Chapter 47 (2/5): The slap that changed everything

Still, she wasn’t cold toward Liang Zhiwei like she’d been with the cameraman earlier.

She gave a casual excuse.

Liang Zhiwei beamed.

“I’m really looking forward to it then!”

Not far away, Chu Yanze, who had been silently wiping tables, overheard their conversation.

He paused, glancing over out of the corner of his eye.

Snow?

He actually wanted to see that too.

What could extreme sports be?

Rock climbing, surfing, bungee jumping, parkour, wingsuit flying, skydiving, caving, mountain biking, off-piste snowboarding…

He’d tried them all—and was even skilled at some.

If Zhaoping-jie were around, maybe he could stand by her side.

There was a world-class backcountry ski resort near his university city, often used in popular challenge shows.

It was dangerous and famous—now that winter was approaching, it was probably about to open again.

He had a feeling Zhaoping-jie would be good at it too.

Just imagining skiing alongside her, watching her graceful form, Chu Yanze couldn’t get the image out of his head.

But Zhaoping-jie was taking a break next episode.

After thinking it over, all he could do was keep scrubbing the table.

Sigh.

No matter.

There’s always next time.

He had many skills left to show…though maybe he’d better hurry, before all those random little boys started clinging to her.

Especially Su Yubai in the show—

Chu Yanze just knew this guy was ambitious.

And his sixth sense told him the guy had definite green tea energy.

Chu Yanze started scrubbing even harder.

After President Hou left the restaurant, his subordinates, who had been waiting nearby, followed behind.

“President, you’re done eating?”

They had just seen the online exposé and were still shaken.

How had President Hou gone through so much in just the time it took to eat?

President Hou didn’t mind.

Smiling, he waved them off.

“It was a fruitful visit. I even found a new spokesperson. Let the business team know to get in touch with that artist Liang Zhiwei. She’s a perfect fit for our new clean energy stove line—great cooking skills, excellent temperament. Get that deal secured.”

The subordinate was stunned: “Huh, are we really signing her?”

They were all a bit confused.

From the video trending online, it seemed like President Hou had handed over his business card, but it was misunderstood by Gu Zhaoye.

They thought it was just a polite gesture—how could it actually lead to signing someone?

President Hou, after all, had a much longer-term vision than they did—that’s why he was President Hou.

He shook his head and said,

“You don’t realize how huge the advertising effect behind this is.”

The driver pulled up to the intersection, and President Hou got into the car, ready to leave.

Only then did the subordinates snap out of it. Slapping his forehead, one of them said,

“Right! This is basically a free advertisement! We’d better finalize the signing as soon as possible and announce it immediately, bundling her into our marketing—and while we’re at it, step on Gu Zhaoye a bit too.”

Perfect.

It was absolutely perfect.

As expected of President Hou!

He hurriedly got in the car as well and began briefing the next schedule.

Listening, President Hou suddenly chuckled and asked,

“Do you know about that Gu Zhaoping from the Gu family? Do you know what school she graduated from?”

Gu Zhaoping?

Of course the subordinate knew her—she was famous, and lately, there had been plenty of heated discussions about her real persona online.

“I heard she graduated from Stanford, with a double degree in Business and Law.”

President Hou unscrewed his thermos, took a sip of tea, and nodded,

“Hmm, no wonder she’s so capable and thoughtful. Looks like the Gu family really invested heavily in her education.”

“Keeping her in the background until now…maybe she’s the Gu family’s hidden trump card? Maybe they pinned their hopes of advancing their status and assets further on this eldest daughter?”

The younger generation was truly formidable.

The Gu family’s strategic planning could not be underestimated.

“Exactly, President. There’s been a lot of talk about this Miss Gu lately! First, she offered a bounty online to clear her name from all those defamatory rumors—a very successful PR move. Then she threw down and humiliated the coach who questioned her flexibility skills—a complete image reversal!”

The subordinate eagerly added,

“Only today’s incident at the store—where she slapped Gu Zhaoye wildly—kind of fits her old playboy image. She used to be a regular at all the top male model clubs around several cities. People said she knew nothing but eating, drinking, and playing, and that she used to bully her brother’s girlfriends. The Gu family almost gave up on her!”

“Pfft!”

President Hou sprayed his tea everywhere inside the expensive car, splattering the front passenger seat.

The subordinate suddenly felt a chill run down his back.

What just happened?!

He turned to wipe his now-soaked shirt, confused.

“President, what’s wrong?”

President Hou looked absolutely shell-shocked, covering his mouth but unable to recover!

Wait—what?

You’re telling me that Gu Zhaoping was a spoiled rich kid before?

All this change happened recently?

The Gu family was planning to give up on her?

Am I crazy, or is the Gu family crazy??

President Hou was completely mind-blown!

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ruan Nian was still asking the director,

“Director, we invited Zhaoye over—this doesn’t count as bringing in outside help, right?”

Gu Zhaoye was originally one of the invited guests for the show; he just hadn’t been available earlier due to personal matters, which the director had long regretted.

Ruan Nian knew very well how much they had been hoping for Gu Zhaoye to come, so her words, although appearing modest, were actually filled with a subtle, proud sense of vindication.

With Gu Zhaoye here, she finally had backing.

No one would dare to bully her or show her any more disrespect.

The feeling of having someone to rely on was simply addictive.

The director, swallowing down a bellyful of curses, forced a smile and said,

“Of course not, of course not. President Gu was supposed to be our guest from the start. His presence will only boost our ratings—we’re thrilled to have him.”

“With President Gu here, the restaurant is sure to be a success!”

Although this was meant to be heartfelt, because of Ruan Nian’s earlier shameless blame-shifting, the director was now holding a deep grudge and couldn’t help but speak with a bit of sarcasm.

However, they were so used to being praised that neither Ruan Nian nor Gu Zhaoye noticed.

Under Gu Zhaoye’s command, the three of them busily reorganized the restaurant, overhauled the menu and pricing, and even actively went out to recruit customers.

Li Xunxi wasn’t keen on participating, but with Gu Zhaoye standing there with a stern face and laying out the meticulous plan so clearly, she had no choice but to comply.

She descended the stairs with her brother, her face dark.

She never imagined that one day she would be reduced to handing out flyers to attract customers.

But Gu Zhaoye’s plan was genuinely effective.

Unlike regular people handing out flyers, they were somewhat famous online.

Their faces alone were enough to draw a crowd willing to follow them into the restaurant.

Who wouldn’t want to get a closer look at celebrities?

Li Xunxi went downstairs holding a stack of flyers and approached a crowd:

“Hello, today we’ve just opened a new restaurant here, using Michelin three-star quality ingredients…”

Before she even finished her sentence, the crowd turned around, stunned—and someone suddenly shouted: “Li Xunxi?!”

“Is that Li Xunxi?!”

“Their show is still filming here? It hasn’t been shut down yet?!”

The crowd whispered in shock, and more people gathered around.

Li Xunxi looked around in confusion.

Although she was somewhat famous, it shouldn’t have been to the point where everyone knew her face.

Having been busy all morning in the restaurant, she hadn’t had time to check the internet.

She didn’t think the morning’s incidents would have spread far.

She didn’t pay them much mind—until she noticed that their looks weren’t exactly friendly.

There was mockery and disdain.

Annoyed, she quickly abandoned the flyer-distribution task and reverted to her spoiled heiress attitude:

“What are you looking at? What’s so interesting? Are you going to eat or not?”

That attitude.

Seriously, what kind of attitude is that?

The online rumors were true after all!

The crowd erupted into even more intense discussions.

Their gazes became increasingly contemptuous.

This was the same girl who insulted Ruan Nian’s fans and snatched the elevator from others!

Acting like a spoiled young lady who thought the world owed her everything.

Although Li Xunxi had never said such things outright, deep down, that’s exactly how she thought.

Under the mounting stares, she grew even angrier, gripping her flyers tightly—then threw them to the ground.

She was just about to confront someone when—

Li Xunwen rushed over, shouting,

“Sis!”

He grabbed her arm.

Seeing the flyers on the ground and sensing the bad atmosphere, he realized something terrible had happened.

His heart sank.

They were too late!

“Come on, sis, let’s go back upstairs!”

He urged.

Li Xunxi, unwilling to budge, turned back and glared at the crowd.

“Why are you dragging me? I haven’t even figured out why they’re staring at me! Is my makeup smudged? Or am I dressed badly?”

Li Xunxi’s temper was rising dangerously, and Li Xunwen was near despair.

He frantically hammered the elevator button, shoved her inside as soon as it arrived, and quickly closed the doors, whispering urgently: “Have you checked the internet?! We’re trending!”

Li Xunxi froze, still not understanding.

Why would they be trending?

Was it about the restaurant?

Then suddenly she remembered the fans gathered outside that morning—and the guy whose camera was smashed.

Her face darkened.

She snatched Li Xunwen’s phone and opened it.

There it was.

A trending exposé by the guy she’d argued with at the elevator earlier—saying they had rudely snatched the elevator and acted arrogant.

And it wasn’t just him.

Other netizens chimed in, saying that Ruan Nian had been treated like a servant—not by Gu Zhaoping, but by Li Xunxi!

The comments…

The comments were brutal!

Full of insults.

Calling her an entitled brat with a terrible temper, thinking she was above everyone else.

Li—

Li Xunxi’s face turned green.

Her breath caught in her throat as she scrolled through the wave of nasty comments. Her hand trembled slightly.

【Li Xunxi is seriously messed up. She really thinks she’s above everyone else.】

【Still acting all high and mighty while opening a restaurant for a variety show? Who gave her the right to treat Ruan Nian like a servant?】

【Ruan Nian’s fans weren’t lying. These people are bullies.】

【Li Xunxi: Here to open a restaurant, but forgot she’s not the customer.】

【I saw her flyer attitude earlier. She was literally yelling at customers like a tyrant. No joke, she deserves the backlash.】

Even the comments about Gu Zhaoye and Ruan Nian were getting dragged in.

Some netizens did try to clarify that Gu Zhaoping was the actual restaurant manager and had no part in bullying Ruan Nian, but because she didn’t defend Ruan Nian earlier and didn’t publicly speak up, people weren’t buying it.

“Fake kindness. She stood by and watched it all happen.”

“Too afraid to offend Gu Zhaoye and Li Xunxi. This Gu Zhaoping isn’t as good as people say.”

“She pretended to be nice just to avoid hate. If she really had guts, she’d stand up and clarify everything!”

The online chatter was like a wildfire—ferocious, unpredictable, and rapidly growing.

And then—another viral video emerged.

In the video, taken from a new angle, Gu Zhaoping turned to Gu Zhaoye after his sudden outburst and slapped him across the face, hard.

The video wasn’t long.

But the power behind that slap—it shocked everyone.

【Damn!】

【Gu Zhaoping actually slapped Gu Zhaoye?!】

【I was wrong! She really does have guts!】

【Okay, okay, I take back what I said about her being fake. She might just be the realest person in that entire restaurant.】

【The force behind that slap is the same force I’ve wanted to use on Gu Zhaoye since the elevator video went viral.】

【Respect.】

In an instant, the tide turned.

People who had doubted Gu Zhaoping started reconsidering, and her popularity skyrocketed once more.