Chapter 100: Chapter 100

As soon as the message was sent, Conrad Sterling regretted it.

Those three words didn’t sound like the way he usually spoke; they’d make him seem foolish.

Especially after he waited for one minute, two minutes... five minutes, and there was still no reply from the other side.

Conrad found that checking WeChat while working was indeed a waste of time, and he had little patience. After waiting another five minutes without a reply, he angrily tossed his phone onto the sofa and shut himself in the study to work for a couple of hours.

When it was past ten, after finishing his work, Conrad returned to his room, took a shower, and discovered that the phone he had thrown onto the sofa had automatically turned off.

He plugged it in at the bedside, turned it on, and received many work-related email notifications, but still no reply from Anna Thornton.

What on earth is that woman up to?

Usually, she updates her Moments almost every two hours, and now she’s taking so long to reply to him.

Conrad checked Anna’s Moments to confirm and found that she indeed hadn’t posted much today.

That meant she wasn’t intentionally ignoring his message, which was reassuring.

Actually... it wasn’t that reassuring.

It wasn’t until the next morning that Conrad received a voice reply from Anna.

He had already finished a meeting at the company, and the woman’s voice sounded as if she’d just woken up, appearing lazy: "Sorry, I went to bed early with my child last night and missed your message. What’s up?"

She did go to bed quite early and slept for quite a long time.

However, upon hearing Anna say that she was with the child, Conrad’s annoyance instantly vanished.

[Didn’t you say you wanted to thank me? Treat me to a meal.]

After some consideration, he sent this message.

Moreover, he deliberately delayed fifteen minutes before sending it to make it clear that he was also busy and wasn’t urgently waiting for a reply.

[You’re so rich, do you really need me to treat you to a meal? Conrad Sterling, you don’t want to go on a date with me, do you?] Anna chuckled playfully in the voice message.

[No! It’s just because I’m not short on money, so I thought of this way for you to express your gratitude.]

[If that’s the case, why not save this meal then? You may not lack money, but I still have to raise a child.]

Conrad’s tone was so arrogant, it seemed like offering Anna the chance to treat him was a benevolent gesture on his part.

But when she refused, he wasn’t happy about it: [Anna, you were the one who said you wanted to thank me!] Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel·fıre·net

[I was just speaking in general. One meal from you is like a full Chinese banquet, I can’t afford that.]

[I didn’t say it had to reach that standard to count, but this meal can’t be skipped. Your gratitude isn’t just about that one thing.]

[What else is there?]

Conrad didn’t have time to reply before his assistant knocked on the door and reported, "President Sterling, Director Bishop is here."

This Director Bishop was the chief director of the reality show "Food and Love," which Anna participated in last time.

The director had always wanted to secure sponsorship from the Sterling Group, even reaching out to Ethan to pitch the idea.

After not hearing back, he thought the idea had been abandoned. Unexpectedly, Conrad invited him to the company to discuss it personally this time.

"President Sterling, did you call me here to discuss sponsorship intentions for our program?" The director sat in the Sterling Group’s conference room, so anxious he didn’t know where to place his hands and feet.

Conrad’s age was about the same as the director’s years of experience in the industry, yet facing the president of the Sterling Group, who achieved such success at a young age, it was difficult for anyone not to be intimidated by his powerful aura.

"I heard you’ve been having trouble with Ethan Hawthorne lately?" Conrad asked.

"Indeed, because the editor didn’t cut out some unbecoming footage of Young Master Hawthorne from the last episode, he demanded we take down the video. However, after taking it down, we received too many private messages from fans and netizens asking us to restore the episode Anna featured in."

Director Bishop sighed with difficulty as he spoke.

In fact, he was reluctant to take it down as well. That episode not only set a record since "Food and Love" began airing but also had the highest viewership record among all the variety shows he’d worked on in his over twenty-year career.

"President Sterling, I’m not afraid of being laughed at. I entered the industry as a teenager and have struggled till now, nearing middle age, still navigating such small-budget late-night shows. ’Food and Love’ might be my last program before retiring. I earnestly want to achieve something outstanding, planning to use all of my remaining efforts to gamble one last time, and that’s why I shamelessly sought the Sterling Group’s sponsorship."

"We can talk about sponsorship."

Conrad suddenly relented, causing the director’s eyes to shine brightly.

However, he emphasized, "It isn’t because your sob story worked!"

"I have two conditions!"

"What are the conditions? Feel free to say!" The director readily agreed; as long as there was money, everything could be discussed.

"First, immediately restore the episode that was taken down; not a single scene is to be omitted."

"Second, your program’s overall style needs to be adjusted."

"Anna, look! Your cooking video is finally viewable again!"

In the hospital, Mary excitedly held her phone up to Anna Thornton.

"It really is! Weren’t they pressured to take it down? Did they delete Ethan Hawthorne’s later footage?"

"No, I just checked the progress bar, and even the part where he looked sick to his stomach is still there."

"That’s kind of strange."

Just a few days ago, Anna saw the director apologizing on Weibo, saying the episode was taken down due to media reasons, and comments were filled with criticism, accusing him of bowing down to people like Ethan Hawthorne.

Today, it was released unscathed — maybe they weren’t awakened by netizens’ criticism, daring to openly defy Ethan Hawthorne, right?

Anna went on Weibo to look around and discovered the director had liked a tableware brand.

Seems like he found a new sponsor.

Moreover, when she searched the brand, it turned out to be under the Sterling Group.

"Sterling Group really sponsored ’Food and Love,’ and Conrad Sterling made such a decision?"

Even Anna, who wasn’t in business, could see that this deal was definitely a losing proposition.

Sterling Group is wealthy; they have plenty of options for promoting their brand.

There’s no reason to rely on such a small variety show to draw traffic, especially since the reputation is not good and could have negative effects.

"What’s going on? Sterling Group has started sponsoring variety shows?" Even Mary found it strange, "So why didn’t they choose a better one?"

Anna was about to say perhaps the decision-maker had a lapse in judgment, but she suddenly recalled a previous conversation with Conrad, where the man said her gratitude extended beyond just one thing.

"Could it be that he did it for me?"

"Very likely, once Sterling sponsored your program, it was released." Beyond that, Mary couldn’t think of what benefits Sterling could gain from it, "Anna, it seems President Sterling cares about you quite a bit."

"The other day, he even stood up for me at the company; I also find it odd."

"Isn’t that a good thing?"

"It is a good thing!"

No matter why Conrad did it, Anna enjoyed seeing the man stubbornly yet increasingly caring for her.

Bored and wanting to tease him again: [President Sterling, I’ve scheduled dinner for this weekend when Pop discharges. I’ve booked a high-end restaurant to sincerely express my gratitude. Remember to dress handsomely for the date.]