“Your expression is fine; let’s go with him. Set up a meeting with him for the upcoming schedule. The TVC isn’t urgent, but get the promotional photos shot first—they need to go live this week.”
Gong Nanxing quickly skimmed through the freshly shot, hot-off-the-press new photos sent over that afternoon on his computer, his gaze finally lacking its previous homicidal intensity. Qiao Xi had not yet seen the final product either, so she stood nearby and took a peek using his computer.
Although the young man in the pictures still looked slightly awkward in his poses upon close inspection, his naturally glowing bronze skin, the deep facial contours characteristic of an ethnic minority’s exotic charm, his raw yet uniquely wild temperament, and his clean, large eyes gave off a natural vibe even without touch-ups. As expected, he was a very suitable candidate.
“Do you think he is okay? He doesn’t seem to have much experience.”
Although Qiao Xi could understand that Mr. Gong recognized Mou Asu’s appearance as fitting their brand’s tone, from a professional standpoint, signing a contract right now would leave it unknown whether this newcomer could handle all future shooting tasks.
“I said set up his schedule. If he doesn’t know how, teach him; if he won’t, trick him.”
Dropping those words, Gong Nanxing grabbed his phone and hurried out of the office, acting as though he had a dinner date with his photographer friend, leaving Qiao Xi alone in a daze as she stared at Mou Asu’s innocent, wide eyes on the computer screen.
Good heavens, if I didn’t know we were a legitimate company, I would seriously call the police!
Resigning herself to fate, Qiao Xi picked up the phone to contact PR Bella. This little bull was destined to come here and work like a beast of burden—there was no escaping it. She could only tell Bella to advise the kid to pray for his own luck.
Soon, Mountain’s debut product concept images went live on major platforms as scheduled. In a camping sector dominated by pretentious tough guys, Mountain’s concept imagery washed away the viewers’ visual fatigue like a delicious piece of chocolate.
The male model in the pictures was placed in a blank indoor studio setting, sitting on a uniquely styled camping chair while holding a potted plant, making people feel as though they were looking at an entire mist-covered primeval forest through his clear eyes.
The comment section under the brand’s account flooded with phrases like: “I want all the information on this model in one second!”, “Has Secretary Wang not found him yet?”, and “The same model, send the link! Chinese women who will chase links for a lifetime.”
Watching Mr. Gong let out a smug, cold laugh from behind his computer screen, Qiao Xi knew: Fine, this guy managed to show off successfully again.
What Gong Nanxing was looking at was none other than the new media department’s data analysis of recently published content. Among them, attention toward camping and their brand among female demographics had surged significantly, which meant they had achieved a stellar opening momentum on new media platforms.
“Notify that… little bull? Have him arrange a time as soon as possible to shoot the TVC advertisement. We must seize this wave of hype to push the brand out. The cycle should be about a month—the National Day holiday is right around the corner, so have the new media department plan a TVC about avoiding crowded tourist spots and camping around the city instead.”
In the next second, he instantly came up with a new proposal. While responding with a prompt “Got it,” Qiao Xi tirelessly edited the content into text and sent it to the relevant department heads, her admiration for Gong Nanxing stepping up to a whole new level. As a second-generation heir, he actually seemed somewhat decent at working! Sigh, some people are born lucky; how come their career luck is so good too?
That was still what Qiao Xi thought at the time, but the very next day, she received grim news from Bella on behalf of the lucky Mr. Gong: their bright and sparkling mysterious spicy bronze brother, whose social media accounts couldn’t be found anywhere across the internet, couldn’t speak Mandarin at all!
“What did you say? Twenty-first century! An A-University student! Can’t speak Mandarin?!”
Sure enough, Mr. Gong’s gaze looked like it wanted to kill someone again.
This oversight was big or small depending on how you looked at it. After all, videos could be dubbed in post-production nowadays, so getting through the TVC wouldn’t be a problem. The trouble was that the company had a live-streaming plan for later; nowadays, which brand didn’t live stream? If they could have the currently trending Little Bull do a live stream, no brand would be willing to miss out on that conversion rate.
“We really didn’t expect this… His situation is quite special; he’s a child from a remote mountain area.”
Bella had just used her discerning eye to unearth this hidden gem and was waiting to get promoted, get a raise, and reach the pinnacle of life after this project succeeded. She never expected that upon meeting their mysterious big boss, Mr. Gong, for the first time, there would be a massive mess the size of a 185 cm tall man to clean up.
“Is there a test recording video? Just how bad is his Mandarin?”
Perhaps the phrase remote mountain area awakened a shred of Mr. Gong’s conscience, as his gaze softened slightly and he stubbornly tried to salvage the situation.
“Uh, there’s no video recorded. He just explained the situation to us in person himself.”
“Is he here? Call him up.”
Led by the two older sisters flanking him, Mou Asu stepped into the elevator for the first time. As they constantly reminded him how unpredictable and moody the boss he was about to meet was, a strange illusion formed in his mind—he felt just like one of those imperial concubines from the television dramas his mother watched at home, being sent to see the emperor while two senior maids taught her court etiquette.
As the elevator doors opened with a ding, he stepped nervously into Gong Nanxing’s office. The expansive floor-to-ceiling windows were identical to the domineering CEO offices in another drama his mother watched.
At this moment, he no longer had the support of Sister Qiao Xi and Sister Bella. He could only face the storms relying solely on his sunny, tanned, pure college-student face, evenly toned inverted-triangle physique, and 185 cm tall long legs. With a gentle knock on the glass partition door, he was summoned inside by the boss’s deep, magnetic voice.
“Bo… Boss, hello.”
The moment the young man opposite him spoke, Gong Nanxing vaguely sensed something was amiss, but refusing to turn back until he hit a brick wall, he gritted his teeth and said, “Introduce yourself.”
“My name is Mou Asu. I come from a remote moun… tain… area. My frien… ds all call me Little Bull…”
“All right, I’ve read your resume.”
Because his Mandarin was poor, Mou Asu bit down on every single word extremely slowly, making Gong Nanxing’s temples throb incessantly, forcing him to patiently cut him off.
“Do you know that signing a contract with our company means you are obligated to shoot video advertisements? Why didn’t you inform us from the beginning that you couldn’t handle video shooting work independently?”
“I… the shoots I did in the past didn’t require talking… I didn’t know… I’m sorry…”
Watching the young man’s dark skin slowly flush red, Gong Nanxing inexplicably felt like a massive bully picking on an honest person. He could only sigh helplessly, motioning for Mou Asu to sit in the chair and discuss the contract further.
“Little Bull, is it okay if I call you that?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Normally, these things shouldn’t be discussed by me; HR and your liaison PR should be talking with you. But personally speaking, I really like the promotional pictures you shot for our company, and the cooperative magazine gave great feedback as well. I believe this is also a great learning opportunity for you. What do you think?”
Mou Asu, this Little Bull, was completely bewildered by Gong Nanxing’s shrewd yet amicable demeanor and smooth talk, and could only nod to say he also really liked this job.
“Good. Since both sides have the willingness to continue cooperating, your Mandarin issue must be resolved. The first TVC will use a dubbed voice-over, but future work will require you to learn Mandarin and speak for yourself. Are you willing?”
“I… of course I am willing to learn… but I learn very slowly…”
“That depends on you. Relying on self-study in your situation is definitely too late; you’ll likely need a professional teacher. Of course, I don’t want to put pressure on you, but you also know that adding dubbing means increasing costs. I can waive the cost for the first TVC, but for subsequent dubbing needs, a portion will have to be deducted from your earnings. After all, the company isn’t holding you accountable for failing to fulfill the contract.”
If they can’t do it, trick them. Gong Nanxing thoroughly executed his own philosophy. Having never encountered this before, Little Bull readily agreed and promised to study hard, improve his Mandarin, and strive to speak for himself before the next shoot.
Receiving a satisfactory answer, Gong Nanxing happily dismissed Little Bull, instructing him to take a taxi back to school and have the company reimburse it. Turning around, he put on a different face, telling Qiao Xi and Bella to keep a close eye on his study progress and hint to him that failing to meet the agreed-upon timeline carried the risk of paying liquidated damages.
Looking at the pure and lovely Little Bull and the demonic Mr. Gong in the office, Qiao Xi inevitably felt a twinge of empathy. She decided to help Little Bull find some good Mandarin tutors, hoping he could survive under Mr. Gong’s demonic claws.