Chapter 75: Sales Explode, A Battle for Talent, This Terrifying Sense of Crisis

Until the second dance ended.

The San Yue Tian boy band returned to the backstage to remove their makeup and finish this engagement, but Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Xingdong remained troubled by what Gu Cheng had said earlier.

Taking advantage of the gap while Gu Cheng went to the restroom, Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Xingdong couldn't help but complain to his teammates.

"Five hundred catties of citrus? Has he gone crazy? Why buy so much? Can one person even finish eating it?"

Luo Fan smiled: "That's why he placed the order to your place, so we can all share some."

Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Xingdong: "The four of us can't finish five hundred catties either."

Chen Lin was surprisingly sharp this time: "Then I know why Chengzi placed the order to your place. Because your house is closest to the company, making it convenient to take the citrus to the company to share."

Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Xingdong:...

He said earnestly: "Little Lin, you aren't sharp when you should be, but you're quite cutting when you shouldn't be."

Luo Fan patted Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Xingdong on the shoulder: "Be understanding. Gu Cheng is still at that age where he's going through puberty.

Besides, men always have those few days a month where they act out."

Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Yan Xingdong retorted: "You're not much older than him, so why do you sound like you've seen it all?"

Luo Fan shrugged and sighed: "Looking at Gu Cheng and the youngest, I already feel old. I'm not as restless as they are."

Over at Jin Li's side.

The live stream was still ongoing.

This live stream started at 3:20 PM, and Mao Zhao didn't dare let Jin Li stream for a long time this time.

Every hour, they would send someone over to call her to rest for ten or twenty minutes.

If Jin Li refused to rest, Mao Zhao would use their persuasion tactics.

Employees took turns coming over to persuade her to rest, and even Fang Fang Fang Fang Fang Fang Jie joined in the fun—she didn't persuade, she specialized in being the straight man for the others.

Employee whispered: "Jin Li, Jin Li, it's time for you to rest."

Fang Fang Fang Fang Fang Fang Jie shouted: "Well said!"

Employee whispered: "Jin Li, your health is the foundation of your struggle."

Fang Fang Fang Fang Fang Fang Jie shouted: "Exactly!"

Employee whispered: "Jin Li, resting is for the sake of the long-term future."

Fang Fang Fang Fang Fang Fang Jie shouted: "That makes so much sense!"

Jin Li:...

She helplessly covered her forehead. She'd rest, she'd rest, okay!

She just felt that she could hold out for two hours before resting; there was no need to be so rushed every hour.

They were all too nervous!

Although it was called a rest, it was impossible for Jin Li to do nothing.

Rather than closing her eyes to wait for her energy to slowly recover, she simply took out her study materials to solve problems; this way, her energy recovered faster.

While solving problems, Jin Li ran out of water, so she picked up her cup to pour some.

The layout of the live streaming studio was very simple; the water dispenser was outside the restroom door.

She arrived at the entrance, and before she could walk in, she heard some artists discussing.

"The popularity of the live stream has all been absorbed by Jin Li. We're both streaming, yet my popularity doesn't even compare to a small streamer. This engagement is meaningless."

"Yeah, I saw so few people coming today and thought I could get some popularity, but who would have thought Jin Li would come too? We're just here to be her background."

"Say less. This kind of charity project is thankless anyway; it's good enough that someone is watching."

"Isn't it just too tiring? The appearance fee is so low, yet there's so much to do. It's fine if Jin Li wants to work hard herself, but why do we have to follow suit? I think the entire Chenxi Entertainment is just here to be Jin Li's supporting cast!"

"Sister Jin Li." He He He Yixuan walked over along the corridor, also holding a water cup to get water.

When she came over, she happened to hear the last sentence and looked at Jin Li with trepidation.

Jin Li silently filled her cup, tightened the lid, and walked into the restroom.

Those artists were focused on touching up their makeup and didn't spare a glance.

You wouldn't know until you went in.

Once inside, Jin Li saw several citrus fruits thrown on the floor as if to vent anger, looking like soft, rotten, broken pits.

The fire in Jin Li's heart could no longer be contained.

"If you have opinions about me, you can tell the company or the manager. In the future, don't participate in any engagements I bring in, and don't share the stage with me."

Her voice suddenly rang out, and everyone stopped what they were doing, looking somewhat panicked.

Why was Jin Li here?

Did she hear all of the discussion just now?

Jin Li squatted down and picked up the smashed citrus fruits.

"If you don't want to eat the fruit, you don't have to take it, but don't waste it once you have. 'Cherish food' is taught from kindergarten, right? Are you even worse than the uneducated?"

These artists were all from Chenxi Entertainment.

When they met Jin Li in the company, they all greeted her politely. Some artists she had seen often enough that Jin Li could remember their faces.

They didn't dare to talk back to Jin Li.

When Jin Li reprimanded them, they all lowered their heads; they couldn't see Jin Li's expression, and Jin Li couldn't see theirs.

The atmosphere was silent for a moment.

Jin Li frowned, threw the already rotten citrus into the trash can, and left without looking back.

An argument requires someone to argue back.

She wasn't a dean of students; a reminder was enough. What they did next was their own business.

After Jin Li left, those artists let out several breaths.

Someone nudged another: "Why didn't you speak up just now?"

That person said: "My popularity is poor, and the company might not renew my contract next year, so I don't need to curry favor with Jin Li.

I wanted to talk back, but I don't know why, as soon as I saw her angry, I felt a bit scared, as if a noble person was throwing a tantrum."

"Yeah, I have that feeling too. Jin Li's aura is too powerful!"

He He He Yixuan walked in.

There were a few artists inside who had an okay relationship with her and were usually very kind; she didn't expect them to participate in the discussion.

She didn't continue Jin Li's words, but said: "You guys should discuss less. This is just a job. Since you've accepted the job, do it well and stop complaining. Besides, the price Chenxi gives us isn't low."

He He He Yixuan paused, "You guys don't know, right? Sister Jin Li is participating in the live streaming sales for free; she isn't taking any appearance fees."

The others exclaimed.

"For free?"

"Is she crazy? Working so hard for free!"

Everyone didn't doubt what He He He Yixuan said; after all, they had the same manager, so it was normal for her to know some information.

However, someone sneered, "He He He Yixuan, don't be in such a hurry to criticize us. You're the one who wants Jin Li to fall the most, right?"

He He He Yixuan frowned: "I'm just talking about work with you. Since you've accepted it, do it well. Those who have to get up at four or five in the morning to sweep the streets are all working seriously. We're just live streaming to sell goods; it's far less hard than theirs."

"Fine, fine, fine. You're the one with noble morals, you're the one who doesn't complain, you're the one who doesn't fight for anything.

Someone who didn't know better would think you and Jin Li have a great relationship.

But aren't you still eyeing those scraps of engagements in her hands? You even wanted to ask Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang for them, only to be fiercely scolded by Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang!"

The other artists were afraid of Jin Li, but they weren't afraid of He He He Yixuan.

If it were before, they might not have dared to argue with He He He Yixuan.

But things were different now.

"He He He Yixuan, Jin Li scolds us, and we accept it because she has the qualifications, but what qualifications do you have to talk to us?

Don't forget, the reason you were able to reach the second tier is because the high-quality engagements we could have gotten were all given to you by the company!

We were all signed into the company in the same batch, and you only got ahead quickly because you knew how to suck up to the manager.

Others can talk to us, but you can't. You couldn't have become a second-tier artist without the engagements of everyone here!"

That artist who might have her contract terminated next year wasn't afraid of He He He Yixuan at all, her mouth firing like a machine gun.

"You're all for Jin Li, does Jin Li know? Why haven't I seen Jin Li help you?"

He He He Yixuan was also angered, secretly clenching her fists, and retorted sarcastically: "What does it have to do with you? Besides, even if she did help, you wouldn't see it!"

She turned around and quickly left the restroom.

If they kept arguing, it felt like they could start a fight.

Today's live streaming sales ended successfully!

Jin Li's guess was right; the sales volume created today was three times that of yesterday.

Although the live streams over the past two days didn't wipe out the citrus inventory, there wasn't much left, and it could be completely sold through online sales.

As soon as she got into the car, Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang handed her a towel.

"Wipe your sweat. I saw you sweating the whole time, but your body can't handle the air conditioning for long, so the air conditioning in that area was turned off. Can you still handle it?"

Jin Li took the towel, wiped her neck first, and smiled upon hearing this: "Fang Fang Fang Fang Fang Fang Jie, with this treatment of an emperor, who wouldn't be able to handle it?

It's fine that Mao Zhao is worried I'll faint again, but why are you joining in the fun, urging me to rest after streaming for an hour?

You know, even when recording 'PICK~ Next Station Diva', I basically recorded for two hours before resting once. My body can handle it."

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang shook her head solemnly: "The work intensity is different. Variety shows don't require you to talk this much."

Seeing that Jin Li's state was not bad, she set aside her worries and instead said, "However, since you brought up variety shows, there is actually one thing I need to tell you.

You explicitly rejected the filming for the fifth episode of *PICK~Next Station Diva*, and other platforms producing talent shows have been sending you invitations, asking you to go over and guest-star as a mentor."

Jin Li shook her head: "Those talent shows are already halfway through filming, so guest-starring is out of the question."

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang nodded: "That's what I thought too. Besides, rejecting Penguin and then immediately participating in another talent show doesn't look good.

So those platforms came up with a new idea; they want to invite you to be a mentor for next year's talent show."

"Next year?" Jin Li was surprised.

"It's only April now, has the battle for talent already begun?"

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang said helplessly: "Seeing that Penguin succeeded, they are greedy for that massive traffic. You haven't been following the aftermath of *PICK~Next Station Diva*, have you?

I also noticed those platforms kept inviting you, even calling out for next year's mentor reservations, so I specifically searched for relevant information and discovered that for that Penguin variety show, the fan fundraising and voting behind the contestants has already reached tens of millions!"

"Tens of millions, all from fan fundraising and voting?" Jin Li was a bit dazed.

She felt it was absurd, but upon closer thought, idols operate under this model.

Otherwise, why would so many companies refuse to give up on pushing for top-tier idols?

Once an idol gains momentum, their ability to harvest money is like a gale sweeping across the land, leaving nothing behind.

"It was only four million during the fourth episode, and it reached tens of millions by the fifth. How did it rise so fast?" Jin Li was puzzled.

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang said: "Because this time it involves advertising resources. It's not about bottom-ranked elimination, but about securing top-tier resources for the teams that are already in the lead.

Penguin started the bottom-ranked elimination system, so fans are desperately pouring money into the whole team to ensure their beloved popular contestants aren't eliminated.

On the other hand, the top five teams have also started a resource competition mode. Whichever team ranks highest in the fifth episode gets the endorsement for the new Lemon Tea product."

Jin Li raised an eyebrow: "Lemon Tea new product endorsement? That carries quite a bit of weight."

Lemon Tea is a household name for milk tea brands in the country.

According to incomplete statistics, if a person only drinks five cups of milk tea a month, one of them is likely Lemon Tea.

Although it's a milk tea brand, its specialty drinks are primarily based on the lemon tea series.

Jin Li hadn't drunk it, but she had seen many advertisements for Lemon Tea.

"Yes, the industry thinks it's a big move. Lemon Tea's willingness to cooperate shows they strongly favor the talent show model of *PICK~Next Station Diva*.

So, this tens of millions in voting wasn't born out of bottom-ranked elimination, but fought for in the resource competition."

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang paused, "I feel that the companies behind the contestants have stepped in."

Jin Li: "Companies throwing money, is it worth it?"

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang smiled: "That depends on whether their companies think it's worth it.

Some believe that early investment is for better future income. Others believe that carving a bloody path through fierce competition is the real skill.

Some stars are pushed out by company money and spend their whole lives repaying the company's investment. But others kill their way out through ability and make money as soon as they debut.

I can only say that the current competition is too intense, with all sorts of people fishing in troubled waters. It's far from as pure as it used to be; a contestant's ability is no longer the only standard for determining the result."

Jin Li nodded in agreement.

Not to mention the old-school talent shows, just take *Three Month Sky* as an example.

That was truly fought for based on popularity!

Other contestants' companies wanted to vote, but as soon as they saw that terrifying popularity value, they were deterred.

Jin Li's phone vibrated a few times.

Gu Cheng: 【Are you still going to study tonight?】

Jin Li glanced at the time; by the time she returned to the apartment, it should be ten o'clock at night.

Gu Cheng: 【I plan to find time to study for another hour or so, and rest at eleven. If you are studying, let's study together on video. I can help you with the questions you don't know.】

Jin Li's expression turned solemn.

She originally felt bad about troubling Gu Cheng, but she never expected that Gu Cheng was even more of a "study-grinder" than her!

Although she had planned to study after going back anyway.

But she studied to stay alive.

Whereas Gu Cheng studied purely out of passion!

A passionate study-grinder is truly terrifying!!

Jin Li: 【Studying! I'm still in the car, I'll start grinding questions now, and I'll video call you when I get back to the apartment.】

She put down her phone and dug the *Five-Three* workbook out of her bag.

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang looked at her phone and asked: "Jin Li, do you want to go get a late-night snack? There's a dessert shop that seems quite good; I've seen people in the circle recommend it several times."

"Jin Li?"

Seeing she didn't answer, Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang turned her head to look, and her breathing stopped for a few seconds.

Oh my, this kid is grinding questions again.

She hesitated for a moment, didn't disturb her, and lowered her head to continue looking at her phone.

Forget it, I'll just drop her off and go eat by myself.

Returning to the apartment.

Jin Li quickly Match Match Match Match Match Made a video call, and Gu Cheng picked up.

Because it was very late, she didn't plan to livestream.

Having studied on video with Gu Cheng several times, the two had a tacit understanding; they adjusted their phones and lowered their heads to do their own things.

Sometimes they wouldn't even look up at each other when speaking; one would ask a question directly, and the other would answer directly.

—Everyone was staring at the questions.

Time flew by, reaching eleven o'clock at night.

Gu Cheng put down his pen and closed his workbook on time, regardless of whether the question was finished or not.

Jin Li was different.

When the time was up, it was fine if the question was finished, but if it wasn't, she had to finish that question before resting.

Gu Cheng waited quietly for over ten minutes.

Jin Li finally managed to grind out the last sub-question of the big problem and let out a long sigh of relief.

She didn't check the answers.

If the answer was wrong, it would take more time to figure out where the mistake was.

Jin Li felt a bit tired and wanted to go to sleep.

Looking up, she found that Gu Cheng hadn't turned off the video, so she asked: "Is something wrong?"

Gu Cheng said: "There's something I want to tell you. Have you considered hiring a tutor?"

Jin Li was stunned, "A tutor?"

She hesitated: "To be honest, I haven't considered it. I have to run entertainment industry schedules during the day, and sometimes I have to rush to schedules at night; my time is too unfixed.

Unless I hire a private tutor who specifically follows my schedule, but I feel it's unnecessary. I can just self-study using fragmented time."

Gu Cheng thought for a moment: "Then you need to work harder. I've taught you for a while and found that your foundation is very weak; it must be that your middle school knowledge wasn't solid.

Although much of the knowledge in middle school and high school doesn't connect, many people work hard in high school, then make rapid progress and leap into becoming top students.

However, elementary and middle school are actually always cultivating a student's logical thinking ability.

If you cultivate your own set of thinking methods, studying high school content will be much easier."

He changed the subject, "But you don't have a method and can only summarize it slowly yourself; this process is very time-consuming.

If you had private tutoring, the teacher could instill their method into you, and you would be much more relaxed."

Jin Li pondered for a few seconds, "I still want to summarize it myself."

Her situation is special.

Studying by herself is to control her physical condition; if a tutor were by her side, perhaps something might be discovered.

Jin Li didn't dare to gamble on the possibility of not being discovered.

Gu Cheng nodded and asked again: "Then when do you want to take the college entrance exam?"

Jin Li was speechless.

She hadn't considered this question.

Gu Cheng smiled, "Jin Li, learning requires a sense of gain for you to become happier the more you learn; people doing things are the same. Long-term investment without reward is impossible to persist with.

According to your current progress, even if you self-study for three years, you might not necessarily be able to take the college entrance exam; your time is too fragmented."

Jin Li humbly asked: "Then what should I do? I still want to take the college entrance exam sooner."

Gu Cheng said objectively: "You should first summarize a set of learning methods."

After talking with Gu Cheng for half an hour, the confusion in Jin Li's heart lessened quite a bit.

That window of the soul, which had gradually become blurry, seemed to have been polished a bit.

Hanging up the video, she first glanced at her phone, pondered for a while, and changed Gu Cheng's WeChat note, changing it to 【Gu Study-Grinder·Orange】.

Then she walked to the window, looked up at the bright stars in the night sky, and Jin Li had a decision in her heart.

Studying, that must be ground out.

But burning incense at the Daoist temple cannot stop either!

Early the next morning.

Jin Li came to Chenxi Entertainment for a meeting.

Whenever a phased schedule ended, she had to return to the company to listen to the upcoming plans and arrangements.

Out of consideration for her health, Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang didn't accept those appearances for brands or participation in brand activities for her.

"The brands that sent you invitations are all second-tier brands. You already have the endorsement for the entire line of Duo Mi products, so there's no need to participate."

"If those brands want you to be their spokesperson, then that's fine to participate in, but if they are purely treating you as a tool to leech off your popularity, then forget it."

Jin Li nodded, "My thoughts are the same. I won't take on activities for second-tier brands; I will just focus on managing activities for the two brands, Duomi and Maozhao."

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang added, "The company has received several scripts. Some invite you to be the female lead, while others invite you to be the second or third female lead. You don't have any announcements coming up; would you like to try acting?"

Jin Li asked, "How much time would it take?"

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang opened one of the scripts, "This is for a female lead role. The company is quite optimistic about this one. The production is neither too big nor too small, and the director is also neither too big nor too small. Considering this is your first time touching acting, it should take four months to film."

A normal female lead shoot takes three months.

Since Jin Li is a pure newcomer, needing an extra month is very normal.

Jin Li shook her head, "No, four months is too time-consuming. Find something shorter; preferably, it should only take within a week."

The two of them looked again.

They did find some, but they weren't very satisfied with those roles.

Nominally, they were called the third female lead, but in reality, they were just bit parts.

The scenes weren't important either; just waving a hand, spinning in a circle, or saying a line upon appearing—there was no meaning to it.

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang rubbed her temples and tossed the script in her hand onto the table.

"Forget it. Since there are no good scripts, let's not film for now. I was originally planning to have you participate in a game variety show.

That variety show has high viewership ratings, and people often watch it while eating. But the game intensity of that show is quite high, and I was worried you wouldn't be able to handle it, so I didn't take it for you in the end."

She thought it over and simply said, "How about you participate in the sixth episode of 'PICK~ Next Station Diva'? Penguin has been asking me if you want to come over. As long as you want to come, we can always find a reason."

Jin Li shook her head, "Forget it. I'm not interested in variety shows right now. If I were interested, I wouldn't have only taken on one variety show."

She added, "The group variety show for March Sky is scheduled to film in May. It's already April now, and before that, I want to adjust my state first.

Sister Fang, since there are no suitable announcements, how about I take a break for a while?"

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang was speechless.

"You are the first artist to openly tell me you want to rest, and you're at the peak of your popularity, too."

Jin Li smiled very sweetly, "My health isn't good, so please bear with me!"

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang looked down at the schedule and drew a few circles with a red pen.

"It's not impossible to rest, but if a high-quality announcement comes knocking, you should still go out and about. By the way, how do you plan to rest?"

She was just about to pitch the overseas travel package she hadn't mentioned before, but in the next second, Jin Li said, "I'm going to a Daoist temple to cultivate my body and mind."

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang:...

You really do love Daoist temples deeply.

When leaving the company, Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang specifically said to Jin Li, "It's a good thing Daoist temples don't accept lay disciples, otherwise I'd really be afraid the temple would steal you away from me."

Jin Li blinked, her footsteps pausing slightly.

After getting into the car, she opened the window and said in a low voice, "Sister Fang, you got one thing wrong."

"What?"

Jin Li: "Daoist temples do accept lay disciples. They are converts who don't become monks but practice at home; they are also called Daoist lay practitioners."

She smiled faintly, "But don't worry, I have no interest in becoming a lay practitioner."

The car drove far away, but Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang still stood where she was, silent and speechless.

It's over, what should I do now that I have an even greater sense of crisis?

The update is here, continuing the 6K update!

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(End of this chapter)