Starting from a Bar to Sign Internet Celebrities-Chapter 114 - 111: Am I That Kind of Person?

(Some people actually say a celebrity wouldn’t be stupid enough to use their real name to report someone. Not only would they, but it happens quite often. It’s not even rare for celebrities to report other celebrities. It all comes down to whether there’s something to gain. So, it’s useless to curse me out; I’m not changing it!)

...

They were in a private room at the restaurant again.

Because the video Cen Ning had filmed today turned out well and was on track to easily break a million likes, Sister Hong had arranged a team-building dinner for everyone involved in the shoot.

Based on the growth in metrics, Cenchun’s video from this shoot was expected to surpass 1.5 million likes. The only problem was that the other girls couldn’t leech much traffic from it, so the results weren’t as good as previous team shoots.

Sister Hong couldn’t figure out why, but during the meal, she still comforted the other girls, "Don’t be discouraged. As long as you seize your opportunities, you’ll eventually make it big. Who knows, maybe one of you will be the next Jiang Xiaobai, Yinyin, or Cenchun!"

At these words, all the girls at the table turned in unison to look at their boss, Chen Jincheng.

’What opportunity could possibly be better than catching the boss’s eye?’

The intense gazes of about ten girls made Chen Jincheng uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and said, "Sister Hong is right. You should all work hard to improve yourselves in your spare time. For example, practice your dancing more. Then, when we’re filming a dance video, that’ll be your chance. Who knows, with a bit of luck, your video could go viral just like Xiaobai’s, Yinyin’s, or Cenchun’s."

Hearing this, the ten girls couldn’t help but purse their lips.

’The first half of what the boss said sounded reasonable, but the second half was a complete insult to our intelligence.’

’Did Yinyin, Xiaobai, and Cenchun really get popular just because of good luck?’

’Does he take us for fools?’

’Then again, getting noticed by a boss like you *is* a stroke of good luck, isn’t it?’

Sister Hong naturally sensed the mood of the girls at the table and simply smiled without saying a word.

’The boss dug this pit for himself. Nothing to be done about it.’

"Boss, this dish is delicious. Have a taste," Cen Ning said with a sweet smile, pointedly holding a piece of food to Chen Jincheng’s lips.

Chen Jincheng opened his mouth and let the girl place the food inside. He knew perfectly well that she was looking for some emotional validation. It was just a bite of food, an effortless gesture.

This made Cen Ning happy, and she grew bolder, picking up a piece of chicken. "Boss, this chicken is really good too!"

Chen Jincheng once again enjoyed the girl’s service.

The sight made the other girls cringe with envy.

’So this is what "luck" looks like, right?’

But Cen Ning was starting to get carried away. Emboldened by two glasses of wine, she couldn’t resist leaning close to Chen Jincheng’s ear and asking, "Boss, are you going to the bar tonight? I’m in a great mood today. I can keep you company and have a few more drinks."

Chen Jincheng glanced at the girl.

It was a blatant hint.

When a woman offers to have "a few more drinks" with you, what happens when she’s had too much? Naturally, she gets drunk. And when she’s drunk, she naturally needs you to take care of her. Everyone understood what "taking care of her" entailed.

Cen Ning looked at her boss with anticipation. Truly. The last time, fueled by alcohol, she had impulsively invited him over to her place. When he left, she had actually breathed a sigh of relief.

This time was different. She was genuinely happy.

Sister Hong predicted this video would break 1.5 million likes and gain her several hundred thousand followers. If another video could achieve the same result, breaking a million followers would be no problem.

Besides, her boss was so handsome. For someone who was all about looks, it was no loss at all.

Chen Jincheng understood the girl’s meaning perfectly, but before he could speak, Sister Hong’s phone suddenly rang, shattering the atmosphere.

"What?" Sister Hong’s expression turned grim after answering the call. She frowned and reported to Chen Jincheng, "Boss, we’ve been reported to the platform by someone using their real name. And it’s a celebrity!"

"???" Chen Jincheng was stunned. "What’s going on?"

He was a bit baffled.

Why on earth would a celebrity use their real name to report them?

They were in the social media business. Aside from some ads, they had little to do with the entertainment industry. How had he earned the special treatment of being formally reported by a star?

Sister Hong explained, "It’s about Xiaobai’s first two videos, and the chest-bouncing dance video with Yinyin and the other girls. They were reported for being vulgar and borderline inappropriate. Tiao Yin also reminded us that the higher-ups issued a rectification notice. They were originally going to handle it internally and just block those types of videos."

"But now that a celebrity has filed a formal report, Tiao Yin has no choice but to take down all of Second-Life Star’s videos of that nature and issue a public notice of punishment."

Chen Jincheng wasn’t surprised that the authorities were cracking down.

It was just like in the other world. He knew Jiang Xiaobai’s two videos—the ones that straddled the line of what the censors would approve—couldn’t last. He also knew the chest-bouncing dance video was doomed. They were bound to be taken down sooner or later.

After the crackdown, this kind of borderline content would completely disappear from Tiao Yin. Videos like these would be throttled, and in the future, it wouldn’t matter how good-looking or beautiful you were, or how sexy your bikini was—you’d never get any traffic.

But to be formally reported by a celebrity and slapped with a public punishment notice on top of that... that was a real screw-over.

"Who reported us?" Chen Jincheng asked.

"Li Yueling!" Sister Hong said with a frown.

"Her?" Chen Jincheng’s brow furrowed.

He naturally remembered this female celebrity. He had met her before at Jinglan Women’s Clothing.

As for grudges, it seemed the only one was that Jiang Xiaobai’s sleepwear ad had overshadowed Li Yueling’s ad for Jinglan Women’s Clothing.

If that was the case, it was normal for her to resent Second-Life Star, and understandable that she might take some action against them.

Don’t be fooled by the glamorous exteriors of those celebrities, with their carefully crafted personas of magnanimity and high moral character. In private, many of them are petty, lead chaotic lives, and are even morally corrupt. There’s nothing their fans can’t imagine that they haven’t already done.

In the other world, a certain big shot had written a biography about the entertainment industry that completely exposed its ugly side.

The contents were absolutely shocking to one’s core values. Simply unbelievable.

At first, this big shot was flamed by fans of those celebrities, and many stars even joined forces to get the biography banned.

But the internet has a long memory, and you could still find that content in many places. Moreover, a lot of it had already been confirmed, especially by the stars whose careers collapsed and who ended up in jail, proving the biography’s credibility.

Seriously, a lofty, goddess-like celebrity, unattainable in the eyes of ordinary people and her fans, would actually lick a rich man’s toes. Can you believe it?

Perhaps many people wouldn’t believe it, thinking only a fool would fall for such things.

But the key is that it was the truth. And this "goddess" was the type who had won numerous awards.

But if it was just because of the grudge over that one ad, Li Yueling wouldn’t go so far as to formally report Second-Life Star. It would seem so petty, and Tiao Yin would probably get a bad impression of her, right?

This meant she definitely had some other motive.

"Let’s head back to the company first and look into what Li Yueling has been up to lately," Chen Jincheng said with a frown. "Whatever her motive is, since she’s pulled this stunt, we at Second-Life Star have to respond. We can’t let people think we’re an easy target."

As for Cen Ning and the other girls, it was time for them to get back to work at the bar.

It was just that this sudden incident left Cen Ning a bit disappointed. Another opportunity wasted.

Before long, Chen Jincheng and Sister Hong arrived at the Second-Life Star offices. The girls who were scheduled to stream that night were already there, since they had all received notifications from Tiao Yin on their account dashboards about the video takedowns.

Jiang Xiaobai and Yinyin, in particular, looked at him pitifully.

Their viral videos were gone, and they had received warning notices. They were both quite upset.

After all, to them, regardless of whether the videos were borderline inappropriate, they were a testament to their success and held a certain significance.

Seeing the two girls’ expressions, Chen Jincheng offered some comfort. "Alright, don’t look so down. The videos are gone, so be it. I’ll help you shoot even better ones in the future. Those who have to stream, go get ready. Don’t dwell on this."

Only then did the two girls head back to their streaming rooms to prepare. At the same time, they both picked up their phones and sent messages.

Chen Jincheng had just sat down in his office when he received two consecutive messages:

Jiang Xiaobai: "Cheng, I’m still upset. I need you to comfort me. (I bought a new outfit!)"

Yinyin: "Boss, that video is gone, I’m so unhappy... I bought a new nightgown. Can you help me shoot another one?"

The crucial part was that both girls had attached a very sexy photo of themselves in sleepwear with barely any fabric. ’You might as well not wear anything at all,’ he thought.

Looking at the messages from the two girls, Chen Jincheng was speechless.

’Damn, do all girls play this game?’

’But was he that kind of person?’

He immediately picked up his phone and righteously replied to Jiang Xiaobai: "I’m meeting a client at the bar later tonight. I have to leave a little after 12 AM!"

Then, he replied to Yinyin: "I’m meeting a client at the bar before 12 AM, so I’ll only be free after 12 AM!"