Chapter 49

Who came up with the idea for the "Electric Butt Thomas"?

After hanging up the phone, Hu Zhenzhen lost her appetite, and the phrase "Electric Butt Thomas" kept flashing through her mind.

She couldn't help but glance at Thomas, recalling his physique.

It does seem... to be quite perky.

It's no wonder that the Hong Kong media used it as a feature in their headlines.

"Hey Hu, did I make the news in Country Z?"

Thomas suddenly asked a question that startled Hu Zhenzhen.

I guess he caught his own name in the voice on the phone when he answered it.

"Yes, you and I were trending on social media together."

Hu Zhenzhen smiled helplessly, "But the news isn't very pleasant, I hope you don't mind."

"Doesn't it sound good?"

Thomas smiled. “Don’t worry, my friend. I’ve looked into the media in Country Z; they speak quite gently.”

Hu Zhenzhen thought about it and agreed. Foreign media were even more exaggerated, and there were many bizarre events here. The daily news was as exciting as the disputes over billing order at top domestic award ceremonies.

"Actually, it's nothing, just some fabricated sex scandal."

Thomas understood immediately from Hu Zhenzhen's words.

He curiously searched on his phone, and after the text was automatically translated, he excitedly looked up.

"Hey, Hu, they have such good taste. Those media outlets in F country have never cared about my great physique, even though I work out diligently every month."

"What does 'electric butt' mean? Does it mean my butt can generate electricity?"

Thomas winked and asked Hu Zhenzhen, "Do you think I should stick my butt out and wink next time I'm on the runway?"

No, let's not...

Hu Zhenzhen couldn't help but blink, deleting the cringe-worthy image from her mind.

"Come on, Thomas, you're the chief designer."

“Yes!” Thomas clasped his hands together, exclaiming in sudden realization, “You’ve reminded me! I can definitely incorporate that into the design.”

"I have ideas for the design of the next quarter."

After hearing this, Hu Zhenzhen's head started to ache.

What exactly did that sentence give him? Could it be that he's going to print his shapely butt on his clothes?

However, Hu Zhenzhen didn't understand design matters very well, and couldn't give any unsolicited advice.

Her eyelids twitched twice, and she changed the subject, "So what do the news in F country usually say about you?"

“Don’t even mention it,” Thomas waved his hand. “It all revolves around the identity of the heir. They wouldn’t write the news without that word.”

"It's not as good as your country Z, where you can at least see some ridiculously exaggerated news as a joke."

“Exaggerated fake news is meaningless,” Hu Zhenzhen added. “It’s better to watch videos of ski resorts than these. Thomas, do you know any handsome ski instructors?”

"Of course! Isn't there the most handsome one right in front of you?"

Thomas puffed out his chest. "If you need me, beautiful lady, I'm always happy to be your coach."

“That won’t do,” Hu Zhenzhen refused outright.

Under Thomas's aggrieved gaze, she took Jiang Chen's hand, raised it, and shook it, "You have to promise my son that you'll be his coach first, you can't break your promise, okay?"

Thomas immediately laughed, "Then I was wrong. I'm busy teaching the handsome young man, so I don't have time to teach you. But don't worry, my friend, I'll definitely find you the second most handsome ski instructor in Bach's class."

"Then I'll thank you in advance."

The two exchanged a few jokes, neither of them taking the trending topic to heart.

It was already late at night in China, but the internet was still buzzing.

The surfing enthusiasts kept their eyes open, showing no signs of drowsiness.

Li Zhenzhen was one of them.

Her junior high school was on holiday, and she was finally able to reunite with her mother at home for a while.

Hu Zhenzhen used her year-end bonus in advance to let Fang Ping and her daughter move to the east bank of the Tang River, where they became neighbors with Tong Shuai's family.

It was past 11 o'clock, and she had just finished previewing her junior high school lessons. While lying in bed to rest, her brain was still working excitedly, without the slightest bit of drowsiness.

As soon as I logged onto Weibo, I saw the name Hu Zhenzhen trending on Weibo.

Before Li Zhenzhen could even process what was happening, her hand slapped the button into the app.

"Hu Zhenzhen secretly meets with Thomas? Who is Thomas?"

Li Zhenzhen did a search and discovered that he was the successor of Mr. Ji, the founder.

The number of comments under this trending topic continues to grow.

Li Zhenzhen clicked in and took a look; netizens had all sorts of opinions.

Thomas is quite handsome; they're a perfect match.

8.5 billion! That's 8.5 billion! I wouldn't even dare to dream of such a huge number! Damn God, can't there be one more rich person like me in the world?!

[Will Hu Zhenzhen stay in F country and never come back?]

[Seriously? Maybe they're just normal friends. Why are netizens assuming that a man and a woman are having an affair? Can't they just say they're working together?]

[I'm only concerned about whether Sister Hu will come back. I just bought tickets for the Dog Castle, so please, Sister Hu, don't let the house collapse!]

[This is hilarious! Your Sister Hu isn't even a celebrity, so why are there still fans from the fandom coming here to talk about whether her image is collapsing or not?]

The comments were a jumble of random thoughts. Li Zhenzhen understood half of them and got up in the middle of the night to tell her mother.

She was discovered as soon as she stepped into the bedroom.

"Zhenzhen, you're still up so late?"

The floor lamp in the living room was still on, and Fang Ping was sitting under the lamp, working on her computer.

When Li Zhenzhen saw her mother's job, she hesitated to speak, unsure whether she should bring it up.

"Mom, do you have internet access?"

Since becoming the factory manager of Baihua Ranch, my mother has been very busy. She has a lot to learn and a lot of work to handle every day.

Li Zhenzhen felt sorry for her, but was also happy for her.

Seeing Fang Ping becoming more and more energetic, more and more driven, and younger and younger, she, as her daughter, was also very happy.

"Oh, you've seen the gossip about President Hu, haven't you?"

Upon hearing her words, Fang Ping immediately realized what she meant. "A clarification message was just sent in the work group. Don't worry, wait a while and you'll probably see President Hu's clarification announcement."

Li Zhenzhen nodded, poured a cup of hot water, and handed it to her.

"Okay, I'll wait and see. Mom, you should get some rest too."

With her at home, Fang Ping's schedule was much more relaxed than usual, and she treated it like a holiday. Hearing this, she laughed and said, "Don't worry, once the clarification announcement comes out, I'll go join in the fun and then go to sleep."

Fang Ping's "joining in the fun" was naturally meant to explain for Hu Zhenzhen.

Mr. Hu was the person she respected and cherished the most. In such small matters, Fang Ping would do her best to help, never being stingy.

"Then I'll go and speak up for Aunt Zhenzhen too!"

After saying that, Li Zhenzhen rushed back to her room without giving Fang Ping a chance to say goodnight.

"This child is so impulsive and reckless."

As Fang Ping spoke, the corners of her lips curled up in a knowing smile.

Life used to be tough, and the child never smiled, and he was always gloomy. Now that he's finally a bit more lively, Fang Ping is overjoyed.

All of this was brought about by President Hu; she was the most important benefactor in Fang Ping's life.

Late at night, Fang Ping was suddenly filled with fighting spirit because of reminiscing about the past. She opened the Weibo interface and found that Mr. Ji's official Weibo account had issued a clarification notice, so she rushed over immediately.

The two are just friends. President Hu is very patriotic. Please don't fabricate baseless rumors, as this will cause distress to others.

Fang Ping also used the official account.

Using the name "Hundred Flowers Ranch," the official account has also cultivated a group of followers.

As soon as Fang Ping posted her comment, many fans flocked to it and commented on it.

[Thumbs up! Spreading rumors is shameful.]

[The official sources have already denied this, so please stop creating these random pairings!]

After the explanation, fewer bystanders paid attention to the sex scandal, and the remaining netizens focused on other important matters.

Am I the only one who cares about that 8.5 billion?

[Please elaborate on Mr. Ji's future prospects! Are there any experts who can offer their opinions? Will Mr. Ji's assets still hold their value?]

[My goodness, 8.5 billion! I truly believe now that Sister Hu is the heir to a legendary top-tier wealthy family.]

Hu Zhenzhen's nickname among netizens changed from "Sister Hu" to "Sister 8.5 Billion," which was discussed online for quite some time.

There were quite a few trolls along the way.

[With 8.5 billion, why not donate it to those in need?]

[With so much money, where was she during the earthquake?]

Rich people are so stingy. I donate 10 yuan every month, but she doesn't do any charity work at all.

These remarks infuriated Fang Ping.

Putting everything else aside, President Hu just donated two original works of art. Have all these people forgotten that?

In the distant country of F, Chen Kai was even more decisive, and in his anger, he replied directly with a single sentence.

[Where was she during the earthquake? She was in her mother's womb. How noble of you to let an embryo donate money.]

Twenty-seven years have passed since the last major earthquake.

In recent years, while China has not enjoyed favorable weather, it has also not experienced any major disasters.

Chen Kai found it hard to comment on how this person could casually link something to an earthquake.

If the screenshots are handed over to a specialist for investigation, it shouldn't be long before they find out what kind of monsters are hiding behind these account IDs.

Hu Zhenzhen felt very reassured leaving the matter to Chen Kai.

She didn't pay much attention to it anymore and focused on having fun in France for a few days.

These parents will enjoy themselves; they have indeed chosen a top-notch ski resort. Most of the people who come here to ski are experienced and knowledgeable skiers.

There are many people on the steep, challenging snow slopes, but not many on the beginner slopes.

Hu Zhenzhen and her group, along with the children, made it feel like they had the whole place to themselves.

Thomas kept his promise and found Hu Zhenzhen a handsome ski instructor.

Handsome men and beautiful scenery together can double the fun of exercise.

Moreover, skiing is indeed a very interesting activity for those who enjoy it.

Falls and bumps are inevitable during skiing. After the exercise, you can go back to the hotel and soak in the hotel's hot springs to relax your tense muscles.

When you're relaxed, time flies by.

Hu Zhenzhen didn't even realize that her planned week-long trip was about to end.

She has to stay an extra day due to paperwork and work reasons, while the other parents are returning to their home countries tomorrow.

At Chen Li's suggestion, the parents had a barbecue in the hotel garden the day before they left.

This was a truly novel experience for these wealthy individuals.

Having gotten used to being served by others, it's only when you actually have to grill meat yourself that you realize how difficult it is to grill meat to be fragrant, tender, and delicious.

After successfully grilling a row of chicken wings, Hu Zhenzhen tactfully handed the barbecue to Chen Kai.

On the other side, Chen Li seemed to cook occasionally. Compared to Hu Zhenzhen's charred meat, her well-cooked but not overly burnt meat looked like a high-level dish.

"Zhenzhen, it's okay. Everyone has things they're not good at."

She comforted Hu Zhenzhen and put two pieces of meat on her plate.

Jiang Chen, who was standing nearby, heard this, glanced at Hu Zhenzhen's expression, and then, for reasons unknown, grabbed a chicken wing from the table and was about to put it in his mouth.

Fortunately, Hu Zhenzhen reacted quickly and stopped him before he could put it in his mouth.

"You can't eat this."

Jiang Chen hesitated, glancing at the chicken wings. "But—"

Hu Zhenzhen knew what he wanted to say; he probably saw that she was unhappy and wanted to eat one and then praise her.

Such scenes occasionally occur, and Hu Zhenzhen, knowing her son's good intentions, gladly accepts them.

But today's chicken wings were really burnt. When she pinched them with her hands, she could feel the meat on the chicken wings cracking into pieces.

If Jiang Chen were to actually eat this, she'd probably be spending the rest of the night sleeping in an emergency room in France with her child.

"Xiao Chen, Mom knows you mean well, but you really can't eat this."

Even now, Jiang Chen was still trying to comfort her, "Mom, it's actually already very good, this chicken wing..."

Jiang Chen stared at the chicken wings for a while before finally coming up with a good adjective.

"These chicken wings look cooked through; they might even taste delicious inside!"

Hu Zhenzhen appreciated the consolation, smiled, and immediately dumped the entire plate of blackened chicken wings into the trash can.

The clanging sound startled her.

Well, it seems these chicken wings are not only burnt on the outside but also thoroughly burnt on the inside. If we burn them a little longer, they might just turn to ashes and be scattered everywhere.

Jiang Chen also heard the crisp sound and remained silent for a while.

Hu Zhenzhen felt a little embarrassed when the child suddenly looked up and said, "Mom, you're so amazing!"

"It's gotten to this point, the chicken wings still look like chicken wings."

Hu Zhenzhen was genuinely embarrassed at this point, so she quickly smiled, stuffed a piece of meat into Jiang Chen's mouth, and shut him up.

"Xiao Chen, next time, if there's nothing to praise, let's not praise people."

The adults, mindful of Hu Zhenzhen, held back their laughter, but the children didn't consider such social niceties and laughed as they pleased.

Led by laughter, even adults who didn't want to laugh couldn't hold it in anymore.

Before long, the garden was filled with laughter.

Hu Zhenzhen found it funny herself and started laughing. Seeing that Xu Bo's jaw was about to drop from laughing, she mischievously teased him.

"Xiao Bo, your mouth is open too wide. Auntie will stuff the chicken wing in there in a bit!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Bo immediately covered his mouth with both hands.

There's a chain reaction among children; when he covered his mouth, the others followed suit and all covered their mouths.

The more they acted this way, the happier Hu Zhenzhen became in teasing them.

After seeing them off on the plane, Hu Zhenzhen still felt a little reluctant to part with them.

Fortunately, she only stayed in F country for one more day and was able to return home soon.

Hu Zhenzhen stayed an extra day entirely because of Thomas.

Thomas also spent two days with them during that week.

It wasn't that he didn't want to have more fun, but it was time for his new season's haute couture show, and he didn't have much free time to go out and have to regretfully return to the studio to work overtime.

Before leaving, he made a special invitation to Hu Zhenzhen.

"My friend, you've come all this way, you absolutely must come to my show!"

Unable to resist his enthusiastic invitation, Hu Zhenzhen stayed in F country for an extra day, taking Jiang Chen with her.

She had imagined herself sitting comfortably in the center of the audience, elegantly watching the show, and even leisurely looking around when she arrived at the venue.

Before she could take more than a few steps, she was stopped by staff.

"Hu! Hu!"

To the foreigners, Hu Zhenzhen's name sounded similar to "who," and Hu Zhenzhen thought someone was looking for her, so she glanced around the room.

It wasn't until the staff got close to her that she realized they were calling her.

Thomas has been waiting for you for a long time!

After saying just that one sentence, Hu Zhenzhen was pulled backstage at the fashion show.

"Hey, Hu!"

Thomas was busy, but when he casually looked up and saw her, he immediately greeted her excitedly.

"I've been waiting for you for so long!"

"Huh?" Hu Zhenzhen was completely confused. "I thought I didn't need to come this early for the show. Sorry, Thomas."

"Attending a fashion show?" Thomas excitedly called his assistant to bring out the clothes that had been prepared beforehand. "Of course it's more than just attending a fashion show, my friend. This is specially prepared for you. What do you think? Isn't it beautiful?"

That white dress was unintentionally beautiful.

Thomas is indeed a genius in design, and this piece he left for Hu Zhenzhen is his most satisfying work recently.

The layers of silk shimmered under the light like ocean waves, or like a snow-capped mountain during an avalanche, possessing a breathtaking natural beauty.

The moment Hu Zhenzhen saw the dress, her eyes widened in amazement.

But after a few seconds, he became worried again.

Could it be that what he meant was what she thought?

Hu Zhenzhen pinched her brow, feeling a headache coming on again. "Thomas, you don't expect me to wear this on stage, do you?"

"Of course, Hu, I prepared this especially for you!"

Thomas spun the mannequin around, saying, "Even the size was custom-made for you. No one else in this room can handle her except you."

Hu Zhenzhen's eyelids twitched, and she glanced around the room.

Thomas's words were indeed true, because apart from her, all the hot girls present were over 1.75 meters tall, and each of them had long legs and was tall and slender.

Hu Zhenzhen's height of 1.68 meters is already quite impressive under normal circumstances.

But inside this room, there was a strange sense of inferiority.

"Thomas, are you kidding me? This is your only big show this year!"

“Of course I’m serious! My friend,” Thomas said, feigning anger, “you are the most dazzling leading lady in my entire show!”

He had already said so much that Hu Zhenzhen had no way to refuse.

She took a deep breath. "I'd better be!"

Composing herself, she decided not to waste any more time and sat down in the spot Thomas had prepared for her.

"Come on, time is tight, I can only trust you now, makeup artist!"

Thomas was amused by her expression. "Don't look so bitter, Hu. You have to believe that you will be the most dazzling one tonight."

Hu Zhenzhen nodded; she understood this principle.

To project an aura under the glaring spotlight, one needs extreme self-confidence.

Coinciding with Hu Zhenzhen's acquisition of Mr. Ji, Mr. Ji has received exceptionally high attention in China.

Thomas's show was originally only supposed to be sold as a pre-recorded video, but due to its popularity, the live streaming rights were also bought by a major platform.

Although these fashion shows sound high-end, they actually don't get high viewership.

The recorded streams have a decent number of views, but the rebroadcasting fees are expensive, making it an unprofitable deal for the platform.

Xigua Video, which acquired it, was just taking a gamble to see if it could boost the number of online viewers for its live streams by leveraging the popularity of the content.

Viewers who clicked in just for the fun never expected that Hu Zhenzhen would be making an appearance today.

After all, Xigua Video's advertisements only featured pictures of models walking the runway.

When the time came, some people who care about the fashion industry flocked to the live stream, and together with the viewers who came just to join in the fun, the number reached several hundred thousand.

Mr. Ji's brand is so famous that it has climbed to the tail end of the trending searches thanks to its own traffic.

Brothers, I'm here!

Holy crap, are this model's legs 1.6 meters long? How can they be so long?!

[This is the first time I've ever seen such a high-profile show; it's like country bumpkins have come to the city.jpg]

[Aaaaaaah, Wei's dead! Who was that dark-skinned beauty just now? She looked like a black pearl!]

Thomas's designs are of very high quality, and the models who can participate in this show are all top-notch in the modeling industry, making it extremely entertaining. Audiences who originally came just to take a casual look ended up watching for quite a while.

Before we knew it, the show was coming to an end.

Designers often save their most impressive creations for last, and many netizens who enjoy admiring beautiful women are already guessing which model will be the one to wear the final haute couture piece.

I'm guessing it's Martha Irwin; she's the most dazzling newcomer in the modeling world this year.

[This kind of show, Martha isn't qualified enough, I bet a dime it's my sister, Barbara, who's the best!]

[Nobody mentioned Geya? Well then, I won't hold back.]

[Nominated Shang Fu! A source of pride for Chinese models! Mr. Ji is now like Sister Hu, can't we at least give Chinese models a preferential treatment?!]

Everyone has their favorites, and this show somehow felt like a World Cup goal-scoring moment.

The last pair of models walking side by side turned around and headed backstage, where the main characters of the show appeared at the end of the runway.

Contrary to what the audience expected, from a distance, it was obvious that this model was shorter than the others.

[Holy crap, what did Thomas do with his pick? It turned out to be a short guy!]

[Damn, this must be a rigged story. Who is this guy?]

Wait a minute! This figure looks familiar.

The comments section was filled with doubt and surprise. On the catwalk, Hu Zhenzhen took a deep breath, straightened her back, and with all the energy she had accumulated over the past half a lifetime, walked forward with a determined look in her eyes.

[Damn! This is your Sister Hu!]

[8.5 billion! The 8.5 billion sister herself walked the runway!]

[I guess my perspective is too narrow. Could it be that Sister Hu dreams of becoming a model, so she bought a Mr. Ji to fulfill that dream?]

Wow! What have I done to deserve this? To have someone of Sister Hu's stature perform for me on the runway!

The number of comments in the live stream instantly multiplied.

Netizens were in an uproar and flocked to various apps. Before long, Hu Zhenzhen, who had just disappeared from the trending topics, was back.

The screenshots from the live stream captured comments, and some viewers agreed that Hu Zhenzhen had a dream of becoming a model.

In no time, the square was filled with lemon-head emojis.

The audience members seemed to have agreed beforehand, saying almost the same things.

[With 8.5 billion yuan to fulfill her dream of walking the runway, Sister Hu is inhumanly extravagant!]

Hu Zhenzhen on the catwalk was unaware that the show was being broadcast live. After completing her walk, she relaxed a little and finally smiled.

All of this was captured by the camera and magnified for the audience.

Money is valuable, beauty is priceless, but for Sister Hu, I would give up both!

This comment cost money and took up half the screen; you couldn't help but see it.

The initial atmosphere of surprise was completely broken, and a barrage of "hahahahaha" comments instantly filled half the screen.

"You're quite the flatterer, aren't you!"

[Your sister Hu is both rich and beautiful, you're dreaming.]

[I laughed. I've seen many simps, but this is the first time I've seen one recite poetry.]