yihua was having dinner with his wife and children when he suddenly received a call from Butler Lin. After asking a few questions and learning that it concerned revenge against the Ning family and Huayao, he thought for a moment and decided to bring Qiuyun along as well.
Last time, it had been fortunate that he had brought her with him. The results afterward had been obvious—it would not be an exaggeration to say that she had turned the tide.
If this had happened in the past, he naturally would not have made such a sudden decision.
But Qiuyun had saved the Old Master’s life before. Considering that, the Old Master would not have much to say about it.
Jiang Yihua asked Qiuyun to come along.
Jiang Chuling quickly stuffed a few bites of food into her mouth and said indistinctly, “I’m going too. I’ll keep Sister Xiaoqiu company.”
“Does she need you to keep her company? Go back and do your homework. Don’t meddle in adults’ business,” Jiang Yihua refused.
“I have a handicraft assignment today, and I need Sister Xiaoqiu’s help.” Jiang Chuling ran over and began wheedling him. “Please, Dad. You’re the best dad in the world. Let me go, okay? I promise I won’t say a single word or make a sound. I’ll stay quietly by Sister Xiaoqiu’s side!”
