Chapter 367: Taking the Lead
After the host introduced the identities of the three foreign guests, the Bazaar Star Charity Night officially began.
The theme of this charity night is "Assistance to abducted children" and "Assistance to poor children with serious illnesses". All the funds raised that night will be donated to the China Children and Teenagers' Aid Charity Foundation to promote these two public welfare projects.
On the stage, Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbing, Chen Kun, Huang Xiaoming... the annual "Top Ten Charity Stars" shone brightly, passionately shared their respective philanthropic experiences, and received applause and praise from the audience.
Liu Shishi looked at the stars on the stage, turned slightly and said to her husband: "Su Mang contacted me before and asked if I would like to be the "Charity Star". After considering it, I declined."
Song Ci glanced at the stars and celebrities toasting at the venue and said, "It's right to refuse. Nowadays, the Bazaar Charity Night has gradually changed. It's more like a stage for stars to compete for attention."
After saying this, he glanced at Delphine and the other two, and smiled slightly self-deprecatingly: "Come to think of it, I am also adding fuel to the flames, speeding up the transformation of the charity into a place of fame and fortune."
Liu Shishi reached out and gently held Song Ci's hand: "But no matter what, raising money is always beneficial to charity."
Song Ci nodded slightly. After all, there are two sides to every story. He stopped worrying and said, "By the way, Shishi, how many Hope Primary Schools have been built with your Poetry Charity Fund?"
When talking about building schools, Liu Shishi's eyes widened and she was full of pride: "We have built 12 schools! Sister Tong is really capable and has managed the foundation in an orderly manner."
"Our family is not short of money. I will inject another 100 million into your fund someday to build a few more schools." Song Ci's words were gentle but firm, with a transcendent state of mind of "helping the world when one is successful."
Liu Shishi smiled and responded playfully, "Mr. Song is really generous. I will definitely put your money to good use."
At this time, it was Liu Yifei's turn to give her acceptance speech on stage.
The Fairy Sister wore a pink halter-neck dress, which made her skin look whiter than snow and she was very beautiful. Even when standing next to several big stars, her aura was not inferior to others.
Liu Shishi suddenly remembered something and asked, "Honey, why did Tengda Culture suddenly withdraw its investment in the movie "Tongquetai" starring her and Chow Yun-fa?"
Song Ci looked normal, pretending not to know: "I don't know, maybe the people below don't think highly of this project."
Liu Shishi frowned slightly, looking a little helpless: "It's so annoying. With Tengda Culture's withdrawal of investment, no company in the industry dared to take over the investment.
Her fans went to my Weibo and said something sarcastic, saying that I was jealous of her collaboration with Chow Yun-fat and was deliberately interfering. Don’t you think that’s infuriating?”
Song Ci chuckled and soothed him, "Don't worry. Let the Bullets Fly was a big hit at the beginning of the year. Just based on Chow Yun-fat's box office appeal, there will be companies willing to invest. What's more, the heroine is Liu Tianxian. There is definitely no shortage of investors for Bronze Sparrow Tower."
Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi tilted her head slightly and looked at her husband with interest: "You call her Liu Tianxian?"
Song Ci said seriously: "What's the problem? After all, I grew up watching her TV series. In fact, I am also her fan."
Liu Shishi glared at her husband with her beautiful eyes and said jokingly, "Anti-fans are more like that!"
Song Ci couldn't help laughing: "How can you accuse a good person out of nothing?"
After the "fruit sharing" session ended, the charity auction officially kicked off, and at the same time, hotel service staff began to serve dishes in an orderly manner.
Song Ci flipped open the menu and glanced at it. The appetizer was rose salt-grilled tuna and figs, served with shepherd's purse, winter antlers and fire-eye bird's nest soup. There were three main courses: slow-roasted beef, pumpkin mashed potatoes, red wine sauce, and finally a Deep Bay Garden dessert.
“Dear guests, next up is the most exciting charity auction!”
"The first lot is a limited edition handbag provided by Dior, one of the sponsors of this charity event. The starting price is 100,000 yuan."
As soon as the host finished speaking, a burst of discussion broke out at the scene.
The global president of Dior was sitting at the table. If he could take a picture of this bag, he would not only win the first prize, but might also leave a deep impression in front of the brand's senior management, which would be killing two birds with one stone.
Feeling the warm atmosphere, Delphine, who was wearing simultaneous interpretation headphones, thought for a moment, leaned over slightly and said to Song Ci:
"Mr. Song, if the person who eventually buys this handbag is a celebrity, she will become a brand friend of Dior after Dior has investigated and confirmed that she has a good image and no negative news."
Song Ci was stunned for a moment, then he understood the deep meaning. He had to admire Delphine's cleverness. This move was definitely a sure win.
First of all, for Dior, there is nothing wrong in awarding a brand friend title.
Moreover, the person who can buy this handbag must be a celebrity with a certain status and financial strength in the circle. Dior will not suffer any loss by cooperating with such a person with commercial value.
After getting Delphine's promise, Song Ci looked around and found Sha Xiaoli standing not far away. He raised his hand to motion her to come over.
Seeing this, Sha Xiaoli hurried forward and leaned closer: "Director Song, what do you need?"
She received Su Mang's instructions to be on standby near Table No. 1 tonight and make sure to take good care of the richest couple and the three important guests and ensure that their needs are responded to in a timely manner.
"Ms. Delphine...you tell the host this news and announce it after the auction is over."
Listening to the richest man relaying the temporary decision of Dior's president, Sha Xiaoli was shocked and felt regretful at the same time.
If this news was announced before the auction, the bidding for the first item would probably soar to a sky-high price. I wonder how many actresses would be willing to pay for this title.
He quickly calmed down and responded respectfully: "Director Song, I will arrange it right away."
Liu Shishi looked at Sha Xiaoli's slender back and said, "I always feel that she is too attentive. With her position, she doesn't need to do these small things herself. She stood by and accompanied us the whole time. It's really hard for her."
Song Ci chuckled, speaking with a clear insight into the world: "I just want to advance. Although the executive editor has considerable power, compared to the position of president of a fashion group or editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, the status is still far different."
After that, he skillfully cut off a piece of tender and juicy roast beef with a knife and fork. Seeing that his wife was keeping in shape and was reluctant to move the cutlery, he naturally forked the beef to her lips and whispered softly, "It tastes good. Would you like to try it, honey?"
In public, Liu Shishi's cheeks turned slightly red, but she couldn't help feeling sweet because of her husband's intimate behavior. She opened her lips slightly, enjoying her husband feeding her in public, and her eyes were full of unconcealable happiness.
The "poetry" couple was showing affection to each other as if no one was around. On the other hand, Zhao Liying had been focusing on table number one.
After she saw the president of Dior talking to Song Ci, and then Song Ci had a brief contact with the executive editor of Harper's Bazaar, she couldn't help but secretly speculate that if she took a picture of the Dior handbag, there might be an unexpected surprise.
"120,000!" Zhang Ziyi took the lead, raised the number plate, and started tonight's charity auction.
“150,000!” “180,000!”
The famous actresses Zhou Xun and Zhao Zhatian, who were sitting at the same table, were not to be outdone and followed suit in raising the price.
“200,000!”
Li Bingbing turned to look at his friend who suddenly made the bid: "Xiao Ming, why are you joining in the fun?"
Huang Xiaoming grinned and looked at his girlfriend lovingly: "Baby likes it, so I'll join in."
Seeing that this popular young actor, known as the "little giant of Chinese entertainment", looked like he had fallen in love, Li Bingbing shook her head helplessly. There were some things she was not in a position to say more about.
The eight people at their table were originally arranged to have four female actors and two male actors, plus Huang Xiaoming and Chen Kun, all of whom are first-line stars in the circle.
But since Xu Jinglei offended the top female star last time, she has gradually faded out of the limelight and basically no longer participates in such activities, so there is an empty seat at the table.
Huang Xiaoming's girlfriend Yang Ying, who was a model, took the opportunity to fill the vacancy. Although everyone present was unhappy, they turned a blind eye to it for Huang Xiaoming's sake.
Li Bingbing leaned closer and whispered, "By the way, Xiao Ming, Ah Quan just told me that it's rare that LeTV's boss Jia is here, so let's go and toast him with a glass of wine later."
"Okay!" Huang Xiaoming's face was full of excitement. He was extremely grateful to Ren Quan and felt that it was a wise choice to follow him to invest in LeTV.
Today, LeTV's market value has exceeded 10 billion, surpassing Huayi Company, and its share price has tripled compared to when they first invested. They have made huge profits.
Yang Ying shook her boyfriend's arm and asked in a sweet voice, "Xiao Ming, what is Sister Lian Bingbing talking about? She looks so happy."
"I'm going to toast to Boss Jia later. Baby, will you join me?"
"Of course." How could Yang Ying miss the opportunity to make friends with bigwigs in the industry!
But compared to Boss Jia, she hoped to get close to the richest man. Looking through the crowd, she saw the sweet scene of Liu Shishi being fed by the richest man, and a hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes.
"Xiao Ming, should we go and pay a visit to Mr. Song?"
Huang Xiaoming hesitated. Subjectively, he wanted to go, but the gap between the circles was too big. It would be abrupt to go forward rashly. "It depends on the situation. I'll go when there's a suitable opportunity."
At this moment, Jing Tian, who was sitting next to Liu Jiang, the founder of Fashion Group, held up his number plate: "50!"
For a Dior handbag, this price is already very high, and most female stars choose to give up.
Wu Dawei on the stage dropped the hammer with a clang: "Ms. Jingtian bids 500,000! Is there anyone else who wants to bid? 500,000 for the first time! 500,000 for the second time..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted. "520,000."
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and found that it was Zhao Liying, an artist under Tengda Culture, who was bidding.
Her classmates Yang Mi, Yang Zi, and Wang Luodan all looked at Zhao Liying in surprise. They couldn't believe that even several big-name actresses had stopped protesting, but she would actually hold up a sign!
The wealthy lady in the world, Hua Jing, is very wealthy: "580,000!"
Zhao Liying blurted out: "600,000!"
Jingtian glanced at Zhao Liying and slowly raised his sign: "650,000."
Looking at the half-smiley expressions of the actresses at the same table, Zhao Liying bit her lip and struggled internally. She actually had no money! After subscribing to the company's shares, she had no money left in her pocket and was currently living on borrowed money.
Wang Luodan chuckled: "Some people should stop pretending to be rich."
This sentence completely aroused Zhao Liying's competitive spirit. She thought that at worst, she could just go and borrow money from Liu Shishi. She immediately made up her mind and decided to fight to the end: "700,000."
Seeing that Zhao Liying was so determined, Jingtian put down the number plate in his hand and decided to help them.
"...700,000 for the third time. Congratulations to Zhao Liying for winning this limited edition Dior handbag."
As the auction hammer fell, Ke Lan took a deep breath and announced excitedly: "I have some special good news to tell Liying.
Miss Delphine just promised that the celebrity who bought this handbag will become a Dior brand friend as long as they pass Dior's audit and have no problems with their conduct!"
A single stone can cause a thousand ripples. As soon as these words were spoken, the audience exploded. To gain the status of a Dior brand friend for 700,000 yuan is simply pie in the sky.
Many actresses regretted it very much, as they didn't expect that the president of Dior would not play by the rules.
"Liying, congratulations." As the top man in the company, Qiao Zhengyu took the lead in congratulating.
Zhao Liying was delighted and was glad that she had made the right bet. It turned out that the bold ones enjoy the world first.
The people at the same table were all smart people. They figured out the whole thing in an instant and felt sorry for missing such an important opportunity. They immediately fixed their eyes on table number one.
At this time, Liu Rong, who also came to participate in the charity night, came to this table, congratulated Zhao Li for winning the award, and instructed: "After Mr. Zhang, Mr. Liu and I toast to Mr. Song and his wife, you should also go and say hello. Don't be rude."
"Okay, Mr. Liu." "Got it!" Several big stars responded and filled their wine glasses with red wine.
After Liu Rong returned to the table, he picked up the wine glass and winked at Liu Yan and Zhang Zhao at the same table. The two understood each other, picked up their glasses tacitly, and went to table number one together.
"Mr. Song, Madam, we would like to offer you a toast."
Seeing that the three senior executives had come, Song Ci naturally would not refuse to show respect to them. He and his wife stood up and held up the cups: "Thank you! I can't drink much, so I can only drink a little."
"As you like, let's drink up!" After the three of them clinked glasses with the big boss and the first sister, they drank the red wine in the glass.
"Madam is so radiant today, she outshines all the female stars present."
Ms. Liu Rong and Ms. Liu Yan looked at Zhang Zhao in disbelief. They didn't expect that a big and strong man like him would flatter his wife like this. The two of them were not to be outdone and praised her in various ways, making Ms. Liu smile.
The toasts from the three presidents of Tengda seemed to open the floodgates for tonight's social gatherings. People left their seats, toasted each other, and were busy expanding their networks.
The Tengda stars saw the opportunity and toasted Song Ci and Liu Shishi together. Facing the company's artists and in a good mood, Song Ci rarely drank half a glass of red wine with them.
The richest man raised his glass and said, "Congratulations, Liying, you are the first Dior brand friend in China. When your career reaches a higher level, becoming a brand ambassador is not a dream."
"Thank you, Mr. Song, for your good wishes." Zhao Liying drank the red wine in the glass in one gulp with great enthusiasm.
Song Ci smiled and shook his head: "This is not how you drink red wine, this is how you drink white wine."
After the Tengda stars left, Song Ci clinked glasses with three distinguished guests, Delphine, Henri Pinault and Nick Hayek. After drinking all the red wine in the glass, he called the waiter to ask for the wine glasses to be removed, making it clear that he would no longer accept toasts.
(End of this chapter)
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