After Kissing the World-Weary Female Supporting Character [Transmigration] - Chapter 70

The Public Relations Department worked overtime and finally completed the press release within twenty-four hours. As soon as the release was ready, the Li Group’s official account immediately pushed it across multiple platforms, issuing a solemn declaration.

The prepared marketing accounts and online promoters immediately followed: marketing accounts led the charge in forwarding, and the promoters controlled comments and likes, sweeping the hot search list with the momentum of a total takeover. Not only that, major news websites and applications, with the exception of those friendly with or having long-term cooperation with the Ji Group, also joined the fray. They used fabricated data to write extensive articles on the importance of contract integrity and the national economy, while completely omitting any mention of the Li Group’s past misdeeds.

Most online gossipers dislike using their brains to think; they consume whatever the mass media feeds them. If the media preached that the Ji Group lacked contract integrity, then the Ji Group was bad and doomed.

As a result, the Li Group’s declining public image was superficially stabilized. The effect of controlling public opinion and maintaining national goodwill was significant. The Li Group’s stock price fluctuated, sometimes turning red, sometimes green, but quickly stabilized at its previous value.

Tang Wen held the latest data report and reported to Li Yeběi, “President, on the evening of June 1st, as soon as the US stock market opened, Ji Group’s holding stock price dropped sharply by 2.31%, with the price at… By the close of the day, the market value had fallen below one [unit]; the Li Group saw a year-on-year increase of 0.37%…”

“Hahaha! That madwoman Ji Ruyue is still a bit too green,” Li Yeběi, who had been working for two days straight at his office desk, looked up and laughed wildly. “She thought this little trick would scare me? Hahahaha!”

Tang Wen: …Why does this awful CEO look like such a villain? I’m getting a little worried.

Tang Wen: “President, should we continue?”

“Of course, we must continue,” Li Yeběi sneered. “I’d like to see how she can hold onto the Ji Group!”

Tang Wen: …Holy crap, I’m even more scared. Why do the two of us look like the main villains?

Ji Group, Shareholders’ Meeting

After the secretary-general completed the monthly financial report, the rollercoaster fluctuation of the stock price had made the major shareholders furious.

“Ji girl, you need to give us an explanation for this!” A portly, middle-aged man with a receding hairline sighed worriedly at Ji Ruyue, who was seated in the main chair. “Although your Ji family dominates the Ji Group, it doesn’t belong to you alone. Old Ji wouldn’t have known about these decisions, would he?”

“Old Li, why are you being so gentle?” Another thin, sharp-looking middle-aged man cut in. “I think this girl simply isn’t competent. She acts rashly and doesn’t think things through. Look at the company’s market value dropping! One person’s mistake costs the interests of all our shareholders.”

The man across from him’s eyes flashed, and he chimed in, “If this matter causes serious damage to the Ji Group, CEO Ji, you will have to bear full responsibility! Girls like you should focus on getting married properly. Don’t come out here to lose face.”

Ji Ruyue, who had been teasing Song Xingzi and hadn’t spoken the whole time, gave the last speaker a dark look and spoke in a chilling tone, “Oh? What kind of serious damage has been caused? When I, Ji Ruyue, act, I always take responsibility. Since this Chairman isn’t panicking, why are you so worried, Uncle Zhang?”

The shareholder surnamed Zhang choked, then harshly retorted, “What do you mean ‘no serious damage yet’? Look at how low the Ji Group’s stock price is these two days; it has dropped by a full two percentage points! If you don’t have the skills, don’t take on the job.”

Ji Ruyue stroked the star-shaped ring on her left ring finger and countered nonchalantly, “It’s only been two days. Why are you already predicting doom? If the Li family comes out on top in this matter, then I won’t be Chairman. Why are you in such a rush, Uncle Zhang?”

The shareholder surnamed Zhang looked momentarily embarrassed, but quickly switched to a ruthless expression. “CEO Ji, you said that yourself. We uncles are not forcing you.”

“The Ji girl has a point,” the shareholder called Old Li gently interjected, supporting Ji Ruyue. “We’ve been cooperating for so long; don’t we know how many problems the Li Group has?”

“Hmph! Old Li, you have the mentality of a Buddha and don’t know how to worry!” the thin man scoffed. “I hope this girl remembers what she said today. Don’t let down Old Ji and Old Li’s sincere efforts.”

“Uncles, please don’t worry,” Ji Ruyue blew away a strand of squirrel fur stuck to her index finger and lightly stood up. “I, Ji Ruyue, have never gone back on my word. Let’s conclude today’s shareholders’ meeting here. I will go and clean up the mess I made. Uncle Zhang, try not to worry too much.”

Shareholder Zhang: “You—”

Ji Ruyue, holding the little squirrel, was unperturbed and calmly walked out of the conference room.

“Little Zhang? Did you make the Ji girl angry?” Old Li stroked his sparse hair and gently comforted him. “The Ji girl is very capable, but she also has a temper. Be more accommodating and don’t pick fights with the younger generation.”

Shareholder Zhang: “Hmph, I think she has a big temper but little skill!”

Shareholder Zhang also stormed out of the conference room.

Old Li and the thin man walked downstairs together. Old Li stroked his chin and said, “Little Zhang seems off. Old Liu, keep an eye on him. Old Ji is abroad competing for business, and we friends can’t be dragging our feet.”

The thin man: “You worry too much! Fine, fine, I’ll take a look later. I wonder how that girl plans to turn the situation around?”

Old Li said sagely, “The top CEO in the domestic entertainment industry at 23, the Ji girl is incredibly formidable!”

The thin man replied dismissively, “Fine, fine, she’s formidable, formidable to death, alright!”

Ji Ruyue didn’t know or care about the conversation in the conference room. She carried the little squirrel back to her extremely luxurious Chairman’s office.

As soon as Ji Ruyue sat down in the boss chair, Song Xingzi jumped from her arms onto the desk and said in a sweet voice, “Ji Ji, Ji Ji! Was that Old Man Zhang the Li Group’s last mole in the Ji Group? You were so cool when you talked back to him! Did you feel better after talking back?”

Ji Ruyue deliberately teased her. “Oh? Little Star has too many questions. Let me think about how to answer you.”

Song Xingzi anxiously clawed at Ji Ruyue’s palm. “Aiya! Just answer whichever one you want first! Hurry, hurry!”

Ji Ruyue: “Yes, he is. The last termite. He still has some people under him, and they’ll all be removed together in a couple of days.”

Victory was in sight, and Song Xingzi was extremely excited: “What else? Was it satisfying to talk back?”

“The feeling?” Ji Ruyue drew out the sound. “It was quite satisfying! Xingxing’s script is truly great!”

Song Xingzi was utterly humble: “Hehehe! Of course!”

Song Xingzi: “Ji Ji, hurry up and get to work, be Alpha! Beat the male lead down!”

“I see you want to play on your phone again!” Ji Ruyue exposed the truth but didn’t dwell on it, instead calling the secretary and assistant on the intercom.

“President!” This was Assistant Zhang Yuan, who still liked to call Ji Ruyue “President” even after being transferred to the Ji Group headquarters.

“Good day, Chairman!” This was Secretary Wang, left to the daughter by Ji Hongguang. He was extremely competent, loyal, and efficient.

Ji Ruyue: “Zhang Yuan, give me an update on the Li Group’s movements over the past two days.”

Zhang Yuan stood at attention, maintaining his professional work state: “Report! The Li Group has issued an announcement, accusing the Ji Group of lacking contract integrity…”

Zhang Yuan concluded: “Capital stepped in to delete hot search entries, restrict comments, control online sentiment through promoters, and acquire Ji Group’s scattered shares. These are all of the Li Group’s movements these past few days!”

Ji Ruyue propped her chin with one hand and nodded approvingly, saying, “They’ve started to fight back? Then let’s help them a little. Let’s take down our previous hot searches and block relevant keywords on the platforms that spoke up for the Li Group, to help them disseminate their message well. Let’s see what kind of backlash the capital’s involvement and constant control of speech will provoke.”

Zhang Yuan: “Yes! Starlight’s PR has fully integrated with the headquarters’ PR, and we are teaching the ‘honest people’ how to stir up trouble! Please rest assured, President, you will definitely be satisfied!”

“Mm, very good,” Ji Ruyue maintained her CEO’s pride, nodding without showing strong emotion. She turned to Secretary Wang. “Uncle Wang, those few termites have been left for so long. Shouldn’t they be completely rooted out by now?”

Secretary Wang nodded seriously: “The Chairman is right! We are close to wrapping things up.”

“Then let’s leak a little ‘secret’ to Termite Zhang. Uncle Wang, you handle it. I trust your work,” Ji Ruyue continued. “The evidence and traps are all set, but I need to take it step by step. We don’t want the Li Group to get desperate and bite us.”

Truly worthy of being a young prodigy! This shrewdness and methodology! If she hadn’t been obsessed with Li Yeběi earlier, the Ji Group would have taken a huge leap forward again long ago!

Thinking of the problems the new Chairman had uncovered, Secretary Wang was genuinely impressed: “The Chairman is right.”

“Also, since some people can’t wait to sell the Ji Group’s scattered shares, we should buy them back ourselves. We also need to keep an eye on the Li Group’s…”

“Don’t stop the national charity projects, and the work of the foundation supporting small and medium-sized enterprises must remain transparent…”

“Tell the media friendly with the Ji Group to prepare press releases and wait a moment…”

Having lived through so many lives, Ji Ruyue’s handling of these business battles was like child’s play, a total, high-level, all-encompassing strategic counterattack. Precise instructions were given one by one, and all departments moved according to command.

The Ji Group’s counterattack had begun! Ji Ruyue’s protagonist journey had begun!

All hot searches were wiped clean overnight. The Ji Group fell silent, and no counter-voices could be found across the entire network. A few smart people guessed that the Li Group’s PR had deleted hot spots, removed posts, and controlled opinion. However, the news media was virtually a monopoly for the Li Group. Although some voices of complaint were heard, they only met the fate of account deletion and banning.

In this atmosphere of false prosperity, the Li Group’s stock price gradually rose, while the Ji Group’s situation appeared bleak.

Three more days passed. The Ji Group’s reputation hit rock bottom, and its market value evaporated by ten billion US dollars overnight. Just when even the shareholders were getting anxious, Ji Ruyue finally had the team lift the suppression on comments and start generating hype. Immediately afterward, the Ji Group dropped two bombshell hot searches: one, the Ji Group had fired senior executives and sent a major shareholder to prison; two, the total revenue generated for the country by the Ji Group’s charity projects had surpassed 10 billion yuan!

The fair commentators who had been suppressed were finally free to speak, and ordinary netizens discovered that comments about the Ji Group were no longer mysteriously deleted, while negative comments about the Li Group still couldn’t be posted normally.

Several key opinion leaders spoke out, severely criticizing and mocking the Li Group’s capital operations, restriction of speech, and control of thought. Furthermore, some official media outlets highly praised the Ji Group’s charity projects for benefiting the country and its people. The State Economic Task Force even issued a commendation.

The bandwagoning public, the rational observers, and the clear-headed analysts were all suddenly drawn into a great flood of discussion.

On Tengxun, Zhihu, Douban… the discussion was endless, with “skin-peeling” threads piling up thousands of layers:

Poster—QinTangShengShi1314: Sisters, come get the gossip!!! The Ji Group recently fired several senior executives. Many were for leaking commercial secrets and misappropriating public funds. Even a major shareholder went to prison! Professional analysis, come grab the gossip!!! See the pictures!

Page10: Sisters, hurry up!! Waiting, waiting!

MoYuZi: Oh, [cold face], if there’s evidence, bring it on.

Don’tRain…: Is the Li Group’s deletion of hot spots, post deletion, and opinion control about to backfire this time? Marking my spot, waiting!

WuMing: I want to know if there’s a connection between the Ji Group’s personnel changes and the Li Group.

EndOfTimeIsApocalypse: Where’s the OP? Hurry up, I haven’t eaten, waiting for your live update.

CabbageWhoDoesn’tWantToSeeHerNameAgain: I’ll break the news first. According to internal sources, the major shareholder gave the Ji Group’s development plan to the Li Group. The City West land that the Li Group just won the bid for two days ago was the content of that plan.

Poster—QinTangShengShi1314: Here it is, here it is! The sister above has good gossip-finding skills! Here are the pictures. For the documents, scan the QR code directly! Be careful while gossiping, cherish our Level 3 accounts! [Image] [Image] [Image] [Image] [Image]

Sin37: Thank you to the OP for fighting on the front lines of gossip. Good people live long and peaceful lives!

Decy: Holy cow, is it true that the Li Group and Ji Group evaded taxes?

TibetBlue: Probably. Big companies always have oversights. In the Ji Group’s case, it was done by that shareholder’s subordinate, and they’ve already paid the back taxes. With the charity project contributing over 10 billion to the national revenue this year, why would they be greedy for that small amount?

…

The backlash after the suppression was even more powerful. The more people tried to hide, the more curious people became. The field of gossip, rapidly expanded by news media affiliated with the Ji Group, spread like a swarm of locusts, leading to a complete expose.

The Li Group’s and Ji Group’s predicaments were reversed overnight. Compounded by Li Yeběi’s previous scandalous affairs, the Li Group’s public opinion plummeted. On the second evening, as soon as the stock market opened, Li Yeběi’s personal holding stock price fell sharply by 10.27%. Compared to its initial public offering market value, it had already lost nearly 30% of its total market value.

Everything was within Ji Ruyue’s expectations.

Inside the Li Group Headquarters

Li Yeběi was in a fury, and the reports, like calls of doom, kept coming:

“Report, President, Li Group’s US stock price has plummeted, evaporating three billion US dollars overnight, and the stock is still trending downward!”

Li Yeběi: “I know! Control the public opinion, offer sincere apologies—do not suppress anything! Stabilize the shareholders, buy back the scattered shares, and don’t let the Ji Group get ahead of us.”

“Report, President, the Tax Inspection Bureau has released the latest list of tax-evading companies. Both the Li Group and the Ji Group are on the list.”

Li Yeběi: “Go pay it! We’ll do exactly what the Ji Group did! Fire the person responsible and send them to prison!”

“Report, President, the City West land has collapsed. Should the capital injection plan be immediately terminated?”

Li Yeběi: “Terminate it! Quickly recall the capital chain. We absolutely cannot break here!”

“Report, President, Zhang Si has been urgently detained. His family called asking for your help.”

Li Yeběi’s head was throbbing painfully, and he roared, “Tell them to get lost! They can’t even handle a small matter! They deserve to be locked up! What does that have to do with my Li Group!”

“Report, President, Miss Liu Bái has returned to the country. Should you go to pick her up?”

Li Yeběi’s pen never stopped signing. His eyes quickly scanned the document. While giving instructions, he said, “She’s just causing me trouble. Pick her up, pick her up—will you transform into another one if I go? You take people to go!!”

“Yes, President!”

“Report, President, Old Master Li has called. Should I transfer the call?”

Li Yeběi took a deep breath: “Transfer it!”

The old man’s thundering roar came through the phone: “How the hell did I raise a grandson like you!! I hand over the Li Group, and you do this kind of rubbish?”

Li Yeběi: “Grandpa.”

Old Master Li: “Don’t call me! If you can’t stabilize the stock price, you go downstairs and give the shareholders an explanation! I’m still negotiating the US business, and that idiot Ji Hongguang, who can’t even produce a son, showed up too! I can’t break away to return home! If you can’t hold your position, then step down!”

Li Yeběi: “I understand.”

“I shouldn’t have been soft-hearted! It would have been better to let that crazy woman die completely!” Li Yeběi hung up the phone, gritting his teeth. “Tang Wen, find someone to stake out her location and arrange an ‘accident’!”

“Yes, President!”