Lei Hui gathered his thoughts and sent a message to a group chat.
[Tonight, I'll have to trouble you all to promote Jiang Tong Company's skincare products and ointments. When it's time to arrange for the trending topics, I will contact you.]
The CEOs of the various platforms: !!!
The CEO of Weibo couldn't help but ask: [General Manager Lei, may I ask what the relationship is between your company and this Jiang Tong Company?]
Lei Hui answered truthfully: [Our boss invested in their company a long time ago.]
The CEOs: !!!!
Lin Xuan had actually invested in the recently viral Jiang Tong Company.
Wait a minute.
How was it that whatever Lin Xuan invested in turned into gold?
If President Lin had invested, then there certainly wouldn't be any issues with Jiang Tong Company's skincare products.
Their wives had used the ointment from Lin Qingwan's company and ruined their faces. Surely, the ointment from Jiang Yutong's company would be able to help restore their skin.
No, they had to quickly buy some ointment to keep in stock. Otherwise, if it became a bestseller later, they might not be able to get their hands on it.
[Gentlemen, I wonder what the cost for the trending topics will be?]
Lei Hui sent this message to the group.
[CEO of Weibo]: No need, no need. It's such a small amount, Mr. Lei. There's no need to be polite. Given our friendship, why talk about money?
[Boss of Bilibili]: Exactly, exactly. There's no need to pay.
[Boss of Zhihu]: Mr. Lei, look at you, trying to give us money. Isn't that treating us like strangers?
They actually did want the money.
Lei Hui frequently asked them to boost or remove trending topics; it amounted to tens of millions a year.
But how could they dare to ask for it?
Even though Sky Curtain Group was now a top-ranking company in Yundu and wasn't short on cash, their boss, Lin Xuan, was extremely stingy.
If they dared to take money this time, the next time Lin Xuan wanted to boost or remove a trending topic, he might just hack into their backend and do it himself.
And in the process, he might "accidentally" destroy something in their system—like their security firewalls.
That was a consequence they couldn't afford.
Damn it!
It was so frustrating!
They were worth tens of billions, yet they had to be so humble.
What was worse, they were angry but couldn't do anything about it.
Lei Hui nodded with satisfaction.
[Alright, I'll trouble you all then. I'll treat everyone to dinner another day.]
The secretary walked in and happened to see the smile on Lei Hui's face.
"General Manager, what happy occasion have you encountered?" the secretary asked curiously.
Lei Hui smiled and said, "Nothing much. I just asked those platform CEOs to arrange some trending topics, and they didn't charge me."
The secretary's expression was complicated.
Was General Manager Lei addicted to freeloading?
"What's wrong? Secretary Wang, why are you looking at me like that?" Lei Hui asked with a frown.
The secretary couldn't help but say, "Mr. Lei, isn't it bad for us to keep freeloading off other platforms for trending topics like this?"
It wasn't like they couldn't afford the money.
Lei Hui replied, "Why refuse something free? Besides, they have huge businesses; they won't miss this little bit of money from our company."
"But, General Manager, I feel we still need to maintain good relations with them," the secretary said.
"That's not necessary. Our boss knows hacking techniques. They are all internet companies. Even if our relationship with them was terrible, they wouldn't dare let out a peep unless they want their platforms to crash," Lei Hui said with a smile.
"True." The secretary nodded.
Those CEOs really couldn't do anything about the boss. Moreover, the boss had President Su as a backer.
"General Manager," the secretary couldn't help but say again, "I feel like you and the boss are very, very alike in one aspect."
"Oh, really? How am I like the boss?" Lei Hui asked curiously.
The secretary answered, "It's just that... you are both very stingy."
"Am I?" Lei Hui frowned.
"Yes," the secretary answered with certainty.
Lei Hui suddenly smiled. "There's nothing wrong with being a bit stingy; it helps save money."
He was simply ensuring the company's funds were utilized reasonably.
Rushing to spend money where it wasn't needed—wouldn't that make one a fool?
At the Lin residence.
Lin Qingwan was still drinking in a daze.
Lin Qingwan's secretary called her.
"What is it?" Lin Qingwan asked.
The secretary answered, "President Lin—"
She had just spoken when she was interrupted by Lin Qingwan.
"My company has gone bankrupt and closed down. I am no longer your President Lin, so you don't need to call me that anymore," Lin Qingwan said with a bitter smile.
She... she was just a useless person with no job now.
Her years of hard work had been destroyed just like that. After the bankruptcy, she truly didn't know what else she could do.
"Alright then, Miss Lin." The secretary had to change the form of address. "I received news that tonight, Mrs. Chen will be attending a high-society banquet. She has been using the ointment provided by Jiang Yutong's company for about a week now, and the condition of her face will be the center of attention."
"If her face has really improved significantly, Jiang Yutong's company is sure to skyrocket."
Lin Qingwan clenched her fists.
Jiang Yutong's company had always been her competitor. Now that her own company was bankrupt, why should the company of Jiang Yutong, the culprit behind it all, still be doing well?
She really didn't want to see Jiang Yutong's company continue to develop.
The secretary asked, "President Lin..."
As soon as she said it, she quickly corrected herself, "No, Miss Lin."
"Miss Lin, should we use some means to stop this?"
"Stop it?" Lin Qingwan wore a self-deprecating expression. "How can we stop it? Jiang Yutong is backed by the Jiang family, and now she has Little Xuan's help. Meanwhile, my company and my father's company have both gone bankrupt. What can we possibly do against Jiang Yutong?"
If the ointment from Jiang Yutong's company was truly effective, she could only watch helplessly as their products sold like crazy.
Then, Jiang Yutong's company would become the hottest beauty company in Great Xia, and might even go global.
There was nothing she could do. Nothing at all...
The secretary fell silent.
Indeed, they had no options right now.
Lin Qingwan smiled bitterly. "You don't need to report matters regarding her company to me anymore. You should go find yourself a good job."
After saying this, Lin Qingwan hung up the phone with a bitter smile.
Today, as long as Mrs. Chen attended that banquet, it would definitely trend on social media.
Lin Qingwan couldn't resist opening the Weibo app on her phone. She wanted to see for herself whether Mrs. Chen's face had healed or not.
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
