Chapter 1419 Sweetheart and Honey
It was almost the end of another year. Companies were busy working on their last hurrah and making as many profits as possible. Jin Corporation and Eve Holdings weren't any different. Orchidia, the fastest-growing company under Eve Holdings, made a big announcement. They signed a major endorsement deal with the entire national shooting team. However, the most significant focus was on the young shooting athlete, Ren Jiyu.
It turned out that Orchidia Beauty chose him to endorse their new regular line of men's products in addition to a new skincare line targeted at teenagers and young adults. As for his teammates, the entire national shooting team was endorsing Orchidia Beauty's new sports skincare line consisting of heavy-duty products that would work even under intense sweating, rigorous activities, and prolonged exposure to harsh weather conditions.
Orchidia Beauty also signed a special endorsement deal with the oldest team member to endorse the company's anti-aging skincare line, both the existing and new ones.
Fans of the national shooting team were excited for their favourite athletes. Those who hadn't yet tried Orchidia Beauty products expressed their interest in checking the company out. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please stop supporting piracy. Also follow the author on Instagram: @arriacross]
Ren Jiyu's fans were incredibly excited. They were younger and more energetic in trying out new things. Regular consumers of Orchidia Beauty products were also thrilled by this endorsement deal, not because they particularly liked the national shooting team but because of the variety of new products. The sports line was the most appealing. Heavy-duty skincare products weren't only beneficial to athletes but also to those who often spent time under physically demanding activities or harsh weather conditioners. Even those who simply wanted to look good while working out in a gym or jogging in public would benefit from this new Orchidia Beauty skincare line.
Right after the national shooting team's widespread advertisements were rolled out across the country, the pre-orders for all the products they endorsed were already sold out within a single day. Everyone was demanding for more, but Orchidia Beauty didn't budge and refused to increase the pre-orders. They only told everyone to wait until the official launch of the new products. ###
Orchidia.
Chen Fei laughed like an evil mastermind while looking at the latest report regarding the national shooting team's endorsement deal. She was the one who ironed out all the details of the endorsement deal with the team. It was actually the most expensive endorsement deal they signed with anyone, including Jin Chonglin. But that was because Iris took advantage of her brother-in-law and made Jin Chonglin sign at a steep discount. Not that he signed a losing deal. Not at all!
On the contrary, he profited many times more than he was originally paid because in addition to the discounted endorsement fee, he also received lifetime royalty for all the products sold under his special men's line. So in a way, he was still the most expensive endorser. But in exchange, he pulled in his large army of fans and turned them into regular Orchidia Beauty consumers. It was a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Back at Chen Fei's office, she continued chuckling until her assistant felt a little scared. Her boss really looked like a villainess! Help!
"We need to take advantage of marketing these new products with the national shooting team. Jing—I mean CFO Long will return soon after the new year from her maternity leave. So everyone will be subjected to strict budget control again. Even Xiu—I mean President Long will find it difficult to allocate this kind of big budget again once the CFO returns."
Chen Fei then gave her assistant more detailed instructions according to Iris' guidelines for this season.
"Understood, COO Chen." The assistant left afterwards.
Chen Fei left her desk and stood by the windows to stretch her body. The end of the year was always busy for almost any company. Orchidia was no different. The good news was that they already had valuable experience from last year. Their performance this year was much smoother and more efficient. Her phone beeped. It was a message from the annoying diva man, her so-called nominal boyfriend. Come to think of it, they hadn't contacted each other for quite a while. They had gone into a handful of dates for appearance's sake. She had even accompanied the annoying man to a couple of red-carpet events. These instances were such a hassle, but she could only swallow her anger and smile for the paparazzi following the narcissistic diva man. However, contrary to Jin Chonglin's assurances, the public interest in their so-called relationship didn't die down at all. In fact, their so-called relationship became an even hotter topic!
It was already too late to "break up" now. If they did, they would only garner more attention. She would definitely suffer the full brunt of negative media scrutiny. As Orchidia's COO, she couldn't risk tainting the company's reputation with her own personal life, especially at this end of the year season. They had to focus on ending the year with a triumphant bang for the company. Therefore, she could only suck it up and continue being in a fake relationship with Jin Chonglin.
Her phone beeped again.
She ignored it and continued stretching. Her body, especially her back and neck, felt stiff.
Her phone began ringing. "Dammit!"
She picked up the dirty dog's call. "What do you want?!"
"And hello to you too, sweetheart," Jin Chonglin replied in a cloyingly sweet tone. Chen Fei almost vomited. She was about to curse at him when she heard some suspicious noises.
"Where are you?" she asked him. "Oh, I'm at home."
Her eyes narrowed. She knew that he was lying. Her intuition told her that there was definitely something weird about the situation. The noises she heard earlier were now gone. It might just be her imagination, but she trusted her intuition. "I see. Sorry for yelling at you just now. You know my temper when someone disturbs me when I'm busing working."
"That's fine, sweetheart. You're fine just the way you are." He paused. "I called because I just want to tell you that…I miss you."
Chen Fei heard another suspicious sound, like a shriek. Multiple shrieks. But they stopped in an instant. She was sure that the man was lying when he told her that he was at home. He must be in a show! She was familiar with this kind of program. The host would dare their celebrity guests to call someone, usually a lover, and then talk to the person in front of everyone.
In this case, Jin Chonglin called her because everyone believed that she was his girlfriend!
Chen Fei wanted to curse but stopped herself in time. If her suspicions were correct, this conversation would be shown on national TV and the internet. She couldn't disgrace herself that way, especially not as Orchidia's COO. For this reason, she could only grit her teeth and reply, "I miss you too, honey."
She almost vomited at her own cloyingly sweet tone and words. She was extremely embarrassed. Fortunately, nobody could see her face. Jin Chonglin laughed. Others laughed as well. Finally, someone else spoke and introduced himself as the host. He explained that Jin Chonglin was currently guesting at a popular variety show. The other guests and the audience all made noise at the same time to make their presence known to Chen Fei. Her guess was proven right.
It was a good thing that she trusted her intuition. Normally, she would have quarrelled with Jin Chonglin. If she followed their usual routine, the whole world would drown her with saliva after scolding her for treating their beloved Prince Lin Lin so poorly. Blah blah blah.
She rolled her eyes but forced her voice to be disgustingly sweet and pleasant while chatting with the program's host.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I have to go. I have a meeting scheduled in five minutes."
No such meeting today existed, but it was the only excuse that she could think of at the moment. "We understand, COO Chen. Our apologies for disturbing you at work at this busy time. Here's your boyfriend, Prince Lin Lin."
She almost blurted out, "No need."
"Sweetheart?" Jin Chonglin's voice might have made millions of people swoon just by hearing it, but to Chen Fei, it made her want to kick him in the nuts instead. "Yes, honey?"
Blegh! Oof, she almost puked at her disgustingly sweet tone.
"Don't make yourself too exhausted at work, okay? I worry about you all the time. Tell me if the work is too much. I'll talk to my sister-in-law and tell her off."
Chen Fei almost snorted.
'I dare you to tell Xiulan off. If she doesn't obliterate you with her sharp tongue, your wife-doting brother will.'
This was what she thought but what came out of her mouth was, "President Iris Long is not a slave driver. She's a wonderful boss. Most importantly, I enjoy my work. Don't worry too much about me, honey. I'm the one who's worried that you're working too hard."
Jin Chonglin chuckled while Chen Fei heard a wave of shrieks in the background. "So sweet!"
"Ah, Prince Lin Lin's girlfriend is so lucky! I wish I was his girlfriend instead!"
Chen Fei wanted to argue with them. What lucky? She didn't feel lucky at all! She thought that Jin Chonglin was a disaster instead. 'I also wish that all of you were his girlfriend instead of me!'
But of course, she gritted her teeth and acted all lovey-dovey with the man on the phone.
When it was over, Chen Fei slumped on the couch and felt like half of her life had been drained from her just with that single phone conversation.
"Damn you, Jin Chonglin! I'll get you back for putting me on the spot like this."