âDonât tell me you didnât see the trending searches, itâs the third one!â Li Mingwei was one of the few who dared to manage Ji Chen, firstly because he had a deep background regardless of his diet.
Secondly, Li Mingwei himself didnât really want to bother with Xiliang, completely adopting an attitude of âlet it fall apartâ, and he had long since given up any expectations for the Xiliang band, let alone indulging Ji Chen.
Back when they were super popular, they were treated like kings, like living gods of wealth, and Li Mingwei was utterly convinced and respectful. Now that theyâre lukewarm, all thatâs left is their value as cash cows.
Heh, who does Ji Chen think he is?
âDonât point at me, I hate it when people point their fingers at me,â Ji Chenâs eyes were sharp as knives as he swatted away Li Mingweiâs hand, âAnyway, I didnât do those things.â
Having said that, Ji Chen walked away with a sullen face, exuding a recklessly wild aura.
Li Mingwei turned to look at his retreating figure, a glint of light that flickered briefly passed through his eyes. He gritted his teeth but eventually held back, as emergency public relations mattered more.
This month, Xiliang crazily scheduled commercial performances, seventeen concerts in twenty-eight days. The words âmaking moneyâ might as well have been printed on the tickets, so blatantly obvious without any attempt to hide it.
Yes, lip-syncing.
But that wasnât the point because people were still paying. Besides that, Xiliang signed a brand endorsement contract with the top-tier fashion brand HE, and also signed with seven or eight second-tier brandsâ¦
All in all, in one sentence, the company planned to squeeze out Xiliangâs remaining value.
The band couldnât possibly work for the company forever, and Ji Chenâs artist risk index had reached a high of 124. This was nearly a very dangerous threshold, with low commercial value.
Itâs been over half a year since the traffic police dragging incident; if they didnât hurry to make money, thereâs a risk that one day Ji Chenâs career would collapse, and the company wouldnât even recoup the money spent on public relations.
Once Li Mingwei left, the remaining three band members gathered again.
A Shui: âIs the trending search true?â
Xiao Lu: âYou think itâs like your small town market, where you canât even gather a few female fans. He wants fresh young girls, and thereâs a whole line of people waiting to serve him.â
âMarketâ was the nickname the three of them had given to Ji Chen, and Ji Chen didnât really hang out with them.
âGet lost! Youâre the one with hardly any female fans!â A Shuiâs heart took a thousand hits as he retorted, âIâm just being chaste, my goodness, would you even dare to touch minors?â
âYou guys know me, I never get close to fans,â Timi remarked.
âGive me a break, youâre no good either,â Xiao Lu replied, âTimi also goes regularly for his âmoistureâ. Last time, he almost got caught by someoneâs husband.â
The three erupted into laughter in the dressing room but eventually fell silent again.
âYou think⦠the company can suppress this incident?â A Shuiâs brows furrowed, voicing his worry, âThis has blown up pretty big, itâs going to cost a lot of money.â
âThe company makes so much money from us, isnât it supposed to do this kind of dirty work at times like this?â Timi took out a cigarette and lit it with a snap.
He took a long drag of the white smoke and added another sentence.
âBesides, weâve just signed so many endorsements, if the company isnât stupid, theyâll definitely suppress this matter. Weâve gotten used to it over the years, anyway, heâs never been one to play by the rules.â
âI donât get it, why does he like young girls?â Xiao Lu took a cigarette from Timi and blew clouds of smoke in the cramped space for a while.
âYoung girls are such a hassle, wearing you out with all their running around.â
âYou donât understand, our Market big brother just likes to eat seafood,â Timiâs face revealed a knowing smile, âLetâs respect the taste of our lead singer.â
Teasing words flew about; although their mouths expressed concerns about the situation, they werenât really troubled. After all, they hadnât made the mistake, and the company would handle it if the sky fell.
In the office.
Ji Chen glanced at the trending search that was slowly fading and then looked up at Li Mingwei.
âDo you know who posted that thread? Really want to go to war with me?â
âGo to war my ass, the company spent five million just to suppress that trending topic,â Li Mingwei let out a sigh, telling himself not to get angry at the fool.
âGive me the lowdown, did you actually do those things or not?â
âDoes it matter now? Instead of asking me, you might as well think about how to solve this problem,â Ji Chen said nonchalantly, folding his arms and raising his eyes to Li Mingwei.
âWhat can I say?â
âFive million is nothing, just this month alone Iâve made tens of millions for the company.â
The atmosphere immediately became tense, Li Mingwei was almost about to explode. This was the first time he had seen such an arrogant artist, but at the same time, he was well aware that this was Ji Chenâs true nature.
It wasnât just Ji Chen; Xiliang Band and even other artists who had been popular for a while were all the same. Once a dragon ascends to the sky, the earth below is just mud under their feet.
After an artist hits it big, making money becomes as easy as breathing. Their status skyrockets instantly, and what they love most is to act unreasonably and make life difficult for the working people of the entertainment industry.
After many years of experience, Li Mingwei wasnât so easily shaken. He smoothed over his emotions and then said,
âThe current debate online about you revolves around whether youâve slept with fans, and whether they were underage. Someone has already taken over the super topic and is doing their best to control public opinion.â
âThe company suggests you make a response using your account, and the PR department has already drafted the statement.â
Upon hearing this, Ji Chen suddenly said,
âRegarding this statement, can I issue it myself?â
âWhy?â Li Mingwei asked, taken aback.
âBecause I think I can add some personal touch to it, which will make the article more credible when it goes out,â Ji Chen said, âI hope this matter can be put to rest soon.â
Li Mingwei thought it over briefly, figuring Ji Chen wouldnât pull any stunts at a time like this, so he nodded in agreement.
âIâll get the operations team to give you the account shortly, you post it quickly.â
A few minutes later, the office was suddenly left with only Ji Chen. He leisurely unlocked his phone, scrolling through the trending searches, his eyes roving.
Looking at the exposé post with its blurred details, he couldnât help but feel like laughing.
Ever since his debut, it had always been a tumultuous journey, but relying on a handsome face and solid talent, he had made it this far. What big storms hadnât he seen? Cao Pi, so what?
It wasnât just him in the industry doing this, so what? Talent meant doing as one pleases, and once this wave of popularity passed, heâd just change up his public persona again.
He already had it all planned out: a prodigal son turning over a new leaf is irresistible, and the current fan community eats that up.
After browsing for a while, Ji Chen tossed his phone onto the sofa, stood up and walked to the window. Looking down at the steady stream of traffic, he casually took out a pack of cigarettes.
He pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips, unlit, his gaze particularly desolate.
He had played enough these years; he couldnât work for the company like a dog forever. He needed to return to a normal life, find someone to marry and have kids with.
At that thought, Ji Chenâs mind involuntarily conjured up an image.
It was all because of that damn Xu Qingyan. If it werenât for him, Pei Muchanâs studio would have gone under long ago. Then he could have found an excuse to show concern and even visit her parentsâ house.
They were well-matched in social and family status, and their elders were comrades-in-arms, plus his income was high. Unless Peiâs father was really old-fashioned, there was no reason to turn down this marriage.
If things dragged on a few more years, Pei Muchan would be in her thirties, and a thirty-year-old woman⦠well.
Once this matter is settled, heâll play a good game with them. Itâs just a small studio and someone whoâs written a few songs, nothing to be proud of.
In the future, anyone who dares to have contact with them will just need a word, and he can block their variety show opportunities.
As he was pondering, the operations team had already sent over the account information and the clarification draft.
Ji Chen snapped his fingers and lit the cigarette in his mouth, returning to the computer to log into his Weibo account. After entering the password and verifying a successful login,
he didnât respond rigidly according to the clarification draft; instead, he made some alterations of his own.
[I didnât respond before because I didnât want to waste public resources, but I never imagined my silence would actually embolden the rumormongers to become even more excessive. I cannot tolerate it anymore!]@@novelbin@@
[I have never had any contact with underage fans, and I reiterate this point once again. I have never done anything against the law, and I am sorry to have disturbed everyone.]
â¦
[If any such actions had occurred, please rest assured, I would put myself in jail.]
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