The meeting with Mr. Tang was scheduled for ten days later, and Yu Jinghao mentioned that he would personally introduce Baili Xiao.

After dropping Baili Xiao off at his home, Yu Jinghao glanced at Mike, who immediately volunteered that his place was not far from Baili’s and that he’d take a stroll, sparing the CEO any inconvenience. Once they watched the black car disappear around the corner, Mike took a deep breath and turned to Baili, his expression complex.

“What’s wrong?” Baili asked.

“I don’t know how to face you,” Mike replied, bewildered.

“Why?”

“You could go ask the company. The treatment you’re getting is unprecedented since its establishment,” Mike stated incredulously.

“Oh,” Baili Xiao said. “Maybe Yu Jinghao has some… how do you put it, superstitions? Though he won’t admit it.”

Mike stared at his new talent, utterly unable to comprehend how he could be so single-minded.

In the following days, the complete casting plan for *Chang An* was gradually released. Baili Xiao diligently entered the crew for photoshoots, trying on several stunning outfits, each more impressive than the last. Both the director and the producer were highly satisfied, and he quickly became a favorite in the production team. Just when he thought he could take a breather after the photoshoot, he unexpectedly received an invitation from the brand management director of George Willington.

The invitation didn’t mention anything about endorsements; it merely hinted that it was a business meeting to assess the newcomer’s temperament. Mike’s heart raced at the realization that the contact was made directly to Baili’s personal phone, with no prior warning to him. It was clear that the bridge connecting them was Yu Jinghao himself.

Mike’s mind was racing as he processed this development. “Are you sure about this?” he asked, trying to gauge Baili’s feelings on the matter. “I mean, it’s a big opportunity, but it feels a bit sudden.”

Baili nodded thoughtfully, his expression contemplative. “It’s an opportunity. I’ll go and see what it’s about.”

“Just be careful. This is a big deal, and Yu Jinghao seems to have high expectations,” Mike warned, his tone serious.

“I understand,” Baili assured him. “I’ll handle it.”

As the days passed, anticipation hung in the air. The upcoming meeting with Mr. Tang felt like a pivotal moment for both his career and his burgeoning connections in the industry. Despite the initial nerves, Baili found himself curious about the possibilities that lay ahead. He felt a mix of excitement and trepidation, eager to explore what this new chapter in his life might bring.

Faced with the situation of the CEO encroaching on his territory, the manager could only hang his head in frustration, silently swallowing his bitterness while working even harder. For the past few days, he had been busy with matters concerning Baili Xiao, and Dai Jue had long since become unhappy. He didn’t even have time to send a comforting text, all because—Baili Xiao had skyrocketed to fame.

Indeed, this had happened within just a few days.

The cause of this surge in popularity was the official release by the *Chang An* production team of six complete stills for the character Shen Ziting. They had unveiled several highly anticipated costumes that had fans raving, essentially blinding them with excitement. The original author even retweeted the official account with a message: “I was worried about the casting for Ziting, but now I’m finally at ease! Very satisfied!”

With the endorsement of the original author, the fans were even more ecstatic, and the original work’s supporters were even moved to tears. This minor character, the male fourth lead, suddenly garnered even more attention than the male second lead.

If this stunning appearance had only won Baili Xiao his first wave of fans, what he did next utterly shocked his manager.

The influential Weibo account “Baili Xiao,” which had gradually accumulated a million followers, unexpectedly retweeted this set of stills, adding the comment: “A fresh face; looking at this young man’s features, he must be of the Northern Seven Stars, with a noble fate. He will surely bring great fortune to this drama.”

The massive superstitious fanbase of Baili Xiao reacted as follows:

— “Wow! The entertainment industry has gained a lucky star, and he was personally named by the master! I can’t wait for this drama!”

— “It must be true! I have a friend who’s a nameless model from Oneworld, and just the other day, they were amazed by Li Xiao’s sudden rise. He casually auditioned and caught the eye of a top director. He hasn’t even signed a contract yet, but he’s already received offers for projects!”

— “What are the Northern Seven Stars? Sounds impressive! I want to watch this drama and share in the luck!”

— “I’m going to change my wallpaper to Shen Ziting’s stills and break free from my bad luck!” [doge][doge]

As for the manager’s reaction to this Weibo post, it was as follows:

— “What the hell????”

Yes, Mr. Mike, who had always remained unflappable even in the face of crises, exploded with shock during a team meeting, exclaiming popular internet expletives.

“Mike, what’s wrong?” the clueless head of PR pulled the phone from Mike’s hands, took a quick look, and gasped, “Oh my! I follow this person too; he’s really popular and seems genuinely talented. The stock guru I admire even praised his abilities. Is he one of the KOLs we bought? I didn’t hear anything from the marketing department about it…”

Someone from the marketing team quickly waved their hands, saying, “No, no, he doesn’t take commercial promotions. We considered hiring him for an ad before, but he turned us down completely.”

“Mike, don’t tell me we’ve really signed a little lucky star!” The group exchanged glances, then turned to the manager. However, the manager had long since stopped listening to them, pulling out his phone and gritting his teeth as he sent Baili Xiao a WeChat message: “You’re really shameless for hyping yourself up like this.”

As Baili Xiao was studying George Willington’s brand style, he quickly replied, “But according to your plan, I would have to secure the GW endorsement, or wait until this drama airs to have a real chance to rise to fame. Since I have better resources, why not use them? Don’t you think this is far more effective than your slow-and-steady packaging plans?”

That hit hard.

Mike swallowed a mouthful of frustration, deleted and rewrote his response several times before finally settling on a single sentence.

— “Fine, fine, you’re impressive.”

Baili Xiao replied—“Yeah.”

“Yeah, your uncle.” Mike was so annoyed his teeth were itching; he couldn’t even attend the meeting and locked himself in his office, nervously monitoring the online public opinion. Fortunately, the reputation of “Baili Xiao” online was excellent, and since he never accepted commercial collaborations, there was suddenly no one questioning this matter. Of course, it wasn’t just Baili Xiao’s good reputation that was able to fend off those pesky keyboard warriors; it was an unexpected retweet.

The stock market guru who had previously purchased services from Baili Xiao actually retweeted the post, saying, “It’s rare to see Xiao praise someone’s fate; this person must be a lucky star. I have high hopes for Oneworld International, it will definitely flourish when the market opens on Monday.”

This was truly incredible. Not only did the younger crowd know Baili Xiao, but he also became well-known among the stock market enthusiasts, aunts, and uncles, as the topic of “worshiping Shen Ziting as the lucky star” quickly gained traction, propelling him into the trending topics. The drama *Chang An* was also gaining popularity, being dubbed “the European drama” on Weibo, while Baili Xiao’s nickname transformed into “Lucky Star.”

Sitting in his office, Mike watched the whirlwind of activity on Weibo. As a manager for so long, he had seen artists with the innate ability to gain popularity without much effort in packaging. However, he had never encountered someone with such a split personality when it came to self-promotion. His own post had directly skyrocketed to hundreds of thousands of likes, with Baili Xiao being lauded as the “Lucky Star.”

On Monday, everyone was discussing how Oneworld’s stock price had indeed risen, and the second-in-command manager came over to tease Mike, saying, “Your artist has been promoted by a common KOL first, you must be quite relieved.”

What could he say?

He was just as desperate.

Mike initially thought that the president might not appreciate artists taking matters into their own hands, but when he saw the company’s stocks rising steadily, he rationally chose to remain silent. Considering the president’s attitude towards Baili Xiao, even if he mentioned the issue, it would probably just earn Baili Xiao a pat on the back rather than serve as a reprimand for his own artist.

In fact, Mike didn’t need to worry. Yu Jinghao had already sent a message to Baili Xiao, leading to a brief exchange between them.

— “You’re quite clever; this marketing strategy hasn’t been used by Oneworld yet. Well done.”

— “Thank you, President Yu.”

— “The Weibo account *Baili Xiao* can indeed be utilized. From now on, you’ll exclusively use this account to promote yourself; the company won’t interfere or force you to promote others. Just avoid taking on other commercial endorsements to maintain credibility.”

— “Okay.”

— “Aside from my friends, don’t take on other clients either. Once you become popular, it’ll be easy for you to be recognized, which can lead to trouble.”

— “Got it. Thank you, President Yu.”

After finishing the conversation, Baili Xiao looked at the WeChat chat window with Yu Jinghao and felt a moment of guilt toward his manager. Mike probably had no idea he even had Yu Jinghao’s WeChat, or rather, he was the only one in the entire company with it. Yu Jinghao had added him that day after their meal.

He hadn’t told Mike that over the past few days, Yu Jinghao had his assistant gather a mountain of information from GW, sending him more comprehensive details than Mike had provided. Sometimes, Baili Xiao felt that the president was truly invested in him, even more so than his own manager. He decided that if Yu Jinghao teased him about “fortune-telling” again, he wouldn’t take it to heart.

However, Baili Xiao’s casual actions had surprisingly sparked a new approach at Oneworld International. Mike almost demanded every day that he use the *Baili Xiao* account to repost official promotions from *Chang An*, but Baili Xiao declined each time.

First, frequent self-promotion could lead to addiction; if he truly went overboard, it wouldn’t end well.

Second, Yu Jinghao was absolutely right: maintaining credibility was crucial.

Baili Xiao was well aware that being popular was one thing, but no one could sustain a hot topic through a few reposts alone. In this industry, to establish a lasting presence, it required good work—an endless stream of quality work, which formed the foundation of a successful career.

Thus, every day, he immersed himself in the *Chang An* novel forums, reading in-depth analyses of the characters and various fan interpretations of Shen Ziting. He also attempted to view Shen Ziting from the perspectives of other characters. Since “Baili Xiao” had raised the flag declaring him a lucky star, he felt even more compelled to demonstrate his skills in this project; he wouldn’t let himself be proven wrong.

In addition to diligently studying the script, he also aimed to secure the GW endorsement. Although the production of *Chang An* was substantial, the timeline from filming to post-production and final approvals would take at least six months. During this period, he had to find ways to keep his popularity alive.