Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Cousin
Jin Tong: "Director Gu sensed something was off yesterday and suspected someone was testing the waters with a narrative, so he had me find someone to investigate. We’ve identified a few suspects. It turns out the Shenzhen Xingyi Boxing Association released a promotional video today, and there’s no need to check further; it was clearly done by Zhang Xiafei’s team."
Talking about this, Jin Tong felt ashamed.
He loves money, it’s true, but Gu Che has always been under his guidance since debut. He’s well aware of the pain that car accident brought to this top star back in those days.
Now that his sister is back, and shining brightly, others eagerly invited her to be their promotional ambassador, so he arranged it properly as an intermediary.
Never did he expect that the association would be full of people who backed out, going back on their word.
Gu Che was also furious.
After knowing Zhang Xiafei became the new promotional ambassador, his thoughts were simple.
If Zhang Xiafei wasn’t informed in advance and didn’t know his sister was about to sign the contract, he wouldn’t hold a grudge. If the other party took the initiative to send a message and explain a bit, he’d let it go and only deal with the association.
He had Jin Tong check, and Zhang Xiafei indeed wasn’t aware beforehand.
Even though this person didn’t apologize, he did not do anything.
But now, with such a commotion from the team, claiming Zhang Xiafei had no idea would be treating him like a fool.
"Check his recent resources."
Jin Tong: "Understood."
"By the way," Jin Tong added, "Director Gu got in touch with the Jiang City Xingyi Boxing Association, and they’re enthusiastically inviting Miaomiao to be their promotional ambassador. As long as Miaomiao agrees, she can sign the contract online later and officially announce it."
Jiang City’s Xingyi Boxing Association was only established a couple of years ago, and the membership is still around fifty. It’s a very young and vibrant association, with younger members who have always wanted to promote Xingyi Boxing widely.
They had long wanted to invite Gu Miaomiao but were struggling with finding a way. Once Gu Cheng contacted them, they agreed right away.
Gu Che pursed his lips, feeling somewhat unsettled.
It always felt like his older brother was too impressive, handling everything perfectly. Even though he was right beside his sister, he couldn’t match his big brother.
Jin Tong: "As long as the contract is signed online, they’ll head back to Jiang City to shoot the promotional video with no delay... why are you not saying anything?"
"Humph."
Gu Che snorted: "Sign the contract online after lunch, hanging up."
Jin Tong: "..."
Even though there was noise and clamor in the livestream and online, it hardly affected the little ones.
The parents’ group lost the game.
Su Hanjiang tried to compensate by saying, "We’re advertising for the sponsors."
Tang Tian nodded, "Look, the villagers are all focusing on the sponsors’ products now."
The camera indeed panned over to the ten winning villagers... along with their big gift packs.
The show had many sponsors, including home goods, beverages, and appliances!
This time the gift pack included an appliance redemption card, allowing the winning villagers to redeem any appliance within a certain price range, including but not limited to TVs, refrigerators, and air conditioners.
The villagers, thrilled to have acquired appliances, eagerly invited the guests to dine with them.
The crew didn’t need to spend much effort to prepare meals for the guests either.
Everyone happily went to eat together.
Gu Che noticed his sister gradually falling behind.
Turning back, he saw her pursing her lips with a sneaky smile, little legs moving slowly as she walked towards the director.
Director Qian: "...Little ancestor, something up?"
Tuanzi gave a shy smile and patted her tummy.
Director Qian got it.
"Order a dish."
Tuanzi cheered, "Steamed ribs, braised pork, salt and pepper shrimp..."
"Wait," Director Qian stopped her, "you can only order one."
Tuanzi was a bit torn; after thinking long and hard, she reluctantly chose steamed ribs.
Her little face drooped, eyes slightly downcast, looking rather pitiful.
"A bowl of steamed ribs, okay?"
Director Qian thought he was hearing things.
Tuanzi immediately got bold, "There are so many of us, one plate isn’t enough, Miaomiao would only get one piece, wah."
The audience watching the livestream felt their hearts break.
[Let her eat!]
[A bowl is a bowl!]
[Director, you only said to order one dish, but not the size of the dish!]
[Come on, everyone, find loopholes in the rules.]
A whole bowl wasn’t feasible, but Director Qian promised to choose the largest plate to ensure a full portion.
Tuanzi beamed, dashed off to find her second brother.
"Second brother, we’ll be having a feast this noon~"
"Miaomiao, you’re amazing."
The camera focused on them, Gu Che didn’t say much. When no one was around, he talked about the Jiang City Xingyi Boxing Association.
"Do you want to go?"
"Yes!"
Tuanzi nodded solemnly, "Miaomiao thinks Miaomiao is perfect for the role of ambassador."
The heaviness in Gu Che’s heart vanished.
"Yes, you’re the most suitable because you’re the best."
Tuanzi blushed a bit, raising her pudgy hands to cover her face, and after a few seconds, she spread her fingers wide to sneak a peek at her second brother.
Gu Che thought for a moment, still choosing to share what Gu Cheng had done.
Feeling a bit reluctant, but he didn’t want to steal his brother’s glory.
"Big brother is amazing."
Tuanzi sighed, stealing a glance at Gu Che’s expression, quickly adding, "Second brother is also super amazing!"
She picked up Gu Che’s phone, asking him to unlock it, and swiftly sent her big brother a voice message.
"Big brother, love you~"
Gu Che: ▼_▼
Putting down the phone, Tuanzi lifted her little face again, showing a smile more radiant than a blooming flower.
"Second brother, love you too~"
She formed a heart with her hands.
Gu Che: (～￣▽￣)～
In another city.
After indirectly offending the top with the diss against Gu Miaomiao, Zhang Xiafei was both regretful and hopeful.
Afraid of Gu Che and potential retaliation, yet tempted by the allure of traffic.
His manager saw through him and held up the phone.
"Several smaller brands have already reached out, black PR is still PR, no need to worry."
Some lesser-known brands caught onto the opportunity, and Zhang Xiafei’s endorsement fee was cheap, so they extended an olive branch.
This was an immediate benefit, calming Zhang Xiafei instantly.
But not long after, his manager received a call, his face changed.
"What?"
Zhang Xiafei instinctively felt uneasy, hesitated again and again, before finally opening his phone to find a trending topic rapidly rising, the entry concise: #Gu Miaomiao Named Jiang City Xingyi Boxing Ambassador#
"It must be a bought trending search!"
He clicked in, discovering the top post wasn’t an official announcement, but instead Film Emperor Gu Peihai’s repost.
The original post was Jiang City Xingyi Boxing Association’s Weibo announcement, not tagging Gu Che, hoping to leverage top traffic.
But Film Emperor Gu Peihai reposted it, adding an emoji of anticipation, instantly pushing the topic to the trending list.
Zhang Xiafei staggered a step back, falling into his chair.
"It’s over, it’s over, how could I forget, Gu Miaomiao not only has two brothers but a cousin as well!"
Gu Miaomiao’s second brother, Gu Che, is a top star, tough to deal with, although he has mixed reviews and plenty of haters, his traffic is easy to capitalize on. But Film Emperor Gu Peihai’s traffic isn’t as easy.
This man is a triple-crowned film emperor, having won the best actor awards in the country’s three major films, now advancing overseas.
Several actors have achieved the domestic film grand slam, but Gu Peihai is the youngest, likely to reach heights predecessors could not.
Having not posted for half a year, yet making a post related to his cousin immediately, it was no surprise that both fans and casual viewers pushed it to the top of the trending list.