I Think He's an Idiot!

Boss Lei spoke lightly, but he was clear-headed underneath.

Even a slight ripple in a listed company like his could affect the stock price.

Though he let the news leak in the inner circles, he cautiously arranged for people to monitor the fermentation of online public opinion.

*

"Haha, old Lei, this time Young Master Yan stepped right on your face to reach the top."

Boss Lei waved his hand and laughed heartily, "I might not necessarily lose out."

His cynical friend opposite him froze, "How so?"

"We are both self-made men; don't you understand the logic that the thicker the skin, the bigger the house?"

"You haven't even met this Young Master Yan yet."

Boss Lei picked up the fairness cup and poured a cup of tea for his old friend.

"So what? As long as his last name is Yan, even mediocre ability can be propped up."

"If his ability is slightly prominent, it's the Yan Corporation brothers joining forces."

"And me? I just lost a little bit of face."

"President Yan called me personally, and Young Master Yan will also owe me this favor."

"With this back and forth, there will be plenty of long-term opportunities in the future."

"And how do you know if there isn't guidance from Chairman Yan and President Yan behind this Young Master Yan?"

The person opposite burst into loud laughter, "You, oh you, you really are an old fox."

Boss Lei smiled helplessly and wryly, "After sitting in this office for so many years, do you think I was willing to just hand it over like that?"

"It's just that I heard President Yan's determination in his tone, so rather than making things ugly, it's better for both sides to take a step back."

The old friend picked up the teacup and sipped it slowly, "That's the logic. Since it has to be vacated sooner or later, what difference does a day earlier or later make?"

"At Young Master Yan's age, even if he has to wait for you for another half a year until the contract expires, he can still afford to wait."

Boss Lei nodded repeatedly, "Indeed. By then, let alone moving down one floor, it might not even be my turn to move down several floors, haha."

"Do you know which sector Young Master Yan is going to invest in?"

Boss Lei's smile gradually faded, "We are old friends, you can't push me into injustice like this."

"Wherever Young Master Yan wants to invest, he invests. I'm just an insurance salesman, why should I ask about this when I have nothing to do? Don't you think that's right?"

"That is true, that is true," the old friend sitting opposite chuckled awkwardly, "I just wanted to see how big Young Master Yan's business is going to be spread."

"Whether we cooperate in the future or whatever, with someone else coming in to carve up the cake, and being so aggressive, I need to have a set of rules too."

Boss Lei put down the teacup, "I'm not clear on that. Since I've cleared out the top floor, it certainly won't be a small operation."

*

After Boss Lei's opposite friend left, the executive assistant walked back in.

"Boss Lei, should we continue to receive the people coming over later?"

Boss Lei shook his head, "What needed to be tested has pretty much been tested."

"No one else should come after this."

"The pace of that person who just went out was a bit fast," the assistant reported.

Boss Lei poured the tea leaves from earlier directly into the bucket.

He replaced them with good tea from his own collection, and leisurely brewed it, "He's anxious."

"Although the Yan Corporation invests in many and varied projects, they have never intended to establish a separate investment company."

"President Yan and the others are out of reach, and Young Master Yan hasn't even shown his face. I am the only breakthrough here."

"Just wait, it won't be long before new news spreads."

The assistant said, "I'm just afraid the gossip will keep going for a while."

Boss Lei didn't care at all, "In this business world, the more shameless people are, the more prestigious they are."

"What is gossip? We've gained so many invisible benefits, they couldn't possibly be for nothing."

*

Yan Xianjue, who had not shown his face, was currently sitting opposite Yan Yi'an in the study.

Across the wide solid-wood desk, the brothers didn't appear cramped at all sitting opposite each other.

The one who felt cramped was Yan Xianjue, "Big brother, do I really have to read all of these?"

His tone was filled with disbelief and a faint expectation of getting a negative answer.

Yan Yi'an said mercilessly, "Of course. Didn't you want to invest?"

"This one is the variety show proposal for Straight-A Students' Daily Life, this one is the director's personal resume, this one is the candidate roster for the investment company's team, and this one is..."

"Stop!" Yan Xianjue had stereo surround sound of 'this one' and 'this one' ringing through his head.

He gasped loudly, "How can there be so many!"

Yan Yi'an raised an eyebrow, "You didn't think you'd just flap your upper and lower lips together and be done with it, did you?"

Yan Xianjue: "..."

"Also," Yan Yi'an pulled out a separately printed document from the pile, "the variety show you're optimistic about doesn't seem to lack investment."

"The director only accepted one million of it, and he sent over another variety show proposal for the remaining four million."

Yan Xianjue raised an eyebrow, "One million?"

Yan Yi'an crossed his hands, resting his elbows on the desk, "What? Disappointed?"

Yan Xianjue leaned casually against the back of his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

He shook his head, "I just think this director indeed possesses some basic qualities of a newcomer director."

[Audacious, daring to try, and thinking way too wishfully.]

"One million is one million, just have people invest it first. Later on, however much others withdraw, I'll chase after and add."

"You don't need to tell the director about this, though."

Yan Yi'an asked, "You think highly of him?"

"No."

[Quite the contrary, I think he's a complete idiot.]

As the only regret on campus novel heroine Su Su's path to success.

How could that possibly be a real regret!

Mentioning this variety show was merely to introduce a variety show Su Su encountered later on.

It was planned by the director of the once-viral Straight-A Students' Daily Life.

That director flashed brilliantly like a shooting star, debuting at his peak, and never had a new work for many years after.

Until he met Su Su and hitched a ride on Su Su's coattails.

The new variety show soared into the wind.

From then on, he recognized Su Su as his career's lucky star and began turning into one of Su Su's brainless-fan male supporting characters.

When Yan Xianjue read up to here, he just wanted to roll his eyes.

The reason Straight-A Students' Daily Life was able to blow up wasn't because of the director's formidable ability, nor because of how interesting the variety show was.

It was because the Gaokao score release—a nationwide major event—brought him a huge amount of traffic.

Otherwise, why would he have flopped continuously for the first two months, only to make a comeback overnight after the Gaokao scores were released?

Yet this director became famous with his very first debut work and lost himself in the flattery.

He thought of himself as a heaven-sent talent.

The subsequent variety shows flopped one after another.

The designs lacked originality, the segments lacked fun.

The guests were exhausted, the audience was bored.

They could be called complete and utter failures.

Yet after he hitched a ride on Su Su's coattails.

He brazenly told Su Su that all these years he was unrecognized for his talent and the audience lacked an eye for appreciation.

"He has zero self-awareness of his own ability."

Yan Xianjue simply said that much.

Feeling that his big brother was not an outsider, he added a bit more explanation with a hint.

"What I'm investing in isn't his variety show, let alone him, but the guests inside his variety show."

Yan Yi'an recalled, "Those top students?"

Yan Xianjue nodded.

"Therefore, this piece of trash doesn't need to be read."

Yan Xianjue picked up the other variety show proposal handed over by the director, didn't even look at the cover, and tossed it straight into the trash can.

*

Yan Yi'an was actually somewhat surprised.

He remembered Yan Xianjue saying in his inner voice that this Straight-A Students' variety show would blow up.

With a hit variety show as a foundation, many people would scramble to invest in the director's subsequent shows.

Yet Yan Xianjue gave such a response.

Yan Yi'an thought for a moment. "Since it's like this, have you considered buying this variety show and developing it ourselves?"

Funnily enough, Yan Xianjue felt tempted.

Yet after careful consideration, he abandoned the suggestion.

"The time is too tight, and there's no need."

This variety show was at an ordinary level, whether in production or design.

It was even inferior to the graduation works of some outstanding graduates in related majors.

The reason it blew up was simply that it rode the traffic wave of the Gaokao.

What he wanted to invest in were those top students in the show, not this show's director.