Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

Gu Ming pulled out a chair, gesturing for Shen An'an to sit down again.

"Ms. Shen, since the budget is not an issue, our goal cannot be just to make it a hit."

"What we want to do is become a phenomenon. A phenomenon that everyone discusses, imitates, but cannot surpass."

"To achieve this goal, I need to tailor a plan specifically for you. This will include top-tier planning and cinematic production, promotional resources covering all platforms, and public relations contingency plans to handle unforeseen circumstances."

As Gu Ming spoke, he turned on his computer and brought up a contract template.

"Of course, all of this needs to be based on a detailed contract to protect the rights and interests of both parties."

He listed out the services one by one:

[Project 1: S+ level top-tier persona planning and year-round positioning service. Price: 2,000,000 yuan.]

[Project Two: Film-Quality Production Team Service Package (Director, Cinematographer, Lighting, Art Direction, etc.), charged per session. Price: 500,000 RMB/session.]

Project 3: Top-tier traffic promotion resource package across all platforms (including trending search slots, splash screens, collaborations with top KOLs, etc.), billed per use. Price: 1,500,000 RMB/use.

[Project Four: Year-round Crisis Public Relations and Public Opinion Monitoring Services. Price: 1,000,000 RMB.]

……

The price of each item is enough to deter any company in Hegang.

Following these exorbitant unit prices, Gu Ming added another clause to the core terms of the contract.

The total service fee for Party B (Starry Media) will be settled at 20% of the total actual expenses incurred by Party A (Shen An'an) in executing this project (including but not limited to prop purchases, travel, venue rentals, etc.).

There is no upper limit to this service fee.

In this way, his income is completely tied to his customers' spending power.

The more customers spend, the more he earns.

After doing all this, he gently pushed the printed contract in front of Shen An'an.

Shen An'an had no interest in the contract terms and figures; her gaze immediately fell on the final supplementary agreement.

[Supplementary Clause 1: Party B promises that within one year of the contract taking effect, Party A will be developed into the most talked-about, phenomenal newcomer of the year across the entire internet.]

[Supplementary Clause 2: If the above objectives are not achieved, Party B shall refund the entire service fee and compensate Party A for double the losses.]

This betting agreement was added by Gu Ming on his own initiative, which shows that he is very confident in his abilities.

Seeing this, Shen An'an finally nodded.

For her, the process was unimportant, and she had no concept of those numbers.

She only cares about the result.

She picked up the Montblanc gold pen on the table, didn't even look at the other details, and signed her name directly at the end of the contract.

"How much start-up capital do you need? I'll transfer it to you now."

After she finished signing, she asked.

"For the first payment, one million is enough."

Gu Ming said calmly.

He needs this money to hire the best photography team in the industry and use professional equipment.

Shen An'an nodded, took out her phone, and operated it a few times.

Less than thirty seconds later, Gu Ming's phone received a text message from the bank.

[Your account ending in xxxx received a deposit of 1,000,000.00 yuan on x month x day. Current balance: 1,003,257.50 yuan.]

Looking at the balance, Gu Ming's expression didn't change much.

He knew this was just the beginning.

In order to get things started quickly and to better understand the true situation of this investor, Gu Ming decided to shoot a simple unboxing video with the existing equipment before the team he hired arrived.

The materials were readily available; they were the little trinkets that Shen An'an had brought back from Paris, which she had mentioned yesterday.

He wanted to use this process to test Shen An'an's performance in front of the camera.

The filming location was chosen to be an unused penthouse duplex apartment owned by Shen An'an in the city center.

In the living room, the items listed on the 2.37 million euro shopping receipt were piled up haphazardly on the floor, stacked quite high.

Gu Ming set up the camera and adjusted the lighting.

"Miss Shen, it's very simple."

He gestured to Shen An'an, who was sitting on the sofa, and said, "Just pretend the camera isn't there, and chat with us like you're talking to a friend. Share your feelings about buying these things, or what's special about them."

"it is good."

Shen An'an's words were concise and to the point.

Filming begins.

Gu Ming picked up the Birkin bag closest to him, which was inlaid with Himalayan crocodile skin.

"Ms. Shen, let's start with this. It's a very rare model. Could you tell us why you decided to buy it?"

Gu Ming guided the camera from off-camera.

Shen An'an glanced at the bag and faced the camera expressionlessly.

"If I like it, I'll buy it."

Five words, and that's it.

Gu Ming's heart skipped a beat, but he patiently continued to press for answers:

"So... is there any special story behind how you bought it? Like, did you wait a long time, or did you have to fight with someone else for it?"

He wanted to guide her to tell a story.

Shen An'an thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook her head.

"No. Just pay and take it."

Five words again.

Gu Ming felt his blood pressure starting to rise.

He changed his prop and picked up a pair of diamond earrings that looked like high-end custom-made pieces.

"What about this? These earrings look quite unique."

"Hmm, it's alright."

"...How do you feel wearing it?"

"It's a bit heavy."

"..."

For the next half hour, filming could not proceed at all.

No matter how Gu Ming guided her, Shen An'an's answers never exceeded ten words.

Her expression remained unchanged from beginning to end; her eyes were either looking at the ceiling or at her fingernails, never glancing at the camera.

After several attempts, Gu Ming turned off the camera.

He came to a conclusion that sent chills down his spine:

Shen An'an has no acting ability.

She can't even do the most basic repetition and expression.

In her life, consumption is an extremely natural thing, and she simply cannot understand what it means to share her shopping experiences.

She's a terrible actress.

Should we make her a fashion blogger who needs to share, express herself, and build a persona?

This is harder than getting a teenage girl to take the college entrance exam!

The project seems to have stalled at the very first step.

Gu Ming sat there, smoking one cigarette after another, his mind racing.

give up?

impossible.

The receipt for the purchase of more than two million euros was still in his mind.

He had to find a way.

A way to bypass the obstacle of Shen An'an's zero acting skills.

He shouldn't have let her say it.

He should... let her do it!

Correct!

What the audience wants to see is not her halting explanations, nor her limited understanding of fashion!

What the audience wants to see is her act of spending money itself!

It's that kind of unreasonable consumer behavior!

An idea suddenly popped into my head.

"Miss Shen, I've changed my mind."

"We're not going to be bloggers anymore."

"We are contemporary consumerist performance artists."

Shen An'an was indeed stunned. The long title sounded very high-level, which confused her.

"What...is that?"

"What I mean is," Gu Ming explained, his speech quickening with excitement, "from now on, we won't care what we buy, we'll only care how we buy it!"

"Each of our upcoming videos will be an unrepeatable, extravagant piece of performance art!"

To help Shen An'an understand better, he gave an example.

"For example, your competitor, that socialite from Beijing's elite circles who always flaunts her wall of Hermès bags online, is she very smug about it?"

When the topic of competitors came up, a hint of disdain flashed in Shen An'an's eyes.

"At most, she's collected all the colors."

Gu Ming continued, "What we need to do is something that will make her feel inferior. For example, directly acquire a farm that produces crocodile skin and tell Hermès, 'From now on, I'll take care of your top-quality crocodile skin.'"

This example is exaggerated, but it ignited Shen An'an's fighting spirit.

"good!"

She jumped up, her eyes gleaming. "That's it! I'll show her who's in charge of spending money!"

Seeing her like this, Gu Ming knew he had succeeded.

He has found the driving force behind this top billionaire – comparison and competitiveness.

"To achieve this seemingly arbitrary yet meticulously planned effect, I need absolute control."

Gu Ming seized the opportunity to make his demands.

"From now on, I will be the director of all your future spending. I will plan all your schedules and budgets. You just need to show up when needed."

"no problem."

Shen An'an had no objection to this; her mind was now filled with how to crush that socialite from Beijing's elite circles.

She took a business card directly from her bag and handed it to Gu Ming.

"This is my personal assistant's phone number. His name is Lin Feng. From now on, you can contact him directly for everything, and he will handle everything."

She paused, then added.

"I'm only responsible for providing the money and appearing on camera."

Having obtained the authority to be the chief director, Gu Ming knew that the most crucial aspect of the project had been resolved.

After Shen An'an left in a hurry, Gu Ming immediately dialed Wang Min's number.

"Call Liu Liu and Zhang Hong to the company immediately for a meeting."

Half an hour later, the three sisters looked at Gu Ming, who was sitting behind the boss's desk with a bright look in his eyes, and felt that he was different from usual.

"Boss, what's the rush?"

Wang Min asked.

Gu Ming did not answer. He turned around, picked up a marker, and wrote a line on the small whiteboard behind him.

[Performance Art Act One: "Looking at Earth Through 100 Million Pixels"]

The three sisters looked at each other, completely bewildered.

Gu Ming then wrote a subtitle in smaller print below the main title.

[—Use the money to buy a private jet to take a beautiful night view photo of our hometown, Hegang.]

When the last word was uttered, the office fell silent.

Wang Min, Liu Liu, and Zhang Hong were all stunned, their mouths agape.

Looking at that crazy headline, they felt their understanding had been completely overturned.

Buy...buy a private jet?

Just to... take a picture?