How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 110 The Closest Yet Most Distant Couple [10,000-word Update, Please Subscribe]

The reason Yang Tianzhen and Fan Bingbing invited Wang Yao today is because they saw an opportunity to make a fuss about this matter.

When Fan Bingbing was in the Hong Kong entertainment circle, she had many scandals involving wealthy families.

The Queen's speech yesterday received very positive feedback, and Yang Tianzhen thought that perhaps they could make use of this opportunity.

Moreover, she learned that Kimi, the mastermind behind Liang Luoshi's dream of marrying into a wealthy family, seemed to be working closely with Wang Yao recently, and she vaguely guessed that this matter might be related to Wang Yao.

“That’s right, Miss Yang is very perceptive. The core of the queen persona is anti-patriarchy.” Wang Yao broke off the crab claw in his hand and threw it aside. This thing was troublesome, and he was too lazy to eat it.

Seeing this, Fan Bingbing picked up the crab-eating tools and began to clink and clang as he dismantled the crab claws.

"But won't this offend a lot of investors?" Yang Tianzhen frowned, somewhat worried. There are still many male bosses in China who prefer submissive female stars.

"Destruction precedes construction; there is gain in loss." Wang Yao shook his head. "Besides, if you want to pursue the top luxury business route, you must give up the persona of pandering to men."

"Mei Nan?" Fan Bingbing asked, puzzled.

“It’s your current behavior.” Wang Yao looked at the plate in front of him, where small piles of crab meat were tucked inside the crab shells.

She just unpacked and delivered them.

Fan Bingbing was stunned, then a little embarrassed and annoyed, "I was just trying to help you because you don't know how to eat crab claws!"

"How do you judge whether I don't like to eat, don't know how to eat, or don't want to eat?" Wang Yao chuckled.

"?" Fan Bingbing was taken aback.

"So, one must be a seductive woman to gain the approval of top luxury brands?" Yang Tianzhen frowned.

"That's right. Their logic for choosing spokespeople is that female consumers will feel a sense of aspiration when they see them. Why Gong Li? Because she wasn't involved in Zhang Yimou's family affairs. She severed ties early and can still maintain an equal relationship. Shu Qi is the same. Even though she has a shameful past, she rose from the ashes. These are all symbols of a charming woman."

"People choose spokespeople based on the consumer's perspective. Suppose you were the one who bought a product endorsed by a man who rose to fame," Wang Yao countered.

"What if I like that spokesperson?" Fan Bingbing said somewhat indignantly.

"That's the difference between a regular endorsement and a top-tier luxury endorsement." Wang Yao smiled slightly. "How much are fans willing to spend on an endorser? A hundred or two hundred? They grit their teeth. A thousand or two thousand? They grit their teeth to the bone. What about ten thousand or twenty thousand? A hundred thousand or two hundred thousand?"

“Actually, the fans that celebrities bring are of no value to top luxury brands. What top luxury brands need is what you call a symbol?” Yang Tianzhen suddenly realized.

"Yes, that's why L'Oréal cosmetics chose her. It's because her face matches the makeup, creating a sense of desire in consumers, rather than the assumption that her fans can actually afford it."
Luxury brand endorsements consider higher-level things like symbols and stances, because they have their own brand fans and brand image, and they don't care about the spending power of the fan base that the spokesperson brings.

After all, converting celebrity fans into brand fans is a losing proposition. Wang Yao bluntly analyzed Fan Bingbing's value.

"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Mr. Wang." Yang Tianzhen was sweating profusely. She had originally thought that the endorsement of top luxury brands was related to the celebrity's status and influence.

But after analyzing it this way, Wang Yao realized that he seemed to have put the cart before the horse.

For top luxury brands, the value of a celebrity is not determined by the market, but by the brand.

"What does Miss Fan think?" Wang Yao turned and asked.

Fan Bingbing snatched back all the crab claw meat that she had peeled for Wang Yao and ate it herself. "What would you like, Mr. Wang?"

"Of course I want profit. What do workers want if they don't want money?" Wang Yao laughed.

"Regarding commercial endorsements and public image, we hope to establish a long-term partnership with Mr. Wang," Yang Tianzhen said solemnly.

“Public image packaging is simple, but commercial endorsements have many problems. For example, public relations costs can sometimes even exceed the endorsement fee, since some endorsements are meant to enhance the persona and increase the artist’s value in other aspects.” Wang Yao shook his head.

Simply accepting commercial endorsement deals and going for the top luxury route would be a losing proposition. It would be better to go for endorsements from ordinary people, allowing Fan Bingbing to enter the era of live-streaming e-commerce and monetize her business earlier, and to deeply connect with some conscientious domestic brands.

“What President Wang said makes sense.” Yang Tianzhen chuckled awkwardly, pondering how to reach a consensus.

"Mr. Wang, why don't you name a price for me?" Fan Bingbing asked frankly.

"Actually, our company's cooperation model is very simple: upfront costs + commission sharing." Wang Yao smiled and explained the difference between agency operation cooperation.

"Mr. Wang wants a commission on our total revenue?" Yang Tianzhen frowned upon hearing this.

"In my eyes, Miss Fan's value is roughly 1000 million plus 20% of her annual income," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Wow, thank you for your favor, Mr. Wang. Does that mean I'll have to give you 2500 million every year?" Fan Bingbing scoffed.

Her income last year was close to 70 million, and it will definitely be more this year.

This kid is really asking for the moon!

"How can you be a star if you don't have money?" Wang Yao narrowed his eyes, a subtle smile playing on his lips.

"Mr. Wang, this cost is indeed a bit exaggerated," Yang Tianzhen said with a wry smile.

But she didn't find it outrageous or absurd.

Because she felt that if Wang Yao could really secure a top luxury brand endorsement this year, she was confident that her earnings would double and exceed 100 million!

She became the first female celebrity in China to earn over 100 million yuan in a single year!
What is this concept?
"You two, twenty million for a chance to become a top luxury brand ambassador. I'm sure many female celebrities would be willing to pay that price if word got out, right?" Wang Yao smiled dismissively.

Fan Bingbing and Yang Tianzhen both turned serious at the same time.

Indeed, putting aside others, Li Bingbing at least absolutely agreed.

Suddenly, they realized that they seemed to have lost all bargaining power in the face of this situation.

"Wait a minute." Fan Bingbing made a quick decision. "Can you guarantee I can succeed?"

"As long as you behave well." Wang Yao smiled warmly.

Looking into those obsidian-like eyes, Fan Bingbing suddenly felt a strange sense of dread.

“Only we can succeed through our combined efforts,” Yang Tianzhen added immediately.

“With so many top luxury brands, there will inevitably be competition from others, and most brands will only sign one person. My idea is Dior and Chanel, and if we’re lucky, we can secure collaborations with other brands.” Wang Yao smiled.

"Bottoms up." Fan Bingbing downed the wine in his glass in one gulp and shouted in a deep voice, his eyes bloodshot like those of a leopard ready to pounce.

Yang Tianzhen was still prepared to try, but seeing Fan Bingbing speak directly, she shut her mouth.

"Then I wish Miss Fan all her dreams come true." Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly and raised his glass.

"Drinking beverages is boring, let's drink alcohol." Fan Bingbing waved his hand.

"No, I still have to work." Wang Yao shook his head.

“My house has everything. You can sleep here if you’re tired. If you feel uncomfortable, you can leave.” Fan Bingbing stared intently at Wang Yao, as if she wanted him to have a drink.

Wang Yao frowned slightly, took out the contract from his bag and handed it over, saying, "Let's sign the contract first."

"Huh?" Yang Tianzhen stared at the contract, which detailed the amount and even the cooperating companies, her mind buzzing.

I thought they were just giving Wang Yao a long lecture, but it turns out they were much better prepared.

"Mr. Wang, aren't you being a little too prepared?" Fan Bingbing was also dumbfounded.

"Efficiency is money," Wang Yao said with a slight smile.

"I'll fax it to the legal department." Yang Tianzhen swallowed hard, took the contract upstairs to fax it.

"Is your bag full of contracts?" Fan Bingbing looked curiously at Wang Yao's briefcase, which seemed out of place for his age. She had wanted to ask this ever since he came in.

"Yes." Wang Yao smiled.

"What if I don't agree, or the terms of cooperation change? Wouldn't all that preparation have been for nothing?" Fan Bingbing frowned.

“Don’t worry, my style of cooperation is to never change the contract terms, but I will change the partners.” Wang Yao smiled and took out several other identical standard contracts from his bag.

Fan Bingbing reached out and took it, quickly flipping through the documents, her expression growing increasingly grim.

Because I saw many familiar names, such as Li Bingbing and Zhang Ziyi.

Clearly, if she refuses today, Wang Yao might actually turn around and cooperate with someone else.

This feeling of being selected made her incredibly depressed, as if she had suddenly returned to the time when she first debuted and was being picked and chosen. But before she could get over her emotional outburst, the last contract gave her a much-needed boost.

"What is this? This is also a contract? Mr. Wang's business scope is too broad." Fan Bingbing's almond-shaped eyes widened first, then she looked at it incredulously and pointed to the 'Agreement to have a ( ) relationship'.

"Sorry, this wasn't prepared for you." Wang Yao blinked and reached out to take it back.

"I never expected this! It's such a contrast to how Mr. Wang behaves." Fan Bingbing's eyes gleamed with barely concealed excitement, like a cat discovering a ball. "Does this mean I've uncovered your secret?"

"You're not trying to threaten me with this, are you? That's illegal," Wang Yao said, frowning.

"Does carrying this not violate any rules?" Fan Bingbing sneered.

"The purpose of bringing it is to avoid violating the rules," Wang Yao said without changing his expression.

"Is being a hooligan protected by law?" Fan Bingbing was stunned.

“If you have time, you can read more books on laws and regulations; you might need them later.” Wang Yao spread his hands, gesturing for her to return the contract.

"I'll keep this one." Fan Bingbing smiled slyly.

"Suit yourself, there are no names in them anyway." Wang Yao put away the other contracts.

"Hey, little brother, aren't you afraid I'll go around telling everyone?" Fan Bingbing was somewhat dissatisfied with Wang Yao's reaction.

"If you go around spreading rumors, a lot of celebrities might take it, sign it themselves, and come to me for my stamp," Wang Yao said with a smile.

Fan Bingbing was stunned, and a chill ran down her spine for no apparent reason.

"The contract is fine, shall we sign it now?" Yang Tianzhen came down with the contract in her hand.

"Okay." Wang Yao got up to sign the contract.

After signing the contract, Wang Yao explained to Yang Tianzhen what she needed to do the next day and then prepared to take his leave.

Yang Tianzhen sent a driver to take him back. When he got back, he found Fan Bingbing sitting on the sofa with a laptop next to him, looking serious as if he was checking something.

"What are you doing?" Yang Tianzhen asked, puzzled.

"Study the law," Fan Bingbing said in a deep voice.

The topics of "broken dreams of marrying into a wealthy family" and "ancient saints" are simultaneously tearing at the anxieties of celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry.

They discovered that since the beginning of the year, or rather, since the advent of Weibo, their previously peaceful lives had been disrupted, and this feeling was very unsettling.

However, for some celebrities, this is a golden opportunity to boost their visibility. With so many trending topics to capitalize on, if they manage to hit one, their careers might take off.

As a result, celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry have developed polarized attitudes towards this new internet landscape.

But for netizens, it's all beneficial, with a large amount of news and fresh content rapidly filling their boring and monotonous lives and spiritual world.

Being able to participate in so many news discussions gave them a strange feeling that 'I am influencing the world'.

In the past, people watched the news from the perspective of an observer, but now, everyone seems to be very involved.

Early the next morning, Liang Luoshi's verified account appeared on the international version of Myspace and posted a Weibo post with a picture.

'Liang Luoshi V: We did break up. We came together because of love, but we parted ways when love was gone. I am not some sparrow trying to climb the social ladder. I am just a mother of three children. My children have no father because I will not let them be illegitimate children.'

The highest and brightest sun and moon, the closest and most distant couple—husband and wife.

The picture shows her holding an ultrasound image of two fully formed twins, with her other hand holding her eldest son. Although she looks a little tired during her pregnancy, she has a bright smile.

This Weibo post went viral in Hong Kong because, without a doubt, it was a slap in the face to the Lai family, and a slap in the face at that. This gratifying action brought Leung Lok-sze unprecedented support and recognition.

The overwhelming supportive rhetoric shows that Hong Kong has long suffered under the influence of the Li people.

Subsequently, many of Angela Leong's friends in the entertainment industry showed up to support and encourage her, especially the women, who said that although the child does not have a father, he has countless mothers.

Among them, He Yunshi, who recently gained attention for organizing a charity performance for the Women's Aid Association, reacted the strongest. She wrote a long article denouncing Li Zekai as a "daddy's boy" and quickly forwarded it to major media outlets.

As the one who "broke up the couple," Lai Chiu-yan naturally faced more criticism.

In particular, the poem that Leung Lok-sze quoted at the end was practically a direct accusation against Lai Chiu-yan for interfering in his children's marriages.

The uproar caused by Angela Leong quickly spread to the Chinese entertainment industry.

This naturally garnered the approval of most netizens, but many others felt that perhaps the price hadn't been agreed upon, and that Leung Lok-sze was using her 'son' to exert pressure. After all, he was of the Lai family bloodline; could she really just dismiss it because she said it didn't count?
But soon, this wave of public opinion reached its peak again.

Fan Bingbing directly responded to some media questions about Leung Lok-sze on the international version of Myspace.

Fan Bingbing V: Female celebrities are women too. Why can't female celebrities be together because of love? Why must we view a normal romantic relationship from a worldly perspective?
Besides, we don't need to marry into a wealthy family; we are a wealthy family ourselves.

Even though it was published on the international version and then reposted back to the domestic entertainment industry, Fan Bingbing's queen-like remarks once again gave many fans and female netizens a boost of energy.

"We are the elite ourselves." With this statement, all previous rumors about marrying into wealth and climbing the social ladder will be exposed, and the Chinese entertainment industry has finally welcomed its own queen.

Not only were fans excited, but some celebrities who had already found wealthy patrons were also thrilled, because this was a direct way to clear their names.

Just as public opinion was overwhelmingly supporting and sympathizing with Leung Lok-sze and criticizing the Lai family, a stock commentator with some influence on the international version of Myspace published an article.

'The sun can darken Gutian's music, but it can't darken Li Chaoren's.'

"It's one thing for Hong Kong people to criticize the Li family, but Chinese people have no right to comment on them. You've even hailed a nobody like Gu Tianle as an ancient saint. Shouldn't you check how much Li Chaoren has donated to you over the years?"

This post revealed Li Chaoren's charitable projects in mainland China over the years. He donated over 10 billion yuan to just one university, and most of the donations were anonymous, amounting to 20 to 30 billion yuan.

After this article was reposted back to the Chinese entertainment industry, it quickly topped the trending lists on various platforms, causing an uproar among netizens.

It's unexpected that this Hong Kong's richest man, who is well-known to a generation, would act in such a low-key manner.

Especially after yesterday's comparison, Gutian Le's donation of tens of millions was hyped up like this, so what about Li Chaoren's donation of hundreds of millions?
Riding on the wave of Gu Tianle's popularity yesterday, the Li family's reputation quickly reversed, even forming a counterattack against the Liang Luoshi incident.

After all, one is a philanthropist who has donated hundreds of billions, while the other is a female celebrity who is suspected of using her son to control others; the two are worlds apart in terms of social standing.

Some netizens who were already sensitive to this issue quickly seized the opportunity to start making sarcastic remarks and stirring up trouble everywhere. It's just that some people are inherently hostile to celebrities.

Subsequently, various media outlets began to capitalize on the trend, sharing stories about Li Chaoren, seemingly aiming to elevate him to an unprecedented level.

Soon enough, the story of how the Li family rose to prominence spread across the internet and even became a topic of conversation for many middle-aged and elderly people.

Many netizens who blindly followed the trend to support the Li family gradually became confused.

Because the history of the Li family's rise to wealth is somewhat heartbreaking, everyone knows that the Li family is rich, but basically no one knows where the money came from.

Several of the best-summarized posts analyzed that although the Lai family did not invent pre-sale apartments, they made the best use of this model. Back then, they used this model to acquire almost all the developable land in Hong Kong.

Then, when acquiring Hejiang Company, they used the same tactic of getting something for nothing.

The words "building" and "stock"—two sensitive terms—have silenced many netizens.

Most people have brains; compared to what he donated, it's completely disproportionate to what he earned.

Although Gu Tianle donated a small amount, he contributed most of his personal wealth.

However, that's not all. A new international version of the exposé post, "Zhen Hun Lou," was also transferred to Myspace!
It describes Li Chaoren from another perspective. He is not a self-made man, but a man who ate his wife's money and became rich. After his wife's death, he donated to build a strange library.

The building's main gate is shaped like a copper coin, and the three fountains at the entrance resemble three incense sticks.

There is no elevator in the building, only one-way escalators going up, no escalators going down. The only way to get down is by taking the stairs. What's even stranger is that all the stair railings are made of expensive Liuzhou wood!

The revelations in this post sent a chill down my spine.

Even more terrifying was a reply below the post.

My virtuous wife helped me achieve my lofty ambitions, yet I repaid her with utter darkness.

Furthermore, some people commented by adding the poem that Liang Luoshi quoted in the early morning. The combination of the two instantly gave everyone a sense of horror that went straight to the top of their heads.

'The highest and brightest sun and moon, the closest and most distant couple, husband and wife.'

(End of this chapter)