Mysterious Assistant of the Washed-Up Queen-Chapter 526 - 337: Heartache and Helplessness_2

"Don’t panic yet. I didn’t have a choice in this matter. Let’s go over there and talk about it."

With people coming and going, the place was indeed inconvenient, so Li Chunhua led Chu Tian to a deserted area.

They hadn’t completely fallen out, so Chu Tian followed her lead, while also seeking to understand Sister Hua’s true intentions.

"It’s not as serious as you think."

Once they arrived, Sister Hua shook her mobile phone and said, "This has all been arranged in advance. Qingqiu is aware of it. Don’t think you’re the only one who cares about her. I’m not blind. How could I not see that she’s already tired enough?

"Besides, when have you ever seen me so short-sighted? To ignore a stable profit and exhaust her to the point of collapse?"

After mocking Chu Tian a bit and seeing that he had softened somewhat, Sister Hua continued, "This time it’s invitations from several top companies that require her presence at an event. Don’t worry, it won’t be tiring. She just needs to show up and make an appearance.

"Moreover, due to her accumulated business engagements and the popularity from her concert, a crowd is eagerly seeking her endorsements. If you refuse them all, it’s easy to offend people.

"You might not realize this, but you do understand how the world works on a day-to-day basis. Sometimes, refusing is the same as offending. Not everyone can have their cake and eat it too, nor is it always possible."

What Sister Hua said was indeed true. Many people might think that being sought after for advertising endorsements is like being given money, and it’s your loss if you don’t accept.

But in reality, it’s not that simple. If you’re clever, those large corporations aren’t dumb either.

Do you think your tens of millions or hundreds of millions in endorsement fees are so profitable? Then are those who pay the money fools? Do you think popularity and traffic are just for show? That’s all real money.

It’s not scary to have popularity and traffic, but when your numbers are off the charts or even unmatched, that’s truly frightening.

In the eyes of capital, that’s the ultimate prize.

At such times, countless people will come waving their cash. Do you think a simple refusal will do? How naive!

Refusing once might be okay. They may think you’re holding out for a better offer. Refusing twice is still okay—youthful arrogance, ambition, no big deal.

But if you keep refusing over and over, what are you trying to imply? Are you too noble? Do you view money as dirt? Do you really think capital has that much patience?

Do you know what ’if they can’t have it, they’ll destroy it’ means?

Some might argue that it’s impossible to accept all offers. There simply isn’t enough time for that.

But if you accept a few, won’t the others feel jealous and uncomfortable?

This leads to some unwritten rules within the industry.

Jealousy is inevitable, and it’s common for companies to bad-mouth each other.

However, there is a line in business competition. If you choose someone else, it’s merely a loss in competition.

The other party can find an equal rival to challenge, or engage in market competition through marketing strategies.

But it’s uncommon for people to dig up dirt and sling mud. It’s akin to the underworld’s rule of not bringing trouble to one’s family.

Celebrities are just a tool. Moreover, they are a very effective tool for making money.

The most important thing is, few celebrities have a clean slate.

Today you take down my endorser, tomorrow I take down yours. Then which celebrity will dare to accept endorsements?

If nobody dares to accept, who will companies turn to for advertising? Who will harvest the fans?

So sometimes the rules are just that, unless you’re at the end of your rope and planning to drag everyone down with you.

Otherwise, no one plays that way.

Just like in the past, there were many celebrities with endorsements, and many of them were involved in scandals.

How many celebrities have had their careers ruined since then? Do people in the industry not know about those incidents? Does capital not know? Impossible!

It’s just an unspoken agreement, and nobody makes a fuss about it. For capital, these people are useful, as is the industry. That’s why these so-called rules exist.

Currently, Xu Qingqiu was facing such a situation. Since her resurgence in popularity, she had gone from minor engagements to almost surpassing top-tier fame.

However, on Chu Tian’s advice, Xu Qingqiu had never accepted any long-term, fixed endorsements.

There were advertisements, but most of them were one-offs, mainly because Chu Tian felt she could make rapid progress in a short time.

If she had signed endorsement deals too early, it would have been a huge loss.

After all, an endorsement deal usually lasts at least a year, and most span three years. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

If she had signed earlier, she would’ve topped out at less than six million a year. Now? She wouldn’t even consider anything less than ten or twenty million—that’s the difference.

Moreover, a person doesn’t just have one endorsement deal. How much is lost in between all of them? Conservatively speaking, she’d be looking at a loss of two to three hundred million.

But just because they weren’t signing didn’t mean they could keep not signing. That’s how it was now.

Once Sister Hua mentioned it, Chu Tian understood the implications right away. The real motive behind asking her to make a public appearance isn’t just for the show; it’s to feel out her intentions. If I’ve guessed correctly, this is their way of telling her she has enough popularity, that it’s time to cash in and lock things down.

"I understand. Is there anything else?"

Seeing that he had caught on, Sister Hua also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, there are a few more things. The concert posters need a new batch of materials. Also, there are two variety shows she needs to attend, just to make an appearance."

A day should suffice for the poster update. As for the variety shows, making guest appearances just means showing her face for good pay. The key is that they aren’t prank or sports-themed, so they won’t be too tiring. Sister Hua should be well aware of this.

"She’s had almost half a month off this time. The workload isn’t as heavy as you think. In fact, Qingqiu could get quite a bit of rest in between."

It was indeed a lot of time, but if one really counted, most of it was rest snatched in cars or hotels. But such a break is rare for celebrities. There are quite a few workhorse stars who work 360 out of 365 days a year. As Sister Hua said, this situation would indeed be considered rest for Xu Qingqiu.

Chu Tian just found it somewhat ironic.

"All right then. Try to squeeze in more time for her to get proper rest. If possible, there’s no need to rush the concert schedule."

"Of course, I know that. Haven’t you seen the work plan? Subsequent concerts will probably maintain a frequency of two concerts a month to three every two months. Isn’t that a reasonable workload?

"And it’s not every month like this. There could be a month or two of downtime later. The busiest time is already behind us—we’ve made it through that, haven’t we!"

Chu Tian knew this, of course. He was just concerned. Since Sister Hua put it that way, he didn’t say more.

Many people only see the glamour of celebrities, but who knows the helplessness behind it? Celebrities, aside from being more famous, honestly, don’t count for much else. Money-wise, no matter how much a celebrity makes, can they earn more than those companies? Otherwise, it would be unclear who the real boss is. They can’t compete in terms of money or social status. Those people are the bosses, and celebrities are just workers at their mercy—what status do they truly have? Not to mention connections, power, and influence. Aside from earning a bit more money and looking glamorous to the average person, they’re nothing else.

Does anyone really think I’ve seen through the vanities of the world and don’t like money? That I’m so detached from fame and fortune I’m about to become a monk? I’ve simply seen through the truth and am unwilling to step into this quagmire. But now that I’m in the game, it’s impossible to remain uninvolved. The most I can do is strive to enhance my own influence, to provide some shelter for the people I care about—that’s all.

As for changing the whole entertainment industry? Don’t make me laugh. What is the industry? It’s just a circle. Those who really wield power—are they in the circle? No, they’re standing outside it with a baton, dictating terms. Aren’t they better off than those inside? Being inside the circle myself, how could I talk about change?

To put it bluntly, this circle is like one drawn on a piece of white paper, and it was drawn by someone else with a pen. The real decision-makers aren’t even on the same plane as us. What I can do is very limited. I can only keep improving my influence until one day, my name can genuinely impact the world. Only then will I have the standing to negotiate with them.

Do such people exist? Yes, but they are few. In my last life, probably only Brother Jackie reached that point, right? It’s not to say that no one else in the circle could reach that point. It’s just that he was probably the only one who did it purely by his own strength. There were others, of course, but they all had various connections—childhood friends, ancestral networks, or powerful backers.