ABSML Chapter 38: Rumors
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ANNOUNCEMENT
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During this period, the subordinate felt as if he were not standing in a spacious office but trapped in a swamp.
However, just as he was racking his brain for a way to escape, Yin Ronglan's icy gaze vanished, as if nothing had happened. He adjusted the angle of his swivel chair, resting his left hand naturally on the desk, returning to his usual demeanor.
He first made a call to Chen Zhan. The subordinate held his breath, subconsciously expecting a conversation filled with anger and questioning.
But in reality, everything remained normal. Both parties spoke calmly throughout, and Yin Ronglan never uttered a word of apology. The conversation was more like casual small talk.
After hanging up, Yin Ronglan looked up at his subordinate and said, "Go say hello and suppress the trending topic."
There was still room for redemption.
Chen Zhan usually checked comments only after posting updates, casually skimming through Weibo. He had already posted in the morning, so he was mainly focused on work for the rest of the day.
The earlier phone call confirmed his thoughts.
Throughout their exchange, Chen Zhan's tone remained unchanged, with no implied hints.
The initiative to ‘confess’ was still in his own hands.
Realizing this, Yin Ronglan glanced at his phone screen and couldn't help but sigh lightly. At this point, he had no other choice—he had to be open and honest in a short time.
There was always a way out. Just as expected, Chen Zhan’s recent updates contained nothing too sensational, meaning there wouldn’t be much stir in the comments.
However, he wasn't just immersed in work—he was creating opportunities for work.
Three days before New Year's Eve, Chen Zhan edited a message: "With the New Year approaching, I'm afraid the roads will be jammed with blessings. So, I'm sending mine in advance."
Then, he recorded all the business cards he had collected from Zhehai City into his phone and sent the message in bulk.
The system complained about his excessive efforts, repeatedly emphasizing that he could use this time to write instead.
Chen Zhan chuckled. "I'm casting a line to fish."
That night, his dozens of free messages yielded a return—one of the company bosses called, asking if he was interested in promoting their brand.
Promotion was a one-time deal. If the product’s quality was questionable, it could damage his reputation with fans. After consideration, Chen Zhan rationally declined.
The boss wasn’t upset; instead, he extended an olive branch: "What about an endorsement? Just a three-month contract for now. Future extensions will depend on sales."
Chen Zhan stated the facts. "I won’t enter the entertainment industry, so my influence in the future will be limited."
"No problem," the boss said with a smile. "This is a newly launched niche brand, and not everyone can pull off its style."
After a few seconds of deliberate silence, Chen Zhan finally responded, "I’d like to see the product first."
The boss readily agreed, asking for his address and promising to send it over in a couple of days.
The system was astonished: "Someone actually reached out to you?"
"Mm."
The single-word response was somewhat indifferent.
In truth, Chen Zhan expected a few more people to contact him in the coming days. His trip to Tuo Hai had already made his face familiar. Since influential people tend to forget faces quickly, sending messages was just a reminder of his presence.
His commercial value was far from low. Aside from Xiangxi and a previous game advertisement, he hadn’t done much promotion. The public still found him fresh. As long as the product was decent and they preferred unconventional endorsers, his cost-effectiveness might surpass that of a moderately popular celebrity.
The system usually fell silent at the end of their conversations.
But this time was different.
[System: I'm retiring.]
Hearing the calm yet energetic voice in his ear, Chen Zhan replied flatly, "Keep making things up."
[System: I'm taking early retirement due to health reasons.]
After dealing with this host, it had undergone a psychological evaluation, which concluded it had mental health issues, thus qualifying it for early retirement.
Chen Zhan was silent for a moment before saying, "Congratulations."
[System: Thanks, thanks.]
Their conversation ended abruptly. Chen Zhan guessed that it was eager to finalize its resignation procedures. Well, new year, new beginnings.
Walking in the rain was asking for trouble, but wrapping up warmly and stepping into the snowy world had its charm.
Due to writer’s block, Chen Zhan left the cozy indoors and stepped onto the soft snow.
Before he even exited the neighborhood, a cold gust of wind swirled past, making him feel as if he had made a foolish decision to come out at night just to admire the snow. He quickly jogged back to his house.
Hearing the thudding footsteps up the stairs, the old man opened his door to take a look.
Seeing Chen Zhan's flushed cheeks—whether from the cold or the running—he paused and asked, "Exercising?"
Chen Zhan chuckled dryly, waved his hand dismissively, and went back inside.
It was ridiculous, really. Now that he was back in the warmth, he suddenly felt that sitting down to write wasn’t so bad after all, even if he had no inspiration.
Skipping updates was unacceptable. Seated at his desk, his writing speed was noticeably slower than usual—
..........
The goddess was at the peak of her career, so she didn’t immediately plan the wedding after getting engaged.
If she doesn’t get married, when will my backup plan be born?
To make her decide to marry and have a child at the height of her fame, I decided to take a roundabout approach.
For three consecutive days, I waited outside Lin Corporation’s headquarters. Finally, I caught a moment when Lin Chi’ang wasn’t accompanied by bodyguards. Seeing him from dozens of meters away, I felt an agonizing pull in my heart.
He was always impeccably dressed, exuding arrogance, making everyone else seem weak in comparison.
After being detained for sending harassing messages, he was already aware of my existence.
‘You again?’ His cold voice was full of disdain.
‘She’s only engaged. Jiang Ying is not a married woman. I have the right to pursue her.’
Lin Chi’ang sneered. ‘Trying to provoke me?’
Seeing through my intentions, my heart tightened.
‘I don’t know what game you’re playing,’ he said mockingly, ‘but I hate being threatened the most.’
I was momentarily stunned. ‘So?’
He stepped past me without another glance, leaving only an icy glare behind.
For the next three months, even the most speculative media outlets stopped hinting that the goddess would retire from the industry for love.
At first, I thought he was delaying the wedding because he feared I might sabotage it behind his back. But later, as things seemed off, I consulted a relationship expert.
The conclusion was heartbreaking—she was still hesitating, and he didn’t want to hinder her career. So, they both used me as an excuse.
In an instant, my previous assumptions crumbled. Who knew how long a backup plan would have to wait… Instead of being a pawn in their love story, why not become the product of it?
..........
Snowy days are perfect for sleeping early. After posting his update, Chen Zhan curled up in his warm bed.
However, plenty of people were still awake, reading novels and gaming deep into the night.
While he slept soundly, the comment section remained lively.
“Every time Lin Chiang appears, he gets more description than the leading actress.”
“Exactly! His appearance is always refined, his words always cold, his smile always sarcastic—I seriously suspect the author is using him to pad the word count.”
“So petty! Lin Chiang stole the author’s beloved woman, and now the author keeps stuffing unnecessary details about him in revenge!”
Chen Zhan was jolted awake by a phone call in the early hours of the morning.
“Are you crazy?” Seeing the caller ID, his voice was slightly hoarse, laced with irritation.
The voice on the other end carried an equal amount of coldness. “It’s almost New Year’s—can’t you behave for once?”
Instinctively, Chen Zhan checked the trending topics but didn’t see Lin Chiang’s name. He frowned. “Paranoid much?”
Lin Chiang sneered. “Look carefully.”
Chen Zhan rubbed his eyes and scanned from top to bottom. The list was mostly filled with celebrities and the Spring Festival Gala.
“The thirteenth one,” Lin Chiang reminded him.
Chen Zhan focused and finally saw it—
#BoycottFillerCharacters#
【Lin Dabai: I don’t care. From now on, if the author describes Lin Chiang with adjectives, I’m giving a negative review.】
【MouseAndCat: Just leave out his outfits too. I don’t care about the CEO’s suits.】
【LittleGhostCutie: Boycotting filler characters is everyone’s responsibility.】
After pausing for a few seconds, Chen Zhan covered his eyes with his hand and sighed. Some netizens clearly had more writing talent than him.
“Look on the bright side,” Chen Zhan hesitated before saying slowly, “Last year, you had the infamous reputation of never giving change. Now, that’s finally been erased.”
Before he could finish, the call was already cut off.
Sitting up, Chen Zhan rubbed his temples, his drowsiness dissipating.
The window wasn’t shut properly, and the cold wind made him sneeze twice. Staring at the ceiling, he wondered if he had caught a cold—or if someone was cursing him.
In reality, plenty of people were cursing him, but at least one person was trying to make amends.
Yin Ronglan scheduled his apology for New Year's Eve.
For one, neither of them had many family members, so spending New Year’s Eve together seemed like a good choice. Secondly, it was a time for bidding farewell to the past and embracing new beginnings—his chances of being forgiven were higher on such a day.
To that end, Yin Ronglan went all out, booking the most luxurious hotel in the city and hiring a renowned violinist for the evening.
Not only that, but he also spontaneously arranged for the best fresh flowers to be airlifted in.
Such a grand gesture naturally caught people’s attention.
During lunch at the company cafeteria, a beautiful female colleague approached Xiao Zhao, who had just been promoted to assistant to the CEO.
“I heard the boss booked a venue and invited guests—is that true?”
Xiao Zhao gave a mysterious smile, took a couple of quick bites, and made a hush gesture before leaving.
As soon as he walked away, the female colleague called her friend over. “Let me tell you a secret—the big boss is spending a fortune, booking the De Ma Hotel, and even hiring a violinist.”
Her friend’s thoughts began to swirl. After work, she casually mentioned it to another colleague. “I heard the CEO is proposing.”
A third person, who had just joined the conversation, leaned in and added, “It’s true. I have a friend working at De Ma Hotel, and they said a bunch of fresh yellow roses arrived today.”
The female colleague was puzzled. “But I remember yellow roses symbolize apology.”
The next day, rumors spread like wildfire throughout the company—
The CEO made the same mistake every man does, and now he’s planning a proposal to win back his girlfriend’s heart.
Gossip sometimes travels faster and wider than expected.
A female employee at the company had a younger sister working at Lin Corporation. While chatting with her best friend about the rumors, Lin Chiang happened to overhear as he passed by.
Unfazed by the exaggerated speculation, he quickly guessed what was really going on and, with amusement, sent a message to Chen Zhan:
[If someone close to you deceived you and then proposed, what would you do?]
The reply came swiftly:
[That depends on whether the country allows ghost marriages.]
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