The Old Station Director looks at the mess before him, urgently needing someone to solve it.
Yet the Deputy Director's mind is filled with complaints.
Over the years, having had it easy, suddenly having everything thrust onto him has brought out all the underlying issues.
One can scheme, as long as it remains within the rules.
But now that the other side has turned the tables completely disregarding the rules, there's no control.
All rants now only signal powerlessness.
The Old Station Director said: “We need to issue a statement now saying it was an intern's doing.”
He knows that many will mock this statement.
But with no other viable options, a small price to cover up the matter is the most crucial thing.
The Deputy Director, however, is still a bit angry.
“Initially, Little Mei signed such a contract without my consent. Her misconduct should be investigated. Do they really think we are pushovers here?”
Now, both sides are holding back, each assuming that the first to back down will lose.
The Deputy Director has always been a stickler for face-saving. How could he bow down and admit to the mistake?
The Old Station Director said: “I was about to retire.”
He didn't want to handle these troubles.
The older one gets, the less they want to invite trouble.
But now that the problem has occurred, it must be solved instantly.
The Old Station Director looked at the Deputy Director with disappointment, “You've been handling this for just a short while, and look at the mess you've created.”
“Uncle, how can you talk like that?” The other side seemed hurt.
The Old Station Director let out a deep sigh, “It's up to you, youngsters. If you don't listen to me, then do as you please!”
His voice quivered as he spoke, a clear sign that he was furious.
But the Deputy Director, immersed in his own anger, didn’t notice even when the Old Station Director had left.
The Deputy Director quickly told the operations team: “Don’t worry about those. All publicity is good publicity. If things get too heated, just ignore the comments.”
He had made up his mind.
Soon after, everyone noticed that the online backlash escalated further against Starry Sky Kindergarten, accusing them of double standards.
Netizens were completely outraged.
“This guy is shameless, just like my former boss.”
“Even a child knows to stand up straight when getting disciplined, why is he still arguing?”
“I hope he keeps this up; the last one who argued with netizens was beaten to death.”
“He's been in a high position for too long. Speaks like a real father figure!”
The matters escalated online.
Leadership directly asked the Deputy Director: “What exactly happened with this incident? Why darken our station's reputation?”
For other matters, the Deputy Director might've made up useless excuses.
But with this being the inquiry from higher-ups, he immediately showed respect.
He explained the incident thoroughly.
With an air of being wronged, he said: “We were fooled by them!” Acting like an aggrieved wife.
The higher-ups said: “Regardless, you need to mitigate this incident's added influence immediately. No wonder the Old Station Director washed his hands off this. If you insist on behaving recklessly, then I won't be bothered either.”
The Deputy Director sensed the underlying warning in the leader’s words and tensed up, "What's going on?" The Old Station Director had always been his safety net.
"You don't know yet? He took early retirement!" The leader announced. The man had tactfully distanced himself from the matter.
The Deputy Director had met the Old Station Director that very day and he had not expected that the Old Station Director would leave him in the lurch so abruptly, causing him to tremble with anger.
His most reliable ally had abandoned him. This unsettled him greatly. "What am I going to do?" he asked the leader.
"You need to accept your mistakes immediately", said the leader, having the wisdom of a broader perspective. It was now futile for him to continue arguing with the netizens.
Rather, it would only provoke them even more. It would be best if he was honest and accepted his fault.
Finally, the Deputy Director publicly released a video in which he frowned and read out a scripted apology. His tone did not waver, and he took pauses to apologize to the netizens.
"I apologize. This incident occurred due to my negligence, which allowed an intern an opportunity to cause harm," he spoke.
"He may have acted out of spite towards the society and leveraged this platform for his own agenda."
"We have fired the intern and will manage our staff more strictly in the future."
"We will ensure that our employees do not bring personal emotions to work, and we hope the netizens will keep us under strict supervision."
Though the Deputy Director thought he was humbling himself and admitting his fault, the netizens remained unimpressed.
"He's not sincere at all. I can't even…", one user commented.
"He reminds me of my garbage ex-boyfriend who always said 'I was wrong, okay?' but that only made me more angry."
"Look at his furrowed brows. It's obvious that he doesn't think he did anything wrong. I bet he's cursing us behind our backs!"
"I have studied microexpressions. He's insincere. And his eyes moved unnaturally, as if he was reading from a prompter."
"Why is he using a teleprompter to apologize? He thinks he's some kind of big shot?"
"Continue the boycott."
The situation escalated by evening.
With no other option, they made the TV station's Weibo page inaccessible to comments.
But the sheer number of mentions was overwhelming. The contemporary netizens were rebellious.
The more the TV station tried to ignore the issue, the more they were harassed.
The TV station desperately attempted to come to an agreement with Shen Wei. But Shen Wei's side was not to be appeased.
To Shen Wei's defense, their person was bullied and the station had the audacity to muster different liaison tactics. This was downright shameless.
This time, the TV station was genuinely scared.
At first, they underestimated Shen Wei as a mere internet personality.
But now they realized the extent of Shen Wei's fan base and their collective power.
Moreover, some local magnates were also among Shen Wei's fans.
Once they learned about the shady dealings between Cake station and the Man in Star, many sponsors promptly withdrew their funding.
Even those who were about to sign contracts halted their process.
Companies took their own initiative to stand up for Shen Wei which nobody saw coming.
The slandering online had already infuriated the Deputy Director, but the withdrawal of sponsors was a real sting.
Sponsors were responsible for more than 90% of the station’s income.
Those were their real gold mines.
During normal times, they didn't dare to offend a single individual.
When dealings with the big shots arose, even the Director and Deputy Director had to personally accompany them.
Now, the television station's staff was in a state of chaos.
Even those who had previously held prejudices started collaborating together.
They'd decided on a plan: to sacrifice a Deputy Director, to pacify everyone's anger.
Only the Deputy Director was still clueless about the fact that he had been selected as the scapegoat.
