Chapter 671 - Money Over Love
The first article was about the Mao family providing financial assistance to Long Hui so that he could purchase 5% Long Industries shares under his name to add to the 2.5% he already owned before for a total of 7.5% shares. This was the same shares that Qiao Yu failed to purchase for Iris due to the seller's prejudice against her caused by her past reputation as a good-for-nothing, self-important, spoiled brat.
The article also implied that the real reason Long Hui and Jiang Ying Yue separated was not because she cheated on him with Lin Yehan but because he wanted more Long Industries shares and Mao Qiuyue's family could give it to him. His final decision was to abandon Jiang Ying Yue and essentially sell himself to Mao Qiuyue in exchange for the 5% shares.
Long Hui was the one who chose money over love, not Jiang Ying Yue.
After skimming through the article, Iris and Jin Liwei clicked on the next one. It was a tabloid story consisting primarily of intimate still photos of Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue taken from property surveillance cameras from cafés, restaurants, parking lots, and most damning of all, hotels. The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.
The date stamps on some of the still photos were from when Long Hui and Jiang Ying Yue were still engaged. Granted, those photos were from cafés and restaurants, not hotels, so there was no concrete proof at this point that the two had sexual relations, but it was already apparent that Mao Qiuyue was already acting clingy to Long Hui even then. She could be seen always hugging his arm and pressing her watermelon-sized plastic boobs to his side. Long Hui's expression didn't show any emotion but it was a fact thathe allowed the woman to press herself against him in an intimate manner when he was still engaged to another woman during that time.
These photos were a huge contrast to the evidence Lin Yehan provided earlier where it showed in the hospital and mall surveillance videos that he and Jiang Ying Yue kept an appropriate distance from each other at all times.
The other photos of Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue were taken after he and Jiang Ying Yue separated. He was already engaged to Mao Qiuyue at this point. They were shown engaging in intimate acts such as hugging and kissing at hotel lobbies and hallways and even parking lots. The tabloid promised that there more scandalous photos but they were unable to post online because they couldn't pass censorship rules. This statement only fired up the readers' imaginations as to what kind of scandalous photos were not shown.
Iris reached over and scrolled down to the bottom of the story for the readers' comments. As expected, the majority was condemning Long Hui.
"Ah, they're from the Slippers Army," Iris mumbled after seeing a number of mighty slipper emojis in the comments.
Ketchup had informed her a few days ago that Zhou Mei'er (CaptainBlackStar) planned on organizing a group, mostly from the Slippers Army, to head to the courthouse in order to support Jiang Ying Yue, who the Black Stars remembered as Iris' former bodyguard and now friend. And also, they planned to attack Long Hui by throwing stinky mighty slippers at him, especially after the audio and video evidence of him being violent towards Jiang Ying Yue in front of their son was revealed.
Fortunately, Feng Wang (MrsLovePhantom) and her friends, the other posh ladies (JJNumbers1-3Fan) managed to stop Zhou Mei'er in time. They reasoned that it wouldn't be good for Iris' image if her official fan club, the Black Stars, got involved in the custody case which was already receiving wide media coverage.
Iris was relieved upon hearing about it and silently thanked Feng Wan and the other madams. However, it wasn't because she worried about her image but because she didn't want her fans to get into trouble with the law, especially because the group originally planned on attacking Long Hui in front of the courthouse.
Back to the present, she and Jin Liwei continued reading the other news articles and the readers' comments. Public opinion was finally shifting to favour Jiang Ying Yue and Lin Yehan. People began drawing their own conclusions with the most popular one being that Long Hui made the fake cheating allegations against Jiang Ying Yue and Lin Yehan in order to hide his own affair with his current fiancée, Mao Qiuyue.
It could be seen that Lin Yehan's actions was already beginning to bear fruit. Although public opinion was generally still mixed at this point, those who felt confused about who to believe were leaning more towards Lin Yehan because first of all, he looked gentle and trustworthy. Allowing himself to be interviewed and telling his own side of the story with his own voice on TV was working wonders.
Second of all, the fact that he was an agricultural tycoon and was actually wealthier and more influential than Deputy CFO Long Hui and yet still acted polite and humble won him a lot of brownie points from the viewers. He wasn't flashy at all and looked like a regular person. If the news didn't reveal that he was actually rich, then the people wouldn't even know that he was the one producing the food they were eating every single day.
Third of all, a few shooting athletes, both active and retired, came forward to voice out their support for him. Their appearance prompted some to dig up Lin Yehan's past achievements as a pro shooting athlete who won some national competitions before. If he didn't retire in order to focus on his agricultural business, he would've competed in the Olympics and perhaps even brought honour to the country. Right now, he was a licenced coach who sometimes mentored young aspiring shooting athletes. His students and their parents also stepped forward to vouch for his good moral character.
His name and reputation which were dragged through the mud during the cheating allegations were quickly becoming squeaky clean again. In extension, Jiang Ying Yue's own name and reputation were also undergoing the same cleansing.
All thanks to Lin Yehan.
Chapter 672 - Out To Get You
The next day, the stock prices of Long Industries crashed overnight. Long Hui was summoned for an emergency meeting with all the executives, board of directors, and other important shareholders. He knew that he was in trouble, especially after what they were saying about him on the news. His current image and reputation were in tatters after the cheating allegations shifted from Lin Yehan and Jiang Yingyue to him and Mao Qiuyue instead.
A hysterical Mao Qiuyue called him this morning, yelling and crying because she was also being bashed everywhere just like him. She was accused of being a homewrecker. Fortunately, he was able to calm her down by promising to comfort her with a night-long fuck session tonight before heading to the company. He almost didn't want to go to work but had no choice because he didn't want to lose his position to compete in the battle for succession.
Upon arriving at the company, he was welcomed by looks of judgment and contempt. His jaw tightened as anger filled him, but he controlled himself and walked faster while looking straight ahead and not meeting anyone's gaze.
"Good morning, Deputy CFO Long," some people still greeted him.
To him, however, it sounded like they were mocking him, so he only nodded at them stiffly with a cold expression before walking away even faster.
"Wow. What a jerk. And I thought so highly of him before. How the mighty has fallen! Yes, he's President Long's eldest son but it turns out that he's not automatically given shares. He has to buy the shares but can't afford it, so he pimps himself out to a rich woman. What's the difference between him and a gigolo?"
"It's no wonder that he lost custody of his son. I feel so sorry for Miss Jiang. She really suffered the most during the custody battle just because she came from a normal background and got pregnant outside marriage."
"To be honest, I also condemned Miss Jiang before but now that I know that it was actually Deputy CFO Long who cheated first and did her wrong, I really feel bad for her. It's so unfair that she had to suffer fake cheating allegations with an innocent man when she was actually the one who was cheated on. Poor woman!"
These people spoke in whispers but Long Hui still managed to hear them. He wanted to lash out at them, to scold them, to punish them for badmouthing him.
'Endure,' he told himself. 'Focus on your goalâto succeed Father and become the next head of the clan, and most importantly, Long Industries. Once you successfully obtain your goal, all of these nobodies who dared disrespect you today will one day need to bow their heads down to you. Then you can kick them out of the company.'
He immediately felt better after his pep talk to himself. Ignoring the employees gossiping about him, he hurried to the conference room upstairs, encountering some of the board members and executives along the way. Most of them still greeted him like usual but he could see that they were looking at him differently. Some ignored him completely, while a handful of his closest colleagues reached out to him and tried to console him.
"I'm alright. Please don't worry," he reassured them, trying to present a confident front. Ãøvâ¬l-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.
"I saw your father, the President, earlier. His expression didn't look good. Scary. I hope that you prepared a good explanation today. I'll try to help you out as much as I can in the meeting later. Just be ready because you're gonna have it tough."
Long Hui took a deep breath before nodding. He managed to look calm on the outside but the truth was he was shaking on the inside.
"Eldest Brother, how are you?" a familiar voice greeted him from behind.
He turned and saw his half-brother, Long Jian, looking fresh and polished in his crisp business suit. Long Jian just arrived together with the COO.
Long Hui greeted the COO before his brother. "I'm alright."
"Are you really? I was overcome with worry when I saw the news."
Long Jian's tone was filled with brotherly worry but Long Hui saw mocking in his eyes. Long Hui gritted his teeth but forced himself to smile, knowing that his brother was the COO's current protégé. "Thank you, Brother. Don't worry too much about me."
Long Hui wanted this half-brother of his to leave him alone, finding him more and more annoying by the day because Long Jian always performed all of his assigned tasks well, even going so far as to achieve results beyond what was expected of him. The COO couldn't stop praising him. Even Long Tengfei couldn't hide the approval and pride in his eyes whenever he looked at his second son. However, Long Jian didn't leave him alone.
"I heard that there are some board members who are demanding your resignation. Please be careful, Eldest Brother. They're out to get you," Long Jian whispered to him.
To others, like the COO who was listening to their conversation, it sounded like Long Jian was giving a kind warning to his brother. But Long Hui knew that Long Jian was enjoying the precarious situation he was in.
"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," he forced himself to say with a smile, only barely managing to stop himself from hissing.
After a few minutes of faking a close brotherly bond in front of the COO, Long Jian and his mentor, the COO, finally left him alone. Then he saw the two elders, Long Jufang and Long Meng, who just arrived. The elders were also shareholders so they had the right to attend the meeting.
Long Jufang snorted in derision when their eyes met before heading to a group of other shareholders. On the other hand, Long Meng gave him an encouraging smile and approached him.
"You're your father's eldest son, so don't worry about being fired. You should be fine," she assured him.
"I heard that some board members want my resignation," he said, finally showing a hint of anxiety to his allied elder.
Chapter 673 - Unexpected Appearance
Long Meng didn't reply immediately but that was enough for Long Hui to confirm that Long Jian told the truth earlier about some board members wanting his resignation. His anxiety intensified until he almost felt like suffocating.
"Calm down, Young Master Hui," Long Meng told him in a low but firm voice. "You'll be fine. We have our own allies in this meeting, you'll see."
He nodded and took a few deep breaths until he finally managed to calm himself again. Indeed, the most important thing for him to do at the moment was to keep his composure. He needed to demonstrate to everyone that he had the ability to keep a cool head in times of overwhelming pressure which was an extremely important requirement to become the head of the company.
Everyone filed inside the large conference room and took their seats. The meeting was scheduled to start in five minutes but not everyone was present yet. There were still people arriving.
Long Hui sat between Long Meng and his superior, the CFO. Directly opposite them sat Long Jian and the COO. They sat close to the head of the table where his father would be sitting once he arrived. Soon, everyone had arrived except for the President-CEO, Long Tengfei. Long Hui took this time to mentally practice how he was going to defend himself against the attacks he expected to be thrown at him shortly.
Two minutes before the scheduled time for the meeting, the door opened and Long Tengfei entered. His right-hand man, Cao Guang, followed closely behind him like always. However, it was the unexpected figure walking beside Long Tengfei that surprised many in the conference room.
Long Hui's expression immediately turned ugly when he saw who it was. It took a few seconds before he was able to smooth out his expression to an impassive one. Fortunately, almost everyone's attention was on the unexpected new arrival so they didn't notice his unbecoming expression.
However, Long Jian noticed and smirked before he, too, smoothed out his own expression.
"Good morning, President Long!"
Long Tengfei nodded. "Good morning, everyone."
"Good morning, Xiulan." Long Jian was the first one to greet Iris who arrived with their father.
She flashed everyone her brightest smile, almost blinding them with her breathtaking beauty. It didn't matter if it was male or female. They all found themselves affected by her. She looked fresh and glowing in a vibrant violet business dress. The dress itself was simple and conservative, yet when Iris wore it, it transformed into a high-fashion runway showpiece. Her accessories were minimal and her high heels were lower than usual. Her entire outfit was very business-appropriate, but for some reason, it felt like she was dressed to perform in a grand concert.
"Good morning, Big Brother Jian," she greeted back. "Oh, right. I should call you Deputy COO Long when we're in the company. Please excuse me."
Long Jian waved a hand. "Big Brother Jian is fine. There's no need to be so formal between us. We're siblings, after all."
"Yes, we are."
Long Hui clenched his hands under the table as he watched his half-brother and half-sister chatting with each other and acting as if they were very close. What grated him was that the two were acting as if he didn't exist when he was the eldest brother!
"What is the Young Miss doing here?" Long Meng whispered beside him, so that nobody other than him could hear her. Immerse Yourself in the Storyverse: Nâ¡vεlB¡n.
"She's also a shareholder and has the right to attend this meeting," he replied, immediately knowing the answer despite being surprised at her sudden, unexpected appearance just a few seconds ago.
"Ah, right. I've forgotten that she owns 5%." Long Meng glanced down and saw his clenched hands under the table. "Young Master, please don't worry too much. The young miss might be a shareholder but what does she know about the inner workings of the company? She doesn't understand the work culture here, so she only holds very little power on her own. She won't be able to do anything against you here."
"You're right."
Iris went on to greet the other people. Most greeted her back with politeness for the reason that she was a shareholder, if not because she was the President-CEO's daughter.
Some, however, didn't bother to hide their displeasure at her presence. They were the old-fashioned people who still held negative impressions of her from her past reputation as an unreasonable, selfish, conceited, spoiled brat. The previous owner of the 5% shares who refused to sell to her, eventually choosing to sell to Long Hui instead, belonged to this particular group. Iris' expression didn't change. She didn't give a whit about these people.
Two looked extremely excited to the point that they were almost visibly vibrating with happiness. Iris tilted her head to the side, feeling confused by their reaction because she didn't remember meeting these two people before. What she didn't know was that they were actually Black Stars, so of course, it was only expected that they were soaring in exhilaration upon meeting their Boss Iris, their queen goddess, in the flesh! If they weren't in an important business meeting right now, they would have already fangirled and fanboyed over Iris and asked her to sign autographs and take pictures with them before bragging about the unforgettable experience to their fellow Black Stars online. In fact, they were already making plans on doing exactly that after the meeting.
Finally, Iris greeted Long Hui and Elder Long Meng, saving them for the last. Others didn't bother thinking too much about the order she greeted everyone, assuming that she did it randomly. To Long Hui and Long Meng, however, they believed that she did it intentionally to mock them and tell them that they were at the bottom rung of importance to her.
Well, they were half-correct.
Iris indeed greeted everyone at random but left Long Hui and Long Meng for last because she didn't want to ruin her mood so quickly and affect her interactions with the others.
Chapter 674 - Good Skill To Have
"Xiulan, sit beside your brother Jian," Long Tengfei said before taking his seat at the head of the table.
Iris obeyed and sat beside Long Jian, not noticing the disappointed expression on Long Jufang's face who initially intended on inviting her to sit beside him instead.
Long Tengfei checked his wristwatch and announced, "It's time. Let's start the meeting."
Everyone knew why the meeting was called today, so nobody beat around the bush.
"Our company's stock prices crashed overnight. We need to discuss strategies on how to recover as soon as possible," the CFO said.
"Isn't it because our Deputy CFO did something scandalous that our stock prices crashed?" a board member said in a sardonic tone. "He's the one who caused the problem in the first place so he should be the one to take responsibility and solve it."
"And what do you suggest my deputy do to solve the problem?" the CFO asked.
"Simple. Present his resignation."
"I object!" Long Meng glared at the board member. "What a ridiculous suggestion!"
"Ridiculous? This is the simplest and the most effective solution. I guarantee that our stock prices will recover quickly once he resigns. Want to bet?"
"You!" Long Meng was furious.
"Grandaunt Meng, please calm down." Now it was Long Hui's turn to whisper calming words to the elder.
The table erupted in great noise as people started talking over each other. One group supported the board member's idea and demanded for Long Hui's resignation while another group was in support of him and tried to defend him from the attackers. A neutral group tried to mediate and calm everyone down but to no avail.
"Enough!" Long Tengfei banged his hand on the table, instantly stopping the ruckus. Then he turned his strict eyes on his eldest son. "Deputy CFO Long Hui, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"Yes, President Long. I do. Please allow me to explain myself."
"Alright. Go ahead."
Long Hui stood up and headed to the presentation area. He was aware that all eyes were on him like stabbing knives. However, he managed to keep his composure and look calm on the outside. His father was looking at him with an unreadable expression as always, but Long Hui could sense his father's disappointment in him.
Next were his half-siblings. Long Jian managed to look concerned for him, effectively presenting himself as a good brother to those observing. Iris, on the other hand, wore an unreadable expression very similar to their father's. But Long Hui could imagine the real mocking expressions hiding beneath their fake masks. N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
He took a few deep breaths and finally started speaking.
"Before anything else, I would like to apologize for all the inconvenience my actions have caused the company and all of you..."
First order of business was a "heartfelt" apology in order to garner sympathy so that they would be more receptive to his explanation and lenient on his current unfortunate situation.
He was able to maintain a delicate balance of remorse for his "carelessness" and determination "not to let it happen again and become a better person".
"Great acting skills. It's making me a little envious. I have to take acting classes just to improve, but look at him. He's a natural," Iris commented in a low voice.
Long Jian's mouth twitched. Fortunately, he was able to stop himself from laughing out loud. "Little Sister, all of us here didn't get to where we are today without learning some sort of acting skills. It's one of the most important tacit skills needed to climb the corporate ladder and to keep one's position."
"Oh. Really? So you're good in acting, too?"
"Of course. Not to brag but I'm an excellent actor. Better than Long Hui. Remember that I'm not a legitimate child like you or him, so I have to work a hundred times harder just to get to where I am today. Acting skills is very important in order for me to reverse the preconceived notions of people about me being an illegitimate son of the company president."
She nodded. Hearing Long Jian say it like that, Iris thought that he was actually quite an impressive man. After her rebirth as Iris Long, she never felt completely at ease with Long Jian because her intuition told her that he wasn't exactly how he appeared to be. There was cunningness behind his handsome smile. Another thing was that he had a horrible, ill-behaved mother who often got into fights in public, particularly with Wei Lan.
However, they had become more comfortable chatting with each other ever since they allied together when Long Jian bowed his head to her and Jin Liwei and asked them to help his mother, Zhu Ning, who was currently still in police custody after being framed for the mall bombing. It was actually Long Jian who informed Iris about the meeting today and urged her to come in order to start their plans of kicking Long Hui out of the battle of succession. In addition to this, Long Jian had already started feeding her important information about the inner workings of the company.
"Hmm. If that's the case, then I guess I need to really improve my acting skills because I now have my own companies," she said.
"Yes. It's a good skill to have," Long Jian replied.
Iris thought more about it and realized that indeed some acting skills were needed in business. Even her tyrannical darling needed to be on his best behaviour when meeting fellow CEOs of other multinational companies, even when he didn't like them. She remembered Grandpa Lu complaining about it during one of their lessons.
"I once punched a CEO in the face back in the days because he was a complete asshole who harassed female secretaries! Our company lost billions in a potential partnership because of it but what do I care?! Why should I pretend to like someone when I don't just to get ahead?! Why?! I want to know! Your Grandfather JinâI wish you met him, he would've loved you tooâalways called me a hothead! Bah! I'm not a hothead! I'm just true to myself!"
Chapter 675 - Proposed Solution
"That's why I left all the people matters to your Grandfather Jin because he said that I'm no good with it! That I'm too temperamental, too shameless! Hah! Of course you have to be shameless to make lots of money! But don't get me wrong, Xiulan my girl. I'm not saying that your Grandfather Jin kissed everyone's asses to make connections with important people! That would be funny if he did but he DIDN'T! That scoundrel looked so proper and upright but was actually a sly fox inside! Bahahaha! He was the most cunning person your Grandpa Lu knows in my entire life! We always get the best business deals because of his god-level craftiness!
"And now I dumped Jin Corporation to your Liwei so that this old man can enjoy his retired life having lots of fun and waiting for you pinheads to make me lots of great-grandbabies! You're all so slow! What's taking you so long?! I want to know!
"Liwei my boy is also good at handling people matters which I hateâbah! He's very similar to his Grandfather Jin in many aspects. In fact, that boy is also a sly fox inside, so you better be careful, my girl! Oh wait. Too late! You already fell for his trap! Bahahahahaha!!!"
Iris couldn't help but smile remembering Grandpa Lu's booming voice as he complained about this aspect in business which he hatedâdealing with people he didn't like. Although she had no clue what the old man meant by his last sentence about her falling into Jin Liwei's trap, she didn't mind because she liked listening to his stories of Grandfather Jin and also about her darling.
Her attention returned to the meeting just as Long Hui was finishing his very well-rehearsed yet natural-sounding defence of himself. Basically, he admitted that it was negligence on his part that he allowed the custody case of his son to become so public that it began to affect Long Industries' image, but cleverly insinuated that the media attention was due to his relation with his sister Iris Long who was a famous celebrity. He said it in an almost careless way, as if it was just an afterthought and not deliberate at all.
"Indeed, a natural actor. If he enters showbiz, he might even win a Best Actor Award," Iris muttered, making Long Jian fight a grin.
His acting was even more impressive because the old-fashioned group who didn't think highly of her looked like they believed him. They now turned their accusing eyes on Iris.
She ignored them.
"He's blaming you, Little Sister. Are you angry?" Long Jian asked while looking very entertained.
"No. I already expected that he'll try something like this because that's the kind of person he is. In his own eyes, he's innocent. If something goes wrong, it's other people's fault."
The two stopped talking because the COO quietly reprimanded Long Jian.
In the end, Long Hui was able to move some people with his "heartfelt" speech. There were a number of men in the room who experienced something similar to himâseparated with a lover and tried to fight for a child's custody but lost. Family situations like this were always messy, so they could relate to him.
Long Hui also defended the cheating allegations between him and Mao Qiuyue, insisting that it was untrue. His maternal family, the Zhengs, were close to the Maos. He only interacted with Mao Qiuyue in a brotherly capacity when he was still engaged with Jiang Ying Yue. But when they separated, Mao Qiuyue comforted him during his painful heartbreak, eventually causing him to fall for her. According to him, it also wasn't true that the Maos "bought" him in exchange for the 5% Long Industries shares he recently acquired. He reasoned that Mao Qiuyue insisted on helping him even when he declined her offer numerous times until she eventually managed to persuade him.
"I know that everything looks bad now and I'm sorry for that, but as Long Industries' Deputy CFO...and also as the President-CEO's eldest son, I will do everything that I can to solve the problem of our company's stock prices crashing. My resignation is not the answer! In fact, it's the worst thing to do in this situation because it'll only signal to everyone that we're admitting defeat! I humbly suggest that the best course of action is to work together as a team, as family because that's what we are, in order to remedy our current problem. I'm ready to work day and night every day of the week until we solve this and our company's stock prices recover!"
Long Meng clapped her hands. Long Hui's supporters and allies followed suit. However, most chose not to clap because they wanted to gauge Long Tengfei's position first in this matter. It was difficult for them to know what their company head was thinking based on his expression which remained unreadable.
"Go back to your seat, Deputy CFO Long Hui," Long Tengfei finally spoke again.
Long Hui obeyed and returned beside Long Meng who gave him an encouraging smile. He also felt hopeful because his father's tone didn't sound like he was about to fire him. Perhaps he was also able to move his father with his speech. He was hoping he did.
The conference room descended into silence as everyone waited for Long Tengfei to speak first.
"I agree that Deputy CFO Long Hui's resignation is not the best course of action in this situation," he said.
Long Hui released a big sigh of relief. Elder Long Meng also did the same thing.
"But he still played a big part in causing our current predicament," Long Tengfei continued. "So he will be duly punished. I'll hand out his punishment later but for now, we should all think of solutions on how to make our stock prices recover as soon as possible."
People began talking again as they offered different solutions, but most of them were shot down as ineffective.
A hand rose up.
"Go ahead, Deputy COO Long Jian," Long Tengfei said. "What's your proposed solution?"
"My suggestion is simple. Let my sister, the celebrity Iris Long, do her magic!"
Chapter 676 - What Kind Of Brother Are You?
"We are having a serious business discussion here that will affect the fate of our company. It's not the time for making jokes!" Long Meng rebuked Long Jian.
She never treated him kindly because of his illegitimate status. It wasn't only him. Long Jinjing also suffered the same ill treatment from Long Meng and the other elders, including Long Jufang who was now supporting Iris but only because she was a legitimate child.
Others nodded, agreeing with Long Meng, but there were a handful of people whose eyes lit up upon finally realizing what Long Jian meant. Included in these sharp people were the two secret Black Stars. They looked at Iris in excitement. It was already obvious by their smiling expressions that they would wholeheartedly support whatever Long Jian was about to propose because it was related to their amazing Boss Iris. They almost cheered out loud before controlling themselves upon remembering that they were in an important business meeting. Immerse Yourself in the Storyverse: Nâ¡vεlB¡n.
"Grandaunt Meng," Long Jian said.
Long Meng snorted, not liking that he was calling her grandaunt. For her, he wasn't qualified to be family and therefore had no right to call her as grandaunt. However, she didn't correct him because they were in front of Long Tengfei who everyone in the clan knew was protective of all his children, legitimate or not, even though he wasn't an outwardly affectionate person.
Long Jian ignored the elder's obvious disdain towards him and continued speaking. "I'm not making jokes. I'm serious about my suggestion to allow my sister Xiulan, or as the rest of the country knows her, the popular celebrity Iris Long, to help solve our company's current crisis."
"Explain," Long Tengfei said in a strict tone, yet there was also underlying encouragement in his voice.
It seemed that Long Tengfei already had an idea of what Long Jian's proposal was all about but still chose to ask for the benefit of those who hadn't realized it yet like Long Meng. Indeed, Long Tengfei was an astute businessman. He wasn't the President-CEO of Long Industries for nothing.
"President Long and also everyone," Long Jian spoke in a clear voice. "My sister, Iris Long, is not just a simple shareholder in our company. Please remember that she's also the appointed celebrity brand ambassador of Long Industries. She hasn't been very active in her duty yet, but haven't we signed a few promising new clients as soon as it was announced that she became our brand ambassador? They reached out to us to make a business deal but introduced themselves as Iris Long's fans, that's why they chose to partner with us in the first place.
"Even outside our company, my sister's endorsements are all very successful and at this rate, I'm sure that she'll become one of the top celebrity endorsers in the country by next year. This only proves that we made an excellent decision to appoint her as our brand ambassador.
"My point is that we should make use of Iris Long's star power to turn our current predicament around. Why did our stock prices crash in the first place? It wasn't because of a failure we did as a company but because of Deputy CFO Long Hui's...ehm, shall we say increasingly 'unpleasant' image in the media these days?"
Long Hui's composed expression cracked when Long Jian singled him out by name in front of everyone. He glared at his half-brother but was ignored as Long Jian continued explaining his proposal.
"In short, the main cause of our current problem is image! Our company's image has been tarnished alongside Deputy CFO Long Hui's, not just because he holds a high position but also because he's the eldest son of our President-CEO. If you think about it, it's not surprising that our stock prices crashed because people are going to think that everyone in the company, especially the president, is tolerating Deputy CFO Long Hui's 'unpleasant' behaviours just because he's the company head's son."
"You! Enough! Stop spouting all that nonsense!" Long Meng angrily interrupted Long Jian. "Didn't you listen to the young master's explanation just now? He already said that not everything being reported in the media about him is true! Stop targeting Young Master Hui! What kind of brother are you?!"
Long Jian's eyes turned a degree colder. The elder never acknowledged him as part of the Long family, and yet she was demanding him to act like a "brother" to her Young Master Hui whenever it suited her?
Earlier, Long Jian was the one who looked entertained when Long Hui cleverly blamed Iris for his current problems caused by the media. But now, it was Iris who felt entertained watching Long Hui glaring at Long Jian while Long Meng was scolding him in front of everyone for targeting his own brother. She found it funny that the two and their allies were always trying to find fault in her and Long Jian during this meeting in order to shift a part of the blame away from Long Hui when it was clear as day that he was the one who fucked up first. Iris had a strong urge to munch on popcorn and enjoy the entertaining show in front of her.
"Madam Long, my deputy is only stating facts as he should. It's true that it was Deputy CFO Long's mistakes that caused our company's stock prices to crash overnight. Please take a moment to view our current situation with a logical mind instead of letting your emotions take over you, madam. I know some people in your clan have issues with my deputy but I request that you don't bring that here in the company. Family issues have no place in business," the COO intervened and defended Long Jian. If not for the fact that Long Meng was older than him, he probably would have already harshly scolded her.
Long Meng felt humiliated but wisely shut her mouth and didn't argue with the COO. It was because the COO was the next most powerful person in Long Industries after Long Tengfei while she was only a small-time shareholder.
Chapter 677 - I Suppor
The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.
Long Jian nodded a silent thanks to his mentor, the COO. Once again, he couldn't help but compare the COO to his own father. The COO defended him readily from Long Meng in front of everyone while Long Tengfei chose to remain silent.
However, his resentment against his father was no longer as intense as before. The COO and his wonderful close-knit family had taught him to live in the present and look forward to the future rather than dwell in the past and wallow in regrets. Without the shackles of intense resentment, he now began to see that Long Tengfei wasn't as free to do whatever he wanted as Long Jian first thought.
His father was both the clan head and the President-CEO of Long Industries. Long Tengfei had to be careful not to rock the boat too much and worsen the discord within the clan, especially regarding all of his children. He wasn't the best father in terms of creating close bonds with his children. In fact, he was very awkward in this aspect but had been gradually improving after marrying his third wife, Yang Jiahui.
This was why Long Jian didn't expect anything anymore from his father in terms of paternal affections, or in this case, defending him from Long Meng in front of everyone. He could only rely on himself and he believed himself capable of doing so. Nevertheless, it was still a great feeling that the COO stepped forward to defend him. Warmth and gratefulness filled him. And also strengthened his goal to succeed his father and become the next head of Long Industries.
'I swear I'll become a better leader than Father. I know I can do it. I'm sure that the COO will be proud of me and maybe Father, too, even for just a little.'
While Long Jian felt fired up and was even reaffirming his final goal of winning the battle of succession, Iris was taking it easy on the seat beside him. She was actually continuing to crave for some popcorn to munch on!
Never had she expected that this meeting would be so entertaining. At first, she only forced herself to attend when Long Jian informed her about the emergency meeting last night. Since they were currently allied together in a plot to kick out Long Hui in the battle of succession, of course she agreed to come even though she would rather continue preparing for her wedding instead. She personally didn't want anything to do with the messy Long clan which was a cesspool of prejudice and narrow-minded people, but had to involve herself for the sake of her godson, Little Jun.
Watching the show playing in front of her was making Iris want to clap her hands in applause for everyone's performance. Particularly, Long Jian was doing an excellent job. Indeed, he wasn't lying when he told her earlier that he was a better actor than Long Hui. There was no sibling love between her and Long Jian, but as allies, she also needed to provide him support when he was putting the first step of their plan into action by recommending her today.
"Excuse me, FatherâI mean, President Long," she interrupted the tense atmosphere, deliberately calling Long Tengfei "Father" before correcting herself and calling him with his official title, in order to remind everyone in the meeting that she was the daughter of the company's President-CEO. "May I speak?"
"Yes, you may. As long as it's relevant to our current discussion," Long Tengfei said.
"Thank you, Father." Then she swept her eyes across every single person sitting around the conference table. "I know that I'm only a brand ambassador so I'm unable to make big decisions on my own. But like what my brother Jian mentioned to you just now, I have proven myself an effective endorser. People believe in the brands that I endorse. They trust in my seal of approval and believe that whatever product, brand or company that I choose to lend my name to will be of high quality. The best example that I can provide you is my own company, Orchidia Beauty. I don't know if all of you are aware but my small, humble company broke records for selling out everything in just five seconds on its launch. And that trend continues to this day as we sell out all of our restocks and new product launches."
Many mouths twitched when they heard her describing Orchidia Beauty as a "small, humble company". The new company could sell out its entire inventory within a day or two and had to constantly expand its manufacturing capacity every time. Its owner was the multi-award-winning musician Iris Long who was engaged to marry billionaire CEO Jin Liwei. Plus it had a superstar top endorser, Jin Chonglin! Which part of Orchidia Beauty was "small" and "humble"?!
"Aren't you just bragging?" Iris heard Long Meng muttering with her great hearing.
She could choose to ignore the elder but decided not to this time. "Grandaunt Meng, you may describe what I'm doing as bragging but I prefer to call it what it isâstating facts. Everything I said about my company just now is all 100% true." Not giving the elder a chance to retort, Iris continued speaking. "The reason why I'm saying all of this is to show all of you that I already have a proven track record of success in the area of using my image to boost a product, brand or company of my choosing.
"And as the officially appointed brand ambassador of Long Industries and also as the President-CEO's daughter, I pledge to all of you today that I will do my utmost best to help improve the company's image by using my status as a celebrity who has already built a considerable following in the country," she announced with confidence.
"As the Deputy COO, I believe that my sister is the most effective solution for our current crisis," Long Jian said. "I support her!"
"I, as the COO, also support Miss Long."
The two Black Stars followed suit. "We support!"
"I support, as well," Long Jufang said.
Chapter 678 - The Higher Someone Soars, The Deeper The Fall
A chorus of "I support" sounded from around three-quarter of the meeting's participantsâsome readily, some reluctantly. A small number like Long Meng who were Long Hui's biggest supporters in the battle of succession voiced out their opposition to the proposal because they didn't want Iris taking centre stage in solving the company's current crisis as much as possible. The remaining people kept silent, still undecided.
Long Tengfei glanced at his fellow executives. Almost all of them supported the proposal just like the COO. He nodded and announced, "The majority has spoken. Xiulan, I expect you to perform your duty as the company's brand ambassador well."
She smiled. "Yes, Father. I will."
"Deputy COO Long Jian. Since this was your idea, you'll be in charge of it. I want you to work closely together with the PR and Marketing Departments on how to best use your sister's celebrity status to improve our company's image. I want results within one month. Great results. We can't afford to lose any more of our stocks' value for longer than that. If your plan doesn't work, we'll immediately move on to a contingency plan."
"Understood, President. Leave it to me. One month is more than enough," Long Jian replied with a smile before glancing at Long Hui who looked like he swallowed a whole frog.
"Deputy CFO Long Hui," Long Tengfei said next.
"Yes, President?" Long Hui managed to hide the anger in his voice.
"It's your carelessness which landed our company in this predicament, so you need to bear responsibility for it. But for now, we'll attempt Deputy COO Long Jian's plan of using your sister's celebrity status first and see how it goes. Recovering our company's stock prices takes priority over anything else, so I'll delay your punishment. You'll be in charge of devising our contingency plan in case Deputy COO Long Jian's plan doesn't work in a month. I expect a solid plan from you. Don't disappoint me anymore." The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.
Long Hui's lips pressed hard together into a thin line at the reminder of his punishment. He didn't know how his father would punish him, but he hoped it wouldn't be too harsh. But at least, he wasn't being fired so this was good news. This was a chance to redeem himself! Determination shone in his eyes.
"Understood, President. I'll start devising several contingency plans right away," he promised.
Long Tengfei nodded.
The meeting continued for an additional half an hour before Long Tengfei signalled its end and dismissed everyone. Long Hui and Long Meng left first before anyone could speak with either of them. Iris chatted with some people who were curious about her, including Long Jufang and especially the Black Stars who could barely maintain their professional composure in front of her.
After signing autographs and taking pictures with her two fans, she followed Long Jian who led her to his office so that they could begin devising their strategy to use her status as a celebrity brand ambassador to recover the company's image and stock prices. But before that, they talked about Long Hui.
"I'm very disappointed that Long Hui wasn't fired or forced to resign or even punished," Long Jian said.
Iris sat on the couch opposite him and sipped the hot tea his assistant served them a few moments ago. "Father said that his punishment is only delayed. He'll be punished in due time."
"I know but still, I was expecting him to suffer more from today's meeting. Instead, he got off scot-free. Father is being too lenient on him."
"Of course Father will be lenient on him. What do you expect? That's his first son and the one he had been grooming to become his successor since his birth. It's only now when Father has aged and married Aunt Jiahui that he has given all of us siblings a fair chance to prove ourselves as potential successors. In the end, it's only the three of us who are competing because Big Sister Jinjing is perfectly happy working at my own company, Orchidia Beauty."
Long Jian clicked his tongue. "Jinjing is a very sensible girl. How about you? Why are you even joining in the battle of succession, anyway? I can sense that you're not as hungry for Long Industries as I am or Long Hui. You should be like our sister Jinjing instead and be satisfied with your own company. It's doing well, anyway. Extremely well. Why don't you leave us alone?"
Iris shrugged, choosing not to reply and sipped her tea instead. She had her own reasons that he didn't need to know. Long Jian didn't mind that she refused to answer. Each of them had their own secrets, their own personal plans. They were only allies for now, after all. There was no need to act like the best of friends all of a sudden and spill everything to each other. Once they achieved their goal of kicking out their biggest competitor in the battle of succession, Long Hui, then their alliance would naturally dissolve. By then, they would revert back to being opponents going head to head against each other.
"I'm feeling a little tired. I've been so busy lately. Do you have chocolates or something? I need a quick boost of energy," she said all of a sudden.
"Chocolates? Are you still a kid or what?" Long Jian said in a mocking tone but still rummaged through a drawer and tossed her a few coin-shaped chocolates.
"Thanks!" She quickly opened one and popped it inside her mouth, chewing in bliss. "You know, don't be so disappointed that Long Hui got away 'scot-free' today as you put it. As they say, the higher someone soars, the deeper the fall. This is only the beginning. His image and reputation will only worsen. Remember that he has a pending defamation lawsuit filed against him by my fiancé's sworn brother."
"Ah, right. The agricultural tycoon, Lin Yehan. He doesn't look all that impressive."
She narrowed her eyes at him while popping another chocolate into her mouth. "Don't underestimate any of my fiancé's brothers."
Chapter 679 - Don't Forget Our Deal
"Whatever." Long Jian shrugged before eyeing the chocolates disappearing inside Iris' mouth. "Hey, toss me a chocolate."
Iris turned away and continued eating.
He scowled. "Those are my chocolates. Give me one."
"You gave them to me so they're mine now. Go get more for yourself."
"Those are the last ones."
She pursed her lips and tossed him one coin-shaped chocolate with great reluctance before rushing to finish the remaining ones.
"What a kid," Long Jian grumbled before popping the chocolate into his own mouth. Iris' blissful expression while eating tempted him but it turned out that the chocolate didn't taste particularly special. He snorted at her in disdain after quickly swallowing the childish treat.
After this brief chocolatey intermission, they talked about their plan's next steps.
"I want Long Hui to fall down so deeply that he'll never have a chance to recover," Long Jian said. "It's only in that way that he'll cease being a threat to us in the battle of succession."
Although Iris hated how Long Hui was acting, especially in his treatment of her friend Jiang Ying Yue, she disagreed with Long Jian. Long Hui was, after all, still the father of her godson. "If he regrets his stupidity, makes amends to those he hurt, and backs out of the battle of succession on his own volition, let's just leave him be."
Long Jian frowned, clearly not agreeing with her stance. However, he didn't oppose her out loud because he needed her if he wanted to kick out Long Hui from the battle of succession sooner. His individual influence in the Long clan was insignificant. He didn't want to rely on Long Xiaopeng who was trying to rally support from minor members of several small branch families in the clan.
Long Xiaopeng was Long Jian's number one supporter in the clan in the hopes that his own small branch family would rise in a position of influence if Long Jian successfully became the next head. He also worked as a spy, updating Long Jian and Zhu Ning about the latest news within the clan. In recent years, he had gathered a small number of supporters for Long Jian but all of them were from minor branch families who were tempted with the same ambition of gaining influence among the Longs. Unfortunately, Long Xiaopeng's efforts were still far from enough to rival Long Hui and Iris' positions in the clan, especially since most of the clan members were still old-fashioned and prejudiced against illegitimate children.
If Long Jian wanted to increase his chances of triumphing in the battle of succession, he needed to do it in a field that he was the most confident inâthe company, Long Industries. His swift climb in the corporate ladder was a testament to his talent in business leadership, not to mention that the COO had taken him in as a protégé, making it easier for him to access resources to improve himself and showcase his abilities, skills and achievements to everyone in the company, especially to his father. Despite his excellent work performance, he had been working at the main headquarters and obtained the position of Deputy COO position for only a few months. He needed more time and accomplishments in order to match the influence Long Hui had in the company which the other obtained a few years earlier than him.
Thus, Long Jian decided to ally with Iris, the other legitimate child and the one who threatened Long Hui's position the most. This was the quickest way to achieve his ambition of succeeding their father as the next head.
"Let's not talk about the extent of how we want Long Hui to suffer after we defeat him," he said. "We can decide on that later. Right now, we need to make sure that our plans play out smoothly first."
Iris nodded. She was about to leave after fleshing out their plans when he stopped her. He hesitated for a moment before deciding to warn her. Ã00vâ¬l--Ã1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.
"Be careful of Long Hui's maternal family, the Zhengs. They're not simple. They had been lying low since Father divorced Zheng Suyin to marry your mother due to shame, but I heard that they're becoming more active in high society in the past few weeks. Even Zheng Suyin who disappeared from the public eye for years was seen outside recently meeting with old friends. Now that we're targeting Long Hui, I'm sure that Zheng Suyin won't let us off and will do everything in her power to support her son. I think I'm fine because nobody sees me as a threat for now, but that's not the case for you. You're a legitimate child just like Long Hui, not to mention that Father dotes on you the most."
Iris protested on his claim that Long Tengfei doted on her the most but he ignored her and continued warning her. She could only nod. "Alright, I understand. Thank you, Big Brother Jian. I'll be careful of the Zhengs."
He nodded, satisfied. Then he hesitated once again.
"What is it?" she asked, already standing and ready to leave.
"Don't forget our deal, Little Sister. I'm not doing all of these for you. My mother is still in police custody. Could you...ask CEO Jin if there are any updates regarding my mother's case? Is there a chance for her to be released from jail soon?"
"Oh. Alright. I'll ask Liwei," she replied, even though Jin Liwei had no interest in helping Zhu Ning because the woman once threatened her and Wei Lan, his future mother-in-law. It was actually Iris herself, or more specifically her hacker abilities, that would help clear Zhu Ning's name from the accusation of being the mastermind of the bomb incident.
"Thanks." Long Jian looked relieved. Then he escorted her out of his office where Dom and her bodyguards were waiting.
Chapter 680 - Something Interesting
In the next few days, Iris began working hard as Long Industries' brand ambassador under the mission of improving the company's reputation and recovering the stock prices. She worked closely with Long Jian who was in charge of the assignment and also with the company's PR and Marketing Departments.
They completed a series of advertisements and program commercials in a hurry. Since time was tight, Iris took charge of the advertisements and commercials. She chose a simple approach yet her creativity still managed to inject a fresh and appealing vibe to the rushed projects. She even went the extra mile and quickly composed an original commercial jingle within a day to complement her ads for Long Industries.
With the addition of fulfilling her active duty as brand ambassador for Long Industries, Iris' already full schedule became even fuller, making her even busier than Jin Liwei. Despite this, she still stubbornly instructed Dom to free one day per week to spend quality time together with her darling.
Long Jian brought her to various meetings and conferences, using her celebrity status to charm not only business partners but also the general public. Even when he and his team were pushing her this way, Iris' professionalism prevented her behaviour to be viewed as ingratiating. And also instead of her usual eye-catching "celeb" outfits, she wore chic business dresses instead.
Long Tengfei was very satisfied by her professionalism. He, along with the COO and fellow executives plus the other important shareholders were closely watching Iris' work performance. It wasn't only the way she dressed properly or interacted with others as brand ambassador without overly flattering anyone that impressed Long Tengfei and the others in the company. They were also impressed by her original ideas and how she managed to work harmoniously with Long Jian and their team from the PR and Marketing Departments as if she had been working with them for years.
There were some people like Long Tengfei, Long Hui, and others who planted spies in the team in order to monitor Long Jian and Iris. (The two were actually aware of the spies but didn't call them out, allowing them to spy because they had nothing to hide during meetings.) Long Tengfei and the others discovered that the two siblings had strong leadership skills and were both ambitious and aggressive when making and implementing their plans.
Everyone in Long Industries were looking forward whether the Long Jian and Iris Long duo would be able to reverse the company's stock price crash caused by Long Hui. A "secret" betting pool was even set up, pitting the sibling duo against their eldest brother, Long Hui, who caused the stock price crash in the first place.
Not everyone was optimistic that Iris Long using her position as a celebrity brand ambassador alone would be able to rescue the situation because Long Hui's reputation was worsening with each passing day due to Lin Yehan's pending defamation lawsuit against him.
The ads and commercials were released after a week. Contrary to the pessimistic expectations, the company's stock prices twitched on the way to recovery just a day after Iris Long's ads and commercials were released.
Thanks to the Black Stars' loyal support, Iris' original commercial jingle for Long Industries quickly went viral, making the simple advertisement concept memorable.
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Jin Corporation.
Xu Tian knocked on the door before opening it.
"President, lunch has arrived." Ã00vâ¬l--Ã1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.
"En. Come in," Jin Liwei replied while continuing to type on his computer in front of his desk.
Xu Tian led the subordinates from Dragon Palace Home #10 inside. Iris sent them to deliver lunch. This scene was already a regular occurrence so nobody was surprised anymore. In fact, Jin Liwei, Xu Tian and the receptionists downstairs would start worrying if Iris ever failed to send lunch and wonder if Jin Liwei did something to piss her off. Only when Jin Liwei was away from the company during lunch time or went to a business trip would Iris not send lunch to him.
Jin Liwei continued working on his desk while Xu Tian and his subordinates set up the hearty and nutritious dishes on the table in the office. There were enough for both Jin Liwei and Xu Tian.
A couple of minutes later, Jin Liwei paused his work and sat down for lunch with Xu Tian. A soft smile lingered on his lips as he looked at the mouth-watering food on the table. Ever since Iris started sending him lunch, he no longer skipped his meals no matter how busy he was working. It was a far cry to his previous busy bachelor lifestyle before he met her when he would prioritize work over regular meal times.
The subordinates retreated outside the office, leaving Jin Liwei and Xu Tian to enjoy their lunch. They already ate at the mansion before delivering the food to their boss.
"Mmmm." Jin Liwei couldn't help making an appreciative noise as he took a first bite. An image of his baby girl popped inside his mind, deepening his soft smile.
Even though Iris didn't cook the dishes herself, he loved that she would personally discuss his lunch meals with their chef at home every night. He also learned something interesting recently from the chatterbox Ketchup. According to the dramatic and talkative white cat, her mommy had been in contact with a special nutritionist for quite some time now to tweak Jin Liwei's meals for a specific purpose. When asked for the reason why, Ketchup could only pout and say that she had no idea because her mommy locked the information away. Curious, he directly asked his baby girl one night.
"Oh, that. Don't worry about it too much. I'm just taking my experiment of making your semen taste sweeter to the next level, so we're trying to make you eat different food combinations," she told him in a straightforward tone as if she was talking about something mundane like the weather instead of the taste of his semen.
His eyes darkened in an instant while a bulge grew and stiffened inside his pants. "Is that so?" he breathed, his voice low and husky.