IPCFS: Chapter 49 Part 2

In the VIP lounge area on the second floor, the host of the dinner party, Qi Shanhai, leaned against the railing. He casually shook the glass in his hand while searching for bright stars in the hall.

His eyes suddenly stopped in one place and he asked with interest, “Who is that young man, and why does he look a bit familiar?”

The attendant beside him followed his gaze and squinted. After a while, he replied, “President Qi, that artist is Ji Li. He recently played a small supporting role in Qin Yue’s movie and relied on the popularity of the movie to gain some fans.”

At this moment, Ji Li was following by Yu Fuya’s side and politely greeting the directors on the opposite side.

The young man held a wine glass in his hand and the swaying wine caused the light to illuminate his smile. It was obviously a simple appearance, but it made people completely unable to take their eyes off his face.

“Oh? Do you have the contact information of his agent?” Qi Shanhai asked again. The hint in his words was obvious.

The attendant was stunned for a moment before answering cautiously, “President Qi, Ji Li’s current agent is Yu Fuya and the company behind him is Chaoying.”

“……”

Qi Shanhai was silent for a few seconds after hearing this. Then he took a sip of his wine regretfully. “Forget it. I can’t afford to provoke that woman, Yu Fuya.”

In the past, he had taken a fancy to Shi Meng who was under Chaoying. After several hesitations, the latter half followed him to the door of his hotel suite.

As a result, it wasn’t known where Yu Fuya got the news, but she rushed over and violently hit him with her brand-name bag. The final scene could be imagined.

Chaoying was a tough bone to chew, and Yu Fuya was a strong woman who couldn’t be provoked.

Ji Li’s appearance poked at Qi Shanhai’s heart, but he had no desire to ‘cause trouble’ in case a ridiculous thing like back then happened again.

Qi Shanhai searched the crowd for a long time before his eyes fixed on a corner.

“Who is that young man who is drinking over there? He is wearing black and white clothes and he looks good.”

The attendant had a certain understanding of the guests who came. He quickly recognized Ji Yunqi’s face and started sweating before he could even speak.

“President Qi, why don’t you change your target again? You can’t move against this ancestor.”

Qi Shanhai frowned unpleasantly. He obviously didn’t believe there was such a thing. “What type of nonsense are you playing with me?”

“That person’s name is Ji Yunqi and he is a newcomer with Chaoying Culture who hasn’t officially debuted.”

“A newcomer who hasn’t debuted yet? I can make a move as long as he isn’t under Yu Fuya’s hands.” Qi Shanhai took a sip of his wine, his eyes full of confidence.

The attendant wiped the sweat on his forehead and added, “I heard he is the third young master of the Ji Group. His older brother is Ji Yunzheng, a bigshot in the business circle, and his second sister is the famous screenwriter Ji Yueming.”

Qi Shanhai heard the series of names and almost choked.

The Ji family’s friendly sponsorship every year was indispensable to the China Entertainment Association where he was vice chairman.

They were a giant crocodile in the business circle, and the Ji family’s power was monstrous. It wasn’t just most people in the entertainment industry. Even other circles had to give them some courtesy when seeing them.

Not to mention, the hotel where tonight’s dinner party was being held was owned by the Ji family. Acting against Ji Yunqi in the Ji family’s territory? Who would dare? It was too courageous.

Qi Shanhai felt displeased and casually placed his wine glass on the table. “What type of terrible party are you holding? What type of stars did you invite?”

It was a large group of ugly people.

He had searched for a night and finally found two people he fancied, but he couldn’t act against both of them?

What a waste of his interest!

The attendant secretly glanced at him. He was angry but didn’t dare to speak.

‘It is obviously your own sperm that is controlling your brain and your picky eyes. Forget these two. Even if you like other artists, doesn’t it have to be a willing deal?’

***

Under Yu Fuya’s enthusiastic introduction, Ji Li met the directors and producers who participated in the party.

Around 30 minutes later, the dance portion of the party began.

A man in a suit walked over and made a standard dance invitation to Yu Fuya. “Ms Yu, can I please invite you to dance?”

Yu Fuya raised an eyebrow and asked Ji Li, “See?”

So what if this old lady was married or divorced? Her charm was still the same as it was back then.

Ji Li understood her meaning and took the initiative to step back with a smile. “Sister Yu, please go ahead. I’ll sit in the rest area to the side for a while.”

“Okay, don’t move around. I’ll send you back later.” Yu Fuya still remembered her duties as an agent.

Ji Li nodded and turned to leave.

The few big directors he just met were either already filming movies or had just finished it. Even if there were follow-up projects, the roles were already set.

If the roles  were changed, then a storm would probably be caused.

Ji Li’s desire to find a good script was in vain, and he was no longer interested in this dinner party.

He took a glass of champagne and sat quietly in a corner. The rest area was deliberately separated by a fine gauze curtain and it was regarded as a quiet place suitable to be in a daze amidst the bustle.

Suddenly, an inquiring male voice was heard. “Hello, are you Mr Ji Li?”

Ji Li turned to look.

The person who came was a middle-aged man who seemed to be in his 40s or 50s.

The formal suit on his body could be regarded as very simple compared to the suits and gorgeous clothing of the other people at the dinner party. It wasn’t a particularly expensive brand, and a rough look could tell that the cut of the jacket was a bit ill-fitting.

The middle-aged man’s face showed a hint of restraint. He obviously wasn’t very suitable for such a luxurious occasion.

Ji Li retracted his gaze and took the initiative to stand up and greet the man politely. “Hello, I am Ji Li.”

“Mr Ji is being polite. Please sit down.”

The middle-aged man saw his actions and hurriedly stopped him.

He walked around in front of the young man and instinctively clenched his sweaty hands. Then he took out a simple black and white business card from his briefcase and handed it over.

“Hello, I am Ying Yuanjing, the general manager of Ying’s Perfume.”

Ji Li looked down at the business card that the other person handed him. He always felt that the name of this perfume company was a bit familiar.

“Hello, Mr Ying.”

He maintained proper social etiquette and invited the other person to take a seat.

Ying Yuanjing was relieved by the young man’s attitude and sat down.

“Mr. Ji Li, I know that it is a bit abrupt to come here like this, but I wanted to try and ask. Do you have any plans to accept endorsements?”

“…My newly developed perfume brand needs a spokesperson.”

Ying Yuanjing didn’t deliberately go around in circles, but directly explained his intentions. If the other person didn’t agree, then both parties could avoid wasting time on an unnecessary conversation.

Despite this, there was a bit of restraint in his question.

Ji Li didn’t answer directly. He thought about it for a few seconds before asking, “Mr Ying, please forgive me for being rude. I don’t know much about the brand or your company. Let’s not mention this endorsement matter for the time being. Can I perhaps learn about your products first?”

In any case, Yu Fuya wasn’t here and he was idle.

“Of course, you are right.” Ying Yuanjing was ready to be directly rejected. He hadn’t expected to get this reply and he was overjoyed.

He quickly took out a product introduction from his briefcase. “Mr Ji, I will explain it to you while you read.”

“Yes, I will trouble you.”

“I wonder if Mr Ji has heard about the goose pear tent incense? This type of incense was made in the imperial court and has the effect of calming the spirit. My wife’s ancestors were imperial incense makers and this ancient method has been preserved until now.”

The perfume they were promoting now completely restored this ancient fragrance.

Ying Yuanjing was a person who loved fragrance. It took him and his lover nearly 10 years to develop it successfully. However, they were in trouble again when the perfume products came out.

There was no market for domestic perfumes.

It wasn’t just this. In the past few years, many inferior products used the fact that they were ‘domestic’ and consumed the trust of the customers. No one was willing to buy an unknown domestic brand at the same price as foreign, famous perfume brands.

The current company was in a state of loss. There was still some liquidity to maintain their daily expenses, but they couldn’t afford such a situation.

They would end up in defeat if they couldn’t think of a way to turn things around.

Then some time ago, Ying Yuanjing’s daughter, who just graduated from university, casually mentioned at the dining table.

“Now even the most popular products have to be endorsed by celebrities to take advantage of the fan market. Once the market is opened up by celebrities and fans, the sales will naturally be there.”

These few words woke up Ying Yuanjing.

It was just that some big name stars were unwilling to accept it, and the effect was useless if newcomers accepted it. Ying Yuanjing had a headache trying to find a spokesperson.

In order to reduce irrelevant expenses, he didn’t ask a third party agency to contact the stars, but planned to find one himself.

He heard about tonight’s dinner party by accident and obtained an invitation to enter.

“Mr Ji, I know that small domestic brands might not be able to enter the eyes of stars like you, but as long as you are willing to accept it, I will definitely give you the most sincere endorsement fee.”

In fact, Ying Yuanjing had found many similar stars before Ji Li and was rejected.

There were some stars who seemed good on the surface, but their attitude toward people was really bad.

Ying Yuanjing used his thick skin, and it wasn’t known how many times he had been scolded to get lost.

“By the way, my company’s perfume has participated in the French Perfume Era Competition and has passed the preliminary tests.” A further explanation was given.

France was the representative of perfume production, and the competition he mentioned was the most authoritative and representative competition that was held every five years.

Many well-known perfume brands gained attention from this competition from the time it was established.

Ji Li heard this and understood where the familiarity just now came from.

It was because this perfume brand was mentioned in the original novel. After the original male protagonist Ji Yunqi made his debut, the first brand he endorsed was Ying’s Perfume.

However, by the time he endorsed it, this perfume brand had won international awards and was praised by everyone in the nation. It became the main product of various Chinese trade fairs and international trade fairs.

Therefore, the competition to be the perfume’s spokesperson was fierce.

However, the Ji Group had made a lot of investment before this perfume became famous, so the final spokesperson became Ji Yunqi.

Ji Li turned to the product’s display picture. It was a golden liquid perfume. The outsourcing fee went to the porcelain bottle with an antique style, and it looked beautiful and exquisite.

In addition to this product, there was another perfume of the same series called Tanrui (purple-red stamens) Pavilion Incense. It was a fierce red liquid and looked very luxurious.

He did have some interest when he saw this, but there were also doubts in his heart.

Based on Ying Yuanjing’s meaning, the perfume company hadn’t received the investment from the Ji Group yet? Would the future direction of the perfume brand be the same?

Thinking about it a bit further, he didn’t want to compete with Ji Yunqi for resources.

The main protagonist’s halo had always been strong. It wasn’t easy for him to change his fate as a cannon fodder, and he didn’t want to make a mistake due to the vicious episode of ‘grabbing resources.’

Ying Yuanjing interrupted his contemplation. “Mr Ji, can you please think about it?”

He paused, but still spoke truthfully, “I am indeed looking for a spokesperson for the benefit of selling goods. However, now that I have met Mr Ji in person, I think your appearance and etiquette are in line with the needs of the spokesperson of my products.”

The young man’s temperament was soft and unique. His appearance was a standard Chinese beauty. It was naturally necessary to find such a suitable spokesperson for this domestic ancient style brand.

“Mr Ying, an endorsement is related to the suitability of the artist and brands and my future direction. Please forgive me but I can’t easily agree with you on such an occasion.”

Ji Li didn’t return the product description and business card, but considered it.

“Once this dinner is over, I will find time to discuss it with my company and management team. At that time, I will personally tell you if I can cooperate with you or not.”

Ying Yuanjing heard this and the depression of being rejected for several days was finally released. “Of course.”

He didn’t care about the age gap between the two of them and took the initiative to stand up and say sincerely, “Thank you, Mr Ji. No matter whether we can cooperate or not in the future, I hope you have a bright future.”

In fact, Ying Yuanjing could be called a ‘bigshot’ in the domestic perfume making circle. He had been reading countless people for most of his life and could distinguish the good from the bad.

Ji Li was a young man whose words and deeds were comfortable and could really enter his eyes.

Ji Li responded with a smile, “Thank you, Mr Ying.”

The two of them shook hands and happily ended the exchange.

As a result, a disdainful and mocking voice was heard the next second.

“Accepting such a small domestic brand? Ji Li, I didn’t expect that you would still be hopeless even after leaving Dream Media.”

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Proofreader: Azure