âBoss Iris!â
âOh, my gosh! Iâm seeing finally seeing Boss Iris in the flesh!â
âBoss Iris, can you sign an autograph for me?â
âCan we take a picture together?â
Iris chuckled and agreed to all their requests. There was nothing to worry about because the coaches were keeping a sharp eye on them, not to mention that there were many important people in attendance in todayâs gala. None of the athletes would dare to do anything bad to her and risk destroying their sports career.
The teenage athlete was a little shy in front of Iris. He waited for his turn and allowed his seniors to interact with her first before whipping the slipper that he waved earlier.
âB-boss Iris, can you s-sign this slipper for me, please?â he asked, blushing a little.
âSure.â Iris grabbed the clean, new-looking slipper and signed it with relish. Then she posed with the shy teenager and took a photo together.
Although not everyone in the team was a Black Star or a member of the Slippers Army like the teenage athlete, all of them still asked for Irisâ autograph and took photos with her. Even the oldest athlete among them knew who Iris Long was despite not having that much interest in celebrities or showbiz in general.
Iris Longâs hit songs were still being played on the radio and public establishments on a regular basis. Her music wasnât only enjoyed by a single demographic. She had fans from almost every age group.
In addition, advertisements for Orchida (Beauty, Mommy and Baby) were everywhere. Be they commercials, posters, billboards and web adsâshe did the majority of them. Even the commercial jingle for Orchidia was written and sang by her. She was her own companyâs biggest endorser.
This was one of the main ways that she was able to stay relevant despite her maternity hiatus.
The athletes finally calmed down after the autograph-signing and photo-taking session with Iris.
Long Jinjing and Chen Fei could finally return to her side. Although they knew that she was a famous celebrity, they still would sometimes forget how crazy other people could get when seeing her.
Even world-class athletes were her fans. How awesome was that?!
Orchidiaâs trinity of goddesses requested to speak with the coaching team and the athletes to discuss an offer to become product endorsers.
âIâll do it!â the teenage athlete said without any hesitation. âMy mom and sister love Orchidia Beauty products. I also use Jin Chonglinâs menâs line because my mom forced them on me at first. But now, my skin canât tolerate other brandsâ products anymore. It only likes Orchidia Beauty now.â
âIâll do it, too!â
âCount me in!â
âCoach, please accept the offer for us, okay? We promise to train harder!â
Iris was pleased with the athletesâ enthusiasm but it was still the teamâs coaches and the managers who had the final say. They didnât accept or reject right away but requested for more details and time to think about it.
Chen Fei took over at this point. Iris and Long Jinjing left her to discuss with the coaches and managers while the two of them continued chatting with the athletes.
While the three women were busy, Jin Chonglin was once again surrounded by reporters asking him about his relationship with Orchidiaâs COO. He glanced at where Chen Fei stood in the other side of the hall.
Then he flashed the reporters with another one of his iconic killer smiles and said something to answer their question.
His answer made everyone excited.
The following day, last nightâs successful victory gala in honour of the national shooting team were featured all over the news.
Iris Longâs unreserved statements about her elder half-brother Long Hui and his new wife Mao Qiuyue quickly became controversial. The terms she used to describe the newly-married coupleââtoxic parasitesâ and âshameless character assassinsââbecame viral.
As usual when it came to news stories about her, the reactions were mixed.
Those who liked her, especially the Black Stars, took her side. They all agreed with everything she said and even shared some of their personal experiences about encountering similar types of peopleâthe so-called âtoxic parasitesâ and âshameless character assassinsâ.
On the other side of the spectrum were those who disagreed with her, be they her perpetual haters or those who simply didnât share her viewpoints. They thought that she was being too harsh and merciless to her own biological brother.
The next news story featured the pitiful turnout of Long Hui and Mao Qiuyueâs wedding. The photos they posted on their social media accounts all looked beautiful and happy. However, the reality wasnât anything close to how they portrayed their wedding on social media.
There were people who revealed the true behind-the-scene situation during the wedding ceremony and the banquet. Some of them were the actual guests while the others were the staff hired for the wedding.
These revealing photos and videos showed many empty seats and the depressing expressions of the bride and groom and their families. Just by looking at these photos and videos, the viewer could sense the tense atmosphere.
Compared to the galaâs liveliness and impressive list of guests and performers, the wedding was like a desolate funeral instead of a wedding. The stark contrast was embarrassing for Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue.
Many ridiculed them especially after Mao Qiuyue tried so hard to publicize her wedding with Long Hui not too long ago and even dragged Iris Long and her husbandâs names in the media.
âThis is karma! A cheating couple like them deserve humiliation.â
âLook at Mao Qiuyueâs expression. She looks like she swallowed a dead rat. Then look at Long Huiâs face. He looks drunk and unaware of whatâs happening around him. Their wedding is a huge embarrassment! Iâm actually amazed that they were about to go through the entire ceremony and banquet.â
âIs it just me or did anyone else notice that CEO Long Tengfeiâs wife didnât accompany him to the wedding banquet but appeared at the gala later instead?â
âPoster above, I noticed that, too! I bet that if Long Hui wasnât CEO Long Tengfeiâs eldest son, CEO Long would have also left with his wife and attended the gala instead. Look at his expression. Is that the face of a happy father watching his son get married?â
The ridicule continued but only a few people focused on the wedding. People paid more attention at the galaâs main purposeâto celebrate the national shooting teamâs silver medal victory at the world championships.
Words of congratulations poured from almost everyone. They were all proud of the athletesâ achievement in the world stage. People felt like they also won through the athletesâ impressive finish.
In addition, interest in sports shooting also increased. Although many were scared at the idea of holding and using firearms, they still thought that it was cool after watching the video highlights of the world championships.
As the victory galaâs host and one of the national teamâs current minor coaches, Lin Yehanâs background was also featured in the news. His past as a professional shooting athlete was dug up. Photos of his younger self were shown posing with different sports-approved firearms. He looked quite cool.
However, it was his background as an agricultural tycoon that attracted more attention. His contributions to the countryâs agricultural innovations and widespread support of the farmers and lowest-level workers in the industry gained a lot of praise from the people and the government.
After knowing more about Lin Yehan, the people couldnât help but feel indignant on his behalf after remembering how he had been defamed by Long Hui last year. Such an upright citizen who had countless accomplishments in both the fields of sports shooting and agriculture was dragged through the mud by someone whose only known achievement so far was to be born into a wealthy family.
It didnât matter that Long Hui looked more handsome than Lin Yehan. Appearance didnât always matter especially when the heart was black.
Before anyone knew it, Lin Yehan had become one of the nationâs most eligible known bachelors. So many women declared their love for him and wanted to be Mrs. Lin.
âTo those fantasizing about Mr. Lin Yehan, Iâm sorry, ladies, but he already has someone in his heart. Look at some of the gala photos. You can see him holding hands with a heroic-looking woman in a tuxedo suit.â
âWhat the hell? Isnât this woman Long Huiâs ex and the mother of his child?â
âHoly shit! Youâre right. Then does this mean that Long Huiâs accusations about Mr. Lin and Miss Jiang are all true?â
âStop trying to speculate! Watch Iris Longâs interview again. She said that Lin Yehan and Jiang Ying Yue have clear conscience. Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue were the ones who cheated, not them.â
âI believe in Boss Irisâ words. If she says that Mr. Lin and Miss Jiang have a clear conscience, then it must be true. Besides, I think that itâs very possible that feelings have blossomed between Mr. Lin and Miss Jiang while both of them were embroiled in the defamation lawsuit against that trash, Long Hui. They experienced such a tough time together that they must have ended up falling in love with each other. How romantic!â
âLin Yehan doesnât deserve a used woman like that bodyguard. She already has a child from a previous relationship and sheâs still flirting with another man. How shameless!â
âGo away, you troll! How dare you discriminate against single moms?! Single moms deserve happiness and a second chance in love, too! Your prejudice is disgusting!â
Lin Yehanâs unconfirmed relationship with Jiang Ying Yue created a bigger buzz than Long Hui and Mao Qiuyueâs embarrassing wedding fiasco.