"Jiang Hua, will you leave Little Hundred Flowers?"
Li Yunxiao looked into Jiang Hua's eyes and asked seriously.
"Huh?"
Jiang Hua was confused. On such a happy day, why would she ask this?
"I won't. Why would I leave Little Hundred Flowers? I have a permanent position here."
Jiang Hua felt he had been slacking off lately. He only recorded a song under supervision.
And at Little Hundred Flowers, his image as a slacker was deeply rooted. Everyone thought he was about to leave.
Maybe if he left Little Hundred Flowers, he could focus on making money and even make it onto the rich list.
But Jiang Hua couldn't do it.
He could make money now, and the diva was helping him too.
At least emotionally, Little Hundred Flowers had never treated him as an outsider since he arrived.
Though Little Hundred Flowers was doing well now, it had been famous before too.
In Teacher Mao's time, they were even more famous than now, with the Five Golden Flowers known nationwide.
Restoring past glory was their duty.
"Mm!"
Hearing this answer, Li Yunxiao and Chen Lijun smiled happily.
Some people feel like family after just months together.
Some people feel like strangers after a lifetime.
Everyone had considered Jiang Hua moving behind the scenes. The current popularity was too high, with many non-Yue opera fans.
There were CP fans, looks fans.
After 1-2 years of settling, those who remained would be true Yue opera fans.
"We'll be colleagues, friends, family for life."
Chen Lijun, this silly girl. Weren't they going to get married? Being colleagues and friends was enough.
Li Yunxiao tilted her head and said, "But Qingqing is in love now, and Caicai is getting married."
Among the New Dragon Gate Inn Group B actors, it seemed only the two of them were single now.
Jiang Hua laughed, "What's the big deal? Acting is only part of life. As long as everyone's happy."
He was quite open-minded. With a future little diva as a partner, this guy wasn't worried at all.
The car stopped in front of a small shop.
"This is it. I ate here last time. It's delicious."
Chen Lijun transformed into a little foodie.
"Boss, three orders of grilled cold noodles please."
"Coming right up!"
Youth is wonderful, without so many worries. The atmosphere was heavy just now, but now they were happy again.
Maybe too many people had left over the years. There were 22 people in Li Yunxiao's class.
Now only 4 were still acting: Qingqing, Caicai.
"Jiang Hua, take a video for us. I want to send it to Caicai."
They were going to make her jealous.
...
The next day, Jiang Hua arrived at his office right on time.
He was intercepted by Teacher Mao.
"Jiang Hua, your work has been quite leisurely lately. Get ready, next week you're going to the CCTV Avenue of Stars finals."
"Just me?"
Teacher Mao gave him a side-eye.
"What, you want to drive an A8 L to find your first love and eat cold noodles?"
Oh no, how did she know about this meme too?
Jiang Hua quickly opened Douyin. This meme was trending.
His "six horizontal, twelve vertical" had gone viral.
And there were images of him eating cold noodles with Jun Xiao.
Damn, couldn't these people give others some privacy?
"Teacher Mao, let me explain."
"No need to explain. Just get a script ready for the new play."
This was really unfair. He wasn't a playboy. If he wanted to be one, he would have been long ago.
"Buy an A8 L, find your first love, take your first love for cold noodles. He doesn't call it A8, he calls it Horch, the six horizontal twelve vertical Horch..."
This video was really catchy. Jiang Hua thought Audi must have hired internet trolls.
Jiang Hua was trending again. This delighted netizens.
Just after becoming "Chinese Music's Number One Ex", now he was "Buy an A8 L to Find First Love".
People were just joking, but this was getting out of hand.
Facing this video, Jiang Hua was exasperated.
It wasn't easy for him. He had debadged the A8 L and put on an A4 badge. Now the whole Little Hundred Flowers knew.
Even the leaders only drove A6s. This was ridiculous. Looks like he couldn't drive this car to work anymore.
Netizens were tagging Liu Yajie on Weibo.
"Baby Yajie, did your first love take you for cold noodles?"
These people really loved to stir up trouble.
The A8 L had suddenly become famous. As the legendary version of the A8.
This car wasn't cheap, over 1 million yuan. Being low-key was its selling point.
And its interior and features were unremarkable. At the same price, wouldn't a Mercedes-Maybach be better?
It barely sold a few units a year in the mainland.
But now it was different. It had suddenly gone viral.
The official Audi side was stunned by this unexpected fortune.
This popularity came too suddenly.
They also stirred things up, deciding to sponsor the Little Hundred Flowers Art Troupe and appointing Mr. Jiang Hua as the spokesperson for Horch in China.
This was a high-end endorsement.
Recently, Rolls-Royce hired two internet celebrities as spokespersons and was heavily criticized.
Now Audi was doing the same thing.
They really weren't afraid of criticism.
But surprisingly, online comments were overwhelmingly positive. Horch had truly gone mainstream.
"Ten years no one asked about Horch, overnight the world knows about first love."
Jiang Hua's first endorsement arrived as expected, and it was for a top luxury car. This was starting with a bang.
Of course, people who bought this car were a bit odd. It just occupied the luxury car price point.
There was almost no difference from the A8.
These days, Jiang Hua parked his car in the underground garage near the theater. Damn, he couldn't drive the debadged Horch anymore.
Just as he got to work, he was approached.
"Mr. Jiang Hua, we've already contacted your company. The endorsement deal has been settled."
Jiang Hua quickly shook his head.
"No, no, I don't like Horch at all. I only bought it because it was low-key. I actually prefer Ferrari and Lamborghini."
The other party smiled.
A bespectacled man who looked like a leader said, "Mr. Jiang Hua, you can like Horch. 50 million yuan for 3 years, what do you think? Oh, and if you can write a song for Audi, we can pay extra based on its popularity."
Damn, Jiang Hua didn't want to accept the endorsement, but they were offering too much.
50 million for three years. This was A-list celebrity price, though still below top tier.
Hesitating for even a second would be an insult to 50 million.
This time he really wanted to slack off. With 50 million, who the hell still wants to work?
"Alright, contact my agent. By the way, if the song I create becomes popular, how will that be calculated?"
The other party hesitated. Chinese songs were mainly popular in Southeast Asia.
"If it makes the Billboard charts, an extra 5 million. If it tops the charts, 10 million USD. If it wins a Grammy, 20 million USD."
Damn, this was too tempting. He didn't want to, but they were offering too much. Maybe he could achieve his small goal quickly.
Audi must be certain Jiang Hua couldn't make the Billboard charts.
Jiang Hua was determined. Forget the Grammys, he wanted to top the charts once, crushing them with an English song.
"OK, I'll contact my lawyer immediately."
...