On the last day of February, Gong Yue and Ye Shanshan appeared together at the Gong Corporation to attend a routine meeting.
The news of their appearance quickly caused a stir, with media outlets that had previously reported Gong Yue’s severe illness and critical condition hastily changing their narrative. Headlines such as “Return to the Throne” were used to describe Gong Yue’s reemergence, with many predicting that he would soon reclaim his shares and consolidate his position.
However, to everyone’s surprise, while Gong Yue resumed his role as CEO, he did not take back the shares from Ye Shanshan that rightfully belonged to him.
This meant that Ye Shanshan still held more than 50% of Gong Corporation’s shares, giving him the power to veto any of Gong Yue’s proposals or even forcibly remove him from his position. This represented an astonishing amount of wealth and an equally formidable degree of power.
Even so, on the day Gong Yue returned to helm the Gong Corporation, the company’s stock price surged by 7% on the market. Responding to this development, The Wall Street Journal published a real-time update stating that everyone was eagerly awaiting “the king’s return.”
When Gong Yue once again took the seat at the head of the long conference table, the attendees suddenly realized that during his absence, the entire upper management had undergone a secret but thorough reshuffling. The previously entrenched opposition had been almost entirely purged from the corporation, and three external forces opposing Gong Corporation had also vanished.
This naturally led many to believe the speculation that Gong Yue’s absence was not due to health issues as rumored, but rather because he had been executing a grand plan—overhauling the company internally while simultaneously eliminating external threats.
Clearly, he had succeeded.
After the meeting, Ye Shanshan and Gong Yue returned to the office together.
Once the door closed, Ye Shanshan moved swiftly, loosening his tie before collapsing onto the office sofa. Feeling uncomfortable in his suit jacket, he took it off as well. Finally sinking into the soft sofa, he let out a contented sigh.
Turning his head, Ye Shanshan looked at Gong Yue. “Ge, during the meeting, I couldn’t stop thinking about your visit to Queen’s Riding Club tomorrow,” he admitted candidly, owning up to the fact that he had been distracted throughout the meeting.
“I ended up sketching out a map of the riding club, marking spots suitable for sniping and points where issues are likely to arise. Show it to Chris; with his review, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
Gong Yue walked over and sat beside him on the sofa. “Alright, I’ll make the necessary arrangements. Nothing will go wrong.”
However, after taking a nap in the office suite, Ye Shanshan was jolted awake by a nightmare, leaving him visibly shaken and in poor spirits.
He had only managed to put on one slipper when he rushed to open the door and find Gong Yue. Only after confirming that Gong Yue was still seated at his desk did he let out a sigh of relief.
“Had a nightmare?” Gong Yue noticed Ye Shanshan’s hastily worn single slipper. Concerned that he might catch a cold, Gong Yue scooped him up without hesitation.
Back in the bedroom, Gong Yue placed Ye Shanshan on the edge of the bed, knelt on one knee, and carefully took the other slipper to put it on for him. Staying in this position, he looked up and asked, “What did you dream about?”
Licking his dry lips, Ye Shanshan replied with a less-than-pleasant tone, “In my dream, something happened to you at the riding club.”
Looking down at the slippers Gong Yue had put on him, Ye Shanshan wiggled his feet slightly and confessed, still shaken, “I dreamed you fell off a horse and were seriously injured.”
The vivid imagery from the dream had left him deeply unsettled.
Gong Yue took Ye Shanshan’s cold, clammy hands in his, gently wiping away the sweat. His gaze was steady as he reassured him, “I promise you, none of what you’re worried about will happen.”
The next morning, when Gong Yue got out of bed, Ye Shanshan woke up too. Half-asleep, he followed Gong Yue around like a shadow, clutching a blue whale plushie. Still groggy, his steps wavered as he trailed behind.
Gong Yue squeezed toothpaste onto a brush for him, helped him wash his face, and finally guided him back to bed. “I’m heading out now. Get some more rest.”
Ye Shanshan nodded, pulling the blanket up to his chin. “Come back early.”
Once Gong Yue left, the room fell silent. Ye Shanshan tossed and turned for a while before realizing he couldn’t fall back asleep.
Staring at the ceiling in a daze, he eventually picked up his phone to pass the time. That’s when he noticed that in City B, March 1st was already coming to an end. Meanwhile, news about The Observer movie team was circulating, as they had been promoting the film in several locations.
Two hours earlier, Director Zhang had sent him an email. Since midnight on February 27th, The Observer had grossed over 200 million yuan in just two days. A small celebration was planned, and actors who couldn’t attend were asked to send a congratulatory video.
Feeling the need to distract himself, Ye Shanshan got out of bed, changed his clothes, combed his hair, and set up his recording equipment. Using a plain white wall as a backdrop, he began reading the lines provided by the director.
“Hello, everyone! I’m Ye Shanshan, and I play Hu Yan in The Observer. Thank you all for your support of the film! We promise to bring you even better works in the future!”
Satisfied after reviewing the video, Ye Shanshan sent it to Director Zhang and retweeted the official box office update on Weibo.
With that task done, he found himself idle again. Scrolling through comments on his phone didn’t help his restlessness.
After some thought, he updated his Weibo with a post: “Let’s meet on SanSan Live!”
The post shocked his fans, who were still commenting on his earlier update.
“—I think Shanshan’s account got hacked. Two updates in one day? Unbelievable!”
“—Forget that! Everyone rush to the livestream! With so many new rivals in love, it’s going to be packed!”
Meanwhile, Ye Shanshan had moved to his study, opened his laptop, and adjusted the webcam angle.
Fans who had been idling in his livestream room were startled when they suddenly heard his voice. Then excitement erupted in the chat.
Since it was evening in China, the livestream quickly gained tens of thousands of viewers in just five minutes. Soon, the system notified him that the room had reached capacity.
Coming back to his senses after staring blankly at the screen for a while, Ye Shanshan turned on his microphone.
“It’s morning here, but it should be evening for you all. Good evening!”
Seeing the flood of comments, Ye Shanshan smiled, revealing his dimples. He focused his attention and said, “No, it’s not an illusion. I really am livestreaming. Long time no see!”
Propping his chin on his hand, he added, “As for the theme of this livestream… I haven’t thought of one yet.”
When the comment section started spamming “Be the CEO,” he shook his head.
“That’s not the reason. To tell you the truth, I went to the Immortal Realm to restock supplies. This time, I brought back a lot of rare items you’ve probably never seen before. Since they’re so scarce, I plan to auction them off.”
The screen flooded with messages like “Buy! Buy! Buy!” Ye Shanshan, looking generous, said, “Alright, since you all have such good taste, let me show you.”
He picked up a glass bottle from the desk and swirled the clear liquid inside.
“You all know I grew up drinking dew, right?” He held the bottle closer to the camera.
“Look, this is Immortal Dew. It’s collected from the petals of rare spiritual flowers in the Immortal Realm. It took 49 days to gather enough for this bottle. It’s incredibly precious—any woman who drinks it will instantly transform into a celestial beauty!”
“—Buy it! I’ll trade myself for it!”
“—Only gathered this little in 49 days? Little Dew Fairy, were you drinking it yourself while collecting it?”
“—Ahhhh, looking at Shan’s face, I just want to say I’ll buy it all! Screenshotting like crazy!”
At this point, Ye Shanshan turned the camera toward himself, delivering his advertisement pitch with impressive fluency.
“This bottle of Immortal Dew, infused with the essence of the sun and moon, is only 998 yuan—yes, 998 yuan a bottle! No regrets, no scams! Call now to place your order!”
After a dramatic five-second pause, his expression suddenly turned excited, and his speech sped up. “We already have a caller on the line! As the first caller, they’ll receive a special 9.88% discount on the original 998 yuan price. Thank you for your support!”
The comment section erupted with laughter.
“—Who is it? Which one of you called in? Confess now!”
“—I swear I heard a phone ringing. Clearly, everyone is as eager to buy this Immortal Dew as I am. Let the bidding begin!”
“—I’ve already called, but I can’t get through! What do I do? So nervous! What if someone else gets it first? Waaah!”
Ye Shanshan continued, “I’ve already taken the caller’s payment, so I’ll be shipping their order right away.”
He placed the bottle aside and picked up his phone, the Pikachu charm dangling as he moved it around.
“Now, look here. On the surface, this seems like an ordinary phone, but it’s actually far from that. This phone can connect the Heavenly Realm, the Human Realm, and the Demon Realm. There are no roaming fees or inter-realm charges. It’s incredibly useful! And this is a limited edition…”
“—Buy it! Shan is so adorable ahhh!!”
“—I just have one question, boss. The Heavenly Realm has little fairy boys, but what does the Demon Realm have? Am I the only one who thinks the mythologies are all mixed up? Or is this the real truth of the world!?”
“—Zoom in on the charm! Is that little golden creature a mini spirit beast? Does it specifically guard this inter-realm phone? Or does the Heavenly Realm not use signals but instead rely on the power of this golden beast to make calls?”
Ye Shanshan looked surprised. “Your insights are really sharp. Yes, in the Heavenly Realm, we use the power of spirit beasts to make calls. That’s why this phone is much more expensive than the Immortal Dew—it costs 99,888 yuan. For only 98,888 yuan, you can take this phone home! Due to its powerful functions, interested buyers can participate in an auction.”
As soon as he finished, the comment section exploded.
“—Time to show my strength! 99,999!”
“—100,000! Plus 100 packs of bok choy seeds! Nobody outbids me!”
“—200,000! And 10,000 baskets of soup dumplings! That’s how rich I am! After all, I’m determined to lease 10,000 acres of farmland for Shan!”
Watching the screen and feeling a bit thirsty, Ye Shanshan casually took a sip from the bottle of Immortal Dew. Only after swallowing did he suddenly remember it was supposed to be auctioned. His hand froze for a moment before he calmly put it back in its place, pretending nothing happened.
However, his composed demeanor didn’t escape notice.
“—This is outrageous! The boss is secretly consuming the auctioned item! I’ve got a screenshot for proof! Bribe me, or I’ll report you!”
“—Feels like Boss Ye’s shop is about to go bankrupt! So will Boss Ye run off with the sparkly goods later? Maybe the Immortal Dew will drop to 20 yuan? I think I’ll wait and see before buying!”
Finally noticing someone mention “sparkly goods,” Ye Shanshan bent down to pick up a fluffy creature lying at his feet. He placed it in his arms and skipped over the topic of him drinking the dew. With a serious tone and expression, he announced:
“Now, we’ve reached the most exciting moment—the final item in our auction! As you can see, I’m holding a little cat, but in reality, this is no ordinary cat. It’s a divine beast! …Its name? Uh, I haven’t thought of one yet, but it’s definitely a divine beast.”
He gently stroked Sparkling’s tail and said, “I don’t dare let its front face the camera because its appearance is too fierce, I’m afraid it will scare you all!”
“—Hahaha, I believe your evil! I want to see the front! Let’s see how fierce it really is!”
“—Sparkling refuses to accept this! Help! There’s a little immortal boy smuggling a divine beast to the mortal world to sell! About to make a huge profit!”
“—Can we be more professional? Hahaha, you still haven’t decided on a name! Hahaha!”
Leaf Shanshan looked reluctant, “Since everyone is so interested in Sparkling, let’s start! The starting bid—”
He picked up Sparkling, staring at it with wide eyes, then finally decided, “Hmm, starting at one yuan!”
[mfn]If you enjoy my translations, feel free to support me by leaving a comment below or sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you, and happy reading! -TL: Ysiad ❤️[/mfn]
