Chapter 783: Accepting the New Year's Gala Performance

Sui Lingfang had long been prepared; she knew it wouldn't be so easy to persuade Jin Li.

Ever since Jin Li started school, she had drastically reduced her industry engagements, outright canceling numerous unnecessary galas and dinner banquets.

The only reason she attended the business dinner before the second filming of "Dawn" was to support He Wuyou and lend him prestige.

Otherwise, she would never have gone.

Regarding her artist's laziness, Sui Lingfang found it hard to say anything.

After all, as her agent, she knew Jin Li's income clearly; even if she announced her retirement from the entertainment industry right now, it would be no problem.

That bet with Ya Jun had truly earned too much.

Sui Lingfang softened her tone and spoke with earnest sincerity:

"Precisely because you haven't attended the New Year's Gala for the past few years, I hope you will participate this time to fulfill a wish for your fans; they haven't seen you on stage for a very long time."

"You used to be a girl group member, and the others in the group have had more or less stage appearances every year."

"But ever since you transitioned into an actress, apart from attending other people's concerts, you've had virtually no exposure related to stages; fans have actually been eagerly awaiting your return to the stage for a long time."

Jin Li and Gu Cheng had previously attended a gala held by their school, but a school gala is not a formal stage.

If the school hadn't organized such a large-scale event and launched a live stream that time, fans wouldn't have been able to see it at all.

Moreover, the equipment provided by the school was child's play compared to the stage equipment of a real gala.

Therefore, in the eyes of the fans, that stage performance did not count as a formal show.

Sui Lingfang tried to persuade her from another angle.

"Furthermore, ever since you started school, the engagements you've accepted have been either brand events or joining film crews to act; your image is actually becoming increasingly narrow, which is also related to your reduction in many engagements."

"After all, since you have to attend school, the only engagements you can balance with your studies are those types, so I hope you can participate in the New Year's Gala, appear on a grand stage, and let more netizens and fans discover another side of you."

"Letting them discover a more diversified side of you will also help elevate your image, rather than being confined to the persona of a 'highly educated intellectual'."

Sui Lingfang thought this through very clearly.

For other celebrities, one must first let netizens associate them with a specific image, as this helps netizens remember them better.

Therefore, these celebrities do not easily change their styling, nor do they easily alter their personas.

Just as some celebrities debuted with long hair, they will maintain that long-haired look and not easily switch to short hair.

If an idol star debuted with dyed blonde or pink hair, basically their hair color becomes fixed, requiring regular dyeing to maintain the blonde or pink shade.

This is to ensure that whenever the audience sees this hair color, they remember her and think of her.

It makes their image more deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Only when netizens have an impression will they be more motivated to dig deeper into a celebrity's inner qualities and have the drive to pursue them.

It is just like how many people say that when falling in love, one shouldn't just look at appearance but should look at a person's inner self.

There is a very realistic question: if even the appearance isn't appealing, how can one ever hope to see the other person's inner self?

At the very least, one must have the desire to continue conversing before one can uncover the inner qualities.

However, none of the above situations apply to a public star like Jin Li, who has already been thoroughly memorized by netizens.

Jin Li no longer needs to fixate on a single image to deepen a certain symbol representing her in the public consciousness.

She is too famous!

So famous that many people know her extremely well, even developing a kind of "stereotype" about her.

Therefore, what Jin Li needs to do now is actually tear off the labels people have defined for her.

Shatter her, then reassemble her; only then can more possibilities be unearthed.

Letting netizens discover more sides of Jin Li is the direction Sui Lingfang intends to work on next, which will help solidify her popularity by reaching a broader audience.

It is like raising a daughter; suddenly discovering she has grown up, become sensible, and possesses extraordinary abilities would absolutely give her parents (the netizens) a great sense of accomplishment.

Sister Fang voiced her thoughts, and Jin Li pondered for a moment, feeling there was some merit to them.

She checked her calendar; after returning to school, her engagements were not numerous, and those scheduled for January were pitifully few.

"The Unseen Secret" was already in preparation, with filming expected to start next summer vacation, leaving plenty of time.

So Jin Li said, "In that case, sign me up for a New Year's Gala."

"I'll sing 'Pink Girl'; keep the stage design not too complex. I don't want it overly exaggerated or complicated, as I don't have much time for rehearsals."

Sui Lingfang's tone carried a smile: "As long as you nod your approval, consider it done!"

As soon as Sui Lingfang spread the news that Jin Li would participate in the upcoming New Year's Gala, major satellite TV stations immediately launched a battle to snatch her up.

Some TV stations even argued, "The New Year's Gala lasts several hours; why can Jin Li only attend one station's gala? Can't she run to a few more?"

Not only were television stations joining the frenzy, but many video streaming platforms were also holding their own "New Year's Night" events.

The video platforms even made bold declarations: "We don't need a live performance; we just need a pre-recording. Let Jin Li come over to pre-record!"

Within moments, these platforms had found Jin Li more than five pre-recorded stage opportunities, striving to make her a "gala flyer" on New Year's Day.

Appearing at one after finishing another, singing this one then that one.

When Sui Lingfang told Jin Li about the ideas of these gala organizers, it scared Jin Li so much she trembled slightly.

The corners of her mouth twitched: "It c-can't be that exaggerated, right?"

Sui Lingfang and the other team members said in unison: "It really is that exaggerated!"

Considering the calls from netizens and their enthusiasm to see her on stage, Jin Li ultimately accepted performances on two platforms.

One was the video streaming platform Bilibili, which adopted a pre-recording method, filming the footage in advance to be broadcast during the gala on the day itself.

The other was the veteran television station Red Square Satellite TV; the TV dramas and films Jin Li had previously starred in had all collaborated with this station.

Several of her broadcast dramas had had their broadcasting rights purchased by Red Square Television; the two parties have always had a good history of cooperation, so there was no worry about being tricked.

After accepting the gala engagements, Jin Li began busy rehearsals.

To present a better stage performance, she not only applied for the school's dance practice room, immersing herself in dance practice immediately after every class, but also canceled her mandatory weekend brand engagements, using that time for dance practice as well.

Sui Lingfang valued her stage performance highly and specially hired a well-known dance instructor from the industry to teach her how to find the rhythm, hit the beats, and capture the feeling.

Don't assume stars don't need teaching; quite the opposite. Due to the nature of their work, many stars have never mastered their craft thoroughly, learning only the basics before being forced onto the stage to perform.

Even professional singers and dancers, once they become stars, cannot sing or dance every day under the pressure of a high-intensity work schedule.

Therefore, they also hire professional instructors to provide guidance.