When He Xiaoguang heard Ji Ling admit he was the boss, his expression froze for a moment, and then he absentmindedly scratched his head, saying, “Oh, seems like you’re not much older than me.”
‘I’m way older than you, kid.’
Ji Ling didn’t argue. Instead, he said, “You only need to come in on Saturdays. During the week, I’ll give you some written tasks you can do at school. By the way, what’s your major again?”
He Xiaoguang replied, “Film theory.”
Ji Ling furrowed his brow.
Seeing the confusion on Ji Ling’s face, He Xiaoguang quickly explained, “Film theory is a branch of film studies. It looks at the essence of filmmaking, the basic principles, and both general and specific rules. It dives into the ideological, cultural, and artistic aspects of films—examining their content, form, and style, while trying to create a coherent system of critical thinking.”
“Alright, alright, stop,” Ji Ling interrupted.
He Xiaoguang couldn’t help but add, “That’s from Baidu.”
“…” This kid sure talks a lot. “Well, your writing skills must be pretty solid. Can you write soft ads?”
“Uh, never done it before, but I can try,” He Xiaoguang said honestly.
“Good, I’ll give you a sample. As for the pay, you’ll get hourly wages for weekends, and for the tasks I give you during the week, you’ll earn commission based on word count,” Ji Ling said, “Leave me your contact info.”
He Xiaoguang obediently shared his number, then they added each other on WeChat. After hesitating for a moment, he still couldn’t hold back and asked, “Is this really a legit company? Are you the only ones working here? You’re so young—did you graduate from college? You guys aren’t scammers, right?”
‘What would a broke student like you even be worth scamming?’ Ji Ling said flatly, “You can check the business license.”
In the end, Ji Ling officially took He Xiaoguang on board, assigning him to handle some simple promotions mainly aimed at young people on campus. On Ji Ling’s side, he made connections here and there, finally managing to organize events bringing second- and third-tier singers and movie stars to campus.
At the same time, Ji Ling also helped the student clubs secure sponsorships for free. The students in the external relations department were still a bit inexperienced, many of them didn’t know how to go about getting sponsors. So, Ji Ling would help them write proposals, securing a few thousand yuan in sponsorship money each year—he considered it just doing a good deed.
Thanks to Ji Ling’s active involvement, it didn’t take long for him to get recognized by the club leaders and the school departments. But even He Xiaoguang could tell that, in reality, this wasn’t making much money.
Ji Ling had his reasons. With He Xiaoguang helping him manage things on the campus side, he didn’t give up on actively opening business channels. At night, he worked late doing market research and planning, while during the day he ran around looking for projects. Fortunately, his body was still young enough to handle the intense workload.
Even when he was swamped, Ji Ling still made sure to spare half an hour every morning for a jog.
He began to exercise with a plan. After all, he was so busy that even getting sick would be a luxury—if he collapsed, it would be a huge loss.
But this approach of casting a wide net with small business deals wasn’t going to bring in a lot of profit. Ji Ling needed a big contract to really make a breakthrough. Luckily, Ji Ling was more experienced than most—at least he knew exactly what clients wanted to hear and could quickly hone in on what mattered most.
Finally, he secured an opportunity for his company.
A local food company, whose potato chip sales for the year were expected to fall short, hoped to boost their numbers through product placement.
Since they wanted a quick turnaround and immediate results, many large IPs only recruit for product placements after the script is done, so they couldn’t get involved. Also, since the company was local, their budget wasn’t big enough to afford the high rates charged by popular shows.
This kind of half-baked deal had been rejected by many others, but despite that, Ji Ling managed to convince them to give him a shot.
After all, Ji Ling’s company didn’t have much of a reputation yet.
Ji Ling knew how important this first deal was. He did a lot of research, stayed up late writing a plan, and was satisfied with what he came up with. He was ready to meet with the client.
This meeting was like a crucial interview—nothing much to worry about, except that when it came to business, he always had to face clients alone, and that didn’t make him look impressive.
He didn’t want to be looked down on, but he couldn’t exactly bring an intern along to meet the client. Ji Ling looked around at the few people in the office, his gaze landing on the receptionist.
The receptionist was visibly nervous, “Boss, I really don’t know how to handle business meetings!”
“It’s fine, just sit next to me. You don’t need to say anything. Just agree with me now and then, and when they look at you, just smile and nod,” Ji Ling reassured her, preparing her for the battle ahead.
After Ji Ling presented his selected target program to the client, they expressed some doubts. The low-cost web dramas Ji Ling chose were all works that weren’t particularly well-regarded in the industry. While they were cheap to produce, had little competition, and were easier to negotiate, they lacked any real reputation.
With complete confidence, Ji Ling responded, “Our goal is to generate buzz. To be blunt, the quality of the program isn’t our primary concern. As long as it aligns with the theme and leaves a strong impression, the key is to take the product placement from just being in the show to becoming something people remember.”
The client asked how he could guarantee the buzz.
Ji Ling went into a lengthy explanation, convincing the client to trust him.
While Ji Ling was skillfully negotiating, the receptionist stood to the side, smiling like a decorative vase.
However, Ji Ling believed that if he succeeded in landing the deal, the receptionist had played a crucial role. While she was busy acting as eye candy, she’d been exchanging flirty glances with one of the key decision-makers across the table.
Once the client approved, Ji Ling began reaching out to the program producers, and eventually secured a nearly ready-to-air web drama. The show’s main character was a foodie who often ate throughout the show, especially chips at night. The show had already finished filming, but to incorporate the product placement, Ji Ling had the production team awkwardly insert a potato chip box next to the main character during post-production…
When the web drama aired, it was immediately flooded with negative reviews. Ji Ling quickly had He Xiaoguang write several articles and post them on major media websites.
‘Counting the cringiest scenes in XXX—only the part where the main character eats chips isn’t awkward.’
‘Couldn’t stay awake through the show, but the main character eating chips made me hungry.’
‘The best part of this show was the sound of the chips crunching.’
‘The failure of XXX isn’t the chips’ fault.’
Ji Ling hired online trolls to help promote and share the articles. It worked well—many people were swept along by the hype, and by the time they realized what was happening, it was too late.
After the food company conducted market research following the product placement, they saw a noticeable increase in sales. Only then did they express their satisfaction with Ji Ling.
Ji Ling had finally won his first battle.
He received his first decent income and treated the people in his company to red envelopes, making everyone happy.
This case was so typical that it quickly spread through the industry. The method was a bit underhanded, and producers in the entertainment circle jokingly referred to him as ‘the man who crushed a show with potato chips.’
Ji Ling wasn’t bothered by the teasing. The more people joked about him, the more attention he received. With that attention, more people started reaching out to him for projects. His small company was busier than ever, and the revenue from company projects was steadily growing.
But after the first successful deal, Ji Ling began to realize some of the current challenges.
First, his connections in the entertainment industry were still quite limited, and he couldn’t access more opportunities. Second, in order to scale up the company, he needed more funding. Third, they were desperately short on staff. Talented people weren’t willing to take a step down, and Ji Ling didn’t want to settle for anyone unqualified. He had already overworked the few employees he had, and even He Xiaoguang was complaining that he didn’t even have time to read anymore and was about to fail his exams.
So, what should he do?
Ji Ling closed his eyes and sat in his office, deep in thought.
This office was the one used by the former boss. When Ji Ling moved in, he threw out all the tacky decorations and added a few more cabinets. Not long after, the cabinets were nearly packed full.
Even though there were three computers on his desk, it still didn’t feel like enough. His mind was constantly in motion.
They were still using the low-cost model of mixing office and living space, which didn’t exactly help with the company’s image. But the rent was cheap here, and moving into an office building would only raise the costs.
At the end of the day, it all came down to money.
First, he needed to hire more people. Then, he could take on more business, achieve more results, and finally have the capital to go out and seek investment.
Meanwhile, Ji Ling hadn’t given up on the film academy. He frequently interacted with student groups, and with He Xiaoguang’s help in spreading the word—he really couldn’t keep his mouth shut—Ji Ling had gained some recognition at the academy.
But he went even further, sometimes finding time to attend lectures at the academy.
He Xiaoguang couldn’t understand Ji Ling’s behavior. He felt the company was already so busy and that Ji Ling should focus on that instead of getting involved with students, especially since there was no money to be made from it.
Ji Ling, however, remained silent on the matter.
He was putting in all this effort for a reason.
He was fishing, and he was after a big catch.
As for when the fish would bite, Ji Ling continued to wait quietly.
While Ji Ling was busy building his career, he suddenly received a call from Yan Yixuan.
It was late that night, and he was still hunched over his desk working. When an unknown number flashed on his phone, he thought to himself, ‘Who could be calling this late?’
To his surprise, it was Yan Yixuan’s lazy voice that came through the phone.
“You’re still up this late?”
Ji Ling froze for a moment. He’d been so busy lately that he almost forgot about the gold sponsor weighing over him.
He sighed inwardly and leaned back in his chair, letting himself relax for a moment.
“You’re not asleep either, huh?” Ji Ling replied, “What’s up?”
Yan Yixuan chuckled. Even though Ji Ling couldn’t see him, he could almost picture the relaxed, easy-going expression that came with his smile.
“I just wanted to check in, make sure you haven’t starved to death in the streets.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Ji Ling responded dryly.
Yan Yixuan’s voice came back with a hint of playful teasing. “What a pity, I was hoping you’d hit rock bottom and come crying back to me.”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
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