Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Meanwhile, Jing Xuan was in his company office. On one computer screen was a live broadcast that had not yet been connected, and on the other screen, Jing Xuan was irritably refreshing the Weibo homepage.
He felt irritated watching the name [Xiu Lingfei Jiang Shining] hover high on the trending searches.
He hated seeing their names together. In ancient times, Jing Xuan would have surely rebelled against his father. But this was the modern world; he had no blood relation to Jiang Shining or Xiu Lingfei, and he had to avoid suspicion, so he had to suppress his anger and continued scrolling through Weibo on his computer.
Tonight, the online operations departments of Xuanyuan Video and Ninglu Entertainment worked through the night, seizing every opportunity to maximize their profits whenever Jiang Shining appeared.
Jing Xuan kept refreshing the page with keywords related to Jiang Shining, Xiu Lingfei, and the awards ceremony. Judging by the time, they should have already walked the red carpet. Sure enough, upon refreshing again, Jing Xuan saw a short interview video and several photos of Jiang Shining.
Because these were interview photos, refreshing the page revealed a whole bunch of pictures of various actors, celebrities, and bosses. No matter how Jing Xuan looked at the photos, he couldn’t help but think that his own mother was the most beautiful one.
Hmph, these roadside weeds and flowers are naturally no match for his mother, the Empress Xiao, who was once famous for her beauty.
Jing Xuan reached out and pressed a button on the table. Soon, his secretary, Xiao Liu, walked in.
“Mr. Wang?”
“Go, select the photos taken by President Jiang and push the popularity up,” Jing Xuan said. “Suppress the number one trending topic.”
“Okay, boss.”
“Hmm.”
Jing Xuan gently stroked his chin with his fingers, thinking about what to call it for trending topics…
He really wanted to just post “Jiang Shining outshines all others” directly, but although it was the truth to him, it was too easy to offend people. People in the industry all knew that when celebrities say something is beautiful or that they’ve changed clothes or hairstyles, it’s usually posted by their own companies. It’s fine to brag, but it’s not good to overshadow others.
“So, the trending topic will be, ‘Jiang Shining is as beautiful as a fairy.'” Jing Xuan reluctantly conceded.
“…” Xiao Liu was speechless for a moment, then said helplessly, “Mr. Wang, leave this to me, I understand what you mean.”
Jing Xuan nodded. After a moment, he added, “Try to be as fast as possible.”
He didn’t want to see Xiu Lingfei’s name put together with Jiang Shining’s for even a second.
So, while the trending topics list was dominated by various celebrities, a new trending topic emerged. Jiang Shining’s name was among the names of other female stars, making quite a spectacle.
As for the rankings, that depends on the fans of these celebrities and the operations of their respective companies. Jiang Shining had already been on the minds of netizens, and when the news finally came out, everyone clicked to see it. In addition, with the money her company spent to push her up, she actually defeated all the big and small stars and actresses, surpassing even herself and Xiu Lingfei, and directly took first place.
The trending topic’s name was different from what Jing Xuan had imagined. It read ‘Jiang Shining Shenyan[1]‘. Jing Xuan thought for a long time but still couldn’t understand this rhetorical device; he still preferred the description “as beautiful as a fairy.”
He hired several influential entertainment bloggers to publish articles praising Jiang Shining’s beauty, and several of their Weibo posts were quickly retweeted. Jing Xuan clicked on them and saw that the netizens who retweeted and commented were all praising Jiang Shining’s good looks, which satisfied Jing Xuan.
However… as the popularity grew, the comments section changed a bit.
1st Floor: I hereby unilaterally declare that I, Ning Zong, am making my debut today!
2nd Floor: [Crying] Mom is so beautiful! I hope Mom will treat my son xxx well! Give him more resources!
3rd floor: This skin…these facial features…unbeatable, even in high-definition pictures it’s so perfect.
4th floor: Husband! %￥#%……
Jing Xuan fell silent in front of a bunch of netizens calling his ‘Mom,’ ‘Husband,’ and ‘Wife.’ He clicked in and saw that all the netizens were girls.
His Highness’s mouse twitched over a “I want to have Ning Zong’s baby” message, then he quickly closed the page, still shaken.
This approach was too unconventional.
Meanwhile, at the awards ceremony, Jiang Shining was quietly listening to Boss Zhao speaking to her right when she heard a small commotion in the hall, and the sound of camera shutters suddenly increased. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Xiu Lingfei— or rather, Chu Haoli—had arrived.
Longteng Group was a large enterprise that had been around for more than 20 years. Now, the business of various industries were handled by the young masters of the Xiu family. This big boss, Xiu, thus rarely showed his face except at important occasions. Everyone knew that Longteng Group, from its corporate spirit to its boss, could be described only with one word: arrogance.
So, it really was Xiu Lingfei who graced them with his presence at this awards ceremony. To put it bluntly, he was already a major sponsor, so no matter how important this ceremony was to the celebrities and their fans, it was irrelevant to him.
His reason for coming today was none of her concern. She would deal with it as it came.
Jiang Shining lowered her eyelashes, the corners of her mouth curving into a faint smile and continued to listen to Boss Zhao talk about his last investment experience.
As Xiu Lingfei walked along, the bosses and actors closest to him stood up, smiling and exchanging pleasantries, even though they had never interacted before. It was a lively and harmonious scene. Xiu Lingfei responded with a curt smile and lingered for a few more minutes.
When he finally reached the front row and looked ahead, he immediately spotted Jiang Shining.
She was dressed in a black dress today, without any eye-catching embellishments. In this gathering of stars, she was extremely low-key, but people in the venue still kept glancing at her from time to time.
She sat slightly askew, listening intently to the conversation around her. Her attitude was friendly, yet her demeanor was aloof… This was exactly like Jiang Shining in Xiu Lingfei’s memory. He had fallen for this her back then; in his previous life, Jiang Shining possessed a beauty beyond compare and an unparalleled charm. Her captivating peach blossom eyes exuded allure, clearly the hallmark of a bewitching concubine capable of bringing ruin to a nation, yet her nature was noble and proud, keeping her indifferent and distant from everyone. These two contrasting yet intense qualities within her had made the Xiu Lingfei unable to resist her allure back then.
Judging from that book, the character of Consort Xiao was portrayed as a scourge to the country and the people, while her calm and indifferent temperament, which was different from that described in the book, naturally came from the real Jiang Shining.
In Xiu Lingfei’s eyes, Jiang Shining in this life did not possess a beauty as radiant as the autumn moon like in her previous life, but her demeanor and mannerisms seemed unchanged. Jiang Shining was only in her early twenties this year, yet the calm and composed demeanor she exuded was far beyond what an inexperienced young person would possess.
A beauty may change her appearance, but she remained a beauty. Some things that were ingrained in her character could not be erased.
As Xiu Lingfei walked over, he kept thinking about going there. When he sat down in the seat to Jiang Shining’s left, for some reason, he felt his heart beat slightly faster.
The venue remained lively, but many were curious about the two CEOs—after all, they had previously trended on social media because of a trainee, and Longteng had snatched away Ninglu Group’s star young talent as soon as they entered the entertainment industry, which had already created a grudge. So they were all curious about what it would be like if the two companies teamed up.
Xiu Lingfei settled into his seat. People around him greeted him, but Jiang Shining seemed not to hear anything, continuing to speak to Boss Zhao, who was slightly turned to the right. Boss Zhao was also a bit conflicted, unsure whether he should greet Xiu Lingfei; he didn’t want to offend anyone.
Over here, Xiu Lingfei exchanged a few brief pleasantries with the others. When he turned his head, he saw Jiang Shining still sitting with her head facing him. She was dressed in all black today, with a shawl draped over her shoulders, wrapped up quite warmly, as if afraid of getting cold. But the black only made her exposed neck look so fair and alluring.
Xiu Lingfei knew that many people were watching them. He glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said, “Miss Jiang, I have long heard of you. Today I finally meet you in person.”
He was certain that Jiang Shining wouldn’t ignore him in front of everyone; after all, she still needed to maintain her image as a fairy boss.
Just as he expected, Jiang Shining seemed to only then realize that someone was sitting to her left. She then turned her head to look at Xiu Lingfei, straightened her body slightly, and then nodded.
“Boss Xiu.”
Xiu Lingfei was waiting for Jiang Shining to exchange a few more polite words, but after she greeted him, she didn’t say anything more. If they were in private, the two of them would probably be arguing right now, but since they were in a public place, they both looked away after exchanging greetings, their tone neither warm nor cold.
At this moment, the stage lights were turned on, and the lights above the audience seats were dimmed slightly.
The awards ceremony officially began.
As the show progressed, the two seemed focused on watching it, occasionally clapping along with the flow, as if they were just nodding acquaintances with no real grudges.
A specially invited singer took to the stage and began to sing a passionate song. Jiang Shining was determined to ignore Xiu Lingfei, but Xiu Lingfei kept his eyes on the stage, his lips only moving slightly.
“Do you see I’m angry?”
Jiang Shining smiled slightly, seemingly lost in thought as she watched the singer.
“What’s there to be angry about?” she whispered in the music. “You’re here to disgust me, but I’ll make sure you don’t get your way.”
Xiu Lingfei did not reply.
He did not speak to Jiang Shining again throughout the rest of the ceremony.
The awards ceremony had only reached its second half, and it wasn’t yet time for the two to present their awards. As the boss of the hottest variety show company this year, Jiang Shining was to be the final presenter for the Best Actor award, while Xiu Lingfei, in his capacity, would naturally present the Best Actress award.
He only said two more words before Xiu Lingfei went on stage.
He said, “Jiang Shining, do you think that being reborn means you can sever all ties with me?”
Jiang Shining stared at Xiu Lingfei, who was opening an envelope on stage to announce the results, her gaze slightly darkening.
What does he mean by this? Does he intend to fight her to the death?
However, before she could ponder it further, while the actress who won Best Actress was giving her acceptance speech, her assistant secretly came over and asked Jiang Shining to wait by the stage.
Jiang Shining heard the host’s voice from the stage: “Now, please welcome Ms. Jiang Shining, President of Ninglu Company, to present the award!”
Before the host had even finished speaking, cheers erupted from the audience of young men. Jiang Shining glanced to the side and saw the young men from her company who had just debuted cheering enthusiastically. A smile played on Jiang Shining’s lips, and her mood improved considerably.
She then lifted her skirt and walked towards the steps to the side of the stage. Just then, a hand gently grasped Jiang Shining’s arm. Jiang Shining looked up and saw that Xiu Lingfei had reached out to support her arm halfway down the steps, his gesture incredibly gentlemanly.
Xiu Lingfei was naturally handsome with bright eyes and sparse eyebrows. However, having held a high position for a long time, even if he tried to restrain himself, he still exuded a sense of oppression befitting a person in a superior position.
At this moment, the usually stern and unsmiling President Xiu seemed to have a slight smile on his lips.
“The steps are high, Miss Jiang, please be careful.”
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[1] Accomplished.