Who said this top flow is crazy! This top flow is awesome!

Chapter 344 With such high status and prestige, who came up with the idea for Sister Shang?
One more thing, Maria is not even a hair on the old lady's head!

"..."

Maria left, and the sound of the door closing wasn't loud, but for the Ikeno team inside, it felt like they had missed out on a fortune.

"...Brother Chi, should we tell Sister Coco about this...?"

After hesitating for a while, Xiao Liu finally asked.

Chi Ye glanced at her: "Who's the boss?"

"...Then let me tell Xiaxia."

Chiye: "?"

I'm a boss too, okay?

"Ikeno, isn't this... a bit inappropriate?"

After hesitating for a while, Teacher Shi finally took the initiative to ask after seeing Chi Ye and Xiao Liu chatting: "I didn't mean to hit anyone, really."

Chino glanced at her fist and nodded: "I know."

"……sorry."

Chi Ye was dumbfounded: "Why are you apologizing to me? She should be apologizing to you. You have no manners at all."

His words were rather harsh, but Maria had indeed behaved very rudely. He might have known that the other person might have come with resentment, but that didn't affect his impression of her—you can be resentful, you can have misunderstandings, but if you don't want to come, then don't come. Who forced you to come?
If he can't even speak properly after arriving, then I'm sorry, but he's never been one to speak in plain language.

However, by doing this, they did miss a rare opportunity. For many artists in the Chinese entertainment industry, and even globally, this would have been a tremendous opportunity to dominate the fashion world.

So even though Stevie knew about Ikeno's bad temper, she still felt that she shouldn't be here today.

Xiao Liu was equally disheartened, just like the other team members... What a great performance, and it was just missed.

An offer from Hermès is something an artist might only receive once in their entire career.

"Alright, 'Goblin' is airing again today, right? I'm free, let's go watch it together."

Ikeno waved his hand.

After Kiwi's shady tactics, "Goblin" should be able to postpone its run until New Year's Day. Today is the perfect day for its re-airing, as it enters the climax of the second half of the series. Ikeno is really looking forward to the next big hit of "Goblin".

Regarding Hermès and the endorsement issue…

Leave it to the team. At his current level, there's no need for him to personally negotiate with the agents of those big companies; that would seem too obsequious.

Some popular celebrities spend their entire lives admiring luxury brands, while others will have luxury brands admiring them for their entire lives... The differences are nothing more than their status and fame.

Chi Ye is now a top star in the Chinese entertainment industry.

……

The re-airing of "Goblin" has seen its popularity remain high on the first day of its return, as the plot has entered its second half and the emotional entanglements between the male and female leads, as well as the second male and female leads, and the development of the storyline have become increasingly captivating. The huge impact of "Goblin" continues.

The news that numerous top luxury brands and major companies' endorsers are "besieging" Ikeno Company every day has already spread throughout the industry, and even those outside the industry who are well-informed and follow Ikeno are aware of it.

Immediately, various voices emerged. There were rumors that Dior, in order to maintain a good cooperation with Ikeno, had arranged a long-term contract for Ikeno with a loan for the next few years. This was unavoidable, because Dior had given Ikeno everything it could, and there was really nothing left to give.

Some say that Cartier and other top luxury brands were deliberately "turned away" by Ikeno, causing them to lose face. This prompted Cartier's Asia-Pacific region to punish executives who had previously suggested "cutting ties" with Ikeno on the same day, but it was too late...

Of course, people don't really believe the latter.

After all, top luxury brands are top luxury brands. As the saying goes, every top luxury brand has its own level of prestige. If Cartier had any backbone, it would never go to such lengths for an artist.

The rumors mentioned above are all from "old faces"—these are all established top luxury brands that look for spokespeople in China and are frequently active in the Chinese entertainment industry. When people hear this news, they can only sigh that Chi Ye has truly returned to his peak, and his dominant position should be unshakeable in the short term.

What surprised and even shocked everyone was the news that followed—

Hermès actually sent people to contact Ikeno's team.

This news is like a bombshell in the fashion industry and in the Chinese entertainment industry, where endorsements are often used to elevate one's status and prestige.

Hermès.

What this brand represents in the ultra-luxury sector has been discussed too many times before, so there's no need to elaborate further.

The fact that countless teams and fans reacted as if it were fake news upon hearing this news is enough to demonstrate its impact on the public.

Although the rumored treatment Hermès gave Ikeno was not top-notch, and could even be considered merely an evaluation, it was still enough to drive countless young actors and actresses in the industry crazy with envy.

"Hey, Ye, are you really going to be the spokesperson for Hermès?"

Always a gossip enthusiast, Sister Shang, the biggest hidden VIP customer of "Goblin" who booked the entire event, immediately sent her "condolences" and expressed her request: "So, in the future, when I buy Hermes bags, can I get a discount without having to buy other items?"

Ikeno asked curiously, "You like Hermès bags?"

Sister Shang: "How could that be? I like all the bags."

Ikeno: "...I'm sorry, I can't offer a discount."

"?"

The woman was displeased: "I secretly created more than a dozen alternate accounts to book out screenings of 'Goblin' online. Is this how you treat your friends?"

Chino paused for a moment, then nodded: "Then it is indeed a 'friend,' a friend of the pelvis."

Sister Shang was slightly angry: "Don't mention death again."

"...I don't endorse Hermès; that's just a rumor."

Facing Sister Shang, Chi Ye didn't pretend or lie, and told the truth: "They did contact me, but I think it will be a bit difficult to cooperate."

"...?"

The wonderful thing about Sister Shang is that she is very empathetic towards others, especially Chi Ye. Through her various intentional and unintentional interactions, she already knows what kind of person Chi Ye is.

This person, fundamentally speaking, is a stubborn mule; if you go along with him, everything will be fine, but if you don't, he won't give you a friendly look.

So it's easy to understand that, given Hermès' prestige and status, it's unlikely that top luxury brands like Dior and Cartier would fawn over the show after "Goblin" became a huge hit and Ikeno achieved a stable lead, or even engage in slightly discriminatory communication for various reasons.

Therefore, the answer is self-evident.

The clever businesswoman racked her brains and comforted her, "Oh, it's okay. It's alright if you don't endorse it. There's still Dior, right? I remember you endorse the entire Dior line, right? You can get me ten sets of Dior's most popular line right now."

Ikeno: "Okay, in exchange, you buy me ten servings of Wallace too."

"Beep beep."

The woman on the other end hung up the phone.

Chi Ye exclaimed, "It really works every time! This Sister Shang is so much fun. Who came up with this idea?"

As he spoke, he received several more congratulatory calls, but none of them were from the cleaver.

He wasn't surprised at all, because when others heard the news, they were just jealous and offered superficial congratulations. But if Lao Qian knew, the sky would probably fall. How high would Chi Ye's status be in the future? He would never have any hope of surpassing him in this lifetime.

...Chi Ye guessed correctly. When Jin Wei learned that Hermès wanted to hire Chi Ye as their spokesperson, she felt like the sky had fallen. But not long after, she received confirmation that Chi Ye had declined the offer.

Ok…

For some reason, instead of feeling better, she felt a sense of shame, regret, and bewilderment.

no…

Wasn't it a good thing that he rejected Hermès?

If he can't become the spokesperson for Hermès, he still has a chance to surpass hers in status; if he does become the spokesperson, he'll really be just a minor celebrity.

In her heart, she felt that she could tolerate anything from Ikeno, but this ranking and status were the only things she absolutely could not compromise on. Otherwise, if something really happened in the future, wouldn't she be controlled for the rest of her life?

She's too strong-willed; she won't allow something like that to happen!

Clamps, who couldn't understand her own psychology, bluntly said, "Is he out of his mind?"

The agent, who looked twenty years younger during this period, nodded happily: "He's definitely sick."

"What are you laughing at? Is it funny?"

broker:"?"

Are you sick too?
What does this have to do with me? I was the one who forced Chi Ye's head to refuse?

Who would have thought he would be so ungrateful? If this had happened to Shi Jinwei's team, the whole team would probably be celebrating with champagne until next year.

Sister Pliers will have to go directly from the current Asia-Pacific version of "Goblin" female lead, the absolute number one, to the global version of "Shi Jinwei", the world's number one.

What kind of ascension is this?

All I can say is that Koike has become so popular that it's almost unbelievable.

"No, I still can't figure it out..."

Pliers was frustrated until evening, still not understanding Ikeno's actions, and was about to make a phone call to ask him properly... but after picking up her phone, she paused for a moment.

Just ask me like that?

She seemed to be gloating...

Ok…

She glanced around and realized that her assistant had disappeared somewhere.

The agent yawned: "Don't look at me, I don't like taking the blame."

Shi Jin paused slightly, then put down her phone: "Okay, then let's not ask for now."

"As long as you know."

The agent paused for two seconds before offering a suggestion: "What's your relationship with him? Haven't you noticed that since 'Goblin' started airing, he hasn't contacted you to do any promotional work together?"

Shi Jinwei also fell silent, and after a long while she said with dissatisfaction, "I must be too busy. Can you stop thinking about other people all the time?"

"Random thoughts?"

The agent smiled and said, "Fine, I was just imagining things, I was the one who slandered you. You can keep dreaming."

"..."

……

—Ikeno rejected Hermès, which was the second piece of news that shocked the industry, but the controversy did not last long before it ended with a statement.

Hermès’ official overseas Weibo account posted a statement clarifying this “rumor” and nipping it in the bud.

This is understandable, because since the collaboration failed, Hermès, with its high-end image, would not allow a celebrity's team to "take advantage" of it.

To put it nicely, it's just a rumor; to put it bluntly, the speed at which this news is spreading and escalating in the Chinese entertainment industry is already reminiscent of Chi Ye's past tactics—he's just shamelessly piggybacking on it.

In response, Ikeno's team immediately took action. They did not dwell on whether the incident was true or not, because it was true, but they couldn't just beg for the surveillance footage to be produced.

The Ikeno team might have been like that in the past... They really did start out this way. There's no way around it, the upper beam is crooked and the lower beam is crooked too. The boss became famous by riding on the coattails. Ikeno's team's marketing methods have always been unparalleled in the industry, everyone knows that.

But now... there's really no need. Hermès has underestimated Ikeno's team, so they only issued a statement to simply condemn a few exaggerated marketing accounts, without denying the veracity of the news.

As a result, Maria, who was furious when she got back, immediately felt like she had been tainted. Just as she was about to continue her actions, her actual superior called.

"It's a mess, don't post it randomly."

Maria was confused and didn't understand what it meant.

“We have never lacked popularity and style. The fashion elements in ‘Goblin’ are actually more than those in ‘My Love from the Star’. It’s currently airing and it’s very popular. Since we didn’t collaborate, we didn’t collaborate. But having some news about ‘Goblin’ is at least not a bad thing for us. It won’t lower our standards.”

Maria understood. To put it bluntly, even though "Goblin" hasn't finished airing yet, and its popularity is so explosive, the show has been hailed as the king of modern idol dramas because of its costumes, props, and camera work. It has a high level of sophistication, which is one of the reasons why Hermès approached Ikeno.

In that case, a little "hype" between the two wouldn't do them much harm.

So... what are you babbling about?
After calming down, Maria felt emotionally resistant, but rationally chose to comply.

Because before hanging up, the boss said something like, "He's just an entertainer after all. If you take him too seriously, you'll just make yourself look as bad as him."

Maria understood, so she didn't take any further action.

The matter has come to a close, and neither party has made any further statements. However, Ikeno's status has indeed been affected to some extent by this incident, subtly elevating her position in the fashion world.

After all, Hermès, even though the collaboration didn't materialize, was already sending a signal by approaching Ikeno.

Hermès also gained a lot of attention from this incident.

……

December 31st, New Year's Eve.

The penultimate episode of "Goblin" has aired, and the series will officially conclude tomorrow (VIP members will have an early finale).

Ikeno did not participate in the New Year's Eve celebrations of various TV stations this year, even though the local TV stations offered increasingly higher and higher prices after "Goblin" aired, even exceeding those during the "My Love from the Star" era.

However, due to various events that have occurred in the past, Ikeno's team has chosen not to cooperate with several satellite TV stations, including Tomato TV and Blueberry TV, just like the other party's previous choice.

As for Hunan TV... Chi Ye originally planned to go, but was stopped by something at the last minute.

Inside the office.

Ikeno looked down and tidied up the script before looking up at the muscular man sitting opposite him.

No, he's gained a little weight and is no longer the muscular boy who used to wear leopard-print lace-up clothes and wildly swagger around in the dead of winter.

Chicken Claw Zhang noticed Chi Ye's gaze, paused for a moment, and said with a slight clench, "Captain, I missed you so much!"

(End of this chapter)