Zero-Zero-Zero did not dare speak.
It was not like he had set the mission. It had been the Main System, QAQ.
The marketing director did not look much better. Their promotional video script had already been written, and editing was halfway done when this big shot had suddenly parachuted in. He cautiously asked, "Young Master Shi has so much on his plate that he might not be able to handle everything, but please rest assured, we'll definitely put Young Master Shi's name first in the final cut."
After watching their promotional material, Shi Jihan's heart pounded in alarm. "No, absolutely do not put my name on it."
It had been edited too well. Once it was released, would it not send his Malice Points, which had finally been about to return to zero, straight down to negative one thousand?
They were only holding him back.
After thinking it over, he said, "How about this? I'll make another one myself."
Zero-Zero-Zero cautiously poked his head out and lavishly showered him with praise. [Host, you're amazing! As expected of the all-powerful host I selected—you can even edit videos!]
Shi Jihan's expression eased. Raising his chin with great satisfaction, he replied, [I'm a college student, okay? Who hasn't made a video assignment for an ideological and political theory class?]
He picked up his laptop and got to work. One computer, one person, one night, one miracle—he wrote, directed, and edited the promotional video himself.
"Done!"
The promotional video was launched as an opening-screen ad, equally harassing every user who opened the app.
Zero-Zero-Zero, who had watched the whole thing, shut his mouth. This promotional video... was this right?
There were still ten days until the fashion show, and the intense publicity period had begun.
After work began on Monday, Shi Bochuan drove Shen Qinghuai to the company building on time. They ran into a shareholder head-on, and the man was clearly furious. Bristling with rage, he slammed on the horn and charged into the parking garage.
Shi Bochuan did not care.
Under the previous chairman's leadership, Shi Group's product positioning had gradually become outdated, and its market had continued to shrink. This fashion show was not only a brand promotion for the early autumn collection, but also a strategic market expansion by the new faction led by Shi Bochuan. They had launched a new fashion streetwear brand aimed at young consumers, with Shen Qinghuai as its creative director. This show was their first real test.
Where there was reform, there was resistance. The old guard in the company had long found Shi Bochuan deeply unpleasant.
After parking, the two ran into the secretary and the marketing director in the executive office area on the top floor. Shi Bochuan casually asked, "The livestream for the fashion show is ready, right? How's the pre-launch buzz?"
The secretary's expression was strange. "It's ready. The buzz... is very high."
Higher than ever before.
Aside from the brand's existing audience, a huge number of young people who did not normally follow this industry had flooded in.
"It must be because Third Brother's promotion worked," Shi Bochuan said, praising him without even asking. "I knew it. He definitely likes working, and he likes shining in his position even more."
As he spoke, he took out his tablet and opened the promotional video on the official social media account.
He had been too busy lately. He had only watched the marketing department's final cut and had not yet seen Shi Jihan's version.
Shen Qinghuai leaned over to watch as well.
The video began with a skateboarder falling from the sky, trying to look cool as he attempted a 720-degree aerial spin.
When he landed, his left foot stepped on his right foot. He dropped to his knees on the skateboard and screamed, "Mom!" as he shot out of frame.
The camera transitioned smoothly. Shi Jihan slid into frame from the floor while lying down, the Shi Group logo scrolling across the tablet in his hand. Lying on his side, he crooked a finger at the camera. "I was reborn. Reborn as the public stand-in at an elite academy. This time, I choose to wear the new looks from the Shi Corporation fashion show. High-end designs, top luxury brands—make you fall in love with me without feeling inferior."
Shi Bochuan, trying to comprehend it: ?
What was this filthy thing?
The camera cut again. A fisherman was smacked across the face by the spiraling tail of a giant fish he had reeled in.
"Ahhh~~" Shi Jihan cried. Covering his face, he staggered to the ground, then seamlessly transitioned into gazing up at the camera from a forty-five-degree angle, tears glittering in his eyes. "Family, I was set up. I was once the third young master who controlled Shi Corporation, but now I've fallen onto the streets and live a miserable life."
"What? You're asking how I'll make a comeback? On June 18, follow the Shi Group PALIMPSEST fashion show and watch Shi Bochuan and me stage a battle between two dragons for the throne."
Facing the camera, he clenched his fist passionately. "This time, I will take back everything that belongs to me!"
The screen darkened, leaving only the flashing slogan in small No. 2 Fangzheng Xiaobiao Song font:
"June 18 PALIMPSEST Fashion Show: Your Gaze Guides the Moment of Trend"
A shareholder who had just parked and entered glanced over, saw the video on Shi Bochuan's tablet, and nearly could not catch his breath.
A disgrace to civility! A disgrace to civility!
Shen Qinghuai stared blankly. "This is... our promotional video?"
Shi Bochuan asked only one question. "...Who approved this?"
It was also the marketing director's first time seeing it. He had laughed so hard his molars were practically out in the sun before realizing something was wrong. "Huh? Wasn't this your instruction, boss? Young Master Shi said he could just post it directly."
Shen Qinghuai's pupils shook. Trembling, he squeezed out several words through clenched teeth. "So the viewers for this livestream..."
The secretary continued, "This promotional video made the short-video trending list. More than half the people who reserved the livestream this time came because of it."
The couple moved in perfect sync, pulling out their phones and beginning to search.
The real-time feed for the related trending topics was extremely lively.
[Raise your hand if you came from the promotional video!]
[Shi Corporation, you're so lucky. You actually produced a promotional genius like this.]
[It's this little brother again, hahaha. I'll never forget how arrogantly he made his eldest brother lower his plagiarism score.]
[College students really do have better brains. If Shi Jihan isn't at this show, I'm not watching.]
[Help, I'm seriously dying of laughter. The moment I see little brother's face, I start laughing.]
[President Shi: He closes his eyes and sees Shi Corporation's future.]
Someone directly posted a meme made from a screenshot of the video.
Shi Jihan covered his face, looking as if he were about to cry: Big Brother, I'll never dare again;
Shi Jihan lay on his side, smiling as he crooked a finger: Just kidding. Big Brother, you're fascinated by me too, aren't you?
The homepage refreshed at lightning speed, and the popularity was exploding.
It was simply higher than any fashion show Shi Corporation had ever planned before.
In short, their fashion show had successfully taken its first step beyond its usual circle.
In a way Shi Bochuan could never have imagined even in his dreams.
Chapter 10
Seeing the couple remain dazed, clearly unable to recover from that genius promotional video, the secretary could not help asking worriedly, "Boss, Team Leader Shen, are you... all right?" Had your own little brother traumatized you to death?
She very professionally swallowed the latter sentence.
Shi Bochuan recovered slightly. "Ah... yeah, I'm fine. I'm going to work."
He walked stiffly and straight toward the president's office.
Shen Qinghuai was still worried, wondering whether Shi Corporation would go bankrupt tomorrow because he stepped into the company with his left foot first.
His brother-in-law no longer targeted him all the time, but his brother-in-law's destructive power seemed to have become even stronger(?)
He was practically a high-speed spinning top octopus, slapping everyone equally across the face with a smack, smack, smack.
Shi Bochuan was even more like the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.
Just as he was thinking that, a whirlwind swept past, and Shen Qinghuai took a smack to the back.
Shi Jihan rushed in with a backpack slung over his shoulders, brimming with energy. "Morning, Brother Huai! Morning, Secretary! Morning, Director Li!"
"Morning, Young Master Shi." The secretary greeted him with a smile. It was her first time seeing Shi Jihan alive and not dead in the morning, so she asked where he was hurrying off to.
Without turning back, Shi Jihan dashed into the office. "I'm going to see Yan Bo about the finished garments today!"
People never felt tired when they were doing bad things. Shi Jihan had gotten up early that morning, eager to see the designs brought to life.
The secretary shook her head with a smile, then turned to Shen Qinghuai, who still had not recovered from the shock. "Team Leader Shen, there's a routine shareholder meeting this morning. Remember to attend."
Shen Qinghuai nodded slowly, feeling that everything that had happened that morning was incredibly dreamlike.
Even more dreamlike was that, at the shareholder meeting, the secretary displayed the backend data from all their official social media accounts. The figures continued to climb, scrolling ever upward.
The shareholders congratulated them one after another.
"Oh, this is truly wonderful news. We've successfully opened up a new market!"
"Young Master Shi really came up with something original. He must have put in serious effort researching market preferences."
"Young Master Shi, a genius!"
The old-guard shareholders' faces were dark as iron.
Utterly improper! Their brand positioning was supposed to be high-end, elegant, and sophisticated!
Across the enormous conference table, Shen Qinghuai and Shi Bochuan looked at each other from afar.
Watching the number of livestream reservations continue to rise, Shi Bochuan fell silent for a moment before saying, "Third Brother... really does have a good brain."
Shen Qinghuai hesitated, then nodded in agreement.
It was as though they had opened the door to a new world. Their lives suddenly held limitless possibilities.
-
Meanwhile, Shi Jihan received a string of notification chimes.
[ Ding, Malice Points +7 ]
[ Ding, Malice Points +3.56 ]
[ Ding, "Sow discord between the company's two factions" mission completed. Malice Points +15 ]
[ Ding, "Use reverse promotion to lower the fashion show's standards" mission completed. Malice Points +20 ]
This felt amazing!
Shi Jihan felt refreshed all over. Seeing Yan Bo turn his designs into actual samples made him even happier. He flicked the springy lobster tail on the tuxedo, then tugged at the surface of the instant-noodle jumpsuit. Extremely satisfied, he recorded a video and sent it to Zhou Jingcheng.
[Why Are You Still Awake?: President Zhou, look at this outfit you designed. It's simply art! Look at this tailoring, these lines, this color palette!]
Zhou Jingcheng had probably just started work, so it was a while before he replied.
[Z: No, compared to Young Master Shi's design, mine is still rather conservative. The details deconstructed from your hamburger pajamas would be a loss to the design industry if they were not included in textbooks.]
[Why Are You Still Awake?: You're exaggerating. Shi Corporation's fashion show will shine because of your design!]
Secretary Sun happened to glimpse the chat screen on his boss's phone as he passed by and sprayed out a mouthful of black coffee. "Pfft! Cough, cough, cough cough!"
Were they insane? Was this even Chinese anymore?
He knew exactly what sort of things those two had designed. The models were from their own company, after all.
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