Xu Qiao took out his phone, logged into Weibo, and found that his official fan club had already reposted the studio’s official announcement.
After Chatting About exploded, Xu Qiao gained several fan-made art and support pages. Compared to before, the fans were more united, creating a stronger sense of cohesion.
The largest fanbase, with the most followers, was taken back by Mo Chenghong and professionally managed. After restructuring and planning, the fanbase’s official account looked well-organized, and the number of fans was rapidly increasing.
When Xu Qiao found the official announcement on Weibo to repost, Xu Siyi looked at it, his mouth curving in a helpless yet amused manner. He stopped Xu Qiao before he could press the button.
Xu Qiao looked up, his gaze filled with confusion.
Xu Siyi asked, “You’re just going to repost it like that?”
What else?
Xu Siyi read this sentence from Xu Qiao’s eyes.
Pressing his forehead, Xu Siyi took the phone from Xu Qiao’s hand. Seeing him typing a bunch of phrases like “walking hand in hand, looking forward to tomorrow,” Xu Qiao checked for any errors or typos before sending it out.
Returning the phone to Xu Qiao, Xu Siyi raised an eyebrow, half-smiling as he said, “You just repost it without any personal thoughts. Netizens might think you’re not happy about signing with my studio.”
Xu Qiao glanced at him listlessly, and the usual upward tilt of his eyes sagged. He looked a bit downcast. Without saying anything, he continued eating his warm salad.
Xu Siyi knew he was probably exhausted.
Just a few sets of sit-ups and squats had worn him out like this. His physical condition was even worse than he had imagined.
……
The news of Xu Qiao signing with Xu Siyi’s studio quickly spread.
He had terminated his contract with SSE a while ago, and now, with the success of Chatting About, everyone speculated that he would leverage this momentum to sign with a new company. Unexpectedly, he chose Xu Siyi’s studio.
Before Xu Qiao, Xu Siyi’s studio had not signed any new artists, causing envy among many.
Considering Mo Chenghong’s reputation as a renowned top agent known for managing A-listers with a vast network and strong capabilities, and Xu Siyi’s status as a popular influencer with abundant resources, their collaboration was surprising.
Why did he specifically choose Xu Qiao?
Xu Qiao’s fans thought that signing with Xu Siyi was like grabbing onto a big thigh. They believed that he wouldn’t have to worry about resources in the future.
For a while, the trending topics were as lively as during the New Year.
「I’ve been a fan of Xu Qiao since his debut, purely because of this brother’s good looks. I never thought about his own projects. But why? Why is this simple face-lover now worrying about this brother’s career?」
「As a fellow face-lover, I’ve decided to become a career fan.」
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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On this day, as Li Feifei dropped him off at the office building, Xu Qiao, upon entering the revolving glass door, spotted Mo Chenghong.
Mo Chenghong was usually busy. Xu Qiao rarely saw him around the studio.
Wondering why he had come today, Xu Qiao saw Mo Chenghong walking directly toward him.
Glancing at his watch and adjusting his glasses, Mo Chenghong said to Xu Qiao, “I’ll accompany you to class today and see how your training is going.”
Xu Qiao nodded, and the two walked together towards the gym.
With the indoor heating, Xu Qiao changed into a light, breathable sportswear and came out of the changing room. Kang Wei was already waiting.
Mo Chenghong glanced over Xu Qiao. After these few days of training, Xu Qiao’s muscle contours hadn’t changed drastically, but with a careful look, some effects were noticeable.
Xu Qiao still wasn’t a fan of exercise, but after a few days of Kang Wei’s torture, he had adapted quite a bit. Doing sit-ups and squats wasn’t as strenuous as before.
After completing a set of exercises with Kang Wei’s rhythmic guidance, Xu Qiao wiped his sweat with a towel and sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, closing his eyes to rest.
“Tired?” Mo Chenghong walked over, standing beside him.
Expecting Xu Qiao to bravely shake his head, Mo Chenghong was surprised when the seated young man half-opened his eyes, the luster in them somewhat dim.
Xu Qiao weakly nodded. Very tired.
Mo Chenghong: “……”
Xu Qiao’s phone, placed nearby, chimed with a notification. Xu Qiao looked at it, about to get up to grab it, but Mo Chenghong walked over and handed it to him.
Thanking him, Xu Qiao opened the phone to find a WeChat message from Gao Ming.
【Gao Ming】Xu Qiao, you’ve registered your artist account for several days now. Why haven’t you posted anything? Occasionally, do some business.
After their last meeting, where they finalized the contract and signed, Xu Qiao had registered a new Weibo account as the chief artist for Dianxing Game Company, allowing regular communication with fans.
However, this account didn’t have many followers at the moment.
After registering that day, Xu Qiao completely forgot about this matter
Replying with a simple “okay” to Gao Ming, Xu Qiao switched to the alternate account. The Weibo account named [Dianxing Game—Xu] had a verified yellow V. The official account of Dianxing Company tagged him, and after introducing his identity, Xu Qiao gained several dozen followers during this period.
Glancing at it, Mo Chenghong thought Xu Qiao was casually browsing Weibo with an alternate account. He reminded, “Be careful when using Weibo. Don’t forget to switch accounts. If you repost or likes something you shouldn’t in your main account, it could turn into a disaster.”
For celebrity artists, caution was needed even when casually browsing online.
Xu Qiao nodded. “I usually use Feifei’s phone for casual browsing.”
Mo Chenghong: “?” What are you doing now then?
He glanced at Xu Qiao’s screen, not quite able to see the name clearly. At a glance, he noticed the yellow V certification at the end, and asked in confusion, “What’s this account for?” Why does it have a yellow V?
Xu Qiao didn’t hide it from him, waving his phone screen in front of Mo Chenghong.
Mo Chenghong, looking at the introduction of the verification that said “Chief Artist at Dianxing Game Company,” was quite astonished.
Xu Qiao selected one of the drawings he had done a few days ago from his phone and posted it on Weibo.
Mo Chenghong’s eyebrows twitched, his face filled with confusion.
What’s going on?
When did you start drawing? I’ve never heard of it.
Mo Chenghong thought Xu Qiao was joking. He probably assumed Dianxing Game Company was some unknown small company, and drawing might be some amateur hobby. Not taking it seriously, he advised, “Spend more time enriching yourself.”
Xu Qiao yawned lazily, nodded drowsily, and rested against the wall, half-closing his eyes.
After Xu Qiao posted the drawing on his alternate account, there were occasional notification sounds. The account gained a few more followers and some comments.
「Your art style is amazing, love it!」
「Look at what divine masterpiece I stumbled upon!」
「Wow, your drawing skills are excellent, followed!」
After the short break, Kang Wei urged to continue training.
Xu Qiao furrowed his brow, pressed his lips together, and reluctantly stood up from the floor.
Finally finishing today’s classes and training, on the way back, Mo Chenghong also got into the car, accompanying Li Feifei to drop Xu Qiao off.
Li Feifei drove, while Xu Qiao and Mo Chenghong sat in the back seat.
Mo Chenghong, looking at the receding street scenes outside the window, spoke with a steady voice, “Take these next few days to relax. You can pause the training and classes for now. Starting next week, things will get busy as I’ll be assigning you some work.”
Xu Qiao nodded and asked, “What kind of work?”
Mo Chenghong replied, “There are two opportunities. One is still in negotiation, and the other is almost finalized.”
As he spoke, Mo Chenghong took out a stack of documents from his briefcase and handed them to Xu Qiao.
Seeing a logo composed of a small heart and a stethoscope on the documents, Xu Qiao couldn’t help but ask, “What is this?”
“‘Listen to Your Heartbeat.’ It’s a charitable foundation looking for a spokesperson. I’m in talks with them and hope to secure the deal.”
Seeing Xu Qiao flipping through the documents, Mo Chenghong continued, “The foundation aims to promote CPR awareness and advocate for the installation of AEDs. As you know, the CPR awareness rate in our country is low, and locations equipped with AEDs, such as subways, train stations, and large malls, are still in the minority.”
Xu Qiao nodded. The current situation was indeed like that, but advancing this cause would be a challenging and lengthy process.
Taking the documents back from Xu Qiao, Mo Chenghong’s expression remained unchanged as he continued, “Although there won’t be a spokesperson fee for a charity foundation, engaging in charity work will boost your visibility. It’s also a process of building a good reputation.
“‘Listen to Your Heartbeat’ is already an influential foundation in the country. Originally, their choice of spokesperson wouldn’t have anything to do with you. But last time, when you performed CPR on Ying Yuan and saved his life, it had quite an impact. I haven’t heard of any other celebrity doing such a thing, which is why they considered you.”
For Xu Qiao, the charitable cause was more about the endorsement itself rather than any spokesperson fee. He couldn’t help asking, “Is there a good chance of securing it?”
Mo Chenghong shrugged, a gesture that seemed out of place with his slightly matured face. “Still in negotiation, don’t get your hopes up too much. After all, you still have the stain of brawling under influence on your record. They’ll definitely consider that carefully.”
Xu Qiao acknowledged this, understanding that landing the endorsement for this foundation was still uncertain.
Thinking about the two job opportunities mentioned by Mo Chenghong, Xu Qiao inquired, “What about the other job?”
“The other one is a variety show called ‘National Style.'”
“National Style?” Xu Qiao repeated silently.
“Yes, it’s a variety show that promotes traditional culture. The content includes Chinese painting, traditional opera, calligraphy, ethnic dances, and a few other elements. The specific program details haven’t been finalized, but it’s roughly in these areas.”
Mo Chenghong clearly had high expectations for this variety show. “The production team is top-notch in the industry, and the guests are outstanding in their respective fields. Participating in this variety show will significantly boost your popularity.”
The guests were all experts in their respective fields…
Xu Qiao, somewhat puzzled, asked, “So, what will be my main role on the show?”
“Those guests in their professional fields are called ‘National Style Inheritors.’ When you go, you’ll be called ‘National Style Witness.’ Besides you, there’s another influencer, but we don’t know who it is yet. Once you’re there, when the big shots showcase their talents, you just express awe and admiration, say a couple of ‘wow’s and praises. The main thing is to show that fanboy enthusiasm. You get that, right?”
Xu Qiao nodded. “Got it.”
Mo Chenghong patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry about being too much of a tool. I saw you dance quite well in Chatting About. When the time comes, we’ll have a dance teacher give you some lessons, learn a few dances to showcase!”
Xu Qiao smiled and nodded in agreement.
Mo Chenghong felt pleased seeing Xu Qiao responding so well. In his heart, he thought that managing Xu Qiao was much easier compared to dealing with Xu Siyi.
MC going in the variety, will just end up being everyone staring in awe at him LOL
+1 This witness will turn out to be a terribly powerful inheritor, big clap
Ty for the chapter (*≧∇≦)ﾉ
Xu Qiao gonna be the one making everyone act like a fan girl hehehe
Manager gonna be left stupid when he see the true talent of Qiaoqiao!
Also ML feels like he is proud to de mc grow
Thank you for the chapter ~
Thanks for the chapter! Manager is in for a surprise or 2, or more like dozen, poor guy
oh I’m already imagining Xu Qiao start criticizing the artwork then get escalated in to him actually doing it himself
Thought the same xD
Thank you for the update!
Thank you for the update 🖤 💯
Thank you for the update ☺️
Thank you for the chapter.