Chapter 17: A Series of Endorsements Arrive

Page 1/3

Gu Jingyi completely lost track of time, unwilling to let day turn into night. He had been holding back for quite a while, and the filming of "Idol Trainee" added a certain mentor aura to Cheng Xiao. This made their interactions carry a touch of forbidden romance. At nineteen, in the prime of his vitality, he was so engrossed that he truly disregarded the passing of time.

At a little past two in the afternoon, his manager Lin Ze was waiting downstairs at the hotel with two gaming chairs, yet there was still no sign of him. Lin Ze had no choice but to get out of the car and offer him some “friendly” door-to-door service.

"Xiao Jing, I’ve told you before: if you don’t take care of yourself when you’re young, you’ll have nothing but regrets in middle age. Look at you—how can you look so bleary-eyed and half-asleep? Don’t tell me you stayed up all night after recording yesterday."

Sitting in the front seat of the business van, Lin Ze turned around to size up Gu Jingyi in the back, his weariness making Lin Ze speechless.

"Not too bad, I only slept for an hour yesterday. I just fell asleep and you came to drag me back to work," Gu Jingyi rubbed his eyes and spoke lazily.

He had hardly been asleep when his manager came knocking to urge him on. If he wasn’t tired after staying up all night, who else would be?

Without further ado, Lin Ze took out a cup of iced Americano from the car’s mini fridge.

"Drink up quickly; we have several commercials to shoot later."

When Gu Jingyi first joined "Idol Trainee," it was like a short break to reset himself. But that didn’t mean Lin Ze, as his manager, could rest; in fact, he was even busier.

In December 2017, the broadcast of "A Little Happiness" was nearing its end. Gu Jingyi officially entered the public eye through this drama and gained a legion of fans. For an artist on the rise, no day was easy for a manager.

There were endless tedious tasks: securing new film and television opportunities, liaising with business partners, communicating with the senior management at Huace Media about the artist’s status, strategizing marketing campaigns, and negotiating details for magazine advertisements...

Page 2/3

There was so much meticulous work that Lin Ze had to handle personally. Moreover, Gu Jingyi’s team was still incomplete, with very few people available to share the workload.

Therefore, Lin Ze took advantage of the time Gu Jingyi spent shooting commercials to discuss face-to-face on the way, confirming all upcoming tasks and details one by one.

Once everything was settled, Gu Jingyi put on his sleep mask and began to catch up on rest.

An hour later, they arrived at the commercial shoot location.

The first endorsement he was shooting was for Yiyezi facial masks, a skincare product.

Don’t think that endorsing Yiyezi meant Gu Jingyi was downgrading; last year’s spokesperson for Yiyezi was Lu Han.

As an emerging brand, Yiyezi had a considerable presence on major TV stations and was often a sponsor on various variety shows.

At the same time, Kris Wu was endorsing Hanshu. In 2017, landing a skincare endorsement was already a good opportunity.

Gu Jingyi valued the exposure; every time the commercial aired, he appeared alongside the mask, gaining more visibility.

Wasn’t this far better than endorsing a high-end skincare sub-brand? Gu Jingyi wasn’t about to exploit his fans for profit!

...

"A Little Happiness" was also very popular in South Korea and Southeast Asia, especially South Korea. It was the first youth drama to be featured on Netflix, helping Gu Jingyi and Shen Yue rise quickly to fame.

For Korean fans, there was so much unresolved emotion tied to Gu Jingyi.

JYP trainee Shin Youna habitually opened the PANN forum and saw a recommended post on the homepage.

Title: “In the overlooked corners, the new facial mountain of 'Produce 202' stars in the campus drama 'A Little Happiness.'”

Content: The third ranking announcement ceremony of "Produce 202" revealed the center position—Gu Jingyi.

Attached were several photos: polished official voting pictures from the audition period, fan-shared screenshots highlighting his looks on the show, and Gu Jingyi’s own selfies.

Finally, there were stills of Gu Jingyi in "A Little Happiness," portraying the cold-faced campus male idol turning to look at Shen Yue.

All pictures were of the same person, only differing in styling and hair color.

Page 3/3

But the common thread was: he was all strikingly handsome, ahead of his time.

“Ahhh, is Gu Jingyi making a comeback?”

Shin Youna, who had been a bit sleepy, immediately perked up and hurriedly clicked in.

In the forum post, many former fans explained everything that happened after Gu Jingyi returned to China.

For instance, after withdrawing from the competition, he took the national college entrance exam in China. After just a few months of preparation, he was admitted to the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music.

Also, when casting for the male lead in "A Little Happiness," Huace Media selected Gu Jingyi from hundreds of amateur resumes based solely on a single ID photo.

Besides "A Little Happiness," the post also mentioned Gu Jingyi’s participation in the Huaxia talent competition.

This stirred some fans who were still lost in the dream world of the drama and those who had followed Gu Jingyi’s fierce battles in the contests, leaving them restless.

“Ah, please don’t use Gu Jingyi’s image as a weapon! I was just admiring how handsome he was in 'A Little Happiness,' and then seeing news of him in the Huaxia contest—I suddenly remembered those days when he was the clear favorite but had to quit.”

“???? My Gu Jingyi! How much does he love the stage? Did An Junying see that? Please, 'Produce 202,' give us a reasonable explanation. Gu Jingyi loved the stage so much—how could he quit at the peak of his popularity for personal reasons?”

“It really hurts. This was my first time following a talent show and encountering such an acknowledged beauty. Who would have thought he was forced off by rigged votes? It’s so heartbreaking.”

“Surely someone in the production didn’t want a foreigner to debut as center and sabotaged him behind the scenes, right? Entertainment knows no borders! Fans of Gu Jingyi, both Chinese and Korean, unite! Fight for justice for Gu Jingyi! If our protests become impossible to ignore, they will have to explain. We have the right to know the truth!”

“Gu Jingyi’s life was stolen just like that. On debut night, several vote counts didn’t match the popularity. How many more youths’ dreams and efforts will capitalists destroy? Writing this, tears fall inexplicably. No matter if Gu Jingyi continues in China or goes back to Korea, I will always support him and keep rooting for 'Idol Trainee.'”

"Produce 202" was phenomenally popular in South Korea, topping all trend charts on Korean websites. Gu Jingyi, as one of the most popular and discussed contestants, always attracted attention from both Korean and international fans.

Although some of his fans shifted their support to the newly debuted boy group, when Gu Jingyi reemerged with "A Little Happiness," hashtags like #GuJingyiALittleHappiness and #GuJingyiIdolTrainee skyrocketed to become the hottest topics on Korean social media.

Just finishing the commercial shoot, Gu Jingyi opened the car door and got into the van.

He heard Lin Ze turn around and say formally, “Jingyi, you’ve topped the trending searches in South Korea again.”