Chapter 22 – The Overlord Stops Pretending

Even An Zao hadn’t expected public opinion to turn around so quickly. He still had solid evidence in hand and had planned to release information gradually while guiding the narrative bit by bit. But unexpectedly, just one official statement plus a little PR manipulation was enough to produce immediate results. The netizens instantly swarmed over to attack Bai Lisu instead.

Still, that was fine.

At least Yan Dun’s situation had been resolved.

Meanwhile, Bai Lisu practically ground her teeth to dust, wearing a vicious expression in the dressing room. After gnashing her teeth for about half a minute, her molars genuinely got tired, and she finally tapped Customer Service-kun:

Bai Lisu: Is my expression performance long enough yet?

Customer Service-kun: Yes, that’s sufficient, Customer.

Only then did Bai Lisu relax.

Bai Lisu: I seriously don’t get it. Nobody’s even watching. Why do I still have to act?

Customer Service-kun: Dear Customer, evil antagonists must reveal sinister expressions when nobody is around. It’s a genre convention.

Bai Lisu: Seems like playing a Mary Sue is way easier.

Customer Service-kun: Actually, Dear Customer, you are still playing a Mary Sue. It’s just that in transmigration novels, the original Mary Sue heroine is destined to become the vicious female side character. That’s also a genre convention. Please work hard adapting to your new role in life. Fighting, Customer~!

Bai Lisu: Fuck.

Because of the scandal, filming for Celebrity Office Workers became awkward too.

For this cilantro-and-celery juice promotion challenge, Bai Lisu was the team captain. She already lacked authority before, and after the scandal broke, Hong Xiaohua stepped on her even harder.

“Aiyo, weren’t you saying you were President An’s girlfriend? Then why are you still working so hard? Ah, wait, I forgot—President An apparently didn’t even know he had a girlfriend like you! Hehehe! So funny. Did you dream you were dating him and wake up still believing it?”

Bai Lisu thought to herself: Is this Hong Xiaohua a kindergarten kid? Her insults are about as threatening as scratching an itch.

But due to character settings, Bai Lisu still trembled and cried pitifully:

“Wuwuwu… it’s not like that… wuwuwu… how can you say that… wuwuwu…”

Hong Xiaohua rolled her eyes in annoyance at the white-lotus crying act.

“Why are you crying? Yan Dun got framed by you so badly and he’s not even crying!”

Suddenly being mentioned, Yan Dun stiffened slightly and forced a bitter smile.

“How about we continue discussing the promotion plan…”

Hong Xiaohua laughed.

“Yan Dun really does seem like a CEO’s secretary. So professional-looking… By the way, if you’re a secretary, why are you even on this show?”

Yan Dun had long expected this question.

“Well, even the CEO himself came on the show, right? I just tagged along to experience what variety shows are like.”

Hong Xiaohua seemed to realize something and looked toward An Zao beside Yan Dun.

“Your name is An Zao? Don’t tell me you’re related to An Chi or something?”

Yan Dun thought: You’re only realizing that now?

Back when they decided to “go undercover” on the show, Yan Dun had worried people would connect the names “An Zao” and “An Chi.” After all, the names were pretty distinctive.

Yet the power of plot logic was incredibly strong. Somehow nobody had thought anything was strange.

An Zao smiled lightly and answered:

“Actually, I’m An Chi’s older brother.”

Everyone was stunned.

At first, nobody knew whether An Zao was joking or serious.

But seeing his calm, confident smile, it somehow felt true. After all, An Zao really did possess an aura unlike ordinary people—

What people called the “CEO aura.”

And as the king of all domineering CEOs, An Zao possessed an even higher-level “CEO aura,” making people instinctively want to kneel down and call him Daddy.

Even the director was shocked.

“Weren’t we supposed to reveal your identity in episode six?”

An Zao smiled at the director, though there was a trace of mockery in his gaze, as if saying:

Who’s the boss here? You, or me?

The director could only submit, his eyes only briefly glancing at An Zao, the director’s body language submissive as if saying: 

You’re the boss.

“I’ll just say it directly,” An Zao declared with a sweeping CEO gesture. “I’m actually An Chi’s older brother and the chairman of the An Corporation. Yan Dun is the assistant I brought with me.”

Everyone present was dumbfounded, especially the cannon-fodder extra who had mocked An Zao before. His face had gone completely pale.

Bai Lisu already knew the truth, so she remained fairly calm and quickly seized the chance to gain screen time.

“Oh my god! That’s such a surprise! But honestly, I already felt Mr. An carried himself differently from everyone else. I never imagined…” She smiled shyly again. “But why would Chairman An come on a show like this?”

An Zao replied sharply:

“To be honest, I became a CEO right after graduation. I’ve never experienced being an employee before. I wanted to try living like an ordinary person.”

“……”

Everyone stared at him with existential confusion.

Meanwhile, An Zao calmly continued:

“Don’t be nervous. Just continue the meeting normally. Treat me like an ordinary team member.”

“???”

Everyone was bewildered.

How are we supposed to treat you like an ordinary member?! You’re literally the supreme lord here!

After the meeting ended came the elimination segment.

Because An Zao had suddenly revealed his identity, An Chi stopped pretending too and directly asked him:

“Brother, who do you want eliminated?”

An Zao swept his gaze across the room. The cannon-fodder extra who had mocked him earlier was trembling violently, curling into himself in an attempt to erase his own presence.

An Zao’s gaze did not linger on anyone for long. After a moment, he smiled and said:

“Eliminate me and Yan Dun. We’re withdrawing from the competition.”

“Withdrawing?” An Chi looked surprised.

An Zao nodded.

“If we don’t withdraw, how are we supposed to become mentors?”

“Oh, that makes sense.” An Chi waved grandly. “I announce that An Zao and Yan Dun are eliminated and will become mentors!”

The director clutched the script in his hands, desperately wanting to ask these two supreme overlords whether they had even read it. He was desperately thinking: 

Why weren’t they following the script anymore?

What was the script written for then?!

To wipe their asses with?!

Watching this whole mess unfold, Yan Dun was also shocked—not by anything else, but specifically by An Zao’s domineering-CEO behavior.

Based on Yan Dun’s memories from the real world, An Zao wasn’t actually this overbearing.

However, in the real world, An Zao’s gentleness, humility, and politeness were simply adaptations to his environment.

Generally speaking, someone capable of being a good boss usually wasn’t truly gentle and kind-hearted by nature. Smart people merely knew how to disguise themselves in more likable ways.

After exploring the world of domineering CEOs for a while, An Zao discovered he really could do whatever he wanted here.

So he truly started doing whatever he wanted.