Starting from a Bar to Sign Internet Celebrities

Seeing the store clerk’s reaction, Chen Jincheng knew she had recognized him and smiled back at her.

"C-Can we take a photo together?" the store clerk asked nervously.

"What’s my name? If you can tell me, we’ll take a photo," Chen Jincheng said with a smile.

"Huh???" The store clerk froze.

There was no way she’d know his name. A friend had only just recommended she listen to "Can’t Help Falling in Love" today. The song was incredibly sweet, especially when you watched the music video.

She just never imagined that the handsome guy who suddenly came in to buy cigarettes would be the man from the music video. Plus, he was just as stunning in person; his looks didn’t falter one bit compared to the screen.

So, after hearing what Chen Jincheng said, she immediately ran to the computer, pulled up the song’s information, and then hastily said, "You’re Chen Jincheng."

After saying this, she looked at him with an expectant gaze.

"Let’s do it," Chen Jincheng said, understanding that this clerk wasn’t actually one of his fans.

Wanting a photo with him was a common impulse for many people. It was the satisfaction of meeting a celebrity, snapping a picture to post on social media, and basking in their friends’ envy, a way to show off their good luck.

In fact, it wasn’t just celebrities. People would do the same with important figures or even famous landmarks, taking a picture to upload to their social feeds.

However, agreeing to a photo in these situations was also one of the easiest ways to turn someone into a fan.

Some people who didn’t even follow celebrities would, after getting a photo with one, start paying attention to that star, buying their products and merchandise. If someone bad-mouthed that celebrity, they might even jump in to defend them: "That’s not true. I got a picture with him at so-and-so place, and he was super friendly. A really nice guy."

Besides, this was the first time a girl had ever asked him for a photo out in public.

After getting his approval, the store clerk excitedly walked over to Chen Jincheng and opened her phone’s camera.

Chen Jincheng obligingly struck a pose, and the clerk snapped a few quick pictures with her phone, not forgetting to thank him. "Thank you, thank you! You’re so nice!"

"I didn’t even confess or anything, and I’m already getting the ’nice guy’ card?" Chen Jincheng teased.

The store clerk was obviously very innocent. Her face flushed red when she heard him, and she stammered nervously, "Ah... no... that’s not what I meant..."

"Just kidding. Have a good one!" Chen Jincheng said with another smile before leaving. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’This girl is clearly the super-innocent type. Can’t take a joke at all.’

’Normally, I wouldn’t tease a girl like her.’

The store clerk watched him leave. It took a long while for her blushing face to cool down. Then, she happily posted their photo on her social media feed: "My luck is insane today! I met the singer of ’Can’t Help Falling in Love,’ and he’s so handsome!"

She just wanted to share her good fortune, but her friends’ comments quickly left her bewildered.

"Holy shit, talk about bad luck. You ran into *the* scumbag?"

"Holy crap, it really is that scumbag!"

"Xiaojie, don’t you know he’s the internet’s number one scumbag?"

"Holy shit, the Ancestral Master himself! Girl, get away from him, fast!"

"????" Seeing the stream of comments, the store clerk was utterly baffled. ’Why does this feel... wrong?’

Still, she couldn’t resist replying to them: "I thought he seemed really nice and was easy to talk to."

...

Chen Jincheng, however, knew nothing of this. He was already back in his car, driving into Wanxiang City.

After finding a spot in the parking garage, he contacted Lin Hao. "I’m at Wanxiang City, in the garage now."

"Lao Cheng, tell me where you are in the garage. I’ll be there in a minute," came Lin Hao’s voice.

"I’m over in Section C, 178!" Chen Jincheng said, glancing at the number on his parking spot.

"Got it. Give me a minute," said Lin Hao.

And indeed, Chen Jincheng didn’t have to wait long before a sports car pulled up next to him. Lin Hao stepped out, but what surprised Chen Jincheng was the woman who got out with him.

’Isn’t that the ’teacher’?’

’What’s going on?’

’She still hasn’t left?’

The moment she stepped out of the car, Chen Jincheng shot Lin Hao an astonished look. ’What the hell is this guy trying to pull?’

The teacher walked over to Lin Hao’s side and intimately linked her arm through his.

Lin Hao brought the teacher over to him. "Lao Cheng, no introduction needed, right?" he said.

At the same time, he didn’t forget to introduce Chen Jincheng to her. "Yuuya, this is my friend. You can just call him Mr. Chen."

Teacher San Shang immediately broke into a sweet smile and shook Chen Jincheng’s hand, greeting him in halting Chinese, "Mr. Chen, hello!"

After shaking her hand, Chen Jincheng turned to Lin Hao. "What’s the deal? Are you serious about this?"

Lin Hao looked a bit awkward at the question. "Not exactly ’serious,’ but I’ve developed feelings. After spending time with her, I realized she’s more genuine than the other girls at the company. People say she entered the industry for money, but she’s actually less of a gold-digger than they are. I had someone look into it. Turns out she only did it because her best friend backstabbed her."

"And you believe that?" Chen Jincheng asked, stunned.

"Nope!" Lin Hao laughed. "But it doesn’t matter. The point is, I’m having fun right now. Anyway, Lao Cheng, her industry contract from ’14 expires next month. I want to sign her to my company and have her shoot daily life videos with me, just like you said. What do you think? Any suggestions?"

Chen Jincheng had a good idea of what Lin Hao was getting at. "Ah Hao, that’s not too difficult. It’s already the end of August. In a few days, Tiao Yin is going to launch new 20-second and 60-second video length options. You know how many of the ’teacher’s’ movies have intros that could be uploaded to Tiao Yin, right? You see what I’m getting at?"

"I get it, I get it!" Lin Hao’s eyes lit up. Having been live-streaming and shooting videos with Teacher San Shang for the past few days, he understood the hint immediately. At the same time, he was deeply impressed by Chen Jincheng’s intel. "Lao Cheng, Tiao Yin hasn’t even launched that feature, and you already know about it. You’re really something else."

Considering the Ferrari SF90, Chen Jincheng gave Lin Hao some advice. "If you’re serious about signing Teacher San Shang, I have a suggestion. Her potential value is way beyond that of a typical female influencer. You could launch her own clothing line, and you can also develop her brand as an international content creator and model."

’This was the same path she’d taken in the other world, too.’

’Granted, the version of her from 2018 wasn’t as famous as she was in the other world, where she’d not only taken the top spot but dominated the charts for ages. Still, her film from this year, ’Perfect Lover,’ had already pushed her popularity to the brink of surpassing the reigning top three. Her career path could absolutely be replicated here.’

’And the profits generated in this country could be even greater, especially from her popular clothing lines.’

Lin Hao was visibly stunned by all this.

He genuinely hadn’t thought that far ahead. "Lao Cheng, can you explain in more detail?" he asked, eager to learn.

Chen Jincheng explained, "You’ve seen Teacher San Shang’s movies, right? The sexy uniforms and outfits she wears can be manufactured and sold as her own clothing line."

"Remember that shopping cart feature in Jiang Xiaobai’s pajama ad? Once that function goes live on Tiao Yin, you can shoot videos with her and directly link the lingerie and uniforms for sale. Then just watch and see if they don’t sell like crazy."

"Whoa... incredible... My mind is blown!" Lin Hao’s eyes shone even brighter. "This is all thanks to you, Lao Cheng. I knew I wasn’t wrong to spec out that Ferrari SF90 for you to 9.8 million!"

He had profited immensely from his latest publicity stunt and felt he’d gotten the better end of the deal, which was why he had specced the car out to the absolute max. He had originally planned to make it a surprise but had blurted it out in his excitement.

"9.8 million? Why didn’t you say so sooner? I would’ve rather pitched in a little and gotten a Lamborghini Aventador!" Chen Jincheng couldn’t help but roast him a little.

’A Ferrari SF90 with millions in optional extras... that’s really something. But damn it, when you drive a car like that, nobody knows you spent all that extra money on options. Some jealous hater would probably take one look and say, ’Pfft, that’s definitely the base model.’’

’A Lamborghini Aventador is different. You drive that car out, and people know that even with minimal options, you’re looking at a ten-million-plus price tag once it hits the road!’

’For an influencer who needs it for clout, the two cars have completely different levels of impact.’

’Otherwise, why did Bai Bing in the other world feature his Lamborghini Aventador in so many videos, often just using the car as a background?’

’That’s intangible clout!’

But upon hearing this, Lin Hao decisively picked up his phone and made a call. "Is that twelve-million-plus Lamborghini Aventador still there? Yeah? Hold it for me. I misunderstood his preference before. Turns out my friend doesn’t like the Ferrari. I’m planning to give him the Lamborghini Aventador instead. A trade-in won’t be a problem, right?"

"For anyone else, it would be a problem, but since it’s you, Young Master Lin, there’s absolutely no problem. I was actually thinking of keeping that Lamborghini for myself, but hey, keeping this Ferrari SF90 is just as good!"

"Much appreciated." Lin Hao hung up and waved his phone at Chen Jincheng. "All settled."

Chen Jincheng couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion. Lin Hao was a truly stand-up guy. While a car worth over twelve million might be nothing compared to the potential profits from his advice, some people would offer sincere thanks while others would just burn the bridge after crossing it.

This was exactly why, since crossing over to this world, he hadn’t made many friends but had forged a deep friendship with Lin Hao.

But since his friend was being so generous, he decided to give him another tip. "If you’re going to sign Teacher San Shang, you’d be wise to have her obtain our country’s citizenship beforehand. That way, you can avoid a situation where a national ’clean-up’ campaign gets her completely banned and barred from even showing her face on livestreams."

Lin Hao froze for a second, then thanked him again, this time with heartfelt sincerity. "Lao Cheng, thanks for the reminder. Seriously. You’re the one who sees the long game in all this. Left to my own devices, I would never have thought that far ahead."

Truly, he had rarely admired anyone in his entire life, but when it came to navigating the internet, he was in absolute awe of Lao Cheng.