Chapter 9: A Time-Limited Mission 

When Xu Yan noticed the dog in Han Shuangshuang’s arms rolling its eyes at him, he was stunned.

He couldn’t believe it—a dog, rolling its eyes at him? 

Was this dog for real?

If it weren’t for his own hidden vulnerabilities, he would have stepped forward to investigate and teach the dog a lesson about why humans are at the top of the food chain.

Xu Yan pretended not to see the dog’s disdain and got straight to the point: 

“I need to understand how Shutu Media operates. Since Han Shuangshuang is trending today, you all should come up with a plan to grow her account to 100,000 followers within a week.”

Han Shuangshuang: “Huh?”

Ignoring her confusion, Xu Yan assigned the task decisively: 

“Your account will officially sign with the company, and your benefits will match those of other influencers. If you complete the task within a week, all three of you will receive bonuses.”

At the mention of bonuses, the hesitation on Chen Yao and Su Mingxuan’s faces vanished.

For the sake of the bonus, they were ready to give it their all!

Xu Yan paused and asked, 

“I heard your team leader, Xiao Man, is temporarily hospitalized due to an injury. What’s the situation? Can she return to work?”

Han Shuangshuang, who was most informed, quickly replied, 

“Her family isn’t cooperating, so the hospital can’t determine the cause of her condition. She’s been unconscious and hasn’t woken up yet.”

Xu Yan frowned slightly: 

“Not cooperating?”

Han Shuangshuang, who harbored a strong dislike for Xiao Man’s brother, didn’t hold back:

“Manjie was in perfect health, but her brother went to the hospital and immediately suggested pulling the plug! Unfortunately, he’s her only close relative, so the situation is at a standstill.”

Xiao Man, lying there with her eyes half-closed, couldn’t stop the spread of her family drama, so she just resigned herself to it.

Xu Yan raised an eyebrow: 

“He’s not her real brother?”

Han Shuangshuang shook her head: “He is.”

To be honest, Xiao Man’s brother looked so much like her that it was obvious they were siblings.

Xu Yan sneered: “What a heartless scoundrel.”

He didn’t know Xiao Man personally, so he casually commented before moving on: 

“Can the three of you handle the task?”

Chen Yao and Su Mingxuan immediately responded with confidence: “Yes!”

Noticing Han Shuangshuang hadn’t spoken, Chen Yao quickly nudged her, and Han Shuangshuang snapped out of her thoughts: “Yes!” 

Although she didn’t believe in herself deep down-she’d been working for months and knew how difficult it was to grow an account-she had no confidence in her own abilities. 

But seeing Chen Yao and Su Mingxuan’s enthusiasm, she had no choice but to stand with them.

Seeing their determination, Xu Yan dismissed them. 

Although he was only temporarily managing the company, he took his responsibilities seriously. 

He planned to spend the week learning while managing, ensuring he didn’t ruin Feng Qing’s company.

After leaving Xu Yan’s office, the three found a small meeting room to discuss. 

Originally, it was just Han Shuangshuang’s personal matter, with only Chen Yao helping using personal connections. 

Now that it was an official task, they needed to brainstorm collectively.

Su Mingxuan said, 

“First, we need to position Han Shuangshuang’s account. Besides being about pets, what else can it be?” 

Since the trending topic was about the “dog,” it aligned perfectly with the logic of building Han Shuangshuang’s account.

Su Mingxuan and Chen Yao couldn’t help but glance at Xiao Bai, whom they’d brought along to the meeting.

Chen Yao asked, 

“Han Shuangshuang, be honest, is your Xiao Bai really that smart?”

Having worked with many influencers, Chen Yao knew that many so-called “smart pets” were the result of long-term training. 

They might seem human like in short videos, live streams could expose the truth.

All three of them looked at Xiao Bai.

Its shaved fur hadn’t grown back in the few days since, and it looked awkwardly cute in its little vest, making it unlikely to win hearts with its appearance.

Xiao Man (the dog): “…”

What’s with these people’s disdainful looks? 

They’re just like that dog fearing Xu Yan!

Han Shuangshuang hesitated: 

“Sometimes I feel like it’s human.”

Chen Yao gasped: 

“If this were a horror novel, that statement would definitely come true!”

Su Mingxuan pressed further: 

“How human-like?”

Han Shuangshuang: 

“It seems to actually understand what I’m saying, not just my tone and expressions.”

Not entirely convinced, Chen Yao and Su Mingxuan decided to test Xiao Bai on the spot.

Su Mingxuan glared at Xiao Bai and said sternly, 

“If you smile at me, I’ll give you a treat!”

Xiao Man: “…?”

Oh, so that’s how you want to play?

She immediately bared her teeth and barked fiercely at Su Mingxuan, startling him into taking a step back.

Just as Su Mingxuan was about to tell Han Shuangshuang that her dog clearly didn’t understand, Xiao Bai suddenly sat up straight and grinned at him.

Su Mingxuan: “?”

Su Mingxuan hesitated: 

“Does this mean it understands or not?”

Chen Yao frowned for a long time: 

“Is it possible it’s messing with you?”

Su Mingxuan: “Huh?”

He paused, then exclaimed louder to fully express his shock: 

“Wait, has it become sentient?!”

Han Shuangshuang silently thought, see? 

I told you Xiao Bai is too smart.

Chen Yao pushed Su Mingxuan aside and crouched in front of Xiao Bai, smiling sweetly:

“Xiao Bai, don’t mind Su Mingxuan. You’ll get your treats later.”

She held out her hand naturally: “Come on, let’s shake.”

Xiao Man placed her paw in Chen Yao’s hand.

Chen Yao: “Now stand up and spin twice.”

Xiao Man complied.

Chen Yao raised her hand, mimicking a gun, and said, “Biu!”

Xiao Man: “…”

Fine, I’ll play along.

She rolled her eyes, fell over, and even twitched before sticking out her tongue as if dead.

Chen Yao, Su Mingxuan, and Han Shuangshuang: “…” 

Its acting is better than some celebrities!

Su Mingxuan found it unbelievable: 

“Was it a dog actor in a film studio before?”

Chen Yao: 

“Hard to say. But judging by its behavior, it’s definitely been trained.”

She stopped testing and instead said excitedly, 

“This level is more than enough for live streams. It’ll attract fans like crazy!”

Su Mingxuan was equally excited, and the two began brainstorming how to set up donation tasks during the live streams to increase viewer engagement, as well as what kinds of ads they could take on in the future.

Xiao Man listened for a while before she couldn’t take it anymore and barked twice, trying to reel in their runaway thoughts.

In past meetings, the two often had creative ideas but tended to drift off-topic, and she, as the team leader, had to repeatedly bring them back to the main point.

The barking interrupted their conversation, and they decided to put long-term planning aside for now. 

Sometimes, the success of a video depended on luck, and building an account required patience and a willingness to grow steadily. 

But today’s traffic was a stroke of luck, and they had to make the most of it.

Originally, Han Shuangshuang had planned to release all the videos at once, but now that they had a task, they needed to shift their strategy.

The three spent over an hour discussing the main plan, occasionally diverging, and finalized the strategy.

Han Shuangshuang’s videos would be released gradually to maintain the hype. 

As long as the buzz continued, her follower count would grow. 

During the meeting, they also checked Han Shuangshuang’s account data. 

In just a few hours, her Douyin account had surpassed 10,000 followers, and her combined followers across platforms were close to 20,000.

However, the growth rate had slowed. 

Without more highlights, her follower count would likely plateau around 20,000.

Han Shuangshuang felt a strange sense of detachment. 

When she hadn’t wanted to be an influencer, the situation had troubled her, and she couldn’t wait to release all the evidence to resolve it.

But now that it was part of her job, she felt as if she’d grown an extra layer of armor. 

The insults and negativity didn’t affect her as much as before.

She remembered when Manager Zhong had scolded Manjie because a third party had stalled their progress. 

At the time, she’d felt terrible, but later, Manjie had privately told her, 

“It’s work-disappointments are part of it. Don’t take it to heart.”

Only now did Han Shuangshuang truly understand the power of those words.

The frustration and anger from being cyberbullied had turned into motivation. 

She wasn’t going to let the insults go to waste-every insult she received would eventually turn into her earnings!

Seeing Han Shuangshuang’s newfound drive, Xiao Man felt satisfied.

She knew Han Shuangshuang was struggling financially, and now that she had a good opportunity to earn money, Xiao Man was more than willing to cooperate. 

After all, Han Shuangshuang was taking care of her now, and she wanted to repay the kindness.

In the “intelligent pet” niche, no one could beat her!

Before noon, the printed plan was on Xu Yan’s desk. 

This small project would be directly handled by Chen Yao, Su Mingxuan, and Han Shuangshuang, with Xu Yan kept in the loop. 

They created a new group chat and added Xu Yan so he could follow their every move.

Chen Yao acted as the temporary team leader, and Xu Yan communicated mainly with her.

The team divided their tasks: Su Mingxuan monitored the online situation and analyzed data changes, ready to release videos at any moment. 

Chen Yao and Han Shuangshuang focused on content planning, filming short videos of Xiao Bai to deepen the good impression of the “dog hero” and retain the audience.

Just as Chen Yao and Han Shuangshuang finished the script and were about to head to the warehouse to gather props for filming, Su Mingxuan tagged them in the group chat. 

The local media that had spread the earlier rumors had released a new video, this time featuring a phone interview with a so-called eyewitness.

Han Shuangshuang quickly checked it out. 

The eyewitness’s voice was processed, making it impossible to tell their gender.

The eyewitness claimed that when they saw the incident, the two dogs were attacking the victim. 

Before they intervened, someone else had already tried to beat the dogs. 

If the dogs hadn’t done anything wrong, why would someone hit them? 

Even if they had muzzles, couldn’t they still scratch people with their paws?

Han Shuangshuang couldn’t help but laugh. 

This was clearly a response tailored to her clarification video!

Dog attacks and people hitting dogs were hot topics that easily sparked online debates. 

It seemed this media outlet was determined to milk this wave of traffic for all it was worth!

Unfortunately, there was little they could do. 

The first half of the eyewitness’s account was what they “saw,” and whether it was true or not, the media wasn’t responsible. 

The latter half, with its suggestive tone, was the eyewitness’s “personal opinion,” and the media couldn’t be blamed for that.

Nowadays, spreading rumors as an individual that harms someone’s reputation could land you in trouble with the police, but the media seemed to have a free pass no institution would hold them accountable.

Chen Yao comforted Han Shuangshuang: 

“Don’t worry. Even though you’re getting criticized, your follower count is growing faster!”

Han Shuangshuang: “…” 

That’s… true.

Once she shifted her mindset, her emotions stabilized.