The outside world had mixed reviews of Chu Chu, with a variety of rumors already spread. Some people said that she was crazy, hiding contract rules and conditions to get artists to agree, and had harassed Li Taihe several times; others complimented her outstanding education, pointed out that she had inherited Chu Yanyin’s vicious eyes, and that she was also extremely adept with business skills. Some people said that she was the dumb one from the rich second generation, not one part of her in the ten thousandths of her father. Yinda must have been nothing but a prop for her to waste money.

Whether the public liked her or hated her, they would involuntarily follow her and become curious. She had a natural alluring physique, better than many stars.

If “I am the Venomous Tongued King” really invited President Chu, then their first episode would go viral and the show would become a hit. Director Han finally contacted President Chu risking his life and asked her if she would be a guest on the first episode. He didn’t expect President Chu to actually agree.

When Zhang Jianian heard the news, his heart collapsed. He clearly accompanied President Chu home to dinner a day before. When did she make a reckless decision without his notice?

Zhang Jianian recalled her recent ups and downs. President Chu suddenly clamored to go to the police station, then disappeared from work and was confused with the company’s female interns after work. She blatantly argued with the chairman, rammed a luxury car the very/next morning and then suddenly he got notified she was going to appear on a variety show.

Zhang Jianian: The boss’ temper has improved for the better, but it’s ironic how crazy incidents increased after that.

Chu Chu didn’t notice his worry. She nodded calmly, “Yes, I agreed to Director Han.”

Zhang Jianian frowned and reminded her, “Have you discussed it with the chairman in advance? Yesterday, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the comments made online, yet you agreed to attend this kind of show today…”

The scale of “I am the Venomous Tongued King” was very large and many of the comments were sharp and direct. President Chu was conflicted and couldn’t make it through recording. Zhang Jianian felt she was rebellious like an adolescent girl recently and was digging ground on Tai Sui’s head (T/N: Offend the god Tai Sui and attract misfortunes). Zhang Jianian wondered if she deliberately did everything the chairman barred her to.

Irked at Zhang Jianian’s nagging tone, Chu Chu raised her eyebrows and asked, ”Actually, I wanted to ask you a question long ago. Are you on my dad’s side or mine? Where do you stand?”

Chu Chu didn”t have a strong favorable impression of Zhang Jianian in the first place. She only remembered that he was once the background board of the original owner and was mentioned in a few words. As he wasn’t an important person, he wasn’t mentioned in the ending of the novel and had been cut out directly from the later plot.

Chu Chu’s question was purely curiosity. She didn’t mean to blame him on purpose, but Zhang Jianian heard it like that.

He said overbearingly, “I stand in the middle. I stand on whichever side makes sense.”

He had long been accustomed to President Chu’s dissatisfaction and he knew that his position was awkward. Although he assisted and accompanied President Chu in office everyday, he still needed to report to the chairman at all times. He was often unable to get full trust from both sides, easily suspected by President Chu as a monitor sent by the chairman.

He knew she would still be thinking like she did in the past, and wouldn’t change her mind about him.

Chu Chu took it for granted, “Oh, then you are on my side? Yes, that would be more reasonable.”

Zhang Jianian was shocked by her shamelessness and wanted to scoff.

If he could call her reasonable, he’d be a saint.

Zhang Jianian asked helplessly, “What is the reason for agreeing?”

“It’s better to face it. The more you are afraid of others talking about you, the more you can’t stop their whispers.”

Chu Chu bored, played and twirled the pen with her fingers. The metal shell gleamed in the sun.

“I’ll simply go to the show to let them have enough to talk about.”

Zhang Jianian urged, “You don’t have to do this, wait for the storm to pass…”

“This is just escaping from the problem. If something like this happens again in the future, will I push away another wave of public relations and keep on hiding?” Chu Chu raised her eyes to Zhang Jianian and calmly said, “The essence of human beings is moving forward. If you don’t want to be slandered by others, then you have to be the speaker.”

She put the pen back on the table and explained, “I am not going on the show to clarify my character, but to plan for the follow-up. KOL marketing is going to be a big trend in the future, even far beyond TV and paper media. Instead of letting these rumors evaporate away, it’s better to use the social trends and take this opportunity to operate our plans.”

(KOL marketing [key opinion leader]: a strategy where influencers become communicators between a brand and its target audience.)

Chu Yanyin still had a conservative perspective. He hated all negative comments and arguments and tried his best to stop the mouths of netizens, which made things worse. Chu Chu didn’t care about fame and discussion. In her opinion, fans, popularity and topics could all be turned into real money.

The world in the novel hadn’t yet ushered in the Internet celebrity economy, not to mention that sometimes the attention of netizens could support an industry.

Outsiders could now feel that Chu Chu’s approach was rebellious. After a few years, they would find that there were countless birds of the same feather in the forest but hers had grown bigger.