CHAPTER 25

Jiang Su’s follower count had temporarily settled at 10.11 million.

At this point, was there even a need for competition?

She was already the undisputed queen.

Four days later, when the trainees saw Jiang Su again, they couldn’t help but think the same thing.

The new round of voting had ended.

The scores from the first three public performances were reset to zero each time. Only after the fourth performance would the total votes be accumulated. This rule was set to prevent cases where a contestant who dominated the first round would be impossible to catch up to, no matter how hard the others tried in the later stages.

But even with this system…

“Jiang Su, first place.” Xuan Wen announced the results in a simple and direct manner.

The trainees wiped their faces, numb to the result.

Not even a little bit surprising.

Zhao Qiuying, holding a cue card, announced the next result: “For the second public performance, Jiang Su received… 152,399 votes.”

The entire venue erupted.

150,000!

One hundred fifty thousand votes!

In the previous round, Jiang Su had only gotten a little over 70,000 votes, and now she had doubled it!

So this was what it felt like to go viral three times in a row?

Zhao Qiuying adjusted the cue card in his hand, feeling that announcing the rest of the rankings was almost cruel to the second and third place contestants. But he still lowered his gaze and read aloud, steady and composed: “Second place, Li Mo’er—63,000 votes.”

There was a small gasp from the crowd.

It was an increase from last time, even surpassing Lin Sifeng.

Li Mo’er smiled sweetly, showing no obvious emotion.

Meanwhile, the other contestants felt their hearts pounding. Someone even thought, Wouldn’t it be kinder to just read the names in reverse order…

“Third place, Yu Xinyan…”

“51,601 votes.”

Everyone was stunned.

Wait… what about Lin Sifeng?

Lin Sifeng’s expression faltered slightly.

The truth was, she hadn’t performed well this round. Her fans had worked hard, securing her 50,812 votes—10,000 more than last time—but she had still lost by just a few hundred votes to Yu Xinyan.

My mentality is cracking.

Lin Sifeng bit her lip tightly, forcing a smile.

She had entered this competition thinking it would be an easy win.

Yet, all of her confidence and pride had been utterly crushed by Jiang Su.

She couldn’t even pretend to be humble anymore.

But no one paid attention to the ones who had fallen behind. Everyone was anxiously waiting for Xuan Wen and Zhao Qiuying to continue the announcements.

The top three would be given the opportunity to shoot for a fashion magazine cover.

“Figaro!”

“SELF!”

“YOUJIA Magazine!”

The trainees craned their necks, gasping in awe.

These were first-tier, second-tier, and third-tier fashion publications.

Even the third-tier magazine wasn’t something just anyone could land a spot in—let alone getting a cover shoot!

This was prestige! It elevated an idol’s status, strengthened fan loyalty, and provided undeniable proof of success.

Something for the fans to proudly boast about in the future.

They were all burning with envy.

And there was no doubt—Jiang Su would be on the first-tier magazine.

Soon, staff members brought over the contact details for the magazines and placed them in front of Jiang Su.

Xu Dazhi quickly drove over to pick up Jiang Su and Yu Xinyan, bringing them back to the company.

“Miss Jiang.”

“And Miss Yu, correct?”

“Come, have a seat.”

In the conference room, several men—some with beer bellies, others balding—flashed polite smiles. They were all high-ranking executives from Sanjin Entertainment.

Yu Xinyan was caught off guard, feeling overwhelmed.

She had never received such treatment before.

“Here, sit!”

The man at the center, Yan Yucheng, patted the seat beside him.

Jiang Su: ?

Jiang Su asked bluntly, “What is this about?”

The executives exchanged glances, letting out awkward chuckles. She was so straightforward that it left them with no room for pleasantries.

Yan Yucheng tapped his fingers on the table and smiled at Jiang Su. “A new contract.”

“Hm?” Jiang Su picked up the contract from in front of him.

There were two contracts in total.

One was a proposal to readjust Jiang Su’s revenue split once again, changing it from 40-60 to 30-70. The company would take 30%, while she would receive 70%. It was almost identical to the contract she had originally received—just with the numbers reversed.

The other contract suggested awarding her 0.3% in company shares. This was a clear move to tie Jiang Su to the company’s ship for life.

Yu Xinyan skimmed through the documents and immediately caught the implication.

Someone was definitely trying to poach Jiang Su! And since they were all in the same industry, Sanjin must have caught wind of it right away, which was why they were in such a hurry to call her back…

Meanwhile, the assistant quickly handed Yu Xinyan her own revised contract.

Of course, she didn’t receive the same exceptional treatment as Jiang Su. Yu Xinyan flipped through the pages. She had originally signed a 40-60 contract—40% for her, 60% for the company. Now, it had changed to a 50-50 split. The contract also outlined a new career plan for her and assigned her a new manager—the most capable one in the company.

Yu Xinyan was quite satisfied with this outcome.

But she still felt that Jiang Su could get something even better—Jiang Su was just that incredible…

Yu Xinyan whispered, “The people who hired Su Su for that car commercial also said they’d give her 15% of the sales revenue over the next three months from customers who bought cars because of the ad.”

The expressions of the executives across the table stiffened.

A middle-aged man spoke up. “You mean Wu Dang Fei?”

“Yeah.”

The man pressed his lips together. “If I remember correctly, wasn’t the contract negotiation handled by a Mr. Zhong?”

Yan Yucheng nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

He had personally reviewed the contract and confirmed there were no hidden traps for Jiang Su—on the contrary, the deal was exceptionally generous.

The middle-aged man took a deep breath and said, “This Mr. Zhong holds the position of general manager at Wu Dang Fei, but that’s not actually his main business. His great-grandfather founded the company. And his grandfather… participated in multiple major battles. Do you know what that means? It means there’s a chance that some of his relatives are faces we’ve seen on the news. His network of connections is far beyond what most people can imagine.”

He paused for a moment before adding, “Three years ago, I briefly met him at a summit. Later, someone was worried I might offend him and quickly warned me about his background.”

He glanced at Yan Yucheng, thinking to himself—this is the downside of not growing up in Beijing.

Young Master Yan still hadn’t figured out all the key relationships yet.

The other executives also reacted, their expressions shifting.

Yan Yucheng, however, remained indifferent. He raised an eyebrow and said, “If he’s so capable, why didn’t he hire celebrities for advertising before?”

The man shook his head. “It’s an old company with severe internal decay. The higher-ups are traditional and rigid—they wouldn’t spend money on top-tier celebrities. If it weren’t for a stroke of luck, they wouldn’t have survived even with the government’s support. Their sales have been suffering for a while… Someone must have pushed for change this time. Maybe they’re finally looking to innovate, which is why they prioritized working with Weiguang, out of respect for the Cheng family.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but glance at Jiang Su again, suppressing his amazement.

So, she had managed to win over the rigid, old-fashioned board at Wu Dang Fei in one move. That was no small feat.

Yan Yucheng also realized that Sanjin was simply too small to accommodate someone as brilliant as Jiang Su. He chuckled and said, “It’s up to you. There are plenty of excellent entertainment companies in the industry…”

The executives were dumbfounded.

…?

Wait, what?

You’re not even going to try to persuade her? You’re just letting her decide for herself?

Why are you pushing the golden goose out the door?

Jiang Su said, “Combine both offers, and I’ll sign.”

Yan Yucheng pressed his lips together. “What if the company doesn’t perform well in the future?”

The executives: “…”

You really are taking this ‘reverse persuasion’ thing to the extreme, huh?

Jiang Su frowned, stared at him, and asked, “Huh? Are you that incompetent?”

The executives: “…”

Wow, you’re even bolder than Young Master Yan.

For a moment, Yan Yucheng wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be annoyed.

On the one hand, it sounded like Jiang Su had confidence in his abilities. But on the other hand… was she outright insulting him?

His brows furrowed slightly, but his smirk only deepened, his defiant arrogance barely concealed.

He said in a low voice, “I’m not incompetent. I’ll prove it to you.”

The assistant quickly took the contract for revisions.

Yu Xinyan, satisfied, signed hers without hesitation.

Just as the assistant returned with the updated contract, Xu Dazhi rushed in, knocking on the door urgently. “Young Master Yan.”

“Come in.”

Xu Dazhi entered, holding up his phone, an inexplicable excitement on his face. He said in a low voice, “Didn’t Weiguang connect Jiang Su with Figaro? Wu Dang Fei’s brand reps just called—they’ve arranged for her to be on the cover of another magazine! It’s also a cover shoot! Scheduled for half a month from now, right after the third performance round ends.”

The executives immediately lit up with excitement.

They practically wanted to grab the pen and sign the contract on Jiang Su’s behalf.

She was a gold mine!

Please, just stay!

This news wasn’t exactly a secret—it spread quickly.

[Jiang Su is not only getting a feature in a top-tier women’s magazine! Someone pulled strings to land her on the cover of GQ, a top-tier men’s magazine! This is even bigger than a tier-one women’s mag! The last person to get a GQ cover was a top film actor!]

[Jiang Su is seriously this powerful now?! Wait a minute—most A-list TV actresses don’t even get GQ features that easily!]

[I don’t even know why, but… as a career fan, I feel like crying with joy.]

[Damn, we don’t even need to pave the way for our girl. She’s already doing it herself!]

When the news reached the program team, the executives at Weiguang were completely dazed.

Meanwhile, the trainees could only shed another round of tears—this time, out of sheer envy.

With achievements like these, the moment Jiang Su debuted, she would already be standing at the pinnacle.

“I heard that some brands are already considering her for endorsements, and other variety shows are also in discussions… In the future, there will even be mentors composing songs for her and inviting her as a guest… My god. The path is practically paved for her, destined to be smooth sailing…”

While everyone was chatting away, Jiang Su was on a call.

On the other end, Mr. Zhong spoke in a low voice, “We’ve discussed it and believe that the online advertisements Miss Jiang released have been quite effective. We plan to push for TV broadcasts as well, though that will require some review time… By the time of Miss Jiang’s third public performance, we are also considering placing advertisements in subway stations and other locations.” Mr. Zhong chuckled, adding, “And as a bonus, this could help boost votes for Miss Jiang.”

Jiang Su couldn’t care less about that and simply asked, “Are there additional payments for these placements?”

“The advertisement fees will be calculated separately. For the TV spots, we are offering ¥1.2 million. For the subway placements, ¥980,000.”

Jiang Su squinted her eyes in delight. “Alright, discuss it with my manager.”

She was growing increasingly fond of this world!

…

After completing the Figaro photoshoot, Jiang Su was soon met with the third public performance.

The subway advertisements were quickly arranged.

Jiang Su remained indifferent, but Xu Dazhi couldn’t suppress his excitement, trembling all over.

He had never managed an artist who, before even officially debuting, had already become this famous!

He even found himself riding the subway every day just to see the ads in person. He recorded the audio from the ad on his phone and would replay it before bed.

…

Yan Yucheng returned to the Yan family home because today, his father—the head of the Yan family—had just come back and hosted a family dinner.

Within this family, Yan Yucheng always felt somewhat out of place.

When he was six years old, he had gone out with his mother and older brother and gotten lost. By the time he was found again, he was already an adult. Yan Madam, feeling guilty for failing in her duties as a mother back then, kept her distance, fearing his resentment.

His older brother, eight years his senior, had a generational gap with him. Since they hadn’t grown up together, they lacked an emotional bond. To his brother, he was likely more of a competitor for the family assets than a sibling.

He probably wasn’t even as close to his cousin as he was to them.

He held no warm feelings toward this family.

When he entered, his father gestured for him to sit down, surprisingly speaking to him more than usual.

“I recently heard that an artist from your company participated in some show and became quite popular. Wasn’t your Three Gold Entertainment struggling before? Since you took over, it seems to be doing alright,” Father Yan paused before continuing, “But an entertainment company is still a small venture—just a toy for you to play with. Look around; is there another industry under the Yan Corporation that interests you?”

Yan Yucheng couldn’t help but laugh under his breath.

Previously, the entire Yan family assumed he wouldn’t even be able to handle an entertainment company. But since the Yan family had money to spare, they let him run one into the ground as a form of compensation.

He lifted his gaze, recalling Jiang Su’s words—Are you really that useless?

With a smile, he responded, “Alright.”

He had thought that returning to Beijing, to this cold and emotionless family, would mean a dull life from here on out.

But it turned out, there was still something interesting in his life.

His family wasn’t genuinely hoping for his success.

But somewhere out there, a little girl earnestly believed in him and had expectations for him.