Chapter 153: The Reaction of Yang Mengke's Colleagues

Seeing Su Bai appear at the entrance of the CCTV Building, Yang Mengke was visibly stunned for a moment, and then her entire expression instantly lit up with immense joy.

"Brother, how do you even have time to come over!"
"I saw everything about you online, hehe, my brother is simply the best!"
"I wanted to tag you back then, but I managed to hold back in the end!"

Su Bai gently flicked the bridge of Yang Mengke's delicate nose and smiled with doting affection.

"Writing songs for you is a breeze; I can casually churn out ten or eight of them for you in no time!"

Yang Mengke stuck out her tongue playfully at Su Bai.

"Brother, you're the best!"
"Once my position as a host is fully secured, I'll definitely sing a few songs you wrote for me!"
"Not right now, though! Otherwise, it might seem like I'm trying to overshadow the main event!"

Linking her arm through Su Bai's, Yang Mengke walked with him deeper into the CCTV Building.

The staff inside the building were, of course, very familiar with this newly rising CCTV host.
Normally, she always maintained a detached demeanor.
Although she was quite polite to everyone, she naturally exuded an aura that kept people at a distance of a thousand miles.
Even when facing senior executives, Yang Mengke always maintained this exact demeanor, never changing it once.
So much so that everyone assumed Yang Mengke was just born that way.
Secretly, everyone nicknamed her the "Ice-Cold Goddess."

Yet today, watching her proactively link her arm through a man's and chat and laugh all the way, everyone widened their eyes in utter disbelief.
It turned out the Ice-Cold Goddess was only cold to them; toward the man right before her eyes, she was a completely different person!

Just as everyone was wondering who on earth this man was, Su Bai suddenly took off his mask and leaned in for facial recognition at the temperature scanner. Upon seeing his face, the staff members all covered their mouths in sheer astonishment.

A young receptionist tightly clutched her colleague's sleeve, stamping her feet repeatedly on the floor.
"Oh my god, it's Su Bai! It's actually Su Bai!"

Her companion was equally dazed. "No wonder! I was wondering what man possessed such immense honor to completely transform our Ice-Cold Goddess!"
"Turns out it's her brother—Su Bai!"
"Looking at how blissfully happy she looked during her interviews, you could just tell the two siblings must share an incredible bond!"

With that, she turned back to look at her colleague.
At that moment, her colleague was staring with infatuated eyes at Su Bai's receding back.
"Gosh, Su Bai is so handsome! So incredibly handsome!"
"Every single gesture of his radiates an unmatched charm!"
"He is just so effortlessly masculine!"
"I am so, so jealous of Yang Mengke!"

Her companion looked at her in speechless silence...

***

Arriving at Yang Mengke's workplace area, Su Bai smiled and greeted everyone around him.

"Wow, we finally get to see our superstar singer in the flesh!"
"We've told Xiao Ke so many times to bring you over so we could see what a musical genius looks like. She kept promising us she would, but we never got to see the real deal!"
"We thought she was just afraid we'd steal her brother away from her, but now we finally get to meet the man himself!"
"So, Su Bai, when are you going to write a song for us too?"

Listening to all the familiar faces around him calling out greetings, Su Bai felt the atmosphere was quite pleasant.

"Writing a song isn't out of the question, but I'm afraid it might trigger a wave of intense competition in the hosting industry. If everyone starts dropping rap verses while anchoring the news, hosting variety programs, or delivering the weather forecast, all the hosts across the country are going to end up hating me..."

Hahahaha...
A burst of hearty laughter erupted across the room.
Everyone knew it was just a joke.
If someone makes a joke and you take it seriously, that just shows a lack of social grace.
How could anyone who manages to become a CCTV host have low emotional intelligence?
They knew perfectly well what to say in any given situation.
It was all just good-natured banter behind the scenes.

Seeing everyone continuously greeting both Yang Mengke and Su Bai with such warmth, Su Bai felt genuinely happy from the bottom of his heart.
Because this proved one thing: despite being a newcomer, Yang Mengke had not been ostracized or squeezed out by the others.
In fact, she was getting along wonderfully with everyone!

"Sister Yang, long time no see!"

Yang Liuqing had already noticed Su Bai walking over with Yang Mengke, though she hadn't rushed over immediately.

"Well, well, Su Bai. Have you now become the most sought-after figure among all the national singers?"
"Still, this is undoubtedly a positive development. It proves that everyone in the industry recognizes your talent!"

Hearing Yang Liuqing's words, Su Bai felt genuinely overjoyed.
To a certain extent, Yang Liuqing's words represented absolute authority.
If a third-tier minor celebrity were to be publicly praised by Yang Liuqing with even a casual "So-and-so is quite good," that minor celebrity would likely skyrocket to fame almost instantly.
While it might not propel them directly into the second tier, at the very least, their industry resources would instantly double compared to before.
Countless people across the country cared deeply about Yang Liuqing's endorsement.

***

Today, Yang Liuqing was truly the undisputed pillar of strength at CCTV!
Her situation was somewhat different from Yu Lan's!
After all, Yu Lan had already stepped back behind the scenes. Even though her administrative position might be higher than before, in certain aspects, her influence was no longer quite as formidable as when she was constantly active in the public eye.
Therefore, upon hearing Yang Liuqing's praise, Su Bai was truly delighted from the depths of his heart.

"I still have to thank Sister Yang for clearing the air for me back then!"
"Otherwise, I wouldn't be where I am today!"

Yang Liuqing could tell that Su Bai meant every single word he said from the bottom of his heart.
She smiled and let the comment pass without a direct reply.
Some favors were best kept treasured quietly in one's heart; there was no need to constantly spell them out!

"Since Su Bai is here, Xiao Ke, you should take a couple of days off."
"You haven't rested for a single moment lately while preparing for the recording of the *Scroll of Paintings* program!"
"Now that this phase of *Scroll of Paintings* has come to a temporary close, you deserve a couple of days of rest to prepare yourself for the next round of battles!"
"Take Su Bai out and show him around Beijing properly."

Hearing Yang Liuqing's words, Yang Mengke smiled softly. "Understood, Sister Qing!"

Watching Yang Mengke lead Su Bai away as they gradually faded into the distance, Yang Liuqing smiled and nodded to herself.
She thought inwardly with a silent sigh, "These siblings... they really are something else..."

Hearing that she had been granted time off, Su Bai said happily, "Perfect! While you're on break, I'll take you out to buy a gift!"

Hearing that Su Bai hadn't forgotten to prepare a gift for her, Yang Mengke flashed him a sweet, beaming smile.
In truth, being with Su Bai mattered far more than any gift; as long as they were safe and happy, that was all that truly mattered!
However, since Su Bai kept reiterating that he had prepared a gift for her, Yang Mengke wouldn't dream of turning it down, because she knew it was a token of his sincere affection!
She didn't want to dampen his spirits when he had put so much heartfelt effort into preparing a surprise for her.
Yang Mengke's thoughts had always been remarkably simple—and that was precisely who she was!

"Hello, you must be Yang Mengke's brother—Su Bai, right!"
"I've often heard Yang Mengke talk about you. Seeing you in person today, you truly live up to your reputation as a man of exceptional talent!"
"Oh, look at my terrible memory. My name is Zhou Jian, Yang Mengke's co-host!"

Looking at the slicked-up, greasy-looking man standing right in front of him, Su Bai felt...