After the livestream ended, her phone rang.

The moment Su Mei saw the caller ID marked as ‘Most Favored (Unreasonable) Wang Qin’, she frowned. Suddenly, the salted plum-flavored cola in her hand didn’t taste as good anymore.

“Hello, Assistant Wang. How can I help you?” Despite her internal complaints, Su Mei put on a friendly smile, showing all eight of her teeth, and politely yet warmly asked Wang Qin on the other end of the line as soon as she answered the call.

“Hello, Ms. Su.”

At this point, Wang Qin was practically one of Su Mei’s zombie fans^[1]users on social media platforms who remain inactive or do not engage in activity. He had timed his call precisely for when she finished her livestream.

Hearing Su Mei’s completely nonchalant tone, Wang Qin’s mouth twitched.

She really had a big heart.

Nevertheless, Wang Qin also used a very friendly voice to greet Su Mei.

Wang Qin then got to the point, “It’s like this, I saw some, uh, unfavorable comments about you online, Ms. Su. I wanted to ask if you need the company to step in and help handle things on your end?”

Normally, this kind of situation would be considered part of Wang Qin’s routine operations.

However, given Su Mei’s attitude during the livestream, Wang Qin was somewhat uncertain.

What if…… Ms. Su was just trying to stir up hype?

As expected, as soon as Wang Qin finished his question, he heard Su Mei reply, “No need, no need.”

After speaking, Su Mei seemed to feel her words were too blunt, so she forced a smile and added, “It’s such a minor issue, I wouldn’t want to trouble you with it, Assistant Wang.”

“It’s no trouble at all, and,” Wang Qin paused before continuing, “this is also the CEO’s intention.”

The CEO hadn’t explicitly said so, but since he hadn’t objected, it was essentially an unspoken agreement, wasn’t it?

In saying this, Wang Qin did have some ulterior motives. It was a fact that Su Mei held 6% of Gu Group’s shares. Despite her somewhat unconventional approach, she was otherwise quite competent.

Most importantly, he didn’t see any ambition in Su Mei’s attitude regarding the company’s shares.

This automatically made Wang Qin consider Su Mei part of their ‘camp’.

Although the CEO might not particularly need such a shareholder or that 6% of the shares, Wang Qin hoped that the two of them could put the past issues with Old Mr. Gu behind and get along amicably.

“If you encounter any trouble or malicious attacks online, it would be easier for the company to handle it.” Wang Qin added.

Wang Qin’s words made Su Mei a bit tempted.

See, this was the strength of a big company and the influence of the male protagonist.

She remembered a similar scene from the novel 《Contract Lover》 where one of Gu Group’s brands sponsored a variety show. At that time, the female protagonist, who had ‘reluctantly’ become the male protagonist’s secretary, came to the filming site as the sponsor’s representative to handle some tasks.

As it happened, the female protagonist appeared on camera.

Because of her pure and lovely appearance, she instantly became famous and even earned the nickname ‘First Love’s Face’.

Unfortunately, with fame came trouble.

Soon, photos of the female protagonist working as a waitress at a banquet and a part-time worker at a bar surfaced, leading to a wave of online criticism.

However, the male protagonist stepped in, and within minutes, the negative comments vanished without a trace.

Just as it was hard to understand why the female protagonist in the novel, a high achiever capable of entering a major corporation like Gu Group, would choose to work low-paying jobs like banquet service and bar gigs to earn extra money for her mother’s medical bills, Su Mei also found it puzzling why the novel had to include such a jarring instance of online harassment.

Was it that, as the female protagonist of a domineering CEO romance novel, she was expected to endure a few melodramatic setups, false accusations, and bouts of online bullying as a standard plot device?

In any case, whether it was reasonable or not wasn’t Su Mei’s concern.

However, it did make her realize the truth, which was, it was good to enjoy the shade of a big tree.

If it weren’t for her role as the ‘plastic stepmother’ in the novel, where her fate as cannon fodder was so clear and undisputed, Su Mei would have wanted to cling tightly to the male protagonist’s leg.

“I think it’s better to leave it.” Su Mei said with an awkward smile.

To be honest, the online incident wasn’t that serious in the first place.

Although her previous flaunting of wealth and her recent sudden riches had caused her public approval to plummet into the negatives, Su Mei, who was essentially a reclusive ‘housewife’, didn’t have any deep-seated grudges with anyone. This kind of ‘internet-wide blacklisting’ would eventually die down on its own.

If she owed the male protagonist a favor because of this, and they somehow ended up in a conflict in the future, she wouldn’t be able to repay it.

“Alright.” Wang Qin nodded, then asked, “Additionally, there are some negative comments about you on Weibo. Do you need those handled?”

“No need either.”

Official statements were posted almost simultaneously by the livestream platform and the show’s official accounts.

So, it wasn’t just the livestream room— there was also quite a bit of discussion about Su Mei on Weibo.

The difference was that the commotion in the livestream room earlier was mostly stirred up by Chen Jia’ers fans and some idle small streamers who had used alt accounts to stir up trouble.

This time, the online bickering was sparked by Li Shuang, the super popular female star invited by the production team, and her legion of fans.

Undoubtedly, the production team had initially invited Su Mei to record the show to generate buzz and boost the show’s popularity.

Although the production team, aware of Su Mei’s status as a major shareholder of Gu Group, hadn’t engaged in any deliberate attempt to mislead or used sensational tactics during the initial promotion, it was inevitable that conflicts would arise when a controversial internet celebrity was put together with a high-profile star.

Therefore, as soon as the program team posted that Weibo update, the comment section below was instantly ablaze.

At first, some netizens focused on Su Mei’s controversial past, but soon, they began to criticize the production team as well.

【I seriously suspect that the production team’s values are problematic. Otherwise, why would they invite such a morally questionable woman to record the show?】

【Why do people have so many misconceptions about internet celebrities? It’s because of women like this.】

【Why not invite a teacher or a healthcare worker? Why choose someone like her?】

【Trash production team, they’ve lost all integrity just for the sake of popularity!】

【Just the thought of this kind of woman being on the same show as our Shuangshuang makes me cringe!】

【Upstairs, +1. I hope Shuangshuang withdraws from the show.】

【Why should Shuangshuang withdraw? This woman should be the one to leave.】

【To be honest, I think this woman is even worse than Chen Jia’er.】

And some went so far as to threaten the production team directly.

【I followed 《My Life 1》, but now I’ve decided to give up on 《My Life 2》. The reason is the same as above— moral values are all wrong!】

【@My Life v, if the production team insists on keeping this woman, I will not watch the show.】

【Moral values are all wrong, I’m out, I’m out.】

After finishing the call with Wang Qin, Su Mei was scrolling through Weibo when the production team’s phone call came through.

“Teacher Su, this is Liu Na.”

“Hello, Director Liu.”

“You’ve probably seen the online situation. Indeed, our production team didn’t think this through, but we genuinely didn’t expect this either.” Liu Na explained.

During the contract signing, there was an additional clause stating that Party A (The production team) could not maliciously use Party B’s personal identity or private information for hype.

So, the production team hadn’t tried to stir up hype this time.

The current buzz online, aside from some wild fans of internet celebrities, was mostly fueled by Li Shuang’s team.

Although this kind of buzz was what the production team hoped for, they still needed to clarify things properly.

“Yes, I understand. It’s fine.” Su Mei said nonchalantly.

“I’m glad you understand, Teacher Su.”

“By the way, Teacher Su, there’s one more thing I need to mention. Regarding the show’s content, just your normal daily life will be fine. There’s no need for any script. However, there are some sensitive topics and points to be aware of. I’ll send them to your email shortly. Please take a look.”

“Filming for the show will start next Monday, which is the day after tomorrow. Over the next couple of days, our staff will come to your residence to set up some equipment. You can discuss the placement of the machines and any privacy concerns directly with them.”

“Alright, no problem.” Su Mei replied.

“Great.” Liu Na said, nodding in response.

Initially, when the director’s team assigned their group to record Su Mei’s footage, Liu Na was somewhat reluctant.

However, after a few rounds of communication, Liu Na realized that aside from the other party’s negative reputation online, Su Mei was actually quite easy to work with. She was straightforward and reasonable, and didn’t make any willful demands or requests of the production team.

“We’ll come over on Monday and start recording from the moment we enter. We’ll stay in touch over the next couple of days.”

After ending the call with the production team, Su Mei stretched her neck, which had become sore from sitting on the couch for a long time, and then turned her attention to Wu Fei, who was nearby.

“Xiao Feifei, did you come around mealtime to bring me some food?” Su Mei raised an eyebrow and asked.

In response, Wu Fei gave her an unceremonious eye roll.

“I saw the news online and was worried you might do something drastic, so I came over to check on you.” Seeing her boss acting so carefree and seemingly unaffected, Wu Fei let out a sigh of relief.

“Here, I brought you some Xuji’s soup dumplings. My university roommate took me there, and I thought of you, so I brought a basket.”

“Oho, Xiao Feifei, you’re so sweet!” It would have been even better if she hadn’t added that last part.

Su Mei took the soup dumplings from Wu Fei’s hand, popped one into her mouth, and closed her eyes in satisfaction.

“I’m telling you,” She said, waving her hand nonchalantly while eating the dumpling, “all that stuff online is just a small matter.”

“Yes, yes, just a small matter.” Wu Fei replied dismissively. Then, suddenly recalling something, she asked with a worried expression, “Boss, I heard online that Wei Jingyi is also going to be participating this season. Is that true?”

Wei Jingyi, the scumbag ex-boyfriend of the other Su Mei?

Upon hearing Wu Fei’s words, a flash of undisguised disgust crossed Su Mei’s eyes.

The novel hadn’t mentioned this reality show, so she had no way to verify it.

But……

“Probably not.” Su Mei said, taking a bite of the soup dumpling.

Since the production team had already invited Li Shuang, a star that could bring a huge amount of traffic, there was no need to also invite someone who barely made it into the 2^nd line.

Of course, Su Mei hadn’t considered any other reason for him to make an appearance for now.

“By the way, Wu Fei.” Su Mei shifted the topic, looking at Wu Fei with a serious expression, and asked, “Has the money from the production team been transferred yet?”

“Well, according to the contract, the production team is supposed to transfer half of the payment upfront.” Wu Fei replied.

“Has it arrived?” Su Mei asked, her eyes lighting up at the news.

“Uhh, yes, it has.” Wu Fei nodded, though she looked at Su Mei with an expression that seemed to say, ‘I might be too normal to understand your excitement over this’.

It wasn’t that she had high expectations but, with 100,000 yuan being a drop in the bucket compared to the daily market value growth of Gu Group, she genuinely couldn’t understand why Su Mei was so excited about this amount.

“That’s great. Don’t deposit that 100,000 yuan into my old account. Open a new regular savings account for me and put it there. Also, any future payments from my work should go into that account.” Su Mei emphasized.

Those might end up being her retirement or escape funds if she accidentally becomes cannon fodder in the future, so of course, they need to be kept in a separate little vault.

Although Wu Fei didn’t quite understand Su Mei’s reasoning, as a competent assistant, she nodded without further questioning.

“Now that you’re about to start recording, do you need me to help you prepare anything?” Wu Fei asked.

“Prepare what?”

“Uh, like musical instruments, art supplies, certificates, or maybe hire a housekeeper who won’t be on camera but can cook delicious meals for you every day.”

Hearing Wu Fei’s suggestions, Su Mei felt even more speechless.

“Prepare those for what?”

“To sell a persona. Isn’t it trendy for celebrities and public figures to create personas nowadays? Aren’t you going to have one?” After a moment’s thought, Wu Fei added, “For example, being resilient and unyielding, hardworking, versatile, elegant and composed, or having exceptional culinary skills?”

Wu Fei’s consideration was indeed thorough, but Su Mei had no need for it.

“Do you think a persona would be useful with my bad history, where I’ve got all the dirt and scandals?”

“Makes sense, hehe.” Wu Fei couldn’t help but laugh and nodded in agreement.

Su Mei’s past scandals were indeed both dark and substantial.

“Don’t you plan to clean up your image?”

“Ah, I don’t plan to.”

Perhaps influenced by the fixed settings of the novel, Su Mei didn’t really care much about the typical cannon fodder bad history from the past.

She hadn’t considered any dramatic reversal or overthrowing the male and female protagonists to reach the novel’s pinnacle. The bad history didn’t bother her at all.

This was the period when her role as the ‘plastic stepmother’ in the novel would come to an end.

Su Mei had already made up her mind.

She would just stay quietly in her big house, keeping to herself and calmly participating in a small variety show.

Once she got through this period and moved past the original plot, there would be nothing left to fear.

As for Gu Yancheng, she believed that as long as she didn’t go out of her way to provoke the male protagonist, there would be no reason for him to make things difficult for her.

At that point, as a 23-year-old wealthy and beautiful young woman— no, a beautiful girl— she could do whatever she wanted.

She could stay at home if she wanted, or go out and have fun if she felt like it.

She could spend her free time shopping with her card.

Then she might find a handsome little wolfdog or a little puppy if she preferred.

Or, if Gu Yancheng decided to reclaim the shares she held, that would be even better.

Then she would have no further ties with the Gu family. At that point, she would use the remaining money to buy houses and properties and enjoy a simple yet warm happiness as a landlady for the rest of her life.

Such a life seemed absolutely delightful to Su Mei!

———pr


Although the majority of netizens were strongly against it, come Monday, the production team arrived right on time at the entrance of Su Mei’s villa at Xishan Residence.

The moment the door was opened and Su Mei appeared, Liu Na, who was leading the team, momentarily froze, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

Previously, she had only communicated with Su Mei via phone, so this was the first time she was meeting her in person.

Before the recording began, she and her assistant director had specifically looked up Su Mei’s information online.

Basically, it came down to one word: materialistic.

And wasn’t that the case?

If she weren’t materialistic, would a young woman in her early twenties be hanging around a man in his fifties or sixties?

If she weren’t materialistic, would her social media be filled with daily displays of wealth?

Based on their initial understanding of Su Mei, they had expected to see someone covered in bling-bling designer jewelry, dazzlingly bright that it could blind people.

To their surprise, Su Mei was remarkably plain when she opened the door.

She wore a hooded sweatshirt and casual sweatpants and had a headband on her head that was only 9.99 yuan at a certain online store.

Why did she know it was 9.99 yuan? Because she had the same one!

Is she trying to portray a down-to-earth persona?

Liu Na and the crew behind her thought to themselves.

A person who treats flaunting wealth as a daily routine suddenly trying to be humble? Doesn’t that feel a bit incongruous?

If she knew what these people were thinking, Su Mei would definitely say, “You’re overthinking.”

When she’s at home and not going out, Su Mei usually lounges around in pajamas for comfort and ease. She had only put on this casual outfit for the sake of today’s filming.

As for flaunting wealth, as the netizens say, it was a common human tendency.

The problem wasn’t that she didn’t want to flaunt, it’s that she didn’t dare to.

Although Gu Yancheng, who was busy with a myriad of affairs and dealing with the female protagonist’s ‘schemes’, probably didn’t have the time to watch such a trivial reality show.

But what if? What if one day Gu Yancheng happens to see it?

Wouldn’t all the time she spent pretending to be poor and pitiable be exposed?

Besides, during this period she had been staying at home, who would she show off her wealth to?

“We are the production team of 《My Life 2》. Good morning, Ms. Su.” Despite her surprise and some doubt, Liu Na still maintained her professional demeanor and greeted Su Mei according to the filming process.

“Good morning. Are we already recording?” Su Mei glanced at the camera and asked.

“Yes, we began as soon as we arrived.”

“Welcome to my home.” Su Mei said to the camera with a bright, businesslike smile.

Even Liu Na couldn’t help but be amused by Su Mei’s demeanor and followed her into the large villa.

Back then, the interior design team that was introduced to Su Mei thought she had played them. Thinking that Su Mei, being wealthy, wanted to lavishly redecorate her new home, they rejected several jobs and brought a whole crew to the Xishan Residence. But in the end, Su Mei only wanted to redecorate a small room specifically for livestreaming.

Originally, Su Mei only planned to stay there temporarily. Once she confirmed her safety as cannon fodder and her money was secure, she intended to move to a different place, preferably to another city far away from the novel’s main stage.

So, Su Mei hadn’t spent any money to redecorate the house. Since she moved in, it had remained in its original state.

However, having lived there for some time, Su Mei had accumulated quite a few homey items she bought online.

Looking around, one could see a variety of these things.

The entire villa had a simple yet slightly cozy feel, with a touch of girlish charm.

This somewhat challenged Liu Na’s initial impression that Su Mei was just putting on a facade.

Although 《My Life》 generally filmed the guests’ daily lives in a free-form manner, the first day’s pilot episode still needed to follow a set process.

“Ms. Su, please introduce yourself.” Liu Na said casually.

“Okay.” Su Mei replied, pausing for a moment before asking, “Is there a template?”

“There’s no specific template for this section. Ms. Su, just say whatever comes to your mind.” Liu Na said.

However, behind her, out of the camera’s view, the staff had actually set up a prompt board for Su Mei.

As expected, there were always tricks to everything……

“Hello everyone, my name is Su Mei, but you can also call me Susu. I’m 23 years old, and as for my occupation…… currently, I’m an online streamer.”

Glancing at the prompt board with the topics ‘Name, Nickname, Age, Occupation…….’ Su Mei addressed the camera in a steady stream.

“As for why I chose this profession, it’s to become famous.”

Hearing Su Mei’s words, Liu Na’s mouth twitched.

Even when they were filming Li Shuang from the neighboring group, she at least said it was to fulfill her mother’s wish.

Wasn’t Su Mei being a bit too direct?

Had she decided to just let herself go completely since she was already facing backlash from the entire internet?

Liu Na thought about this, contemplating whether to give Su Mei a subtle reminder with a glance, but then she saw Su Mei’s gaze quickly shift to the next prompt.

Next question: Relationship (Marital) Status

What was her status now? Single? Deceased boyfriend? Widowed?

Forget it, skip this one.

Next question: Family Situation

Does having a stepson, a particularly remarkable one, count?

Seeing the conflicted expression on Su Mei’s face, Liu Na realized something.

The later questions on the prompt board weren’t intentionally designed to make things difficult for Su Mei.

These questions would have been easy for anyone else to answer, but for Su Mei, they were indeed somewhat awkward.

“Ms. Su, could you use a few keywords to describe yourself? Or just explain a bit about yourself?” Skipping the questions on the prompt board, Liu Na tried to save the situation with a more general question that could extend the recording time.

However, it wasn’t long before Liu Na regretted it.

Hearing Liu Na’s question, Su Mei appeared to think for a moment, then looked at the camera and said, “Hypocritical? Gold-digger? 18^th-liner? Dumb luck?”

After saying that, Su Mei saw the shocked expression on Liu Na’s face.

If this were during post-production, they would definitely see that the footage recording Su Mei trembled slightly at this moment.

Was she crazy?

What kind of new tactic was this?

The term ‘self-deprecation’ suddenly popped into Liu Na’s mind.

This was a common strategy used by many celebrities. Perfect personas were too fake, so they would choose some trivial points to self-deprecate first, silencing the haters and unexpectedly making themselves more relatable.

But!

Wasn’t this too extreme for self-deprecation? This was clearly self-destruction!

Liu Na was frantically trying to think of a way to respond when she saw Su Mei smile faintly and say, “I think that’s what netizens say, right?”

With her good looks, Su Mei’s smile was indeed quite pleasing.

“Actually, they’re not wrong.” Su Mei added after a moment of thought.

Liu Na: “……”

She had given up on ‘saving’ this recording.

“As for my story, I think many people already know.” Su Mei said, glancing at the prompt board where the next question was ‘Tell a story about yourself’. She continued, “Because of my looks, I was scouted by a talent agency before I even graduated from university and became a celebrity. However, I don’t have much talent or ability, so despite my efforts, I’m still just a minor 18^th-line celebrity.”

“After that, I had the dumb luck of meeting Mr. Gu Hongguang and started living a life where money wasn’t an issue. Mr. Gu Hongguang passed away and left me a large inheritance, so I’m quite comfortable now.”

These were details from the novel and matched Su Mei’s memories.

Talking about these things openly wasn’t too difficult for Su Mei, partly because she knew she was a transmigrator and didn’t have a strong personal attachment to the events.

Besides, Su Mei had her own considerations.

Even if these things about the other Su Mei weren’t known by everyone, they weren’t exactly secrets to most people either.

Anyway, once the show aired, all her secrets would be exposed.

Rather than waiting for others to dig them up and then gossip about them, it was better for her to openly talk about it now.

This way, she could avoid hiding anything and prevent even more bizarre versions from emerging later.

Hearing Su Mei’s words, Liu Na’s perception of her began to change.

The main reason the production team invited Su Mei to participate in this season was her potential to generate buzz.

Without any deliberate hype, just having Su Mei’s name in the lineup was enough to draw the audience’s attention for the initial promotion.

After that, the audience’s reaction became less important.

She didn’t think Su Mei could clear her name with just a few episodes of the show.

But now, it’s not a matter of whether she could clear her name or not.

Liu Na had a vague feeling that after the show aired, Su Mei might actually become popular.

“So, what do you do every day?” Liu Na asked, continuing with the program’s flow.

“Not much, really. Besides my daily livestreams, I browse online shops, watch dramas, apply face masks, eat, and play games.” Su Mei replied.

Although she was a homebody, she was a refined one.

After the initial shock, Liu Na was now quite composed hearing Su Mei’s response.

“Can you give us a tour of your home?”

“Of course.”

This was part of the show’s format.

Except for the room with a wall full of bags and shoes, as well as the room with the safe, Su Mei didn’t mind showing the rest of her house.

———pr


Since it was a 24-hour reality show, most of the crew left after the pilot episode was recorded, leaving only the in-house cameras and two cameramen to follow Su Mei when she went out during the day.

Su Mei didn’t find it particularly uncomfortable. She continued living her comfortable and laidback lifestyle as usual.

Perhaps Su Mei’s life was too uneventful, so when she received a call urging her to go out, she noticed one of the cameramen frantically winking at her, clearly signaling her to agree.

Seeing the cameraman looking even more anxious than herself, Su Mei felt a bit amused.

The day before yesterday, Mrs. Liu had invited her to a spa, but she had declined.

Yesterday, Mrs. Zhang had invited her to play some kind of sport, and she had also turned that down.

There was a call from a real estate agent who had tempted Su Mei a bit.

However, remembering the novel’s unseen force that always made cannon fodder characters gravitate toward the protagonists, Su Mei hesitated and ended up declining.

In the end, the agent scolded her, “Why pretend to be rich if you can’t afford it? You’re poor! What a waste of my time!”

However, this time, Su Mei had to think carefully about whether to accept or decline the caller.

“You’re talking about my office?” Su Mei frowned upon hearing Wang Qin on the phone, her tone showing some hesitation.

“Yes, Ms. Su. Your office has been refurnished, and there are just a few decorative details that need your personal confirmation.” Wang Qin said.

“Well, I’m not really knowledgeable about those things. How about you just handle it?” Su Mei declined instinctively, driven by her natural aversion to risks.

“But……”

Hearing Wang Qin’s hesitation, Su Mei quickly added, “In that case, just roughly follow the design similar to your CEO’s office. I’m fine with whatever.”

Since she wouldn’t be using it anyway, it didn’t matter how it turned out.

Wang Qin on the other end of the line seemed clearly taken aback by Su Mei’s response.

He subconsciously glanced at the CEO sitting in the back seat of the car.

“Alright then.”

“However, there’s another matter.” Wang Qin continued after a pause. “There’s a meeting tomorrow at the company, mainly about this year’s annual meeting. We need to inform all the shareholders to attend.”

This was the main reason Wang Qin had called Su Mei today. While it was fine for her to skip ordinary meetings, as a shareholder, she needed to attend important ones like the annual meeting.

Moreover, it was the CEO’s order to have the shareholders attend tomorrow’s meeting.

For such meetings, sending out a notice usually meant the other shareholders would show up without fuss.

Except for Su Mei.

Originally, thinking about Su Mei’s utterly disinterested expression at the last shareholders’ meeting, Wang Qin had planned to find a reason that might pique her interest to get her to come to the company.

In the end, it circled back around.

“I’ve already sent the relevant documents to your email, Ms. Su. Please check them.” Wang Qin said before Su Mei could respond.

Su Mei: Not this trick again!

“Wait a moment!” This time, Su Mei, having gained some experience, called out to stop Wang Qin before he could say his usual “I won’t disturb you any further. See you tomorrow.”

After a stern shout, Su Mei immediately switched back to a soft and gentle tone, “Um, I might not be available tomorrow.”

“Are you referring to the recording of 《My Life 2》, Ms. Su? The CEO is aware of that.”

Su Mei: “!”

WTF?! The show hasn’t even aired yet but Gu Yancheng already knows about it?

As Su Mei was stunned, Wang Qin glanced over to consult with Gu Yancheng, and upon receiving a nod from the CEO, he turned back to Su Mei and said, “If you need the production team to follow you tomorrow, that’s fine, as long as the meeting content remains confidential. Everything else can be recorded.”

“You’ll need to bring a few people from the production team into the company, so once Ms. Su confirms it with them, let me know, and I’ll make arrangements.”

“That, Assistant Wang……”

“Do you need a car to pick you up?”

T-t-this is the male protagonist’s voice!

Gu Yancheng’s voice was deep and magnetic, making it quite memorable.

Moreover, Su Mei was very familiar with the male protagonist’s voice from her memories.

“Gu— it’s fine, I’ll go on my own tomorrow.”

“Mm.”

There was a brief pause before Gu Yancheng added, “See you.”

“Ah, yes.”

After hanging up the phone, Su Mei still looked bewildered and utterly devastated.

Seeing Su Mei’s expression, even the two cameramen nearby raised their eyebrows in confusion. How come Su Mei’s demeanor had a bit of a ‘gone forever, never to return’ vibe?

【Teacher Su, is there some trouble tomorrow?】

One of the cameramen typed out a message on his phone for Su Mei to see.

Then, Su Mei said to the camera in a somewhat melancholic tone, “I have to go to Gu Group tomorrow.”

Afterward, she didn’t even apply the face mask she had prepared with hot water. Instead, she simply shuffled upstairs in her slippers.

Her back looked incredibly forlorn.

Since she hadn’t paid much attention to the male and female protagonists lately, Su Mei wasn’t quite sure how much time was left until the point in the story where ‘she’ would meet her end.

However, in the story, the fake stepmother meets her end just before Christmas, and it is getting close to that time.

The closer it got, the less Su Mei felt she had a handle on things.

Although she had a thousand and one reservations in her heart.

———pr


However, the next day, Su Mei still set an alarm, got up on time, and prepared to head out.

She adhered to the principle of never showing off in front of the male protagonist so Su Mei didn’t wear her flashy, money-burning items.

Still, since she was going to Gu Group, she took great care in tidying herself up before leaving.

Wearing a more professional suit and light makeup, Su Mei looked completely different from her usual casual appearance at home or her livestreamer persona.

Such Su Mei was striking.

“Teacher Su, we’ll have one person follow you in your car, and the assistant director and Teacher Zhang will follow you in another vehicle. Is that alright with you?”

“No problem.”

She drove the flashy sports car out.

Upon reaching the vicinity of Gu Group, she habitually parked the car in the external parking lot of the shopping mall across the street.

Seeing the puzzled expressions on the cameramen’s faces, Su Mei gave a random explanation, “Well, the parking lines are slightly wider over here.”

Sure enough, upon hearing Su Mei’s reason, the cameramen immediately displayed a look of understanding.

It makes sense.

After parking the car, the two cameramen followed Su Mei as she walked to the Gu Group’s company building.

This was the legendary Gu Group.

The cameramen were quite curious.

Of course, they were especially interested in seeing what Su Mei’s status at Gu Group would be now that she held 6% of the shares.

After all, there had been reports online before that Su Mei, as the so-called ‘Mrs. Gu’, wasn’t particularly well-received at Gu Group.

Especially considering Su Mei’s expression of despair and helplessness when she mentioned coming to Gu Group yesterday.

The outcome was a bit surprising for the two cameramen.

“Hello, Ms. Su.”

As soon as Su Mei stepped through the doors of Gu Group, the receptionists nearby politely greeted her in unison.

Not only were the two cameramen astonished, but Su Mei herself was also quite taken aback.

As Su Mei walked through the company lobby, every employee she encountered greeted her with a nod and a polite, “Hello, Ms. Su.”

After getting shares and becoming a major shareholder, the treatment she received has become different.

No wonder the fake stepmother in the original story tried her best to gain power from the male protagonist.

Su Mei raised an eyebrow, silently pondering.

Little did she know that the drastic change in attitude from Gu Group’s employees wasn’t solely because she inherited the 6% shares.

After the shareholders’ meeting, the company officially announced Su Mei’s new status— not just a shareholder, but also one with a position.

Although the title of ‘vice chairman’ was more or less a nominal position, it still reflected the attitude of the company’s top management.

The river flows thirty years to the East and thirty years to the West^[2]change is the only constant; life has its ups and downs. Regardless of how Su Mei stumbled upon this stroke of luck, her title of ‘Vice Chairman’ was solid and firmly established.

Su Mei didn’t know or care what these people were thinking. Listening to their greetings, she adopted a similar demeanor to that of Wang Qin, the executive assistant, and nodded in return.

“Good morning.”

A voice sounded beside Su Mei.

She reflexively nodded, just as she had done before.

Realizing the voice sounded familiar, Su Mei’s expression paused. She suddenly turned her head and looked up, only to find that the person standing next to her was none other than Gu Yancheng!

“Hehe, good morning.” Su Mei forced a smile and replied stiffly. “You……” Shouldn’t Gu Yancheng be taking the private elevator? Why was he there in the lobby?

“I went out to take care of some business.” Gu Yancheng explained casually as if he had sensed Su Mei’s confusion.

As for what business he had attended to, that was not something a mere cannon fodder like Su Mei needed to know.

“Ding——” The elevator door opened.

Su Mei instinctively took a step to the side, only to see Gu Yancheng merely pressing the elevator’s button.

“Let’s go.” Gu Yancheng said, noticing that Su Mei was still standing there in a daze.

“Oh, right, thank you.” Su Mei said, looking down as she replied.

Glancing at the two cameramen, Su Mei felt a bit hesitant.

“That……”

“Are they from the production team?”

“Yes.”

“Then come on up.”

……

As the elevator doors were about to close, a clear voice called out, “Hold on!”

The next moment, a thick folder was wedged between the closing doors, successfully stopping them from shutting.