Chapter 18: My Favorite Cheese...

Despite the barrage of criticism, the rumors surrounding Wen Shili's alleged girlfriend spread far and wide.

With this title, Sheng Yi's number of fans quickly exceeded one million and doubled in just a few days.

Brands with a keen sense of opportunity seized the opportunity and approached Shengyi for a live-streamed product launch event.

Sheng Yi looked at her more than two million followers and hesitated for a long time.

No one knows better than her how inflated those figures are; it would be incredibly embarrassing if no one watched the live stream.

The brand, however, felt these were minor issues. "It's fine. There are no KPIs for our live streams. You can just sit there and say whatever you want, and we'll take care of the rest."

Sheng Yi thought about it and agreed, because the money offered was simply too much.

The rules for the "flip the card" event are simple: fans post on Weibo with the hashtag, and after the live stream ends, Sheng Yi randomly selects questions to answer.

Of course, considering that she had only recently become famous, the brand took precautions, with staff members posing as fans to cooperate with her.

Once the live stream announcement was released, netizens and marketing accounts were busy spreading the word, and thanks to their efforts, the data was actually quite decent when the live stream actually started.

Sheng Yi, standing in front of the camera, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems she underestimated the appeal of gossip to netizens.

The live stream quickly garnered over three million views, and the brand staff beamed with joy, generously adding two more rounds of prize draws.

"My god, I came here to watch the fun, but I'm being bombarded with money!"

"The event announcement mentioned a lucky draw, but no one said it would be giving away gold bars."

"This is a real sugar daddy! Daddy, do you need any more kids?"

Viewers who were just busy typing question marks and spamming black comments immediately put down their keyboards and joined the giveaway frenzy. The live stream was instantly filled with lively and joyous chatter.

Sheng Yi sat in front of the camera, smiling, awkwardly smiling, and helplessly smiling.

Why does she think the brand specifically asked her to be their mascot?

The netizens who won the gifts were very emotionally invested, praising the brand and exaggerating the kindness shown to them, making them feel like they were floating on clouds.

No one expected things to turn out this way; before they knew it, the game had reached the card-flipping segment.

Hearing that netizens who get noticed can also receive gifts, the bewildered onlookers rolled up their sleeves and started posting on Weibo with the hashtag.

Sheng Yi sat in front of the computer and replied to a few "familiar" fans.

The questions were trivial, just her opinion on the brand and her upcoming schedule. Sheng Yi had rehearsed the lines with the staff beforehand, so there were basically no mistakes.

To make it seem natural and authentic, she also replied to a few of the most recently posted posts.

When people compliment her on her beauty, she compliments their good taste. When asked to do more business, she replies with an emoji to indicate she saw it. As for whether she actually does it, who knows?

One netizen was particularly excited, excitedly taking screenshots to thank the brand and the woman, saying that she had noticed her a long time ago, but had never had the chance to express her goodwill.

Sheng Yi felt a subtle bittersweetness.

Seeing this, the brand staff quietly indicated that the event could almost be concluded.

Sheng Yi cheered herself up and said, "It's okay, I'll reply to one last message."

The topic page refreshes dozens of times per second, 99% of which are meaningless confessions mixed with gossip. Sheng Yi squinted and searched for a long time before finally finding a post that had nothing to do with Wen Shili.

This problem was easy to solve. Sheng Yi relaxed, quickly replied with a couple of sentences, and then left work on time.

She thought she would call it a day after finishing this job and didn't expect any follow-up. But the next morning, a brand representative forwarded her a Weibo post, which was a summary of the event's results.

The other party also said that their boss was very satisfied with the results of the event and wanted to cooperate with her in more depth, asking if she had any difficulties.

Sheng Yi hesitated for ten seconds before replying.

The other party quickly sent over the contract terms.

Such speed actually startled Sheng Yi a bit.

She sent the contract to Lao Qian, saying, "Let me see if there are any pitfalls."

The voice call had barely ended when Lao Qian called, "So you've hooked up with her?"

"What flirting? They just have good taste."

"I told you long ago you should have made a living in the entertainment industry. All these years, my judgment hasn't diminished." Old Qian didn't seem to need her to say anything; he just kept praising himself, seemingly trying to say something.

What Sheng Yi didn't know was that, thanks to her popularity, the live stream viewership eventually exceeded eight million, the topic's readership surpassed one million, and the brand gained a significant number of followers across all platforms.

Moreover, she was more easygoing and prettier than I had imagined.

Of course, most importantly, signing her now would only cost a fraction of the endorsement fee of a top star, while generating real buzz.

As for the future, who can say for sure? It's just a gamble.

The two sides hit it off immediately and quickly finalized the cooperation agreement.

Everything went so smoothly that it was almost unexpected; Sheng Yi felt like she was dreaming.

However, at the last minute before the stamp was abruptly interrupted.

The brand representative didn't give specifics, only indicating that she should check Weibo.

Sheng Yi was in a state of panic, and clicked the button with trembling hands, only to withdraw it with a start.

Who can tell her what they're talking about?

She had only replied with an ordinary ID, so why has that person's nickname suddenly changed to "Teacher Wen's Little Yi Yi"?

Sheng Yi's vision went black.

Even if she's not very bright, she'd still be able to tell what the ingredients are!

When Wen Shili got angry, he didn't just get angry for a moment; she wanted to mooch meals off him for a long time.

When she looked more closely, she realized that the nickname was nothing special.

Netizens were also amazed, commenting, "That's bold!"

The chat conversation was screenshotted and posted online with translations and interpretations, to the point that Sheng Yi could no longer recognize the words on it.

Ms. Wen's question was unremarkable: "Ms. Sheng, what's your favorite cheese?"

Sheng Yi thought for a moment and replied, "You mean the method?"

Teacher Wen's little secret: "Mmm [winking emoji]"

Sheng Yi: "Put it in the dessert."

She didn't know why such a pure conversation would be distorted like that.

"Pfft, hahaha—" When I video chatted with Wu Simin that night, the woman was laughing and pounding the bed on the other end of the phone.

Sheng Yi glared at her with a stern face, "Is it that funny?"

"No, the way you drive so seriously is really funny, you know?"

"I..." Sheng Yi was exhausted.

That's clearly not what they meant! Why can't you distinguish between retroflex and alveolar consonants?

"Stop struggling, have you seen that girl's Weibo?" Wu Simin said with a smile.

"I saw it." Sheng Yi said weakly.

If she hadn't seen it, she would have already gotten up and fought them three hundred rounds. But, no matter how you look at it, that girl's Weibo post is just not convincing; it's obvious she's a fan of the Wen Shili couple.

As one netizen put it, clicking on it almost made you trip over your underwear.

-

"elder brother!"

Cao Jun, carrying a laptop, pushed open the door and entered. "Take a look and see what kind of style you like?"

The photos I took a few days ago are finally edited, but I haven't received a reply to my boss's message all morning, so he just brought them over for me to choose from in person. I accidentally mispronounced one of the words.

He vaguely heard a "bang," but before he could think any further, Cao Jun quickly tried to cover it up, "Oops, position. See what position you like."

Fortunately, Wen Shili doesn't usually check Weibo, so it's likely that Sheng Yi wouldn't bring up such an awkward topic with him.

That old lady Sheng Yi is really something, she manages to get herself into the headlines every now and then. With her constantly causing trouble, the studio's PR budget will probably have to be increased.

Anyway, they can communicate and resolve their own issues. As long as the person in question doesn't care, he doesn't want to get involved.

Seeing that Wen Shili did not react, Cao Jun quietly relaxed and leaned closer with his computer in hand.

Wen Shili calmly put the phone, which was face down on the table, into the drawer. "Why didn't you knock?"

"Uh, I'm used to it." Cao Jun scratched his head.

Wen Shili was never particular about such trivial matters. This time, it seemed more like a casual remark, which was then quickly forgotten.

They had already screened the photos internally, and Wen Shili made a decision quickly after looking at them for a few minutes.

Cao Jun finished his task and happily left with his computer. As he closed the door, he saw Wen Shili leaning back in his chair, gazing out the window in a daze.

-

The previous blunder did not affect the final result.

Fortunately, a fan took a screenshot immediately, indicating that "Teacher Wen's Little Yiyi" was a nickname that was changed temporarily after being replied to, and Sheng Yi was also tricked without knowing it.

While netizens found it funny, most of their comments were lighthearted and sarcastic.

Sheng Yi quickly signed a contract with the brand and simultaneously released an official announcement of her endorsement on Weibo.

The fans were completely bewildered. After a moment of stunned silence, they started dividing up the tasks. Some praised Sheng Yi's ROI, saying that a single live stream could bring in subsequent endorsements, while others were busy placing orders and adding items to their carts immediately, filling the comment section with screenshots of their purchases.

Sheng Yi was stunned by how skilled she was at the job; it seemed like she really had fans.

Even Wu Simin publicly posted her order on Weibo, saying she supported her first endorsement.

Xiao You, who had been completely silent lately, also sent her a message on this day.

She recently traveled abroad and brought back souvenirs for Shengyi, which are now at her doorstep.

Sheng Yi invited her to stay for dinner, but she shook the bag full of gifts in her hand and said she still had to deliver them to other people.

It was a very pretty pendant, which Shengyi casually hung on her bag.

A few days later, she saw it trending again on social media.

Someone posted a picture showing a similar chain hanging on a Wen Shi gift bag. It is said that such chains are only available on a small island in a certain country. They are handmade and cost a lot of money, so they are not the kind of gifts you can just grab at a street stall.

This adds another strong piece of evidence to the rumors of an affair between Sheng Yi and Wen Shili.

Cao Jun quickly removed the pendant from the bag, and awkwardly laughed under Wen Shili's glare, "Haha, that looks like my bag in the picture."

How could he have known that someone would distribute such a rare souvenir to everyone they met! Indeed, the young lady's generosity was beyond the comprehension of people like them.

Sheng Yi was completely dumbfounded. "No way, this actually works?"

With the physical evidence irrefutable, netizens went into overdrive, meticulously comparing everything that Wen Shili and Sheng Yi had exposed, and then discovered...

Wow, I never knew my ancestors had mines!

At the beginning of this year, both of their Weibo locations stayed at the same IP address, but a week later, they both changed to another IP address that was the same.

Wen Shili's assistant is often seen carrying shopping bags from a certain breakfast shop, and Sheng Yi has publicly stated at previous events that she is a regular customer of that shop.

Wen Shili's latest single has only two characters, and the first letter of each character happens to match the first letter of Sheng Yi's name.

Wen Shili rarely promotes a domestic animation, and Sheng Yi also expressed on Weibo that she cried while watching it in the cinema.

Wen Shili's support color is blue, and Sheng Yifa's Weibo posts show him wearing blue clothes the most.

Even just recently, the two of them went on the same flight.

Most importantly, after the concert celebration banquet, Sheng Yi got into Wen Shili's car.

If all of this is fake, then what is real?