Insert 9 “I am Dragon Palace Yǐjī.”
Taking the room card from AJ, I glanced at the room number.
…If I’m not mistaken, this should be a standard room near the self-service laundry room.
AJ asked again, “Uh, do you really not need me to go with you?”
Closing the lid of the washing machine, I replied, “No, we don’t need two people to take care of a stranger who’s drunk. Go back and take a shower first; that Yǐjī should be almost done.”
“It’s not ‘that Yǐjī,’ right? Can’t you just call me Dad? Tao妹, you’re still so reserved~”
My boyfriend… calling him my boyfriend now seems a bit off.
My lover is an overly frivolous person, who can lighten the mood but becomes frustrating when dealing with serious matters.
Seeing my sour face, she quickly rephrased, “I know I was wrong, don’t be mad at me! But when you go in, make sure to greet her first; suddenly appearing by the bed would still startle someone.”
She is gentle towards women, but being equally gentle to all women… does she not consider my feelings at all?
Leaving the laundry room, AJ went back to their room to shower while I held the room card and approached the door of the drunken woman.
“Beep beep—beep beep—”
I pressed the doorbell twice.
“Knock knock—”
I knocked on the door before using the room card to open it.
But I didn’t enter directly; instead, I left the door slightly ajar and called out, “Hello! A friend told me you need help. She went to take a shower, so I came to check on your situation.”
“Thank you, please come in.”
Her weak response continued, “Your friend is really thoughtful, but I’m much better now.”
Pushing the door open, I could smell alcohol throughout the room.
The woman lying on the bed wore the same bathrobe as me, with a wet towel on her forehead and a glass of water—or possibly white wine—on the bedside table.
“Excuse me, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”
“No, just weak and with a headache… Wait, you’re Long Tāo? The Dragon Palace Yǐjī!”
For some reason, she called out my name, her emotions somewhat agitated.
Despite having no recollection of her.
“Mm, have we met before?” I asked.
“Hmph! Are you mocking me?”
Still confused, she changed her tone, “You really don’t recognize me… to you, I’m not even worth remembering, right?”
For some reason, she suddenly started to mock herself like a stray dog.
This incomprehensible situation left me bewildered.
“I’m sorry, who are you exactly?” I asked again.
“Mi Hóngqū… if you still don’t know, surely you remember me as the public relations officer of the Glorious Family?”
“Glorious Family?”
I gradually understood everything.
The woman lying in bed, drunk to the point of oblivion, was the one who confronted Lingmeng and others earlier that day. Realizing this, my impression of her plummeted to zero.
“I never thought I’d run into you here… Yes, I am Dragon Palace Yǐjī.”
AJ is also faceblind; she had seen her in the afternoon but failed to recognize her.
Perhaps the difference between her makeup and bare-faced appearance was too great?
“Thanks to the Glorious Family, my address was exposed, attracting a bunch of low-tier media, forcing me to stay in a hotel.”
I threw the room card at her irritably and turned to leave.
Before leaving, I warned, “Tell your boss that exploiting the weak for profit won’t last long. If they only focus on grabbing a bigger piece of the pie rather than expanding it, they’ll eventually be replaced by competitors.”
Mi Hóngqū gave a self-deprecating smile.
“Hmph, boss? I’ve already been fired because of today’s incident. Now I’m just a homeless drunk.”
Surprised, but I quickly understood.
The Glorious Family’s bullying strategy always aimed to hide their identities, avoiding direct evidence. However, her actions that afternoon completely exposed them, leading to severe consequences. It would be strange if she hadn’t been fired.
Since I had classes, I missed the sensational live stream from earlier. AJ hadn’t uploaded the recording yet, so I could only gather information from the fan group discussions.
But that was enough.
At least I knew her identity.
“So, I should thank you guys then?”
Her grievances against the Glorious Family made me stop and turn back to her.
“Are you planning to use the Glorious Family as a stepping stone to become a top live streamer?”
Mi Hóngqū said, leaning against the bed frame, the wet towel falling onto the blanket.
“You’ve been fired, so what happens to me shouldn’t matter anymore, right?”
I retorted, indifferent to being mistaken for Dragon Palace Yǐjī.
“Do you think you’ve already won? The union will dissolve and reorganize, and they’ll still target you.”
“If the Glorious Family truly has such power, they wouldn’t have faced setbacks. And even if it weren’t me, with the damage you caused today, do you think they’d let you off?”
My words left her speechless.
As the direct cause of the company’s downfall, facing any punishment wouldn’t be surprising, and she might even end up taking the blame for crimes—especially if things got out of hand, the upper echelons of the Glorious Family would likely pin everything on her.
Tasting her anxiety, I continued, “Ultimately, you were the one who initiated this mess. This is your doing, so why blame us?”
Her already low morale plummeted further, and she hung her head, saying, “I swear, I don’t remember anything from the afternoon. Do you believe me?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t have memories from that time. I only remember buying a bottle of vodka at the supermarket to quench my thirst, and then waking up in the hallway of the negotiation site…”
What’s going on with this person… Would someone buy high-proof distilled spirits to quench their thirst? Wouldn’t that just make them thirstier?
“If I understand correctly, you drank yourself into a blackout before trading with Lingmeng and the others?”
She frowned and replied, “I don’t know, usually, that amount of alcohol wouldn’t affect me… but after thinking about it, that’s the only explanation.”
I glanced at the empty bottle on the table, confirming her impressive tolerance.
Though I hadn’t watched the live stream, judging from the fan group reactions, she seemed to have exposed the inner workings of the live streaming industry.
From a logical standpoint, even if she wasn’t aware she was being filmed, making such a mistake was still a low-level error.
This puzzled her greatly.
I vaguely felt that entering such an unaware state must have been due to some kind of spell cast by Lingmeng.
After all, it sounded like something from Southeast Asian black magic.
I couldn’t tell her this guess, so I simply said, “Maybe this is divine retribution, or perhaps your conscience is bothering you… they say people reveal their true selves when drunk, and if you subconsciously know you’re wrong, maybe there’s still hope for you.”
“Discussing right and wrong is pointless; it’s all just business tactics.”
“Using debt collectors to harass someone, is that also considered business tactics?”
Mi Hóngqū remained silent, tossing the towel onto the bedside table and struggling to get up, then retrieving her phone from another bed.
“See for yourself.”
Unlocking the phone, she handed it to me.
I nearly dropped it, steadying it with a few flips in my palm.
The screen displayed the internal chat group of the Glorious Family, with messages flooding down like a waterfall, rapidly updating. At a glance, they were filled with anxious and angry comments.
She said, “More than just me will lose their jobs. Look at these girls! Because of what happened in the afternoon, most of them will lose their jobs too. What did they do wrong?”
I understood.
These people were all streamers under the Glorious Family.
“This absurd argument you made earlier too?”
I tossed the phone back onto her bed and said, “They joined your ship, but the captain steered it towards the iceberg. Now you want to blame the iceberg for not moving? Please clarify, the responsibility lies with the Glorious Family, not me, the actual victim.”
I wouldn’t accept false accusations, nor would Dragon Palace Yǐjī.
“Well, since that’s the case, why don’t we take over these streamers?”
AJ’s voice suddenly echoed from behind, leaning against the entrance hall’s wardrobe, eavesdropping on our conversation.
… Didn’t I close the door when I entered?
Frowning, I asked, “When did you arrive? I told you to go take a shower.”
“I was a bit uneasy, so I came to check… Here, I brought you a bottle of grape juice to sober up.”
“Oh! Thank you!”
Taken aback by the cold drink, Mi Hóngqū looked surprised.
AJ stuck out her tongue at me and added, “So you’re the female PR of the Glorious Family? Your demeanor and speech were quite different, so I didn’t recognize you. But when washing pantyhose, I felt familiar, like I’d seen that red somewhere, though not on legs, so I couldn’t recall…”
Why does she remember pantyhose more than people?
“I didn’t put on heavy makeup either.”
The woman on the bed sighed and asked, “What did you mean by taking over the streamers?”
“In fact, I have a plan. Although it came to me spontaneously, once the idea surfaced, it took hold!”
AJ isn’t a complex person, and her thoughts are relatively easy to guess.
I asked, “You want to form a non-profit live streaming union as a haven and incubation platform for small streamers?”
“Oh! As expected of Tao妹! You summed up my idea perfectly!”
Is that so?
I immediately doused her with a bucket of cold water.
“Give up, you can’t do it alone. Besides an idealistic vision, you have nothing else… not to mention, you need money, right?”
“I’ve thought about funding too. First, I can seek sponsorships!”
“Who would sponsor a non-profit project?”
“My live stream earnings, I think, can serve as the initial capital for this plan.”
“… How much did you earn this month?” I asked.
AJ crossed her arms, proudly replying, “Don’t be shocked, but it’s a whopping 100,000 yuan!”
Her family owns a coal mine; has her horizons shrunk that much?
Or have mine expanded?
“That amount is far from enough. There are over a hundred small streamers under the Glorious Family. Without their promotional resources, many of them will struggle to make ends meet.”
“No, I won’t help everyone. Those who lack talent should give up early on… With limited funds, I plan to support talented streamers who are suppressed by platforms and unions. There must be such people among the current streamers of the Glorious Family.”
Sipping her juice, Mi Hóngqū remained silent but nodded slightly.
