Sui Ning had a vague sense of familiarity with the name “Xu Meng.” He went over it in his mind several times, but still couldn’t remember who it was. Figuring that he probably wasn’t anyone important, he shook his head and put it out of his mind, continuing to look through the contracts.
He was halfway through them when assistant coach Sun Wei happened to push the door open, panting heavily. The moment he saw what Sui Ning was doing, he immediately shouted, “Wait, wait—”
Sui Ning: ?!
The sudden yell startled Sui Ning so badly that he instinctively tossed the contract onto the table.
Everyone in the room jumped!
Sui Ning blinked and gave him a puzzled look. Sun Wei hurried over and pressed down on the stack of contracts. “Don’t sign them, don’t sign them! Don’t sign any of these—”
“What?” Sui Ning was utterly confused. He instinctively exchanged a bewildered glance with Ji Yunyu, who was equally surprised.
Sun Wei was the team’s assistant coach, but when it came to work, he functioned more like the team’s personal life assistant.
He was also responsible for contacting and organizing some of their commercial activities and reporting them to the head coach. When it came to matters related to commercialization, he actually knew even more than the head coach did.
So when Sun Wei came rushing in like this, even Chen Chen was confused. “Brother Sun, what’s going on?”
Sun Wei had obviously just rushed over from the big boss’s office. His chubby forehead was covered in sweat.
He took two hurried breaths, put his briefcase on the coffee table, and opened it. As he pulled out a new contract, he said, “Wind, you’re probably going to be pretty busy for a while!”
“Put those little TV dramas aside for now. The boss just notified me that several brands want to get in touch with you!”
Get in touch? Sui Ning raised an eyebrow, chewing over the wording carefully. Somehow, he felt that phrase was rather peculiar.
What brands? What did they want him for?
If they wanted him to shoot an advertisement, they could just say they wanted him to shoot an advertisement. If they wanted him to promote products through livestreaming, they could just say so. Why use the strangely suggestive phrase “get in touch”?
Sun Wei continued, “You guys know that at this year’s World Championship, several of the sponsors were major names—”
“Tell me about it!” Lin Zhaoxu couldn’t help complaining.
When he first saw the sponsor list, at least twenty question marks had popped up over his head. “Consumer electronics are one thing, but what the hell are private jets, sports cars, and standalone villas doing on there?”
Was this really the kind of stuff their team’s fans were supposed to be looking at?!
Sun Wei chuckled. “Well, you guys sure did a great job selling products for the major sponsors. They’re extremely satisfied!”
Sui Ning: ???
Everyone present wore expressions as though their entire worldview had just exploded.
“When you say ‘selling products,’ which company are you talking about?” Sui Ning couldn’t help asking.
The assistant coach spread his hands. “The one you’re thinking of, of course. ROX!”
One of the major sponsors of the finals, and a luxury car brand that was enjoying tremendous popularity in Europe.
Actually, the sponsor lineup for the Glory World Championship had been ridiculously impressive in previous years as well. But because the Chinese teams had never achieved particularly good results domestically, they had never managed to unleash the astonishing purchasing power of the Chinese market.
This year was completely different. ROX had advertised several of its newest mid-to-high-end models, each costing well into the eight-figure range. Then, after PNG won the championship, the wealthy fans went completely crazy with excitement and had money to burn!
Every vehicle ROX had listed for sale sold out collectively in less than three days. Even the preorder replenishments were already booked through to early next year!
There were even wealthy fans leaving comments like: The cars are great. Our main team won the championship, so the whole family’s happy. Let’s get a few! But you don’t even give out PNG merch with the purchase. One-star review!
ROX: ???
Were you people buying cars or buying merch?!
And precisely because of ROX’s astonishing “results,” brands that had been drooling over the enormous market behind it finally made up their minds after watching from the sidelines for so long and formally extended their olive branches.
They’d gotten smart, too. You wanted “merch,” right?
Fine! We’ll bring the actual person to you. Is that “merch” enough?!
PNG, right?
Wind, right?
We’ll take all of it!
That was exactly why Sun Wei had hurried over. As a prodigious player who had burst onto the scene out of nowhere, won the World Championship FMVP in his very first year competing professionally, and accumulated countless accolades—not to mention possessing an absolutely top-tier face—Sui Ning was naturally the sponsors’ number-one target!
Sun Wei was genuinely afraid that he would arrive one second too late, only for Little Fool Feng-bao to sign contracts with some small shows and minor endorsements like he had when he signed Idol Cheer Station, causing them to miss out on the really big fish!
At the thought, Sun Wei couldn’t help looking at him with the heartbroken expression of someone gazing at an innocent little fool who knew nothing about the ways of the world.
Sui Ning covered his forehead. …No, listen, let me explain…
“Take a look at these first.” Sun Wei gazed at Sui Ning benevolently and, with an extremely calculated flourish, spread the contracts across the table like a peacock displaying its feathers, making sure every title was clearly visible.
Sui Ning lowered his eyes and glanced at the one on top. The title read: Patek Philippe…
Well. He’d never heard of it.
He lowered his head and looked at the product list. Oh, they sold watches. The recommended retail price of their newly launched perpetual calendar watch was 2.7 million yuan…
Sui Ning: ?
He blinked.
“How much did you say?!”
At that price, before the “getting in touch” had even begun, Sui Ning was already feeling a little dizzy.
He raised his head and looked at Sun Wei, his dark, watery eyes filled with an unspoken plea. I have a feeling these super-luxury brands are going to be a huge hassle… Can I just turn them down?
As if he had seen straight through his thoughts, Sun Wei firmly shook his head.
——
During the off-season, in those few days when PNG had completely disappeared from the world…
Unable to get any response after frantically pounding on the team’s official Weibo account, the esports fans collectively migrated to video sites instead. They licked their lips over all kinds of edits and highlight compilations, then, every night before bed, they would go back to PNG’s official Weibo and kick the door once!
Meanwhile, the Weibo account they had gradually abandoned became lively again thanks to another fandom.
It started with news in early November. Zhang Qingfeng, the top director who had won countless international awards, had finally announced that he would be making a new film again after three years!
The main cast had yet to be finalized, but both the supporting cast and the behind-the-scenes production team were already incredibly prestigious. The theme was also related to esports, with War of Glory directly confirmed as the game featured in the film. Even the investment seemed to have the faint backing of high-level officials.
At this crucial moment, right after HPL had won its first World Championship, anyone with eyes could tell—
This was clearly meant to build momentum for and pay tribute to next year’s Olympics!
Olympic gold. Bringing glory to the nation. Just imagining that scene was enough to make it impossible for anyone to resist!
There were even rumors that the movie might be scheduled for release during next year’s National Day holiday.
Although Zhang Qingfeng himself neither confirmed nor denied any of the above rumors, the mere news that it would be an “esports-themed film” was enough to send the fans of every young actor into collective frenzy!
—An esports movie, with youth and passion, friendship and romance, struggle and dreams…
Most importantly, could a forty- or fifty-year-old veteran actor play an eighteen-year-old esports player? Would the audience accept that?
Once people saw this theme, they would instinctively feel that the leads couldn’t be too old.
And if that was the case, wasn’t this the perfect opportunity for young actors to shoot straight to the top?!
An award-winning director, an experienced production team, the hottest trending subject on the entire internet, massive financial backing, the green light from high-level policies, the special significance of a tribute film, and even an unbeatable release date—
With every BUFF stacked, the fans’ eyes grew redder and redder!
Thus, on the very day the news broke, fans of various celebrities went straight into berserk mode, tearing each other apart on Weibo. They would fight until their heads were bloodied just to secure an audition slot for their idol!
Among them were both traffic stars and rising-generation Best Actor and Best Actress winners—
Top comment: Looking forward to Director Zhang’s new movie! Other than @QianSheng, is there really anyone more suitable to be the lead? (throws flowers)
Top comment: #LetMeSpendMyLifeWithYou# Finally casting! I heard Mengmeng @XuMeng is participating too. Isn’t that just bullying everyone else? Mengmeng’s track record is way too strong! (cry-laughing) He’s basically what the male lead of an esports novel would look like in real life~~
Top comment: For a male lead of the right age, who else could there be besides @XuMeng? (cry-laughing) Mengmeng has acted in so many esports dramas. His experience and acting skills completely crush everyone else’s. (throws flowers)
Top comment: Can I see @XuMeng and @Pei Siyuan team up again to play mid-jungle this time? My number-one mid-jungle duo in War of Glory—they’re seriously amazing! Their mechanics, looks, synergy, everything is flawless! The champion mid-jungle duo has me shipping them like crazy QAQ
Top comment: …??? I won’t say anything about the other marketing accounts’ comments, but this one—are you people seriously allowed to steal the title of War of Glory’s number-one mid-jungle duo??
Top comment: I’m dying. How many rounds could your so-called “number one domestic duo” even last against False and Serpent next door? (shaking head)
Top comment: Everyone who steals my Wind-Cloud title is DEAD!! The entertainment industry isn’t above the law. Don’t go stealing things! (furious)
Top comment: What the hell is this trending topic? I’m so pissed! Can you just casually call yourselves the champion mid-jungle duo? What championship did you even win? And you have the nerve to bring up War of Glory??
So infuriating! Absolutely infuriating!
PNG’s fans were genuinely about to riot!!
And it wasn’t just them. Anyone who had followed HPL, upon seeing some of the comments beneath the topic page, felt so disgusted they wanted to throw up—as if they had just eaten some horribly rotten food!
Some young actors with actual professional ethics hadn’t even said a word yet, while one certain person surnamed Xu was going all out buying promotional articles!
“Esports Youth Walks Into Reality: An Honest Evaluation of Xu Meng’s Acting, Officially Certified Champion Mid Laner—Deservedly So”
…What the hell was this?
And when they clicked into it, the article was actually using a War of Glory game interface and a knockoff HPL award podium!
The fans finally snapped. Their anger shot straight through the roof! When did War of Glory suddenly get a champion mid laner?
Officially certified?? Who certified him?
Why had nobody told them?!
Comment: I’m done. HPL, are you seriously not going to do anything??
Comment: Is this Xu Meng guy sick or something? Why does he love tying himself to Fengbao for marketing so much?
Comment: That name sounds familiar. If I remember correctly, this guy has some old grudge against Feng-bao.
Comment: @HPL Esports League, I seriously want to laugh. Our champion mid laner is someone we treasure so much we’re afraid he’ll even get hurt, and now the guy next door is riding on his head and taking a dump (censored). Are you fucking going to do anything about this or not??
Comment: Is this how you treat the World Champion who just brought glory to our country??
Comment: It’s only been a few days since they won the first championship, and HPL is already pulling this kind of disgusting stunt??
Comment: Are you really that eager to go head-to-head with the fans’ keyboards??
HPL’s official side couldn’t hold it together either. These celebrities had to obtain authorization from them to shoot esports-related dramas, but even HPL hadn’t expected that the authorization they had granted back then would come back to stab them in the back!
Yes, HPL did allow esports dramas to use game footage, replicas of competition venues and trophies, and, when necessary, even allowed professional players to participate and provide assistance to the production team—
But they had never officially recognized any champion depicted in the dramas, had they? So how did it become “officially certified” in those promotional articles??
Guys, do you even remember that the trophy you used for filming was a replica?
The actual HPL championship trophy is still sitting at PNG’s training base!
Faced with the fans’ increasingly uncontrollable anger, HPL officials were also panicking. All they could do was turn around and pressure Xu Meng’s side overnight.
Take the articles down! Hurry up and delete them!
HPL’s pressure came quickly, and its demands were extremely strict. They weren’t only requiring articles with ambiguous headlines to be removed. All promotional pieces that had not been reviewed by HPL’s tournament publicity department and were deemed potentially damaging to the image of the league had to be deleted immediately!
Of course, the people who had posted the articles could stubbornly refuse to delete them. But as for the consequences…
The liaison officer didn’t say anything more. Figure it out yourselves!
As soon as those words reached them, Xu Meng was awakened in the middle of the night by countless calls from his manager. Listening to the panic in the other person’s voice, he could only curse them as useless under his breath before gritting his teeth and agreeing to have the articles removed.
Once the articles were taken down, Xu Meng’s fans became even more furious.
This is too much! It was all the antis’ fault!!
For a while, the entire internet became their enemy. The fans who called themselves “Little Lemons” raised the banner of #XuYouALifetime#, vowing to seek justice for Xu Meng!
They launched indiscriminate attacks, and the comment sections beneath trending-topic exposs became downright unbearable!
The person who took the brunt of their attacks was naturally Qian Sheng, who had debuted alongside Xu Meng on Idol Gas Station. Next was the young actor Su Huai, who had also built his image around being an “esports youth.”
Qian Sheng was driven half-mad by Xu Meng’s rabid fans biting at him, while Su Huai was also unable to cope with the harassment. Several of his endorsements had already been targeted by rival fandoms, who had gone running to the brands to complain!
Both managers were extremely worried. “If this keeps going, I’m afraid some brands are going to develop a bad impression of you!”
After all, the products hadn’t even been sold yet, but the spokesperson had already dragged a mountain of controversy along with him. Which brand would be happy about that?
Su Huai had no powerful backing. The moment he heard this, his face immediately paled.
On the other hand, Qian Sheng was the type who believed in paying back every grudge. He stared fixedly at his manager and demanded, “Can’t we turn around and go after them?!”
His manager shook his head, then nodded again. Lowering his voice mysteriously, he said, “We can’t bring them down ourselves. But I heard that Xu Meng’s side had been pushing so hard before because they were trying to get the ambassador contract for a particularly major luxury brand—”
Qian Sheng curled his lips. “I know. Everyone on the internet knows. How am I supposed to mess with something like that?”
Anyone could tell at a glance that the resources had been obtained for Xu Meng by his “backer.” His team was protecting it like the most tender piece of meat in their mouths!
Trying to snatch it would be no different from taking food from a tiger’s mouth.
His manager clicked his tongue. “We don’t need to do anything. I heard the brand itself has never actually approved him. It was Xu Meng’s team enthusiastically throwing themselves at them. They kept recommending themselves even after being rejected several times! Apparently, the brand is making some moves now. I don’t know exactly what they are, but it definitely isn’t him—”
Otherwise, the promotional articles proclaiming Xu Meng as the little king of endorsements would already be flying all over the internet.
Qian Sheng’s eyes immediately lit up. “So, what I need to do now is…?”
“Wait!” His manager also gave a sly chuckle. “Just wait. Watch him build his tower, watch him host his banquet…”
……aaa
The next day, after the bloody battle that had raged across the trending searches, several explosive headlines suddenly appeared near the top.
#ZhangQingfengConfirmedToBeginProductionOnNewEsportsFilm#
#WhoWillWinTheEndorsementForThisFamousLuxuryBrand?#
Xu Meng’s fans, who had gotten up early to start voting for their idol, froze.
They already knew about the first one. Their eyes shifted toward the second. Their hearts skipped a beat. Could it be—?
The Little Lemons cautiously clicked into the trending topic.
Gossip Knows First V: #FreshTeaDelivery# Today’s biggest scoop! Guaranteed authentic! Several insanely prestigious brands are about to choose new ambassadors. Does your fave have any new achievements among them? (squinting and smiling)
Then they looked at the list. Leading the pack were names that fans had barely even dared to imagine: Patek Philippe, Harry Winston, Koenigsegg, Louis Vuitton, and others. There were cars, watches, jewelry…
As the Little Lemons read through the list, they could practically feel themselves drooling.
If Xu Meng could land even one of these endorsements, his position as the number-one male celebrity of the new generation would be completely secured!
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