78: Chapter 78 Uncle Zhao! (Hugs)

In the TG Entertainment basement, the lights stayed on all night. A faint, sweet scent of Choco Pies lingered in the air, mixing with the bitterness of coffee and the smell of printer ink to create a peculiar "battlefield" atmosphere. Jiang Zhiyu sat before several monitors, his gaze sharp, yet his face held a nearly frantic sense of calm.

The screen on the left displayed a highlight reel meticulously edited with music and special effects titled "Angel Devouring a Choco Pie, Shouting I Love Orion Most." The footage transitioned from the tragic solemnity of Jang Wonyoung being hoisted by wires to her shock and the sensory impact of the first bite, ending with that voice-cracking yet sincere shout. Accompanied by epic BGM and slow-motion replays, it actually managed to evoke an absurd sense of heroism—a "small individual against a sweet natural disaster." The closing credits slowly appeared: "When desire becomes the power to save the world..."

The screen on the right showed a completely different style: a concept behind-the-scenes clip titled "Angel Descends, Angel Toilet Spin." This version was processed to be more cartoonish and dreamlike, with bright and soft tones. In the footage, "Young Angel Lim Ying-er" (a cartoon image of Jang Wonyoung or a distant stand-in) sat on a "wonderful chair" (only vaguely hinted at by its shape) designed like clouds and stars with a soft golden glow. Due to a minor magical mishap, she gently and slowly spun around once, her expression one of innocence and a hint of curiosity. The background featured Bubbles and halo effects set to lighthearted, playful music. The subtitles read: "Sometimes, small accidents can lead to new discoveries... and a clean new experience." The Jieshi Sanitary Ware logo was faintly visible in the corner.

Two videos: one elevated a moment of social death into a hot-blooded (?) advertisement, while the other packaged an awkward setup as a fun educational piece for children (?). Jiang Zhiyu scrutinized them for a moment before nodding in satisfaction.

"Send." He pressed the Enter key.

The two "assignments," carrying Jiang Zhiyu's ambition and schemes, flew toward the Orion Marketing Department and the Jieshi Marketing Department respectively.

Orion Headquarters, Marketing Department meeting room.

Director Park of the Marketing Department wore glasses and looked at the large screen with a serious expression. When he saw the footage of Jang Wonyoung hanging from a giant pie and trying her best to "devour" it, his lip twitched. When he heard that crisp shout of "I love Orion most—!!!", the entire meeting room fell silent for a moment.

Then, someone couldn't help themselves and let out a "pfft" of laughter, followed by a wave of low chuckles spreading through the room.

Director Park pushed up his glasses to hide the flash of amusement and... amazement in his eyes. He cleared his throat: "Ahem... although the format is... unconventional, the reach, memorability, talking points, and the actor's dedication are... impeccable. Especially that final line—the emotion is sincere and incredibly impactful. This isn't just simple product placement anymore; it's a complete, narrative-driven 'event marketing' campaign."

He looked around the meeting room: "Contact Starship Entertainment. We need to discuss the possibility of Ms. Jang Wonyoung serving as the brand ambassador for our new product... no, perhaps even as the face of our brand's rejuvenation and fun-oriented image. This project deserves a much larger collaboration."

Starship Entertainment, CEO's office.

The CEO looked at the enthusiastically worded letter of intent from Orion with its generous terms, as well as the attached "pie-eating" video, and fell into a minute-long silence. Seeing his own ace girl group member looking so humiliated yet working so hard in the video left him with complicated feelings.

"This... Jiang Zhiyu... what on earth is he..." The CEO rubbed his temples. "However, Orion's national recognition and the price they're offering this time... plus their proposed 'Fun Adventurer' concept for the new ambassador, the positioning is indeed unique and could help Wonyoung broaden her image..."

He looked at the Manager beside him, who also had a subtle expression: "How is Wonyoung's... mood?"

The Manager smiled bitterly: "She's trying her best to process it. But after seeing Orion's formal intent and... well, their high praise, it seems... her resistance isn't that strong anymore? Maybe she feels 'social death' was worth it?"

The CEO sighed: "Arrange a meeting. This is an opportunity, even if the way it arrived is a bit... special."

Almost at the same time, in SM Entertainment, Director Kim Young-min's office.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy. Kim Young-min looked at the formal contract draft from Jieshi Sanitary Ware inviting Im Yoona to be the ambassador for their "High-end Fresh Series," as well as the breakdown of the astronomical endorsement fee, and his brow furrowed into a knot.

The contract itself had excellent terms, and the brand image didn't conflict with Im Yoona's clean and elegant public image. However, the attached requirements for promotional materials explicitly mentioned the "need to cooperate with the destined kim hyo-soon special episode for cross-promotional fun content," and included a link to that "Angel Toilet Spin" concept footage.

Kim Young-min clicked the link.

He watched the cartoonish "angel" on the screen, wrapped in soft light effects and spinning slowly, along with the slogan "A clean new experience," and his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

What was this? A top-tier endorsement earned through a "toilet" meme? Would it even be respectable if word got out? Im Yoona was the Visual of Girls Generation, a top actress!

He looked up at Im Yoona's Manager sitting across from him, as well as the head of the Artist Management Department who had been called in urgently. The Manager had a complex "I don't even know what to say" expression.

The office was so quiet that the sound of the air conditioner could be heard.

After a long while, Kim Young-min seemed to finally find a balance between the shock of the contract amount and the absurdity of the video content. He took off his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and spoke slowly in a tone that tried to convince both himself and the others:

"Actually... look at this."

He pointed at the numbers on the contract: "This endorsement fee, and the omni-channel resources Jieshi Sanitary Ware has promised, will provide a very real boost to Yoona's personal commercial value."

He then pointed at the paused cartoon footage on the screen, which looked more cute than vulgar: "This... 'fun content' has been handled very... softly. There are no actual unsightly images. It can even be interpreted as a form of marketing that breaks conventions with a sense of humor that's close to daily life."

He paused for a moment, seemingly organizing more powerful reasons: "Moreover, this is based on drama spin-off content that has already been filmed and approved by TVN. It's not abrupt. That kid Jiang Zhiyu... though his methods are wild, this time, he's certainly broken through commercially."

He looked around at his subordinates' varying expressions and finally fixed his gaze on Im Yoona's Manager, his tone carrying a determined, subtle sense of self-justification:

"For Yoona... this expands her endorsement categories, increases her commercial value, and the partner brand is a well-known enterprise... in the long run, it might not be a bad thing... right?"

The Manager opened his mouth, looking at the complex expression on the Director's face—a mix of approval for the money and helplessness over the content—and then thought about the reaction Im Yoona might have if she knew how this endorsement came about. Ultimately, he could only dryly agree: "...Yes, Director. I will... communicate properly with Yoona."

Kim Young-min nodded, as if he had completed a difficult piece of mental construction, and put his glasses back on: "Mhm. Refine the contract details further, especially regarding the final audit rights for promotional content. Then... proceed as quickly as possible."

He didn't want to look at that "Angel Spin" video anymore. He was afraid that if he watched it too much, he would start to feel that the golden, glowing toilet (chair) design... wasn't so hard to accept after all?

After all, it now looked more like a golden vortex leading toward a massive endorsement contract.

The news seemed to grow wings, quietly circulating within a very limited circle.

Starship was both surprised and confused by the sudden top-tier snack endorsement.

The SM executives had complicated feelings about the astronomical sanitary ware endorsement, trying to use commercial logic to convince themselves.

Meanwhile, the two people at the eye of the storm—

Jang Wonyoung sat in her dorm, looking at the draft endorsement proposal from Orion filled with praise and expectations, her mood swinging violently between "I really did die a social death" and "Wait... is this a blessing in disguise?"

As for Im Yoona, when she heard about the "Jieshi Sanitary Ware high-end line endorsement" and the contract amount from her Manager, she was first surprised. Then, during the Manager's stuttering and shifty-eyed supplementary explanation, she quickly understood the whole story. She fell silent for a long time before flashing a brilliantly radiant—yet menacingly "kind"—smile that made the Manager beside her hair stand on end.

"Jiang... Zhi... Yu..." she muttered the name softly, her fingertips unconsciously tapping on the table.

That guy not only used her "potential dark history" to get a massive contract but also successfully made the company's top brass feel like "this was a good thing"?

The feeling of being sold (for a high price) and then having to help count the money (and almost being convinced it was a good deal)...

Was very, very bad.

But she had to admit, on a commercial level, that guy had won again—won beautifully and ridiculously.

It's just that, holding this endorsement fee, why did it feel... a bit like a hot potato?

She decided that the next time she saw Jiang Zhiyu, she would definitely use the "Black Halo" (if the prop was still around) to smash him ten times. No, twenty times.

And the instigator, Jiang Zhiyu, was currently sitting in the dim basement, having just received the preliminary feedback emails from both Orion and Jieshi Sanitary Ware, which were filled with excitement and approval.

He leaned back in his chair, hands interlaced behind his head, looking at the two emails side-by-side on his computer screen. A tired but pleasant curve, showing everything was within his grasp, hooked the corner of his mouth.

"See," he whispered, as if to some invisible opponent, "the line between absurdity and commerce, between social death and top-tier status, has always been razor-thin."

"The key lies in how to cross it... gracefully."

He picked up the last piece of cold, slightly hardened Choco Pie scrap from the table and took a bite.

The taste was still sweet enough to make one's mood pleasant.

This crazy chess game he had orchestrated—a mix of snacks, toilets, shame play, and astronomical endorsements—was now a checkmate.

Next, it was time to flip the board and switch to an even more exciting way to play.

He looked out the window at the brightening sky, a new, dark light of excitement flickering in his eyes.

The rise of TG Entertainment had only just begun. And his "inspiration" would never run dry.