The Announcement

Shen Tong sat in front of the television, watching her own face appear on screen. She felt uncomfortable seeing herself, but at least she was wearing glasses. After watching, she calculated how many TV stations would broadcast their gossip in a day. It turned out that dozens of gossip shows across various channels were featuring their rumored relationship. The studio's phone was ringing off the hook, but fortunately, no one knew her personal number as an unknown manager, so she wasn't getting any calls directly.

This was good news - they had finally gained attention through gossip, and Su Xiao could now become famous. Shen Tong breathed a sigh of relief. To achieve fame, they had to try every method possible.

"Indeed, gossip is the best weapon to increase exposure. People only care about this," Chen Xiaoyong said smugly, showing off her phone. "Look, since the rumors started, my Weibo followers have increased rapidly." Su Xiao had already gone to the practice room to rehearse.

Shen Tong took out her phone to check Su Xiao's Weibo. Sure enough, his follower count was steadily rising, along with the number of comments.

Fortunately, Shen Tong had previously forced Su Xiao to take photos and post on Weibo, though it happened rarely. The new followers, seeing Su Xiao's handsome face, would likely comment or repost. Indeed, the comments were full of praise for Su Xiao's good looks.

"How can someone this handsome not be famous? It's unfair! Unscientific!"

"That's right, oppa!"

"Wow, he's such a flower boy!"

"Pfft, he's just a pretty face. Eye candy!"

"Above poster, are you jealous? Can you grow such a handsome face?"

"These days, relying on looks to make a living is being a kept man!"

Shen Tong scrolled through Weibo happily. Although there were arguments in the comments, with both criticism and support, the trending topic had become #ChenXiaoyong&SuXiao. Shen Tong thought triumphantly: It seems this tactic really worked!

The director of their new drama also called her. "Hey, Little Shen, good job with this gossip." There seemed to be a hint of probing in his tone.

After careful consideration, Shen Tong replied, "Director, I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

"Little Shen, are you still pretending in front of me?" the director said, deliberately drawing out his words. "Creating such a big gossip story right when the new drama is about to air - isn't that a big surprise for me?"

Shen Tong smiled bitterly, "Director, I'm being honest with you. I really didn't know about this. I'm still investigating why they went to the riverside."

"Oh? So there might really be something between them?" the director said, surprised.

"I don't know either. I'll contact you when I find out more," Shen Tong said.

"You must tell me first," the director immediately responded.

"Of course, of course," Shen Tong said respectfully.

Early the next morning, Shen Tong arrived at the company to find many paparazzi already gathered at the entrance, waiting for the latest news.

As soon as Chen Xiaoyong appeared, reporters quickly surrounded her, firing questions rapidly.

Shen Tong hurriedly called two security guards to rescue Chen Xiaoyong from the crowd. Chen Xiaoyong's expression was not good.

Su Xiao also appeared at the company entrance shortly after, emanating an icy aura. However, this couldn't stop the paparazzi's enthusiasm for interviews. Shen Tong used the same method to rescue Su Xiao and led them both to the conference room.

Su Xiao looked at her expressionlessly and said, "Where's my milk tea?"

Shen Tong grumbled, "Is that how you thank your lifesaver?"

"Who caused all this?" Su Xiao immediately asked sharply.

"I want coffee," Chen Xiaoyong said haughtily, as if it were a given.

Shen Tong went downstairs angrily, cursing Su Xiao a thousand times in her heart. Soon she returned upstairs with the milk tea and coffee, ready to start the day's work.

.....

"Hello, yes, I'm their manager," Shen Tong answered the phone seriously.

"What? Really? You want our artists to be on your show?" Shen Tong's expression quickly changed, her face breaking into a smile. "Oh, no problem, no problem. We'll definitely cooperate. Yes, alright, it's settled then."

After hanging up, Shen Tong looked at the two excitedly and said, "A popular TV station has invited you to appear on their show!"

Chen Xiaoyong wore an "I knew it" expression and slowly said, "As expected." Her eyes couldn't hide her joy.

The phone vibrated again, and Shen Tong answered, "Hello, this is Shen Tong."

"Hey, Little Shen, it's me. Our ratings skyrocketed yesterday!" The director conveyed this exciting news joyfully. "If this continues, our drama will definitely become popular." The director laughed to himself on the other end.

Shen Tong was also very happy. "Congratulations, Director. This is all thanks to your efforts!"

The director couldn't stop smiling. "Not at all, your two artists deserve a lot of credit too!"

"You're too kind," Shen Tong said modestly.

After exchanging pleasantries with the director, Shen Tong hung up. She then received several more invitations for shows, all with one thing in common - they wanted both artists to appear together.

Shen Tong finally had a moment to rest when she noticed Chen Xiaoyong leaning against the door. She asked with a questioning look, "What's the matter?"

Chen Xiaoyong raised an eyebrow and said, "What's the next step?"

"I don't know," Shen Tong shook her head and said quietly. "I'm not sure whether to hold a press conference to clarify the situation or let them continue discussing it. I'm uncertain."

"How can you, as a manager, not have thought this through?" Chen Xiaoyong shouted shrilly, looking at Shen Tong in disbelief. "Anyway, you need to come up with a solution that satisfies everyone! People on Weibo are calling me the Gossip Queen now!"

Just as Chen Xiaoyong was losing her temper at Shen Tong, a phone call interrupted the tense atmosphere.

Shen Tong took out her phone, saw 'Xia Zixuan' on the screen, and immediately answered, "Hello, General Manager."

"Come up," he said tersely and hung up.

Shen Tong was left feeling anxious, wondering whether Xia Zixuan supported this situation or not.

"This is all your responsibility," Chen Xiaoyong immediately said, strutting off in her high heels to watch Su Xiao practice.

Shen Tong felt embarrassed. It was always like this when something happened. She was used to it by now.

Nervously, she went upstairs and knocked on Xia Zixuan's door.

"Come in," Xia Zixuan's voice came from inside.

Shen Tong entered the office apprehensively. Xia Zixuan looked at her silently, saying nothing, his gloomy gaze seeming to search for every weakness she had.

"General Manager, what can I do for you?" Shen Tong asked respectfully, standing still.

"Take off your glasses," Xia Zixuan's first words nearly made Shen Tong's glasses fall off in shock.

Shen Tong removed her glasses and held them in her hand. "What did you want to see me about, General Manager?"

"The gossip," Xia Zixuan said, tapping his fingers on the black desk, expressionlessly looking at Shen Tong, demanding an explanation.

"This was because Su Xiao wasn't becoming famous, so as a last resort, we came up with this strategy. This way, both of them can gain popularity," Shen Tong explained.

"Solution?" Xia Zixuan pressed, questioning Shen Tong relentlessly.

"I plan to hold a press conference to explain that this was a misunderstanding. That day, they had only received my notice to meet there for a meeting. Somehow, someone found out and informed various news reporters, which is why this happened," Shen Tong said, looking directly at Xia Zixuan. "At the time, we refused to answer questions for fear of saying something wrong."

Xia Zixuan didn't know why, but he found himself unconsciously focusing his gaze on Shen Tong. Last time, he had tried to forget about her, treating her just as a company employee, but he regretted it after rejecting her. However, he was a businessman, and he reminded himself that profit must come first in everything.

"Why aren't you keeping silent this time like you did before?" Xia Zixuan questioned Shen Tong.

After considering for a few seconds, Shen Tong answered, "Because Chen Xiaoyong has already been involved in many rumors recently. If we add this one, I'm afraid she might really become known as the Gossip Queen, leaving a negative impression on the public. Moreover, I've noticed that TV stations inviting Su Xiao for shows are also requesting Chen Xiaoyong to appear. As a newcomer, it wouldn't be good for Su Xiao to become famous by being tied to Chen Xiaoyong. He personally doesn't want to follow the idol route, given his acting skills."

"Besides, there's still room for speculation about this incident. We'll let the entertainment media guess freely, and we'll just be responsible for explaining," Shen Tong added.

"Whatever you do, don't harm the company's interests or reputation," Xia Zixuan said coldly. "Some media are already questioning whether the company is manipulating things behind the scenes. The public is becoming suspicious. Handle it well."

"Yes, General Manager," Shen Tong said nervously. How had this become so serious? It had even alerted upper management. The reporters' imaginations were too wild! Regardless, she had to handle it well. "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

Xia Zixuan lowered his head to review documents without speaking further, implicitly agreeing to Shen Tong's departure.

Shen Tong respectfully left the office and quickly released news about holding a press conference. She then rapidly gathered the two artists for a meeting. Before the meeting, she carefully considered the questions reporters might ask, listed them one by one, and came up with reasonable answers.

"Upper management has taken notice of this matter," Shen Tong began. "Since we've achieved the effect we wanted through this incident, we should now give the public a reasonable explanation."

"How do we explain it?" Chen Xiaoyong asked. "Say we were lying?"

Shen Tong immediately rejected this suggestion. "Of course not. We must keep this topic going while providing a reasonable explanation for the situation."

"What's the plan?" Chen Xiaoyong asked.

"We'll use a unified statement. We'll say that I asked you two to go to the riverside because Su Xiao was feeling down. I asked Chen Xiaoyong to take Su Xiao there to relax. We didn't expect someone to overhear and cause such a big misunderstanding," Shen Tong said fluently, her expression more serious than ever before.