Chapter 1667: Tonight with Girl Abante (Part I)

Compared to Jericho Maya, who was a legitimate journalist before transitioning into an interviewer, Girl Abante started from the bottom as a showbiz manager’s assistant. Then she eventually became a manager herself. Almost all of the celebrities she handled became famous. She even revived the careers of celebrities whose fame had become almost obsolete.

Eventually, she started dabbling in TV and film productions—making a name for herself as one of the highest-earning producers in the country. At the same time, she started solidifying her connections and influence in the domestic showbiz industry. So many celebrities who starred in her productions became indebted to her as their careers were catapulted to an even higher level.

Then, ten years ago, she created her own talk show, which turned into a resounding success. Girl Abante became a household name. She used her connections and influence to invite some of the biggest and brightest stars in showbiz.

And the rest was history.

In short, Girl Abante was someone who thrived in showbiz. This wasn’t someone easily manipulated. She knew the ins and outs of the industry.

There was no successful person in a glitzy, glamorous—and filthy—industry like showbiz who was innocent.

Behind the middle-aged woman’s friendliness, Iris couldn’t allow herself to let down her guard. Girl Abante might prove to be even tougher than Jericho Maya.

Meanwhile, Dom was outside coordinating with the staff. He went over the potential interview questions with them, making sure that they wouldn’t ask any off-limits questions out of the blue.

Unlike Jericho Maya’s team, which was more easygoing, Girl Abante’s staff were proving to be stricter. They reserved all rights to edit the episode however they wanted and didn’t need Iris Long’s team’s approval for the final cut.

Dom originally didn’t want his Boss Iris to accept the show’s offer for an interview. Although he was a fan of the show, his priority was his Boss Iris’ comfort.

Iris, however, found the show to be interesting. So she let him accept the offer for an interview for her.

And now they were here.

In another corner, Jin Liwei chatted with the two network executives who had welcomed them earlier and accompanied them. The two intended to stay and watch the entire interview. They were businesspeople at their core, so imagine their excitement at actually being able to chat with one of the most prominent billionaires in Asia in person.

They treated this opportunity like a master class, asking Jin Liwei several questions about finance and the current global business climate. It didn’t matter that they were older than him. They also asked him for opinions about how to improve the network’s situation.

For his part, Jin Liwei was in a good mood. It was very rare for him to have a vacation from his own busy work. Accompanying his beloved wife felt like their honeymoon all over again. Granted, his wife was extremely busy, but that was alright. The most important thing was that he was with her every step of the way.

He missed their children, of course, but as a husband, he also wanted some quality alone time with his wife. Just the two of them. This was the best he could get for now.

He loved it.

Hence, his good mood extended to others. He didn’t hesitate to chat with the two network executives, sharing his opinions. In exchange, he also asked them about their opinions on the domestic economic climate.

He was already involved in the domestic real estate development through his investment in Marjorie Chua’s husband, Paul Ferrer’s new company. He was also an unofficial main advisor for his wife’s expansion into the Philippines through Orchidia.

His Eldest Brother, Lin Yehan, was also in the process of acquiring a Filipino partner for his agricultural business. Lin Yehan had been coming to him for advice.

All of these allowed Jin Liwei to become more interested in investing in the country. This was why he was willing to chat with these network executives instead of giving them his usual cold and indifferent attitude.

Girl Abante finished getting ready first. She and Dom continued speaking.

Finally, the door to the other dressing room opened and out came Iris Long.

Jin Liwei immediately cut off his conversation with the two network executives.

"You look beautiful, love." He took her hand and just stared at her.

Iris loved hearing her husband’s compliments. She never got tired of them. Her smile almost dripped with honey.

Girl Abante watched them and chuckled. Although she didn’t hear what the husband and wife were talking about, it was clear from just watching their body language. She turned to Dom and asked, "Are they always like this?"

"All the time!" Dom sighed while clutching his heart with his manicured hands.

"Interesting," Girl murmured.

Dom forced out of his fangirling mode and became serious again. "About what we’re talking about—"

Girl waved her hand, dismissing his concern. "Don’t worry. I already reviewed the off-limits questions you submitted to my team. I’m a woman of my word, but you know that my show thrives on controversy. Before you accepted my team’s invitation for this interview, we already warned you that I might ask things that aren’t included in the list of potential questions. It’s very rare for me to share a list of potential questions with my prospective guests in advance. I did it because I respect Iris Long, not only as an award-winning musician but also as a businesswoman. I’m also a businesswoman, you know. So I don’t want to put Iris on the spot and leave her with a bad impression of our country. Depending on how this interview goes, I’ll ask questions naturally."

Dom wasn’t satisfied, but he could only agree. Knowing Iris, she had no problem answering difficult, controversial questions with her straightforward nature. Nevertheless, as her assistant, he had to ensure that he protected her image no matter the cost.

Girl nodded at him—a signal to end their conversation. Then she smiled and turned his attention to her guest, Iris Long.

"Ready?"

Iris nodded. "I can’t wait."

"Good, let’s start recording."

###

"Good evening, my children," Girl Abante greeted the camera.

This was how Girl had been greeting her audience since she started the show ten years ago. She crafted the image of a stern-looking but warm-hearted mother to her guests and audience. This carefully crafted image was one of the reasons her show became widely accepted.

She continued, "Tonight will be a treat as we have a very special guest. I’m very excited to introduce our guest tonight, who came all the way to visit our country for the first time. Please help me welcome multi-award-winning musician and Orchidia founder, Iris Long!"

Iris waved at everyone. There was no studio audience, but both the show staff and her own team clapped and cheered for her with all their might. Her eyes, however, zeroed in on her own husband. She gave him a bright smile.

"Hehe," Dom snickered beside Jin Liwei.

The teased husband, Jin Liwei, was already used to it. He ignored the snickering Dominic and focused all his attention on his gorgeous wife.

He already saw her every day, explored every inch of her body, and knew what the real her looked like—her soul, Evelina Vetrova.

Even so, his heart still couldn’t help but skip a beat upon looking at her.

That was his wife. His own wife.

She was so beautiful. So beautiful that he sometimes couldn’t believe that she was his.

Unbeknownst to him, his mouth was already curving up in a silly grin.

Dom joined the glam team to snicker at their sir boss. Feeling mischievous, he took out his phone and snapped a photo. Then he sent it to his Boss Iris. Of course, Iris was busy right now with the interview, but Dom knew that she would appreciate having a photo of her husband’s silly grin.

Dom: "Hehe."

Makeup artist: "Hehe."

Hairstylist: "Hehe."

Nail technician: "Hehe."

Jiang Ying Yue, who was watching his friend’s antics, sighed and shook her head. She glanced at her male boss’s silly grin and immediately looked away. She forced herself not to laugh and put on a cold expression.

Back to the front, all the cameras focused on Girl Abante greeting Iris Long with air kisses, a hug, and a big bouquet of flowers.

"Wow, thank you!" Iris said. "These flowers are beautiful!"

"You’re more beautiful," Girl replied.

Jin Liwei nodded. Indeed, his wife was the most beautiful.

Dom, who was still looking at his sir boss: "Pft! Hehe."

Makeup artist: "Hehe."

Hairstylist: "Hehe."

Nail technician: "Hehe."

Jiang Ying Yue’s mouth twitched before she was able to control her expression.

After another round of more in-depth introduction about Iris Long’s achievements and publicly revealed background information, Girl finally started the actual interview.

Girl Abante: "Since you came to the Philippines primarily to open the Philippines branch of Orchidia, I want to focus more on the business side of your trip first."

Iris Long: "Of course, I would love that."

Girl: "What inspired you to start Orchidia? And why?"

Iris: "I started with Orchidia Beauty, the original brand. I believe that every woman deserves to have access to safe, healthy, and natural alternatives to beauty products without breaking their wallets. Of course, we eventually ventured into men’s line of beauty products as well. But the original core mission was for women like me. The company grew quickly until I was able to create other brands, Orchidia Baby and Orchidia Mommy, after I gave birth to my twin sons. I also put my perfume company, Liberté, under what is now known as Orchidia."

Girl: "Wonderful. Now that you’ve expanded into Germany and the Philippines, and I heard that you’re expanding to Singapore next, how do you handle such rapid growth in your business? Are there difficult challenges that you had to face?"

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