A Star Reborn: The Queen's Return

Panda Novel

Xia Yu’s eyes lit up.

What brand? It must be a small brand. I’ll just let her interject with this little advertisement. This bitch, does she think that singing one song rather well would make the audience accept a small, unknown brand?

A small brand could not hold a candle to Ideal C Perfume.

Xia Yu was thinking to herself that this small brand that Xia Ling was endorsing would definitely be overshadowed by Ideal C Perfume. Even if she sang her song slightly worse than “Ye Xingling,” with the backing of the Ideal C Perfume brand, she would still beat “Ye Xingling” in popularity by a little.

Hence, she smiled and said, “Let’s take a look then. I am very interested to find out.”

The emcee had been bribed by Imperial Entertainment and, on hearing that Xia Yu was agreeable to the interjection, it was a perfect way to save the awkward situation she was in now, thus she immediately acquiesced to Xia Ling’s request to move things along to the next segment.

The promotional video was prepared beforehand by Gu Financial Magnate, and it slowly appeared on the big screen as the lights diminished in the stadium and a piece of mysterious background music started to play. The Gu Financial Magnate had always sought perfection in anything that they presented to the public, and this time they were collaborating with Skyart Entertainment. With both sides cooperating, the promotional video was akin to a Hollywood blockbuster.

When “Meteor Wings” appeared on the screen, everyone stared awestruck at the elegant and classy perfume on screen. On the light bluish purple frosted glass bottle cap that was as beautiful as the night sky, the Gu Financial Magnate’s official logo was engraved together with a small “S.”

Oh my God, how was that possible? “Ye Xingling” was the endorsement model for Gu Financial Magnate’s S perfume!

The wings of stars, the light of Gods…

It was unbelievable.

Gu Financial Magnate’s perfumes were split into C, B, A, and S gradings, with S being its most premium brand. Many loyal fans and followers of the Gu branded perfumes tried to recall when was the last time that the Gu family had released a new S graded perfume. Oh yes, it was more than a century ago, when Gu Financial Magnate had just been established. That “Irresistible Charm” perfume had boosted them right to the top from a small, unknown little workshop to an international conglomerate that was heralded by many.

After “Irresistible Charm,” Gu Financial Magnate had released many well-reputed and best-selling perfumes, dominating the perfume industry steadily year on year. However, the highest grade they had released was only an A grade. As for the S grade, this “Meteor Wings” perfume was but the second of the line.

A century of silence before the release of the second S grade perfume. How would it rock the world?

And its endorser was none other than that woman called “Ye Xingling”…

The audiences’ eyes were glued to the promotional video. In the video, Xia Ling was singing and dancing with ease, overflowing with grace and a distinguished air, complementing “Meteor Wings” perfectly. It was like she was born to be the endorser for “Meteor Wings,” and at the same time, it seemed like “Meteor Wings” was made just for her.

“So beautiful…” Someone exclaimed softly.

“Nobody is more suited to be the endorser for ‘Meteor Wings’ than her…” Another commented.

Yes, after looking at Xia Ling’s version they could not think of anyone who could have filmed the promotional video better. How weird, she was not the prettiest in the industry in terms of looks, but in front of the camera, she was more eye-catching than any of the other pretty girls.

Goddess.

This word appeared in the minds of many in the audience.

The promotional video slowly came to an end.

At this point, Xia Yu’s mood was worse than before, and she almost could not keep the usual innocent and gentle expression on her face.

How was that possible?! How did this bitch get to endorse such a good brand? Didn’t the Gu Financial Magnate usually not use any newbies in the industry?! What’s more, it was for something as important as the S grade perfume!

Was the Gu family crazy?!

Xia Yu stood backstage with her heart turning colder by the second. She knew that in front of the Gu Financial Magnate, Ideal C Perfume was simply no match. No, it wasn’t so simple as not being a match, the disparity was like comparing a Maserati to an unknown small car. There was nothing that could fill the gap.

And Xia Yu knew, as much as she hated to admit it, that her singing was nowhere able to match “Ye Xingling’s” either.

Was she going to lose?

Her body started to tremble, and in the midst of the thunderous applause and cheers of the crowd, she felt herself getting dizzy. From planning this event until now, she had always been full of confidence. It was only now that she felt the shadow of failure being this close.

“Didn’t you say it was a small brand?!” She questioned Chu Chen, who was standing beside her, through clenched teeth.

Chu Chen had accompanied Xia Yu to the event this evening and was the mastermind that had put everything in place. On hearing Xia Yu’s question, he was also very dejected and his face looked like a dark cloud had passed over and was about to start dripping water. “We were fooled by Skyart Entertainment this time. They led us on intentionally, making us think it was a small brand to let down our guard.”

“How did you make such a mistake?!” Xia Yu could not resist but criticize.

Chu Chen was momentarily stunned. He was Pei Ziheng’s favorite aide and even Pei Ziheng himself made sure to be polite to Chu Chen. He did not expect Xia Yu to use such a bad attitude when speaking to him. He was upset and frowned slightly.

Xia Yu was sensitive to his change in emotion and felt even more upset. What did her sister do that made him so willing to accept all her wilfulness before? She had just complained to him once and now Chu Chen was giving her a black face?!

Every one of them looked down on her!

Xia Yu was close to tears in her anger, but she still apologized to Chu Chen outwardly. “I’m sorry, Brother Chu Chen, I was too anxious and my tone was bad. Please do not take it to heart.” She did not dare offend Pei Ziheng’s most trusted aide, Chu Chen could say anything to Pei Ziheng to put her in a bad light as he wished.

Hearing her apology, Chu Chen’s expression became a little better, but he still did not speak to her anymore.

Seeing him remain silent, the anger in Xia Yu’s heart raged even more, but she could not let it out. She clenched her teeth so hard it felt as if she was going to shatter them all.

While they were in this cold war backstage, the emcee was keeping a banter with Xia Ling, a fake smile plastered on her face. “What a surprise! Who would have guessed that the brand you are endorsing is the Gu Financial Magnate’s perfume?! The Gu family is known in the industry for never using newbies, and I believe everyone here is curious to know how you managed to land this deal?”

Xia Ling smiled as well. “It’s very simple. I auditioned.”

She explained at a very high level and did not reveal any details. If she were to tell anyone that Li Lei had brought her to the Gu family, that would definitely be groundbreaking news and she would be tagged with descriptions like “hidden rules” and “under-the-table means.” Even if she felt that she was innocent, there was no way she would be able to wash clean from all that.

Xia Ling had been a Diva for many years and was versed at handling these Q&As. She deftly blocked the question with her clever answer.

“Audition?” However, the emcee did not let her go easily. “Did you volunteer for it, or did someone give you a referral? As far as I know, newbies don’t qualify for an audition in front of the Gu Financial Magnate at all!”

This time it was Sister Mai Na, who was still onstage with Xia Ling, that replied. “Gu Financial Magnate has been auditioning countless artistes in the past one to two years. They searched the whole world and could not find a single artiste that they were satisfied with. I guess this was the reason that they decided to use a newbie. What’s more, Xiao Ling’s disposition is unique and very complementary to ‘Meteor Wings’.”

She confidently praised the artiste that she was managing and smiled at the emcee. “Do you have any more questions?”

The emcee had initially been keen to dig deeper to find out if there were any secrets, but she did not expect her questions to have been deflected by Xia Ling and Sister Mai Na and was at a loss for words for the moment. She then asked when she found her tongue. “Isn’t the Gu Financial Magnate worried at all in choosing Miss Ye as the endorser? Miss Ye has insulted the former Diva Xia Ling, and has been the center of a lot of controversy in recent weeks.”

She did not believe that she could not find a way to get at “Ye Xingling”!

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