I became famous in the entertainment industry by burning incense

Chapter 565 Behind every person in a relationship, there is bound to be a strategist who doesn't date.

Jinli was the first to learn from Gu Cheng that they might be able to relinquish the global endorsement of the Dream Order.

The reason for adding "maybe" is that whether this endorsement will be effective depends on Gu Cheng's college entrance examination results.

Jinli couldn't help but smile.

"We are both celebrities who took the college entrance examination this year, and our situations are sometimes quite similar. However, I am not as lucky as you. No luxury brand will consider whether to hire me as a global spokesperson based on my college entrance examination results."

On the contrary, Fangfei's side probably anticipated my good college entrance exam results and wanted me to promote them in advance, in exchange for simply reducing my betting risk, which I refused.

Gu Cheng's eyes flickered slightly, and he said meaningfully, "I dare not mention luck in front of you."

Jinli returned his smile with an innocent one.

Seeing that she was in a good mood, Gu Cheng asked curiously, "You went back to Chenxi Entertainment?"

Jinli: "Hmm, there's a ton of things piling up at the company that I need to decide on. I went back yesterday to take care of them. Oh, by the way, guess who I saw at the company?"

Gu Cheng thought about it carefully and began to make a serious guess.

"Qi Guanmingzhu and Xi Mengze are your best friends. You see each other often, so you wouldn't be so surprised if you saw them. Hmm, could it be that Ji Qinglian went to your company?"

But as soon as he said it, he immediately denied it.

"No, it can't be Ji Qinglian. There aren't many artists who can be the face of Tianding now, and Ji Qinglian is one of them."

She was originally recruited by Tianding, and now that Tianding is in such turmoil, the higher-ups will likely keep a closer eye on Ji Qinglian to prevent her from being poached by other competitors.

The more unstable the company, the more stable these artists must be.

As long as there are artists, no matter what the company does, it will still exist.

But if all the artists leave one by one, even the most powerful company will be reduced to a situation where even the most skilled cook cannot make a meal without ingredients.

Even the best network of connections needs people to utilize them in order to maximize their value.

While pondering the matter, Gu Cheng suddenly had a flash of inspiration and remembered an interesting story that Jin Li had told him during filming in January or February.

He guessed, "I remember you mentioned to me before that Xu Wenwen had high hopes for a female actress, while you had high hopes for the agent of a good-for-nothing male actor in the crew, and you both extended invitations to join Chenxi Entertainment."

Judging by the timeline, major entertainment companies have successively completed their recruitment for this year last month and this month. Those two people you had your eye on, could they have already been snapped up by Chenxi Entertainment?

Jinli looked at him in surprise, "How could you figure this out? Are you a tapeworm in my stomach?"

Gu Cheng smiled without saying a word, and gently tapped his head.

Jinli: ...

Damn it, why can't we just steal his brain and eat it!

Jinli: "Yes, you guessed right, they are the cast members of 'My Mediocre Life'. I saw them in Sister Fang's office yesterday, and we watched 'Shining Glory' together and had hot pot together in the evening."

When asked about "Shining Glory," although she had watched the entire show and couldn't yet see what was so special about it, she still asked:
"This variety show won't have any impact on you, will it?"

Gu Cheng said calmly, "If the editing and footage of the second episode are of the same quality as the first episode, it won't affect us at all."

Jinli: "In the second episode, they will mainly promote the new boy group that Tianding Entertainment is promoting, so they should release more exciting content."

Gu Cheng smiled faintly: "It won't affect us."

Jinli was relieved.

She seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Do you have a major you're interested in?"

Gu Cheng was about to say yes when he suddenly noticed the curiosity in Jin Li's eyes. He quickly changed his mind and said, "I'm still thinking. But you, have you found a major and university you like?"

Jinli smiled and said, "There is a major that I think is quite interesting and can make use of my strengths and characteristics, but I am not sure if I can get in because I found that the universities that offer this major have relatively high score requirements."

Gu Cheng said confidently, "You will definitely get in."

Jinli: "And what about you?"

Gu Cheng winked at her: "Guess."

Jinli snorted softly. She wasn't going to guess. Even if she didn't know now, she would definitely find out in the future.

She had a premonition that even if Gu Cheng went to university, he wouldn't be far away from her.

The two had been having an ambiguous relationship for a long time, and although neither of them had officially confessed their feelings, it was only a matter of time.

Jinli: "I'm not going to talk about it anymore. Mengmeng called me to the karaoke room and asked me to choose a song for her."

Upon hearing this, Gu Cheng had a sudden thought and let Jin Li hang up the phone.
-
Gu Cheng put away his phone and suddenly sat down at the dining table.

In the past, Gu Cheng liked to sit on the sofa in the living room to do his homework, while the dining table was the territory of Yan Xingdong and others.

Now that Gu Cheng has finished his college entrance exams, everyone has already formed their habits and doesn't move around much anymore.

Luo Yi and Chen Lin were also at the dining table; they had a rare day off.

But even this one day off was only made possible by Brother Guang through a lot of coordination.

Guang told them to take care of themselves and not to exhaust themselves by running around doing promotional events. Otherwise, if their looks weren't up to par, Ru Mengling wouldn't even notice them.

Chen Lin idly tapped on his phone, constantly bothering Qi Guan Mingzhu.

Regardless of what his sister thinks, the younger brother is primarily clingy and enthusiastic.

Luo Yi slowly took a sip of goji berry tea, and was about to ask, "Why did you come here if you don't want to? Gu Cheng, why are you sitting here?" when Gu Cheng spoke first:

"Captain, did you know that Xi Mengze is going to participate in the variety show 'I Am a Singer' recently?"

Yan Xingdong was scrolling through dance videos on his phone when he heard this, and immediately looked up.

"I know, what do you want to say?"

Gu Cheng said in a seductive tone, "Didn't we help Xi Mengze research the competition songs before? Although those songs were quite cheesy, they sounded good when sung, and the response online was very positive."

Yan Xingdong: "So?"

Gu Cheng laid his cards on the table: "Don't you want to help her choose one more time?"

Yan Xingdong hesitated for a few seconds, then honestly said, "I really want to."

Now it was Luo Yi's turn to get anxious. He said with exasperation, "Then call and ask if you need any help!"

Yan Xingdong hesitated for a moment before saying, "I know she's been quite busy lately. This variety show really tests a singer's mentality. I want to help, but I'm afraid it might bother her."

[Honest and timid].jpg
Even Luo Yi, an outsider, was worried for him: "How can you be so incompetent? Look at Xiao Lin, she calls him 'sister' dozens of times a day just to pursue him, but you're just standing there, too scared to move!"

Yan Xingdong muttered, "You talk like you have a lot of experience."

Luo Yi: ...

To be honest, although I don't date, I'm very good at it.

You might not know this, but behind every person in a relationship, there is bound to be a strategist who doesn't date.

Luo Yi looked at him speechlessly: "Anyway, just listen to me, you can't go wrong. Take out your phone and ask Xi Mengze if she needs your help. If you don't know how to start a conversation, share the BL comics you've been secretly reading recently. I don't believe she won't reply to you after seeing that."

Yan Xingdong: Σ(⊙▽⊙“a
You little brat, how did you know I was planning to use some kind of heretical path to chase after someone?
Xi Mengze has indeed been very busy lately; he hasn't been able to reply much to the anime he shared from the past.

He also has very busy times, so I understand. I originally wanted to secretly keep the BL comics as a key trump card.

But now, is it really time to use it?

Yan Xingdong hesitated again, glancing at the three men. They all nodded in unison: "Use it!"

Yan Xingdong took a deep breath and used it.

He sent over a few BL (Boys' Love) comics.

Whether Xi Mengze was simply not busy or was checking her phone, just a few seconds later, she replied with three huge exclamation marks—

【! ! ! 】

Have you been watching this kind of anime lately?

【you……】

Are you okay?

Heaven has mercy, for he actually detected a hint of trepidation in these conversations.

Yan Xingdong quickly replied: 【No, no! I just stumbled upon this in a spare moment during my busy schedule. I found the description interesting, so I saved it. After looking at a few pages, I thought the content was good, so I sent it over to share with you.】

Xi Mengze: [Oh, I see. Sigh, I've been so busy lately. Jinli's staying home, Zhenzhu went abroad for a gig, and because I took on a singer's gig, Fang Jie's been keeping a close eye on me, insisting I get in shape. She won't even let me go on my favorite trip!]

I've never seen her this nervous when she first participated in a singing competition before, I don't know why she reacted so strongly this time.

Yan Xingdong: [Pat on head.jpg]

Yan Xingdong: [It's probably because the singer I worked with last year didn't get good reviews, so my manager is also feeling nervous.]

Xi Mengze: [I don't think it's a big deal. I'm just going to tank anyway, preferably get eliminated in the first round. I don't want to advance any further!]

Yan Xingdong had just typed the word "comic" when Luo Yi gave him a serious nudge and pointed it out:
"What comics should we talk about? You're not interested in BL comics. Since we've mentioned singers, let's talk about singers and ask her if she needs help choosing songs."

Yan Xingdong suddenly understood, as if a fog had been cleared, and immediately did as instructed.

Xi Mengze quickly replied: 【Yes, yes! Jinli is coming over later, let's chat together!】

Yan Xingdong belatedly looked at Gu Cheng and asked, "You did this on purpose, didn't you? Did you want to chat with Jinli?"

Gu Cheng countered, "Don't you want to chat with Xi Mengze?"

Yan Xingdong: "Ahem."
-
Jinli arrived at Mengmeng's karaoke room and discovered that even Qiguan Mingzhu, who was traveling abroad for work, had returned to greet her.

"You've been traveling abroad for work lately, have you visited your family?"

Qi Guanmingzhu, wearing amber-colored contact lenses, smiled warmly: "Yes, I stayed at home for seven days, and they kicked me out, saying I'd get moldy if I stayed any longer."

Jinli shook her head, knowing that Pearl's application to run overseas gigs was actually a pretext for returning home to recuperate.

The Pearl family also has a family business, which, while not considered a luxury brand internationally, is still a well-known top-tier brand.

They always keep the profits within the family, and have always had Pearl as their global spokesperson.

Pearl flies abroad every year to participate in many brand events.

She was nominally going to attend an event, but in reality, it was up to her whether she went or not. Her family wouldn't say anything, and they didn't really rely on pearls to expand the brand awareness of their family business.

Brands with centuries of history don't rely on celebrities to boost sales; they depend on quality and reputation. They simply need to retain loyal customers who are willing to spend money on them, and their reputation will grow stronger over time.

Xi Mengze greeted them warmly and took out a large tablet.

Jinli looked up and saw Gu Cheng's face displayed on one of the small screens.

He winked at himself.

Jinli winked at him too.

They both laughed simultaneously.

Xi Mengze waved his hand and said with great magnanimity, "Without further ado, let's get straight to the point. I've already decided on the song for the first episode of Singer. I'll sing the title song 'Dawn' to support Jinli's movie."

Jinli knew that the show "Singer" gave singers a lot of freedom. It said that singers could choose their own songs, and while she couldn't guarantee the quality of the later episodes, at least in the early stages, singers were indeed allowed to choose their own songs.

Moreover, songs can be changed at the last minute, before the singer goes on stage.

Many singers change their songs at the last minute the night before they are about to go on stage.

This song-changing tactic has happened so many times that even the show's production team is used to it.

Jinli then said, "Why don't you think about it again? You only sang the movie's promotional song, and they didn't give you any extra promotional fees. I play the second female lead in the movie 'Dawn,' so it's not worth it for you to do this."

Xi Mengze said with a grin, "It's not just because of you. I also really like the song 'Dawn.' I think it's very powerful and inspiring. The song has a gentle rhythm as well as high notes that explode, making it sound uplifting and exciting. It's perfect for a competition song."

Jinli looked at her for a while, and only after confirming that she really liked it did she say, "Then you can decide."

However, she would still mention to Sister Fang in private that she must ask the "Dawn" production team for publicity fees, so that she wouldn't sing for nothing, especially since Director Chu wasn't short of money.

Yan Xingdong asked, "So, are you choosing these songs to use as backups?"

Xi Mengze shook his head: "No, I don't plan to use any backup songs. I've decided that all the songs I choose will be for the competition. Today, I just want to decide on the songs for the competition so that I won't have to worry about it so much later."

Even if the competition song is decided but the performance venue is not, the singers can still freely combine songs.

Many singers prepare two or three songs for the same stage, choosing one for competition. If they feel unsteady during rehearsals, they switch to another backup song.

Xi Mengze didn't want to go through that trouble.

Her mindset is different from those singers.

I originally decided to participate to protect Jinli from trouble. Although I didn't get my wish, I still had to bite the bullet and go for it since I had already agreed.

Her initial goal was the same as two years ago: to be eliminated in the first round!

Chen Lin casually picked up a fruit plate and stuck a slice of watermelon on it.

"Want to be eliminated in the first round? It's easy, just sing love songs. Don't singers hate popular love songs on stage?"

Yan Xingdong picked up a piece of cantaloupe: "I also think that singing love songs tends to lead to quick fading into obscurity and easy elimination."

Gu Cheng: "I second that."

Jinli thought of the singer's stage and agreed, saying, "Sing love songs, just simple little love songs, don't make it too complicated."

Qi Guanmingzhu: "Agreed!"

Xi Mengze had a look that was hard to describe.

"...Don't think that just because I'm old, I've lost my memory. You said the same thing when I participated in the Singer stage two years ago."

She won't fall for the same tricks and the same tactics twice.

Jinli thought for a moment and said, "Then let's just choose competition songs. Everyone has to sing songs that require hitting high notes. You can do the same. That way you won't stand out, but whether you get eliminated depends on luck."

Xi Mengze thought that was a good idea.

It's important to follow the crowd; don't try to be different.

Two years ago, she almost survived to the end singing love songs; it nearly scared her to death.

Yan Xingdong: "But can your voice handle it?"

Xi Mengze frowned slightly: "I can't hit high notes for too long. My comfort zone is in the low range, so I can only do short bursts."

Friends, I've been feeling really weak lately. I had gastroenteritis and had to get IV fluids for two days. My memory might also be a bit off; I mistakenly remembered the combination "[June Summer]" as "[June Sky]," but I've corrected it to "[June Summer]" now.