Chapter 977: The Gathering of Beauties

Ultimately, Chanel couldn’t offer Luo Quan a price she couldn’t refuse, but neither did Chanel close the door—there remained a decent chance the offer could still be raised.

After all, there was still more than half a year until the contract expired; plenty of time to consider.

Luo Quan’s commercial value was undeniable, and as one of the extremely few brands to secure a sponsorship deal with her, Chanel understood better than anyone how immense her value was—offering a sky-high advance fee wasn’t out of the question.

And Luo Quan herself was a sentimental person; if Chanel could raise the price sufficiently, she would certainly give it serious consideration.

They had collaborated for nearly five years without a single conflict, and knew each other well, so she naturally hoped this harmonious relationship would continue.

As for LV, they had indeed contacted her, offering terms that were exceptionally generous—not just money, but also fashion and marketing resources, even handling endorsements for other artists in her company.

This was exactly the kind of condition Luo Quan had previously described as impossible to refuse.

Chanel currently had no idea how generous LV’s offer was; if they did, they might have abandoned the pursuit more decisively.

In terms of financial power, Chanel still fell far short of LV.

Although LV’s offer deeply tempted Luo Quan, her current contract was still valid, so no matter how tempted she was, she couldn’t show any inclination—she simply replied that she’d discuss it after her contract expired.

LV responded with equal sincerity, immediately replying that they would await her good news.

To be honest, this contract attitude was as good as it could get; any other celebrity would have already accepted.

But Luo Quan was currently the one being fought over, so she felt no urgency whatsoever.

After concluding the Chanel negotiations, Luo Quan washed up and prepared for bed when the Lingxi Mirror suddenly activated.

Since returning from Huan Yu Xing, Bai Xingwei had not contacted her again; she had no idea what this was about.

“What’s up?” Luo Quan pulled out the Lingxi Mirror and pressed her flawless, perfect face right up to it.

“Are you taking a shower again?” Bai Xingwei blinked.

Luo Quan frowned: “Why would you ask that?”

Bai Xingwei laughed: “Otherwise, how come I can only see your face?”

Luo Quan sighed helplessly: “I’m lying down, the mirror’s resting on my chest—of course you only see my face.”

Hearing Luo Quan’s description, Bai Xingwei imagined the scene, and a pang of jealousy rose in her heart.

This wasn’t something an ordinary person could do; even she could only angle the mirror slightly upward, while Luo Quan’s setup was nearly vertical.

“What are you thinking about?” Luo Quan asked, noticing Bai Xingwei had gone silent.

“Solving a math problem,” Bai Xingwei replied evasively. “I have one good piece of news and one better one—which do you want to hear first?”

“Both are good? Normally it’s one good and one bad, right?” Luo Quan chuckled. “Tell me the good one first, save the better one for later.”

“The good news is that the Huan Yu civilization is about to enter a new year, and Huan Yu Xing will host the Geng Shi New Year Gala to celebrate.”

“The director’s team recently released part of the program list, including a segment called the Huan Yu Beauty Awards, inviting ten of the universe’s most beautiful civilian women to perform—and you’re one of them!”

“Why didn’t anyone notify me?” Luo Quan widened her eyes in surprise.

Although being invited to this stage was a form of recognition, wasn’t it too arbitrary to add her to the list without even a heads-up?

Bai Xingwei smiled and explained: “The director originally planned to consult you, but couldn’t find your contact info, so they reached out to your workplace, Wu Shen Palace.”

“Wu Shen Palace saw this as a perfect opportunity to expand their influence and immediately agreed—accepted the task on your behalf.”

“I only found out you were selected after seeing the program list; I looked into it and discovered this was how it happened.”

“So that’s how it is,” Luo Quan’s mood eased slightly. “Well, since it’s already been accepted, I’ll just go.”

“You sound so reluctant,” Bai Xingwei scoffed. “Don’t think this is just some ordinary entertainment show—so many people beg and plead just to get a glimpse on that stage.”

“When the Geng Shi Gala airs, nearly half the Huan Yu civilization will be watching. If you give a stellar performance, think of how much faith power you could gain!”

This truly woke her up. Compared to Earth, where spiritual energy had only just begun to revive, Huan Yu Xing was light-years ahead in developing and using faith power—and due to its population size, acquiring it was far easier.

Hadn’t Luo Quan started livestreaming originally to gain faith power?

Now she had a chance to appear before the entire Huan Yu civilization, and she hadn’t even realized it—how irresponsible.

“So this is the better news you mentioned?” Luo Quan’s tone grew increasingly eager.

“What else?” Bai Xingwei rolled her eyes. “I’ve delivered the notice. You should head back to Huan Yu Xing immediately—the gala recording starts in less than ten days; you have almost no time to prepare.”

“Recording?” Luo Quan paused. “Isn’t this gala live?”

Bai Xingwei sneered. “What are you thinking? Would they risk broadcasting such an important gala live? What if something goes wrong? It’s definitely pre-recorded!”

Hearing this, Luo Quan felt a strange, absurd amusement—turns out situations and environments were the same everywhere.

“Alright, I’ll wrap up things here and come right over.”

After saying this, Luo Quan shut off the Lingxi Mirror.

Under these circumstances, sleep was out of the question; she immediately posted an update saying she’d been doing high-intensity livestreams and was feeling exhausted, so she needed a short break—hope her fans would understand.

In the past, such a request would have sparked outrage among fans.

But recently, Luo Quan’s dedication had made fans worry about her health—they were urging her not to push herself so hard, to rest more.

Now that they were telling her to rest, she’d take a few days off—how could they call her lazy now?

The comments section showed no complaints—only messages telling her to take good care of herself. Rarely had it been so harmonious.

After arranging things with her fans, she sent Wen Xia a message saying she was preparing to close her door for cultivation again and not to disturb her these few days.

No reply yet—probably asleep; she’d see it when she woke up tomorrow.

Only her mother, who had taken her younger sister back to Yuzhou to visit their grandparents, wouldn’t be back anytime soon—no need to notify her specifically.

After informing her online fans and family, Luo Quan pulled out the Anydoor and returned to Huan Yu Xing.

As soon as she pulled back the curtains, she sensed a change in the atmosphere.

When she left, everything was normal; now, returning, the skyscrapers outside were all decorated with lights.

It was nighttime, and the colorful neon lights bathed the entire sky in brilliance, appearing even more prosperous than daytime.

This was only the approach of the New Year; the actual holiday days would be even livelier.

At that moment, a knock came at the door. No need to guess—it was definitely Bai Xingwei.

She wondered if Bai Xingwei had installed surveillance in her room—how could she always show up right after she returned?

“Come in,” Luo Quan said, sitting on the chair—she bet Bai Xingwei could walk in easily.

Sure enough, the moment she finished speaking, the door opened and Bai Xingwei stepped in, expression half-smiling.

“I have a question: why can you always pinpoint me the moment I return?” Luo Quan always spoke plainly—she asked directly, and didn’t hold back now.

“Are you stupid?” Bai Xingwei chuckled. “The earpiece that hides your face? I gave it to you. Do you think I can’t sense when it appears or disappears?”

“Oh, I see,” Luo Quan nodded in realization—she’d thought her room had surveillance.

After a pause, Luo Quan continued: “I want to ask something—besides faith power, are there any tangible rewards for this Geng Shi Gala?

Like monetary compensation or benefits? Surely they don’t expect people to perform purely out of love?”

“You’re right—it’s exactly about performing out of love. That’s it. Many people would kill to have this chance.”

As someone who had participated in the Geng Shi Gala before, she spoke with authority and gave a definitive answer.

But Luo Quan wasn’t particularly surprised by this outcome; money didn’t matter much—but if there were rewards, she needed to know exactly what they were.

After sitting in the room for a while, Bai Xingwei returned to her own room; Luo Quan seized the opportunity to quickly research the Geng Shi Gala.

After watching for about ten minutes, she barely understood.

The Geng Shi Gala was similar in nature to the Spring Festival Gala—a family-oriented celebration during the annual holiday to bring joy to everyone.

Of course, whether the Spring Festival Gala still brought joy was debatable.

But since its inception, the Geng Shi Gala had run for over a thousand editions, consistently receiving high praise; in recent years, its reputation had been middling—indicating the director’s team hadn’t pulled any outrageous stunts, and the performances generally matched public taste.

Like this year’s Huan Yu Beauty Awards—it had never appeared in the previous dozen or so editions; the name sounded like something some pervert had dreamed up.

When the segment was first announced, many moralists attacked it, calling it objectification of women, disrespectful, and utterly inappropriate for the Geng Shi Gala stage.

But soon, netizens began attacking these moralists, accusing them of being hypocrites—full of righteousness and virtue, yet secretly corrupt.

What’s wrong with inviting beautiful women to perform? Who doesn’t enjoy looking at pretty girls?

You’re criticizing the Geng Shi Gala for objectifying women—what if they stop inviting beautiful women next year? Who will you watch? You?

This soul-stirring rebuttal left the moralists speechless.

When moral high ground meets the public’s simple pursuit of beauty, the majority always wins.

This time, clearly, the majority loved beautiful women—including many women themselves, because alongside the Huan Yu Beauty Awards, this year’s gala also featured the Huan Yu Handsome Men Awards.

If the Beauty Awards were canceled, the Handsome Men Awards would be canceled too—both would be scrapped.

To protect their own interests, these women naturally joined the campaign against the moralists.

Besides, many women also enjoyed watching handsome men—anyone with high looks, regardless of gender, was pleasing to the eye.

Moreover, the director’s team didn’t invite ordinary beauties—they invited the ten most widely recognized civilian beauties of the Huan Yu civilization.

What does “widely recognized” mean? Hard requirement: rank eight or higher. Then, fame—must have appeared on trending lists.

And they must possess talent; a mere pretty face couldn’t grace the Geng Shi Gala stage—no one would want them just standing there.

Fortunately, these famous beauties were all multi-talented—perhaps not at the absolute top level, but paired with their looks, they delivered outstanding performances.

Luo Quan, as a newcomer who rose to fame only in the past few months, had the lowest fame among them.

Compared to the other nine veterans, she stood out in nothing.

Without makeup, her beauty was barely rank eight; with makeup, she just scraped into rank nine.

Her musical performance was decent—but only decent, far from stunning.

The only thing worth noting was her rags-to-riches backstory and her astonishing martial talent—both highly talkable and highly malleable.

But none of these added any shine to her stage performance.

What mattered most on stage? Looks, the performance itself, live execution, costumes, makeup, and props.

As for humble origins, hardship, or rags-to-riches stories? Those mattered only during the post-performance speech segment—and even then, tears helped.

Before and during the performance, they meant absolutely nothing.

Thus, Luo Quan’s disadvantages compared to the other nine established veterans were glaringly obvious.

After the Global Beauty Contest show was released, someone online created a ranking of who people most looked forward to seeing perform, and Luo Quan received the fewest votes.

On one hand, she had few fans; on the other, netizens genuinely didn’t expect much from her.

But Luo Quan wasn’t the least bit anxious—this underdog start felt just like returning to a rhythm she knew well.

No one understood how to perform better than she did, but before that, she needed to understand the Global Beauties’ tastes, then tailor her act accordingly.

Whether it was music, dance, or any other performance form, she had complete confidence.