Starting from a Bar to Sign Internet Celebrities-Chapter 85 - 83: A Single Ad Isn’t a Threat?
Han Shangyou was very unhappy with Liu Xian’s impatience. The man’s intentions were far too obvious.
The man clearly had no interest in exploring new possibilities for the advertising module; he was stubbornly fixated on the single-minded approach of promoting Sister Feiye.
That strategy—using one success to drive the whole sector—wasn’t wrong in itself. But now a new model had emerged, one that seemed even more effective, and they had to adapt.
This Liu Xian was just too inflexible. He wasn’t the kind of manager Han Shangyou was looking for.
So, he ignored Liu Xian and directly addressed the head of public opinion and news management beside him. "President Chu, find out how the investigation is going."
"Of course, President Han." President Chu nodded, immediately took out his phone, and made a call. After a brief inquiry, he put the call on speaker. "Hu Tao, brief President Han again on what Second-Life Star had to say."
Hu Tao’s voice immediately came through. "President Han, Second-Life Star says the photos are indeed real, but the context is completely wrong. They’re stills from a commercial they were filming. Someone must have taken screenshots. They think they used a hotel computer to do some editing, forgot to delete the raw footage, and a subsequent guest found and viewed the files."
Liu Xian grew anxious when he heard this. "President Han, that’s just Second-Life Star’s side of the story! It’s probably just a PR excuse."
Hu Tao’s voice came through again. "It really is the case. Second-Life Star sent us the commercial. All the girls at their company filmed a similar video."
"Send the video over," Han Shangyou said at once.
Hu Tao replied, "Yes, President Han. I’ve sent it to President Chu’s phone."
The call ended. A moment later, President Chu’s phone received the video. He opened it and handed it to Han Shangyou.
Chen Jincheng’s voice came from the video. "Honey, why did you buy so many pairs of Luna Stockings?"
As the video played, Han Shangyou’s eyes lit up.
This stocking ad was somewhat similar to the one Jiang Xiaobai had done. Both relied on the impact of a costume change and the product’s allure to create a dramatic contrast.
The appeal of this video was in no way inferior to the pajama commercial.
’Second-Life Star seems to be very good at these kinds of ads.’
Han Shangyou finally remarked, "This girl, Yinyin, already has heat from the stocking-tearing incident and the ’Big Pendulum’ in the underground garage. Now, with the added fuel from this photo scandal, the ad is probably going to explode. Five million likes isn’t out of the question. That would be a huge boon for promoting our Tiao Yin advertising module."
Liu Xian’s heart sank when he heard this, and he blurted out, "President Han, could it be that Second-Life Star orchestrated this whole thing themselves just for the ad..."
"I just said," Han Shangyou cut him off, his tone laced with irritation, "that a successful ad would be a huge benefit for promoting our Tiao Yin advertising module."
"President Han, I’ll have my team ban Mou Xuesong and Gua Gua Talks for three months on the grounds of spreading false information." President Chu was already tapping on his phone to make the arrangements as he spoke, shooting Liu Xian a look of pity.
... Liu Xian’s face turned grim. He realized what a foolish thing he had just done.
Han Shangyou ignored him and instructed President Chu directly, "Tell Second-Life Star to issue a clarification as soon as possible. We still need to manage the public perception."
It wasn’t just Tiao Yin. In her hotel room, Li Qinglan had been following the photo scandal from the moment it broke.
She could, of course, tell that the pictures were from a commercial shoot. She didn’t know how they had leaked online to create this scandal, but she knew one thing for sure: the Luna Stockings ad was about to go viral.
The thought filled her with a strange sense of anticipation.
...
Meanwhile, the Second-Life Star office was buzzing with excitement, with many of the girls gathered together and chatting.
"I’ve gained some new followers, too."
It wasn’t something one would openly brag about, however.
「In the office.」
Chen Jincheng was monitoring the situation online. Just as he felt the hype had reached its peak, Sister Hong came to find him again. "Boss, Tiao Yin contacted us. They said they’ve banned the accounts for Mou Xuesong and Gua Gua Talks for three months. They also want us to issue a clarification quickly and manage the public perception."
"Perfect. I was planning to do just that," Chen Jincheng said with a smile. He gave his instructions, "Post an announcement from my account. At the same time, upload Yinyin’s commercial. Have the other girls post theirs immediately after. Let’s create a trending topic: #LunasStockingsAreEasyToTear."
"Got it." Sister Hong nodded, then asked, "What about sending a cease-and-desist to Mou Xuesong and Gua Gua Talks?"
Chen Jincheng shook his head. "Let it go. Getting banned for three months is a harsh enough punishment."
’No need to overdo it.’
Meanwhile, the internet was in a complete uproar.
Because of the photo scandal, even though everyone was envious of Chen Jincheng’s ’good fortune’—assuming he was coercing so many girls into sleeping with him—they also figured that since the incident had blown up, Tiao Yin would surely have to take action against him, right?
But to everyone’s surprise, before any action was taken against Chen Jincheng, the original posters, Mou Xuesong and Gua Gua Talks, were banned by Tiao Yin. The platform even issued an official notice stating that the two had spread false information and disrupted the platform’s normal operations.
This made everyone’s jaws drop.
What did that mean? Was Chen Jincheng’s photo scandal fake?
No way. There were pictures! Tech experts had already confirmed they weren’t Photoshopped.
It wasn’t just the online spectators; the two bloggers, Mou Xuesong and Gua Gua Talks, were completely baffled.
If anyone should have been banned, it was Chen Jincheng. Why them?
They contacted Tiao Yin immediately, only to be told that the photos were just behind-the-scenes shots from a Second-Life Star commercial shoot. The crew had used a hotel computer, forgotten to delete the footage, and the next guest had found it.
They felt like their world was collapsing. They instantly realized they’d been played. To make matters worse, Tiao Yin had explicitly warned them not to stir up any more trouble, leaving them in utter despair. When they tried to contact the person who sold them the photos, they discovered they’d been blocked.
Was there any fucking justice in the world?
Just then, the announcement posted by Second-Life Star captured everyone’s attention.
"Regarding the recent photo scandal circulating online, we at Second-Life Star solemnly declare that all related reports are false, fabricated by distorting the facts, and have caused immense harm to the well-being of our artists. The photographs in question are stills from a commercial being filmed by Second-Life Star."
This announcement from Second-Life Star only made the countless people following the story more skeptical.
"A commercial shoot? So your company shoots commercials in bed, is that it?"
"Excuse me, but is this a ’proper’ commercial?"
"Cheng, even a longtime fan like me can’t believe this is for a commercial. Look at the sultry expressions on those girls’ faces. They obviously just finished... you know."
"..."
Regardless, everyone who had been following the photo scandal was now fixated on the commercial. They were dying to know what kind of ad required filming in a bed and ended up causing a scandal like this.
Right at that moment, Yinyin’s account was updated with the new Luna Stockings commercial.
Within moments, countless people flooded the video. They finally saw what the commercial was all about and understood the truth behind the photo scandal—it really was just from an ad.
Immediately after, most viewers found themselves captivated by the Luna Stockings themselves. The video was shot exceptionally well, perfectly capturing the allure of stockings in intimate moments between a man and a woman. This was especially true for the torn stockings on the floor and the ’battle-damaged’ pair still on Yinyin’s long legs.
The appeal was simply off the charts.
Instantly, the likes and comments on Yinyin’s commercial began to climb at an unbelievable rate. Then, it went viral.
Many people soon noticed the hashtag under the video—#LunasStockingsAreEasyToTear. They clicked on it out of curiosity and were met with an incredible sight: a neat grid of more than thirty videos.
It was a whole series of stocking-transformation commercials, each featuring a different girl.
Every girl in the videos was beautiful and had a great figure. But surprisingly, every single video began with Chen Jincheng, and always with his line, "Honey..."
The stocking transformations were as alluring as ever, but the endings made everyone curse, "That bastard Chen Jincheng!" In every video, a girl with bare shoulders would be leaning intimately against his chest, her long, ’battle-damaged’ legs wrapped around him as she held him close.
’He was living every man’s fantasy.’
This reminded many people of the previous pajama-transformation incident, where a parade of girls had also sat on his lap, calling him "hubby."
The guy had once again created such an infuriatingly iconic scene.
The massive resentment was palpable in the comment sections.
"Honestly, seeing the leaked photos didn’t make me half as sick as this does."
"Chen Jincheng, I want to apply for a job at Second-Life Star! Give me a chance to help you shoulder that burden!"
"HOLY SHIT, Chen Jincheng definitely set this up for his own benefit! That bastard!"
"No wonder Second-Life Star doesn’t sign any male artists. It’s all because of this scumbag’s selfish desires."
"..."
Elsewhere, on a sandy beach, Sister Feiye and a few of her staff were lounging on beach chairs. She was contentedly enjoying the sea breeze, basking in the pleasant feeling of being on the verge of becoming a top-tier influencer.
"Contact the upscale restaurant we booked and have them prepare an extra order of salmon for me. I’m suddenly in the mood for fish," Sister Feiye instructed an employee, her mood buoyant.
But the employee suddenly spoke up. "Sister Feiye, there’s been another development online. The situation with Chen Jincheng has been completely reversed. The photo scandal was a fake—the pictures were all from a Second-Life Star commercial shoot. And now, the accounts that broke the story, Mou Xuesong and Gua Gua Talks, have been banned."
"From a commercial shoot?" Sister Feiye froze, then quickly grabbed her phone to check. It was true, the narrative had completely flipped. She also saw Second-Life Star’s stocking commercial.
She subconsciously pulled up the advertising leaderboard. Sure enough, Second-Life Star’s Yinyin was on the list. Ad Count: 1. Ad Revenue: 500,000.
"A single ad slot going for 100,000 more than mine? She’s got some nerve," Sister Feiye complained. Still, she felt relieved. Even at 500,000, it was just one ad—hardly a threat. She turned back to her employee. "It doesn’t affect us. Go ahead and order the fish. Eating salmon tonight is the most important thing."
