Chapter 35

Besides, given Lu Heng's current fame and status, he had no way of landing any major international brand deals. As for the remaining small brands, just as Lu Heng had said, rather than accept an endorsement for that little bit of money and then worry every day about whether the product had quality issues, whether consumers might be harmed, or whether it would damage the artist's image, he might as well refuse.

Huaxia Imperial Entertainment had deep pockets. It would not force its artists to endorse unlicensed products just for that thirty percent commission.

Wei Linxuan glanced at Lu Heng and teased him with a smile. "When you signed on, you said you would work hard to make money and become the company's cash cow. Now you're actually turning away endorsements that have practically fallen into your lap. Tell me, do you think that now that you've got me hooked, you can do whatever you want?"

Lu Heng: "..."

Because of Lu Heng's insistence and Wei Linxuan's indifference, the endorsement matter came to nothing.

Wei Linxuan directly told the company staff to call and turn the other party down. Naturally, the management team responsible for contacting the manufacturer would not tell them that Lu Heng refused the endorsement because he was worried about product quality. They merely said tactfully, "Lu Heng said he has never used your company's products, so he is unwilling to endorse them."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing that explanation, the other company's president thought even more highly of Lu Heng. He raised the endorsement fee again and again, determined to invite Lu Heng to serve as their spokesperson. He even said, "We already felt that the little hero's image perfectly matched our product philosophy. Who would have thought that not only was the little hero brave and clever, he also understood the importance of seeking truth from facts? Honest, sincere, practical, trustworthy—that's exactly what we want."

The president thought especially highly of Lu Heng. He even requested a face-to-face meeting with him and stated outright that money was no object. As long as Lu Heng agreed, the endorsement fee was negotiable.

The president was so enthusiastic that even uninvolved staff members were tempted. Unfortunately, the prince might have dreamed, but the goddess had no interest. Their conversations had clearly been very congenial, and Lu Heng had expressed great appreciation for the other party's brand culture, yet he simply would not accept the endorsement. Huaxia Imperial Entertainment actually let him have his way, so the president could only regretfully seek someone else.

Even in the end, that president could not forget Lu Heng. He particularly liked Lu Heng's simple, earnest style. He even went to great lengths to sponsor several of Lu Heng's films. He had no other requests, except that he specifically wanted the characters played by Lu Heng to drink a can of their brand's beverage on camera.

In modern films, they would simply have him drink straight from the can. In wuxia films or ancient-period comedies, they would find a way to insert a line of dialogue and have the props department pour the beverage into wine flasks and cups.

After Wei Linxuan found out, he could not help calling Lu Heng to complain: Don't think a rustic-style domineering CEO isn't still a domineering CEO. When they got stubborn, they could be terrifying too!

After Autumn Dew White wrapped filming, Lu Heng, who had basically no work scheduled, was finally able to return to school.

The river of time had divided his past and present lives. Faced with the nation's top key high school, ranked first in advancement rates, and the pressure of studying all nine subjects, the great star Lu, who had not attended school in more than ten years and possessed only a middle-school education, profoundly experienced the misery of being a poor student during his first week back on campus.

"...Didn't you say you were an excellent student with both good character and good grades at Lu Family Town Middle School?"

After school that evening, Wei Linxuan personally drove him back to the faculty housing building across from Yanjing University Affiliated High School. While Lu Heng was squeezing fruit juice for him, he leisurely looked around the duplex apartment, now tinged with its owner's presence. Then, eyeing the pitiful few placement-test papers on the study desk with suspicion, he finally voiced the doubt that had been troubling him.

"Well... the teaching pace at Lu Family Town Middle School definitely wasn't the same as Yanjing University Affiliated High School's. Besides, I missed several months of classes... because I, I went off to film!" Lu Heng smiled awkwardly, desperately trying to save face despite his guilty conscience.

He walked over to the desk, casually tidied the textbooks and test papers spread across it, and handed the freshly squeezed orange juice to Wei Linxuan.

Wei Linxuan looked at the sweat covering Lu Heng's forehead and decided to spare him, no longer pursuing the matter.

He placed a stack of documents on the desk and gestured for Lu Heng to take a look.

They were a talent-show proposal drafted by Wei Linxuan and letters of intent to acquire several internet companies. Around the year 2000, the global internet bubble was in full swing. Many internet companies that would become famous in later generations had seen their share prices fall to around one U.S. dollar.

In his previous life, Wei Linxuan had seized that opportunity to acquire a great number of promising internet and e-commerce companies. Lu Heng had long heard about this. He simply did not understand why Wei Linxuan was showing him these documents.

"This is my work plan for the next stage. What do you think?" Wei Linxuan asked with a smile.

Lu Heng smiled. "I can't make heads or tails of this. Ask me to read a script instead, and I might be able to help."

Lu Heng was not being modest. In his previous life, he had never possessed a talent for investing or business. Whenever he bought stocks, he lost money. He lacked the energy to run a business, so in the end he could only follow others and buy property to preserve value. Yet housing prices in first-tier cities had risen so much it made people want to cry. Just thinking about it was depressing.

Wei Linxuan smiled, looking at Lu Heng with particular satisfaction. "So there are things you don't understand after all."

What was that supposed to mean? Lu Heng looked at Wei Linxuan gloomily.

Wei Linxuan tapped the desk.

The successful conclusion of the first season of Exchanging Lives not only allowed Huaxia TV to escape its ratings slump, where it had no one to rely on, but also enabled the "Under the Same Blue Sky" charitable education fund launched in its wake to further expand the social influence and connections of Huaxia Imperial Entertainment—and even the Wei family.

At the same time, it increased Wei Linxuan's say within the Wei family.

No one treated him like a spoiled little brat who knew nothing anymore. That meant Wei Linxuan's capabilities had earned the recognition of Old Master Wei and the company shareholders. To expand that recognition, Wei Linxuan decided to strike while the iron was hot and launch another one of his projects—a large-scale nationwide talent show, Envision the Future.

Wei Linxuan believed that this plan would prove Huaxia Imperial Entertainment's star-making ability and even push the current state of Huaxia's entertainment industry into a new era.

"...Singing into the Future is a singing competition for ordinary people. There are no barriers or requirements for this competition. As long as you enjoy singing, as long as you want to sing, you can come register. I plan to set up registration sites in major cities across the country. All registered contestants will go through auditions to select the top twenty in each region. After various elimination rounds, the final national top thirty-two will be chosen. The national competition will be broadcast on Huaxia TV. At the same time, Huaxia TV will also be responsible for training contestants and uncovering their potential. The final top ten contestants can sign with Huaxia Imperial Entertainment..."