"Surprised? Unexpected? You didn't expect the answer to be so simple, did you?"
"But is it really that simple?"
"As I mentioned at the beginning, the internet is forgetful, and so is human memory."
"Tianyi debuted ten years ago, and has only been in the industry for three years. That means he hasn't appeared in front of the public for seven years."
"In seven years, some people have three children; some have graduated from high school and then from university. On the internet, idols have gone through countless generations."
"Some people might ask, Zhou Tianyi only retired from the music scene, not the entertainment industry, so isn't there any news about him at all?"
"Hey, I'm telling you, yes, that's right."
"Moreover, what you don't know is that he didn't even hold a press conference to announce his retirement from the music scene; he just disappeared quietly."
"So many people on Weibo have never heard of him, let alone know about his glorious past."
"Fortunately, he reappeared recently, still as handsome and dashing as ever."
"The reason why it's hard to answer is quite simple: nobody knows why Tianyi withdrew for no reason."
“But if you think he has no fame at all just because he retired from the music scene, I, Liu Wei, am the first to stand up and disagree.”
“Some people compare Tianyi’s endorsement fees to his, but what you don’t know is that Tianyi’s endorsement fees were astronomical back then.”
"Tianchao Youmei Milk Tea's annual endorsement fee is as high as 40 million yuan. It's the milk tea brand that's said to circle the Earth three and a half times."
"China Mobile's 'Dynamic Era' service, a one-year endorsement fee of 50 million. One of the three major telecom operators in China, the king that once dominated the ringback tone market."
"Bai Ming Cola in China charges 60 million yuan for a one-year endorsement deal. Only the most famous people can get Bai Ming Cola's endorsement."
"These three brands, even after seven years, are now well-known and widely recognized."
"Moreover, there's a little-known fact here: all of these endorsements were made during Tianyi's debut year, which was also the first year he took on these endorsements."
"Back then, endorsement fees were generally not high. Even top singers and actresses rarely earned more than 30 million yuan for endorsements."
"And Tianyi, who has only been in the industry for a year, has set a record for the highest endorsement fee in China that year. Doesn't that prove Tianyi's fame?"
"We didn't receive the entry fee, but the endorsement fee is real. Have you ever seen a company that's a sucker and deliberately inflates the endorsement fee?"
"The reason is that they believe Tianyi has the potential and is worth the price."
"At this point, I know some fans will nitpick and say that Tianyi's highest endorsement fee is only 60 million, which is 20 million less than Kunkun's 80 million endorsement fee."
"Please, even if you haven't studied economics, you should know this term—inflation."
"Back then, we could buy ice cream for a dime, but now ice cream assassins have appeared!"
"Back then, you could buy a pound of pork for just one yuan. Look at how much pork costs now!"
"Back then, a room in the city center cost several thousand yuan. Now, how desperate are people about city center housing prices?"
"How can you be so naive as to compare past prices with present prices? You have to factor in the effects of inflation!"
"I know some people don't have that much patience, so I thoughtfully included the calculation process and results."
"God knows how difficult it is for someone like me who isn't an economist to learn about the effects of inflation, and the most important thing is to explain it in a simple and easy-to-understand way so that no one can't understand it."
"According to the results I provided, although they are not entirely accurate, they are at least not far off."
"Now, let's take into account the impact of inflation and look at Zhou Tianyi's endorsement fee again."
"Youmei, priced at 40 million ten years ago, now adjusted for inflation: 92 million."
"Dynamic Era, ten years ago, the price was 50 million; after factoring in inflation, it's 115 million."
"Bai Ming Cola. Ten years ago, it cost 60 million. After adjusting for inflation, it cost 138 million."
"Open your eyes and look for yourselves. Which of your endorsements isn't better than your Kun Kun's?"
"Even now, there are very few celebrities whose endorsement fees exceed 100 million yuan; they are only a handful."
"Moreover, Tianyi is different from them. They have accumulated endorsements worth over 100 million yuan, but Tianyi's endorsements are worth over 100 million yuan each."
What does this mean?
"That means Tianyi was already a billionaire ten years ago, when he was only seventeen."
"Hiss, this is unthinkable, terrifying to contemplate, utterly horrifying..."
"Okay, that's all for now regarding the second question. If you have any questions about this one, please help answer them if you know the answer."
"I'm going to get some sleep first, and then I'll prepare the response materials for the third question."
"Hey, the third point of contention is truly hilarious."
After reading the whole thing, Ai Kun looked bewildered.
It seemed that she could understand each word individually, but some words were difficult to understand when put together.
For example, the topic of inflation has already touched upon a blind spot in her knowledge.
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle. You think you can make me give up by coming up with new terms? Well, you're going to be disappointed."
She turned on her computer and began searching for information about inflation rates.
While Ai Kun was working tirelessly to find rebuttal evidence, Liu Wei's article went viral once again, with tens of thousands of comments appearing in the comment section in the blink of an eye.
"No wonder we haven't heard from Tianyi. It turns out he's been playing hide-and-seek with us."
"First it was the exorbitant entry fee, now it's the exorbitant endorsement fee, I'm speechless."
"The PhD in economics said that there's no need to go through so much trouble to learn and calculate these things, as they are already covered in some papers. Of course, Liu Wei's calculations are still quite good, with minimal deviation."
"Damn it, all the bloggers I follow have livers, but you have a liver on your body. Three minutes have passed, even the donkeys in the production team wouldn't dare to rest like this."
"After reading it, I opened my mouth wide, but unfortunately I'm not cultured enough, so all I could say was 'Holy crap, that's awesome.'"
Meanwhile, a netizen posted a picture.
The above lists the total number of brands endorsed by Zhou Tianyi.
The quantity is not large; besides what Liu Wei just mentioned, there are also some familiar products.
For example, hand-pulled pancakes, Emma electric scooters...
The endorsement fees aren't high, but they're generally over 30 million.
Upon seeing this data, netizens truly witnessed the terrifying power of Zhou Tianyi.
However, when netizens visited the Weibo pages of these brands, they were even more surprised.
Because some brands still have Zhou Tianyi's advertisements on their Weibo pages.
Emma Electric Scooter's Weibo homepage: Zhou Tianyi sat on the electric scooter, looking cool and arrogant, and recited advertising slogans.
The Weibo page of Youmei Milk Tea: Zhou Tianyi is sitting in a milk tea shop with a woman. Zhou Tianyi takes out a milk tea, hands it to the woman, and says the classic advertising slogan.
The Weibo homepage of Shiquan Shimei Hand-Pulled Pancake: Zhou Tianyi took a bite of the hand-pulled pancake, and the expression of enjoyment on his face was etched in the hearts of the audience.
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