After Failing To Tame The Scumbag - Chapter 32

“President Yun’s favorability rating +1.”

Xia Qing caught the faint hint of irony in the words and gave a forced laugh, feeling a twinge of envy. “Is this the composure of a big boss…?”

“Turn the donations back on,” Yun Chuxiu said, looking down to gather a handful of sand, a low smile playing on her lips. “Don’t let them disrupt your original plans.”

“Actually, the tips have already far exceeded our expected income…” Xia Qing’s cheeks flushed as she added shyly, “We’ve never done a livestream like this before. Because of your friends joining in, the popularity is already unexpectedly high.”

“Then let’s keep going.” Yun Chuxiu had no intention of keeping the spotlight on herself. After addressing those few people at the start, she didn’t look at the phone screen again. Her attitude was clear: “Everyone is watching, let’s not waste any more time.”

“Okay.” Xia Qing didn’t push further. While wondering if she should give Yun Chuxiu more screen time to please the audience, she tactfully backed away with the phone and returned to Xia Wan’s side.

“Just film normally,” Xia Wan said, anticipating her thoughts and stopping her. “Sister Yun doesn’t like us overstepping, and besides…”

As the comments flooded in, certain “insider rumors” began to surface, topics far beyond the control of small-time streamers like them.

They had even borrowed their livestream equipment from a senior. Usually, they just helped out in the senior’s channel, they had never seen the screen filled with such massive gift effects. Even after the platform’s cut, it was a staggering amount of money.

“Stick to the schedule,” Xia Wan said with a look of concern. She stole a glance at the calm Yun Chuxiu and whispered into her sister’s ear: “Let’s cut out the fluff and end the stream as early as possible.”

Their makeshift crew had no security or extra hands. If they accidentally attracted paparazzi or clout-chasers, they would be causing trouble for Yun Chuxiu, returning her kindness with a headache.

Xia Qing picked up on her sister’s tension and grew nervous herself, starting to frantically moderate the increasingly out of line comments.

[So many big shots… did I accidentally stumble into a battlefield? So exciting!]

[Here comes the gossip, coming from all directions~]

[Why did the big boss stop tipping? It’s like training a pet. Whatever, I want to see blood!]

[It’s all a game for the capitalists. Maybe they’re just colluding to stir up hype…]

[I thought they broke up? Why come to support the ex-girlfriend? My filters are shattered.]

[Is CEO Jiang here to watch the drama? Could she be the reason for the breakup…]

Xia Qing didn’t even dare to blink, her fingers moving so fast they almost sparked.

Gossiping was truly human nature. She watched the layers of gift effects pile higher and higher, feeling both pained and delighted.

Until one specific comment appeared:

[Sunshine Entertainment Worker]: Oh my god, I hit the jackpot on my vacation! I’m right nearby! I’m definitely getting a promotion and a raise for this!

“Sister…” Xia Qing looked at the beach games that weren’t even half-finished, her face turning pale. “What do we do now?”

Xia Wan didn’t speak, her mind racing. Just as she was about to speak up against such behavior, a golden comment suddenly appeared. Then, like self-replication, another appeared seconds later.

[Jiang Fanyin]: You can try. Consequences at your own risk.

[Jin]: Employee of Sunshine Entertainment, you might want to check your phone messages first.

The chat paused for a brief moment, and then it went wild.

The well-meaning netizens who had been suppressed by the malicious comments finally began to take the lead.

“Wow,” Xia Qing said, completely giving up on trying to control the situation as she snapped out of it. “Is this what it feels like to have reinforcements from thousands of miles away?”

Xia Wan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the ease of being carried by powerful allies. “Probably… maybe Sister Yun already predicted this.”

She looked at the circle of participants. Everyone was sitting together, oblivious to the online chaos, their faces lit up with various smiles.

Each person was like a flower growing wildly under the sun, but even in such a vibrant atmosphere, one person stood out exceptionally.

Yun Chuxiu sat quietly, her clothes clean and devoid of excess accessories. She was like a snow lotus blooming in the sun, gentle, yet separated from everyone else by an invisible, thin membrane.

It was as if the rumors and foul language on the screen were physically blocked from reaching her.

Xia Wan had never seen Yun Chuxiu in love, but even watching from a distance, she couldn’t reconcile the woman before her with the person described in the comments.

“Their mouths are so foul,” Xia Qing agreed, frowning at some of the remarks. “There’s no way Sister Yun is like what they say.”

She was clearly so considerate and gentle, even as a boss, she was loved by her employees. How did she end up being reduced to nothing but a “romance” label by those people?

Xia Qing muttered childishly, “Truly, if you don’t date, none of this happens.”

“You can’t say it like that,” Xia Wan said helplessly, her heavy heart giving way to amusement. “Seeing is believing… we haven’t even figured out our own lives, so let’s not judge the choices of others.”

Yun Chuxiu had long anticipated what might happen.

From the moment she agreed to the livestream, she was prepared to be tracked down or questioned by curious strangers. It was better to let the truth out than to let people piece together a narrative from guesses.

Even if she had to face pure malice.

Causing trouble for those around her because of her private life was never a choice she wanted to make.

But things always go unexpectedly.

The sandcastle games were halfway through, yet the people looking to hijack the hype never showed up. Instead, security guards in uniform did a lap around the area.

Then, professional moderators suddenly appeared to take control of the online narrative.

The two sisters were stunned, accepting the professional guidance with overwhelmed gratitude, a high-level, hands-on lesson falling from the sky.

And it was free.

Taking a break from their busy work, they gave the “all clear” hand signal to the person involved. The girls around her, who also understood the signal, let out a collective sigh of relief.

As employees under Yun Chuxiu, they were naturally sensitive to gossip about their boss. From the moment the sisters acted strangely, they had grown vigilant, silently moving to block any overly direct camera angles.

It was as if by keeping Yun Chuxiu off the screen for one more minute, they could shield her from one more bit of gossip.

These tiny but warm gestures spread, eventually reaching everyone. People began helping out in small, unspoken ways.

Yun Chuxiu hadn’t experienced this kind of warmth from strangers in a long time.

“I’m going to handle some work first,” she said, waving her phone at the person next to her. Amidst their understanding gaze, she found a random excuse to duck into a corner out of the camera’s reach. In the sunlight, the screen wasn’t very clear, but the faint reflections were like invisible sword shadows, gentle yet sharp, slowly cutting through the silent, gloomy net.

Many former collaborators sent their regards. Even more prominent were the messages popping up from Lin Xing.

First, Lin Xing admitted he was the one who contacted the security. Then, with a hint of reluctance, he relayed a message for Meng Lin, stating that the professionals were friends Meng Lin had called in.

Finally, there was an even more reluctant forward, an announcement of a press conference voluntarily posted by Ji Jin.

Just as Yun Chuxiu was prepared to face it alone, what arrived first was wave after wave of care and action from the people around her.

The overflowing warmth completely submerged her.

Yun Chuxiu quietly scrolled through the messages, replying seriously. Her mind drifted, and by the time she snapped back to reality, her eyes were fully bathed in the sunlight. The whole world seemed brighter.

“So in the end, you just participated for the sake of it, and even paid out of pocket to treat everyone to food and drinks. President Yun’s favorability rating +1 again today.”

After the beach stream ended, Chu Cheng popped up from the side, playfully teasing Yun Chuxiu about her “participation prize.”

Yun Chuxiu was used to this by now. After paying the delivery person, she looked up at Chu Cheng helplessly. “It’s only normal. I couldn’t just do nothing and affect everyone else’s mood.”

This sounded reasonable, but Chu Cheng cleared her throat and reminded her seriously: “It wasn’t all negative. Everyone is very happy now.”

“Including you?”

“Including me,” Chu Cheng smiled. Remembering the task Yun Chuxiu had given her, she added, “Even my mood, which was ruined by that stalker, has completely cleared up.”

“…In that case, could you stop calling me a stalker?”

A voice spoke up from the side.

Yun Chuxiu looked toward the sound and saw the lady she had made eye contact with earlier. The woman looked resigned, holding a drink in one hand and a dessert in the other, with a small blue water gun slung across her shoulder.

Yun Chuxiu was silent for a moment, still trying to process the situation. The woman’s face fell, and she turned to Yun Chuxiu to vent her grievances.

“Sending me to buy things is one thing, but how could she ask me to go snatch a water gun from a kid? I’m someone with a reputation. I can’t do something like that.”

So, she had run off to buy one instead.

Yun Chuxiu: “…”

Chu Cheng had plenty to say. “There’s no choice. If you lose, you have to accept the penalty. And I didn’t tell you to rob a kid.”

She paused, strictly correcting the error: “I saw him take it from another kid first. I told you to take it back to return it to the rightful owner.”

The kids were playing together with no adult to mediate. The big kid who stole the gun was acting smug, while the little one looked on piteously, too intimidated to say a word.

Chu Cheng had decided to provide some “divine justice.”

The lady: “…”

The cornered lady was speechless. “Then why didn’t you go yourself!”

“That won’t do,” Chu Cheng refused immediately. “If a kid starts crying, that’s the biggest headache of all!”

The lady: “…”

The lady looked at Yun Chuxiu with a bitter face. Her left cheek screamed “Save me,” and her right cheek screamed “Speak up for me.”

Yun Chuxiu: “So, how exactly did things escalate to this point?”

Wasn’t the plan just to watch from a distance?

“The brave enjoy the world first,” Chu Cheng raised her right hand, showing off her smooth muscle lines as she mangled a popular quote. “I forgot the beginning and the end… anyway, go talk to my hard fists!”