Chapter 58: She is a Conservative

Chapter 58: She is a Conservative

Jiang Xiaoya: "I just saw the incoming calls."

Jiang Xiaoya: "I've seen the trending searches too."

The director happened to be in a meeting. Hearing the ding of a text message, he picked up his phone to reply: "It's fine, we can handle it."

Jiang Xiaoya rested her chin on her hand: "How will you handle it?"

Director: "We've uncovered a few things. The trending searches online are related to Zhou Yuyu. We are currently looking for evidence from her bank statements."

This wasn't something an ordinary person could investigate; it would take some time, but they had already thought of a way to respond.

Jiang Xiaoya: "Don't ban her livestream. Collect the evidence. When the time is ripe, call the police. If you can't call the police, sue her. It would be best if you could do both. In short, don't touch her for now."

Just after she sent that message, Qing Tianfeng happened to return. He pushed the door open, his gaze falling on her, and handed over the documents in his hand.

"Take a look."

Jiang Xiaoya put away her phone and reached out to take the documents from him.

Two hundred thousand. That was quite a lot.

"Thank you. I deserve this," she said with a brilliant smile.

Qing Tianfeng: "..."

Two hundred thousand sounded like a lot, but it truly was something she had traded her life for; saying she deserved it wasn't an exaggeration.

Taking the stamped documents, Jiang Xiaoya stood up from her seat: "Let's go, Captain Qing. Let's go have a good meal."

Qing Tianfeng wanted to refuse, but looking at her face, he changed his words: "Alright."

After going through such a major case, they really should have a meal to part on good terms.

Life needs a bit of ritual, doesn't it?

To make this farewell meal a bit more grand, Qing Tianfeng called the rest of the criminal investigation team.

The members of the criminal investigation team were still busy working. Hearing that Jiang Xiaoya was treating them to a meal, they were incredibly excited, calling out to everyone else to drop what they were doing and eat first.

"Stop working! A VIP is treating us to a feast, hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Jiang Xiaoya is treating? Then we definitely have to go!"

"The VIP is indeed sensible—eating meat herself without forgetting to let us have a sip of the soup."

"Grant me a bout of busyness, grant me a bout of pleasure... she truly is a woman one loves and hates simultaneously..."

Yu Cuo hadn't even finished his sentence when he sensed something was wrong. He looked up, only to meet the deadpan stares of the entire criminal investigation team.

"Hey, wait, Yu Cuo, are you actually going to let us eat in peace?"

It was better if he hadn't said that. Once he did, it was very easy for people to be reminded of the "overloaded" workload they had endured lately.

"Hehehe, don't be like that..." Facing the dissatisfied glares of the group, Yu Cuo tried his best to explain (argue): "Although she has added quite a bit to our workload, she's also brought in a lot of business! I heard from the leadership that our bonuses at the end of the month will double."

The expressions of the others softened slightly, but they still warned him not to bring up such killjoy remarks, as it really did trigger some unpleasant memories.

***

On the other side.

The director stared at the text message he had received, falling into deep thought.

Although the others were curious, they didn't dare crowd around, offering only concerned looks: "Director, what's wrong?"

"Hiss..." The director looked at the message on his phone, pondering it over and over, unable to make sense of it. He handed the phone to the assistant director, who was closest: "Tell me, does she mean... this meaning... hiss..."

"Uh..." The assistant director looked at the sentence with an equally incredulous expression.

"This... was said by Jiang Xiaoya?"

"Yes. So, is it what I think it is?" The director asked with a probing look.

The assistant director nodded hesitantly and clicked his tongue: "I couldn't tell. Jiang Xiaoya is quite a tough character."

Hearing the two leaders whispering, the others were completely bewildered.

"Director, Assistant Director, what should we do now?"

"Which plan do you two think is more appropriate?"

"I still think our team's plan is better. First, release the evidence of Zhou Yuyu hiring people to buy followers and trending searches, then ban her livestream and issue her a severe lawyer's warning."

"Inappropriate, highly inappropriate. We can't ban her livestream; it will affect the show's rapport with the audience. I think we can talk to Zhou Yuyu, or perhaps she can become the second trump card of our show? Mutual benefit and win-win—that is the original intention of entertainment programs."

"I think our program needs to have its own stance."

"We can have a stance, but we can't let the contestants feel disheartened. Now that the show is popular, everyone is watching us."

"If we have a stance, we must have an edge. Besides, if you're worried about others feeling disheartened, aren't you afraid of Jiang Xiaoya feeling disheartened?"

"Didn't a female celebrity say that gentleness is also a form of strength..."

Below them, the conservatives and the radicals engaged in a heated debate.

"Ahem, why don't we hear Jiang Xiaoya's stance?" the assistant director spoke up solemnly.

"Oh, the director just sent Jiang Xiaoya a message."

At the mention of Jiang Xiaoya, the faces of the production crew all turned flattering.

The leaders gave them work, and they were just receiving hardship pay. Jiang Xiaoya was different; the bonuses Jiang Xiaoya created were leading them toward a better life. If the production company went public because of her, she would be their God of Wealth.

"Mhm," the director nodded with a certain tone.

"Then... is Jiang Xiaoya on the side of the conservatives or the radicals?" the people below asked excitedly.

Both the conservatives and the radicals looked on with anticipation.

"Jiang Xiaoya? She is a conservative..." The director nodded with a certain, definitive look.

The conservatives excitedly pumped their fists, making a declaration of victory: "I knew Sister Chun was a kind, sensible, and reasonable girl..."

The director ignored him and looked toward the radicals opposite him, speaking up: "Jiang Xiaoya is a conservative. She feels that the radicals' ideas are still too conservative."

Conservatives: "..."

Everyone: "..."

"Then what does Jiang Xiaoya mean? What should we do?"

The crowd was baffled, wanting to know how a radical's idea could be "too conservative" for a conservative.

"Jiang Xiaoya's meaning is... collect the evidence, and send her inside."

The director raised his hand, making a gesture as if to dismiss them.

"..."

Send her inside?

Did they mean "inside" as in the national prison, or the legal system?

*Clap, clap, clap!*

The crowd snapped back to reality and began to applaud.

*Clap, clap, clap!*

"As expected, a conservative."

She truly was a woman who could go toe-to-toe with the King of Hell; she had made them redefine the meaning of "conservative."

Someone below silently wiped a cold sweat from their forehead.

***

Jiang Xiaoya treated the criminal investigation team to dinner. As soon as they left the police station, she turned on her "Heavenly Eye" earpiece.

They went to a food stall that Qing Tianfeng and the others frequently visited for gatherings.

Once the car stopped, Yu Cuo was the first to jump out. He went inside to give the owner the order. Seeing Qing Tianfeng and Jiang Xiaoya enter, he pulled out chairs for them with an enthusiastic smile: "I've ordered a few dishes. What do Captain Qing and... Comrade Jiang like to eat? Let's order a few more."

Jiang Xiaoya had no other requirements except one: make the food come out as quickly as possible.

Qing Tianfeng had no objections either, but he did not sit in the chair Yu Cuo had pulled out; instead, he sat a few seats away from Jiang Xiaoya.