Starting from a Bar to Sign Internet Celebrities-Chapter 97 - 95: Also Advertising for Rice?

In Coastal City, an alleyway on He Cai Street had been cordoned off, and cameras were being set up, attracting the attention of passersby.

Someone was obviously filming a video.

In the age of the internet, this sort of thing wasn’t uncommon. Sometimes, you could even see people walking down the street, livestreaming from their phones.

In this era of the booming influencer economy, many ordinary people deluded themselves into thinking that they could just grab a phone, shoot a few random videos, and effortlessly rake in tens of thousands a month. This fantasy spanned all ages, from teenagers to people in their sixties.

They were all being led by the nose by the trends of the times.

However, with such a large number of people trying, a few lucky ones did indeed succeed, which in turn attracted even more to flock to the trend.

At first, when people saw someone filming in the alley, no one paid it much mind. It was obviously just another dreamer.

But when a car pulled up and Chen Jincheng stepped out, things changed.

Many who saw him were surprised.

"That guy is so handsome. I think he’s some influencer."

"He looks really familiar. I’ve scrolled past his videos on Tiao Yin."

"Holy shit, that’s the Ancestral Master, Chen Jincheng."

"..."

Once Chen Jincheng was recognized, a crowd started to gather, and people began filming him with their phones.

Lao Chen said with a smile, "Boss, we’ve been here for half the day with no audience. The moment you show up, a crowd gathers."

Jiang Hong, however, was more focused on the advertisement. "Mr. Chen, having followed the shoot all this way, I’m getting more and more excited about this commercial."

"In that case, President Jiang, let’s hurry up and finish filming so we can get the final cut done sooner." Chen Jincheng smiled and instructed Lao Chen to begin.

"Bring the costume and headpiece over for the boss," Lao Chen shouted to a crew member.

The crew member immediately brought over a costume and a headpiece.

After taking them, Chen Jincheng ducked into the portable changing room that had been set up nearby.

This caught the attention of the surrounding crowd, who watched with curiosity. When they saw Chen Jincheng emerge wearing a power-socket headpiece, every single one of them looked stunned. The meme about "Chen Jincheng’s zodiac sign is a power socket" resurfaced in their minds.

"Am I seeing things? Is Chen Jincheng really wearing a power socket on his head?"

"Netizens joked that his zodiac sign is a power socket, and he went and turned himself into an actual socket-person?"

"What kind of stunt is this?"

"..."

Thanks to the previously trending "Chen Jincheng’s zodiac sign is a power socket" meme, seeing this scene made everyone instinctively curious. One by one, they all took out their phones and started filming.

After putting on the costume, Chen Jincheng said to Lao Chen, "We can start now."

"Okay." Lao Chen nodded, walked over to the camera, and shouted, "Ready, and... action!"

Once filming began, Chen Jincheng followed the script. He slowly removed the power-socket headpiece, casually tousled his hair, and gave the camera a classic heartbreaker’s smile.

"Okay, one take! Boss, you’re the man." Lao Chen immediately gave Chen Jincheng a thumbs-up. ’Of course, the scene wasn’t actually difficult,’ he thought, ’but you always have to praise the boss.’

Chen Jincheng, of course, knew exactly what Lao Chen was doing and chuckled. "Enough with the flattery. Get back and edit the commercial quickly. Let President Jiang review it and see if he’s satisfied."

Lao Chen chuckled and shouted to the crew, "Alright, filming’s over! Everyone, pack up and head back to the company. Sister Hong has already booked a restaurant for us tonight."

At these words, every crew member involved in the shoot broke into a smile, and they all started packing up with much more energy.

The company’s team-building events always involved a huge meal; they never skimped. The prospect of a free feast naturally put everyone in a great mood.

Chen Jincheng changed out of the costume and headpiece and headed back to the company with Lao Chen and the others.

When they arrived at the company, Sister Hong came over, handed a phone to Chen Jincheng, and said with a smile, "A passerby already posted a video of the commercial you just shot, and it’s starting to go viral."

Chen Jincheng took the phone. On the screen was a video filmed by a passerby of him shooting the commercial in the power-socket headpiece. The title read: "Spotted Chen Jincheng filming. What’s he doing with a power-socket headpiece?"

This title was the reason the video had gained traction so quickly. The two keywords, "Chen Jincheng" and "power-socket headpiece," had perfectly cashed in on the existing hype.

Evidently, the video acted like a switch, reigniting the topic of "Chen Jincheng’s zodiac sign is a power socket."

Commenters were all saying that Chen Jincheng was simply playing himself.

"Let’s just treat this as a warm-up for the official ad," Chen Jincheng said with a smile. "We’ll try to get it edited and uploaded before the end of the day!" He then called Lao Chen and Jiang Hong over to the editing department to start working on the video.

...

In the underground parking garage of Coastal City Airport, a mature and alluringly beautiful woman walked toward a car. Her white blouse was paired with a hip-hugging skirt that perfectly accentuated her figure, and the deliberately undone top buttons of her shirt added a layer of seductive charm.

Her simple, framed glasses also gave her an intellectual air. Passing drivers couldn’t help but steal glances, and some even recognized her as a major influencer whose videos they’d scrolled past before.

Sister Feiye walked up to a Mercedes-Benz, opened the passenger-side door, and got in. Another mature beauty was sitting in the driver’s seat.

As soon as she got in, she said to the other woman, "President Hu, I didn’t expect you to arrive before me. You even got a car."

"My cousin is in Coastal City, so I had him drive it over. He’s letting me use it for the next couple of days," Hu Jing explained.

Sister Feiye nodded. "Then let’s head straight to Second-Life Star. The location that Sister Hong sent us is in the Jinmao Building."

"Okay, I’ll set the navigation," Hu Jing said, tapping on the Mercedes’ GPS system. Then, she started the car and drove off.

The two of them had made a special trip here to discuss an advertising collaboration with Second-Life Star, and both were quite looking forward to the potential partnership.

Hu Jing was hoping that her company’s Audrey Hepburn-style Dress could achieve the same promotional success as Jinghong Women’s Clothing and Luna Stockings.

Sister Feiye, for her part, hoped this collaboration would meet her expectations. Only then would she commit to Second-Life Star without any reservations.

The car soon arrived at the parking garage of the Jinmao Building, where Second-Life Star was located.

After getting out of the car, Sister Feiye called Sister Hong. As soon as the call connected, she said, "Sister Hong, I’ve arrived at the Jinmao Building with the representative from Danny Clothing. You’re on the 8th floor, right?"

In the Second-Life Star editing room, Sister Hong was watching Chen Jincheng supervise the editing of the commercial. Hearing that Sister Feiye had arrived, she quickly replied, "That’s right, we’re on the 8th floor. I’ll go to the elevator entrance to wait for you."

After hanging up, she reported to Chen Jincheng, "Boss, Sister Feiye has arrived."

Chen Jincheng hadn’t expected the influencer to arrive so quickly.

They were at a critical point in the editing process, so he instructed, "Sister Hong, you go entertain them first. I’ll be there as soon as we finish up this ad."

"Okay," Sister Hong nodded.

...

Having gotten her answer, Sister Feiye put her phone away and led Hu Jing into the elevator. They went straight to the 8th floor, and the moment the doors opened, they saw Sister Hong waiting for them.

"Sister Feiye, welcome!" Sister Hong greeted them with a smile. "And you must be President Hu from Danny Clothing, right?"

"Sister Hong, it’s a pleasure to meet you!"

"Hello, Sister Hong."

Sister Feiye and Hu Jing both exchanged greetings with Sister Hong before following her into the Second-Life Star offices.

After leading the two to a reception room and seating them, Sister Hong explained, "Sister Feiye, President Hu, my sincerest apologies. Our boss is currently editing and reviewing a commercial with the people from Rice Group. They’re at a critical stage, so I’ll be hosting you for the time being."

Hearing this, Sister Feiye asked with a look of complete surprise, "Sister Hong, Rice Group hired you guys at Second-Life Star for an ad?"

It was no wonder she was so surprised. Although she was one of the most effective influencers on Tiao Yin when it came to advertising, she knew in her heart that the companies hiring her were never major corporations, let alone a renowned conglomerate like Rice Group.

A company like Danny Clothing was already considered quite good, but compared to Rice Group, it was just small fry.

You could say that no major conglomerate of that scale had ever hired an influencer for an ad before. Second-Life Star was setting a precedent.

Hu Jing was just as surprised, and her anticipation grew even stronger. ’If even Rice Group is hiring Second-Life Star for commercials,’ she thought, ’that’s more than enough proof of how formidable they are.’

「Inside the editing room.」

After a little more time, Xiaoliao finally finished editing the "Love Between a Plug and a Socket" commercial and played it for everyone.

"Excellent, truly excellent! This is definitely the most incredible power-socket ad I’ve ever seen," Jiang Hong praised as he watched. He then added eagerly, "Mr. Chen, I’m going to send this to President Lei for review. Then we can upload it right away."

"Go ahead." Chen Jincheng’s eyes lit up. He knew, of course, that the "President Lei" Jiang Hong mentioned was the one and only Lei Xiaojun. Three months after Rice went public, he had become one of the nation’s top business tycoons.

’In another world,’ he recalled, ’after Rice released its line of cars, he became one of the absolute top five titans of the business world.’

Jiang Hong didn’t hesitate, immediately sending the video to President Lei.

「At Rice Headquarters.」

Lei Xiaojun was in his office, reviewing Rice’s latest financial report. In the past three months, Rice’s market capitalization had reached 68 billion USD and was climbing steadily.

’Next, the sales of the new phone model upon its launch will be crucial,’ he thought. ’We’ll have to consider the promotional strategy carefully.’

Just then, he noticed he had received a message from Jiang Hong.

He had been observing Jiang Hong and, after some interaction, found the man to be quite talented. He even had intentions of promoting him.

He paused when he saw the message. Jiang Hong had sent a video—it was the commercial for the Rice power socket, the one filmed by that influencer.

’I’ve been so busy these past couple of days,’ he thought. ’If he hadn’t sent this message, I would have completely forgotten about this matter.’

After all, it was just a power socket commercial, a project he had only invested 20 million in out of a fit of pique. Compared to the scale of the entire corporation, it was practically nothing.

’But this is something he could have handled himself. Was it really necessary to report directly to me?’

He had already shown his support by simply inquiring about the commercial in the first place.

This instantly soured his impression of Jiang Hong, making him question the man’s capabilities.

But since the video was already here, he figured he might as well take a look.

However, as he clicked play and the commercial began, a look of surprise appeared on his face. The longer he watched, the more astonished he became!