Chapter 16
Charlie said, "That's easy. I've already talked to the director. When the time comes, I'll announce that I'll pick a lucky fan from my followers to join me on the show. Interested and available fans can sign up."
He continued, "We can say family doesn't necessarily mean blood relatives. It's okay to be a little flexible sometimes, isn't it? Fans count as family, too, right? As long as Becky joins me as a fan, there won't be any issues, right?"
As Charlie explained, everyone was stunned. They wondered, "It... actually seems there's no problem with this. As long as the production team has no objections, there shouldn't be any issues, right?"
The next moment, Charlie whined, "I don't care. Becky has already agreed, so none of you can stop her! Anyone who objects will have to face me!"
Debra rubbed her forehead in exasperation, while Patrick was speechless. After a while, he conceded, "If Becky wants to go, let her try it out. She can treat it as a few days of fun."
Sons were different from daughters. If his sons misbehaved, Patrick could scold or even discipline them. But if his daughter misbehaved, what could he do but spoil her?
Debra hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, but you must be careful and not tire yourself out. If you don't want to continue filming, just call me, and I'll come to pick you up immediately."
Rebecca, touched by her parents' compromise, nodded. "Okay."
Charlie almost felt jealous. He thought, 'Back when I wanted to join the entertainment industry, Mom and Dad wouldn't allow me and even locked me up for three months! I had to sneak out through the window to escape. But for Becky, it's this easy? That's unfair! So biased!'
But he soon became excited again. His sister wasn't just cherished by their parents; she was the apple of the whole family's eye and deserved to be pampered.
He turned to Rebecca and assured her, "Becky, don't worry. I'll be there for you. If anything happens, just let me know. I'll take care of everything and won't let anyone bully you!"
Chapter 18
After hearing that, the others looked at Charlie and then at Rebecca. With Charlie protecting Rebecca, they felt more reassured.
Although they'd agreed on the variety show, filming wouldn't start immediately. It would take a few days for the crew to begin production. While waiting, Patrick brought Rebecca to scout a location for the new branch.
The Carter family planned to pass their business to their heiress. Whenever possible, Patrick wanted to take Rebecca out to learn and become familiar with every aspect of the work. This way, when she took over, no one could push her around.
Since Rebecca was familiar with Maeloria, she offered suggestions, such as which areas had more traffic and which spots had more incidents. Within two days, they'd walked through all the main streets of Maeloria, revisiting busy shops several times.
By the third day, Patrick had chosen a location for the new branch—a shop in the busiest area. Once renovated, it would become one of their family's stores. During these days, Patrick shared many site selection tips with Rebecca, and she gained a lot of knowledge.
Once they decided on the location, they had to acquire the shop. This could be challenging or straightforward. The challenging part was that jewelry shops were valuable, and owners weren't easily persuaded to sell. The easy part was that, for the right price, a smart owner would agree.
Of course, if they encountered a stubborn owner who refused to sell or inflated the price excessively, they'd have to find another way or shop.
However, their negotiation went smoothly. The Carter family had money, and importantly, the shop owner's wife was a huge fan of Carter's Jewel. Patrick promised her a premium VIP membership card and offered a significant transfer fee, making it easy to acquire the shop in the most luxurious area.
Once they acquired the shop, the next step was renovation.
However, Rebecca didn't have time to participate because she'd promised Charlie she would join him on the show. Moreover, she figured Janet was nearly finished with her postpartum recovery and might have timed her participation accordingly.
As for Rebecca's participation, as Charlie had mentioned, he organized a sign-up event on his official Twitter account. Rebecca blended in with the fans and was "luckily" selected.
Chapter 16
On the day the selection event ended, Twitter crashed. The hashtag "#CharliePubliclySelectsAFanForAVarietyShow" quickly topped the trending list.
The number of comments from netizens was increasing by tens of thousands per minute. Due to this incident, "A Glimpse into Our Family" became a Twitter hit before it even aired, and many short video bloggers shared the news.
In just a few minutes, keywords like Charlie, fans, and "A Glimpse into Our Family" spread rapidly across major online platforms, becoming a viral sensation.
The show's director was overjoyed. They hadn't even started marketing, yet Charlie's stunt had maximized the promotional effect. As long as the subsequent filming went well, the show was bound to be a hit! And that meant money! Most importantly, if the show succeeded, the director could finally prove himself and silence those who said he'd lost his touch.
It had been five years since the director's last famous work. Over these five years, he'd made several projects, each worse than the last, damaging his reputation.
However, things were different now. If "A Glimpse into Our Family" succeeded, people would stop saying he only became a famous director by luck.
Yet, as some celebrated, others were troubled.
Janet had already won the top actress award before her pregnancy. But she'd taken a few months off to have her baby, and during this period, she had no new work, causing many online viewers to gradually forget about her.
Her first show after returning from childbirth was crucial. Janet had expected to be the star, with everyone revolving around her. This way, once the show was filmed, she could quickly regain her edge and win back the fans she'd lost during her pregnancy and childbirth.