Xiang Yiren knew that if she kept refusing, it would seem ungracious. She looked at him and nodded happily.
The system panel changed again:
Supporting Character: Xiang Yiren
Occupation: Store Manager
The Bond Value had increased significantly.
It seems the best way to raise Bond Value is to find out what they truly want and help them achieve it. For Xiang Yiren, there were two paths: simple money, or a chance to prove herself.
After leaving, he didn’t go home. He went straight to the company. He had been delayed quite a bit in the morning, so by the time he arrived, it was almost 10 AM.
He had barely warmed his seat in the office when Sun Dacheng came bouncing in.
He was here to report the results.
"Director Sun, good news."
Sun Dasheng glanced at him but said nothing, taking a slow sip of water.
Sun Dacheng wasn’t in a rush either and waited quietly.
When he felt he had kept the man in suspense long enough, Sun Dasheng finally spoke. "What’s this good news? Share it so I can be happy too."
I wonder if this so-called ’good news’ is actually bad news for me.
He saw Sun Dacheng say with a delighted expression, "Yesterday, under your brilliant leadership and with my guidance..."
Sun Dasheng’s brows knitted as he cut him off. "Are you practicing for a civil service interview on me? Get to the point."
"Oh!" His meticulously prepared speech had been rejected, which stung a little. However, he quickly adjusted his attitude, and a smile reappeared on his face. "The fishing short video went viral after we spent a lot on promotion."
This time he didn’t need a script; the data flowed from his lips. "It got 200,000 likes, 20,000 comments, and even 10,000 shares."
"Such good results? People actually like watching women fish?" Sun Dasheng exclaimed in surprise.
This outcome was completely unexpected. He really hadn’t seen it coming.
People actually watch women fish?
"At least, that’s what the data suggests," Sun Dacheng replied, his expression rather unnatural.
That was a curious answer. What does he mean, ’the data suggests’?
Facing Sun Dasheng’s stern gaze, Sun Dacheng finally cracked. Seeing that he couldn’t deflect any longer, he had to tell the truth. "A lot of the comments are malicious."
"Malicious comments?"
If people don’t like it, they can just scroll past. To watch it and leave so many malicious comments means there must be a reason.
"Why so many malicious comments?" Sun Dasheng asked.
Sun Dacheng’s face flushed. "It’s all because the camera resolution was too high. The person we had diving to hook the fish got filmed."
How could he make such a rookie mistake?
"Didn’t you check the video before publishing it?" Sun Dasheng asked.
"Of course, we checked it! But the diver I arranged went very deep, and it was just a blurry shape in the video, so I didn’t think much of it. Director Sun, you really can’t blame me for this. If you have to blame someone, blame the netizens for having eyes like hawks." Sun Dacheng still felt he was the one being wronged.
His response was met with a flying shoe.
"Brother Dasheng, I was wrong! Stop throwing!"
He dodged the first shoe with nimble footwork, but seeing Sun Dasheng grab the second one, he hurriedly surrendered and begged for mercy.
"Is there any concrete proof?" Sun Dasheng asked, exasperated by his subordinate’s incompetence. If this gets botched so badly it’s irreversible, Li Sili’s Bond Value is going to plummet. It seems talents like ’Wolong and Fengchu’ must be handled with care. If you don’t use them correctly, they can completely backfire.
"’Concrete proof?’" Sun Dacheng, who was shielding his head, finally processed the question. He thought about it carefully and said, "No, there isn’t! That’s right! The comments are all just speculation from netizens. There’s no hard proof! We can issue a clarifying statement."
He slapped his thigh and laughed, feeling like his genius intellect had once again taken the high ground.
"A statement, my ass."
To his surprise, his suggestion was harshly rejected by Sun Dasheng. "Those kinds of statements have been used by celebrities so often they’re as useless as toilet paper. Not only are they ineffective, they usually make things worse."
"Then what should we do?" Sun Dacheng asked, wiping beads of nervous sweat from his forehead.
Hmm... Sun Dasheng stroked his chin, thinking for a moment. "Alright, film the next video the same way as the first one."
Sun Dacheng was completely bewildered. Is this the boss’s master plan? I don’t get it, but I’m blown away. Will this really work?
"However," Sun Dasheng continued, "this time, deliberately film the diver clearly."
This is getting more and more ridiculous. Isn’t this just self-sabotage?
"And dramatically increase the rate of catching fish. Ideally, she should be landing a big fish every few minutes. Also, put something in the shot that clearly shows the time."
Now it’s just completely over the top. Won’t this just confirm we’re faking it? Is he trying to speedrun his own failure?
But it seemed that was all. Sun Dasheng finished speaking, looked at him, and asked, "Understand?"
"Understood... Should I say I understand?" Sun Dacheng wanted to cry. "But I really don’t."
"Imagine the scene I just described," Sun Dasheng prompted. "Now, what would you have to say about it? Answer as if you’re just a regular netizen."
"...Too fake?" Sun Dacheng said cautiously, watching his boss’s expression.
Seeing Sun Dasheng smile, he felt a wave of relief. Okay, that must have been the right answer.
"And if you saw a video that was so obviously fake, what would you think?" Sun Dasheng asked.
"That they’re trying to fool people? Or maybe that it’s a parody video?" Sun Dacheng’s guesses grew more confident as he started to get his boss’s point.
"Now, what if you consider it in light of the previous video?" Sun Dasheng pressed.
"Ah!" It finally clicked for Sun Dacheng. So, they’re questioning if our video is fake? Instead of arguing, we’ll just make an obviously fake video for them to see. We’ll show them what real faking looks like. It’ll dilute the impact of the first video and redirect all the attention to this new one that’s a blatant joke. The discussion about the first video will naturally die down without making any waves.
"Seem familiar?" Sun Dasheng asked.
Sun Dacheng nodded eagerly. This was a golden opportunity to learn. It wasn’t every day you got to hear the boss’s genuine, tried-and-true secrets to success.
"This method I’m talking about is nothing new. It’s an old trick the entertainment industry has worn to death," Sun Dasheng instructed. "When celebrities get hit with a scandal, they often divert attention by leaking a scandal about another celebrity. If they can’t find dirt on someone else, they’ll just release an incredibly exaggerated, obviously fake scandal about themselves to bury the real one. By mixing truth with lies, they muddy the waters, distract everyone, and the controversy naturally fades away." The most update n0vels are published on n0velfire.net
"Brilliant! Simply brilliant!" Sun Dacheng felt like his mind was boggling at the lesson.
"Now that you know, get a move on!"
"You got it! On my way."
Sun Dacheng stopped and looked back.
"Go get Li Sili and bring her here." Sun Dasheng then immediately countermanded the order. "Actually, you go on. I’ll go find her myself."
The poor girl has probably cursed me a thousand times by now, right?
「As expected, the break room.」
Li Sili was sitting on the sofa, looking at her phone. When she saw Sun Dasheng walk in, her face was full of displeasure. She turned her head to the side. You won’t get back in my good graces without at least ten bags of gummy bears.