“We are having a serious business discussion here that will affect the fate of our company. It’s not the time for making jokes!” Long Meng rebuked Long Jian.

She never treated him kindly because of his illegitimate status. It wasn’t only him. Long Jinjing also suffered the same ill treatment from Long Meng and the other elders, including Long Jufang who was now supporting Iris but only because she was a legitimate child.

Others nodded, agreeing with Long Meng, but there were a handful of people whose eyes lit up upon finally realizing what Long Jian meant. Included in these sharp people were the two secret Black Stars. They looked at Iris in excitement. It was already obvious by their smiling expressions that they would wholeheartedly support whatever Long Jian was about to propose because it was related to their amazing Boss Iris. They almost cheered out loud before controlling themselves upon remembering that they were in an important business meeting.

“Grandaunt Meng,” Long Jian said.

Long Meng snorted, not liking that he was calling her grandaunt. For her, he wasn’t qualified to be family and therefore had no right to call her as grandaunt. However, she didn’t correct him because they were in front of Long Tengfei who everyone in the clan knew was protective of all his children, legitimate or not, even though he wasn’t an outwardly affectionate person.

Long Jian ignored the elder’s obvious disdain towards him and continued speaking. “I’m not making jokes. I’m serious about my suggestion to allow my sister Xiulan, or as the rest of the country knows her, the popular celebrity Iris Long, to help solve our company’s current crisis.”

“Explain,” Long Tengfei said in a strict tone, yet there was also underlying encouragement in his voice.

It seemed that Long Tengfei already had an idea of what Long Jian’s proposal was all about but still chose to ask for the benefit of those who hadn’t realized it yet like Long Meng. Indeed, Long Tengfei was an astute businessman. He wasn’t the President-CEO of Long Industries for nothing.

“President Long and also everyone,” Long Jian spoke in a clear voice. “My sister, Iris Long, is not just a simple shareholder in our company. Please remember that she’s also the appointed celebrity brand ambassador of Long Industries. She hasn’t been very active in her duty yet, but haven’t we signed a few promising new clients as soon as it was announced that she became our brand ambassador? They reached out to us to make a business deal but introduced themselves as Iris Long’s fans, that’s why they chose to partner with us in the first place.

“Even outside our company, my sister’s endorsements are all very successful and at this rate, I’m sure that she’ll become one of the top celebrity endorsers in the country by next year. This only proves that we made an excellent decision to appoint her as our brand ambassador.

“My point is that we should make use of Iris Long’s star power to turn our current predicament around. Why did our stock prices crash in the first place? It wasn’t because of a failure we did as a company but because of Deputy CFO Long Hui’s…ehm, shall we say increasingly ‘unpleasant’ image in the media these days?”

Long Hui’s composed expression cracked when Long Jian singled him out by name in front of everyone. He glared at his half-brother but was ignored as Long Jian continued explaining his proposal.

“In short, the main cause of our current problem is image! Our company’s image has been tarnished alongside Deputy CFO Long Hui’s, not just because he holds a high position but also because he’s the eldest son of our President-CEO. If you think about it, it’s not surprising that our stock prices crashed because people are going to think that everyone in the company, especially the president, is tolerating Deputy CFO Long Hui’s ‘unpleasant’ behaviours just because he’s the company head’s son.”

“You! Enough! Stop spouting all that nonsense!” Long Meng angrily interrupted Long Jian. “Didn’t you listen to the young master’s explanation just now? He already said that not everything being reported in the media about him is true! Stop targeting Young Master Hui! What kind of brother are you?!”

Long Jian’s eyes turned a degree colder. The elder never acknowledged him as part of the Long family, and yet she was demanding him to act like a “brother” to her Young Master Hui whenever it suited her?

[This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you’re not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It’s very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria]

Earlier, Long Jian was the one who looked entertained when Long Hui cleverly blamed Iris for his current problems caused by the media. But now, it was Iris who felt entertained watching Long Hui glaring at Long Jian while Long Meng was scolding him in front of everyone for targeting his own brother. She found it funny that the two and their allies were always trying to find fault in her and Long Jian during this meeting in order to shift a part of the blame away from Long Hui when it was clear as day that he was the one who fucked up first. Iris had a strong urge to munch on popcorn and enjoy the entertaining show in front of her.

“Madam Long, my deputy is only stating facts as he should. It’s true that it was Deputy CFO Long’s mistakes that caused our company’s stock prices to crash overnight. Please take a moment to view our current situation with a logical mind instead of letting your emotions take over you, madam. I know some people in your clan have issues with my deputy but I request that you don’t bring that here in the company. Family issues have no place in business,” the COO intervened and defended Long Jian. If not for the fact that Long Meng was older than him, he probably would have already harshly scolded her.

Long Meng felt humiliated but wisely shut her mouth and didn’t argue with the COO. It was because the COO was the next most powerful person in Long Industries after Long Tengfei while she was only a small-time shareholder.