C7 Punishment

As if sensing Hsu Moyan's return, Gu Yifan snapped back to reality, meeting his gaze. Noticing the bag in his hand, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. Thankfully, he had indeed bought her clothes.

The real surprise came when she touched the fabric. As a woman, Gu Yifan was naturally familiar with the D.R brand. The designer was unique, and as the brand grew, each piece became one-of-a-kind, with any alterations strictly forbidden. Yet, despite these restrictions, the brand's allure only increased, drawing more admirers.

She once saw a D.R dress when visiting her family home. Gu Jieyu had been wearing it, looking stunning. Jieyu was beautiful, and the dress only enhanced her allure. Even Yifan had to admit this. Jieyu had boasted that her fiancé had bought it for her.

Back then, Yifan had no idea the fiancé was Hsu Moyan. Now she knew. Her initial joy at seeing the dress slowly faded. The design was unique, but it seemed he could gift these one-of-a-kind dresses to different people.

Seeing the initial surprise on Yifan's face gradually fade to a look of slight disdain, Moyan was left puzzled and a bit frustrated. Women's thoughts are truly hard to decipher.

Moyan wanted to ask her what was wrong, but instead, he said, "Hurry up and get dressed, I have a meeting."

Yifan silently put on the dress. Its design perfectly highlighted her beauty, just like its name, "Moonlight," pure and flawless.

A flash of admiration crossed Moyan's eyes. If there had been more time, he might have taken Yifan to a room for a private moment. But, unfortunately, there wasn't.

As they left the mall, Yifan got out of the car alone. Moyan wished he could keep her to himself and personally take her home, but time was against him, so he drove away with a hint of regret.

Watching Moyan's car disappear into the distance, Yifan turned back into the mall. Passing by a store, she glanced inside and touched the dress she was wearing. She really liked it, but the person who gave it wasn't unique.

Yifan didn't need such things. After buying another dress, she carefully packed away the one from the store and called a cab back to the radio station.

As for her car, she decided to let someone else drive it for now. Yifan didn't want to see Moyan or anything related to him at the moment.

On her way to the radio station, her secretary called. The excitement was evident in the secretary's voice, speaking quickly and loudly, "Director Gu, all the hosts have returned."

Yifan responded with a neutral "Hmm." Moyan had kept his word, lifting all the restrictions on her station as soon as he left and promptly bringing the hosts back.

Yifan held no grudge against those who had left. After all, people naturally seek safety and security. Who would risk their future staying at a station on the brink of collapse?

She understood, especially since even she had been Moyan's mistress. How could she blame the hosts?

Sensing her boss's lack of enthusiasm, the secretary quietly asked, "Director Gu, do you not want them back? I can tell them to leave."

The young secretary was quite naive; otherwise, she wouldn't have stayed so loyally during the station's crisis.

Yifan quickly replied, "No, don't do that. I'm heading back to the station now. Wait for me." She knew if she said yes, all the people she had worked hard to bring back would leave again.

That would be utterly ridiculous.

The assistant let out a small "oh" and hung up the phone. She carried a few glasses of cold water into the meeting room, clearly displeased with the visitors' snobbish attitudes. She set the glasses down heavily on the table, gave a slight huff, and left the room.

The group left behind exchanged uneasy glances, their minds racing. Was Director Gu not interested in bringing them back? What were they supposed to do now? They had been warned repeatedly that if they couldn't convince Director Gu to keep them, they might as well pack up and leave the city entirely. Forget about staying in the broadcasting industry; they might never show up again.

They felt helpless, realizing they were caught in a situation beyond their control. It was like being collateral damage in a larger conflict. As small players, they had no power to resist.

When Gu Yifan returned to the station, the assistant approached and quietly mentioned that the broadcasters were waiting in the meeting room. After handing over her coat to the assistant, Gu Yifan pushed open the meeting room door.

The moment the door opened, the five broadcasters stood up immediately, tense and anxious about the impending judgment from Gu Yifan. They had already decided that even if their pay was cut further, they would accept it. Anything to avoid being forced out of the city.

Seeing their synchronized reaction, Gu Yifan paused for a moment, then realized that Hsu Moyan must have said something to them.

Gu Yifan wasn't one to be soft-hearted. While he didn't blame the five streamers too much for leaving, it was Hsu Moyan who pushed them away and Hsu Moyan who brought them back. So, no matter what he did now, he could easily pin it on Hsu Moyan. This wasn't his problem.

With that in mind, Gu Yifan didn't invite the five to sit. He walked straight to the top seat, settled in, and then leisurely looked at the increasingly anxious group. He asked casually, "How have you all been during this time?"

The five exchanged furtive glances, noticing the beads of sweat forming on each other's foreheads, which oddly put them at ease.

The leader, a sweet-natured streamer known as Xiaoying, spoke in a sugary voice, "Director Gu, we were forced to leave back then. I've always remembered your kindness, so the moment we were no longer suppressed, we came back to the company."

"Oh—" Gu Yifan drew out the word, watching Xiaoying's smile gradually freeze. If she had just admitted her mistake, he could understand, but he didn't expect her to shirk responsibility and paint herself as loyal. It was laughable.

Now the five were even more uncertain. Gu Yifan had always been good to them, almost granting every request. Suddenly, they couldn't read him at all, which only made them more anxious.

"Director Gu, we were wrong. We'll accept any punishment you decide, as long as we can come back." Another host, known for her straightforward and no-nonsense demeanor, found herself at a loss. If she were the boss, she wouldn't let someone who left return so easily. She couldn't think of anything else to say to ask for Gu Yifan's forgiveness.

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