Chapter 86

After seeing Li Zhenyu off, Cheng Chen sat alone in the private room, silently calculating.

Was it a loss to buy China Blog for ten million?

At present, it seems like a loss—after all, during the internet winter, even domestic giants don't seriously recommend investment.

But the problem is, next year the internet winter will end!

Conversely, after hitting its low point, the internet industry will shift from decline to prosperity and experience a massive boom.

Ten million is not a small sum!

Even now, with his two platinum albums, acting fees, Tianhai Records dividends, royalty payments, commercial performance income, brand endorsements, and a house in Jingcheng—all combined—his total net worth is only fifteen million five hundred thousand.

This single purchase wipes out two-thirds of his wealth, not even counting the ongoing maintenance costs for China Blog.

Thinking of this, Cheng Chen's scalp prickled.

Fortunately, if China Blog survives this year, next year it will boom and recoup some of his losses…

Whether it was excitement over securing investment or sheer desperation, before leaving, Li Zhenyu made a bold request.

"Chengzi, you're hugely popular right now—really not considering that endorsement deal we mentioned earlier?"

"Endorsement? Does it pay?"

Having just spent ten million, Cheng Chen was in agony; hearing Li Zhenyu's words, he immediately shot back.

Li Zhenyu widened his eyes in shock:

"This is your own business!"

"Even brothers should settle accounts clearly."

Cheng Chen said indifferently.

Li Zhenyu nodded dejectedly; seeing this, Cheng Chen felt a pang of guilt and spoke up:

"Free endorsement for two years—after that, double the fee!"

A look of delight crossed Li Zhenyu's face, and he quickly nodded in agreement.

As for doubling the fee after two years—he didn't care at all.

If even brothers settle accounts clearly, then when the time comes, I'll just fire you and hire a cheaper endorser!

Cheng Chen glanced at him, as if reading his thoughts, and said slowly:

"I'm the owner of China Blog."

Li Zhenyu: …

"Making money is the only way!"

After much thought, Cheng Chen finally grasped a very solid principle.

His future roadmap was now crystal clear:

First path: continue increasing exposure to boost popularity, since traffic equals money—once popularity grows, monetization flows effortlessly.

Second path: return to his original field—film and television.

Beyond continuing to act in dramas to maintain exposure and satisfy his acting cravings, he must also get involved in producing TV series and films.

As everyone knows, in the entertainment industry, these two segments account for a huge share, and producers especially make astronomical profits.

Third path: album releases—besides solidifying current popularity, royalty payments will let him earn a fortune.

Fourth path: investment—beyond investing in China Blog right now.

In the future, internet giants will sprout like mushrooms after rain.

Like future Pinduoduo, Xiaomi, ByteDance—though the time is far off, it doesn't stop Cheng Chen from laying early groundwork.

Multiple paths, multiple safeguards.

He doesn't need to understand all this, but he must get involved—leave the professional work to professionals.

Wouldn't it be delightful to sit behind the scenes counting money?

Of course, in Cheng Chen's plan, film and television—the relatively familiar and booming industry—is the very place where he should place his biggest bet.

For now, though, he should just focus on making money.

…

"Xiaoxiao, do I still have any unsigned endorsement contracts?"

Cheng Chen dialed Wang Tianxiao's number.

Li Zhenyu's mention of endorsement earlier had reminded Cheng Chen.

High popularity means fast money—nothing beats endorsements!

"Yes,

plenty of them—why? Got ideas?"

Wang Tianxiao sounded busy; the phone line carried the sound of her flipping through documents.

"Yeah, send me a few big deals—I'm short on cash right now."

There was a flurry of frantic noise on the other end, then Wang Tianxiao's voice came through:

"Short on cash? Did you gamble, take drugs, or visit brothels?"

As Cheng Chen's partner and half-agent, Wang Tianxiao didn't know his finances perfectly, but she could guess 70–80% of it.

A net worth of tens of millions and still short on cash? Aside from gambling, drugs, or brothels, Wang Tianxiao couldn't imagine where else he'd burn through money.

This worried her deeply—Cheng Chen had become famous young, and with his youth and wealth, she wasn't sure he could resist outside temptations.

"What are you thinking, Xiaoxiao? Don't worry—my money's all going to legitimate things."

"What legitimate things could you possibly be doing?"

Cheng Chen was once again speechless; he already regretted making this call, and helplessly said:

"Just tell me if there are endorsements—I haven't done anything outrageous."

"Alright." Wang Tianxiao, half-skeptical, then heard a rustling of papers; she said:

"Currently, the highest bid for your endorsement is from a milk powder company—ten million over three years. That's already quite impressive!"

After hearing this, Cheng Chen frowned. His reason remained intact; he did not let money blind him and refused outright.

"Alright," Wang Tianxiao said regretfully.

Cheng Chen didn't think it was a big deal. Endorsements required extreme caution; if you could avoid them, you should.

Celebrity endorsement failures were common in the entertainment circle, like Han Ge's financial product.

It directly swindled 370,000 people out of over 23 billion, and the infamous pickled cabbage scandal paled in comparison.

There was Fan Xiaopang's weight-loss pill laced with harmful substances, Xu Cainv's weight-loss tea suspected to be a laxative, and International Zhang's bird's nest soup questioned to be mostly sugar water.

Even though celebrities apologized immediately after the products failed, their fans' hearts were still wounded.

Thus, celebrities eventually adopted an extremely cautious endorsement strategy.

"I'm Zha Zha Hui; if you're a brother, come chop me!"

"Dragon-Slaying Saber—click to get it free."

Zha Zha Hui, Gu Tianle, and a host of other celebrity legends plunged straight into browser games.

Haven't you seen even Liu Tianxian picking up a great sword and being blasted out of the browser page?

Of course, in the endorsement world, there was one godlike figure—Big Brother!

Only women as tough as Dong Xiaojie dared stand up to Big Brother—and survived under his aura.

All other brands were utterly wiped out.

If one day Cheng Chen disliked a company, he could simply summon Big Brother, who would pay out of his own pocket to endorse him!

So after a lengthy discussion with Wang Tianxiao, Cheng Chen accepted four relatively safe endorsements.

All were top-tier brands in the industry; from Cheng Chen's future perspective, these companies were thriving and had almost no negative news.

But their offered fees were low—the total for all four brands was only eight million.

In return, Cheng Chen committed to at least one year of service per brand.

Of course, part of the reason he delayed signing long-term contracts was that he had great confidence in his own potential.

There was no need to bind himself to any company for such a long time.

……