Chapter 535: Extra: Happy New Year (Part 1)

[BREAKING! Our girl is going to be on XCA’s New Year’s Special Interview today!]

The day before the New Year, a post on Jiang Qingli’s official fan site was pushed to the very top.

XCA is the central station of the First District. Every year, it hosts a New Year’s Special Interview, inviting ten outstanding youths from the First District under the age of twenty-five to inspire the younger generation.

The comment section exploded.

[For real??]

[I’m parking myself in front of my holobrain for the rest of the day.]

[Are there still tickets for sale? Aaaah, why is XCA keeping this so under wraps!]

But some people raised doubts.

[That can’t be right, OP. XCA has been inviting her for years, and our girl never budged. Why would she agree this year?]

[XCA’s security is so tight. How would you know?]

OP: [Can those of you doubting me please go look up who XCA’s biggest shareholder is? Tianyue Media! The new executive president of Tianyue Media, Qiao Lan, was our girl’s secretary back in their student days. They’re really close. If Qiao Lan invites her, how could she refuse?]

Once this reply was posted, more than half the people on the forum were convinced.

[That’s our sis, always so loyal! A true female right there!]

[Need the guide on how to possess Qiao Lan.]

[Need the guide on how to possess the host.]

[Need the guide on how to possess the microphone…]

Amidst the flood of excited comments, one or two doubtful ones still popped up. The OP replied directly: [Can you stop doubting? I work at XCA. See the program schedule for yourself!]

This was followed by a picture of the rehearsal schedule. It listed ten names, with Jiang Qingli’s as the last, closing out the show.

The interview was pre-recorded. It would be taped in the afternoon and broadcast in the evening, so Jiang Qingli’s New Year’s message would air at the stroke of midnight.

The comment section absolutely erupted, with everyone screaming and discussing plans to screen-record, take screenshots, and ambush Jiang Qingli after work.

Some people also noticed the other names on the list and voiced their displeasure:

[Seriously? Having Yuan Shimo is one thing, but Yuan Ziqing too? Does XCA not do background checks? How can they let a male with no integrity who tried to seduce his sister-in-law on the show?]

[To the person above, while I also can’t stand Yuan Ziqing, I have to be fair. He just became a judge at 25, setting the record for the youngest judge in the Upper City District.]

[Well, our girl broke the record for the youngest City Lord this year.]

[Who the hell knows how he got that position. The thought of someone like him sharing a screen with our girl makes me shake with rage. Who wants to crowdfund an assassin with me to take out this good-for-nothing?]

[I know an assassin with a very high success rate [link].]

[? I think I’ve heard legends about this assassin, but hasn’t he stopped taking jobs for years? I heard he’s retired.]

[He can come out of retirement.]

[Hahahahaha, the Prince has to stay in the palace all day today. He must be going crazy with anger.]

[The military district’s choice this year is Que Feiling? That kid is no good either. I heard he was the one who forced our girl to go public back then by threatening suicide.]

[This one can be killed too [link].]

…

Just as the discussion in the thread was heating up, it was suddenly deleted.

Clicking on the OP’s profile, one could only see that they had changed their personal signature: [Got a warning, sob… I’ll behave now, please spare me.]

This action only added to the rumor’s credibility.

In an instant, the entire forum was in an uproar.

On the top floor of Tianyue Media, in the executive president’s office.

After finishing his report, the person in charge cautiously glanced at the woman sitting behind the desk and apologized again, his voice trembling, “…I’ll contact the moderators to delete the thread right away. I’ll make sure the news doesn’t spread any further and maintain confidentiality!”

“No need.” Qiao Lan propped her chin on one hand, her fingertips scrolling as she scanned the posts on the forum. “Leave it. We can consider this a pre-show warm-up.”

The manager nodded. Just as he was about to leave, he remembered something else. “Then… the posts attacking Mr. Yuan…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly saw the secretary beside Qiao Lan frantically trying to catch his eye.

The manager hadn’t yet figured out the hint when he heard Qiao Lan say coldly, “Didn’t I already tell you? Ignore it.”

Seeing her unpleasant expression, the manager bowed repeatedly and hurried out of the office, wondering how he had managed to displease her.

Only the secretary standing next to Qiao Lan clearly saw her “like” a post with the title: [Males are just clothes, but the sisterly bond between females is like flesh and blood!]

The secretary: “…”

Just as the secretary was muttering under her breath, Qiao Lan’s terminal rang.

She answered it, and her previously cold expression instantly softened. Even her tone, which had been mercilessly sharp just minutes before, became gentle. “You’re here?”

The woman’s voice on the other end was cheerful. “I am. Downstairs at the XCA building. Just reporting to President Qiao.”

Qiao Lan stood up.

The Tianyue Media building was right next to the XCA TV Station. Looking down from the floor-to-ceiling window, she could see a car pull up. The door opened, and a female in a matching suit stepped out.

Qiao Lan asked, “Coming here to eat?”

“Sure,” said Jiang Qingli. “I’ve heard for ages that your cafeteria food is amazing.”

Qiao Lan’s gaze softened. She was about to speak when she saw two figures, one in black and one in white, emerge from the building below.

It was Yuan Shimo and Yuan Shiyao.

Qiao Lan: “Tsk.”

Jiang Qingli was confused. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll send my secretary to get you.” Qiao Lan hung up and looked at her secretary. “Go and bring City Lord Jiang up. Say that I need to discuss this afternoon’s schedule with her.”

The secretary acknowledged the order, then heard her boss add, “Bring her up alone. There’s no need for any riff-raff.”

The secretary: “…”

‘Our president really is City Lord Jiang’s number one die-hard solo stan.’

‘But how am I supposed to get rid of the other two…?’

The secretary’s face was a mask of anxiety. She couldn’t afford to offend anyone.

But her worry was clearly unnecessary.

When Jiang Qingli saw the secretary, she immediately followed her without even sparing the two men a glance.

Seeing this, Chief Judge Yuan didn’t care that others were present. He stepped forward and hooked a finger around Jiang Qingli’s, his voice low and full of grievance and apology. “Qingli…”

Jiang Qingli shook his hand off and glanced at the other man. “Professor Yuan seems to be enjoying his leisure time.”

Yuan Shimo shot his twin brother a cold glare, and only then did the latter let go, watching helplessly as Jiang Qingli’s back receded into the distance.

He let out a gloomy sigh.

A cold, mocking voice sounded from beside him. “Serves you right.”

“I wasn’t the only culprit that day,” Yuan Shiyao retorted, not backing down. “You were sober. That makes your crime even worse.”

Hearing this, Yuan Shimo’s expression soured.

「Last Friday.」

Yuan Shiyao had been out at a social engagement. After drinking too much, he had entered Jiang Qingli’s room.

Just as he was clinging to Jiang Qingli, Yuan Shimo returned.

Jiang Qingli made an excuse to get away and went to the bathroom.

When she came out, however, she saw that both of them now had white hair and were standing by the door, looking at her.

As the two identical pairs of jade-green eyes looked over, the resemblance was stunning.

Before she could get a closer look to tell them apart, a hand covered her eyes.

And then…

The light blurred, and the air grew warm.

Someone whispered in her ear, “Who do you like more?”

…

In the end, there was no real answer.

「The next morning.」

After waking up, the more Jiang Qingli thought about it, the angrier she became. She gave each of them a slap across the face, revoked their visitation rights for the next month, and forbade them from entering the Jiang Family home.

It wasn’t until this morning that the two of them, using the interview as an excuse, were finally able to wait for her downstairs.

But it seemed Jiang Qingli still hadn’t cooled down.

‘Tonight is New Year’s Eve. Don’t tell me we won’t be allowed in the house…’