Strictly speaking, Song Foxiang didn’t become colleagues with Zou Weijun.
Spark and Rongcheng Literature Press both belong to the Rongcheng Publishing Group, but the newly launched Spark is temporarily managed by Literature Press. Song Foxiang was assigned to work under Xiao Ni, making Zou Weijun his boss’s boss.
There’s a clear hierarchy between them. Song Foxiang is an untamed breeze, not a fool who’d harass his superior’s superior at work.
Xie Qian’s frustration wasn’t about Song Foxiang bothering Zou Weijun but that his plan had a slight hiccup.
“It’s normal. Overall, your plan was flawless,” Wen Ying cautiously comforted Xie Qian, whose taut expression made him seem untouchably lofty.
From Wen Ying’s view, she could only see Xie Qian’s near-perfect profile. Heaven must have crafted him with care, unlike the slapdash work on ordinary folks. Sigh, despite being desk mates so long, just looking at Xie Qian’s face daily made Wen Ying eat an extra bowl of rice.
Xie Qian was kind of adorable like this.
Wen Ying only dared think this secretly, not voicing her true feelings.
A 17-year-old male god was at the peak of his pride.
After all, Xie Qian had always been exceptional, unlike Wang Shuang, a slacker used to failure.
Wen Ying had conjured a slew of excuses for Xie Qian and racked her brain for consoling words, but his resilience far exceeded her expectations. Song Foxiang’s minor upset didn’t faze him long.
Whether Xie Qian liked Song Foxiang or not, he had to admit a middle-aged man willing to sacrifice for his daughter’s future couldn’t be all bad.
Song Foxiang’s pursuit of Zou Weijun was inappropriate, but after learning her stance, he didn’t persist, proving he was merely flirtatious, not sleazy. It wasn’t fear of Xie Jinghu, Song Foxiang dared confront Zhao Dong head-on, showing little reverence for power or wealth.
Besides, Song Foxiang’s transfer to Spark came from following Xie Qian’s covert push to ruin Zhao Dong’s bid.
This left Xie Qian both frustrated and wary of the unseen rules of the world: “flawless planning” exists in theory but not reality. No one can truly plan perfectly. Plans may be impeccable, but executors aren’t programmed robots, leading to unexpected outcomes.
This time, luck was on their side; Zhao Dong’s lack of vigilance allowed the plan to succeed.
A surprise tactic works only once, catching the enemy off guard. It can’t be repeated.
Xie Qian regretted that this victory, like the Modu land deal, was unrepeatable.
While Wen Ying scrambled for comforting words, the top student had already mentally reviewed the affair, summed up gains and losses, and moved on:
“Forget it, this doesn’t matter anymore. Dwelling on it is less useful than thinking about The Princess’s New Clothes ratings. I heard from Li Mengjiao the latest viewership is 3.2%?”
Cui Fei Forest’s highest average rating was 3.5%, in its finale.
The Princess’s New Clothes hit 3.2%, seemingly 0.3% behind Cui Fei Forest, but Hunan TV re-edited it into 32 episodes. After airing two episodes on September 2, it aired one daily from Monday to Saturday, resting Sunday. Today, September 23, episode 20 was airing tonight.
That meant the 3.2% rating came from episode 19.
With 13 episodes left, ratings climbing steadily, surpassing Cui Fei Forest’s 3.5% was a given. Breaking 4% was expected. Now, everyone wondered how high The Princess’s New Clothes’ peak rating would soar.
Xie Qian’s topic shift was too fast.
Wen Ying silently griped but followed his lead, “Yes, 3.2%. If all goes well, it’ll break Cui Fei Forest’s record tonight. Everyone’s excited to see it.”
In her element, Wen Ying glowed with confidence.
Xie Qian felt a twinge of pity, just a twinge, not enough to stop him from MODELS crushing her joy, “I hate to ruin the mood, but even if it breaks the record tonight, you might not make it to The raiding Princess’s New Clothes’ celebration. It’s September 23, and the first high school sophomore monthly exam is before National Day. Are you ready?”
Wen Ying: shocked face.
From radiant to stunned, in just a few words.
The top student’s jab stung. Wen Ying’s lips moved, unable to form a full sentence, so she sought solace with fellow slacker Li Mengjiao.
Li Mengjiao silently pulled a thick stack of practice papers from her drawer, offering to share with her friend.
“Pick one?”
The scene was comical, like two delinquent teens meeting outside a toilet, asking if the other wants a smoke.
Watching Wen Ying’s sulky back, Xie Qian chuckled silently.
Then his phone, on silent, buzzed wildly in his desk. He checked: “Xie Jinghu” flashed on the screen.
Finally snapping out of it to confront me about Zhao Dong’s failed bid?
Xie Jinghu must be furious, since Zhao Dong’s success would’ve transferred some park shares to that foreign woman’s son.
Xie Qian stared at the phone, then powered it off.
If he’s angry, let him be angrier.
Hopefully, this would make Xie Jinghu abandon Zhao Dong as a pawn.
Without Zhao Dong, someone else would take his place, requiring Xie Qian to investigate anew, more hassle than dealing with Zhao Dong.
But so what?
Anyone’s better than Zhao Dong.
Zhao Dong’s constant scheming against Wen Ying disgusted Xie Qian.
Xie Qian was right. Ignoring Xie Jinghu’s call infuriated him.
After the banquet, Zhao Dong, too busy to retaliate against Song Foxiang, tried to salvage the damage but failed. Days later, the Rongcheng government signed with a major group.
Zhao Dong missed the second major park permit.
He never imagined tripping over a small fry like Song Foxiang, nor did he believe Song orchestrated it alone.
For one, the Zhao family’s US affairs weren’t something a magazine editor like Song Foxiang could uncover.
This was a rival’s ruthless strike.
Having promised shares to “Young Zhuo” abroad, the failed bid hurt his interests. Unable to recover, Zhao Dong headed to the capital.
He feared Xie Jinghu would refuse to see him, but Xie Jinghu seemed less angry, asking for details before calling Xie Qian in front of Zhao Dong.
Xie Qian didn’t answer.
Now Xie Jinghu was truly livid.
“Rebellious brat, bold enough to scheme but not to admit it!”
Zhao Dong was stunned, “You mean, this was Young Xie’s doing?”
