Chapter 8

◎First Encounter with the Stock Exchange◎

At the elevator lobby, Feng Xueming waited for the doors to open and stood aside for Fan Qi to enter first. Cai Jiadong, watching this, curled his lip in disdain.

WO’s office occupied the entire eighth floor. The space bustled with activity, phones ringing nonstop.

A man in his thirties approached. “Boss.”

Feng Xueming introduced them. “This is Miss Fan and her agent.”

“Manager Zhang, we spoke on the phone. I’m Cai Jiadong, Miss Fan’s agent.” Cai Jiadong extended his hand again.

This time, it was shaken. “Mr. Cai, nice to meet you.”

They were led into a conference room. Feng Xueming took the central seat at the table and gestured for Fan Qi to sit on his right. Cai Jiadong sat beside her, while Manager Zhang and another staff member joined them.

Feng Xueming glanced at Fan Qi, noting her relaxed posture. “Everything Miss Fan is wearing today is from WO. She fully embodies our brand’s philosophy—comfortable, natural, simple, and timeless.”

Initially, Manager Zhang had been against hiring an actress who had risen to fame through Category III films to represent their brand. Their clothing emphasized ease and authenticity, yet the woman sitting before him was stunning—almost to the point of being overly glamorous. How could she possibly represent their aesthetic?

But now, here she was.

Seated comfortably, her skin was flawless even without makeup. Her seemingly lazy gaze carried a hidden sharpness. The spring-summer blazer she wore wasn’t just an outfit—it looked like armor.

He spoke. “The boss is right. Miss Fan is a perfect fit for our brand.”

Fan Qi had no idea what was going on in the marketing manager’s mind. In fact, she was so used to her carefree, laid-back ways that she didn’t even bother to slump like Ge You; as long as she was sitting comfortably, she was fine.

It seemed there was no doubt about her involvement in the commercial now. Fan Qi listened as her agent discussed some terms with the other party, with the most important point being the payment. Her agent spoke up: “Miss Fan’s career is currently going very well, and many brands are looking to have her in their ads. Her advertisement fee has already risen to fifty thousand yuan.”

In her previous career, the original owner only received twenty thousand for exposing her back in an erotic film, but now this brand was offering fifty thousand?

When the number was mentioned, Marketing Manager Zhang glanced at his boss, while Feng Xueming smiled and turned to Fan Qi. “Miss Fan, would you like to increase the price a little more?”

The moment Feng Xueming spoke, Manager Zhang furrowed his brows, but Fan Qi’s agent looked pleased. Fan Qi, however, didn’t seem surprised and simply turned to Feng Xueming. “Mr. Feng, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. I can’t accept offers that stray too far from market prices. Thank you for your generosity, but I’ll have to pass on this. You must be busy, so I’ll leave now.”

With that, Fan Qi stood up.

Her agent was stunned. “Fan Qi, what are you doing?”

Feng Xueming asked, “Miss Fan, what do you think is a fair price?”

Fan Qi turned to Manager Zhang. “Mr. Zhang, I’m sure you’re very professional in this field, and you’ve seen market advertising fees. What’s your budget?” Since the original owner had just become popular, Fan Qi wasn’t sure what a fair price would be, so she decided to ask the marketing manager directly.

Manager Zhang handed over the proposal in his hand. “Our budget is between ten thousand and thirteen thousand, with a maximum of fifteen thousand.”

Fan Qi glanced at the proposal, which compared her to two other second- and third-tier actresses. It seemed like a thorough evaluation. She pushed the proposal towards Feng Xueming. “I trust the professionals’ evaluation, but I’d like to get a higher payment within a reasonable range. So, I’m hoping for the maximum, fifteen thousand.”

Fan Qi was also concerned that once the contract was signed, Feng Xueming might try to take advantage of the situation to ask her out. It wasn’t that she thought he was necessarily scheming—she found business dinners annoying enough. Fortunately, he already had plans for lunch.

Feng Xueming personally saw her and her agent to the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, Fan Qi noticed her agent was staring at her.

Her agent was indeed looking at her. Previously, he had thought that a woman like Fan Qi—beautiful but without much brain—would have trouble even getting a wealthy man to spend money on her, let alone marry into a rich family.

After all, rich men were very shrewd. A woman like her, who could be won over for a few tens of thousands, why would they spend big money on her?

But today, her actions had impressed him. It seemed like she had suddenly become more savvy. When she refused to socialize and upset Wang Shaoyang, it almost drove him crazy. He hadn’t expected that the next day, WO’s marketing manager would contact him, saying they wanted to hire Fan Qi for a commercial.

At the time, he thought they were only interested in her because she was pretty. But after learning that Feng Xueming had chosen her specifically for this ad, he began to think she might be using Feng Xueming to her advantage—maybe she wasn’t afraid of offending Wang Shaoyang because she had already secured Feng Xueming’s backing.

What made him rethink his view was how Feng Xueming allowed her to set her own price. She only asked for fifteen thousand. Had she learned to play the long game and reel in the big fish? It was clear that this move had caught Feng Xueming’s attention.

In this industry, male stars earned higher fees. Big-name action stars made up to two to three million per movie. However, even top-tier actresses only made around a million at best. Still, actresses had another lucrative avenue.

Once these actresses were noticed by wealthy men, it wasn’t uncommon for them to receive gifts worth hundreds of thousands at a birthday banquet. High-end fashion, luxury bags, and jewelry were routine. If they had a son, they could expect luxury cars and mansions for life.

If a rich young master fell for them, they might even end up as a wealthy young mistress. Ten years ago, there was a rich young master who pursued an actress known for erotic films. He spent seven years wooing her, showering her with resources, and eventually marrying her.

After some internal reflection, the agent put on a fawning smile. “Fan Qi, I’ll go back to the company and negotiate a six thousand yuan minimum guarantee for you.”

Fan Qi wasn’t interested in continuing in the entertainment industry, so the six thousand guarantee didn’t appeal to her. Fortunately, this contract didn’t offer much in terms of a guaranteed income but had a good share of the profits. After deductions, the commercial would net her almost nine thousand, enough for a few months of living expenses. It would be a hassle to find a new company to handle her, so it was easier to let them take care of it.

“No need. My contract is almost up. I want to take a break for a while and don’t need to keep showing up in front of Mr. Wang. I’ll give him some space to cool off.” The elevator doors opened, and Fan Qi stepped out.

Her agent heard her words and automatically interpreted them as her intention to use this time to get closer to Feng Xueming. Once she had secured her position with him, perhaps after a few months or even half a year, she could smooth things over with Wang Shaoyang and save face for both sides.

“Fan Qi, you’re being very smart,” the agent said, walking alongside her to the door. “It’s already noon. How about we grab lunch together?”

“I have something to do in the afternoon, so I can’t.”

Hearing this, her agent felt a little upset. But since she had brought in this ad deal and he could see her future prospects, he didn’t want to antagonize her. He responded politely, “Alright, I’ll accompany you to the shoot.”

“Okay.”

After parting with her agent, Fan Qi took the subway to Central. It was already past one o’clock, so she found a restaurant and had a bowl of wonton noodles. While eating, she reflected on the radio recording she had heard that morning and analyzed the points Liao Jiqing was focusing on. Then, she took out her notebook from her bag, flipped to a blank page, and jotted down several key points. They might seem like rookie questions, but they would hit the pain points in the industry. She was determined to seize this opportunity.

Fan Qi carefully reviewed the list of questions, then placed her notebook back into her bag and arrived at Yaohua Brokerage about ten minutes early.

The receptionist at Yaohua seemed to have been briefed, greeting her with a smile and leading her to the lounge area. “Miss Fan, Mr. Liao is at the trading floor, please wait a moment.”

“I arrived early,” Fan Qi said, sitting down.

As she entered, Fan Qi noticed that the lounge area at Yaohua offered a clear view of the trading floor.

Through the glass window, she could see the vast trading hall below, filled with rows of seats. Each seat was occupied by a trader in a red vest, one hand holding a phone and the other typing on a keyboard, occasionally making hand gestures.

The trading area was much larger than the one she had seen when she visited in her previous life.

Back then, most trading had already shifted to online platforms, and brokers no longer had to be stationed at the exchanges. The number of trading seats had been reduced to just over two hundred, and not long after, even those remaining were eliminated as the trading hall faded into history. Now, which brokerage firm owned more trading seats became a symbol of strength.

“This area and that section over there are both our company’s seats.”

Hearing the voice, Fan Qi turned to see the receptionist bending slightly to place a coffee cup on the coffee table. “Miss Fan, do you want milk and sugar?”

“Thank you!” Fan Qi replied as she returned to her seat. She picked up the coffee and, before even taking a sip, was already enjoying its fragrance. “It smells wonderful.”

“This coffee is freshly ground from beans!”

Fan Qi took a sip. She was accustomed to drinking black coffee. “It tastes great.”

“I’ll go get back to work now.” The receptionist was truly very polite.

“Please, go ahead.”

Fan Qi noticed a magazine rack near the lounge area and casually picked up a financial magazine to read.

“Dad, I just bought…”

Upon hearing the voice, Fan Qi put down the magazine and looked up in surprise. The two people who had just entered included the young man she recognized — Liao Yazhe, whom she had seen with Feng Xueming when she went to buy clothes at WO. The other man was in his forties, somewhat similar to Liao Yazhe, and it was clear that they were father and son. No wonder Feng Xueming had mentioned that he had friends involved in stock investment.

When the middle-aged man saw her, he briefly froze before extending his hand. “Miss Fan, nice to meet you!”

Fan Qi shook his hand. “Mr. Liao, it’s an honor to meet you.”

Liao Yazhe also reached out. “Miss Fan, we meet again.”

“Yes, I went to Mr. Feng’s office this morning and signed the advertising contract.”

“Really? Congratulations.”

“Thank you!”

“Miss Fan, would you like to discuss things in my office?” Liao Jiqing asked.

“Sure.”