The Road to Superstardom: Starting as a Singer

When the plane landed, it was nine o'clock in the morning, and it was drizzling in Milan.

But when Huang Weijie appeared at the international arrivals gate, the rain outside seemed to have stopped...

Or rather, it was evaporated by the heat of the crowd.

Today he wore a light gray casual suit from Armani's early autumn collection.

He wasn't wearing a tie; underneath was a simple white shirt with the top two buttons undone.

The suit was perfectly tailored, retaining the youthful freshness while adding just the right amount of maturity.

He wore dark brown suede loafers, with no other accessories, except for the Armani casual watch he endorses on his left wrist.

But what truly captivated people was his demeanor as he emerged from the passageway.

Despite the long flight, Huang Weijie didn't show much fatigue on his face.

Sunglasses covered half his face, but the smile on his lips and the naturalness of his nod to the crowd instantly made the scene erupt in cheers.

"JACE!!!"

"Benvenuto a Milano! (Welcome to Milan!)"

"Look here! Jace! I love you!"

There were at least a hundred people waiting to pick up passengers at the airport.

In addition to local Italian fans, there were also Asian international students holding banners in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.

Several girls even made their own signs that read "Huang Weijie Global Support Association Italy Branch" in Chinese.

Madeline whispered in Huang Weijie's ear, "For safety's sake, we won't stay too long, but since this is our first time in Milan, and these fans have come all this way, we shouldn't interact with them for too long."

Huang Weijie nodded.

Actually, all these fans had been contacted in advance. If they hadn't been contacted beforehand, it's hard to believe that so many people would have come to pick them up at the airport.

However, that's not the main point. The main point is that these fans are all genuine fans, and the so-called "global fan club" was also instructed by Huang Weijie to be done by Madeline.

As an idol, you naturally need to learn how to make your fans feel a sense of belonging.

He took off his sunglasses and walked towards the cordon, a move that triggered another round of screams.

"Good morning, everyone," he said in English, then looked at the girls holding signs in Chinese, and switched back to Chinese, "Thank you for coming to pick us up in the rain."

"It's no trouble at all!" A Chinese student with a ponytail asked boldly, "Excuse me, can I get your autograph?"

"Boss" is the nickname Huang Weijie used when interacting with his fans online.

He prefers to be called "boss" by his fans rather than his English name. Although he is young, he has big ambitions.

"Of course." Huang Weijie smiled and took the pen and the limited edition album from the girl.

As he was signing autographs, other fans crowded around.

"Jace, I love you so much!"

"Jace, I like you more than anyone else!"

The naive girls compared who liked Huang Weijie more, while looking at him with longing in their eyes.

"I love you all too. Are you all locals from Milan?"

"I am."

"No, I'm from Venice."

"I'm from South Korea, Jace oppa..."

Huang Weijie greeted them with a smile, signed his name on the album cover, and then greeted the girl with a face full of collagen in Korean: "Hello, what's your name?"

"Oh my!" The girl covered her mouth in surprise, "Jace oppa, you can speak Korean?"

"I think it's pretty standard, right? Haha, you still haven't told me your name?"

While Huang Weijie was interacting with his fans, Armani's team was watching from a distance on the other side of the isolation zone.

There were only four people present: Sofia, the marketing director for the Italian region; Luca Maldini, the public relations manager; and two assistants.

At this time, the two assistants were still holding up a sign that read "Welcome Jace Huang".

"No wonder so many young girls like him, he really is good-looking. And especially when he wears Armani clothes, he looks even more elegant!"

"If he's not good-looking, why would girls go crazy for him?" Luca Maldini chuckled.

"How's the contact with his team going? Is it going smoothly?" Sophia asked again.

"Of course! If things weren't going smoothly, why would they send us to pick them up at the airport?!"

While the PR manager was talking to the marketing director, Huang Weijie finally finished his business, took photos with his fans, waved goodbye, and walked towards them.

"Hi! Jace, welcome to Milan!"

"Thanks."

After shaking hands with smiles, Huang Weijie was escorted out of the airport.

After getting into the black extended Mercedes, Sofia took the initiative to speak: "Jace, my name is Sofia. First of all, please allow me to say that you are the most handsome Asian boy I have ever seen!"

Huang Weijie chuckled and pointed to his clothes: "Thank you, but this is probably thanks to Armani. The tailoring of this light gray suit is really amazing; it makes me look more upright."

As for his good looks… well, I think the weather in Milan today helped; the overcast skies softened the light, making him look even better in my suit.”

"Hahaha!" Luca Maldini laughed heartily. "Jace, you and Armani are a match made in heaven!"

Sofia glanced at him, then smiled at Huang Weijie: "Is this your first time in Milan? How does it feel?"

Yes, the first time.

Huang Weijie looked at the faintly visible city skyline through the airport window. "It feels great! I love Milan! I know Milan is the fashion capital, the location of Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper,' and one of the major centers of the European Renaissance. I'm really looking forward to seeing those ancient buildings, and of course, tasting authentic Italian pasta and tiramisu..."

As the group was talking, the car drove into the center of Milan and stopped at the Bulgari Hotel on Via Montenapoleone.

This is a hotel that Armani has booked for important guests on a long-term basis. Huang Weijie was arranged to stay in a suite on the top floor, with a view of the spire of Milan Cathedral from the window.

The lunch was held at a Michelin-starred restaurant inside the hotel.

The long table can seat twenty people. In addition to Huang Weijie's team and Armani's liaisons, there are also several editors-in-chief from Italian fashion media.

Clearly, this was not just a simple dinner party.

Luca Maldini sat to Huang Weijie's right.

"Jace, I must say, your progress over the past month or so has been astonishing."

Luca twirled a small amount of pasta with his fork. "When we signed the watch endorsement deal at the end of July, you had just started to make a name for yourself with 'Baby.' And now—"

He made an exaggerated gesture, "The album sold over two million copies in three days, generating thirty million US dollars in revenue! Even people at our headquarters are asking, 'Who is this Asian boy?'"

"Yes, yes, achieving this is truly remarkable!"

"No wonder Jace is an idol for teenagers worldwide!"

Several people around them echoed this sentiment.

Huang Weijie cut the veal on his plate and replied with a smile, "That's too much. Although I'm confident, if you guys praise me like this, I'll get arrogant."

"How could that be? Your grades are the best proof!"

Luca waved his hand. "I've seen your interviews and heard your impromptu compositions. To be honest, I've met many geniuses, but you're the one who best utilizes your talent!"

There was something else he didn't say: "At the same time, you are also the one I've seen who is best at controlling his desires among all these geniuses."

The last unspoken sentence was the real reason why Luca had high hopes for Huang Weijie.

The world has no shortage of geniuses.

It is truly remarkable that an idol like Huang Weijie, who has earned a lot of money at such a young age and is adored by everyone, can restrain himself from engaging in scandalous activities and seeking thrills.

If a normal young person had achievements like Huang Weijie, they might not be arrogant, but they would certainly be reckless in many things.

But he didn't. According to the company's investigation, Huang Weijie's only potential black mark is that he has a girlfriend.

To be honest, Luca found it hard to believe when he heard the news.

You are an idol star whose net worth is destined to be over 100 million US dollars, how come you have no scandals?

Yes, in his opinion, Huang Weijie having a girlfriend at his age is not a bad thing at all.

On the contrary, if Huang Weijie still keeps his distance from girls, Luca would have to question his sexual orientation.

Large companies and brands conduct background checks when seeking collaborations with celebrities.

Armani conducted two investigations, one in July when they were preparing to have Huang Weijie endorse their casual watches.

The information found at the time indicated that the only unstable factor was a girlfriend with whom he had allegedly slept.

However, Luca completely overlooked this point at the time. If this kind of thing were exposed, Jive Records could declare bankruptcy.

One instance was in the last couple of days. After learning that Huang Weijie's self-titled album would be a huge hit, Armani prepared to have a deeper collaboration with Huang Weijie, so they conducted another background check.

This time, the investigation was even more rigorous than the first time, but the unstable information found was still the same as the first time.

Luca even believed that Huang Weijie was too busy lately and had no time to do anything else. He couldn't believe that after three months of fame, he was still the same as before!

No gambling, no drugs, no parties, you do nothing, and you don't even change your girlfriend!

Then why do you make so much money?

Are you still a young person?

Although they were internally complaining, they actually saw Huang Weijie's performance as the best kind of idol, and there was no need to worry about him suddenly going off the rails.

Well, at least for now, there's no need to worry.

……

The luncheon was relaxed, and the conversation naturally transitioned from music to fashion.

This time, Huang Weijie surprised Luca again.

His knowledge of Armani's design history amazed everyone present.

Because he can recount details of Giorgio Armani's first show when he founded the brand in 1975, and analyze how the Armani suit worn by Richard Gere in the 1980 film "American Gigolo" changed men's fashion, among other insights.

"Have you seen that movie?" Luca raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I guess I'm getting some information beforehand." Huang Weijie smiled honestly. After all, they were going to be collaborating, so he couldn't possibly be unable to provide even a little bit of information about the brand, could he?

"I think what's most remarkable about Mr. Armani is that he broke the rigid framework of traditional menswear, making suits comfortable and natural. It's a lot like music creation, breaking the rules but respecting the essence."

Huang Weijie's words transformed the last trace of scrutiny in Luca's eyes into complete appreciation.

To be honest, the reason he invited the editors-in-chief of these Italian fashion media outlets, with whom he had a good relationship, was not only to get to know each other better, but also to subtly tell Huang Weijie about the history of Armani during their conversation.

Before he arrived, he was even prepared that Huang Weijie would know nothing about the matter.

But the other party told him that not only did he understand, but he also made a special effort to learn about it.

This attitude is much better than that of some celebrities in the industry!

(Celebrities in any country or region are all pretty much the same in terms of character. There are academic high-achievers and there are illiterate ones, with the latter being the most likely.)

Especially for those who become famous overnight, their status and value have increased, but their quality has not kept up. This means that when these artists endorse certain brands, they have no idea what the value of the brand is.

If they don't know and are unwilling to find out, but if this is inadvertently revealed, it can have a significant impact on the brand.

In fact, the basic framework for the collaboration had already been established after Huang Weijie's album became a huge success.

On the evening of September 15, Armani's global headquarters contacted Madeline directly, expressing their intention to "upgrade the collaboration to a global brand ambassadorship."

The lawyers for both sides have been negotiating for three days, with only the details of the term and specific benefits remaining.

As the luncheon drew to a close, Luca raised his glass: "To a pleasant collaboration."

"To ensure a pleasant collaboration," Huang Weijie said, clinking glasses.