Damn it! Something felt like it was slipping out of control!

Not only was the director shocked, but the livestream comments were baffled too.

[What happened? Why did they suddenly start fighting?]

[Just a passerby who popped into the stream. Is the guy in black-framed glasses a special assistant? How is he so cocky?]

[Are we sure this isn't a skit? If an actual employee acted that disrespectfully toward his boss, wouldn't he have been fired ages ago?]

[My blind guess is he has immunity from getting fired. Otherwise, how would he dare yell in front of several domineering CEOs?]

[It's just for the show. Didn't you hear Special Assistant Chen announce the task? Something about every young master washing a basin of clothes? And no dinner until they finish?]

[Wait, this is the so-called life of the wealthy? Rich people have to slave away too?]

[This really smells staged. I refuse to believe these pampered young masters who've never lifted a finger can...]

Before the viewers finished discussing it, they saw Chen Bei walk over to the LED display and press the power button on the remote.

Within seconds, an image appeared on the screen.

It was the household name and legendary Top Alpha-Old Luo.

He sat upright, his expression stern and cold.

Though his hair was entirely white, he was still hale and hearty.

His slightly narrowed eyes, in particular, held a piercing gaze that seemed capable of intimidating anyone.

His grandsons, who had been bristling just moments earlier, grew much more obedient. Turning toward the camera, they bowed and called out in unison, "Hello, Grandpa."

"Hmph." Luo Zhenhua snorted. "Can't you even film a variety show without causing trouble?"

"Grandpa, Special Assistant Chen has gone too far. He's actually making us hand-wash the servants' clothes!" Luo Chen was the first to complain, brimming with indignation. "What a joke. Can these hands that direct a business empire be used to wash clothes?"

"..."

The sleazy line angered Luo Zhenhua so much that he braced himself on his wheelchair's armrests and stood up. "You-"

"You're washing an extra basin tonight!"

"Grandpa!" Luo Chen's eyes widened in disbelief.

Have you lost your mind?

He managed to hold those words back.

Otherwise, his position as executive president would be in jeopardy.

"Old Luo, take care of your health," Chen Bei advised from the side. "I'm still relying on you to pay my salary."

His clear voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for the livestream to pick it up.

The viewers were dumbfounded.

[Holy shit, cracking dry jokes in front of the decisive, hard-line Old Luo? Special Assistant Chen, you're seriously brave!]

[Employees can be this direct? Then what does all my past sucking up make me?]

[A bootlicker.]

[...]

Sure enough, Chen Bei did have some sway. Hearing his words, Old Luo calmed down a little.

He sat back down in his wheelchair, cleared his throat, and spoke slowly. "At the production team's invitation, I'm responsible for hosting the opening of this variety show."

"Though this is a daily-life reality show, it isn't daily life in the ordinary sense."

"During filming, everything I experienced in my youth will be turned into tasks for you to experience in full."

"Of course, outstanding task completion will earn you points. If you fail a task, points will be deducted."

"The show needs rules and regulations, with daily performance evaluations. While there won't be eliminations, whoever comes last will be punished."

"And Special Assistant Chen, standing before you, will be responsible for assigning and monitoring your tasks, and inspecting the results..."

Luo Yu, who had rushed back from overseas, couldn't help interrupting. "Grandpa, why give such an important job to him? We brothers can supervise each other."

Luo Zhenhua scoffed. "If I trusted you, would I need to hire Special Assistant Chen at such a high salary?"

"Enough nonsense. If you don't want to film the show, you can leave right now. I'll take that as you voluntarily giving up your inheritance rights."

At that, Luo Yu shut his mouth completely.

It's just a variety show. Is there any need to be so ruthless?

Before long, the image vanished from the screen, which went into standby mode.

The hall fell deathly silent.

Once again, Luo Chen spoke first. "Special Assistant Chen, whatever spell you've cast on the old man, I want you to remember this: no one in this world can order me around!"

Chen Bei picked up a pen and wrote in his notebook. "Bad attitude, questioning the evaluation. Ten points deducted."

Luo Chen: "..."

You've really mastered turning a scrap of authority into a royal decree, haven't you?

Luo Ming stepped forward and patted his shoulder. "Thanks, big brother, for tying with me for last place."

Luo Chen: "..."

Damn it! Something felt like it was slipping out of control!

Seeing this, Director Meng gripped his walkie-talkie behind the monitors. "Zoom in. Pay attention to the details. Don't miss a single expression!"

Aha, now that was good television!

He hurriedly looked down to check the livestream's viewer count. Excellent. It had already passed the hundred-thousand mark.

The stream had only just started.

Reaching the top was just a matter of time.

Seeing the director's excitement, his assistant was thoroughly confused. "Director, this doesn't fit our show's theme, does it? Weren't we supposed to showcase the extravagant lives of wealthy young masters? Why are we..."

Why had it turned into a segment about young masters doing hard labor?

At that, Director Meng gave a mysterious smile. "Take a guess. If we'd sent the young masters the real script, would this show have made it onto Douyin as a hit without a hitch?"

"You mean..." The assistant sucked in a breath. "You were fooling them from the start?"

"Don't make it sound so ugly. How is that fooling them?" Director Meng said unconcernedly. "The company assigned me to fulfill Old Luo's wish."

As he spoke, he couldn't help growing reflective. "Though Old Luo has Top Alpha genes, his family fell on hard times when he was young. To earn his living expenses and tuition, he had no choice but to work outside."

"Before he succeeded in building his business, there wasn't a dirty or exhausting job he hadn't done... He suffered every hardship to get where he is today. How could he let his descendants squander the family fortune?"

"So this show is a transformation journey for wealthy young masters. Through an education in hardship, they'll learn that wealth doesn't come easily!"

The assistant nodded, deeply moved. "So the reason you agreed to direct this show was... anyone who turns down a guaranteed hit is a dumbass?"

After all,

everyone was curious about the unusual,

and everyone wanted to watch a variety show that put Top Alphas through hell.

Nailing the audience's tastes would settle things once and for all.

"Hiss-" Director Meng narrowed his eyes. "Didn't I warn you not to talk so..."

Before he could finish, a rude voice came through the monitor.

"Special Assistant Chen, you wash this basin of clothes. I'll give you three minutes," Luo Chen paused. "Thirty minutes, then. If you don't finish, bring me your head."

He had originally given the order quietly while the camera wasn't around, but when he turned his head, he spotted a surveillance camera in the corner. He promptly composed his expression and said,

"Special Assistant Chen, if you insist on helping me wash them, there's nothing I can do. I'll reward you with a ten-thousand-yuan red envelope at the end of the year."

Holding his little notebook, Chen Bei said, "Stingy bribery. Ten points deducted."

What a joke. I already make 180k a month. Would I care about your ten-thousand-yuan red envelope?

Luo Chen's face flushed red. "You-"

[Hahaha, fuck, stingy bribery? Special Assistant Chen, you sure know how to put it!]