Everyone in the Entertainment Industry Thinks I’m a Flirty Diva [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 42

After wrapping up The Peach Blossom Promise, Chu Xi first returned home. In the evening, she sat on the sofa with Grandma Chu and Aunt Chen, watching TV. The show Our Little Cabin was airing—the very episode Chu Xi had filmed.

Grandma Chu beamed with pride seeing her granddaughter speeding across the fields on a motorized tricycle, as if to say, My granddaughter is the best! But when the scene shifted to Chu Xi being rushed to the hospital for food poisoning in the middle of the night, she panicked, pulling Chu Xi close to inspect her. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hospitalized?” she fretted.

Chu Xi held her grandmother’s hand. “Oh, that was ages ago! It’s been so long since we filmed that. Besides, it was just a stomachache—I recovered ages ago. Look at me now, perfectly fine, right?”

Chu Xi always shielded her grandmother from bad news. Back then, she hadn’t mentioned the hospitalization, not wanting to worry her.

Grandma Chu sighed, gently stroking Chu Xi’s head. She was getting old—many things confused her now. She barely knew how to use a smartphone, let alone navigate the complexities of the entertainment industry. But she had heard rumors about how tough it was, especially for those without connections or backing.

When she had been hospitalized years ago, just before being discharged after a successful surgery, her granddaughter had suddenly confessed that she had dropped out of school to become a celebrity—and even had a boyfriend.

Chu Xi had always been an excellent student. Why would she abandon her studies for showbiz? Grandma Chu suspected there was more to the story, but no matter how she pressed, Chu Xi never revealed anything.

Now, Chu Xi rested her head on her grandmother’s lap.

As commercials played, Grandma Chu thought of the spirited young woman on the tricycle—so much like her father in his youth.

“If only your father were still here,” Grandma Chu murmured, reminiscing about her son. If he were alive, their family would have been so much happier. And he would never have allowed Chu Xi to quit school for fame.

Chu Xi’s eyes reddened as she said softly, “Grandma, Dad is gone.”

Grandma Chu wiped her eyes and suddenly remembered something, “Nian Nian, you mentioned on the phone last time that you… broke up? Is it true?”

Chu Xi: “………………”

Grandma still remembered Gu Mingjing.

Chu Xi nuzzled against Grandma’s lap and curved her lips downward, “We broke up a long time ago, Grandma.”

Actually, they hadn’t broken up—they had never been together in the first place. For two years, she had lied to Grandma, calling her sponsor her boyfriend, making the old woman constantly look forward to meeting her grandson-in-law. The more Grandma brought it up, the heavier Chu Xi’s guilt grew.

“Oh.” Grandma Chu nodded, then took Chu Xi’s hand and said, “It’s alright. Nian Nian is still young, no need to rush. You’ll definitely meet someone better in the future.”

“Mm.” Chu Xi nodded.

“But…” Grandma Chu asked again, “Have you paid back the money you owed him?”

Chu Xi had once told Grandma that she borrowed some money from her boyfriend when she was hospitalized, which helped cover the medical bills.

Chu Xi suddenly laughed, feeling lighthearted now that her contract with Gu Mingjing had ended. “It’s all paid back.”

Chu Xi only stayed at home for a week before returning to her apartment in the city. Fu Bai had originally told her she could rest for two weeks after finishing The Peach Blossom Promise, but then she received a sudden notice: an endorsement deal.

No artist disliked endorsements. Compared to the grueling work of filming dramas or variety shows, shooting a mere ten-second ad for an endorsement took only a day or two and paid handsomely. But precisely because the money came easily, landing endorsements wasn’t simple. Nowadays, advertisers—especially luxury brands—were extremely selective, not only requiring popularity but also alignment with their brand image. Artists with a down-to-earth, widely relatable appeal often landed more daily-use product endorsements, while those with a high-end image were favored by luxury brands. Thus, the number and quality of endorsements often reflected an artist’s commercial value.

Chu Xi had had one or two endorsements before, but they hadn’t been profitable—Gu Mingjing had forced her into them. After their “breakup,” all her endorsements expired, so this new deal was the first proper one she had secured on her own.

Chu Xi was thrilled, curious about what product she’d be endorsing. She assumed it would be snacks or cosmetics, but when she saw the contract, her vision darkened.

Why… was it sanitary pads…?

Fu Bai coughed lightly behind his hand. “I think this brand’s products are really good.”

Chu Xi looked up from the contract in shock after hearing this: “You’ve used it?”

Fu Bai: “………………”

His face turned red: “I saw it when I visited your place before. Weren’t you using it?”

Now it was Chu Xi’s turn to blush.

Alright, she did use this brand herself, and it was genuinely good—dry, instantly absorbent, with no leaks.

Seeing Chu Xi hesitate, Fu Bai persuaded her: “Take a closer look at the contract. The endorsement fee they’re offering is really good. Plus, daily chemical endorsements like this are very popular among female celebrities. Not only will there be TV commercials, but your face will also be printed on packaging nationwide. Only those with a certain level of public recognition and popularity can land such endorsements.”

“That ‘Experience Ambassador’ event is also very simple—just a two-day schedule.”

Chu Xi nibbled on her pen cap: “I didn’t say I wouldn’t sign.”

Sanitary pads were sanitary pads—a legitimate product.

After reviewing the contract, Chu Xi swiftly signed her name.

The brand had recently launched a new sanitary pad series called “Soft & Absorbent,” hence the need for a spokesperson. The contract stipulated a one-year endorsement period, with Chu Xi required to film an advertisement for the latest “Soft & Absorbent” series over the next two days as their “Soft Experience Ambassador.”

The “Soft” series was the brand’s heavily promoted new product, emphasizing pure cotton, hypoallergenic, and instant absorption. To boost sales, the brand had organized several promotional activities, including prize draws for free products and posters of Chu Xi with every purchase. The biggest promotion was a limited-time event where the top two spenders in the official flagship store would get to join their new spokesperson, Chu Xi, as “Soft Experience Ambassadors” to visit the cotton source and factory for the “Soft” series, observing the entire process from procurement to production of the high-quality cotton used in the sanitary pads.

Filming the ad was much simpler than acting. Chu Xi only needed to make expressions and recite the slogan in front of the camera, wrapping up the shoot quickly.

While the ad was still in post-production and not yet publicly released, promotional posters of Chu Xi happily holding a large pack of sanitary pads had already been posted on the brand’s official Weibo and Taobao flagship store, along with details of the promotional activities and prize draws.

Chu Xi’s fans were thrilled by her sudden endorsement announcement. The “Brick Brigade” chat group was buzzing with excitement as fans geared up for action.

[Wow, Xi Bao has an endorsement! That’s amazing!]

[Got it! Heading to the supermarket downstairs to buy the Soft series now.]

[Hey, everyone can buy online! The official flagship store has prize draws for free products and posters with purchases of the Soft series. The top spenders can even visit the factory with Xi Bao as “Soft Experience Ambassadors”!]

[How many sanitary pads would that take? I want to meet Xi Bao too, wuwu.]

[Let’s all buy as much as we can! Sanitary pads are something we stock up on anyway. This is Xi Bao’s first endorsement—we can’t let the brand down. Charge!]

[Charge! Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!]

Meanwhile, the male fans in the “Brick Brigade” felt awkward seeing the female fans frantically posting their purchase receipts.

Xi Bao’s endorsement choice was… unexpected.

Just as they were unsure what to do, the female fans spoke up: [Who says men can’t buy sanitary pads? Buy them for parents, friends, or relatives—they’re essential household items. Let’s all contribute to Xi Bao’s endorsement!]

The male fans: [“………………” That makes sense!]

So they rolled up their sleeves and joined the shopping frenzy.

The event lasted three days, and before the second day was over, the official flagship store had already broken sales records.

The brand was extremely satisfied with Chu Xi’s endorsement. They never expected that Chu Xi’s fans, who didn’t have much presence in fan circles, would have such astonishing purchasing power. It was truly a case of silent wealth—unexpectedly impressive. With online sales so promising, and with Chu Xi’s TV commercials and outdoor posters about to launch, along with the “Soft Experience Officer” factory tour video featuring fans, offline sales were bound to thrive as well.

The advertisements were already in production, and now all eyes were on this “Soft Experience Officer” event.

According to the official website’s customer spending statistics, the top two spenders so far had bought ¥7,000 and ¥4,000 worth of sanitary pads, respectively.

Chu Xi was startled by these amounts—had these people bought enough pads to last them a lifetime?

She was delighted that fans were supporting her endorsement, but she still hoped they would spend within their means.

Fortunately, ¥7,000 and ¥4,000 were still within the average person’s budget.

At 11 p.m. on the third day of the event, just as the brand was about to finalize the two fans who would join Chu Xi as “Soft Experience Officers” for the factory tour, the online store suddenly froze for a moment.

Then, abruptly, the backend staff checking the spending leaderboard paused, thinking they must have misread. They blinked and looked again.

The number at the top of the list was still there, with the transaction time showing just two minutes ago.

The staff member’s hand trembled slightly as they reached toward the monitor screen, counting the zeros after the sales figure one by one.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands…

Two hundred thousand.

Two hundred thousand.

A full two hundred thousand yuan!

Someone had just bought ¥200,000 worth of sanitary pads!

Oh my god!

Holy shit!

Who on earth would do this? They must be insane!

The backend staff thought there must have been some mistake and refreshed the page repeatedly, but the ¥200,000 remained firmly in first place on the spending leaderboard.

If it had just been an unpaid order, they could have dismissed it as a prank, but this person had not only placed the ¥200,000 order—they had already paid for it.

No wonder the online store had momentarily crashed.

Chu Xi had thought the ¥4,000 and ¥7,000 purchases were already extreme, but when she heard someone had spent ¥200,000 on sanitary pads, her jaw nearly hit the floor.

Could it be that he spent 200,000 yuan on sanitary pads just to meet her as some “Soft Experience Ambassador”?

Who knows how much others spent at most? Might as well go all out with 200,000 yuan to secure the top spot.

No way, right? She’s not that charming.

What on earth is going on?!

The brand was so thrilled they immediately posted the good news on Weibo—new spokesperson, new energy, record-breaking sales for the “Soft” series sanitary pads, with a single transaction exceeding 200,000 yuan!

——

Yuanjing Tower.

Assistant Gao tirelessly replied to Taobao messages.

Customer Service Rep 1: [Dear customer, due to the unusually large amount of your order, we’d like to confirm once again—is your recent purchase genuine? Just double-checking~]

Old Gao Who Loves Taobao: [It’s real.]

Customer Service Rep 1: [Dear customer, please note that promotional items cannot be returned during the event period. Are you absolutely sure you want to proceed with this purchase?]

Old Gao Who Loves Taobao: [I really do.]

Customer Service Rep 1: [Understood, dear customer. We’ll arrange shipment for you as soon as possible. Thank you!]

Finally done with customer service, Assistant Gao put down his phone and exhaled in relief.

Gu Mingjing was working overtime at his desk.

Assistant Gao glanced at Gu Mingjing, then at the order on his phone.

A perfectly good investor had now turned into a boyfriend fan.

“Soft Experience Ambassador?” Just seeing those five words made Assistant Gao’s lips twitch uncontrollably.

Two hundred thousand yuan—just to become a “Soft Experience Ambassador.”

At his desk, Gu Mingjing signed the last document, finally set down his pen, and asked Assistant Gao, “Did you get it?”

Assistant Gao: “Yes, President Gu.”

“Good.” Gu Mingjing nodded.

Seeing his calm demeanor, Assistant Gao couldn’t hold back any longer. “Um, President Gu, may I ask what you plan to do with 200,000 yuan worth of sanitary pads?” Surely he wasn’t going to use them himself. And even if they were for Chu Xi, she’d never use them all!

Gu Mingjing frowned, his tone questioning. “I bought… sanitary pads?”

Assistant Gao: “………………”

You didn’t even know what Chu Xi was endorsing, did you?