Chapter 38 (Ginger Candy CP)
Jiang Mingyue and Renato chatted for about five minutes under the streetlights. When it was over, Renato personally accompanied Jiang Mingyue back to her car.
The four people in the car exchanged glances. Since everyone had come over, it would be impolite not to get out and exchange pleasantries, so they got out one after another.
Renato was a gloomy and aloof person, but he still showed the proper courtesy to Don Juan and the others, and took the initiative to shake hands and greet them.
"Hello, I am Renato Weld. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am honored to enjoy the excellent performance of the four gentlemen tonight."
"Miss Jiang told me that you all are going to Capri Island tomorrow. I happen to have invested in a hotel there, so please give me the opportunity to host a vacation for you all."
His words were spoken with grace and composure, and his expression was not arrogant.
Ji Wenxuan and Meng Qinzhou's eyes lit up, but they dared not make the decision on their own and left the decision-making power to Tang Huang and Wei Lai.
Wei Lai originally harbored prejudice against Renato and disliked his closeness to Jiang Mingyue. However, upon hearing that she could get free food, drinks, and entertainment, she immediately abandoned her prejudice and found Renato increasingly pleasing to the eye.
A wealthy and hospitable man is really attractive.
"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Renato. As long as Mingyue has no objections, we have no objections either."
Don Juan and Wei Lai were of the same mind; they had originally planned to stay overnight on Capri Island. Given Jiang Mingyue's personality, she must have already agreed to Renato's proposal.
As expected, Renato followed up on Wei Lai's words and said, "Miss Jiang agreed. She suggested that I come and talk to you in person to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings."
Since Renato had said so, Don Juan and the other three naturally agreed with a smile.
So the group made an appointment with Renato, who would send someone to pick them up at 7:30 the next morning.
On the way back to the guesthouse, Wei Lai clapped her hands excitedly: "Thanks to Mingyue again, we've saved money on tomorrow's travel expenses."
Ji Wenxuan laughed heartily, "The production team probably regrets inviting us to participate in this season's filming."
For five people, a day's accommodation, food, and transportation on the island will cost at least 800 euros. After all, the island is a famous honeymoon destination and a favorite vacation spot for the wealthy and famous, so the cost of living is not cheap.
Don Juan was meticulous and thoughtful. He glanced at Jiang Mingyue in the passenger seat while the light was red and asked, "Mingyue, is Renato's situation troublesome?"
He didn't want her to waste her energy doing things she shouldn't be involved in in order to save money.
Don Juan's words made Wei Lai and the other two's smiles vanish. The three began to reflect on whether they had been too complacent. As expected of the captain, he always thought one step ahead of them.
Wei Lai: "We all forgot if Tang Ge hadn't mentioned it. Mingyue, why are you sitting with Renato?"
Ji Wenxuan: "Mingyue, Brother Tang said that we slept so well at the Diablo Hotel that night because of you. Would you like to elaborate?"
Meng Qinzhou stared at Jiang Mingyue with wide, curious eyes.
After that night, Jiang Mingyue knew that her acquaintance with Renato would definitely be exposed.
The reason we kept it a secret from Wei Lai and the other two in the first place was because we believed it was better to avoid trouble. Now that we all know each other so well, there's no need to hide it anymore.
She briefly explained the story of Beatrix: "On the day I left the Diablo Hotel, I wrote a letter and asked the front desk to give it to him. He happened to be here for the show today, recognized me, and invited me to watch the show with him."
“I was going to refuse, but I found the Doberman he was walking to be quite interesting. He didn’t even realize that his dog’s sense of smell was impaired. Most importantly, one of his three fires had already been extinguished.”
The Earthly Fiend Fire on Renato's left shoulder was extinguished. Earthly Fiend Fire is associated with fierce diseases. Jiang Mingyue didn't want him to die young. She couldn't save Betley's situation, and she didn't want Renato to have any regrets either.
As for whether she will be punished by Heaven for interfering in other people's fates?
Won't.
Renato's life was not meant to end; he had the appearance of a long life, but was simply being harmed by villains.
Having previously agreed to save Liao Tingting, Heaven rewarded her by granting her the ability to control water.
Her purpose in helping Renato was quite simple: to repay Beatrix for his help over the past few days.
Renato's invitation to visit the island was a pleasant surprise.
"People are all about fate. Since I've met him and he's a descendant of Beatrix, I can't just sit idly by. As for his seat at the show, to be honest, I didn't expect him to be in the first row."
Wei Lai and the other two suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."
Wei Lai and her three companions didn't understand the Earthly Fiend Fire and were too embarrassed to pry, so they changed the subject and talked about what to eat for supper that night.
The hot pot will be changed to tomorrow night. Renato will prepare it for them. Logically speaking, since it's past dinner time and they are celebrities, they shouldn't be having a late-night snack.
But I've been so happy tonight that I haven't had dinner, and I probably won't be able to fall asleep without eating something.
Upon arriving at the guesthouse, the production crew brought them vegetables and noodles, deducting fifty euros from their bill.
Wei Lai: "As expected, it has to be the production team. Fifty euros it is, we're not short of money."
As usual, Wei Lai and Tang Huang cooked, Ji Wenxuan and Meng Qinzhou assisted, and Jiang Mingyue waited to eat.
The mixed noodles were cooked all in one pot, and the five of them sat around it, enjoying the pickles that the assistant director had secretly contributed.
After the meal, Jiang Mingyue and Tang Huang stayed behind to clean up the kitchen, while Wei Lai and the other two went upstairs to wash up.
Don Juan handed her the clean plate to wipe it. "Monica asked for your contact information, but I told her I didn't have it and I wouldn't know until I got back to the country. She didn't believe me at all."
"And then?" Jiang Mingyue wiped the water droplets off the plate with a kitchen paper towel.
"She's got a sharp tongue, I can't do anything about it, so I just told her to search for your Weibo account, 'Big Eyes,' and she might follow you."
Jiang Mingyue smiled. Monica was indeed eloquent; someone who made a living in the fashion industry couldn't be a mute.
"Whether I pay attention to it or not, I probably won't look at that stuff."
Don Juan paused. Well, she had already announced her retirement from the entertainment industry, so she probably didn't care about her fan base.
"Mingyue, your performance tonight has truly impressed us. If all goes as expected, your runway video will go viral online. If a magazine invites you to do a photoshoot, would you consider it?"
Jiang Mingyue put the plate on the shelf. "I'm not considering it for now."
Would you like to hear my advice?
Jiang Mingyue raised an eyebrow and looked up at Don Juan, but he didn't look at her and was still carefully washing the cutlery.
Don Juan is the captain and an award-winning actor; he's knowledgeable and experienced, so we can listen to his opinions.
"Okay, go ahead and say it."
Don Juan quickly washed the knife and fork in his hand, but instead of handing them to her, he placed them directly on the shelf to drain.
“Come on, let’s go to the dining table, I’ll write it down for you.”
"good."
For the next half hour, Don Juan explained to her the details of celebrity magazine shoots, including compensation and collaboration models.
Newly debuted idols need exposure, so they usually pay for their own travel and accommodation expenses to shoot for magazines, and they don't get paid.
For celebrities with a certain level of success who take on magazine shoots, the magazine will reimburse a certain percentage of their travel expenses, and their remuneration will be distributed according to sales volume, or they may be offered related endorsement deals.
First- and second-tier celebrities shoot top-tier cover photos, which are then purchased by brands. The brands pay for the shoot and endorsement fees, which is equivalent to indirect product placement.
Another type is regular collaboration, where the magazine pays a fee ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions.
“Mingyue, I know that the breach of contract penalty from Xinghui Entertainment is not a problem for you, but you have helped us so much, and we also want to do what we can.”
"If you're willing to do a magazine shoot, I'd like to invite you to join me for the first cover shoot of 'Tianxiu' next year. Your personal fee will be 500,000, and it won't take up much of your time. The shoot will be held in Luo City. What do you think?"
Don Juan finished speaking in one breath, then looked at her nervously, worried that she would reject him.
Actually, this feeling is quite subtle. Given his current status, countless actresses would want to work with him, but now he's humbling himself in front of her, begging her to cooperate.
To his surprise, Jiang Mingyue agreed almost without hesitation.
"Brother Tang, I agree."
Five hundred thousand! What a windfall!
She just shoots a magazine cover and strikes a few poses; it's simpler than her fortune-telling at a street stall!
Tang Huang was quite surprised that Jiang Mingyue agreed so readily, but then he thought that she might be doing it for his sake.
Regardless, it's good that she agreed.
“Okay, I’ll ask the production team to contact the company and team tomorrow and have them fly over as soon as possible so we can meet up in Luo City.”
"Well, I don't know the specific procedures either, Brother Tang, you can handle it."
Don Juan smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. 'Tianxiu' magazine is under the Star-Making Media Group. I wouldn't say it's number one in sales, but it's consistently in the top three."
Jiang Mingyue trusted Don Juan's character, but she still made a request.
"Five hundred thousand after tax, I like round numbers."
Don Juan hadn't forgotten that she had initially demanded a cash reward of 100,000 after tax from Ping Anling City.
It must be said that she pays great attention to detail, which is excellent and prevents others from taking advantage of her.
"Okay, I'll write it into the contract for you."
…………
Chinese netizens stayed up all night, repeatedly watching Jiang Mingyue's runway video.
Some video editing bloggers even added background music to Jiang Mingyue's runway walk, highlighting the moment when she interacted with the wolfhound.
Once the video was released, it instantly garnered over a million likes and shares.
Wow, who is this girl?! She has such a powerful aura!
Are you a new model?
[Oh my god, is she Jiang Mingyue? She doesn't look like her at all!]
[A second season of a reality TV show? I'll go check it out.]
Jiang Mingyue's Weibo account, known for its large eyes, saw its followers skyrocket, gaining millions of followers overnight, bringing its total follower count to over five million.
Netizens left comments everywhere under Jiang Mingyue's most recent Weibo post.
Why hasn't anyone created a super topic community for Sister Jiang?
Someone answered the netizen's question, "Do you think we don't want to build it? Sister Jiang has already announced her retirement from the entertainment industry; she doesn't want the traffic from the entertainment industry."
Other celebrities' fan groups might get unexpected appearances and replies from the celebrities themselves, but not Sister Jiang's.
Rather than waiting in vain, it's better not to build at all in the first place.
Whether other actresses of similar status in the industry were envious is unknown, but Xinghui Entertainment certainly regretted it.
Liao Zhiwei, the general manager of Xinghui Entertainment, summoned Zhu Min to the company early in the morning and asked Zhu Min to find a way to re-sign Jiang Mingyue.
"Now the industry is laughing at us, and behind our backs they are criticizing us for acting without thinking and letting a future star slip away."
"You should contact the production team immediately and talk to Jiang Mingyue to try and change her mind. Get the breach of contract penalty nullified, and split the revenue 50/50, or even 30/70. Once her Weibo followers surpass 20 million, the revenue split will be 20/80..."
Since terminating her contract with Jiang Mingyue, Zhu Min hasn't slept through the night for the past two weeks.
Not only did she run into a wall with Liu Qiang, but several of her projects also hit a bottleneck.
Faced with the boss's unreasonable demands, Zhu Min endured her throbbing head and agreed first.
"President Liao, I'll give it a try first. I can't guarantee that Jiang Mingyue will change her mind."
Liao Zhiwei made grand promises to Zhu Min, saying, "Zhu Min, I have high hopes for you. If you succeed in this, your year-end bonus will double."
Zhu Min exchanged pleasantries with him for a while before leaving the office.
As soon as she came out, Zhu Min's expression changed. Her smile vanished, replaced by hatred and resentment.
Jiang Mingyue and she had already broken off relations. Jiang Mingyue still had evidence of Jiang Mingyue bribing Liu Qiang. That brat would never come back.
Zhu Min could only appease Xinghui Entertainment for the time being. She needed to find a way to contact Shengda Guangnian and switch jobs there as soon as possible to get rid of this mess.
…………
Early the next morning, Don Juan borrowed the assistant director's phone to contact his agent, Zhou Kai, to arrange the photoshoot for "Tianxiu" magazine.
On the other end of the phone, Zhou Kai, who had followed Don Juan for many years, had a lot of questions.
“You’re practically a boss in the star-making business, so I wouldn’t dare disobey your orders. But you have to tell me the truth: why are you so biased towards Jiang Mingyue?”
“I admit that Jiang Mingyue is very popular now. The video of her walking the runway last night has spread throughout the industry. Her advantage is that it was unexpected. But her value is far from reaching the level of a 500,000 yuan compensation.”
Don Juan silenced Zhou Kai's questions with a single sentence: "She solved the trouble Haiwei caused for me."
Zhou Kai's heart skipped a beat, and his voice trembled, "Haiwei harassed you in Tao City? You weren't caught on camera, were you?!"
"I'll discuss the specific details with you when we get back; it's not convenient right now."
Zhou Kai said "Oh," and then asked, "What do you think of the 'Jiang Tang' couple you and Jiang Mingyue are talking about online?"
The implication is whether the company should intervene and issue a statement clarifying that he is single.
Don Juan: "Netizens are just entertaining themselves, don't worry about it."
Zhou Kai: "..." It would be best if that were the case.
At 7:30, Renato's two assistants arrived at the guesthouse on time and brought a sumptuous breakfast for Jiang Mingyue and her group of five.
To save time, the five of them packed their breakfasts and ate them in the car.
One assistant drove ahead to lead the way, while another took Don Juan's place as their temporary driver.
The program's production team was naturally also invited.
The assistant director waved his hand and sighed, "We were careless and let them save a lot of money again. We must pay attention to the casting for the third season next year."
We can't have another chosen one like Teacher Jiang.
Even the executive director sighed, wondering if his favorite pairing would end badly. What girl could resist a rich and handsome gentleman like Renato?
If he were Teacher Jiang, he definitely wouldn't be able to control himself.
Renato's assistant was meticulous and led the group directly to a private parking lot near the dock, where there were guards to prevent theft.
A shuttle bus then picked them up from the parking lot and took them to the pier, where they boarded a three-story luxury cruise ship bearing the Weld family crest.
"It should take about 50 minutes to get to Capri. You can take a break. Our boss has a meeting this morning, but he will come over to have lunch with you all."
Two assistants led everyone onto the yacht and enthusiastically introduced the yacht's functional areas.
At 9:00 AM local time, Don Juan and his entourage started a live stream, and viewers in the live stream were immediately amazed by the beautiful sea view.
Wow, what a beautiful sea! I didn't expect the seascape to be so beautiful in autumn.
[The brothers are off to the island so soon!]
[Hey, why are there no other tourists on the cruise ship? Did the brothers charter the whole ship?]
[They all seem to be staff members of the production crew]
Where is Sister Jiang?
Where is Jiang Mingyue? She's on a deck chair at the stern, enjoying the scenery.
Meng Qinzhou held up the live-streaming camera and went upstairs to find her. Only after confirming that she was not asleep did he dare to go up to her and chat.
"Sister Jiang, netizens are all praising how beautiful you were on the runway last night."
Jiang Mingyue didn't bother looking at the camera, and when she heard the netizens' praise, she only raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Thank you, it's all thanks to the stylists and designers."
Meng Qinzhou sat down on the chair next to him and continued to help read the comments. "Sister Jiang, netizens praised you for being humble and asked how you are not afraid of wolfhounds. Do you have any secrets?"
Jiang Mingyue chuckled. Of course, she had a secret, but she couldn't tell the truth.
"Wolfdogs are intelligent and well-trained, and I personally prefer large dogs."
At this point, Jiang Mingyue finally looked at the camera and reminded the viewers in the live stream, "I don't recommend that you follow the trend of raising wolfhounds. Please do so within your means."
【Yes, yes, no, don't worry, Sister Jiang, we won't do that】
Sister Jiang thinks too highly of us; wolfhounds are very expensive.
Listen to Sister Jiang
[I need Sister Jiang's lipstick shade]
Meng Qinzhou continued to help by asking, "Sister Jiang, your fans are asking you for the lipstick shade?"
Just then, Don Juan came over with a plate of fruit.
Jiang Mingyue tilted her head and asked him, "Brother Tang, can I reveal the brand of the lipstick during the live stream?"
Don Juan placed the fruit plate next to her. "In principle, no. If you endorse other lipstick brands, then no."
Jiang Mingyue quickly turned to the camera and said, "Listen, I don't have any makeup endorsements. I support girls' freedom to choose their own lipsticks. I'm using A brand's matte lipstick in shade 11."
The production team: "..."
Thank you so much, Teacher Jiang. Luckily, their sponsor isn't in the cosmetics industry.
The assistant director coughed a few times, covering his mouth. "Sigh, I can't control him, I really can't control him, and I shouldn't try."
Hahaha, Sister Jiang is amazing!
Sisters, what's even more amazing is the movie star! He really spoils Sister Jiang!
[Hahaha, our Ginger Sugar Couple is back in action!]
[Thank you so much, Sister Jiang! I'm going to place my order right now!]
On the official website of A-brand cosmetics flagship store, the matte No. 11 lipstick that Jiang Mingyue revealed was sold out within half an hour.
Immediately afterwards, physical flagship stores and major shops also sold out, and two hours later, stores in major cities ran out of stock and requested the headquarters to provide more goods.
Unsurprisingly, this matter alarmed the senior management of the established cosmetics company, who demanded an investigation into the truth behind the sales performance and whether competitors had deliberately shorted the stock.
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