Huayu: Traffic is king

Chapter 141 Tea Art, Oh Tea Art

The crew of "One Minute"

Liu Haojian sat on a small stool, looking at Weibo on his phone.

"I'll cross the sea of ​​people to embrace you, and meet you at the end of the zoom."

The splash screen ad features an OPPO R15 in Dream Purple, with Gu Jingyi holding the phone in one hand, looking exceptionally handsome.

Liu Haojian took a screenshot, opened WeChat, and sent it to Gu Jingyi.

“oi璟奕, you’re getting a bit hot.”

[Pigeons don't coo]: ?
[The pigeons don't coo]: Is this a village that just got internet access? The R15 Dream Purple has been out for so long.

[The pigeon doesn't coo]: Perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me...

A smile crept onto Liu Haojian's lips as he swung his legs faster and faster.

"Haha, there's no mistake. I just suddenly saw your image on the splash screen and took a screenshot to show you."

"But you probably don't have time to pay attention to these things at all, are you still on your way to an offline event?"

The message had barely been sent when a voice call came in.

"Dear Ms. Buffett, have you planted a spy on me? How come you can guess my every little thing?"

Gu Jingyi was sitting in the van, on his way to the OPPO offline meet-and-greet.

Attending these mobile phone brand events is quite easy; he only needs an assistant to handle everything.

HuaCe has already assigned Gu Jingyi a team, including his personal agent Lin Ze, an assistant, a stylist, security personnel, and staff specifically responsible for business liaison. The total number is about thirty people, but Gu Jingyi rarely mobilizes them all to maintain a low profile.

Mobile phone manufacturers usually make very thorough arrangements, from business vehicles to hotels to security, leaving no room for complaint.

To ensure the quality and efficiency of Gu Jingyi's efforts in making money for the company across the country, Green Factory has done its best.

However, the gains were also substantial, enough to make the Green Factory (a tech company) very happy.

Gu Jingyi was riding in a Cayenne today, and the seats were very comfortable. The driver even lowered the soundproof partition so as not to disturb Gu Jingyi's movements while respecting his privacy.

After noticing that Gu Jingyi had answered the phone, the assistant, to prevent the soundproofing from becoming ineffective, even played music to cover up some of the echoes.

"Who's paying special attention to this? It's clearly just a daily push notification on Weibo."

Upon hearing this answer, Gu Jingyi couldn't help but chuckle.

"Do you know about big data? If you didn't keep searching for news related to me, Weibo wouldn't be pushing it to you. Admit it, you care about me too, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Jingyi heard a "bang" from the other end of the line.

It's obvious that some clumsy kid has had something go wrong and bumped into something.

"Ah... I just bought this phone..." The voice sounded increasingly faint to Gu Jingyi, and became somewhat ambiguous. Clearly, the phone had fallen to the ground, and the voice returned to normal as she picked it up.

"Phew, thank goodness I put on a tempered glass screen protector. Thank goodness!"

Her voice trailed off softly and tenderly, a style different from her usual tone. Like a little hook, it made one's heart flutter.

Gu Jingyi's Adam's apple bobbed, and he felt an indescribable unease about his emotions.

His memory has always been excellent, and every meeting with Senko left a deep impression on him.

Even without a video call, Gu Jingyi could imagine what Liu Haojian's current state was like.

She must have been sitting on a small stool, picking up her phone with a pained expression, holding it tightly in both hands. She frowned, carefully checking for any damage, and then breathed a sigh of relief, quietly expressing her relief upon seeing it was unharmed.

Hmm, just thinking about it warms my heart.

Gu Jingyi smiled, and his mood brightened considerably.

However, he remained somewhat reserved on the phone, jokingly saying, "If it breaks, just buy another one. Didn't you use your old Apple for several years? Out with the old, in with the new, why not get a new one?"

Gu Jingyi's somewhat lazy tone traveled over the signal network, but Liu Haojian felt a bit annoyed.

"Wow, who changes their phone every year? I only change mine when the memory can't keep up or the system is lagging."

"Besides, I only bought this phone a few days ago! If it really breaks, my heart will break too!"

"It's broken, so what? It should have a built-in screen saver, right? Wait a minute..."

Gu Jingyi suddenly realized the key point: Apple's latest model was about to be released. Therefore, Liu Haojian's suggestion of changing phones immediately ruled out Apple.

Buy new, not old; no one will buy an older model when a new one is about to be released.

Even if they buy the older model, it's only because they're a small group of people who are looking for the best value for money.

Although Gu Jingyi hadn't known Liu Haojian for very long, he could sense Cunzi's way of handling things.

It's like we have a tacit understanding; it's really quite amazing.

"The screen protector only activates under non-human-caused circumstances..."

Liu Haojian was somewhat dissatisfied and started muttering to himself again.

"Wait a minute, the phone you bought... it should be an Android, right? Apple's about to release a new one."

Gu Jingyi considered it for a moment, then asked the question subtly.

"Who says that people who have bought an Apple product can only use Apple products? I feel that Android is quite good to use as well. In terms of photography, it is much better than Apple. Apple always has to adapt, and can only output the original image directly. It's just that the ecosystem is a bit special, and the system is also relatively smooth."

Upon hearing about the photo opportunity, Gu Jingyi smiled.

This idiot, how did he get so much information out of me so quickly?

I used to think she was pretty smart, but now I can tell she's just a simpleton.

I wouldn't trust anyone else with it; I need to keep it in my backyard, right under my nose.

Liu Haojian

Hearing his full name called, Liu Haojian paused for a moment. He stammered, finally managing to squeeze out, "Here!"

"How is the one-click AI beauty enhancement function? Is it easier to adapt to compared to previous Apple products?"

"It works great. I turned off the skin smoothing settings and selected the original camera; the algorithm optimization produces images that are straight out of the camera. It's truly impressive..."

Realizing he had misspoke, Liu Haojian covered his mouth and let out a surprised "whoosh".

Gu Jingyi smiled and helped her complete the sentence.

"As expected of the product I endorse, right?"

One second, two seconds, three seconds, and no one spoke on the other end of the phone.

She only spoke hesitantly when Gu Jingyi counted to five.

"What... what are you talking about? I don't understand at all. I'm not talking to you anymore, I have to go film."

Before Gu Jingyi could say goodbye, a "beep beep beep" sound came from the phone.

Liu Haojian hung up the phone so casually, which made Gu Jingyi confirm the facts.

"Oh, this girl, she's so easily teased. How rude of her, hanging up the phone without even saying goodbye."

Gu Jingyi looked at his assistant, uttering words of reproach, but his eyes were full of amusement, like he was showing off his mischievous kitten.

The assistant dared not join him in complaining, so he could only keep quiet. He couldn't completely disregard his boss's feelings, so he smiled politely.

When Gu Jingyi saw that he didn't respond, his interest waned.

"Little Fatty, didn't you just coordinate with the company? What are my schedule arrangements for now?"

Gu Jingyi's smile faded, and he looked up and asked his assistant seriously.

"Mr. Jingyi, do you think that supporting Green Factory is easier than filming? I understand that you've had a busy schedule lately, but you might be overthinking it..."

Little Fatty immediately saw through Gu Jingyi's thoughts and smiled. He switched the tablet to the notes app and began to explain it to Gu Jingyi:
"Today we're going to Changsha to support Green Factory and hold a fan meeting. There are no activities this afternoon, but you'll be recording an episode of 'Happy Camp' towards tonight."

"Tomorrow we're going to shoot the Peacebird 2018 new product ad campaign, and in addition, we'll be shooting the cover for Marie Claire. This was agreed upon after your debut; it was Dior that gave us the cover."

"There's a small fashion resources gathering tonight, you need to show your face there. Use the rest of the time to shoot the Dove chocolate commercial."

"The day after tomorrow, you'll be livestreaming yourself playing the game as the spokesperson for 'A Chinese Ghost Story.' You haven't touched your guaranteed livestream this month. It just so happens that the days after tomorrow and the day after that will balance out your schedule, so you can finish it."

"The filming of the Heavenly Demon War scene for 'Ashes of Love' will begin on July 1st. It is estimated that filming will be completed in about another week."

"However, this does not mean that you can rest. On July 12th, you will be going to hold several fan meetings with the Milk Foam Forest team."

"The Asian tour ended abruptly without going overseas, which made some overseas fans very dissatisfied. To make up for it, Century Idol has prepared a gift box of your merchandise. If you win, you can meet with you offline."

"It's said that the event will be held in several major cities, mainly in coastal areas. It'll probably last about five days, which is a good time for you to finish filming the group variety show. You're so important to Milkball Sen. There were some girls from the big companies who criticized the group variety show as a scam."

"They used clips of you to make the cover, but you only had a few shots in each issue. In total, it didn't even exceed ten minutes. They said the idol of the century was trying to suppress Gu Jingyi."

"Ah, you didn't see Douban, Bilibili, and Weibo. After Jingfei made your cut, she was still angry and kept tagging Century Idol to fight for your rights. It was only thanks to the quick appeasement of the fans that this farce was averted."

"On July 20th, you will be joining the cast of 'Take My Brother Away'. You will attend the opening ceremony and the script reading session."

"Then on July 25th, I went to Paris to sign a strategic cooperation agreement with Dior CEO Pietro Beccari. After that, I visited the Dior Archives and commissioned a custom embroidery pattern."

"I'll also be shooting the cover for Harper's BAZAAR France and participating in the 2019 Early Spring Collection manuscript workshop..."

"Wait for the 27th..."

"That's enough, Fatty, stop talking, that's enough..."

Gu Jingyi immediately stopped his assistant from continuing, lowering his head and covering his forehead with his hand. After hearing the detailed itinerary, he felt as if the entire sky had darkened considerably.

For nearly half a month, he has been flying back and forth between the film crew and brand events, and he feels completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. He has been hoping that after filming for "Ashes of Love" wraps up, he can relax a little and at least have a few days off.

He was naive after all. Given his popularity and buzz in 2018, taking a break was simply impossible; top stars don't get holidays.

Although Gu Jingyi is very career-minded, the packed and intense schedule really made him feel like he was back in South Korea, being exploited by his agency and working non-stop.

Perhaps he wasn't this popular in China in his previous life. Gu Jingyi was only a second-tier celebrity like Ren Jialun or Cheng Yi in his previous life.

He doesn't have a strong sense of popularity, and after returning to China, he mainly works as an actor. His fan base is relatively mature, and he hasn't experienced much intense adoration from them.

Now that he has become the "top influencer," Gu Jingyi has a much more concrete understanding of popularity and buzz.

He even went from initially questioning and mocking Chris to gradually sympathizing with him.

Being at the top means there's never a day that isn't tiring.

While we don't work year-round without a break, we get about one or two days off a month.

Even a man like Gu Jingyi, who values ​​his integrity and reputation, would become somewhat mentally exhausted from the long hours and repressed pressure of his work.

With Chris and Fengfeng being two people whose hands aren't clean to begin with, it's no wonder they couldn't hold back.

Once this becomes a habit, it's very difficult to suppress.

Gu Jingyi felt incredibly proud of himself for having everything at such a young age. He was also able to control his desires and avoid following in the footsteps of his predecessors.

Anyone with that kind of self-discipline would succeed. Especially someone like Gu Jingyi, who possesses both excellent acting skills and talent, and whose handsome appearance is on a completely different level from other male celebrities in the industry.

With his busy schedule, it's understandable that he has several girlfriends. There are so many female celebrities in the industry, and Emperor Jingyi doesn't date unknown actresses. He needs to have at least one girlfriend by his side after work to take care of Gu Jingyi's daily life, right?

A womanizer? No, no, no, he was being very thoughtful, deliberately avoiding scheduling conflicts with his girlfriend.

By the way, when did Tongtong finish filming "Royal Nirvana"?

I wonder if I'll be able to join the cast of "Take My Brother Away" with you.

Seeing Gu Jingyi like this, Xiao Pang assumed he was just exhausted and somewhat dazed. Xiao Pang smiled, shook his head, patted Gu Jingyi's shoulder, and offered a comforting word:
"Filming 'Take My Brother Away', a low-budget youth film, wasn't as demanding as filming 'Ashes of Love.' This kind of film shouldn't be too difficult for you, as there are plenty of breaks in between. Filming should be finished in a little over a month, which should be good news for you, right?"

Gu Jingyi's eyes lit up; it was almost September by then.

Sure, this is a good time to take a proper vacation.

Is it better to go to Northern Europe to see the Northern Lights or to Antarctica to see penguins?
“Jingyi, I’ll talk to the company and say that after filming ‘Take My Brother Away’ is finished, I’ll give you two or three days off so you can get some rest.”

"What? Only two or three days?"

Gu Jingyi's smile froze instantly, and he stared at the chubby boy with wide eyes, somewhat incredulous.

"Two or three days would be good enough. I'm going to the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Show in September. I'll be in the front row, and afterwards I'll be attending a dinner hosted by the LVMH Group."

"And also, have you forgotten about 'Better Days' that I told you about before?"

"In October, Century Idol will release Nine Percent's first official album. Jingyi, you need to submit 6 songs. Nine Percent's first album will contain 13 songs, in the standard format of an official album. Five of them are Nine Percent's duets, and the rest are a single by each member."

"Jingyi, you need to prepare about 5 songs for a duet and one solo song for yourself. You'll also need to set aside about a week for recording, shooting the music video, and making the posters."

"However, you own all the copyrights to your songs, just because you came from the national talent show 'Milk Foam' and you're the number one influencer. You can make a fortune just from the royalties."

"The company's film 'Go Go Squid!' will also start filming in November, and it is estimated that it will be filmed in parallel with your filming of 'Better Days'."

"It's okay, it's just an internal company production. Even if you're filming multiple projects at once, no one will say anything."

“However, Jingyi, you should start preparing for the official album in December. If all goes well, it can be released in mid-January next year.”

"The drama 'Ashes of Love' will be released next February, and the pre-release promotion will last for about two months. We can take advantage of this popularity to launch a world tour. Southeast Asia and South Korea can be packed to capacity."

"If you do the math, Jingyi, you should wait a little longer. Around April next year, you can take a break for about a month. The production team of 'Better Days' said it will be released in June next year, and 'Go Go Squid!' will also be released in July. You can stay home and rest until May, and then go do promotional tours for 'Better Days'."

"How was it? A month-long vacation is a rare treat, even for ordinary people."

Assistant Xiao Pang did indeed bring good news, and Gu Jingyi felt much more relaxed.

However, he quickly realized something else: when actors are not working, it usually means they are not joining film crews.

Even if someone is bored at home, they still have to shoot commercials.

"Ashes of Love" and "Go Go Squid!" allowed Gu Jingyi to continue his "two blockbusters in one year" in 2018, while "Take My Brother Away" solidified his dominance in the youth film genre. "Better Days" is poised to bring him recognition from the mainstream film industry.

2019 was destined to be a fruitful year for Gu Jingyi, as actors' income often comes mainly from endorsements.

Every hit drama series can lead to actors receiving countless endorsements.

After the broadcast of "Ashes of Love", Deng Lun secured 13 endorsements, including Joyoung, Bally Asia Pacific spokesperson, and L'Oréal brand ambassador.

During the airing of "Go Go Squid!", the current boyfriend rapidly expanded his business empire at an average rate of one endorsement per week. Brands such as Wei Chuan, KFC, and KEEP were all officially announced during this period.

Add to that some fashion events, and Gu Jingyi roughly calculated that he wouldn't really be that leisurely next April.

At most, the workload will be much lighter than usual, but it will still be there. Gu Jingyi plans to handle all the endorsements and fashion resources at once, and try to give himself a full week of vacation to relax.

"It's definitely good news compared to before. I calculated that if I focus on shooting commercials and fashion projects, I should be able to rest for a week without being disturbed by anyone."

Gu Jingyi cut to the chase and smiled helplessly.

Little Fatty hadn't expected Gu Jingyi to be so quick-witted, and awkwardly touched his nose.

Because of the idiom "to quench thirst by looking at plums," he wanted to give Gu Jingyi an anchor.

Unexpectedly, the other person was so mature that they didn't need these false comforting words, even while Gu Jingyi was still feeling awkward. Gu Jingyi quickly adjusted her mindset, said nothing more, and started scrolling through her phone.

No wonder Gu Jingyi became famous; he has all the capital and conditions to become famous…
Before the words of praise could even finish, Little Fatty saw Gu Jingyi start chatting on WeChat again.

As he exited the chat window with Liu Haojian, something suddenly occurred to him.

It seems that "One Minute" will be selected for the Platinum Film Festival next February. He apparently made a casual promise during a chat that if Cunzi's debut film made it into the competition section, he would also go to see the premiere of "One Minute." At the time, he genuinely didn't expect "One Minute" to actually do that.

I wonder if Liu Haojian still remembers this now?
If I tell her now, she'll be even more motivated, right?
After thinking for a moment, Gu Jingyi took the initiative to send another WeChat message.

Liu Haojian replied very quickly, almost instantly. It didn't seem like he was filming at all; he was just playing with his phone and replied to the message immediately.

However, Gu Jingyi was very considerate and pretended not to know.

The two started chatting again, one after the other, and Xiao Pang's expression softened as he looked at Gu Jingyi.

A few minutes later, Gu Jingyi suddenly looked up and asked him, "Little Fatty, do I have any plans for February 12th?"

"You mean February? The world tour and promotions for 'Ashes of Love'? As for February 12th, I'm not sure. Let me see the schedule Ze sent me, don't worry..."

Little Fatty logged onto WeChat and took out his phone to take a look.

"Yes, you're going to the seventh stop of the 'Ashes of Love' promotional tour. I reckon it'll be packed with people again, it's just that popular."

"So, has my tour started yet?"

Gu Jingyi asked patiently again.

"It's started? According to the schedule, you should be in West Coast City? Oh, are you going to miss it?"

No, don't worry.

After receiving a definite answer, Gu Jingyi's expression became even more mysterious and inscrutable.

"Don't worry, I never miss a show. At most, I'll just add one more concert to the Platinum tour; it's a world tour after all."

"Oh, really," Little Fatty said, looking quite troubled. He hesitated for a long time before finally blurting out, "Are you planning to hold a concert at Platinum? It's more convenient in China, isn't it?"

"It's alright, let's go with Platinum," Gu Jingyi said, subtly choosing the more tiring route.

"That's possible, but if you're going to Platinum as a stop, Jingyi, you might have to take a flight there late the night before, and you have a concert the next day. That way, you can squeeze out half a day in the afternoon to arrange your own schedule."

The assistant nodded to indicate that it wasn't a big problem, but still offered a concerned reminder.

"I know the concert starts in the morning, it's fine... then bro, you can talk to them about it."

"Ok."

After speaking with the director, Gu Jingyi continued to reply to text messages with her head down.

…………

"Sister Cun, what are you doing? Why are you laughing so happily?"

On the set of "One Minute," the assistant couldn't help but ask. He had been observing for a while; Liu Haojian was sending messages while smiling, and it was clear at a glance that she was in a very good mood.

"what?"

Liu Haojian, who was immersed in her own world, was suddenly interrupted and cried out in surprise. After seeing her assistant, she instinctively flipped her phone screen, as if she didn't want anyone to see who she was chatting with.

But after turning her phone over, she hesitated for a moment before telling the truth: "Jingyi said he'd come to see us in a few days?"

"That's great." The other person seemed a little slow to react and repeated the sentence.

After she realized what was happening, she looked at the staff member in surprise, and then, as if on cue, asked, "Wait a minute, when did you meet her?"

"We just happened to run into each other a while ago and chatted for a bit..."

"What a coincidence! I met him later too."

"So, what kind of person do you think he is?"

Liu Haojian suddenly blushed; a fleeting blush crossed her cheeks.

"He's a really good man, so good it feels unreal."

"I'll tell you a secret: I wasn't actually angry just now."

Liu Haojian glanced at the camera crew and lowered his voice to speak to his assistant.

"But I'll just keep quiet and wait for Gu Jingyi to guess. Let him guess whether I'm angry or not. That way, Gu Jingyi will definitely think of me again and again."

"Do you think he can really beat me?"

Liu Haojian smiled like a little fox, cute and charming.

"You mean you did it on purpose..."

The assistant suddenly realized something and became excited.

"Shh, why don't you tell him? I really bought it, and I genuinely support his endorsement."

"But why tell him? It's not interesting to say it out loud, is it?

"I'm not going to tell him directly. I want him to guess; that's the fun of ambiguity!"

The light was dim under the parasol. Liu Haojian turned his head to look at his assistant. His eyes were shimmering with tears, and a hint of a smile seemed to be flowing through them.

"Miss Buffett's Milk Tea, does anyone in our crew have this nickname?"

The production assistant came in and pointed to the food delivery guy standing at the entrance of the film set.

"Mine, mine"

Liu Haojian raised his hand, a smile playing on his lips.

She ran over there, her hair fluttering in the wind.

"Hello, I'm using Flash Delivery, so I need to take a photo of the delivery. Would it be convenient for you to take a close-up photo of my hand receiving the food?"

The assistant almost raised his hand to refuse, but Liu Haojian slapped his arm away, gave him a reassuring look, and then took the delivery bag and cooperated by letting the delivery guy take a picture.

"Click"

After finishing, Liu Haojian carried the milk tea and returned to the film set with his assistant.

"It's just a cup of milk tea, why did you go to all that trouble to get it?"

The assistant, puzzled, lowered her voice and asked.

"Of course, it's because someone is using this method to try and find out if I've switched to the R15 Dream Edition."

The smile on Liu Haojian's lips spread out like ripples, silent yet captivating.

The assistant stared at the R15 whose phone case she had removed at some point, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"No wonder you..."

Shh, it's a secret.

She placed her fingertips to her lips, her voice soft yet carrying an undeniable tone.

Just like her as a person, she is gentle, vulnerable, and inquisitive. Yet she reveals the outcome, making it hard to refuse.

(End of this chapter)