While Chen Xiliang and others were pleased with the evening newspaper’s report, Xia Xiaolan cautioned them not to celebrate too early.

“It’s only a small victory. The evening paper’s reporter Liu might just be more straightforward than others. Wait until tomorrow’s papers – Ji Ya will certainly use her connections to suppress tomorrow’s coverage.”

Zhang Xiao, being an actress rather than a celebrity, was still learning about media relations under Xia Xiaolan’s guidance. She expressed doubt: “With so many witnesses, would reporters dare not cover it? They all seemed very interested!”

“Of course, they’ll report it, but if Ji Ya has enough influence, she can delay the papers by a day or two. Tomorrow’s papers will first cover the Elegance fashion show on Wangfujing Street… Delaying your and Comrade Chen’s news by two days would reduce its impact on the Elegance fashion show!”

Xia Xiaolan patiently explained to Zhang Xiao.

Chen Xiliang rubbed his hands together, “But Ji Ya doesn’t know that our TV commercial is also airing the day after tomorrow. Isn’t a two-day delay perfect?”

Just thinking about coordinating with the TV advertisement made Chen Xiliang excited enough to take flight.

Xia Xiaolan nodded: “Yes, we’ve already signed the contract with Central TV for this advertisement. We’ve paid the fees, and the content has passed review. Nobody can pull it now!”

No matter who Ji Ya might approach, it wouldn’t work. Xia Xiaolan had signed the contract following proper procedures, paid hundreds of thousands for the advertising fee, and the content was problem-free. There was no justification for pulling Luna’s advertisement.

Xia Xiaolan’s judgment proved reliable, even Zhang Xiao, who had just joined the small team, felt deeply impressed. When she said the advertisement would air as scheduled, everyone stopped doubting.

When Xia Xiaolan returned to her dormitory, Su Jing was muttering while looking at the evening paper: “It’s so cold, wearing so little, aren’t they cold?”

Yang Yonghong leaned over, “Su Jing, what are you talking about?”

“The fashion show at Wangfujing! If I’d known earlier, I would have gone to watch the excitement.”

Young girls were naturally interested in beautiful clothes – even if they couldn’t afford them, they could still watch!

Xia Xiaolan happened to overhear that her roommates were discussing the evening paper’s news.

“Oh? Are you interested in this?”

Su Jing pursed her lips, “I’m only interested because it’s free to watch. I admire Zhang Xiao the most though – donating tens of thousands in fees just like that! My mom likes Zhang Xiao. I used to think her face was too round, but it turns out she’s such a good person!”

Showing off?

That concept hadn’t yet entered people’s minds.

Though Zhang Xiao had only donated 10,000 yuan, which couldn’t compare to Cheng Rong Group’s millions, Cheng Rong Group was wealthy to begin with, unlike Zhang Xiao who was just an actress. While Cheng Rong Group’s educational donations were positive energy, Zhang Xiao’s actions were equally praiseworthy.

Rather than the fashion show, Room 307 focused more on discussing Zhang Xiao’s donation.

“What Zhang Xiao did is so positive and uplifting. She’s a well-known film actress, and her 10,000 yuan donation can generate significant social attention!”

Among the dormitory residents, Yang Yonghong, coming from the countryside, probably felt the most touched by children’s educational challenges.

Zhang Xiao’s actions could have drawn more attention to this issue, which naturally made Yang Yonghong happy.

Xia Xiaolan noticed that her roommates paid more attention to positive social energy than the fashion show, which they only mentioned in passing. This probably had to do with their identity as students.

Who would be more interested in the fashion show?

Probably young women pursuing fashion, or students from art schools.

Reporter Liu’s article mainly focused on Zhang Xiao, merely mentioning Luna’s Owner Chen in passing. Chen Yiyi, being observant, noticed this point and looked at Xia Xiaolan with questioning eyes seeking confirmation. Xia Xiaolan winked at her, and Chen Yiyi understood – so it was the “Luna” that Xiaolan’s family had invested in.

They’d even hired Zhang Xiao for advertisements – Xiaolan’s family business must be doing very well!

However, since Xiaolan preferred to keep a low profile now, Chen Yiyi didn’t feel the need to point this out to their roommates.

It was natural for everyone to ask Xiaolan to treat them when she went abroad as an exchange student, but if she wanted to keep her family’s business low-key, why should Chen Yiyi expose it?

While fetching water downstairs, Xia Xiaolan overheard others discussing the news. University students were very concerned about current events, and they were all talking about Zhang Xiao’s “donation” news. As for the fashion show, girls would take a look, and boys would secretly peek, but they’d soon forget about it. Would they go watch a brand opening and discuss it with classmates? They’d rather read a few more pages of their textbooks… These weren’t things college students could afford anyway.

“Just one evening paper’s influence is already this significant. Right now it’s just within the university, but in a few days, it will spread throughout society. Combined with the TV advertisement, the promotional effect will be far more than just 1+1=2.”

Ji Ya had invited Wang Mingming to Beijing but hadn’t immediately shot the advertisement.

She was probably fully focused on preparing the fashion show.

However, China’s national conditions differed from foreign countries. Overseas, “fashion” was already a mature industry chain – brands, designers, magazines, fashion weeks, and supermodels formed an unbreakable chain of interests, all contributing to the industry’s blood flow. The exposure of supermodels, global attention on fashion weeks, magazines and media creating buzz… Xia Xiaolan felt the domestic environment wasn’t ready for all this yet.

The broader environment hadn’t matured!

Could anyone succeed in real estate development in the first year of Reform and Opening Up?

The first wave of wealthy private business owners hadn’t emerged yet – who would buy the houses? Losing money would serve them right.

Actually, it wasn’t quite the right time to launch a fashion women’s clothing brand either. The current clothing brands in the market were all about wool sweaters.

Xia Xiaolan had agreed to start Luna, but they needed a year to test market acceptance. Ji Ya, however, was going all out from the start.

“She’s too impatient.”

Probably because she lost face at the wedding banquet, she was anxious to regain face. Ji Ya was too hasty, wanting to crush Xia Xiaolan’s clothing business in one move. What could Xia Xiaolan say? She could only wish Ji Ya luck – taking too big a stride really could pull a muscle!

The next day, as Xia Xiaolan predicted, none of the newspapers mentioned Zhang Xiao’s donation.

Ji Ya had pushed it back.

While heading to class eating a steamed bun and reading the newspaper, Xia Xiaolan thought: “Ji Ya must be extremely pleased right now. Money’s charm is infinite – as long as she spends enough, she can get the newspapers to publish what she wants… Hehe, it’s not that simple.”

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t worried at all, because Zhou Cheng said the newspaper reporter who wanted to interview Chen Xiliang should have arrived at Chen’s hotel by now. Old Chen was about to have an exclusive interview – wonder if he was nervous.

…

Nervous?

After the reporter introduced himself, Chen Xiliang was so nervous he nearly fainted. He rushed to the bathroom and slapped himself twice in front of the mirror:

“Am I dreaming? Is this not a dream? Is this happening or not…”