Chapter 22: A Night of Wind and Rain

The PR staff had long suspected that with such high salaries, the work couldn't stay easy forever. They just hadn't expected that the boss wouldn't just stir up trouble, but would drop a massive bombshell when he finally did!

"Which direction should we guide the public opinion?"

Everyone was utterly lost.

With only this much information, they didn't even know who the woman was, nor did they know the specifics of what had happened between the two. They had absolutely no starting point.

Fan Tiantian tapped her fingers lightly on the desk, reminding everyone

"Alright, alright, don't act so inexperienced. We're working in this circle; it's not like we're dealing with crime or drugs. What's there to be shocked about? They got married and registered properly; there's nothing to smear. Why the panic?"

No matter how explosive an event was, if you heard about it twice, you could stay calm.

Li Jie was a very gentle person, usually always smiling.

Even as Fan Tiantian scolded him with a dark expression, he would just smile and add, "I suppose it's precisely because it doesn't involve those things that everyone finds it so strange!" The anxiety permeating the meeting room instantly thinned out.

"You start panicking before the sentence is even finished—you guys really are something! The boss's wife is Gu Lanxi. Yes, the one who starred in *Spring Day* and won the Golden Horse for Best Actress. They dated when they were eighteen."

Given that they were rekindling an old flame, a flash marriage made sense.

Zhang Mingyuan explained what he knew and then sat down to listen.

Since Brother Yuan knew the general situation, the matter wasn't so difficult to handle after all.

Fan Tiantian clapped her hands and began to lead the meeting

"Alright, Xiao Wen, take notes. First, let's brainstorm and list all the possible channels through which this could be leaked. Come on, think for two minutes, then we'll go around the table clockwise until no new possibilities can be thought of."

Fan Tiantian was iron-fisted and always demanded strict adherence to orders. When it came to work, everyone was very cooperative, and the meeting room quickly descended into intense discussion.

***

After half a month of scorching sun, rain finally fell tonight.

Gale-force winds shook the roadside trees, sending lush green leaves flying through the air.

Raindrops fell with a pitter-patter, stinging the face upon impact.

The parched ground absorbed the water, becoming moist, then soaked, and finally drenched by the torrential downpour.

The clear rainwater turned muddy as it picked up dust, flowing from high places to low, eventually disappearing into the roadside iron grates and flowing into the distance through underground pipes.

Today's high was nearly 41 degrees Celsius; even after nightfall, there was no sense of coolness.

The scalding asphalt road, hit by the water, released a humid heat that climbed up the legs. Within moments, one would become sweaty and sticky.

A mustard-yellow sports car screeched to a halt outside the small building, splashing water everywhere.

As soon as Lu Nanting stepped out of the car, his hat was nearly blown away by the wind.

The heavy rain had arrived abruptly, moving even faster than his flash marriage.

One block away was still dry, but a change in route turned him into a drowned rat.

Lu Nanting didn't have time to worry about much; he slammed the car door, braved the rain, and strode up the steps.

As it turned out, the access control couldn't recognize the face of this "drowned rat," forcing him to wipe his face several times before he could open the door.

A summer night rain wasn't actually that cold, but his clothes and hair were all sticking to his body, making him look a bit pathetic.

Fortunately, to facilitate his image management, his frequent haunts were always stocked with change of clothes.

Lu Nanting entered the building in squelching sneakers, slipped into his lounge, found a set of clothes, took a shower, and changed. Only then, wearing slippers and drying his hair, did he leisurely walk toward the meeting room.

At this moment, in the meeting room, everyone was in a state of frantic chaos.

The cause was a new work arrangement proposed by Fan Tiantian

"Xiao Qin, you edit a few videos. If the news breaks later, release them gradually. We need to strive to cultivate a group of battle-ready CP fans as soon as possible."

It was common knowledge that CP fans (couple fans) existed in irreconcilable conflict with "wife fans" or "girlfriend fans."

After the boss got married, as long as the relationship wasn't so bad that they were about to divorce, the best way forward was to convert wife and girlfriend fans into CP fans.

This way, fans wouldn't lose too many members, nor would they turn against the brand by trying to break up the couple.

If the woman had a mountain of scandals, they wouldn't dare use this tactic. But Gu Lanxi was practically glowing; countless male celebrities tried to get close to her and failed.

No matter how they marketed this CP, it would be a profit.

Simply surviving a crisis wasn't a feat; the optimal solution was to "pluck chestnuts from the fire"—to gain benefits from the crisis.

"Sister Tian, I admit it's a good idea, but you're asking the impossible! Even a skilled housewife can't cook without rice, you know? They are rarely seen in the same frame. One is a singer, the other is an actress, and they basically never do joint business. How am I supposed to edit? Even if I turn into a master editor, I can't!"

Forcing a pairing would likely result in being torn apart by fans from both sides!

Someone felt the same way

"If Brother Yuan hadn't sworn on his life that they really had a thing in the past, I wouldn't have guessed it in a million years! They seem like two people who aren't even remotely connected, right?"

This immediately drew agreement: "Exactly! The three of us follow Brother every day and we didn't even know about them. You want to ship them? You're better off just buying a bag of sunflower seeds from the street to snack on."

To facilitate the work, the three assistants who personally looked after Lu Nanting were also called in halfway through.

To be honest, when they first heard Lu Nanting had flash-married today, they were even more incredulous than anyone else!

After all, to reach the stage of marriage, even if they didn't contact each other frequently, they had to know each other, right?

When Lu Nanting was busy, his assistants held his phone; they had never once received a call from a young girl.

Thus, their reaction to the news was particularly intense.

Lu Nanting's studio was located within the Lu Group campus, occupying a private three-story building.

Bihu Tiandi was somewhat far from the Lu Group campus; it took Lu Nanting over an hour to get here. By the time he arrived, everyone was busy.

It was already the middle of the night. To stay alert, everyone had coffee in one hand and a computer in the other, researching data while taking notes.

As Lu Nanting walked to the door, just as he was about to push it open, he heard Fan Tiantian's voice say faintly, "Who says there's no material? First, play all those songs he wrote. We're going to scrutinize them bit by bit tonight!"

When a singer-songwriter falls in love, there is bound to be "sugar" (sweetness) in the songs.

Compared to marrying some random woman, the fact that their brother married his incredibly talented first love was undoubtedly the easiest thing for fans to accept.

Most of Lu Nanting's songs were popular hits, many of which were related to love, and all were written by him.

Lyrics, composition, and arrangement—he handled everything from start to finish; he couldn't even blame it on anyone else.

The group praised Sister Tian's ingenuity.

Fan Tiantian acted nonchalant, buffing her nails as she continued, "Based on my experience, our young master has some symptoms of being 'love-brained.' Whenever he appears in the same venue as the boss's wife, his little gestures are bound to slip through! Collect video footage and edit it frame by frame!"

Gu Lanxi was so beautiful that every time she walked a red carpet, she would trend on social media even without paid publicity. If the boss was truly in love, his eyes would surely follow her.

"I remember at last year's charity gala, the boss's wife almost tripped, and Qi Feng helped her up? Let's see what the boss was doing at that time, hehehe..."

"No way? You're already shipping them this fast?"

"I'm quick. I just searched it up and took a look. Hehehe, it's quite addictive."

With Fan Tiantian leading the way, everyone brainstormed, constantly proposing new ideas.

"Oh my god, you guys haven't dealt with Gu Lanxi, so you don't know how cold she can be. Since she's willing to flash-marry our young master, she must have feelings for him! Let's go through the concert recordings; we'll definitely find something!"

"There are so many concerts, and each recording is several hours long. How long will it take? I suggest we cross-reference their schedules and focus on the ones that overlap."

"What if he's a hidden 'love-brain' too? He might travel back and forth on the same day; it's not reliable for the schedule."

"I suggest checking the ticket records! Everything is real-name registered now. If the face doesn't match the ticket, they won't pass security. If she went to see him, we can definitely find her seat, and then searching the recordings will be much easier."

Complimentary tickets have very obvious seating. If Gu Lanxi wanted to go, she would surely buy her own ticket.

"Ha! Clear thinking!"

"Hey! As expected of us! Truly geniuses!"

"But the workload is insane. It looks like we're really pulling an all-nighter at the computers. Does anyone have eye drops? Lend me a few drops, mine are finished."

"No rush. I ordered crayfish. Sharpening the knife shouldn't delay the woodcutting—let's not rush. Let's have a late-night snack first."

Seeing that everyone had found a new direction, Zhang Mingyuan breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and clapped with a smile.

If you want the horse to run, you have to feed it grass.

In this regard, Lu Nanting had always been generous.

I have a very stereotypical impression of Russian novels; every volume is incredibly long and filled with subtle analysis. Russian winters are long and it's cold to go out, so Russian novelists must love staying home to write and write, and then their works become long without them realizing it.

A cozy fireplace and warm sunlight through large glass windows must make the creative urge explode.

That's why I don't like going out in winter either; I can surely write more drafts.

If I don't, it must be because there's no fireplace at home.

Maybe I can even blame the sun.

Didn't I tell you guys last year that I wanted to grow an Epiphyllum?

Recently, it sprouted a tender bud.

Wow~

It might be related to me being too busy lately and forgetting to water them.

As long as I'm a little lazier, they will be fine.

Two of my lilies have bloomed, a super gentle pink; I look at them eight times a day.

I need to learn more about bulb maintenance. I hope they grow big and sprout a lot.

I hope to reunite with them on my balcony every year.

After exploring for a whole year, I almost know what can be grown in my house. I hope that in a few more years, the flowering period will be more stable.

Ideally, from January to December.

My computer's C drive is often full; the bright red color is so scary. After the "overachiever" tinkers with it for a bit, it's restored.

I praised him for doing a good job.

He said if I never learn, I will never know what I have lost.

I thought that made a lot of sense, so I asked him if he could plug in a RAM stick to make the C drive bigger.

Then he stopped talking to me.

(End of Chapter)