Qi Hao bought a house in the capital.
He's been in the scene for many years, and unlike others who mess around, the money he made allows him to reasonably buy such a large flat in the city center.
At this moment, he and Old Tian are eating spicy strips in the spacious living room.
You take one, I take one, you take a bite, I take a bite...
Although Old Tian was quite unhappy with Qi Hao and wished he could find someone to hack him to pieces, he still bought almost all the spicy strip products available on the market.
He even hired a professional organization to do a hygiene evaluation.
Their goal was to find a spicy strip that was both hygienic and tasty, and then help shoot an ad and do a short-term endorsement.
Qi Hao cherishes his reputation and isn't willing to earn just any money.
Nowadays, there are many pitfalls in food endorsements; you might inadvertently endorse a trash product, which not only harms your reputation but also cheats the consumers who trust you.
As for hygiene, the professional evaluation agency would provide their opinion.
However, as for taste, you have to try it to know.
They opened a bag of spicy strips, each took one, ate it, and then scored it on paper.
After rinsing their mouths, they moved on to the next bag.
"This one doesn't work; it's way too salty."
Qi Hao couldn't finish half a strip and took quite a while to accept another new product from Old Tian.
"This one seems okay."
"No, this one's too spicy; I'll probably have a sore bum tomorrow."
"Can you not say things like that in my house? If someone hears, who knows what they'll think."
"Damn, you should be thankful I'm willing to eat spicy strips with you."
"This isn't fair to the rest of the products. Once we're full, they won't taste good anymore."
"What can we do? Oh hey, this spicy strip is nice."
"Give me one."
Qi Hao tasted it and found that it was indeed quite good.
Even after they had already eaten a bunch of spicy strips, this one called "Little Flying Stick" managed to surprise them.
"Should we eat the rest of these?"
Old Tian looked at the large pile still unopened on the ground, his stomach starting to ache faintly.
"I think we should at least give the other brands a chance. We need to be fair." Qi Hao opened another bag.
"Then you eat them!" Old Tian declared he was striking.
"Ahem, I really think this 'Little Flying Stick' is good, no need to try the others." Qi Hao started to feel a headache over how to deal with the remaining spicy strips.
If only he had a girlfriend.
She could double as a—food disposer when not needed.
"I'll check this spicy strip's test report, let's see, oh, it's pretty good, it's one of the few products that can be rated as excellent."
"Then let's go with this one, try contacting them about shooting an ad, whether we do an endorsement or not, that's secondary."
Qi Hao checked the time; he had to go to the China Film Mansion for the "Oath of Allegiance" press conference.
"Are you going alone?" Old Tian was worried.
Their team originally had five people, two of whom were from Ziwen. Since Qi Hao decided not to renew his contract, those two went back.
Another person originally joined Ziwen with Qi Hao.
However, caught between Qi Hao and Ziwen, he sided with Ziwen and became an informant for them, so Old Tian kicked him out too.
Now Qi Hao only had Old Tian by his side.
"I'll wear a military coat!" After starring in "Bloody Romance," Qi Hao developed a fondness for wearing military coats in winter.
With a hat and mask, no one would recognize him.
He even dared to take the bus dressed like that.
Old Tian contacted the Little Flying Stick spicy strip manufacturer, but they couldn't believe Qi Hao would endorse their product.
"Uh, do you know who our investors are?"
Are scammers today so lacking in professionalism?
Even mentioning a smaller star might get the manufacturer a little interested.
Besides, it's rare for stars to proactively contact brands for endorsements.
"I don't know who your investors are, but I'm not a scammer. How about we meet up and talk? Qi Hao will attend the 'Oath of Allegiance' press conference today. How about tomorrow?"
It's better to meet in person than to exchange a lot of pointless words.
"The Qi Hao you're talking about, are you sure it's the one who played Yang Guo in 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'?"
With Old Tian so confidently insisting on a face-to-face meeting, the Little Flying Stick manufacturer lowered their guard a bit.
They couldn't understand why, but seeing is believing, and they had nothing to lose.
However, there was still a problem. The factory manager awkwardly added:
"Actually, our factory is about to shut down."
"Huh? Your spicy strips taste pretty good, why are you closing down? And didn't you say you had an investor?"
Living with goofballs all day long left Old Tian utterly confused.
"It's because our investor, Huaren, doesn't want to continue investing, so we're shutting down. We've been losing money since the brand was established last year. As for the reason for the losses..." The manager explained helplessly, "For the sake of taste and hygiene, we use genuine high-quality ingredients, so costs are high, and we can't sustain it."
"Then you guys..." Old Tian was troubled.
He eyed the pile of spicy strips on the floor, not wanting to try them anymore.
He's done with spicy strips for the rest of his life.
"We were about to shut down, but if Qi Hao is really willing to endorse us... then I think our factory could still be saved."
The manager hadn't completely dispelled his doubts yet, but he was internally persuading himself that this was the factory's last chance to survive.
Qi Hao debuted at fifteen or sixteen, capturing the hearts of mom fans with his extremely handsome looks and well-behaved personality.
As he grew up, his female fan base expanded from those as young as elementary school students to those as old as eighty-eight.
If he really endorses their spicy strips...
It would definitely resurrect the company!
"Where is your factory located, let's arrange a time to talk."
Old Tian just wanted to quickly satisfy Qi Hao's absurd demands; he felt like a domineering CEO doting on his delicate wife.
Just the thought of it was disgusting.
"Tomorrow, just tomorrow, we'll meet you in the capital!"
Qi Hao was driving himself and had already arrived at the China Film Mansion.
The movie "Oath of Allegiance" was directed by Chen Kexin.
Produced by Huanyi, China Film, and Chen Kexin's own company with an investment of 270 million, it starred Li Lianjie, Liu Dehua, Xu Jinglei, Qi Hao, and a group of veteran actors.
The staff wasn't surprised to see him arriving alone.
People in the industry knew that Qi Hao came from humble beginnings and never liked to put on airs.
This is also why female fans often left lipstick marks all over his face.
If they were attractive, he'd just grin and bear it.
But if the female fans were unattractive, he'd struggle desperately.
"Hua, so early!" Qi Hao was the first to meet Liu Dehua.
Qi Hao's mom was a fan of Liu Dehua.
Qi Hao was also a fan of Liu Dehua.
He never imagined he'd get to work with him one day.
"You're early too. Your coat looks nice. It's really cold today, haha."
Liu Dehua was dressed in a suit, and seeing Qi Hao in a military coat made him feel even colder.
"That's just how the capital is. Once the heating's on, it's warm indoors. Actually, Hua, you should try getting a military coat like mine. You'd look very handsome."
"Haha, really? Let me try it on."
"This is custom-made."
"No wonder it looks so good...how is it?"
"Wow, it's awesome, Hua!"
"Hahaha~ Let me borrow it for a bit."
"No way, I'm cold!"
"You're young, what's the cold to you? Shake it off~"
When Liu Dehua first met Qi Hao, he was fooled by his cold exterior.
But after months of shooting and spending time together, he discovered Qi Hao's humorous side.
After chatting for a while, Shi Dongming, deputy general manager of China Film Group, Weng Li, deputy general manager and spokesperson, and Yu Dong, general manager of Bona Distribution Company, all arrived.
Li Lianjie didn't come; besides Qi Hao and Liu Dehua, Xu Jinglei also attended.
This press conference was mainly about introducing "Oath of Allegiance" and its application for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, which wasn't particularly related to Qi Hao, the third male lead.
The media also inquired about rumors involving him and female celebrities, which were easily addressed by the spokesperson Weng Li on site.
On the surface, Qi Hao remained calm, but internally, he was furiously ranting.
I just helped Old Xu when she slipped, and you guys start rumors about us hugging on set, with all that staring into each other's eyes nonsense.
Doesn't your conscience hurt?
Besides, in the film, she's not only the second wife but also gets involved with the eldest brother. I, as the third brother, would never do something so despicable.
Remembering the rumors during filming and how they'd resurface with the film's release, Qi Hao felt utterly wronged.
He didn't know what was happening.
Every time he shot a film, or even a commercial, rumors about him with women would surface.
If he were truly a playboy, he would accept it.
But the issue is that these rumors are mostly fabricated.
It's like the media in Inner Entertainment, if they can't find newsworthy points, just drag him out and make things up.
Thankfully, the next day, the spicy snack manufacturer rushed to the capital overnight.
In one day and one night's time, it was enough for the manufacturer to confirm if the contact phone number indeed belonged to Qi Hao's manager.
Seeing Qi Hao in person reassured them completely.
The discussions went smoothly.
The main thing was this Little Flying Stick manufacturer reported back to Huaren, saying they secured Qi Hao's endorsement.
When Huaren heard this, they immediately decided to increase investment.
The additional investment not only allowed them to afford Qi Hao as an endorser but also to upgrade equipment and expand production.
With higher sales and larger production, costs could be diluted further, potentially increasing profits.
The dilemma of Little Flying Stick spicy snacks was thus resolved.
The endorsement fee was seven million for two years, a high price, especially since most big stars wouldn't endorse this type of product.
But they only signed for a year for now, partly because Little Flying Stick needs to see the endorsement effect, and partly because Qi Hao's current contract is still with Ziwen, meaning even endorsements he arranges himself need to be shared with Ziwen.
"Mr. Qi, it's been a pleasure working with you!" The factory director breathed a long sigh of relief after the talks.
Life's full of ups and downs like this.
Yesterday, he was worried about imminent bankruptcy, and today he signed one of the four young male stars as an endorser.
"That's kind of you. If possible, I'd like to arrange to shoot a commercial within ten days."
Qi Hao was mainly focused on his task at hand.
Out of this seven million, after taxes, and after sharing with Ziwen and Old Tian, his agent, he wouldn't pocket much at all.
Just around two million, maybe.
"We have a generous budget this time. Mr. Qi, who would you like to shoot this commercial with? Fan Xuexue, An Feng, Gao Yuanyuan, Sun Li..."
The factory director rubbed his hands, looking expectant.
"Better not; they're unlikely to shoot a spicy snack commercial."
Qi Hao did it because he had a task, whereas those A-list actresses had no such tasks.
"Oh, they wouldn't normally, but I think if they knew they would be shooting with you, they'd surely..."
"Stop!"
Qi Hao never expected this old guy to also be one of his anti-fans, listing all the rumored relationships concocted by the media.