Chapter 39: [The Popular Me]

As late April arrived in Yancheng, the days grew longer.

At 6:00 PM, the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, staining the sky in a gradient of orange-red and golden yellow.

Tang Song closed his notebook, tidied his desk, and clocked out right on time.

Just as he finished punching out at the front desk, someone gave his shoulder a heavy pat.

Du Shaokai approached with a grin and clocked out immediately after him.

He winked at the beautiful receptionist. "Yuying, next time your administration department has a dinner gathering, make sure to notify me. I know a place that makes killer BBQ."

Du Yuying giggled, covering her mouth. "Sure thing, Brother Du. When that time comes, the girls without cars will have to rely on you for rides."

Du Shaokai shook the Cadillac keys in his hand. "No problem! Old Song and I are heading out. Bye~"

"Bye-bye."

Du Shaokai threw an arm around Tang Song's shoulder and pointed toward the stairwell with a smile. "Let's go, Old Song. I've got something to chat with you about. You haven't replied to my WeChat messages these past few days, and some things aren't convenient to say in the office."

Tang Song glanced at him and nodded. "Fine."

During the three days Tang Song had taken leave, Du Shaokai had periodically asked him about the project's progress, urging him to try and finish it this week.

It seemed that in Du's eyes, Tang Song would be 100% compliant when faced with the pressure from Director Chen.

*Creak—* Pushing open the heavy security door, they entered the quiet stairwell.

Du Shaokai visibly relaxed.

He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one for himself, took a deep drag, and then offered it to Tang Song. "Want one?"

"I don't smoke."

"Heh, alright then." Leaning against the wall while blowing smoke rings, Du Shaokai said with a smile, "That requirement from the HR department should be sorted by next Monday, right? Remember to submit it to the 'dev' branch of the Git repository first, and I'll handle the merge and deployment."

"Isn't that your task?" Tang Song shrugged, mimicking his posture. "I haven't received any work orders from HR, so it has nothing to do with me."

Du Shaokai's smoking paused. "Old Song, let me be straight with you.

Tian Jing is the one who wants this module added. You should know I like her, and she has quite a background—none of us can afford to offend her.

Let the past be the past; please overlook my previous shortcomings.

As long as you work steadily under me from now on, I can guarantee you a comfortable life in this company."

Tang Song patted him on the arm and smiled. "I saw in the business system that the development period is only half a month. Good luck, Little Du; you don't have much time left."

No wonder he was so invested; it was all because of Tian Jing.

A 22-year-old compensation manager. If we're talking connections, she was far more powerful than Du Shaokai's uncle, who was a Vice President.

Anger welled up in Du Shaokai's eyes, and his voice rose significantly. "You might not know this yet, but at most by next month, I'll be promoted to Backend Team Lead—which means I'll be your direct supervisor.

You'd better think carefully about the consequences before you speak or act.

In this society, capable workers are the one thing we don't lack. If you won't do it, there are plenty of people waiting to take your place."

Tang Song met his gaze calmly, showing no sign of fear or retreat. "Then congratulations in advance, Supervisor Du. I have things to do, so I'm leaving."

With that, he pushed open the fire door.

*Clack.* Du Shaokai flicked his cigarette away; it hit the fire door. His tone turned completely cold. "I'll be discussing this with Director Chen. The team has no need for a troublemaker like you, and Jinxiu Trading has no room for a big shot like you either."

Tang Song paused his footsteps and looked back. "I've realized you are incredibly hypocritical, just like Chen Yunteng. You claim to care about the team and the company, but you're clearly only looking out for your own interests."

Without waiting for Du Shaokai's reaction, he walked straight out.

Currently, he felt no pressure at all. Pay cuts, layoffs—he feared nothing.

...

Qingxin Jiayuan Residential Area.

Tang Song was scrolling through short videos while eating a large portion of a fat-loss meal.

Though the food was plain, the beautiful girl in the video made it very easy to eat.

*Ding-dong—* A WeChat notification sounded.

[Gao Mengting: "Meiting Clothing Studio.map"]

[Gao Mengting: "We just got a new batch of menswear in. The cuts are excellent. Mr. Tang, feel free to come and pick some out; I'll sell them to you at cost."]

Tang Song replied: "Alright, see you this weekend."

Exiting the chat, he clicked on Zhao Yaqian's chat box.

It had been two hours since he sent the invitation to go shopping, and there was still no reply.

He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he felt that ever since that road trip, Zhao Yaqian had been somewhat avoiding him; her enthusiasm for chatting wasn't as high as before.

After a moment of hesitation, he decided not to send any more messages.

Just then, a system light screen automatically unfolded before him.

[April 20, 2023: You have achieved the goal of surpassing 1,000 followers on the Xiaohongshu platform.]

[Though insignificant, you have officially become a qualified influencer. Your voice has gained a small amount of influence, and your transformation journey has attracted considerable attention. You have gained the authority to open a Dandelion platform account to monetize through advertisements.]

[You have obtained the title: "The Popular Me"]

[Equip immediately? Yes / No]

Tang Song felt a surge of joy. He had finally surpassed 1,000 followers!

His daily updates and active interactions had not been in vain.

However, to his surprise, the reward this time was a title.

In games, a title is an honorary marker that, besides being displayed, comes with special effects—such as attribute bonuses, temperament, skills, and so on.

He clicked *Equip*!

A flash of golden light appeared before his eyes.

The system automatically jumped to the main interface, and a golden title appeared above his 3D character's head.

He clicked to view the details.

[The Popular Me]: While wearing this title, for every new follower you gain on your registered social media accounts, you will receive a cash reward equivalent to 100 times the value.

[Note 1: The use of any marketing or promotional means to acquire followers is prohibited.]

[Note 2: Your common platforms include (Douyin, Xiaohongshu).]

[Current Cash Reward: 102,000 RMB (Total: 102,000 RMB)]

He was going to strike it rich!

Seeing the content of the title, Tang Song gasped.

In the game *God's Growth Plan*, he had obtained many titles that came with cash rewards.

For example, [The Power of Breath], where the character received 5 RMB for every breath taken.

For someone like him, who possessed a "cheat" and was rapidly building a commercial empire, such titles were essentially useless, and he had rarely equipped them.

But in the real world, for his current self, this was an absolute game-changer!

One follower equals 100 RMB; 10,000 followers equals 1 million!

Tang Song only regretted that he didn't play Weibo or Kuaishou more often; otherwise, his "common platforms" would include more than just these two.

Still, it wasn't bad. Gaining followers on Douyin was much easier than on Xiaohongshu.

Even without any promotion, as long as he kept posting videos, the growth rate would definitely be faster than on Xiaohongshu.

And the system was truly generous, counting his existing followers as well.

Tang Song picked up his phone to check his follower count.

He currently had 1,001 followers on Xiaohongshu.

On Douyin, because he only had a few simple daily clips, he had 19 followers.

A total of 1,020 followers meant his withdrawable amount was 102,000 RMB.

(End of Chapter)