Chapter 196

Page Fifty-Two Ling Shaojie’s Advice

[11:58]

Upon receiving Ling Shaojie’s notice, I didn’t even have time to eat lunch before heading to the classroom of the news club at the school. Of course, I didn’t forget to bring Tao Jie along, who also hadn’t eaten.

Due to the large printer and ink cartridges, the scent of oil paint in the news club was still quite strong. The classroom was empty except for Ling Shaojie, who had a piece of bread in her mouth and was sitting at the only desk, typing something on her laptop. Noticing us enter, she looked up and greeted, “Junior Lingmeng… Oh, Junior Longtao is here too?”

Tao Jie and Ling Shaojie weren’t familiar with each other. She frowned momentarily and did not respond.

“Am I being disliked now?”

Regarding Ling Shaojie’s self-deprecating comment, I interjected, “It’s normal for Tao Jie to be cautious when dealing with someone whose intentions are unclear… Although your personality isn’t exactly endearing.”

“That hurts. How come even Lingmeng is saying such things? I thought we were getting along well.”

Ha, if only that were true!

There was only a business relationship between me and Ling Shaojie, at least in my view.

She feigned disappointment, shaking her head, then continued, “No one else will come to the clubroom today. We have plenty of time to discuss this thoroughly… If you haven’t had lunch yet, I have some meal replacement packs. Help yourself.”

She took out a bag of bread and jam from beside her, both clearly bought from a convenience store. Though they didn’t look appetizing, I was indeed a bit hungry.

“Thank you, I won’t be shy.”

I dug out blueberry jam and spread it on the meal replacement pack, then passed it to Tao Jie. She kept a stern face but accepted the bread and started eating.

“Eat first, let me tell you about the information I’ve gathered.”

Ling Shaojie stopped her work, pulled out an A4 paper from the desk, and began reading aloud, “The live streaming union threatening you is called ‘Glorious Family.’ Haha… As you might expect, it’s a low-class union with a very common name. Most of their members are female streamers who make a living through suggestive content. There aren’t any top-tier streamers among them. They suppress potential independent streamers to monopolize the mid-tier revenue. They usually invite independent streamers to join their union, but ‘Dragon Palace Princess Yǐjī’ and ‘Lucy’ don’t fit their style… How to put it? Their focus on secondary content is too high, so they’re not interested.”

Wow, even this lowbrow union looks down on secondary content. Is secondary content at the bottom of the disdain chain?

“So they resort to these underhanded tactics?”

“They don’t care about whether the means are dirty as long as it makes money. It’s a normal commercial strategy.”

Ling Shaojie’s casual explanation made me feel uneasy. I raised an eyebrow and asked, “Would you do the same if you were in their shoes?”

Without hesitation, Ling Shaojie replied, “Of course. Different identities call for different approaches. As a businessman, profits should always come first. Even ethics should yield to profit.”

Her answer was convincing, considering she was a morally shallow person.

I pursed my lips and teased, “So, as a big capitalist, do you have a way to stop them?”

Ling Shaojie ignored my sarcasm and said, “Isn’t it simple? When the cost of dealing with you exceeds the benefits, they’ll back off. After all, a competent businessman wouldn’t engage in a losing deal. They just want to eliminate competitors who stand in their way.”

After finishing a meal replacement pack, Tao Jie spoke up, “This Glorious Family isn’t based in our city, right?”

“It doesn’t matter where their headquarters are. They rely entirely on the internet and it’s hard to trace their real controllers. They can cause trouble online or hire local gangs to harass targets. Even reporting them would be difficult to prove.”

We faced an intangible enemy with no physical form.

I asked again, “Since you’ve uncovered the Glorious Family, why aren’t your evidence useful?”

“It’s useless. They’ve been running this system for years, clearly prepared to distance themselves… However, Queen could gather enough evidence, although her methods aren’t entirely legal. Explaining that to the police would be complicated.”

Indeed, discussing the source of the evidence would be problematic.

I said, “Then there’s no need to involve her. We have our own plan, but we’d like to hear your opinion.”

Ling Shaojie grabbed a meal replacement pack and started spreading jam.

“Go ahead and share.”

“For the weaknesses the other side might exploit, which are blemishes on the Long family, I think Tao Jie should prepare a press conference beforehand. If they take action, they will surely send threatening private messages. We can release the information first… What do you think?”

After explaining, Ling Shaojie shook her head and replied immediately, “Not much use. This is a poor strategy.”

— “That’s a rather blunt rejection!” —

Even Cherry Sauce, who proposed the plan, was taken aback by Ling Shaojie’s response.

I asked, “Can you explain why?”

“This is merely a defensive strategy to minimize damage to the Long family. Even if you do this, it won’t hurt the Glorious Family… Moreover, the other side wants to expose ‘Dragon Palace Princess Yǐjī.’ What good will a press conference by Tao Jie do? Just revealing her identity would cause severe repercussions, especially for virtual streamers.”

With us in the dark and them in the light, the cost for the other side to cause trouble is minimal. Just posting a video of Sister Yǐjī performing on the streets would make people recognize her, leading to dire consequences. They could further attack by exposing Tao Jie’s background and the Long family’s unsavory secrets, stirring up public interest.

This seemed daunting.

Tao Jie asked, “After all this, do you have a better suggestion?”

“Your idea is correct. Since we can’t prevent them from attacking, we can eliminate the weakness, making the outcome insignificant… Why not go further?”

“How?” I asked.

“So, let ‘Dragon Palace Princess Yǐjī’ reveal herself!”

“… Isn’t self-revelation by Sister Yǐjī still a disaster?”

Ultimately, this incident was caused by her reckless exposure of photos.

Ling Shaojie explained calmly, “It’s not about revealing Tao Jie’s background, but having ‘Dragon Palace Princess Yǐjī’ reveal her virtual identity. It’s essentially fabricating a story consistent with her background. This serves as a warning to fans. Even if the Glorious Family exposes her identity and background, fans can deduce the whole story. It’s a free publicity opportunity. Done right, it could attract many new followers, turning crisis into opportunity! Perhaps some might sympathize and offer valuable gifts… If those from the Glorious Family aren’t fools, they’ll likely give up.”

It seemed beneficial overall, potentially reaching the twenty thousand popularity mark at once.

Tao Jie asked again, “If they don’t see through this and insist on exposing ‘Dragon Palace Princess Yǐjī,’ even if the livestream’s popularity rises, the Long family’s reputation would still be affected, right?”

“Having ‘Dragon Palace Princess Yǐjī’ tell a story has the same effect as your press conference. It mitigates negative impact on the Long family. Not exposing her is just a fictional backstory. If they really do expose her, it’s a risk-free publicity win… By the way, what’s the relationship between Miss Longtao and ‘Dragon Palace Princess Yǐjī’?”

Ling Shaojie’s question caught me off guard. She followed up, “Are they father and daughter? Is ‘Dragon Palace Princess Yǐjī’ the exiled Long Hao?”

Tao Jie frowned and refused to answer. I stepped in to explain.

“Well, it should be mother and daughter now.”

“Oh, could it be another move by Junior Lingmeng…”

Seeing Ling Shaojie’s half-smiling expression, I knew she was about to dig deeper.

I admitted, “Yes, I used a transformation spell on him.”

“That explains it. But it seems Tao Jie hasn’t forgiven her yet?”

Seeing Tao Jie still unwilling to speak, I continued on her behalf.

“Before her livestream reaches twenty thousand viewers, Tao Jie won’t meet her. For a new individual streamer, reaching twenty thousand viewers in half a month is quite challenging…”

But it wasn’t impossible. This incident might be a turning point.

Ling Shaojie stood up, walked around the desk, and placed her hand on Tao Jie’s shoulder.

“I think we should have many topics in common, Junior Longtao. Can’t you spare a moment for me?”

“Senior, I don’t even know your name. Please don’t act so familiar.”

“I’m Ling Shaojie, the president of the school’s news club… I got carried away thinking I was a campus celebrity and almost forgot that you’re a new transfer student.”

“… Okay.”

Tao Jie responded coldly. Ling Shaojie turned to me and asked, “Junior Lingmeng, am I really disliked?”

“Don’t ask me!”

I scratched my head but still introduced Tao Jie, “Your experience shares similarities with hers. You were abandoned by your biological father, and the mother who secretly cared for you passed away when you were young… Or maybe she’s still alive.”

Alive but not truly living.

Regarding Ling Ximí’s situation, Lin Yuhuang probably knows the truth.

Hearing this, Tao Jie finally looked at Ling Shaojie, who continued, “I’m planning to seek revenge against my father, though the methods differ… No, perhaps similar methods would be better?”

… Is she thinking of turning Lin Yuhuang into a beautiful girl?

Ling Shaojie released Tao Jie and hurried over to me, placing her hands on my shoulders.

“Junior Lingmeng, I suddenly have a brilliant idea for tomorrow’s plan!”