Chapter 543: Not ashamed before Heaven, not abashed before men; how can everything always go according to one's wishes?

This matter really cannot be blamed on Gu Cheng for not revealing it.

He had never hidden it from his team members; his teammates all knew his family had extensive investments, and they also knew he was a young master.

In the past, when everyone was a struggling trainee abroad, they relied on Gu Cheng's cooking to save them, rescuing everyone's stomachs.

From that time on, everyone knew Gu Cheng's family background was quite good.

After all, with so many people living in the dormitory, he was the only one living in a very well-conditioned hundred-square-meter bachelor apartment.

Jin Li received Gu Cheng's letter, and she had some thoughts in her mind.

She said, "The person in charge of Yu Lin Ling took the initiative to come find me for a chat, so should I just chat?"

Gu Cheng: "Mm, just state your views; there's no need to deliberately curry favor. If deliberately currying favor with big brands were useful, stars wouldn't need to fight tooth and nail just to compete for an endorsement."

Jin Li thought so too.

Not ashamed before Heaven, not abashed before men; how can everything always go according to one's wishes?

Just seek to be at peace within, treat others with sincerity, and as for what happens afterward, let nature take its course.

Jin Li entered the conference room.

The person in charge sent by Yu Lin Ling this time was surnamed Meng. Ms. Meng looked to be about forty years old, and there were two deep nasolabial folds at the corners of her mouth, which made her look very serious.

Her gaze was very sharp; when she looked at someone, it was as if she could see through the thoughts in their heart, a gaze like that of a hawk or falcon.

Jin Li had originally wanted to be casual, but under that sharp glance, she couldn't help but sit up straight and become serious.

Regardless of what the internal attitude of Yu Lin Ling was, at the very least, the person sent seemed to attach great importance to this conversation.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Ms. Meng stopped being polite and went straight to the point.

"Jin Li, I want to know your attitude toward some things; please answer me truthfully."

Jin Li nodded: "Go ahead."

Ms. Meng: "Are you aware that Yu Lin Ling intends to select a global womenswear spokesperson?"

"I am."

"And what are your thoughts?"

Jin Li thought for a moment; she was just an artist, not a shareholder.

What this was asking shouldn't be her opinion on Yu Lin Ling making a womenswear line, but rather her thoughts on the spokesperson position.

Jin Li said: "I hope to cooperate with Yu Lin Ling. I really like this brand; your clothes have a kind of elegant and dashing charm when worn."

Ms. Meng asked curiously: "Oh, have you worn them yourself?"

Jin Li shook her head: "No, the menswear styles are a bit too big for me, but I have seen some people wear them, very dashing and free-spirited, especially the 【Wei-Jin Style】 series you launched previously, which showcased the dashing, heroic, and uninhibited nature of the literati through the clothes."

When the 【Wei-Jin Style】 series was launched, many fashion bloggers on the internet conducted outfit reviews.

Originally, Jin Li felt that whether one could showcase the 【Wei-Jin Style】 depended more on a person's temperament.

But after seeing the changes in some bloggers after wearing the clothes, she realized that "clothes make the man" really does exist.

Even a very ordinary and mediocre person can rely on clothes to set off a different kind of charm.

Ms. Meng was very satisfied with her answer, but she did not show it on her face.

She knew Jin Li had studied Yu Lin Ling's clothes and had looked at them with intention, rather than just listening to what others said casually.

Ms. Meng: "Do you think Yu Lin Ling has an advantage in launching womenswear?"

Jin Li said without hesitation: "Yes!"

Ms. Meng was a bit surprised; did she not need to think about it?

Jin Li seemed to perceive her thoughts and smiled: "No need to think; isn't it obvious? Yu Lin Ling's menswear is so successful, how could womenswear not work? Womenswear can use the menswear channels for promotion."

What she didn't say was that with the foundation of menswear, there is definitely an advantage in making womenswear.

But whether it can become a hit and create a blockbuster product, that she didn't know.

Sometimes a piece of clothing becoming popular isn't necessarily because the design is so ingenious, but because it captured the netizens' emotions.

The "Spring Blossoms" co-branded ready-to-wear she launched with Fang Hua used bright colors to capture the netizens' emotions, capturing the sense of freedom of wanting to embrace spring and go out to play.

Many different outfit combinations have gone viral on the internet; that is also netizens expressing their own attitudes and emotions through these clothes, gaining resonance from many people, and subsequently becoming a hit.

Ms. Meng asked Jin Li a few more questions, all related to Yu Lin Ling.

She did not show her emotions on her face, and Jin Li didn't know if she was satisfied with her answers; anyway, she said everything according to her own thoughts.

Finally, Ms. Meng asked a question.

"You also know that many of Yu Lin Ling's clothes follow the new Chinese style route; the company has always been combining ancient style with modern style to make clothes that are elegant without losing simplicity."

"My question is, if Yu Lin Ling decides to sign you as the global womenswear spokesperson, but the prerequisite is that you need to terminate your co-branding cooperation with Fang Hua in advance, because Fang Hua's style belongs to a competing product with the womenswear Yu Lin Ling is launching, and you can only choose one, how would you choose?"

Jin Li asked in confusion: "Terminate the cooperation? How would that be terminated? The co-branding cooperation was originally just targeting one product, not targeting the entire brand."

Ms. Meng smiled: "It means letting you terminate the co-branding cooperation with Fang Hua. What has already been cooperated on before is fine, but aren't you still signed for a co-branding cooperation for the winter ready-to-wear series with Fang Hua? This piece of clothing should not even have its design draft finalized yet, right?"

"Yu Lin Ling wants to sign you as a spokesperson, the prerequisite is that you terminate this cooperation with Fang Hua; would you agree?"

Jin Li was silent for a while and asked: "Do you want to hear the truth?"

Ms. Meng raised an eyebrow, "Jin Li, I am sitting here, and I want to hear you tell the truth."

Jin Li said: "I will not terminate the co-branding cooperation with Fang Hua."

She explained: "When Fang Hua contacted me before, I hadn't contacted Yu Lin Ling yet, and I didn't know Yu Lin Ling's requirements. If Yu Lin Ling had explained in advance, even if I wasn't selected as a spokesperson, but required that the stars wanting to enter the candidate pool could not have similar competing products, then I would have refused to contact Fang Hua."

"But Yu Lin Ling didn't have that requirement before, and I have already signed the cooperation with Fang Hua, so I will fulfill the contract. What I can do is, after Yu Lin Ling puts forward the requirement to me, after that, if Fang Hua continues to seek cooperation with me, I will refuse."

"But for the cooperation where the contract has already been signed, I will still fulfill it."

Ms. Meng: "Even if Yu Lin Ling decides to give up on you because of this?"

Jin Li said softly: "Yes, even if Yu Lin Ling removes me from the candidate list because of this, I feel that compared to endorsements, an artist's integrity is more important, as heavy as a thousand gold."

Ms. Meng's sharp gaze stared at Jin Li for several seconds; Jin Li looked at her with clear eyes, calm and fearless.

Suddenly, Ms. Meng smiled faintly.

"A gentleman's promise is worth a thousand gold, a villain's promise is like wind in the ears. Jin Li, I know your views on Yu Lin Ling. This conversation ends here; if there is any follow-up, I will communicate with your manager."

Jin Li asked: "Will the result come out soon?"

Ms. Meng shook her head: "I don't know either; it might be very fast, or it might be very slow, or perhaps there won't be one at all."

"I suggest you don't treat this conversation as being very important; this was just a simple communication and exchange."

Just as the person in charge of Yu Lin Ling found Jin Li, this news spread quietly.

"The person in charge of Yu Lin Ling went to find Jin Li; I don't know if they are talking about an endorsement cooperation!"

Many first-tier artists received the news and asked their managers one after another.

"Has Yu Lin Ling decided on a spokesperson so quickly? Did they receive some wind, or do luxury brands really value Jin Li's results after the college entrance exam so much that even Yu Lin Ling has to place a bet in advance?"

This question was also being asked by Li Xunfang.

Zhao Rui said hesitantly: "This visit is actually a bit unusual. Logically speaking, a big company wouldn't easily decide on a global spokesperson, even if the weight of the endorsement is a new product, but this new product is at least being sold globally."

Li Xunfang's expression was a bit cold: "Then why did Yu Lin Ling still find Jin Li?"

"In terms of global influence, I am even more powerful than Jin Li. Many foreign fans admire my concepts; if Yu Lin Ling wants to find someone, they should find me first!"

Zhao Rui guessed: "It should be related to Fang Fei and Ru Meng Ling. These two luxury brands are both letting Jin Li endorse a new product at the same time. Yu Lin Ling wants to take the opportunity to see what exactly is good about Jin Li?"

Li Xunfang was a bit angry, but didn't know who to be angry at.

She could only vent this anger on the team.

"How is the cooperation with Modern Woman going? Didn't you say last time that they were willing to continue reaching a co-branding cooperation with me? Why has it been half a month and the contract terms haven't been negotiated yet?"

Zhao Rui was speechless and looked at Li Xunfang deeply.

Why it hadn't been negotiated, did she really not know?

If it weren't for the fact that the contract terms given by Modern Woman were very harsh on Li Xunfang, it wouldn't have dragged on for so long.

The brand wouldn't make concessions, and Li Xunfang wouldn't make concessions; what could she do?

She could only let the team continue to grind, always having to grind until one side made concessions in advance.

Zhao Rui said in a low voice: "The conditions set by Modern Woman are a bit harsh, and our team has been unable to reach an agreement."

Li Xunfang's expression was cold.

Zhao Rui paused and said again: "But the team has analyzed the contract, and it is the same as the contract standards on the market, just with some details refined. Many first-tier stars have signed such contracts, but we have never signed one."

This was not false.

First-tier stars also have differences in status.

Li Xunfang had never been the one with low status; many times it was the brand that made concessions.

But this time, Modern Woman clearly wouldn't make concessions.

Li Xunfang glanced at her coldly: "Since the contract isn't much different from what is signed in the industry, then why not sign it as soon as possible? Do you still need me to teach you how to do things?"

"Sister Zhao." Li Xunfang said heavily, "My popularity is so high this year, but the advertising endorsements I've received are really too few. Has the team been seriously promoting me?"

Zhao Rui's heart skipped a beat, and she said in a low voice: "All the products you endorsed before had issues, and the brands still have doubts, so it's not easy to talk about endorsements."

Li Xunfang: "Then did the Modern Woman I endorsed before have any issues?"

Zhao Rui immediately replied: "There have been no problems with product quality."

That is to say, the return rate was a bit unsatisfactory, but at least the quality had never had any problems.

Li Xunfang's breathing was a bit heavy, as if she was trying hard to endure and suppress something, and the veins on her forehead popped out.

"Since there is no problem, then why not promote it quickly and let those brands see that as long as one doesn't have a guilty conscience, the product won't have problems! Do you still need me to teach you such a small thing? Sister Zhao, you have disappointed me too much!"

Zhao Rui lowered her head, covering the expression on her face: "I will go promote it immediately."

Just as she was about to turn and leave, Li Xunfang's words came: "Wait!"

"And there is the matter of Yu Lin Ling finding Jin Li; find out clearly for me if they are talking about cooperation. If not, help me contact Yu Lin Ling as soon as possible!"

Zhao Rui: "Okay."

Just as she was about to leave the room door, Li Xunfang's words came lightly: "Sister Zhao, don't let me down this time."

The tone was very light, but Zhao Rui's heart jumped heavily.

She heard a threat in it.

If this matter still wasn't handled well, she might really be fired.

Zhao Rui was instantly scared into a cold sweat.

Originally, she had wanted to ask Li Xunfang for a sum of non-existent public relations funds, but this time she suddenly got angry, and she forgot it completely.

"How did it go? Did you talk about the endorsement?"

After Ms. Meng left, Sui Lingfang immediately came over to ask.

Jin Li looked around; many managers were looking over.

Sui Lingfang realized something, "You come to my office."

Entering the office and locking the door, Jin Li said: "The result is probably not ideal."

Sui Lingfang asked in confusion: "What did you say?"

Jin Li briefly recounted the questions and answers.

Sui Lingfang slumped into her chair, muttering to herself: "Integrity, integrity... your answer was not wrong; a gentleman's promise is worth a thousand gold, and she was satisfied with this answer, but it just didn't quite fit Yu Lin Ling's requirements, you—"

She looked up at Jin Li, wanting to say something but stopping.

Jin Li: "Sister Fang, if you want to say something, just say it."

Sui Lingfang took a deep breath and shook her head: "No, there is nothing to say; you didn't do anything wrong. Even if she didn't talk to you about this matter now, you would encounter it in the future."

"When I mentioned it to you, you would definitely have refused; you just honestly stated your own thoughts."

"It's just that Yu Lin Ling's womenswear department doesn't even have a shadow yet, and it's not certain it can be launched this year, which means it's not certain a spokesperson can be found this year either. I just feel that it would have been fine if you had said something nice to coax them first."

She changed her tone, "But then I thought, who wouldn't say nice things? If Yu Lin Ling continues to communicate with other artists later, and those artists all choose to coax them, wouldn't that make your answer seem refined and unconventional? That's also fine, that's also fine..."

Jin Li thought for a moment and didn't say Gu Cheng's guess.

From Ms. Meng, she could still feel that Yu Lin Ling's determination to make womenswear was very strong.

Perhaps Yu Lin Ling's womenswear could be launched very soon?

Sui Lingfang said: "Jin Li, thank you for your hard work. Let's go out to eat together later when there's nothing to do; your teachers will make up your lessons in the evening."

Jin Li smiled faintly, "It's fine."

The college entrance exam is in June, and it is already mid-April. As the days get closer, the pressure on the candidates is getting greater and greater.

Sui Lingfang asked her relatives last week; there were children in the relatives' homes who were going to take the college entrance exam this year.

The relatives were all saying: "The child is very miserable; they are very tired every day, and they lost more than ten pounds all of a sudden. I feel heartache just looking at them!"

Sui Lingfang thought to herself, there was nothing she could do for Jin Li, so she could only arrange her meals better and give her more supplements.