“What about controlling public opinion?” Jaden suggested.
“Tried that, didn’t work much,” Peak Club member Lamont sat there with his arms folded. ‘I’ve analyzed various classic cases of controlling public opinion. Covering it up is useless unless there’s a bigger hot topic to cover it up with. Right now, the only hot topics in the whole country are the election and class equality, and the rest is just like sand in the sea, not worth mentioning.’
“Carrie, what do you think?” Someone looked at Carrie.
Carrie had not spoken a word since the meeting began. She was sitting at the meeting table in simple casual clothes, her fingers holding a pen, her bare face showing little expression.
Upon hearing this, she shook her head to indicate that she had no thoughts.
Nick stood up from the table and said, “I think there are too many things going on right now, and it’s so chaotic that we don’t know where to start. But Paige told us before she left that as long as we win the election, all the chaos will stop. So we should get out of the current mess and focus all our attention on the election.”
“I agree,” Jaden nodded.
Mr. Gustin also gave the same instructions: as long as they win the election, everything will be fine.
“The situation in the election is now very clear. Rafael only has one opponent, Thomas, 63 years old, who has served as a member of the Public Law Council and has done many important things. He is backed by the Reeves family.”
Nick said as he picked up the remote control and double-clicked it to bring up Thomas’s biography and relationship chart on the screen behind him.
In the center of the screen was a picture of an old man, tall but thin, who could only use expensive clothes to boost his aura. His eyes clearly showed shrewdness, but he had to put on an easygoing smile, which was hard to bear.
Jaden shifted his body and looked up, “As everyone knows, after the big finance summit, several members of the Reeves family went in. Now the Reeves family is like a dying arrow, and it is impossible to cooperate with Mr. Gustin and the young lady. Therefore, the election is their all-out effort, and I believe the Folsom family is also involved.”
“In other words, the Folsom family and the Reeves family are now doing their best to push Thomas into the position of president,”
Nick continued, “President Rafael’s campaign has the support of the country’s elite, while Thomas has just been handing out empty promises and benefits. He’s also been attacking President Rafael’s promotion of false equality and letting the Wind Island sinners out, disrupting domestic order.”
The other day, the traffic in The Capital was blocked, causing chaos. This incident was blamed on Rafael, and his camp was heavily criticized by Thomas, to the extent that protests and riots broke out everywhere.
“What do you think is the key to defeating Thomas?” Nick asked the group, putting down the remote control.
Everyone here is the elite of the elite, so how could they not understand.
“Rafael, 32 years old, comes from the Deleon family, which is also an old family. Although he has not been very active in recent years, he can definitely be considered to be of noble birth. It is difficult for the public to believe that such a person is genuinely working for class equality. After all, in the past few years, he has not done anything like this.”
Derrick, a member of the Peak Club, twirled the pen in his hand and said, “This is more like disinformation that President Rafael came up with in order to get re-elected. In the eyes of many people, it is even more unrealistic than the empty promise that Thomas gave.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire conference room fell silent.
Yes, that’s the key.
Carrie sat there, looking up at the analysis of the general election on the screen, her beautiful face thoughtful. After a long time, she said, “Is it possible to reverse the situation just by making the people believe that President Rafael is sincere about class equality?”
Everyone looked at her.
Nick looked at her sideways, his expression grave, “What did you think of?”
“Nothing, it’s a bit stuffy in here, I’m going out for some air.” Carrie closed the documents in front of her, stood up and walked out.
…
Heaven Hotel, the curved floor-to-ceiling glass on the top floor was radiant in the sunlight.
There were no guests in the top-floor restaurant with its extravagant decor. At the entrance, the old butler in a tuxedo stood with some bodyguards, waiting quietly.
After seeing off a group of parliamentarians, Rafael straightened his handmade suit, sat down on the large sofa, rested one hand casually on the armrest, and held up the still-steaming coffee in front of him. Before he could taste it, the astringent flavor spread recklessly in his mouth.
It was noon, and the sun was half-way down in the sky, casting his body into shadow. The hand holding the coffee was so brightly lit by the sun that even the green veins were clearly visible.
It was uncomfortable sitting like this, but Rafael didn’t change his position.
He lowered his head and coldly watched the line where sunlight and shadow intertwined on the mahogany dining table in front of him. His eyes behind the gold frame were dark.
“President.”
The old butler came over and respectfully bowed to him, “Miss Carrie is here. She says she is here on behalf of Miss Paige.”
“Carrie? The celebrity?”
Rafael raised his eyes, a bit impressed, “How does she know I’m here?”
Has his schedule been leaked?
“I asked, and she said that there is nothing that Temple in Heaven cannot do, and there is no one that Temple in Heaven cannot find,” the old butler said.
Temple in Heaven.
The owner of Temple in Heaven doesn’t even know where he is, and he’s left him with a mountain of work, and he’s still so arrogant.
Rafael tilted his head as he held his coffee cup, ‘Send her in.’
“Yes,” the old butler answered.
Carrie soon walked in.
Rafael looked up and saw Carrie walk in, carrying a folder. She was wearing a long pale-colored dress with a coat, and a belt around her waist, which was loosely tied. She was walking on high heels, inadvertently showing off her slender waistline. She looked charming and carefree, with her long hair loose, hooked behind one ear, revealing a bare face. Her features were still delicate, just lacking the beauty in front of the camera.
“President,” Carrie said, standing still and bowing her head.
“Sit down. You have ten minutes to convey Paige’s message to me.”
Rafael glanced at the time on his wristwatch, his tone of voice calm, but clearly still with the aristocratic air and superiority of someone from a big family.
“That’s enough,” Carrie said, hugging the file and sitting down in the chair next to her. She looked up at the man, half of whose body was in the shadows, and got straight to the point, “President, are you married? Do you have a fiancee? A girlfriend? Someone you like?”
Rafael looked down and drank his coffee elegantly. He was suddenly asked this question, and a mouthful of coffee rolled down his throat, nearly choking him.
He suppressed his discomfort and looked up at the young girl in front of him. He saw that she was sitting in the sunlight, her long hair flirtatiously swaying, her snow-white face coated in a light, velvety glow. Her eyes stared at him directly, with the imposing air of a thousand troops attacking.
Has he run into a little girl who is courting him?
Rafael looked at her and asked, “What do you want to do by asking these questions?”