First Kiss Diary - Chapter 10

At the same table, two guys were competing for a girlfriend, one being a myth in the industry, and the other a rising star.

A mischief-maker gazed at Jining with a sneaky look, “This is a major disaster scene, isn’t it?”

“Hey, what’s the big deal?” Zhuo Gong didn’t seem to mind at all. “We’re filming different things, Nini and I are filming a web series.”

“Yeah, speaking of which, what did Jishiyi and Jining film? It seems like there’s nothing worth filming…”

Pei Hanzhou, peeling shrimp, casually replied, “A dating variety show.”

Lin Luosang quickly added, “The First Kiss Diary, it’s about to be officially announced.”

As soon as this was said, the room exploded with excitement.

“I know The First Kiss Diary, Li Yujia is in it, and my god, Shiyi is going too?!”

“The top star participating in a dating variety show, it’s the first time I’ve seen it in my life.”

“I can already imagine the trending topics by then.”

“I bet, I bet, the official announcement will trend as number one for at least two days.”

“I bet three days.”

“Dating—oh my god, Shiyi will be the legitimate boyfriend then, haha, Zhuo Gong, you’re in trouble.”

Zhuo Gong obviously just found out about the news, shocked, he asked Jining, “You’re participating in a dating variety show?”

Jining nodded.

“Isn’t it a lot of pressure to date a top star?” he asked again.

She was about to speak when Zhuo Gong was pulled away by someone else, and they started talking about other topics.

“Zhuo Gong, you’re really bold, competing with a movie star for a girl.”

“It’s not, I didn’t, don’t talk nonsense…”

Jining was also bombarded with questions of envy, “Hey Nini, what does it feel like to date Shiyi?”

“It’s actually… not bad,” Jining poked at the vegetables in her bowl, “It’s just like acting in a role-playing scene.”

From the beginning, she had a very clear understanding of the role of the dating variety show, just filming, nothing more. When she found out that her partner was him, she became even more determined in this idea—given his personality, it was probably just acting for him too.

How could he really be here to date?

All three of them couldn’t escape the fate of gossip, but it was even more lively on Shiyi’s side, men were much more straightforward when they talked.

“Why did you join a dating program, Ji Top Star?”

Shiyi calmly drank his soup, “For tourism.”

“Just for tourism? No ulterior motives?” the other person teased, “I don’t believe it.”

Shiyi didn’t reply, but he saw Jining reaching for a dish, and soon she was pushed back, her face being blocked by layers of people, occasionally he could hear her answering.

Ulterior motives?

Seems like there were, and seems like there weren’t.

—

The dinner ended quickly, and everyone played for a while before leaving. Jining, Sheng Qiannight, and Lin Luosang made an appointment to do beauty treatments together.

Being with friends is always relaxing, Jining lay down feeling the coolness of the soft mask, her hand under her head, and sighed softly, feeling somewhat meaningless.

She originally wanted to say a few words to them, but the rotation was too long, she felt drowsy and fell asleep.

“Why sigh? The resources behind are so good, you should be happy,” Sheng Qiannight picked up her words, “The current criticism is just temporary, endure it, and it’ll be fine soon.”

Looking at the entertainment industry, who hasn’t experienced widespread online criticism before ascending to the top? People’s acceptance of things gradually changes, even each iteration of a new phone faces controversy.

Many artists may give up halfway because they can’t stand it, but everywhere is a survival of the fittest.

Sheng Qiannight poured out a bunch of motivational words to Jining again, “So this is just the darkness before dawn, you must settle down and not give up, and when you become famous in the future, slap those people’s faces.”

“Hmm? Why isn’t she speaking?”

Lin Luosang answered for her, “She fell asleep.”

Sheng Qiannight choked up, “…”

“Turns out, she was just sleepy all along, making me spend so much genuine effort trying to persuade her for nothing,” Lin Luosang chuckled. “Don’t worry, she won’t be feeling down,” Lin Luosang smiled, “Look at how the fan club is thriving now, all thanks to her management.”

These words were not wrong. In less than two days, the members of the fan club had already received gifts from Ji Ning, and they were all excitedly discussing in the group, cheering:

【I love Ji Ning forever!】
【I can sacrifice myself for the fan club for another five hundred years TT】
【The cake is too precious, I can’t bear to eat it, what should I do?】

Ji Ning messaged her cousin, but since her cousin was in class and unavailable, she found the password to the fan club’s official account and logged in herself: 【It’s okay, go ahead and eat.】
【How can the president be like this? You don’t even know how important it is to me! I won’t eat it, I’d rather die!】

After some thought, Ji Ning created a group on Weibo using her own account and instructed: 【Have you all received the small gifts? Remember to eat the cake in time, or else the chocolate will melt and spoil.】
【Oh my god, it’s really Ningning.】
【Airdropped, wuwuwu, Little Ning mommy loves you!!】
【Oh my god, the gifts were ordered by Ningning, not by the staff. I’ve truly become a devoted fan. I’m kneeling down and crying a river right now.】

The user who initially said they couldn’t bear to eat the cake immediately responded: 【Okay, Ningning, I obey Ningning’s command. I’ve already taken a big bite out of it from the fridge, it’s delicious!! Hearts!】 and attached a picture of the cake with a big bite taken out of it.

Ji Ning chuckled and said again, 【Don’t hold back, I’ll buy more for you next month.】
【!!】
【Isn’t this too touching? I’m drying up here, aren’t you?】
【Don’t stop me, I’m going to post five hundred tweets tonight!】
【I’ll instantly check in and counter-attack six hundred haters.】
【I’ll passionately produce a beautiful image of Little Ning in a gorgeous qipao tomorrow for everyone’s phone case ^ ^】

Ji Ning: 【Don’t get too excited yet, I haven’t finished speaking. When I start, everyone can freely send messages, and I’ll send one too. Among the first three messages, there’s a mysterious gift waiting. It should be quite substantial.】
【There’s more gifts??! Ningning, please don’t overexert yourself! (While saying this, don’t forget to open your pockets)】
【I’m ready!】

After announcing the start, Ji Ning randomly selected a time to send a message, and chose the lucky fan Xiaojian before her message, asking for her address and confirming multiple times if that was where she lived.

The fans probably thought it was still about mailing gifts, so they were unprepared and reminded Xiaojian to rest and sleep early, and she took the opportunity to let the fans put on makeup.

Before bidding farewell to them, the fans repeatedly asked when the studio would start operating, wanting to know the schedule.

Actually, it was almost time. It could start tomorrow.

Early the next morning, Ji Ning found that her gift mechanism was indeed useful, not only increasing happiness but also stimulating everyone’s enthusiasm. Last night, they collected a lot of data. One of the artists they had arranged to work with turned out to be her fan. Not only did she not charge a penny, but she also produced a set of avatars, with her cartoon version and “Ji Ning’s new drama premieres on 1011” written on it.

Having unified avatars for the fans had many benefits: firstly, it made it easier for everyone to identify allies in combating negative comments and supporting each other; secondly, repeated appearances would arouse curiosity from onlookers and promote the new drama; and thirdly, it looked organized and presentable.

She invited all the editors and designers they had arranged before into the fan support group, and they also received small gifts. One of the ink painting artists even autonomously created a qipao image of her, releasing it in various formats. Fans could use it as wallpaper and even print it on phone cases, stickers, and other peripherals.

Ji Ning also thought the artwork was beautiful and quietly saved it as her lock screen.

Initially, she didn’t think so much about it, just wanting to comfort everyone together, but she didn’t expect everyone to be as enthusiastic as if they were filled with chicken blood.

She dressed up and had Nuonuo bring the camera, ready to head to the lucky fan’s house from yesterday.

The surprise was just beginning.

After an hour’s flight, she arrived in City D, then drove for half an hour. Standing in front of the fan’s house, she knocked on the door.

Xiaojian asked who it was as she approached the door, but when she saw Ji Ning, she froze, her face instantly flushing red. “Oh my god…”

Ji Ning waved at her, smiling brightly, “Hello, I’m Ji Ning.”

She never expected things to turn out like this. Xiaojian stood there for a while, stuttering, “Th-this is, yesterday wasn’t it…”

Jining turned his head: “That’s right, the surprise is the cocktail I made for you to drink.”

“Cocktails?!” Xiao Jiang exclaimed, pinching his thigh in excitement, his eyes shining brightly. “I just had this dream three months ago!”

Nuo Nuo couldn’t contain her laughter as she raised her camera.

Requesting the staff to bring out the cocktail tools, Jining planned to make a Tequila Sunrise first. She had tried a bit before, and it tasted good, plus the color was beautiful, perfect for admiring.

She added about one-third of concentrated orange juice into the shaker, followed by half of the ice cubes. Then she added just enough water to cover the ice cubes before shaking. After shaking for a while, she stirred it twice. Then, 45ml of tequila, juice, and a whole glass of grenadine syrup were gradually poured in.

The red sank to the bottom, the orange slowly mixed in, and the top was a pale orange-yellow, with a very pleasing hue, resembling the rising sun when viewed from the mountaintop.

After making the Tequila Sunrise, she made a Long Island Iced Tea.

“Can we see some flair bartending? Like the performance you and the male lead did when you first met at the bar!”

Jining was obliging. She tossed the white wine in the glass upward with one hand and caught it all with the other hand. In fact, she had also learned how to catch the bottle, but it had been too long since she practiced, fearing she might end up smashing the bottle to pieces on the spot, so she decided not to perform.

When they left, Xiao Jiang was still very excited, dragging her to sign several autographs before leaving.

Back at the hotel, she rested on the sofa for ten minutes, asked Nuo Nuo for the video they shot today, and sent it to the Scissors Wife for editing.

[Not too long or too short, three minutes is enough. The preparation can be fast-forwarded.]

After Scissors Wife edited it as she requested, Jining searched how to upload the video and posted it on the studio’s Weibo.

It was already past eleven o’clock when she posted it. Exhausted from the day, Jining collapsed onto her pillow and fell asleep before she could see everyone’s reactions. The next morning, Nuo Nuo came to her door to film her, startling her awake.

“You scared me! When you didn’t reply, I thought something happened to you!”

“I accidentally fell asleep, what’s up?”

“You’re trending again!”

Jining thought she was going to be criticized again, but when she checked, it turned out to be a good trend.

It started when the studio posted the cocktail video. Fans retweeted it with sour comments, but some passersby also joined in. Xiao Jiang also revealed the story of Jining asking her to do makeup, and there were comments praising her:

[Even though it was secretly filmed, Jining still remembered to let her friend do makeup. What a considerate girl.]

[I’m forever loyal to this sweetness 555.]

[She’s so good at taking care of people’s emotions!]

After more people started paying attention, fans explained that Jining learned these skills for acting. Then someone discovered that she also learned camel riding for acting and even got a camel license from a certain school.

Someone even found out that she got a penalty point on her camel license because the camel started eating grass by the roadside while she was riding it. No matter how hard Jining tried to stop it or pull the reins, it was useless, and the scene looked very funny.

Everyone liked novelty. They laughed at how there could still be such things and studied what was written on the camel license:

[Camel’s daily feed flavors… Three fresh? This brother is quite picky eater.]

[Exhaust emission exceeds standards? I think it’s not the owner’s fault if it’s illegal because of this.]

[It’s really hard for Jining with these silly things. How many skills do actresses need before they start filming now?]

[Welcome to pay attention to the treasure girl Jining. For acting, there’s nothing she can’t do. For “Winter Solstice,” she learned calligraphy, for “Fourteen Lines of Youth,” she learned drone flying, for “Moonlight Corridor,” she made cocktails, and for “Roses and the Wind at That Time,” she learned camel riding. No need for five years of college entrance exams or three years of simulations. The roses will premiere on October 11th, it’s free to watch and not expensive. Camels are waiting for you on Double Star TV in wind and rain.]

“Fans are really good at promoting products,” Nono sighed. “Trending topics are quite useful. For example, the qipao trend last time really brought us unexpected benefits. Last week, the main sponsor voluntarily sponsored our dresses. This morning, when I opened my email, T Company sent us an invitation! T Company, the pinnacle of luxury resources, even reached out to us!!”

Jining had already changed her work email to her own on Weibo, filtered by Nono, and then reviewed by her. She really didn’t dare to rely too much on the team behind her now, luckily Huang Miao didn’t bother her.

“What invitation?” Jining asked.

“Promotional ambassador for next year’s new qipao line. It would be foolish not to sign it! Do you know who T Company’s spokesperson for next year will be?!”

Some brands have many gimmicks, inviting many celebrities, including spokespersons, promotional ambassadors, and brand friends. Generally speaking, spokespersons are the best, followed by promotional ambassadors; spokespersons represent the brand’s status and temperament, while promotional ambassadors focus on their potential in certain aspects.

Jining had been too busy recently to check Weibo, so she wasn’t well-informed. “Who?”

“Ji…”

“Me.”

A low, mellow voice came from behind. Jining turned to see Ji Shixian passing by, probably just back from breakfast and resting.

For artists, hotels are like home, because they are often booked close to the filming location by the production team, so it’s not uncommon to run into each other.

He was wearing a simple sportswear, with a casual texture to his slightly tousled hair.

Nono started to wink and gesture at this point, “That’s right, Ji Shixian is the first Chinese global spokesperson, endorsing the entire product line. Although you’re just a promotional ambassador, qipao is T Company’s annual focus, you’ll definitely have a lot of shoots, maybe even together with the spokesperson.”

T Company covers a wide range, from perfumes and cosmetics to clothing, Jining knew that they mostly use European and American actors or models for their shoots, so the style is bold and passionate, with a strong personality. Promotional materials can’t be solved by just posing randomly.

Jining wanted to know what style they had recently adopted, so she asked Nono, “What did T Company’s promotional video look like last year?”

Nono choked for a moment before saying, “Just, a few models… posing.”

“Can you be more specific?”

Nono cleared her throat, “Um, there was… a kissing scene.”

Jining was taken aback, then heard the man in front of her casually adding, “The lip-biting kind.”