In this era of widespread internet access, public opinion can spread exceptionally quickly. After someone uploaded a video of Fang Zhi dancing to a platform, it was first discovered and reposted by a blogger who loves dancing, and then it was spread beyond the circle by the blogger's fans.
The whole process took less than a day.
The sky was overcast, and a light rain was falling outside, with occasional rumbles of thunder. Assistant Chen had just arrived at the company's top-floor corridor when he heard the chattering from the secretary's office.
He walked to the front and patted the table, "What's all the noise about so early in the morning? President Qi is almost here, hurry back to your workstations."
The chatter stopped for a second, then a female employee picked up her phone and said, "Assistant Chen, come quickly and see if this fairy is our CEO Qi's girlfriend."
She was a long-time employee here. Three years ago, during the summer vacation, President Qi often brought his girlfriend to the company, so she had some impression of what President Qi's girlfriend looked like.
"What?" Assistant Chen's expression froze for a moment, thinking he had misheard.
The woman continued, "Don't these old-fashioned folks ever follow trending topics? A classical dance prodigy from Haicheng University has amazed everyone with her performance, and she's become a sensation online these past few days."
The words "classical dance" and "Haicheng University" struck Assistant Chen like a hammer, jolting him awake.
He quickly put down his briefcase and went to the woman's side.
The video was dimly lit, with only a beam of light falling on the girl dancing gracefully in the center. The girl's features were exquisite and beautiful, and it was clear who she was.
Comments scrolled across the video's screen:
Anyone who has studied classical dance knows how skilled this girl is; she's absolutely perfect.
[Is this ever going to end? This is boring, really boring. If a fairy were to descend to earth, she shouldn't have given any warning beforehand. I'd love to see it live too.]
[Are you sure she's a student from the Art Department of Haicheng University? If so, I'm going to wait for her right now.]
[I regret not studying harder; I was 400 points short of the admission score for Ocean University, just a tiny bit away from being a fairy.]
[The dancing was indeed quite good, but art students may look innocent and pure on the outside, but in reality, if you pay them, hehe, they can get you into a hotel.]
......
The scrolling comments included sincere praise as well as lewd and vulgar language. Assistant Chen's mind was filled with only the word "It's over".
Given President Qi's habitual pattern of being afraid that Miss Fang Zhi would be seen by others, one can guess that President Qi must not know about Miss Fang Zhi's performance, let alone that she has become a trending topic and been seen by many people.
His right eye twitched immediately afterward.
"Assistant Chen?" The female employee glanced cautiously at the man whose face looked ashen, and pointed at the phone in his hand. "Can I have my phone back?"
Assistant Chen snapped out of his daze, handed her the phone with a complicated expression, straightened up, and glanced at his colleagues.
He said sternly, “This matter ends here. I don’t care what you talk about when you get back, but you can’t mention a single word about it in the company, especially in front of President Qi.” Seeing their puzzled expressions, Assistant Chen emphasized, “Remember, I’m doing this for your own good if you want to continue working at SQ.”
"Whether you stick your head out or lock your neck, it's all the same. I just hope President Qi won't take his anger out on me," Assistant Chen kept trying to reassure himself.
Eight o'clock.
The man's tall and imposing figure appeared on time, and Assistant Chen went to greet him: "President Qi, I have something to report."
Qi Shen glanced at him indifferently, "Let's talk in the office."
-
The office was deathly silent, except for the music from a cell phone and the sound of a man lighting a cigarette.
Assistant Chen strained to keep his legs from giving way, and never raised his head again after telling the man the news.
It was as if there was a bottomless abyss shrouded in black mist ahead, and that one glance would lead to being devoured by the ferocious beasts hidden beneath the mist.
Behind the desk, cigarette smoke rose in billows.
Qi Shen's handsome face, framed by his neat, short, jet-black hair, appeared refined and gentlemanly, but his eyes were far too cold.
She was breathtakingly beautiful in the video, and this beauty was displayed in front of everyone so that everyone could appreciate it.
The cheers from the audience and the scrolling text on his phone screen were like shovels that overturned his last shred of rationality.
No wonder his Zhizhi was late yesterday, no wonder she was so anxious looking at her phone before going to school today...
The events of the past few months flashed through the man's mind, forming a dense web: going to the toilet, washing his hair, fixing the stereo... all were excuses.
It turns out he made a stupid mistake.
His little girl had somehow managed to sneak around right under his nose, completing rehearsals and performing on stage. If one day she left him, would he be able to do so without him noticing?
Thinking of this, the man's dark eyes were like a stormy sea, surging with immense waves.
"President Qi," Assistant Chen said, his teeth chattering slightly, "Should we deal with the videos online?"
"Suppress it all. Contact the person in charge of the platform and tell him to sort out all the miscellaneous personal information in the comments section within a day." The man rarely swore, his voice like a thousand-year-old ice, piercing straight to the bone, spreading a chill and fear throughout people. "Tell them that if I don't see the list by this time tomorrow, the platform has changed hands."
Qi Shen stared at the offensive comments in the comment section with a dark and terrifying look in his eyes. He wished he could hide the person from them. How dare they use such foul language to lust after her?
"Yes." Upon receiving the order, Assistant Chen wished he could grow wings and fly out of the oppressive and suffocating office.
"And right now, send people to Ocean University to bring Fang Zhi back to Nangong, regardless of whether she's in class or not..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Shen stubbed out his cigarette, stood up from the stool, and strode toward the door.
The dim overhead light fell on the man's inscrutable face, and the gold-rimmed glasses gleamed coldly.
It was his carelessness that gave her the opportunity; he should have personally picked up the disobedient girl.
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