Chapter 263 Rising Above the Low
Although the event organizers and record company had arranged accommodations, now that Yang Yingying's boyfriend — a company boss — had arrived, and more importantly, because he was the heir of Yuanxin, everything changed.
Yang Yingying was moved to the five-star hotel where Su Yuanshan was staying, and the four of them shared a late-night supper at the hotel.
Afterward, they all sat in the hotel café, chatting like old friends.
Naturally, Zhou Xiaohui and Yang Yingying chatted more, while Su Yuanshan and Jiang Qingchuan mostly talked shop.
Each group had their own topics without interfering with the other.
"Almost forgot!"
Su Yuanshan laughed when he saw Yang Yingying casually signing every page of Zhou Xiaohui's notebook —
Zhou Xiaohui had slyly requested a signature on every single page.
Yang Yingying, now aware that Zhou Xiaohui was Su Yuanshan's secretary — and thus effectively an executive assistant in Yuanxin — was very accommodating, signing as they chatted.
As Yang Yingying put it,
"Consider it autograph practice."
Everyone turned to look at Su Yuanshan.
Scratching his head sheepishly, he said,
"I meant to buy a box of your postcards at the street market today… but I forgot."
"Ah? No worries,"
Yang Yingying smiled sweetly.
From the beginning, Su Yuanshan had called her "sister-in-law," and although she had blushed and felt awkward at first, she had quickly grown used to it.
She said softly,
"Those street market ones are pirated copies anyway. Poor quality.
I have official ones in my suitcase."
"Then please sign a stack for me."
"Of course!"
"Oh, by the way, we're planning a grand end-of-year celebration for Yuanxin.
Would you be willing to perform as the headline act?"
"Sure,"
Yang Yingying nodded.
"And... I was thinking,"
Su Yuanshan added thoughtfully,
"besides VCDs, maybe you could also endorse Zhongxin's products. Their design direction is shifting toward a more stylish vibe."
"I'll speak to Old Wang and have Old Wan work out the details with your company."
Although Yang Yingying didn't know who "Old Wang" and "Old Wan" were, she guessed they were important people.
Zhou Xiaohui helpfully explained,
"Wang Chaoxin, President of Zhongxin and also Vice President of Yuanxin.
Wan Yongliang, Yuanxin's Vice President of Operations."
"Mm..."
Yang Yingying nodded again, giving Su Yuanshan a grateful look.
Truthfully, while she loved singing, product endorsements — especially for high-end electronics — were far better in terms of income, prestige, and workload.
Before Yuanxin approached her, the products she endorsed were things like bottled water and health supplements —
cheap products that only wanted her photo on their boxes, with no real brand building.
But Yuanxin's VCDs were different —
from packaging to advertising to promotional videos, everything was top-notch, aiming to perfectly blend the spokesperson's image with the product's spirit.
And Yuanxin's management wasn't greasy or vulgar —
They were refined, respectful, and considerate.
Time, of course, was always tight — but her time was tight too.
Meanwhile, Jiang Qingchuan quietly patted Su Yuanshan's shoulder, understanding the unspoken generosity.
Su Yuanshan had always been generous with his senior brothers.
When Jiang had started dating Yang Yingying, he knew it would be inappropriate to push her as a candidate for endorsement himself —
That would be improper.
"By the way, sister-in-law, are you planning to keep singing, or do you have other plans?"
Su Yuanshan asked, glancing at Jiang Qingchuan.
"I don't mind.
If she enjoys singing, she should keep at it,"
Jiang shrugged with a laugh.
"If I want to keep endorsing products, I'll need to keep singing,"
Yang Yingying said gently.
"Otherwise, it would feel like I'm cheating you."
"Haha, fair enough."
"But, Yingying,"
Zhou Xiaohui suddenly nudged her and asked mischievously,
"I heard the entertainment industry is... a little messy.
Is it really that bad?"
Yang Yingying paused, then laughed softly,
"I've heard the same.
Especially in Hong Kong."
"Don't worry, Sister Xiaohui,"
Su Yuanshan interjected.
"No matter how messy it gets, it won't touch our sister-in-law.
You really think my Senior Brother is so easy to mess with?"
"I'm not that overbearing,"
Jiang Qingchuan smirked.
"But yeah, she's not someone others can easily bully either."
"Hmm? Did something happen today?"
Yang Yingying picked up on the odd tone and asked curiously.
"Nothing big,"
Su Yuanshan said casually.
"Just some punk in two Mercedes 600s trying to act tough —
But when he realized whose car it was, I told him off."
He sighed.
"Flashing cars, watches, and wealth... it's all so meaningless."
"I agree,"
Zhou Xiaohui nodded.
Yang Yingying thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded too.
"Indeed, it's meaningless."
...
Around midnight, the four left the café and retired to their rooms.
Jiang Qingchuan escorted Yang Yingying to her room.
Seeing him pull out his phone to call the driver, she hesitated and asked,
"You're leaving so late?"
"Yeah, there's a work meeting early tomorrow.
Besides, the driver's waiting downstairs,"
he said, sitting on the bed and holding her hand apologetically.
"Stay a few more days, okay?"
"Alright,"
Yang Yingying agreed softly.
She hesitated again before asking,
"Is Xiaoshan really that uninterested in buying expensive things?
Does he hate flaunting wealth?"
"Uh... not exactly,"
Jiang Qingchuan laughed.
"Everyone hates show-offs.
But mainly — who's richer than him in China?"
Yang Yingying opened her mouth, thought about it carefully, then laughed.
"True.
No one compares."
"And we're all engineers at heart.
Our real passion is in our work and projects.
Personal wealth is just incidental."
"My goal is to build an industrial park with hundreds of thousands of workers.
Xiaoshan's goal is to build Yuanxin into a massive multinational group."
"In the face of those goals, personal luxuries are trivial — just a matter of mood."
Yang Yingying smiled, her eyes glowing.
"Is that what they mean by rising above the vulgar?"
Jiang Qingchuan grinned.
"You're smart."
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