Chapter 43: Chapter 43: The Future Internet Celebrities
Pushing open the general manager’s office door with familiarity.
Li Zhun and Zhao Weiwei were sitting on the sofa chatting.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, both of them turned to look.
"Whoa, the boss finally has time to come by?"
Li Zhun joked with a smile.
"I’m afraid if I don’t come, you’ll head to Shanghai Theatre Academy and finish me off."
Gu Bai, with Qi Man, casually sat on the sofa, crossing his legs, as Qi Man obediently sat beside him.
Even with Li Zhun and Zhao Weiwei’s discerning eyes, seeing Qi Man couldn’t help but elicit a sense of awe.
"Old Gu, who’s this?"
"Qi Man, my junior, brought her along to hang out."
Zhao Weiwei, a seasoned connoisseur, had experienced many goddesses, but thinking of Gu Bai’s previous Zhang Yumeng and now Qi Man, both top-tier beauties, saying there’s no jealousy might be untrue, but envy is certain.
"Oh~ a junior~"
"I suddenly want to further my studies at Shanghai Theatre Academy too, Old Gu, do you think I have a chance?"
"Sure, try donating a few million in educational funds to our academy, not only can you further your studies, but the principal might even award you as an outstanding alumnus."
"..."
Gu Bai simply introduced Li Zhun and Zhao Weiwei to Qi Man, then lit the cigarette Li Zhun handed him.
"How’s the company doing lately?"
"Rare to see Young Master Gu still caring about the company, why don’t I report to you then."
Li Zhun joked, picking up the prepared documents from the table.
"The 15 influencers you had Yan Xiaobo sign up with, we’ve already signed 11, some have already arrived in Shanghai. I brought you here to see how you plan to arrange them.
Additionally, our own Little Sweet now has over 15 million followers, although we spent nearly ten million on her. The operations department has been maintaining her popularity, and we’ve liaised with Ah Li, just waiting for your suggested monetization effect in November.
As for those signed influencers, we followed your instructions. Neither Old Zhao nor I intervened, and funds of 50 million have been allocated to Yan Xiaobo, you can check with him."
Gu Bai smiled after hearing Li Zhun’s introduction.
This is the benefit of partnering with a second-generation rich.
Though he clicked with Li Zhun, they’ve only been together for a short time, so claiming any deep friendship between them is certainly false. But why can Li Zhun and Zhao Weiwei trust him unconditionally?
Is it truly because they appreciate Gu Bai’s long-term vision or because he has unique personal charisma?
No.
It’s because they treat this company as a sort of hobby, if it succeeds that’s great, if not it’s no big deal. With regular people, dealing with expenses of hundreds or millions wouldn’t be so carefree.
Seeing Gu Bai’s smile, Li Zhun could guess Gu Bai’s meaning, the two exchanged a knowing smile.
Having covered the company’s general activities, Li Zhun and Zhao Weiwei started discussing other topics with Gu Bai.
Meanwhile, Qi Man listened to their conversation, filled with envy.
She was just a girl from an ordinary family, though she longed for a quality life, she lacked the capability, nor did she have the guts to strive for success, relying on others became her only choice. Luckily, her innate qualities were good, or no bigwig would really look at her.
As they chatted, the door to the office was knocked.
"Come in."
Li Zhun called out, Yan Xiaobo, in a suit, walked in.
He greeted Gu Bai and the others, then started reporting the work: "President Gu, some of the new influencers signed as per your request have arrived, would you like to see them?"
"Let’s go have a look then."
With that, Gu Bai stood up, eager to see what these influencers he once only gazed up to looked like in person.
Led by Yan Xiaobo, they followed him to the guest room.
The originally chatting six young men and women fell silent as soon as Yan Xiaobo entered.
These individuals weren’t yet the massive influencers with tens of millions of followers they’d become in a few years. It was 2017, and although they were somewhat popular on the Douyin platform, to the general public they were still quite invisible. Given their decision to sign with Xingnai Media, showing respect for their future boss Yan Xiaobo was quite normal.
Gu Bai also entered with Li Zhun and others.
Li Zhun and Zhao Weiwei casually found a place to sit down, they had seen these people before and hadn’t found anything particularly noteworthy to make Gu Bai so attentive, they were just here to join the fun.
"President Gu, they were all signed per your requirements, let me introduce them to you."
Though Yan Xiaobo thought Gu Bai should know these people, it was still necessary to introduce them, that’s part of his job.
Gu Bai didn’t refuse, these faces looked familiar, but if he were to recognize them one by one, it could easily go wrong.
Two men and four women, Yan Xiaobo introduced them one by one.
"Modern Brothers lead singer Liu Yuning, currently has 2.7 million fans on Douyin.
Brother M, real name Cheng Yuyan, has 1.5 million fans on Douyin.
Gao Yan, has 400,000 fans on Douyin.
Dagula K, real name Dai Jiali, now has 3 million fans.
Cai Lolita, real name Cai Jiahui, not only has over 2 million fans on Douyin but is also a streamer.
Wen Wan, real name Xu Jingwan, currently has 30,000 fans... (All the above figures are fabricated, don’t delve into them.)
Wen Wan blushed upon hearing Yan Xiaobo’s introduction, after all, the person here with the fewest fans besides her had 400,000, while she only had 30,000, even though she just started playing Douyin.
Yan Xiaobo didn’t know why Gu Bai listed Wen Wan on the signing list, but as a worker, he deeply understood one truth: the boss’s tasks must be completed.
After listening, Gu Bai nodded.
"This is President Gu, he is the one who signed all of you."
Upon hearing this, everyone quickly greeted Gu Bai: "Hello, President Gu!"
Some of them were older than Gu Bai, curious as to how such a young Gu Bai could be their boss, but no one was foolish enough to show it.
Gu Bai first scanned around with the system and found Wen Wan’s appearance score was only 71, the system’s attributes were worlds apart from her looks, immediately remembering the scandal that erupted after this parking lot girl rose to fame.
Things like plastic surgery, falsified academic credentials, and fake second-generation wealth status.
These were probably all true.
However, Gu Bai wasn’t concerned, as long as it could make money for him, these issues were minor; in the entertainment industry, there were stars dirtier than her ten to a hundred times, yet they still flourished.
Gu Bai softly murmured, then spoke: "You are the ones I asked Director Yan to sign, as for why I signed you, it’s because I see potential in you, so work hard in the future."
He originally thought seeing these former big internet celebrities would make him excited, but upon meeting them, seeing their respect towards him, he felt nothing at all.
Being real, even stars at Zheng Kai’s level show a pleasing face before him, let alone these who are just slightly famous ordinary people.
"Thank you, President Gu."
Gu Bai looked at them, revealing a youthful side.
"No need to be so polite, since you’ve joined the company, we’re all family here; I could even count myself as one of your fans."
Although Gu Bai said this, they didn’t take it seriously, all smilingly echoed.
"If you have any requests, feel free to tell me, you know, after this chance, it might not come again, I don’t come to the office often."
These internet celebrities didn’t yet know what Gu Bai’s temperament was like, they were all looking at each other, but no one spoke.
It was Cai Lolita who hesitated for a long time before slowly speaking: "President Gu, I am still a streamer, the cooperation period with the guild will soon end, I wonder if our company has live broadcasting services, I want to sign the live contract with the company too."
Upon hearing Cai Lolita’s words, Gu Bai frowned and pondered.
To be honest, he didn’t really want to wade into the muddy waters of live streaming.
Why was he involved in the self-media industry? Because it had great influence, broad cash flow, and it was easier to hide his financial sources; and for Gu Bai, who didn’t have much money now, if he did, he would directly go to the entertainment industry as a big capital player, why bother playing with these small internet celebrities?
As for the live streaming circle, quick money is indeed there, didn’t even the top scions want a piece of action in it?
But does Gu Bai want to make money? He doesn’t; he just wants to increase his influence, making money is just secondary.
Thinking of this, Gu Bai replied to Cai Lolita: "I will discuss this matter with Presidents Li and Zhao and get back to you as soon as possible."
Cai Lolita nodded.
She mainly felt unhappy with the current live streaming guild partnership, yet Xingnai Media offered her a 5-year contract fee of 6 million, albeit paid in installments, but it was substantial, equivalent to her earning through streaming for twenty years; seeing the company so generous, she had this idea.
If she knew how famous she would become in the future, would she regret selling herself short for just 6 million?
Seeing no one else asking questions, Gu Bai proactively looked at Liu Yuning: "You guys are a band called Modern Brothers, right?"
Liu Yuning hurriedly nodded and confirmed.
"Disband the band, the company will specially craft a development path for you, with your image, entering the entertainment industry in the future won’t be surprising; for your bandmates, the company will cover the severance pay."
Liu Yuning was shocked.
"President Gu, I am good friends with them, wouldn’t this be bad..."
"To the audience, your Modern Brothers only have you, they are dispensable; musicians of this level, I could hire a bunch with some money. If you are willing to evenly split the signing fee and future income with them, it’s up to you.
If you decide, contact Director Yan."
After speaking, Gu Bai didn’t look at him again.
Gu Bai’s words were clear enough, as to what Liu Yuning chooses, that’s up to him, after all, the money he gave is sufficient. If Liu Yuning is really righteous enough to evenly split it with those people, Gu Bai might even think more highly of him.
However, Gu Bai already saw his hesitations, faced with a signing fee of millions, why would he share it with others? Brotherhood? Don’t be silly, how much is that worth?