Chapter 25: Day Twentyfive, No Thought

Si Nian hung up the phone after coordinating with the program team and put down her mobile phone with a complex mood.

The two main parties had thanked her, but Si Nian immediately became anxious again and opened her own account, fearing that she would be scolded by the fans of Yu Hai and Luo Zhiqing.

She knew that one was a popular idol and the other was a rising young actress, and their fans were fiercely protective.

However, when she opened the comment section, she found it was filled with fans of Yu Hai and Luo Zhiqing, neatly posting: “Sister, well done!” and “So beautiful! Followed immediately!”

Si Nian stared at the uniform comments of “Sister, well done!” in her comment section, speechless.

It seemed that the fans of both “Qing Shen Si Hai” camps didn’t want their idols to be in a CP (couple pairing).

They both felt the other party was unworthy of their idol, but the management company insisted on hyping them as a couple, believing that one plus one could be greater than two.

Despite multiple protests from fans and studios, it was useless.

No one knew how to break this detestable CP marketing.

However, after the show aired, it was unexpectedly shattered by an observer’s relaxed expressions captured behind the scenes.

The CP marketing didn’t go viral, but the memes of someone exposing the fake CP did.

Now let’s see how they dare to keep pushing this couple hype.

At this moment, the fans from both sides were celebrating with gongs, drums, and fireworks, grateful to their great benefactor, their righteous savior, their “expression pack angel model”, Si Sui Nian.

Si Nian then noticed that some non-fans of Yu Hai and Luo Zhiqing were even apologizing to her in the comments.

They were saying that their idols had always had such bad taste, yet they still dared to join a fashion show.

They sincerely apologized for the “bomb-exploded” styling she had endured.

They even joked that next time, she should just call the police because they wouldn’t defend their idols.

“……”

Si Nian suddenly realized that some fans nowadays weren’t as unreasonable as she had imagined.

After reading through the comments, she let out a breath of relief, happy that she wasn’t cyberbullied.

After finishing the magazine’s remote shooting, she returned to B City with her team.

The staff jokingly said that this trip to G Province had earned her two trending topics and a viral meme.

Now, besides advertisements, she finally had a representative work that went viral.

Thinking about her meme, Si Nian puffed up her cheeks.

After returning to B City, everything resumed as usual.

However, work kept getting busier and busier to the point where Si Nian could barely keep up.

So, she finally hired an assistant, named Li Wenqiao, whom she called Qiao Qiao.

She had just graduated from university and was struggling to find a job, but she was excellent at photography and photo editing.

Si Nian assigned part of her schedule management and business communications to Qiao Qiao.

Qiao Qiao adapted quickly, had an open personality, and within a few days, she had things running smoothly.

But every time she worked with brands, she couldn’t help but be curious.

Si Nian had started in this industry back in university, yet there was a gap of several years in her career.

Why had she stopped for so long before returning?

In this industry, such cases weren’t rare, but the reasons were often similar and hard to talk about.

Si Nian wasn’t sure how to explain it.

She noticed that Qiao Qiao often hesitated to ask and would instead imagine dramatic scenarios in her head.

Seeing this, Si Nian felt a few black lines forming on her forehead and finally said:

“I did not become a mistress for some rich guy.”

Qiao Qiao was stunned, not expecting Si Nian to guess what she was thinking.

She quickly apologized: “Sorry, sorry, Nian Nian Jie, I—”

Si Nian knew Qiao Qiao didn’t mean anything bad, so she tugged at the corner of her lips and said:

“I just had a… rather wealthy ex-boyfriend during those years, that’s all.”

“Oh, I see.”

Hearing this, Qiao Qiao suddenly understood and felt relieved that Si Nian didn’t misunderstand her.

Her job was safe.

Then, after Si Nian voluntarily brought it up, Qiao Qiao became a little bolder and hesitantly asked:

“Nian Nian Jie, when you say wealthy, what kind of wealthy do you mean?”

Si Nian looked at Qiao Qiao’s bright, innocent university-student eyes and sighed.

“No matter how rich they are, it’s useless,” she said, patting Qiao Qiao’s shoulder sincerely.

“Just look at me now, relying on myself.

That tells you everything.”

Qiao Qiao felt the weight of Si Nian’s hand on her shoulder.

She had initially imagined some romantic love story where Si Nian left the industry for love, only to return heartbroken years later.

But after hearing Si Nian’s words, she realized she had been too naïve.

She suddenly felt a deep respect for Si Nian and was ashamed of her own gossip-filled imagination.

One must rely on oneself.

Si Nian’s daily shoots were hectic.

The first major project that Qiao Qiao secured for her was a car advertisement.

As soon as Si Nian wrapped up her daily shoot, Qiao Qiao couldn’t wait to share the news with her.

Si Nian, while removing her makeup, was surprised to hear that a car company wanted to collaborate.

Her first instinct was: “Electric scooter?”

Qiao Qiao: “……”

“No, not an electric scooter, it has four wheels,” Qiao Qiao emphasized, miming a shape in the air.

“A car, four wheels, A-U-P, Aup.”

“Nian Nian Jie, how much do you think they are paying?”

Si Nian turned to Qiao Qiao and held up a number.

For the first time, she doubted her choice in hiring an assistant.

Qiao Qiao: “……”

Si Nian furrowed her brows.

Luxury fashion and beauty brands were mid-tier, which was great work for a model.

Electric scooters were low-tier, something she’d only accept for a lot of money.

But luxury brands and car advertisements?

Even top-tier celebrities needed extensive evaluations and strong PR teams to secure those deals.

She had auditioned multiple times just to get an ad for Y-brand face cream.

Even with her growing popularity, major brands still had a strict audition process.

Yet now, she was suddenly offered a car advertisement without any audition, interview, or background check?

Aup was a leading mid-to-high-end domestic car brand, and while they had advertisements, they had never hired models or celebrity endorsers.

Not to mention, the offer Qiao Qiao mentioned was shockingly high.

Si Nian suspected it was a scam or some elaborate fraud scheme.

“I swear it’s real!” Qiao Qiao immediately pulled out her phone to show their email exchanges.

“I verified it many times!”

Si Nian frowned.

She had been too busy lately to handle brand deals, leaving it all to Qiao Qiao.

Treating it like a scam, she went home and carefully reviewed the conversations.

The more she checked, the more legitimate it seemed.

How bizarre.

Jiang Yihan also took a look and found nothing suspicious.

“Maybe their boss hired a fortune teller who said a model named ‘Si Nian’ would bring prosperity to the company?”

“Otherwise, this makes no sense.”

“Fate?” Si Nian found it ridiculous.

Which kind-hearted fortune teller would send such luck her way?

But when Jiang Yihan mentioned the boss, Si Nian suddenly froze.

Aup’s founder was surnamed Zhang, happily married, but…

Si Nian suddenly pulled up a news article from a few months ago:

“Rongsheng Group acquires 51% of AUP for XXXX billion yuan, becoming its largest shareholder.”

She stared at it.

Jiang Yihan peeked at the screen and then shrieked:

“OH MY GOD! Lu Shu Yan still won’t let you go?!“