Chapter Seventy-Five: This Is Simply Bullying!

“All right, I’ll leave the rest for Mr. Xu to discuss with you. I need to finish shooting the remaining scenes, or we might not make it for the evening broadcast.” Seeing that they agreed, Chen Qi wasted no more time. He nodded to the advertiser and hurried back to his work.

This episode was set to go online tonight; if he didn’t hurry, they might really miss the deadline.

“Mr. Yang, this way, let’s go over there to talk.” Xu Bunian immediately took over, guiding them toward the parking lot.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” The advertiser wasted no time, turning to follow Xu with an eagerness that even exceeded his own.

A short while later, when Xu brought out the contract, this advertiser—addressed as Mr. Yang—couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of his mouth.

The contract was explicit: all details and procedures of the sponsored advertisement would be arranged solely by Chen Qi. The advertiser would have only a single opportunity to request changes, and beyond that, they had absolutely no say.

Of course, Chen Qi guaranteed the quality and effectiveness of the ad.

After confirming he hadn’t misread, they looked at Xu in disbelief.

Wasn’t this clause a little too much?

Xu responded with a polite smile, indicating they shouldn’t worry about such details and should simply fill in the purchase information in the blank space.

Looking at me won’t help; I didn’t draft this contract. To be honest, half an hour ago, I never thought we’d actually use this one!

After several seconds of speechlessness, the advertiser filled out the details and signed his name.

He could swear—this was the most “humiliating” sponsorship contract he had ever signed!

They were the ones putting down the money, so why did it feel like they were the ones begging for ad space?

The contrast was so stark, he honestly struggled to adapt.

“Mr. Xu?”

Just then, Mr. Han from Half-a-Cup Tea approached with a fawning smile.

Xu, preparing the contract for signing, looked up inquiringly. Mr. Yang glanced at him with equal puzzlement.

“So, there are still ad slots left, right? I have a friend who wants to buy a pre-roll and post-roll spot. He’s fine with paying extra.”

Mr. Yang: “…”

Xu: “…”

Not only did Mr. Yang look somewhat defeated, but even Xu felt a little off-balance.

These advertisers sure were fickle! Who was it that said the ad slots were worth at most a hundred or two hundred thousand? Who was it that accused them of being money-grabbing lunatics?

Yesterday they had so many complaints, and today they didn’t even blink at paying more?

Xu was dumbfounded!

He’d just been pondering how to broach the subject of raising prices with later advertisers, and before he could even start, they were volunteering to pay more…

Even though Chen Qi had already run him through this scenario before, now that it was actually happening, it still felt unreal.

Wasn’t this a bit too surreal?

While all these tangled thoughts swirled through his mind, Xu maintained a calm smile. “There are still ad slots left, but Director Chen has said the price will go up for the remaining spots—at least 550,000 each. He said it wouldn’t be fair to the clients who supported us from the start if we didn’t raise it a bit.”

Hearing this, both Han and Yang paused in surprise.

Strangely, even though they were clearly being gouged, they felt oddly pleased!

See that? We got special treatment!

Fifty thousand meant little to them; what they truly savored was the sense of privilege.

“No problem! I’ll tell them now.”

Han responded breezily and made a call.

Yang looked at him, then at his own contract. After a few seconds’ hesitation, he dialed a friend as well.

“Sister Qing, didn’t you say you wanted to advertise on ‘Never Would Have Thought’? Do you still want in? It’s not expensive at all, really—this price is a steal. How do I know? I’m right here at the shoot! I’m telling you, if you want it, you’d better act fast. Wait too long and they’ll be gone…”

Listening to Mr. Yang, Xu’s eye twitched as he silently finished signing the contract in his hand.

Gone soon? Why did those words send a thrill through his heart?

At that moment, it felt as though all his years in advertising had been for nothing.

Compared to Chen Qi’s straightforward, even brutal negotiating style, all those achievements he’d once been so proud of now seemed like children’s games.

Soon, his phone rang.

The clients Han and Yang had introduced were calling.

They booked two ad spots right away, promised to wire the money immediately, and said they’d come by tomorrow to sign the contracts.

“All right, no problem!” Xu processed everything with practiced ease, though he was starting to feel numb inside.

Stay calm, stay calm.

This sort of thing was probably par for the course for Chen Qi, wasn’t it?

But what happened next left him truly at a loss for composure.

Ten minutes later, his phone rang again.

The clients who had just booked ads brought in their friends, and so it went—one after another, word spreading like wildfire.

Within just over two hours, every ad slot for the second season of “Never Would Have Thought” was booked solid!

Staring at the bank’s steady stream of account notifications, Xu’s expression grew ever more complicated.

He sat in silence for a long time.

It felt as though his entire worldview was collapsing…

“Mr. Han, it’s time to shoot your ad,” came Chen Qi’s voice from across the lot.

“Coming!” Han, impeccably dressed, replied with excitement and hurried over.

Yang, who had been preparing to leave, paused in surprise.

What was this? Did they have to appear in their own ads? Chen Qi hadn’t mentioned that!

After a quick inquiry, he learned that the episode being filmed would go live on Simple Video that very evening. Curiosity piqued, he wandered over to watch.

“All right, ready—action!” At Chen Qi’s command, Mr. Han and his assistant each walked toward him holding a cup of milk tea.

They hadn’t put on makeup or changed clothes; they looked casual, even sloppy.

If he hadn’t known better, Yang would never have guessed they were shooting an ad.

But after watching for a few moments, Yang’s jaw dropped once more. The way he looked at Chen Qi was as if he were gazing upon a deity.

My god!

Where on earth did you come up with these wild, boundless ad ideas?