Chapter 64: World Two [34]

French poems were very conducive to sleep. As Shao Qing listened, her thoughts began to relax, and after twenty minutes, she slowly drifted into dreams.

Hearing the breathing of the person beside her become steady, Jing Ke finished reading the remaining portion. She pulled the blanket up a little higher and then lay flat, starting to cultivate her own drowsiness.

Jing Ke didn’t move around much when sleeping, at most rolling over or turning to the other side.

However, Shao Qing, who had slept alone since she was little, was different. Once she entered a deep sleep, her body’s instincts took over.

Moving closer to a heat source in the cold winter was one of those instincts. Shao Qing didn’t wrap herself around Jing Ke like an octopus, but the thirty-centimeter distance between them was reduced to zero within an hour of her falling asleep.

Shao Qing hadn’t hugged Jing Ke, but her entire body was pressed against her. Most of her exhaled breaths scattered over Jing Ke’s ear, making her open her eyes in the deep of night.

Jing Ke thought of many things, and she remembered many things, but in the end, she did nothing.

Silently tugging the blanket up higher, she closed her eyes again and spent a not-too-peaceful night.

—

As the big boss of New Life Entertainment, Jing Ke naturally had to attend the company’s first Annual Meeting.

Because Director Li was publicly casting roles within New Life Entertainment, many people were paying attention to the company’s movements.

Some directors and small production teams lacking investment were even trying to get their hands on invitations, hoping to sneak in and get to know Jing Ke, the boss who liked throwing money around everywhere. They wanted to see if their luck could turn around and they could become the lucky goose to be invested in.

For an entertainment company that had just changed bosses, holding a completely closed-door Annual Meeting wasn’t a wise move.

However, Jing Ke didn’t interfere much. She just had the Head of HR arrange it, sending an invitation to everyone she had worked with pleasantly. It stated they could bring a friend along with the invitation.

With a rich boss backing it, it was inevitable that the New Life Entertainment Annual Meeting would be lavish. The souvenir gift was a Fortune Bead made of hard currency—gold—worth four figures.

Whether for its value or material, most people couldn’t refuse such a souvenir.

“I’m very glad everyone was willing to attend…” Jing Ke, wearing a white suit, stood on the stage and tried to read the pre-prepared speech with as much emotion as possible.

After successfully receiving enthusiastic applause from below the stage, Jing Ke stepped down with a smile and handed the remaining work over to the Vice President handling daily affairs.

“The Annual Meeting’s schedule was arranged by HR and PR together. The basic flow is similar to Zongheng’s, just with a few more sensible journalists on the guest list.” After showing her face, Jing Ke returned to Shao Qing’s side.

New Life Entertainment’s Annual Meeting had a seating chart. The people seated around Jing Ke were mostly diligent corporate slaves, not those in the entertainment circle.

So, upon seeing their boss acting intimately with Shao Qing, they continued doing whatever they were doing, as if they hadn’t seen anything.

“I remember you set a Grand Prize. Are you going to draw and present the prize later yourself?” Shao Qing asked.

Jing Ke nodded first, then shook her head. “The Grand Prize is an apartment of 188 square meters. You’ll draw it later, and then I’ll present it.”

“I’m drawing the prize? You didn’t tell me this in advance.” Shao Qing was a little surprised. She thought she was just here to show her face and go through the motions, not that there was a segment requiring her to go on stage.

“Originally, there wasn’t this segment, but the reception staff just told me a senior executive from Zongheng Entertainment also came, as a director’s friend,” Jing Ke said.

“They might just be here to watch the excitement, but they might also want to see your current standing in New Life Entertainment.” Jing Ke analyzed rationally.

Jing Ke: “Having you just sit at the same table as me isn’t enough to show my sincerity. I need to make them understand that I won’t choose you because of interests, but purely because I want to choose you.”

Jing Ke didn’t deliberately control her volume when speaking. Other company executives at the same table and artists who wanted to come toast and get their faces seen all heard.

The former didn’t react much. In their eyes, Boss bringing Shao Qing to sit beside her at the Annual Meeting was already enough to see her attitude.

As for the latter, who came with a few ulterior motives, their expressions stiffened for a moment. Their originally flattering words became purely blessings and attempts to get closer; they didn’t make any sneaky moves.

The emotions in Shao Qing’s eyes were somewhat complex. Being protected and cared for like this, it was impossible not to be moved at all.

At least Shao Qing couldn’t do it. Even though she had already given part of her Fortune in advance, after being treated this way, Shao Qing still felt somewhat overwhelmed by the favor.

As for deeper emotions, Shao Qing didn’t want to scrutinize them, and somewhat didn’t dare to.

—

In Sea City, a 188-square-meter property was not cheap. Even in the suburbs, the price was up to several million. It was a well-deserved Grand Prize.

So, when the drawing of the final Grand Prize was announced, most people couldn’t help but look at the person in the black fishtail dress on stage. Countless eyes filled with expectation and longing fell upon Shao Qing.

The drawing method was unremarkable—just a random draw of the Number Cards everyone had collected.

Seeing a self-disciplined journalist raise their phone and aim the camera at her, Shao Qing didn’t hesitate. She quickly smiled and pressed the button in front of her, fixing a number on the large screen.

“Number 88, a very auspicious number. Is the person who received Number Card 88 here?” The host holding the microphone asked, repeating “Number 88.”

“Me, it’s me, I won!” The one struck by this sudden fortune was a Head Administrator from the Finance Department.

Because the Finance Department was relatively special, after the change of boss, many so-called confidants were fired. Over half of the employees there were newly recruited.

This Head Administrator was one of the few employees who had been kept on. Because of her outstanding ability, she had just been promoted by Jing Ke last month.

“Please come up on stage to receive the prize, and also welcome our Chairman to present the award for her.” The host smiled, but the envy in her eyes was also very obvious.

Giving away a house worth millions just like that, truly a boss rolling in money. If only the host could also receive a Number Card! She also wanted to draw a prize!

“Congratulations.” Jing Ke took the Property Deed from the Ceremony Lady’s hands and generously handed it to the Finance Head Administrator. She said a few more words than usual: “When you go to work tomorrow, you can process the transfer procedures. The house is an Unfinished shell, so you can decorate it according to your own preferences.”

“Okay, thank you, Boss! I will definitely work hard! I’ll help you, Boss, manage the account books well!” The Finance Head Administrator said, slightly agitated.

Truthfully, half the reason she was willing to stay after the company changed hands was Jing Ke’s outstanding looks.

But no matter how good-looking the boss was, they couldn’t compare to the Property Deed in hand. The Finance Head Administrator just glanced at her boss a couple more times, then hugged the Property Deed and started grinning like a fool.

Jing Ke didn’t mind. She proactively went over and took Shao Qing’s hand, standing in the center position, and cooperated with the people below to take photos.

Whether it was the Annual Meeting Grand Prize being a 188-square-meter flat, or Shao Qing’s surprise appearance at the New Life Entertainment Annual Meeting as the prize draw guest, both were extremely eye-catching headlines.

So, those self-disciplined journalists who had gotten tickets, after taking slightly blurry photos with their phones, took out the tablets they carried with them and started writing drafts, all about seizing the initiative.

The netizens’ reactions were just as they expected. After slightly polishing and publishing the drafts, the click rate skyrocketed. A bunch of Corporate Slaves still miserably working overtime as the year-end approached couldn’t help but shed tears full of sour jealousy upon seeing the related trending posts.

“Why, just why! I’m also in finance, why wasn’t the winner me!”

“Is this the boldness of a big boss? Giving away a house worth millions just like that? Is it too late for me to job-hop now?”

“Why is my Qingqing also in the photo? Is this Qingqing’s company’s Annual Meeting?”

“No, this is New Life Entertainment’s Annual Meeting. The boss seems to be Shao Qing’s good friend, she was probably invited to attend, right?”

“Remove the ‘probably’! She directly drew the Grand Prize! Their relationship is definitively good!”

“What, what? Is this a new CP I just got into giving out sugar? Let me come and take a bite.”

“Sob sob, I also want to attend New Life Entertainment’s Annual Meeting. It’s okay if I don’t win the prize, just give me a souvenir gift. Yes, I’m talking about that four-figure Fortune Bead made of gold.”

The Corporate Slaves were scrolling through their phones while working overtime. Less than an hour after these press releases were sent out, they had been manually pushed onto the tail end of the Trending Topics.

By the time Jing Ke and Shao Qing, who had had a few small drinks, left the Annual Meeting venue early, the trending topic had already rushed into the top ten.

After politely declining the General Assistant’s offer to drive her home, Jing Ke skillfully sat in Shao Qing’s Nanny Van and had the Little Assistant take them both home.

Jing Ke had a high alcohol tolerance, but she blushes very easily. Before finishing two glasses, her face was already flushed red, making those below her dare not toast her anymore.

Shao Qing’s situation was somewhat the opposite. Her alcohol tolerance was just average, but she didn’t blush at all when drinking. Unless someone was very close to her, they couldn’t even tell the difference between Drunk her and normal her.

Even Shao Qing herself didn’t feel drunk. After the car started, she took out her phone, intending to check the online Trending Topics like usual.

After clicking the wrong app twice, Shao Qing successfully opened her Weibo and saw that names of herself and Jing Ke had appeared at the top of the Trending Topics. Without thinking, she clicked on it.

Raising her phone close to her eyes and looking carefully for a while, Shao Qing tilted her head slightly up to look at Jing Ke. “Big Boss, so many people want to job-hop to your company. They also want the Grand Prize.”

“Is that so? The company is expected to expand its scale next year, and some positions might open up in March. If they’re interested, they can try submitting their resumes,” Jing Ke said.

“Mmm—they also said, they’re fine without the Grand Prize, they’re not greedy, just want the souvenir gift.” Shao Qing narrowed her eyes slightly looking at the screen.

Under the influence of alcohol, Shao Qing seemed less cautious and careful than usual, becoming more direct when expressing her emotions.

“In that case, how about drawing a few netizens to send them to? I remember the procurement department seemed to have prepared over twenty extra souvenir gifts,” Jing Ke said.

“Alright, then I’ll post a Weibo and set up a lottery link later?” Shao Qing agreed immediately. “Quick, go ask procurement how many Fortune Beads are left. We’ll draw and give them all away.”

“Okay.” Jing Ke didn’t delay either, taking out her phone and sending a message to the Procurement Director on the work app.

Within three minutes, the Procurement Director sent over a list of the leftover souvenir gifts and prizes from the Annual Meeting.

Jing Ke only wanted the twenty-five extra souvenir gifts. As for the extra prizes, she had the procurement department distribute them to employees who contributed more at the Annual Meeting, also as a New Year’s gift.

“Twenty-five in total. I’ve told them already. You post the lottery Weibo, and they’ll repost it,” Jing Ke said.

“Okay, should I set a participation threshold? Like following you?” Shao Qing asked while typing.

Jing Ke thought for three seconds. “Just following you and the company’s official account is fine. I don’t really post on Weibo, they don’t need to follow me.”

“That means my fans, and New Life Entertainment’s fans.” Shao Qing murmured softly, then, after checking one last time that the number of prizes wasn’t wrong, pressed the send button.

“Whoa, twenty-five souvenir gifts? The big boss is so generous, giving them away just like that! I just like this kind of boss!”

“Weird, why was this lottery Weibo posted by Shao Qing? Shouldn’t it have been posted by the boss?”

“Probably because Shao Qing has more fans? If she posts it, more people can see the message.”

“It must be because they’re still together! They’re one of us, does it matter whose phone sends the message? What’s important now is to quickly join the lottery! Results are out at midnight tonight!”

“It’s sugar from my CP! Sisters, come quickly and take a bite! A President and a star are indeed the best match! Especially a Female Star and a Female President!”

“Whoa, such a fast lottery! I’m here to be cannon fodder! Good luck spray!”

The lottery really boosted follower counts. The company account, which originally had only a hundred thousand followers, quickly soared to several hundred thousand, seemingly heading towards a million.

But this good news didn’t stir much reaction from Jing Ke as the company boss. Her attention was drawn by Shao Qing, who had appeared before her door in her pajamas for the second time.