Chapter 16: On What Grounds?!
As Li Ge drove Chi Xiasheng to Shengshi Group, he was still worried.
“Do you think my car is too shabby? The executives at Shengshi Group’s subsidiary probably all drive cars worth millions. My car won’t look good in front of theirs.”
Chi Xiasheng rubbed his forehead. “It’s fine. We’re poor anyway.”
Li Ge: “…”
Did you have to be so blunt?
When they arrived at the company entrance and were about to ask the security guard where the parking lot was, they saw several well-dressed elites in suits enthusiastically walking towards them.
Li Ge’s shabby little car was driven to the parking lot by a dedicated staff member, so he didn’t have to worry about it at all.
Being led inside by such a group of people, Li Ge was filled with a mixture of fear and shock, his mind so dazed he felt as if he hadn’t woken up properly.
“Please take a look at the contract in my office first to see if there are any problems. If not, we can sign it now. Once we’re ready, we can go on location to shoot the endorsement photos.”
CEO Zhou strode ahead, leading the way. He amiably introduced their products and even asked for their opinions from time to time.
Li Ge looked at the obsequious manager following behind them and couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.
Could this really be a trap?
But even if it was a trap, they had to jump in. Otherwise, Chi Xiasheng would really be forced out of the industry.
With this thought, Li Ge gritted his teeth and held on.
The two of them followed him upstairs. After a few more pleasantries with CEO Zhou, they took the contract and began to read it.
Li Ge carefully examined each clause. When he finally flipped to the payment section, his heart almost leaped out of his chest.
“Th-this… this price, it’s too…” Damn high!
Chi Xiasheng also saw the number. He was surprised and turned to look at the smiling CEO Zhou.
“What’s wrong? Is the endorsement fee too low?” Seeing their expressions change, CEO Zhou also looked a little nervous. “This is one of the higher prices our company can offer. If you’re not satisfied, we can negotiate further.”
With that, CEO Zhou stood up and went outside with the finance staff to discuss how to increase the payment.
CEO Zhou knew exactly who was backing Chi Xiasheng, so he was extremely attentive to his matters, not daring to be careless in the slightest.
Soon, CEO Zhou returned with a result. They had increased the endorsement fee by another ten percent and had drawn up a new contract for them to review.
Li Ge had signed many contracts, big and small, with his artists, but he had never seen one as straightforward as today’s.
Those other companies would try to push the endorsement fee down as much as possible, and he had to scrutinize every word of the clauses to avoid being tricked. As a result, Li Ge had developed a keen eye for contracts, always afraid of being taken advantage of.
But today, it was as if everything was reversed. Every clause in this contract was in favor of Chi Xiasheng. He couldn’t find a single fault.
This pie falling from the sky was just too tempting!
Li Ge looked at Chi Xiasheng, his expression asking if he should sign.
Chi Xiasheng was decisive. He cleanly wrote his name on the signature line.
With the deal done, both sides visibly relaxed.
After some more pleasantries, Chi Xiasheng prepared to leave. But before he could walk out, the door to the reception room was pushed open.
A capable-looking woman with her arms crossed, wearing stiletto heels, walked in, followed by someone Chi Xiasheng knew.
Qiao Ning was also surprised to see Chi Xiasheng here. After a moment of shock, his expression slowly turned to disgust.
“Old Zhou, this isn’t right. We had already agreed on the endorsement. How could you just change it like that?” the woman said, her lips painted a fiery red and her eyeliner flicked up at the corners, making her look very formidable.
When CEO Zhou saw this formidable woman arrive, he quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“We were talking about the youth series diamond bracelet. We never said anything about changing the spokesperson. We’ll definitely still use Qiao Ning.”
Qiao Ning had become popular from a low-budget idol web drama. Although his fame had declined a bit, he was still qualified to negotiate an endorsement with Shengshi Jewelry.
“Heh, who do you think you’re fooling?” Xu Xin was related to Qiao Ning and was very protective of him. A sarcastic smile tugged at her lips as she looked at Chi Xiasheng. “You give Qiao Ning the youth series endorsement, but you arrange a high-end product for Chi Xiasheng. Isn’t that putting Qiao Ning a step below him? Qiao Ning’s popularity is right there for everyone to see. On what grounds does Chi Xiasheng get it?!”
Hearing this, CEO Zhou’s expression soured. “How did you find out about this?”
Xu Xin let out a cold laugh. “So you’re admitting it? You really want to use Qiao Ning as a stepping stone for Chi Xiasheng!”
Qiao Ning pulled on Xu Xin’s arm, telling her to calm down a little.
“I’m sorry, CEO Zhou. My cousin is just very straightforward. She doesn’t mean any harm. But it’s not just me who got the news. Many people in the industry know about it. I’m afraid it’s already spread online by now.”
When Qiao Ning and his agent found out about this, the first thing they did was to come to Shengshi’s subsidiary to confront them and demand an explanation from CEO Zhou.
CEO Zhou was just a minor president of a subsidiary. Chi Xiasheng was someone sent over by the higher-ups. He could only do as he was told! But when he had contacted Chi Xiasheng to discuss the contract, besides the people within the company, he hadn’t let any information leak out. How could the matter have suddenly been exposed?
Xu Xin felt that CEO Zhou was feeling guilty and adopted an aggressive, unforgiving posture. “I think your Shengshi Group should re-evaluate the spokesperson. It’s not just our Qiao Ning who is dissatisfied. Many people online have objections to Chi Xiasheng endorsing this product.”
The assistant next to him quickly showed CEO Zhou the situation online.
Chi Xiasheng also glanced at the online situation. The netizens were saying all sorts of things, but most of them were questioning whether Chi Xiasheng had used the Su family’s help to get the Shengshi endorsement.
The netizens didn’t know that the Su family and Chi Xiasheng were like fire and water. Their impression of him was still stuck at the time when his acting was awkward, his personality was cold, and he acted like a diva. Although Chi Xiasheng had a lot of buzz online, most of it was negative.
Shengshi Jewelry’s subsidiary had always been very thorough when choosing a spokesperson. Once a spokesperson was chosen, it was very likely they wouldn’t be replaced mid-series. Therefore, a Shengshi endorsement was a coveted prize that everyone would fight for.
Now that Chi Xiasheng was suddenly revealed to be the spokesperson for the new season’s diamond bracelet, the netizens’ jaws almost dropped. With Chi Xiasheng’s qualifications, how could it possibly be his turn?
With the haters fanning the flames, the netizens were convinced that Chi Xiasheng had gotten the endorsement through his connections with the Su family.
[This is so unfair! Why do other artists work so hard, but it’s not as useful as being born into a good family?]
[Shengshi, can you open your eyes and see? What kind of trash spokesperson did you choose!]
Li Ge also saw these negative comments and was so angry his lungs were about to explode. He told Chi Xiasheng to stop looking.
“Why not look? Are you afraid to admit what you’ve done?” Qiao Ning knew that Chi Xiasheng couldn’t have relied on the Su family, which left only one other way: using his body to get ahead.
Thinking of this, the disgust on Qiao Ning’s face grew even stronger.
“CEO Zhou, you’ve seen the situation online now. Chi Xiasheng is not suitable in any aspect. It would be better to just let Qiao Ning endorse this high-end product. The netizens online probably won’t have any objections.”
Hearing Xu Xin’s words, Li Ge let out a cold snort. “Miss Xu, so this was your plan all along. No wonder you ran over here as fast as a mouse that stole oil as soon as you heard the news. Your methods are just too ugly.”
Xu Xin had disliked Li Ge for a long time. Hearing his words, she almost started a fight with him right then and there. Fortunately, they were still in Shengshi’s company and managed to hold back.
CEO Zhou sighed lightly and waved his hand at Xu Xin. “This matter wasn’t decided by me. Chi Xiasheng’s position as spokesperson definitely won’t be changed. You should give up on that idea.”
Hearing this, Li Ge let out a sigh of relief and shot a fierce glare at Xu Xin.
The dissatisfaction and contempt in Qiao Ning’s eyes were almost overflowing. He looked back and forth between Chi Xiasheng and CEO Zhou before speaking. “CEO Zhou, you’re protecting Chi Xiasheng so much. What did he give you, or is there some unspeakable relationship between you two?”
Chi Xiasheng’s hand, which was scrolling through the comments, paused. He suddenly looked up at Qiao Ning.
Qiao Ning snorted and turned his head away, not wanting to meet Chi Xiasheng’s gaze, lest it dirty his eyes.
Chi Xiasheng spoke, his tone as cold as if it were laced with frost. “The benevolent see benevolence, while the lewd see lewdness.”
Qiao Ning’s face instantly turned red, and his eyes filled with anger as he looked at Chi Xiasheng.
“Chi Xiasheng, you know exactly how you got this endorsement. Do I need to spell it out for you?! To do something like this, you’re really shameless. Mianmian was right, you’re nothing but a pile of mud!”
The two had been enemies since the last variety show. Now, because of the distribution of benefits, their relationship had become even more strained.
Hearing his words, Chi Xiasheng, who had been about to turn and leave, stopped. “Mianmian? Did Su Chimian tell you about my endorsement?”
Qiao Ning didn’t expect Chi Xiasheng to be so sharp. His eyes flickered with panic for a moment, and he quickly denied it.
But everyone present was sharp. They immediately understood that the leak of Chi Xiasheng’s endorsement was related to the Su family. It was even highly likely that Su Chimian was behind the online drama.
“Heh, they’re really going to great lengths.”
Chi Xiasheng’s tone was light, but the sarcasm was not subtle at all.
Seeing the person he admired being spoken of like this by Chi Xiasheng, Qiao Ning immediately became dissatisfied.
“The matter is settled. Mr. Qiao and Miss Xu, please leave.”
CEO Zhou interrupted Qiao Ning’s confrontation and waved his hand for them to leave.
Qiao Ning was naturally indignant, but he couldn’t afford to offend CEO Zhou, so he could only leave with his agent first.
Both of them were fuming. They walked quickly and, not watching where they were going, kicked a small black dog as they went out the door.
The little black dog collapsed softly in the grass. Its kicked leg twitched a couple of times, and then it went still.
Qiao Ning’s heart jumped. Is this dog dead? he thought.
