Chapter 117: Demon! Demon!

Since it had been decided that Qin Luo would play the male lead, the shooting schedule had to be revised once again.

After measuring Qin Luo’s height, one of Jin Derui’s photography assistants hurried back to fetch clothes, a wig, and other costume pieces suited to him.

Jin Derui continued photographing Chen Sixuan. At the very least, they had to finish this Queen series first.

“I still don’t think I’m suitable for this,” Qin Luo said miserably to Li Qingcheng, who was standing beside him.

“Why aren’t you suitable?”

“If I do this, won’t I become famous?”

“And what’s wrong with becoming famous? Wouldn’t that be even better?” Li Qingcheng retorted.

“People will curse me.” Qin Luo looked aggrieved.

“Who will curse you? And why would they curse you?” Li Qingcheng flew into a rage, looking ready to roll up her sleeves and fight anyone who dared.

When this woman became fierce, she was truly intimidating. She was like a tank: there was no fortress she could not level and no hill she could not climb. There was practically nothing she would not do.

“I’m a doctor. A traditional Chinese doctor, at that. If I endorse your product—”

Li Qingcheng curled her lips. “Let me correct one thing. That product is yours, not mine. How many shares do I own?”

“At least everyone outside thinks it belongs to you.”

“That’s right. What other fool of a woman would there be like me? I stand in front of everyone, grinning stupidly and basking in the glory, while all the practical benefits fall straight into your pockets.” Li Qingcheng laughed as she scolded him.

Qin Luo smiled but did not respond to her teasing. Instead, he said, “Think about it. I’m a doctor, and I’ve only just begun to gain a little fame, yet I run off to endorse a product for someone else. The media and the public will definitely think I’m a fraud—someone who has come out to make a quick buck selling snake oil.”

That was simply the reality of Hua Xia. Many people possessed minds so narrow that they were pitifully extreme.

In the eyes of some, anyone who wrote books deserved to starve to death. Unless you could avoid starving yourself to death like Cao Xueqin, you were not a good writer. You could not produce good work. Those engaged in scientific or pharmaceutical research were expected to bury themselves wholeheartedly in their studies as well.

Endorse a product and appear in advertisements? Then one might as well wait for people to throw rotten shoes.

Qin Luo was a traditional Chinese doctor, and his career was currently in a period of rapid growth. Moreover, because his identity as the inheritor of the Supreme Unity Divine Needle had been exposed, he was now the most prominent figure in the medical and pharmaceutical press.

Countless newspapers and magazines were putting photographs of him in his long robe on their covers.

He could devote himself obediently to academic research, treat patients, or compete with others in medical skill—anything was acceptable, so long as he did not endorse a product or appear in an advertisement.

Ultimately, Hua Xia lacked fair and transparent regulatory institutions. Celebrities were willing to endorse any advertisement for money, while the public had been deceived time and again. They had long since lost faith in the entire celebrity-endorsement system.

Li Qingcheng thought for a moment and understood Qin Luo’s concerns. There was nothing she could do about such matters either. The public’s lack of faith in celebrity endorsements was not something she could restore on her own.

“I understand.” Li Qingcheng nodded. “I won’t force you. If you truly don’t want to do it, I can wait for another celebrity’s schedule to open up, or look for someone else suitable. Once we finish the Queen series today, we can go back.”

Li Qingcheng looked at Qin Luo solemnly. “But my personal advice is that you should follow your own path. You should do what others dare not do. You should make people believe in what they do not yet believe. These days, the public is no longer blindly enthusiastic about products endorsed by celebrities. In fact, they even harbor a certain degree of hostility toward them. That isn’t normal.”

“You should restore their confidence through your own actions and through the product you endorse. If this were some piece of worthless garbage, I would have rejected it for you even if you were willing. But I have confidence in Golden Cocoon Skin-Nourishing Powder and Skin-Nourishing Water. And because I was worried that the products might have side effects, I’ve been using the samples these past few days. This product is yours. Don’t you have confidence in it?”

“Of course I do.” Qin Luo nodded with a smile. If he had not believed in the product, he would never have been willing to bring it out or agree to promote and launch it.

If he had, his grandfather would have broken his legs.

Besides, if he had not anticipated that the product would become wildly popular after its launch, he would never have signed such a harsh profit-sharing agreement with Li Qingcheng.

Was he really such a stingy man?

No.

“Qin Luo, do you know why people like you?” Li Qingcheng asked, looking at him.

“I don’t think they do. What about me is there to like?” Qin Luo said shyly. In his heart, he felt that he was being incredibly hypocritical.

“You aren’t handsome. You’re not very tall. Your build isn’t particularly good either—”

“Wait, I can’t agree with that. I’m not very tall, and my build isn’t anything special. But how exactly am I not handsome?”

“You’re not handsome. At least, you don’t fit my standards of beauty. You lack taste, you lack maturity, you don’t have a scruffy beard or deep-set eyes, your complexion is too fair, and sometimes you aren’t assertive enough. But do you understand why so many women are willing to surround themselves with you?”

“I don’t know,” Qin Luo said gloomily. He had been in a perfectly good mood, and she had insisted on tearing him down until he was worthless. How hateful.

“Because you are Qin Luo. The one and only Qin Luo.”

Li Qingcheng completely ignored the displeasure on his face.

“You’re an unconventional person, with your own unique thoughts and habits. You have little experience of the world, yet you are highly calculating. You are innocent with your friends, but feign innocence with your enemies. You refuse to accept the fixed values and habits of ordinary people, and you are constantly trying to overturn them. You don’t believe that something is necessarily reasonable simply because it has always existed. Everyone thinks breakfast must consist of rice porridge, but you show up with a bowl of noodles and say that noodles are perfectly good too. That is different from those who merely seek attention. It is a higher form of adaptability.”

Li Qingcheng looked at Qin Luo, whose mouth hung open and whose face was blank with astonishment. With a charming smile, she said, “That is where your appeal lies. You dare to say what others want to say but cannot. You can do what others want to do but dare not. You will make some people dislike you, even hate you, but even more people will be willing to follow and worship you. They worship you like an idol. The way your students behave doesn’t prove that?”

“Why do so many people like you? Why are there so many people attending every one of your classes? In the past, it was the students of the Traditional Medicine Hospital who went to the Western Medicine Hospital to attend lectures. Ever since you arrived, the students from the Western Medicine Hospital have been running to the Traditional Medicine Hospital to hear you teach. That was unimaginable before. Why were your students able to bravely stand up and demand that the school bring you back after you were dismissed by your department? It’s not as though teachers had never been dismissed before. Why did no one else receive such treatment? Why are more and more students wearing long robes on campus? Why has there even been a trend of wearing long robes at the school?”

“In the future, as your reputation grows and more people come to know you, more people will follow you as well. At that point, you will become an idol to the entire nation. Every word you say and every move you make will attract attention and be imitated. What will you do then?”

“In this age when faith is fading, you must not merely echo what everyone else says, and you must not drift with the tide. You need to give them a healthy and positive set of values. Otherwise, they will continue rushing about like a swarm of headless flies.”

“You only need to be yourself—to be Qin Luo.” Li Qingcheng finished.

Several minutes after she stopped speaking, Qin Luo was still staring at her blankly. She could not help touching her face.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“You’re a demon,” Qin Luo said.

To be honest, Li Qingcheng’s words had shaken him deeply.

Before this, he had only known what he needed to do and what he ought to do. He had never carefully considered why he needed to do it.

He knew what kind of person he was, but he had never understood why he had chosen to become such a person.

Never before—including himself—had anyone analyzed him so thoroughly, inside and out. No one had ever seen him so clearly. Not even he could.

But Li Qingcheng had done it.

She had not only seen his present; she had also seen his future. She had not only clearly told him what he was doing now, but also what he should do in the future.

A woman like this was either a demon or a philosopher.

Qin Luo was certainly unwilling to admit that she was a philosopher. After all, she had just called him unattractive.

Li Qingcheng’s phoenix eyes blinked repeatedly. She licked her lips and said seductively, “That’s right. I’m a demon who devours people without even spitting out their bones. Are you afraid?”

“Terrified.” Qin Luo’s vision swam. Come on, hurry up and devour me. I won’t put up much of a fight.

Jin Derui came over carrying his camera. “We’ve finished the first set of photographs. Once the assistant brings the clothes, we can begin shooting the next series. Do either of you have any good suggestions for a promotional name?”

Li Qingcheng looked at Qin Luo and said with a smile, “It’s still not too late to change your mind.”

“Change my mind? About what?” Jin Derui asked nervously. “Didn’t we agree that we were going to shoot it? Why aren’t we doing it anymore?”

“You’ve already gone this far in persuading me. How could I still refuse?” Qin Luo said with a bitter smile.

He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before saying, “How about calling this series Drawing Your Brows for a Lifetime?”

“Drawing Your Brows for a Lifetime?” Jin Derui considered the name seriously. Then his face lit up with delight. “Excellent. Absolutely wonderful. Mr. Qin, you truly are a genius.”

“Not bad.” Li Qingcheng nodded as well. “It makes the heart tremble just hearing it. What woman could resist the temptation of having her beloved draw her brows for a lifetime? No wonder you’ve led so many innocent young girls astray. So this is how well you understand women’s hearts beneath that feigned innocent virgin act.”

“I was only saying whatever came to mind,” Qin Luo said awkwardly.

“You can come up with a name like this without even trying. What would happen if you gave it serious thought? It seems I’d better keep my distance from you, in case I actually fall for you one day. If that happened, wouldn’t this old woman have to fight those little girls for a man?” Li Qingcheng teased.