Despite the huge crowd, mostly consisting of the Black Stars and Jin Chonglin's army of fans, the grand opening of Eve Holdings went smoothly. There was no time wasted. Everything proceeded strictly according to schedule.
The invited reporters wanted more time to ask additional questions during the interview, but unfortunately for them, the company staff didn't allow them. The interview time weren't all that long either. They were only given a maximum of fifteen minutes for the entire interview.
No private questions for Iris Long or Jin Chonglin or for anyone else were allowed. Only questions about the grand opening and the new company itself were accepted.
As the President-CEO of Eve Holdings, Iris Long was at the forefront when it came to answering the questions. Beside her were the representatives of the daughter companies registered under Eve Holdings.
Chen Fei for Orchidia Beauty.
Jin Chonglin for LXC Studio.
Hou Liang for Planet Monkey.
Dominic Chua as proxy for his sister Clover for the soon-to-be launched Liberté.
And finally, a representative from Gold Heights.
Of course, Jin Liwei was there to accompany Iris as her escort, though he made sure not to steal her spotlight during the interview no matter how much the reporters wanted to ask him some questions.
Although the reporters were a little disappointed at the uncompromising stance of Iris Long and the others, they quickly latched on other juicy topics.
At the same time, the Black Stars, Jin Chonglin's army of fans, and other people who were interested in Iris Long's new holdings company were watching the grand opening via livestream. The viewers were discussing as they watched.
"Congrats, Boss Iris! You're the best! We love you so much!"
"Prince Lin Lin, you're so handsome as always! Licking my screen."
"We already know that Iris Long owns Orchidia Beauty and that old French perfume company that she's rebranding and also partly owns LXC Studio but I didn't know that she also owns Gold Heights."
"That's already old news. I live in a Gold Heights condo—not the one where Iris Long previously lived in a penthouse—but I heard from the grapevine in our residential building community that CEO Jin bought the entire company and gifted it to her. We only received a notice that the company had changed owners but they didn't specify the new owner's identity. If not for the curious me who asked around, I wouldn't even know that Iris Long already owns the property that I live in. She didn't really make any drastic changes in the company management or structure when she became the new owner so there was basically no noticeable difference from before. There were a lot of improvements in the facilities and perks for the residents though, so I guess that's a big plus."
"Hot damn! Gifting an entire company just like that! Can someone gift me a company, too?"
Envious people disparaged Iris Long but the Slippers Army was there to defend her like always. The group's infamy was already well-known on the internet, so most of the users would back down whenever they appeared, not wanting for the Slippers Army to gang up on them. Of course, there were pure haters who would fight the Slippers Army to the very end.
That was life. One couldn't please everyone.
Another topic of discussion was also attracting a wave of comments, mostly from gamers.
"Whoa! Planet Monkey actually joined Iris Long's new holding company. Why? Is this for real?"
"The CEO and CFO of Planet Monkey are known fans of Iris Long. They are even former officers of her fan club. Maybe this is why they decided to join under her holding company because they're big fans of her."
"What a shallow reason. Why did the owner of Planet Monkey agree to this kind of big decision?"
"Maybe the owner is also a big fan of Iris Long."
"That's actually a good possibility. Planet Monkey's CEO and CFO alone can't make the final decision to make this kind of big decision for the company without the owner's approval. I don't see why the owner will agree to join under a new and unknown holding company when it's such a huge risk. So maybe you're right that the owner is also a Black Star."
"Hooray for Boss Iris! Hooray for all the slipper-eating monkeys! To friendships and glory! All hail Supreme Ascension!"
At the actual event, the reporters were also curious about the same thing as the livestream viewers regarding Planet Monkey.
"This is a question for CEO Hou. Can you tell us why Planet Monkey decided to join under Iris Long's—"
"Please call her President Long," Hou Liang corrected the reporter in the middle of asking him. "She's standing her in front of you today as the head of Eve Holdings."
Iris glanced at Hou Liang, her eyes widening in slight surprise, before smiling. Before this, the quiet computer nerd wouldn't bother to say things like this to others. It seemed that being a CEO had made him more assertive and not afraid to speak his mind and make a point in front of an audience. She was pleased with his transformation.
Just like her, Jin Liwei was also pleased with how Hou Liang demanded respect for Iris as a business leader especially in today's event—the grand opening of Eve Holdings. His mood improved in an instant.
"—oh, alright. My apologies." The reporter coughed sheepishly before completing his question while addressing Iris in a proper manner as President Long.
Hou Liang glanced at Iris first before answering. She gave him a brief, almost imperceptible nod.
"Planet Monkey joined Eve Holdings because it's only natural."
All of the reporters waited for a few more seconds but he didn't say anything more.
"What do you mean that it's only natural?" the reporter asked him again.
"Same owner," Hou Liang replied.
His words didn't immediately register in people's minds.
"W-wait…Iris Long owns Eve Holdings, so does this mean that she also owns Planet Monkey? She's that mysterious owner?!"
Hou Liang didn't bother speaking and just nodded to confirm the reporter's conclusion.
Jaws dropped.
The reporters looked at Iris.
Her smile was enough confirmation.
WHAT THE HELL?!!!
