”Boss Iris!”
”Oh, my gosh! I’m seeing finally seeing Boss Iris in the flesh!”
”Boss Iris, can you sign an autograph for me?”
”Can we take a picture together?”
Iris chuckled and agreed to all their requests. There was nothing to worry about because the coaches were keeping a sharp eye on them, not to mention that there were many important people in attendance in today’s gala. None of the athletes would dare to do anything bad to her and risk destroying their sports career.
The teenage athlete was a little shy in front of Iris. He waited for his turn and allowed his seniors to interact with her first before whipping the slipper that he waved earlier.
”B-boss Iris, can you s-sign this slipper for me, please?” he asked, blushing a little.
”Sure.” Iris grabbed the clean, new-looking slipper and signed it with relish. Then she posed with the shy teenager and took a photo together.
Although not everyone in the team was a Black Star or a member of the Slippers Army like the teenage athlete, all of them still asked for Iris’ autograph and took photos with her. Even the oldest athlete among them knew who Iris Long was despite not having that much interest in celebrities or showbiz in general.
Iris Long’s hit songs were still being played on the radio and public establishments on a regular basis. Her music wasn’t only enjoyed by a single demographic. She had fans from almost every age group.
In addition, advertisements for Orchida (Beauty, Mommy and Baby) were everywhere. Be they commercials, posters, billboards and web ads—she did the majority of them. Even the commercial jingle for Orchidia was written and sang by her. She was her own company’s biggest endorser.
This was one of the main ways that she was able to stay relevant despite her maternity hiatus.
The athletes finally calmed down after the autograph-signing and photo-taking session with Iris.
Long Jinjing and Chen Fei could finally return to her side. Although they knew that she was a famous celebrity, they still would sometimes forget how crazy other people could get when seeing her.
Even world-class athletes were her fans. How awesome was that?!
Orchidia’s trinity of goddesses requested to speak with the coaching team and the athletes to discuss an offer to become product endorsers.
”I’ll do it!” the teenage athlete said without any hesitation. “My mom and sister love Orchidia Beauty products. I also use Jin Chonglin’s men’s line because my mom forced them on me at first. But now, my skin can’t tolerate other brands’ products anymore. It only likes Orchidia Beauty now.”
”I’ll do it, too!”
”Count me in!”
”Coach, please accept the offer for us, okay? We promise to train harder!”
Iris was pleased with the athletes’ enthusiasm but it was still the team’s coaches and the managers who had the final say. They didn’t accept or reject right away but requested for more details and time to think about it.
Chen Fei took over at this point. Iris and Long Jinjing left her to discuss with the coaches and managers while the two of them continued chatting with the athletes.
While the three women were busy, Jin Chonglin was once again surrounded by reporters asking him about his relationship with Orchidia’s COO. He glanced at where Chen Fei stood in the other side of the hall.
Then he flashed the reporters with another one of his iconic killer smiles and said something to answer their question.
His answer made everyone excited.
###
The following day, last night’s successful victory gala in honour of the national shooting team were featured all over the news.
Iris Long’s unreserved statements about her elder half-brother Long Hui and his new wife Mao Qiuyue quickly became controversial. The terms she used to describe the newly-married couple—”toxic parasites” and “shameless character assassins”—became viral.
As usual when it came to news stories about her, the reactions were mixed.
Those who liked her, especially the Black Stars, took her side. They all agreed with everything she said and even shared some of their personal experiences about encountering similar types of people—the so-called “toxic parasites” and “shameless character assassins”.
On the other side of the spectrum were those who disagreed with her, be they her perpetual haters or those who simply didn’t share her viewpoints. They thought that she was being too harsh and merciless to her own biological brother.
The next news story featured the pitiful turnout of Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue’s wedding. The photos they posted on their social media accounts all looked beautiful and happy. However, the reality wasn’t anything close to how they portrayed their wedding on social media.
There were people who revealed the true behind-the-scene situation during the wedding ceremony and the banquet. Some of them were the actual guests while the others were the staff hired for the wedding.
These revealing photos and videos showed many empty seats and the depressing expressions of the bride and groom and their families. Just by looking at these photos and videos, the viewer could sense the tense atmosphere.
Compared to the gala’s liveliness and impressive list of guests and performers, the wedding was like a desolate funeral instead of a wedding. The stark contrast was embarrassing for Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue.
Many ridiculed them especially after Mao Qiuyue tried so hard to publicize her wedding with Long Hui not too long ago and even dragged Iris Long and her husband’s names in the media.
”This is karma! A cheating couple like them deserve humiliation.”
”Look at Mao Qiuyue’s expression. She looks like she swallowed a dead rat. Then look at Long Hui’s face. He looks drunk and unaware of what’s happening around him. Their wedding is a huge embarrassment! I’m actually amazed that they were about to go through the entire ceremony and banquet.”
”Is it just me or did anyone else notice that CEO Long Tengfei’s wife didn’t accompany him to the wedding banquet but appeared at the gala later instead?”
”Poster above, I noticed that, too! I bet that if Long Hui wasn’t CEO Long Tengfei’s eldest son, CEO Long would have also left with his wife and attended the gala instead. Look at his expression. Is that the face of a happy father watching his son get married?”
The ridicule continued but only a few people focused on the wedding. People paid more attention at the gala’s main purpose—to celebrate the national shooting team’s silver medal victory at the world championships.
Words of congratulations poured from almost everyone. They were all proud of the athletes’ achievement in the world stage. People felt like they also won through the athletes’ impressive finish.
In addition, interest in sports shooting also increased. Although many were scared at the idea of holding and using firearms, they still thought that it was cool after watching the video highlights of the world championships.
As the victory gala’s host and one of the national team’s current minor coaches, Lin Yehan’s background was also featured in the news. His past as a professional shooting athlete was dug up. Photos of his younger self were shown posing with different sports-approved firearms. He looked quite cool.
However, it was his background as an agricultural tycoon that attracted more attention. His contributions to the country’s agricultural innovations and widespread support of the farmers and lowest-level workers in the industry gained a lot of praise from the people and the government.
After knowing more about Lin Yehan, the people couldn’t help but feel indignant on his behalf after remembering how he had been defamed by Long Hui last year. Such an upright citizen who had countless accomplishments in both the fields of sports shooting and agriculture was dragged through the mud by someone whose only known achievement so far was to be born into a wealthy family.
It didn’t matter that Long Hui looked more handsome than Lin Yehan. Appearance didn’t always matter especially when the heart was black.
Before anyone knew it, Lin Yehan had become one of the nation’s most eligible known bachelors. So many women declared their love for him and wanted to be Mrs. Lin.
”To those fantasizing about Mr. Lin Yehan, I’m sorry, ladies, but he already has someone in his heart. Look at some of the gala photos. You can see him holding hands with a heroic-looking woman in a tuxedo suit.”
”What the hell? Isn’t this woman Long Hui’s ex and the mother of his child?”
”Holy shit! You’re right. Then does this mean that Long Hui’s accusations about Mr. Lin and Miss Jiang are all true?”
”Stop trying to speculate! Watch Iris Long’s interview again. She said that Lin Yehan and Jiang Ying Yue have clear conscience. Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue were the ones who cheated, not them.”
”I believe in Boss Iris’ words. If she says that Mr. Lin and Miss Jiang have a clear conscience, then it must be true. Besides, I think that it’s very possible that feelings have blossomed between Mr. Lin and Miss Jiang while both of them were embroiled in the defamation lawsuit against that trash, Long Hui. They experienced such a tough time together that they must have ended up falling in love with each other. How romantic!”
”Lin Yehan doesn’t deserve a used woman like that bodyguard. She already has a child from a previous relationship and she’s still flirting with another man. How shameless!”
”Go away, you troll! How dare you discriminate against single moms?! Single moms deserve happiness and a second chance in love, too! Your prejudice is disgusting!”
Lin Yehan’s unconfirmed relationship with Jiang Ying Yue created a bigger buzz than Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue’s embarrassing wedding fiasco.
