I became famous in the entertainment industry by burning incense

Chapter 644: If I gave you ten million or a degree from a prestigious university, which would you choose?

Fangjie picked up Jinli at the gate of Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

It's difficult to find a busy place in the early morning outside of work hours, especially when there are still three hours before work starts.

But the campuses of Tsinghua and Peking Universities are an exception.

It's only 6 a.m., and there are already many students coming and going.

After picking up Jinli, Sui Lingfang looked at the students chatting and laughing on the main road and sighed, "No wonder they are students from Tsinghua and Peking University, they get up so early!"

Jinli shrugged: "It's a pity you can't live at Tsinghua or Peking University, otherwise I would definitely go and see the brightly lit library. There are also many students looking up at the moon at 3:00 in the morning."

Sui Lingfang shuddered: "Spare working-class people like me."

Perhaps only students' schedules can keep up with those of working people.

However, the pressure on students often seems distant, and they may only experience that sense of urgency in their senior year of high school.

But the pressure on working people is everywhere.

Every month, I'm rushing to meet deadlines and performance targets. The boss's constant pressure, useless colleagues, and my own pathetic state...

Jinli asked, "I checked the sales figures for the August issue of 'Jinse' on the online store last night. It has already sold 30 copies. Considering the sales revenue from physical stores, do you know how many copies they have sold?"

It would have been better if Gu Cheng hadn't mentioned it yesterday.

When he mentioned it, she became a little curious about the actual sales figures of "Jinse," but there was hardly any information about it online.

Sui Lingfang said, "Yesterday I got the data from Jinse. In fact, the online store has already sold more than 50 copies, but now they are not allowing sales competition."

No matter how many more copies are sold, the sales figures will remain at 30+, and they are also launching the September issue of Jinse today.

Just yesterday, the August issue cover was officially removed from the online store and is no longer for sale.

She paused, then added, "If the August issue cover you shot with Gu Cheng hadn't been taken down and all the data hadn't been frozen, I wouldn't have been able to get the specific data from Jinse."

Jinli pondered, "More than 50 copies were sold online, which is a pretty good result."

Unlike novels, fashion magazines are not like novels, which nowadays occasionally become bestsellers selling millions of copies.

However, novels can satisfy people's spiritual needs, which is something that fashion magazines cannot do.

Sui Lingfang: "Physical sales are even better than online sales. I can't get their actual sales figures, but I know they sell more than online. So the August issue of Jinse magazine achieved an unprecedented million-dollar sales."

She chuckled as she said this: "This has put a lot of pressure on Jinse's competitors. They're starting to get annoyed that Jinse isn't generating this kind of sales during the peak sales season of September and October."

"If they achieve such huge sales during the off-season, and then fail to reach Jinse's sales figures during the peak season, the contrast will be too stark, making it difficult to secure further investment."

Jinli shook her head: "It's a paradox."

Although such astonishing sales figures during the off-season for magazines can be explained by some reason.

However, if placed in the peak sales season of September and October, their performance is outstanding, making other magazines seem even more incompetent.

After all, this level of success is probably even surpassed by the September and October issues of *Jinse* magazine itself.

Sui Lingfang smiled and said, "Yes, it's too difficult to compare. Even Jinse herself doesn't know if she can surpass her."

"And yesterday, when I was making inquiries, I heard one of the agents tell an interesting story."

That's Jinse's September and October issues. Actually, the photoshoot was already done back in August, but the celebrities they booked suddenly backed out and wouldn't allow their photos to be included in the September and October issues.

Jinli was taken aback and asked, "What kind of reverse operation is this?"
I've only ever heard of magazines temporarily changing celebrity covers, never of celebrities preventing magazines from being published normally.

Sui Lingfang deliberately turned her head to glance at Jinli, and said leisurely:

"I don't know who created this year's magazine sales miracle, which puts a lot of pressure on the celebrities who are going to be on the cover of the peak September and October season. They are afraid that their sales figures will not be as good as the original, so they simply choose not to appear on the cover."

Jinli exclaimed, "No way, really?"

Chen Qin couldn't help but say, "Seriously, those celebrities are all afraid their data can't beat yours, and they don't want to be compared to you, so they won't let Jinse be on their cover. Unless—"

"unless?"

Sui Lingfang revealed the answer: "Unless Jinse promises them that she will not put their covers on the Internet for sale and will only ship them in physical stores, they would rather break the contract and pay the penalty than cooperate."

Jinli finally understood.

She pondered for a moment, then smiled easily.

"I can only say that it seems that Jinse really benefited from the double issue in August, so she also wants to launch the issue online in September and October, hoping to boost online store sales by leveraging online traffic."

Sui Lingfang said, "In fact, Jinse has a very good plan for opening an online store. If they can successfully open an online store for sales, they will have an additional channel to earn advertising fees and will be able to ask advertisers for exorbitant prices."

The initial start was unexpectedly smooth, inadvertently creating an industry legend, which led to all the celebrities leaving.

Just think about it, and you'll understand why those celebrities are unwilling.

Jinli's current popularity is far ahead of other top-tier celebrities.

But she never became a superstar; she remained a top-tier celebrity in name only.

As top-tier celebrities, none of them want such a large gap in their popularity to provide data for gossip among netizens.

Jinli asked, "Then how was Jinse made?"

Sui Lingfang gave a light scoff.

I don't know if they're laughing at Jinse for being timid, or at those A-list celebrities for being timid and lacking even a little courage.

"What else can it do? If Jinse is unwilling to sustain its online store channels, no A-list celebrity will be willing to cooperate with it."

Unless it chooses veteran stars to appear during the peak sales season of September and October, those veteran stars have better public reputations, higher media exposure, and more classic works than you. They no longer care about data; they don't care even if the magazine's sales are dismal.

Sui Lingfang then changed the subject, "But September and October are nominally the peak season for magazines. They can't possibly choose old stars to appear in such a busy month, as that wouldn't attract advertisers."

"I'll let you in on a private note: Jinse's editor-in-chief still hasn't given up on the online store channel a few days ago. He even came over quietly to ask me if you could take some time to go there and take a few more sets of photos."

They meant they wanted to use your cover for their September issue, which I immediately refused.

Jinli quickly replied, "Good riddance. I've already shot the September issue of 'Fashion Trends' and signed a competition agreement. It's impossible for me to shoot the cover for Jinse."

Even if Jinse were willing to pay the breach of contract penalty, I wouldn't. This is a matter of professional ethics for celebrities. Some roles aren't easy to jump into; that's against industry norms.

Sui Lingfang: "Yes, it's against industry rules."

It's not that Jinse can't open an online store, but she has to follow the rules. By doing things this way, she might make the online store successful, but she'll ruin your reputation.

My stance was very firm. Jinse didn't say much, but she removed your magazine link from the online store yesterday and didn't add any other magazine links.

It must have agreed to a request from other celebrities to pursue a purely physical sales model.

After chatting about gossip, Fangjie and Jinli checked their schedules. She had a fashion event in the morning and Fangfei's global event in the afternoon.

Fangfei's global events are held overseas, which means that after attending the event in the morning, she will have to fly abroad.

After participating in the event abroad, she had to fly back to China because she had class the next day.

Jinli just finished her military training yesterday, and she has no classes today; it's a rest day specially arranged by the school for the students.

Thinking of this, Sui Lingfang turned to look at Jinli again.

Jinli has to attend events all day today, and they are quite important announcements.

Before seeing Jinli, she was worried that Jinli would get a tan after participating in half a month of military training.

After all, skin tone is still quite a critical factor for female celebrities.

Although a normal, healthy tan is now being promoted, it has to be said that fair skin is absolutely stunning on camera.

It's not that a person has to be extremely fair-skinned to be considered beautiful, but rather that kind of naturally rosy, pearly white skin is incredibly attractive.

Jinli has repeatedly outshone other female celebrities with her "milky skin," generating a lot of buzz.

After seeing Jinli today, she finally felt relieved.

It has to be said that she is in great shape; she has not only not gotten tanned, but is also full of vitality.

Is this also a result of military training?

Chen Qin asked this question.

"Jinli, is military training at Tsinghua and Peking University fun? Why aren't you tanned at all? Did you all train in the shade?"

Before Jinli could answer, she muttered to herself:
"But that doesn't make sense. You can still get UV rays even in the shade. Is your sunscreen really that powerful? What kind of product are you using?"

Jinli shook her head: "It's not a problem with the sunscreen product, it's a matter of individual constitution. You can think of it this way: I'm the type of person who doesn't get tanned no matter how much sun I get."

Chen Qin then asked, "Sister Jinli, I've always wanted to know what it's like to live in Tsinghua or Peking University."

Are you immersed in a sacred atmosphere of books every day, feeling that you're wasting time if you don't work hard, and even going out for a meal or taking a break feels like a sin?

Her tone was full of longing, as she thought of a classic question on the internet.

"If you were given ten million yuan or an acceptance letter from Tsinghua or Peking University, which would you choose?"

Chen Qin used to think she would choose the Tsinghua or Peking University admission notice.

Getting into Tsinghua or Peking University means you've acquired wisdom.

After all, she graduated from a prestigious university; that alone is enough for her to find a job that can earn her tens of millions.

The school was her vast network of connections.

But now Chen Qin doesn't think that way anymore; she would directly choose ten million.

She felt she lacked the ability to leverage the prestige of a prestigious university to cultivate connections.

To be honest, after graduating from university and entering society, the opportunities to use school factions to gain advantages are actually very rare.

After all, the number of graduates from prestigious universities each year is limited, and in a city with millions of graduates, you can only meet a very small number of them.

Moreover, if you don't strive to reach a certain level, you won't be able to meet high-level executives who are also graduates of prestigious universities, and you're not even sure if they will help you.

Of course, the most important point is that even graduating from Tsinghua or Peking University does not necessarily mean that everyone can earn 1000 million.

Many business owners are not necessarily graduates of prestigious universities.

Often, a person's wealth is created by the times, not by their diploma.

However, having a good diploma allows access to more resources, broadens horizons, and makes it easier to obtain opportunities compared to ordinary people.

Jinli burst into laughter upon hearing Chen Qin's words.

"I've been in military training these past few days and haven't started formal classes yet. If I were to start formal classes today, I would absolutely not ask the professor for leave."

But you're right about one thing: at school, you can't help but work hard and urge yourself not to waste time, because time is precious.

Well, I feel that every second spent acquiring knowledge at school is precious and meaningful, something you can't experience while working away from home.

Working outside doesn't necessarily lead to your personal growth; you're often just adding value for other brands.

This is like this: at school, I'm my own master, my own boss; but outside, when you're working for someone else, you're someone else's employee.

Chen Qin clicked her tongue: "So, you're saying you study like crazy every day at school?"

Jinli said in a relaxed tone, "I feel fine. It's similar to my previous self-study. In any case, it requires self-discipline."

Sui Lingfang turned around and said, "You should pay attention to the balance between work and rest, and don't study too hard."

As for your physique, I won't impose any requirements on you. You've been studying too much, so eat more good food to nourish yourself.

Jinli suddenly became bolder and asked in a low voice, "What about the potato chips?"

Sui Lingfang said irritably, "Potato chips are high in calories. If you think they can replenish your physical and mental energy, then eat them, but you can eat no more than 20 grams a week, no more than that."

Jinli thought that Fangjie would refuse righteously and firmly.

After all, she had been craving potato chips for a long time. She had mentioned them a few times when she was sick, but Fangjie refused, thinking that they only had calories and no nutrition.

Unexpectedly, she was worried that she was overworking herself and would exhaust herself, so she nodded and let her eat potato chips.

This……

Jinli couldn't help but doubt herself. Did she really seem crazy about studying to outsiders? Even more terrifying than her illness?
Arrived at the press conference for "Fashion Trends".

Today is the 15th, the official release date of the September issue of Fashion Trends magazine.

They have already stocked up in major physical stores, and at the same time, they have also launched online sales, starting promotion a week in advance.

Just then, Jinli was undergoing military training at Tsinghua and Peking Universities. Fashion Trends specially obtained several of her training photos through some channels, publicized them extensively, and bought several trending topics for her.

This kind of proactive promotion by brands for artists is something that other entertainment companies and artists envy.

Other companies have cursed Chenxi Entertainment countless times behind its back, wondering just how incredibly lucky it was to sign an artist like Jinli who came to repay a debt of gratitude.

Other celebrities, on the other hand, were filled with envy and jealousy.

God knows how great it feels to not have to do the data yourself!

It's like the brands are actively promoting Jinli! Jinli doesn't have to do anything; it's a win-win situation!