Chapter 15: The Endorsement
Eating hot pot in an air-conditioned room on a summer night is one of life’s great comforts.
But for Chi Xiasheng, this hot pot meal had been rendered completely tasteless by Su Jinfeng’s phone call.
Li Ge had another female artist to manage and had to accompany her to a shoot, so after offering a few words of comfort to Chi Xiasheng, he left with a sigh.
Chi Xiasheng cleaned up the table and opened a window to air out the smell of the hot pot. He then sat alone on the sofa, lost in a daze.
His mind was a mess. Thoughts of the Su family, Su Chimian, and that variety show swirled chaotically.
If the Su family was dead set on blacklisting him, then with their financial power and status, he would have no future in the entertainment industry.
It wasn’t that Chi Xiasheng was desperate to stay in the industry; it was the knot of frustration in his chest. He just didn’t want to be forced out in such a humiliating way.
But the reality was, he had been without work for almost a month…
Chi Xiasheng slid off the sofa barefoot and went to the kitchen. He stared at a meat cutlet wrapped in plastic film, mentally calculating his living expenses. The money he had earned from the variety show had gone directly to paying a full year’s rent. There wasn’t much left—at most, enough to cover his food for another month or so.
When Little Black saw Chi Xiasheng head to the kitchen, he assumed he was getting an extra meal and scurried after him on his short legs.
But when he got to the kitchen, he found his human just staring blankly at the meat. Dissatisfied, Little Black nibbled on Chi Xiasheng’s pant leg and let out a small whimper.
“Alright, you’ve already had your dinner tonight,” Chi Xiasheng said. “This is for tomorrow.”
He squatted down and rubbed the little black dog’s head.
Little Black didn’t like being rubbed like this by Chi Xiasheng. The other’s hand, pressed so closely against his fur, easily gave him the illusion that they were naturally this intimate.
He had always been distant and wary of people, but these past few days, due to his injuries, he had regressed to his cub form and had no choice but to rely on the person in front of him.
At first, he had indeed rejected his advances, but…
His hands were so soft, and his scent was so sweet, as intoxicatingly addictive as poppies, a fatal allure.
Little Black often found himself succumbing, just like now, squatting beside him, contentedly letting the other groom his fur and rub his chin. His narrowed eyes could see nothing else but the other’s fair face.
It was only after Chi Xiasheng put him back in his bed that Little Black stood up and shook his fur.
He couldn’t let this continue. Although the other was a human, he possessed a powerful spiritual energy that could make one lose themselves. It was too dangerous.
It seemed a bit like… a merman he had once seen…
That race possessed extremely high spiritual control, were born with an otherworldly beauty, and every word they spoke was filled with an irresistible temptation that was impossible to guard against.
Moreover, he had important things to do. He had been missing for so long, this was the limit.
After much deliberation, Little Black made a decision.
The moonlight tonight streamed in through the living room window, casting a glow on Little Black and giving him an ethereal, unreal quality.
He walked to the living room windowsill and, with a light leap, jumped nearly a meter high to stand on the window frame.
He recalled the other’s name in his mind and, the moment Chi Xiasheng pushed open the bedroom door, he bent down and leaped.
His agile body climbed the oil smoke pipe of the tall building. The height of more than ten floors was like flat ground to him. In less than half a minute, he had leaped to the ground. Then, his black body flashed and disappeared into the darkness.
By the time Chi Xiasheng discovered Little Black was gone, it was the next morning.
Because Little Black was pitch black, Chi Xiasheng initially thought he was just hiding in some corner, so he patiently tried to lure him out with cooked meat. But after searching every corner of the house, he still found no trace of him.
It was only then that he realized Little Black might have run away.
Chi Xiasheng panicked. He grabbed his phone and keys, put on his shoes, and was about to search the hallway and garden when Li Ge’s call came in.
“Hello? Ahhh, Little Chi, do you know what happened this morning?!” Li Ge’s voice was filled with an excitement that bordered on ecstasy.
Chi Xiasheng swiftly closed the door and, while searching the hallway, replied, “Did the Su family go bankrupt?”
Li Ge was taken aback. “Not that, but someone wants you to endorse their product! Quick, guess who it is! You’ll never guess, the company’s name is huge!”
Chi Xiasheng softly called Little Black’s name. Hearing what Li Ge said, he spared some curiosity. “Whose company?”
“It’s the Shengshi Group!”
Hearing this, Chi Xiasheng’s search for the dog came to a halt. He was clearly shaken by the name.
“Shengshi? Which Shengshi?”
Li Ge knew at once that he was overwhelmed with surprise and quickly explained, “What other Shengshi could there be? The one that has been at the top of the rich list for years! Are you stunned?! When I first heard it, I thought the same thing as you, that it was just a company with the same name. But when I asked, it really was that company!”
As Li Ge spoke, he was on the verge of crying with joy, his voice trembling with excitement. “This is great! In front of Shengshi, the Su family is nothing! You finally have a job! When your endorsement photos are released, let the Su family see that you can still make it in the industry without them!”
Although a few sparks of excitement also flickered in Chi Xiasheng’s heart, the matter of the missing Little Black was more urgent. He told Li Ge and hung up the phone.
He searched the entire hallway and the small garden where Little Black used to wander, but still found nothing.
Chi Xiasheng was anxious but helpless. He could only leave the door slightly ajar, praying that Little Black would remember the way back.
When Li Ge arrived with some things, he also helped search again.
“The dog is probably gone. Don’t be too sad. Little Black is a tough one. Even lightning couldn’t kill him, so he’s definitely alive and well now.”
Chi Xiasheng let out a weak “hmm” and leaned back on the sofa to rest for a while. He had raised him for a month and had grown attached. Now that he was gone, he was naturally upset.
“Your priority now is to shoot that endorsement photo. Getting the job done is the most important thing.”
Li Ge was also thinking of Chi Xiasheng’s best interests. After all, he had finally gotten a job, and with such a big company behind it, he naturally wanted to do his best.
“After you take this endorsement, if the market response is good, you might even be able to sign on for another season. And by endorsing Shengshi’s products, your value will increase by more than just a little. It’ll be easier to get jobs in the future.”
Only then did Chi Xiasheng turn his attention to work. “Which of Shengshi’s products am I endorsing?”
“It’s a new diamond bracelet from their jewelry line this year. It’s positioned as a high-end product. Although it’s not as well-known as their cosmetics line, it’s a high-end brand, which will be good for your future development.”
Chi Xiasheng listened, a look of confusion on his face. “Then… why did they choose me as their spokesperson?”
Shengshi Group had numerous industries and was one of the top well-known enterprises in the country. Countless people in the entertainment industry would fight tooth and nail for a chance to endorse their products, but couldn’t get the opportunity. But Chi Xiasheng, an artist with a sky-high amount of negative press, was just… chosen?
When Li Ge first heard the news, he was also a bit puzzled and suspicious. After all, Chi Xiasheng’s reputation was what it was, and with the pressure from the Su family, people in the entertainment industry were avoiding him like the plague. Even the most common platform appearance jobs were not offered to him.
But Shengshi Group had suddenly specifically requested Chi Xiasheng for the endorsement, completely disregarding the negative press, as if all they wanted was him.
Even when Li Ge had asked about the endorsement product, the person in charge on the other end seemed more confused than he was. It was only after consulting with the advertising department manager that they had chosen a product. The whole process, from the initial contact to the confirmation of cooperation, had taken less than ten minutes.
“Are you saying there might be a catch?” Li Ge stroked his chin and thought carefully after hearing Chi Xiasheng’s words.
Chi Xiasheng wanted to nod, but then he thought, would a company of that caliber go to such great lengths to set a trap for him? Wouldn’t it be much easier to just blacklist him like the Su family did?
“Hey, forget it. We don’t have anything worth them scheming for. Earning some money is the most practical thing!”
Chi Xiasheng also nodded slightly, agreeing with Li Ge.
In the afternoon, Chi Xiasheng went to the security guard and asked him to keep an eye out for a little black dog. Then, he followed Li Ge to the jewelry subsidiary of Shengshi Group.
The subsidiary’s executive CEO and the manager of the company’s advertising department were standing outside the door, waiting for Chi Xiasheng’s arrival.
The advertising department’s Manager Wu, standing under the hot sun, wiped the sweat from his face with a tissue and asked with a puzzled expression, “CEO Zhou, what’s the background of that little artist? Is such a grand reception necessary?”
The man addressed as CEO Zhou, dressed in a suit, fanned himself with his hand. “That’s… hard to say.”
Manager Wu was even more confused. He had read Chi Xiasheng’s profile and didn’t think there was anything special about him. The only highlight was that his face was truly beautiful. But the entertainment industry was not short of beauties. Manager Wu shook his head, wondering if it was because of the Su family.
As someone who was semi-involved in the industry, Manager Wu had heard about the Su family’s recent suppression of Chi Xiasheng and found it deeply baffling. What was wrong with the Su family? They let their son have so much negative press and instead of dealing with it, they blacklisted him?
Manager Wu really couldn’t understand the minds of the rich. For example, this morning, his boss had called him out of the blue, as if possessed, and told him to choose a product for Chi Xiasheng to endorse.
Shengshi Group’s jewelry company had never used a newcomer for an endorsement before. Even for their lowest-end youth gemstone line, only second or third-tier stars had a chance. And according to CEO Zhou, the higher-ups wanted them to choose a high-end product, and the endorsement fee should be comparable to that of a first-tier star.
When Manager Wu heard this, he thought, which deity had Chi Xiasheng managed to get on his side? To start with something so big, his little heart couldn’t take it!
