The pushover offended a top-tier boss

The next day, Ye Zhenzhen dragged her aching body out of bed.

What's even more heartbreaking is that she still has to go to work.

She sat on the edge of the bed, so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open, her face etched with utter despair.

And what about that old man?

He had finished washing up and changing into a shirt, and was tying his tie in front of the mirror. His movements were unhurried, his complexion was normal, and he looked energetic, even more refreshed than usual.

Why isn't he sleepy?

Ye Zhenzhen was completely baffled.

Finally, she came to a conclusion: perhaps it's because she's getting old and needs less sleep.

It must be like this.

She forced herself to get to work, and the first thing she did was submit the development plan proposal for Nan Jing.

When she walked into the office, she was holding a stack of A4 papers, densely covered with annotations and suggestions. It had taken her two days to finish, although she had devoted the last day to other things.

"Sir, these are my suggestions and thoughts."

She placed the proposal on his desk, standing upright.

Zhou Huaijin turned to the first page and glanced at it.

"The plans from each department are very professionally written, but I always feel that many things are not practical." Seeing that he didn't speak, Ye Zhenzhen couldn't help but explain, "Nanjing's biggest problems right now are a weak economy and population loss. I looked at the data, and the population has decreased by nearly 40,000 in the past five years, most of whom are young people."

Zhou Huaijin did not look up, his finger slowly moving down the paper.

"I think the first thing to do is to retain young people and encourage them to come back and build their hometowns," Ye Zhenzhen said, her voice becoming increasingly fluent. "For example, by introducing talent attraction policies and entrepreneurship support programs. The overall job market is not optimistic right now, and many young people find it difficult to establish themselves in big cities. They actually prefer to return to their hometowns to develop. If Nanjing can provide opportunities, they might very well be willing to go back."

Zhou Huaijin turned to the second page, her gaze falling on the passage that she had highlighted with a highlighter.

"Nanjing is nestled among mountains and water, with fresh air, a pleasant place to live, and low prices," Ye Zhenzhen continued. "I think the cultural tourism sector is the most worthwhile area to focus on. The Cultural Tourism Bureau's plan is over thirty pages long, with things like 'deeply exploring cultural resources' and 'creating high-quality routes,' but it hardly covers how to implement or promote it in practice."

She paused, as if organizing her thoughts.

"Even the best wine needs advertising. It's not that Nanjiang lacks good things, it's that no one knows about them. There's too little media coverage. When I search for 'Nanjiang tourism' online, the related videos and articles are all from several years ago. When Binzhou is mentioned, everyone only knows about this ancient city, its Western-style buildings, and the former residences of famous people. But in fact, the counties under Binzhou's jurisdiction each have their own unique characteristics, but no one has ever properly promoted them."

Zhou Huaijin finally raised his head and glanced at her.

She stood there, wearing a light blue shirt, her hair tied in a low ponytail, her face still showing signs of sleeplessness from the previous night. But her eyes were bright, and when she spoke, there was a certainty and seriousness rarely seen in her.

It's rare to see her take something so seriously.

He leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

"In your opinion, how should we promote cultural tourism?"

Ye Zhenzhen was taken aback, not expecting him to actually be listening attentively.

"New media marketing," she blurted out. "Building an IP image, making short videos, and finding influential bloggers to experience and recommend it. You know the case of a certain province that became an internet sensation because of a single slogan, right? And a certain county saw its tourist numbers increase tenfold because of a video made by an internet celebrity. In this era, traffic is everything."

Zhou Huaijin nodded, his expression unchanged.

"Let me explain the specific measures, such as the fastest way to monetize."

Ye Zhenzhen thought for a moment, then got more and more excited as she spoke: "We can find some handsome NPCs to do some interactive performances at tourist attractions to generate buzz. If we film them and post them on platforms, they're sure to go viral."

"They must be someone with a great figure, who can dance, and preferably interact with tourists. As long as they have a good figure and a pretty face, they'll definitely attract customers—"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, completely unaware that the face opposite her was gradually darkening.

"You're the one who wants to see this, aren't you?" Zhou Huaijin's voice drifted over from the other side, neither warm nor cold.

Ye Zhenzhen's smile froze on her face.

Zhou Huaijin recalled the scene of her clinging to the male model's arm during their trip. Each and every one of those incidents still made him furious.

"I'm telling the truth..." Ye Zhenzhen explained helplessly, although she did indeed want to see it...

She pulled out a few more videos from her phone and shoved the screen in front of him: "Look at these. This NPC became famous for dancing at a tourist attraction, and now thousands of people go there to check in every day. And this one, he was also filmed by tourists and posted online because he's handsome, and now that attraction has become a popular spot for internet celebrities to check in."

Zhou Huaijin glanced down at the screen.

In the video, a young man dressed in ancient costume is seen flicking his sleeves on a city wall, making flashy movements, with a self-satisfied smile playing on his lips. The comment section is filled with messages like "husband," "so handsome," and "I want to run into him."

"Indecent and immoral," he spat out, pushing his phone aside. "What kind of behavior is this?"

Ye Zhenzhen silently thought to herself: What an old-fashioned person.

But she didn't give up, so she picked up the phone again and found a few other cases.

"But it really works!" She found a short video with over 100 million views. "Didn't you know that a few years ago there was a young man who became a media sensation because he was so handsome, which directly boosted the economy of the entire city? His hometown was unknown before, but now it has become a popular tourist destination."

She pulled out a few more videos and handed her the phone over: "So handsome, especially with the beautiful scenery of his hometown, the atmosphere is amazing."

Zhou Huaijin didn't look at her phone, but he did know about that case. He couldn't deny that a celebrity's influence had indeed boosted a city's popularity.

Seeing that he didn't object, Ye Zhenzhen became bolder and had a sudden idea: "Hey boss, how about I film a video of your daily routine? It'll definitely go viral as publicity."

The more she talked, the more she felt her idea was brilliant: "Seriously! A leader of your level, young, handsome, charismatic, and single, would definitely attract a huge number of female fans."

Zhou Huaijin's lips curled up slightly at first.

The slight smile vanished instantly upon hearing the words "still single".

He's single? Does that mean she's single too? Is that what she told other people?

"No." Zhou Huaijin's voice turned cold, leaving no room for negotiation.

He's not a social media influencer who makes a living off his looks, so who cares about female fans?

Ye Zhenzhen pouted and sighed silently to herself. Fine, there really is a generation gap. Thirty-three years old, and already so old-fashioned—what will she do in the future?

However, Zhou Huaijin unusually refrained from criticizing her further.

"Some of your ideas are still very valuable." His tone was a bit softer than before. "We'll refine the specific implementation plan in more detail later and coordinate with the Culture and Tourism Bureau more closely."

"Okay!" Ye Zhenzhen's lips curled up immediately.

I was praised.

When she returned to her workstation, her steps were light, and she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

It seems she's also a gem that shines. She just had it misplaced before.