Chapter 46
The next day, Lin Leyao had to stay in S City to film a commercial.
This commercial was filmed for a milk brand with very high national recognition.
This brand enjoys extremely high national recognition, and its products are sold in supermarkets of all sizes and various small retail stores across the country. Therefore, its previous brand ambassadors were all actors with high national popularity, idols with massive fan bases, or well-known athletes.
So when the brand approached the company to discuss cooperation, Xiao Yan and Lin Leyao were both very surprised.
These big brands don't lack spokespeople, so they offer much lower endorsement fees than brands with average popularity. However, for celebrities, collaborating with these big brands isn't about profit, but rather about increasing their brand awareness through TV commercials and offline advertising.
Xiao Yan takes this endorsement very seriously. Two weeks ago, Xiao Yan went to the film studio with the contract to have Lin Leyao sign it.
With the contract signed, it was time to shoot the commercial.
Lin Leyao had already reviewed the advertising plan beforehand. Through this plan, Lin Leyao also understood why the brand didn't choose a celebrity with extremely high national recognition this time, as they had done in the past.
Because Lin Leyao is only one of the brand's spokespeople; other spokespeople include athletes, musicians, and well-known farmers who have become wealthy through animal husbandry.
The spokespeople all work in different industries, and Lin Leyao represents the profession of actress.
This time, the brand's promotional positioning is different from before, so there's no need to spend a lot of money to choose those celebrities.
Today's filming location was chosen to be a private garden in the suburbs of S City.
The owner of this garden is very popular on short video platforms. He usually sells flowers online. Because of the beautiful scenery of the garden, many celebrities, netizens, and tourists often come here to take photos.
As a first-tier city in China, S City has attracted all kinds of talents from all over the country. Although the suburbs are located on the edge of the city, they do not appear dilapidated.
There are various resorts, guesthouses, and eco-farms here, attracting many people who live under high pressure in the city to relax and unwind.
Because I made a reservation in advance, there was no one else in the garden today.
The commercial is a combination of clips from several spokespeople, so each person's screen time is not very large, and Lin Leyao does not need to shoot a lot of footage.
Lin Leyao spent the morning filming the commercial. She spent the afternoon in the garden shooting the promotional posters.
In the afternoon, Xiao Yan made a special trip to the garden to watch the filming.
The two hadn't seen each other in a long time, so after filming ended, Xiao Yan suggested going to the nearby resort for dinner.
Lin Leyao sent Xin Ying a WeChat message, telling her that she wouldn't be going home for dinner that night, and then went to the resort with Xiao Yan.
Dinner had just been served when Xiao Yan received a phone call, and her expression changed drastically.
After hanging up the phone, Xiao Yan's face darkened. She said, "I can't eat this meal. I'm going back to the city. Are you coming back with me?"
Lin Leyao had rarely seen Xiao Yan so angry lately, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Thinking of this, Xiao Yan's voice was still filled with anger: "The newcomer I was mentoring went to get plastic surgery on her own!"
Lin Leyao was a little confused: "With such an innocent face, what's the point of getting plastic surgery?"
Xiao Yan said angrily, "I don't know what she's thinking! When we signed the contract, it was clearly stated that her face wouldn't belong to her, but to the company. She was told that she had to tell the company about any procedures she had on her face, but she actually went and had surgery without telling me."
Lin Leyao thought for a moment and said, "Why did you suddenly get plastic surgery? Did you injure your face?"
Xiao Yan waved her hand: "Wasn't she an internet celebrity before? Many internet celebrities get plastic surgery, and since all her female friends have had it done, she probably got tempted. But her aesthetic sense is terrible. She got a nose job, jaw reduction, chin implants, lower eyelid surgery, and even elf ears. The results of her plastic surgery are suitable for live streaming, but they don't look good on camera!"
Xiao Yan paused, suppressing her anger, and continued, "It's not that I don't support her getting plastic surgery. There are quite a few celebrities in our industry who have had plastic surgery. Who doesn't like to see beautiful women? But she recently signed a contract with the production team and is about to join the crew. The casting team chose her original face, but now the production team is unhappy about it after hearing the news that she had plastic surgery. It was the producer from that production team who made the call just now."
I originally thought Xiao Yan was having a pretty good time at the company, but I didn't expect so many things to happen to the newcomer.
Lin Leyao sighed and said, "Then you should go back and deal with it. I'll eat here and then go back."
"Okay." Xiao Yan picked up her bag and stood up, adding, "Be careful not to drink alcohol."
"Um."
Lin Leyao finished her meal alone and left the private room.
After she went to the restroom and came out, she felt a sinister gaze looming over her.
Lin Leyao ignored it, picked up her phone and used a ride-hailing app to call a taxi.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded behind her. Lin Leyao turned around sharply and her eyes turned cold the moment she saw who it was.
Lin Leyao wanted to complain to herself that she seemed to have a bad relationship with the restaurant's restrooms, as she always seemed to run into people she didn't want to see whenever she went to the restroom.
Not wanting to deal with this person, Lin Leyao turned to leave.
When Wang Baoliang saw that Lin Leyao was unwilling to talk to him, his face immediately darkened.
Wang Baoliang immediately reached out and grabbed Lin Leyao.
Lin Leyao forcefully broke free, turned to look at Wang Baoliang, and said coldly, "Mr. Wang, you are a person of some standing, there's no need for you to keep bothering a little star like me."
Wang Baoliang spat and roared, "Who the hell is bothering you!"
Lin Leyao remained silent, her cold gaze fixed on Wang Baoliang.
This time, Wang Baoliang didn't pull her away. She looked at Lin Leyao with bloodshot eyes.
"Did you do it?"
Lin Leyao looked at Wang Baoliang without saying a word.
Seeing her silent expression, Wang Baoliang's anger intensified, his eyes blazing with fury, as if convinced: "You're the one who had me sabotaged! You had my company sabotaged, didn't you! All my company's recent projects have fallen through, it was your doing!"
A look of confusion flashed in Lin Leyao's eyes. She didn't know what had happened at this Mr. Wang's company. She replied, "You've got the wrong person. It wasn't me."
"It was you!" Wang Baoliang's eyes lit up, and he suddenly became excited. "It was that androgynous woman, Liu Fang, who did it! You made her do it!"
Wang Baoliang wouldn't listen to anything and insisted that she was the one who did it, which annoyed Lin Leyao greatly.
She opened her lips as if to say something, when she heard a questioning voice from beside her.
"do what?"
Lin Leyao and Wang Baoliang were simultaneously drawn by the sound and looked to the side. They saw Liu Fang standing upright in the corridor a few meters away.
Seeing Lin Leyao looking over, Liu Fang waved with a smile and greeted her, "Long time no see."
Wang Baoliang's anger erupted when he saw Liu Fang and Lin Leyao's interaction.
He questioned Liu Fang: "President Liu, what do you mean by this? You've ruined so many of my company's projects recently. What benefit do you get from this? As a foreigner, shouldn't you at least have some consideration when dealing with us in this country?"
A hint of doubt flashed in Liu Fang's eyes, but he didn't show it on his face. He looked at Wang Baoliang and said, "President Wang, the business world is like a battlefield. Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. You can't throw a tantrum at me just because you've lost once or twice, can you?"
Wang Baoliang retorted, "Is this the same thing you're talking about?! You're the one who's sabotaging my project, deliberately ruining it! You're cutting off my source of income!"
Liu Fang exclaimed lightly, "President Wang, I really didn't do that. You've really misunderstood me too much."
Seeing that Liu Fang was unmoved by reason, Wang Baoliang gritted his teeth and said, "Liu Fang, don't go too far!"
Liu Fang replied lazily, "Okay, Mr. Wang."
Just then, Lin Leyao's phone rang. She answered and learned that the taxi she had booked online had arrived.
Liu Fang spoke up at the right moment: "President Wang, we have other things to attend to, so we'll be leaving now. We can talk about it later."
After saying that, Liu Fang and Lin Leyao left together.
Wang Baoliang stood still, gritting his teeth and staring intently at the backs of the two people.
On the way out, Lin Leyao remained silent for a long time before asking Liu Fang, "Is what President Wang said true?"
Seeing Wang Baoliang's frantic and excited appearance, it must be true.
Liu Fang replied, "It's true."
Lin Leyao asked, "Did you ruin his company's project?"
Lin Leyao stared intently at Liu Fang. Under her gaze, Liu Fang let out an "ah" as if unwilling to admit it. After hesitating for a while, he finally nodded and hummed in agreement.
Seeing that she admitted it, Lin Leyao sighed and said, "You don't need to do this. It was just a small thing for me to save Liu Ai. You don't need to do so much to repay me."
Liu Fang was taken aback by Lin Leyao's serious expression. An unreadable emotion flickered in her eyes before she smiled and said, "I didn't really do anything. As long as you're happy."
Lin Leyao shook her head, disagreeing with Liu Fang's words: "Don't do this anymore, or I'll have to repay you."
Looking at her serious expression, Liu Fang smiled gently and agreed, "Okay, then I'll listen to you."
Lin Leyao breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she had agreed.
Even though she and Liu Fang had eaten together a few times, their relationship wasn't very close. Lin Leyao felt a little unacceptable that Liu Fang would do so much for her just because she had done something so simple as taking her sister to the hospital.
Lin Leyao walked to the door, where a taxi was already waiting.
Liu Fang asked, "Are you leaving?"
Lin Leyao nodded.
Liu Fang suddenly invited, "Could you stay here and show me around? This is my first time here and I'm not very familiar with the area."
Lin Leyao wanted to say that this was her first time visiting this resort area.
However, she didn't say it aloud, because she thought of how Liu Fang had taught Wang Baoliang a lesson behind her back, and she decided to accompany her on this trip as a way of thanking her for her help.
Lin Leyao gave the taxi driver some money and told him to leave first.
Liu Fang was in a good mood when he saw that Lin Leyao had stayed.
Lin Leyao asked Liu Fang, "Where would you like to go for a stroll?"
Liu Fang asked, "Is there a horse farm nearby?"
Lin Leyao hesitated and said, "It's getting dark soon, is it okay to ride a horse?"
Liu Fang said, "It should be possible. Let's go take a look."
In the end, no one knows what kind of special treatment Liu Fang gave them, but as darkness fell, the empty horse farm was left with only the two of them.
Lin Leyao always wears a mask when she's outside, and wearing a mask in winter doesn't make others think it's strange.
The staff at the horse farm led the way for the two, glancing occasionally at Lin Leyao, who was wearing a mask behind them.
After Lin Leyao changed into her riding outfit, the staff finally couldn't help but ask, "Hello, are you Lin Leyao?"
Lin Leyao was stunned for a moment, not expecting that she would be recognized even though she was wrapped up so tightly.
Lin Leyao did not deny it and nodded.
The staff member immediately became excited and happily asked, "Can I take a picture with you?"
Lin Leyao nodded in agreement.
The staff member took out his phone, glanced at Liu Fang not far away, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Mr. Liu, can you come along?"