Chapter 145: Return to Yuzhou

"Lin Maomao Mao" was an account she built herself, but having hit a bottleneck, she was looking for a breakthrough. "Naihuiya" started out singing on the streets; thanks to her decent vocals and high aesthetic appeal, she always attracted a crowd, both offline and online.

This model was the trend at the time, and Naihuiya seized it, gaining three million followers. She, too, hit a bottleneck; after trying several different styles, four million followers became her limit.

Zhou Yun’s thinking was simple: the cycle for incubating influencers from scratch was too long. Small-time fame relies on promotion, but big-time fame relies on destiny—without that destiny, no amount of promotion can help. Instead of incubating, it was better to collaborate directly with established influencers. It was more efficient and allowed her to leverage the established influencer’s existing traffic to bring up newcomers.

The lawyer was focused on the contract. She read it slowly, well aware of what her client cared about most, so she prioritized the resource section.

Lin Maomao Mao's bottleneck was her monotonous shooting style; the condition Zhou Yun offered was to assemble a professional, million-tier production team to film short videos with the quality of high-end advertisements.

Naihuiya's bottleneck was the limit of cover songs; no matter how well she did them, she couldn't gain more followers. She needed a song tailored specifically for her. She had tried this before, purchasing songs, but they were far inferior to her covers. Zhou Yun’s condition was to let her choose from several renowned musicians to have a single custom-made for her.

Why did Naihuiya trust Zhou Yun? Because Tang Zhichu was currently a contestant on the Music Alliance show, and the big boss of the company they were signing with was Tang Zhichu himself.

With these conditions detailed in the contract, the lawyer nodded slowly. "Overall, Zheguang Culture is indeed a company on the rise. Reaching a pleasant cooperation is a win-win for everyone. The only flaw might be the studio-level signing, but the reason Ms. Zhou provided is logical—Mr. Tang cannot personally manage an influencer agency. If you two are still uneasy, Ms. Zhou can find an opportunity to arrange a meeting with Mr. Tang."

Both sides were willing, and everything could be laid out on the table. For the lawyer, it was a relief, and she was actively facilitating the deal.

Zhou Yun added, "Don't worry, there will be plenty of chances to meet later. Don't forget, Old Tang himself is a singer who started on Douyin. His venture into media agencies isn't just a casual move; it's the result of discussions with Douyin."

Zhou Yun wasn't worried they would back out. With Tang Zhichu plus the official backing of Douyin, few influencers on the platform could refuse. Zhou Yun sought them out because she saw potential still waiting to be tapped. Moreover, their ratios of views and likes to follower counts were very healthy.

Lin Maomao Mao and Naihuiya exchanged a look, then Lin Maomao Mao picked up the pen first. "Manager Zhou, please take care of us from now on."

Zhou Yun nodded with a smile. "As Attorney Liu said, this is a win-win. Transportation is convenient these days; if you don't want to come to Yuzhou, that's fine too. Of course, being in Yuzhou would certainly be more convenient, after all, Old Tang could return at any time. You both know how professional he is regarding influencer management."

Over the past few days, Zhou Yun had talked to them a lot about Tang Zhichu. In any case, what Tang Zhichu was doing for the influencer market counted as new resources. Bragging about the boss to employees and building a god-like image for the boss was standard practice.

The addictive dance that went viral on Douyin, the "Butterfly Step" that helped Wang Xiaoyan gain 400,000 followers, and the positioning of Huang Zejun’s videos—all of these were born from Tang Zhichu's ideas. The most absurd case was Huang Zejun, who gained a reputation as the "little CEO" of the dating show, with extremely high popularity.

But high popularity needs a solid foundation. When the "dating show little CEO" started taking photos for people for free and healing people in the city with his gentle voice and actions, that endearing contrast emerged. It had only been a month since the show ended, and Huang Zejun’s Douyin follower count was nearing three million, with a growth rate second only to Tang Zhichu.

This was why Zhou Yun felt a sense of urgency. If she didn't develop, the combined follower count of the influencers under her wouldn't even catch up to Huang Zejun. Sometimes, one has to sigh and admit that big fame really depends on destiny. The person on the dating show who seemed the most confused was the one who ended up with the most ridiculous follower growth.

Hearing Zhou Yun talk about Tang Zhichu again, Naihuiya picked up the pen, signed her name with a flourish, and said, "I actually quite like Yuzhou. I've always wanted to come here. Since I have the chance to work here now, I might as well move over."

Hearing this, Lin Maomao Mao chimed in, "I love hotpot! Manager Zhou, why don't we go have some? My treat, to celebrate our official partnership!"

"Yes, and Attorney Liu should join too. Mao Mao and I will treat."

The lawyer shook her head with a smile. "I have a case tomorrow and need to head back soon. However, I’ve had a wonderful time today; it’s been a while since I handled a job like this. I truly hope you all have great success. Ms. Zhou, you are so beautiful—I think you should try the influencer path yourself. Once people know you're the boss of so many influencers, the traffic will come naturally."

"That's right! Manager Zhou is so pretty, especially her figure. I was drooling when I watched the dating show!"

"Manager Zhou, you should start an account too! Do it with us!"

The lawyer was a professional indeed; with a little guidance, the atmosphere instantly livened up. Friendships among women often begin with compliments.

Zhou Yun shook her head and smiled. "I won't play that game. I'll just focus on serving you all well. Seeing your follower counts grow feels about the same as seeing my own grow. Let's go, I'm treating you to hotpot."

Working behind the scenes was a decision Zhou Yun had made a while ago. Tang Zhichu didn't have the time, Zhou Yun didn't trust Huang Zejun to manage her, and if she stepped into the spotlight herself, there would be no one left to worry about the company.

The hotpot meal quickly bridged the distance between them and the two major influencers. Naihuiya had a mature personality and was the caring type; whenever she noticed someone needed something, she would proactively find the waiter, and she always made sure to grab extra fruit for everyone. Lin Maomao Mao was more outgoing, especially after a few drinks, becoming touchy-feely with Zhou Yun and Naihuiya.

While they ate, Zhou Yun was observing their characters. By the time they finished at ten o'clock, Naihuiya was quite disciplined and was the one to suggest it was getting late, especially since Mao Mao had drunk a bit too much. Zhou Yun dropped them off at their hotel.

It wasn't very late, and for Zhou Yun, the meal had been goal-oriented, so she decided to walk for a while. Through this initial contact, she found both of them easy to get along with. Naihuiya was mature; if asked to lead newcomers, she probably would, though she might have some reservations. Mao Mao was different; if she took a liking to someone, she would likely be the type to proactively mentor them.

Since they were signed, the benefits had to be maximized. Everyone was playing in the traffic pool now; even without offline collaboration, she could at least arrange for them to interact online to lay the groundwork. Including Mao Mao and Naihuiya, Zhou Yun now had eleven influencers under her, nine of whom had over 500,000 followers. It was beginning to take shape.

Lost in thought, she walked unknowingly to a familiar spot. At 10:30, the "Old Tang Sichuan Cuisine" restaurant was already closing up. More than half the lights were out, and from time to time, waiters pushed out bins of food waste, accompanied by laughter and playful banter.

Zhou Yun couldn't help but smile along. She had been here several times but never went in to eat. For her, this place was more like a "substitute" she could visit when she missed someone—just looking was enough.

"Beauty, want to add me on WeChat?"

Zhou Yun was dazed when a voice suddenly interrupted her. She instinctively frowned, then froze. She turned around and saw a familiar figure.

She couldn't control the curve of her lips; her bright eyes were full of surprise. She started walking, then quickened her pace to rush over. Once close, she resisted the urge to embrace him, because there was a business van parked next to Tang Zhichu. The window was down, and besides Wang Jun driving, there were two other people inside.

Tang Zhichu was composed. He took the last few steps between them and hugged Zhou Yun.

"Looks like you've lost weight!"

"No, I haven't!"

"Your double chin seems to be gone."

"You... hurry up and introduce your guests!"

They pulled apart, and Tang Zhichu looked behind him as the people in the car stepped out.

"Zhu Yiyang, a future super screenwriter in the Chinese film industry, and a good friend of mine. Xu Lai, a future super director in the Chinese film industry, and also a good friend. Zhou Yun—you’ve all seen that dating show, so I don't need to introduce her, right?" Tang Zhichu laughed.

Zhu Yiyang and Xu Lai were briefly stunned, both curious about the relationship between Zhou Yun and Tang Zhichu. Boyfriend and girlfriend? Doesn't look like it—didn't everyone say he and Chen Siyang hadn't broken up? Not avoiding people at all? Or has the outside world been fooled? Did he and Chen Siyang break up already? Or are they just good friends, which is why there's no need to avoid suspicion?

Tang Zhichu didn't care what they were thinking. He returned to Yuzhou because he had things to do; Zhu Yiyang had been eliminated and needed to be settled. Bringing Xu Lai along was purely a coincidence. After the show ended, Xu Lai wanted to treat Tang Zhichu to a meal, so Tang Zhichu just brought him along.

Why not avoid suspicion? Because there was work ahead, and it was impossible to avoid it, so it was better to interact openly. Everyone thought he was with Chen Siyang, but who had actually seen it? Didn't they end up separated at the end of the show?