Watching Lewis act so respectfully — even somewhat fawningly — toward Jason, the once lively banquet hall suddenly fell silent.
Everyone's mouths dropped open. Eyes went wide.
That was Lewis, the CEO of VisionStream Media — a man everyone in the company looked up to, someone who never lowered himself before anyone.
Yet here he was, practically bowing to a young man in his early twenties. The sight was surreal — downright unbelievable.
Moments ago, people had already guessed that Jason wasn't simple. The General Manager's tone made that clear. Most assumed he had some powerful connection inside the company.
But this?
No one expected even the CEO to act like this.
There was no "backer" behind Jason Carter — he was the backer.
"Oh my god, what the hell's going on?"
"Seeing how those top influencers threw themselves at him and how polite the GM was, I already figured he had some serious background. I even wanted to see whose backer was stronger — him or Tristan Gray's."
"No need to compare anymore. Tristan just got obliterated."
"Obliterated? He's been turned into a clown. How can you compete when the boss himself treats that guy like royalty?"
Tristan stood frozen, staring blankly at Lewis's respectful demeanor toward Jason. His mind couldn't process what he was seeing.
Ethan was also dumbfounded.
The GM being polite was one thing — but the boss? Being this deferential?
This had to be a dream.A crazy, impossible dream.
But if it was a dream, why wasn't he the protagonist?
Only Grace, Alice, Angela, and Zoey — the few female influencers who already knew the truth — weren't surprised in the slightest.
After a few polite exchanges, Lewis turned to Mr. Reeve, his tone slightly sharp."Reeve, why aren't you properly hosting Mr. Carter? He's been standing here this whole time."
Mr. Reeve quickly explained, "I did take good care of him, sir, but Mr. Carter's charm is too strong — he got surrounded by fans before I could lead him away."
Lewis glanced at Grace and Olivia standing at Jason's sides and laughed heartily."Hahaha, so that's what happened. Mr. Carter, I see the issue wasn't neglect but popularity."
Jason smiled calmly."Of course not. Mr. Reeve handled things well. And come on, Lewis — what's with the formalities? We've known each other for almost a year now; no need to act so polite."
Upon hearing that, Lewis immediately looked flattered, his tone turning almost reverent — like a subordinate receiving praise from a superior.
The expressions around the room shifted. People weren't used to seeing their CEO behave like that.
Tristan, stiff as a board, finally gathered the courage to step forward and ask cautiously,"Boss… may I ask who this is?"
Lewis paused for a moment, then turned toward the crowd with a smile."What, you don't know yet?"
He clapped his hands lightly, his voice rising above the murmurs."Let me introduce everyone properly. This is Mr. Jason Carter — the new majority shareholder of VisionStream Media. He currently holds a fifty-one percent stake in the company."
The room erupted in chaos.
"What!?"
"Majority shareholder!?"
Tristan felt like lightning had struck him where he stood. His mind went blank.
Ethan's jaw dropped — wide enough to fit an egg.His high school classmate, the guy everyone used to call a pushover, had turned into the owner of the company he worked for?
How was anyone supposed to process that?
Across the room, Helly was equally stunned. Her mind went blank for several seconds before one thought surfaced —If she could somehow get close to Jason Carter… she'd be set for life.
The two S-tier contracts of the female streamers beside him might have been obtained through connections.
However, Helly quickly recalled how, in the elevator earlier, when Ethan mentioned looking out for each other, she had turned away in disgust.
That expression had been directed at Jason.
Now, regret filled Helly's heart.
If only she had agreed earlier to look out for each other, things would have turned out differently. She wouldn't have needed to help him at all — instead, Jason would've been the one helping her.
With a former classmate as her boss, success would've been inevitable.
The opportunity had been right in front of her, and she had pushed it away.
Helly could only hope that maybe Jason hadn't noticed her at the time.
Meanwhile, Grace, Alice, Angela, and other female streamers had eyes shining brightly, their gazes locked on Jason Carter.
Grace: Favorability +20.Alice: Favorability +20.Angela: Favorability +20.Helly: Favorability +25.
The male streamers, after their initial shock, started to feel oddly relieved.
So Jason wasn't a streamer — he was the boss.
It made perfect sense that the female streamers would gather around such a young and successful man.
No wonder several of them had completely ignored their usual "single persona" and had tried so hard to get close to him. They weren't simply charmed — they had seen the truth.
No wonder Alice, after being helped by Tristan earlier, hadn't shown any gratitude but had instead looked uneasy.
After all, going against the boss in public was beyond foolish; even a top streamer was still an employee.
Everyone turned toward Tristan with strange looks, only to see his face pale as paper.
Tristan had just wanted to show off and reclaim the spotlight, but he never expected to kick such a solid iron wall.
Even if he were related to Lewis, it wouldn't help — Lewis himself had shown respect toward Jason, almost like a subordinate.
Tristan's face went through waves of color before he finally said, stiffly, "Mr. Carter, I apologize for offending you earlier."
Lewis frowned slightly and looked toward the general manager.
Although Tristan was the most popular male streamer after Grace, if he had offended Jason Carter, he could easily be benched.
Without him, they could simply promote someone else — but offending Jason would be a disaster.
Yet at that moment, Jason waved his hand casually and said, "It's fine. I didn't take it personally. What you said earlier about showing respect was right.
I heard you're ranked second in popularity in the company — keep it up."
Hearing Jason's calm and generous tone, Tristan froze in disbelief.
His words had been rude earlier, but Jason didn't seem to care at all.
Then it hit him.
Jason didn't care because he didn't even see him as important.
Someone at the top doesn't waste energy on those beneath them — to Jason, he was just another tool to make money.
In that moment, Tristan finally understood what a real gap in class meant.
Even though he was a well-known streamer with a solid income, in front of real capital, he was nothing.
When he had been trying to posture in front of Jason earlier, Jason had probably seen him as nothing more than a clown performing for pocket change.
Just then, Grace stepped forward.
She wore a soft white knitted sweater that gave her an elegant, gentle look.
She bowed slightly, a warm smile on her face, and said, "Hello, Mr. Carter."
The others immediately snapped out of their daze.
One after another, voices rang out in unison —
"Hello, Boss!"
Grace and Alice, standing close on either side of Jason Carter, had once been seen as ruining their careers.
But now, they shone brighter than anyone in the room.
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