The Overbearing CEO Is Driven Mad by His Frail Canary 11

Chapter 11

The five-million lottery was finally about to be drawn.

Xia Wansheng himself wasn’t too concerned, but Ji Yang, as his agent, called several times, afraid he would miss the first-hand news.

“Remember to post more updates on social media, try to work with the marketing department to turn this event into a successful advertisement.”

Five million had been spent, they couldn’t just let it disappear without a trace.

They had to take advantage of this momentum to raise his profile, so even if things went south with Yu Congyan, Xia Wansheng could still maintain his career.

Xia Wansheng didn’t understand: “I’ve already put out five million, do I have to personally host the draw?”

He felt like a workhorse being exploited by his boss at the annual party.

He was already paying for the weekend team building, wasn’t it unreasonable to be asked to perform as well?

Ji Yang thought he was just being shy and tried to persuade him: “Don’t think of it that way. If you can seize this opportunity to showcase your abilities, you’ll have your pick of resources in the future.”

As he spoke, he felt indignant for Xia Wansheng. Yu Congyan, a CEO of a large corporation, was so stingy that he wouldn’t even provide decent resources?

He probably didn’t care at all.

“Understood, I’ll personally draw the winner then, and I’ll also do a livestream.” Xia Wansheng agreed.

The production team of “Finding Your Voice Season 3” had mentioned during contract signing that they hoped the participating guests would livestream to promote the program.

It would kill two birds with one stone.

“Promoting the program is a good thing, but you know, you’re currently facing online backlash. The livestream atmosphere might not be very friendly.” Ji Yang worried.

Xia Wansheng had engaged in heated arguments with his haters before. Now that he had finally come to his senses and wanted to make a comeback, wouldn’t it be a waste if another scandal erupted?

“It’s fine, I know what I’m doing.” Xia Wansheng assured him.

His years of experience in giving politically correct answers as a wage slave weren’t for nothing.

Half an hour before the draw, the livestream officially began.

Xia Wansheng positioned the camera in a corner of his bedroom, vigorously rubbed his cheeks, and put on the standard business smile of a model employee being asked by his boss to recite birthday wishes.

“Long time no see, this livestream is to count down to the lottery draw.” Xia Wansheng dragged the countdown timer in the corner of the screen to the center. “Who will be the lucky winner?”

Countless comments flooded the screen.

“Here we go, the exciting moment is finally here.”

“A one in a million chance, if I win this, the probability would be the same as being struck by lightning.”

Despite saying that, most people still held onto the hope that “maybe it will be me.”

Soon, the number of viewers in the livestream exceeded 100,000, everyone anticipating the draw.

Xia Wansheng was happily reading the comments when an unfriendly one slowly scrolled by: “What, no work now, so you’re trying to make money? Do you really think everyone is as blind as your fans?”

He almost forgot he was still being targeted online.

Many comments were swayed: “It must be fake, who would actually give away five million for charity? Just to fool his brainless fans.”

“Besides, it was already exposed before that Xia Wansheng can’t compose at all. All his previous works were ghostwritten. This kind of person still has fans, it’s a mutually delusional situation.”

The comments increased, the words becoming more and more aggressive. The haters were eager to see Xia Wansheng’s breakdown after being exposed.

But after waiting for a long time, Xia Wansheng, in front of the screen, acted as if he hadn’t seen anything, continuing in a gentle tone: “Fans can prepare your acceptance speeches in advance. This lottery is a gift for my true fans, thank you for your continued support.”

His response was very official, his tone unfazed.

He seemed completely indifferent to the negative comments flying across the screen and the furious haters.

The haters were enraged by his indifference, and the comments became even more vicious: “This lottery is definitely just for attention. The next step will be playing the victim, whitewashing his image, and then disappearing.”

“Yeah, in the end, he’ll probably rig the draw and give the money to an insider as a show.”

“Definitely. Saying it’s a gift for fans is probably just a pre-written script.”

“Celebrities will do anything for publicity. I’m staying in this livestream, I’m going to see how he tries to cover this up.”

Weibo was also in an uproar, the whole internet waiting to see how this lottery would end.

The countdown timer ticked down.

Netizens continuously poured into the livestream to watch the drama unfold firsthand, almost crashing the platform.

The closer it got to the draw time, the more excited the viewers became. The number of comments exploded exponentially, quickly reaching a peak.

Xia Wansheng, at the center of the storm, remained calm, even taking the time to pour himself a glass of warm lemon water.

Finally, the long-awaited countdown ended, and the lottery result was revealed!

“Let me see, the winner is @XiaGhostwriterGettingWorseEveryDay.” Xia Wansheng read out without emotion, thinking the name was truly elegant and profound.

It seemed the winner was one of his haters, unexpected but not surprising.

The netizens who were originally watching the livestream for the drama were far more surprised than Xia Wansheng.

“Is this lottery really without any manipulation?”

“Just like that, this hater got five million?! Why him? I even liked Xia Wansheng’s Weibo posts before, I’m more deserving!”

“Aren’t any of the fans going to stop this? Your idol said he was giving this money as a gift to his true fans!”

The barrage of comments became even more frantic than before. It seemed that compared to gossip and hype, the hater’s victory was more distressing.

“Congratulations to this friend. Let’s take a look at their profile. If they’re not a hater, then the lottery will be concluded.” After speaking, Xia Wansheng clicked on the hater’s profile page.

Wow.

The page was filled with hateful comments, not a single livestream missed, posts dedicated to criticizing him for every event, and reposts of numerous articles from marketing accounts spreading misinformation.

This person logged in every day just to hate on him, persisting for half a year, a level of self-discipline comparable to someone preparing for a postgraduate entrance exam.

“…”

Xia Wansheng couldn’t even come up with a few polite words to smooth things over.

The other viewers in the livestream also erupted.

“No way, how is this fair? He said it was a reward for fans, but it ended up benefiting a hater?”

“This hater is truly dedicated, but he can’t actually give him the five million, right?!”

Xia Wansheng naturally wouldn’t let a hater benefit for nothing.

“What a pity, it seems this friend isn’t a true fan. Then we’ll disregard this result and redraw, shall we?” Xia Wansheng sighed with feigned regret.

Great, that guy didn’t get the five million!

The viewers in the livestream rejoiced, the atmosphere filled with schadenfreude.

“This hater is so dedicated, diligently clocking in every day.”

“As expected, hate is more lasting than love. It’s too late to delete those posts now.”

“My heart feels warm, other people’s loss is truly the greatest joy.”

The numbers started rolling again. The viewers held their breath, hoping to be the lucky one this time.

He Xueyang had been looking forward to Xia Wansheng’s lottery draw for days. She rushed back from the cafeteria, not even bothering to eat, and quickly opened the livestream to get first-hand updates.

She was just an ordinary student, busy with classes from 8 am to 6 pm. Fortunately, her idol wasn’t that popular, so she only needed to occasionally check in and help boost his data.

However, the situation had changed drastically in recent months. Xia Wansheng seemed to have offended some big shot, not only being completely shelved, but his endorsements and concerts also vanished.

He Xueyang initially thought there was some hidden story, but when the truth came out, the words from those who spread rumors were so vicious, she, with her fiery temper, couldn’t stand it and jumped into the fray.

She was finally relieved to see Xia Wansheng becoming active again, thinking the past was over and the tide had finally turned.

Who would have thought that Xia Wansheng’s first act upon his return wasn’t to release a new song, but to announce a lottery to give back to his fans.

And the prize was an astronomical five million.

He Xueyang: …Bro, can we please change agencies?

This unconventional move was a bit too much. What if someone actually won?

Would he really give them the money?

What if, even worse, the money fell into the hands of a hater?

The next scandalous headline would be “Celebrity feuds with fans, engages in monetary transactions with haters.”

But despite her sighs and doubts, He Xueyang still worked hard to promote the event, after all, it was an opportunity for exposure, and if it went wrong, it might be his last.

She would cherish her idol while she still could.

During the livestream earlier, He Xueyang was also extremely nervous, already thinking about how to face the impending online mockery.

He couldn’t possibly give away five million, right? No matter how he tried to explain it, many people would criticize him.

She didn’t know if she could handle the pressure.

Then, the draw proceeded smoothly. Xia Wansheng remained calm throughout, as if the amount meant nothing to him.

Until finally, the winner’s name was revealed, the amount truly “five million yuan.”

It was actually real…

He Xueyang felt a bit dazed, suddenly realizing that Xia Wansheng didn’t seem to care about the attention at all.

With his fan base and popularity soaring, it was the perfect time for exposure, but apart from drawing the winner to demonstrate fairness, Xia Wansheng didn’t take any initiative.

Had he even gotten any endorsements? What a wasted opportunity!

But it was a good thing it wasn’t a lie. She wouldn’t have to rack her brains to come up with excuses.

From now on, she could finally say with pride: “My idol actually gave away five million in a lottery for his fans!”

“But this name seems a bit off.” He Xueyang’s heart sank looking at the name, clearly belonging to a hater.

It was actually a hater?!

This was worse than a rigged lottery. He Xueyang covered her eyes, unable to bear watching.

Please don’t actually give him the money.

Then she heard Xia Wansheng’s familiar voice from the livestream, with a hint of regret, schadenfreude, and anticipation: “Then we have to redraw. Let’s pray the winner this time will be a true fan.”

Thankfully, redrawing was the wise choice. He Xueyang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Who would it be this time?

She removed her hands from her eyes, feeling her heart pounding uncontrollably.

Countless IDs scrolled across the screen. Finally, the last second arrived.

“Congratulations to @OolongMilkTea!”

Who? Why did this username sound so familiar? It was exactly the same as the one she had just changed to two days ago.

He Xueyang finally realized: !!!

Had she won?!