Riding the current wave of the camping craze, coupled with the trend of off-peak travel and customized local getaways, Mountain’s three commercials went live one after another before the National Day holiday, drawing widespread attention online. Many people expressed anticipation for well-designed camping products, while even more shared their thoughts on the convenience of off-peak travel and short-term trips around the city, recounting their past experiences visiting those corresponding scenic spots.
Naturally, Gong Nanxing did not miss out on this wave of traffic. Seizing the opportunity, he increased the budget to push local promotions, prompting many citizens and residents of neighboring cities to start paying attention to this collaboration between Mountain and the travel platform. Aidan’s romance-perspective shooting style also attracted numerous influencers to compete in imitation filming, turning the commercial’s shooting locations into trendy hotspots.
Seeing the impressive data and realizing the time was right, Mountain’s offline launch event kicked off as scheduled during the holiday. Bolstered by Gong Nanxing’s mysterious background and identity, various local media outlets scrambled to reserve their spots. Looking at the long list of approved media names, Qiao Xi couldn’t help wondering if Mr. Gong’s previous low profile was actually just an act of playing mysterious to artificially inflate his own market value!
Regardless of Gong Nanxing’s original intentions, the first offline launch event was packed to capacity at that moment. Peeking through the curtain seam of the temporary dressing room at the sea of professional cameras and reporters in the audience, Little Bull ran over pathetically and crouched down beside the feet of Gong Nanxing, who was reviewing the schedule in front of the vanity mirror.
“Big Brother.”
“Save it. Aren’t I going on stage with you? It’s not like they’re just looking at you.”
“But.”
“The teleprompter has pinyin.”
“Ah! Big Brother! Don’t answer me in advance! Let me ask one!” Little Bull felt as though he was being tightly controlled by Gong Nanxing. Every time he wanted to ask a question, Gong Nanxing would shut him down. Just as he wanted to protest, someone grabbed him by the ear.
“Are you that free? If you’re so free, go memorize your lines!”
Until Little Bull crouched in another corner, his head buzzing as he memorized frantically, the host on the outer stage had also finished the opening remarks. Following the procedure, he and Gong Nanxing went up on stage one after the other. Gong Nanxing’s outfit for the day was in navy blue tones, and standing next to Little Bull made his skin look exceptionally fair. His hair was also meticulously styled by the stylist, exposing his full forehead, while his deep facial contours looked exquisitely refined under the spotlight.
With his extraordinary appearance and unrevealed mysterious background, the cameras in the audience raised up in unison and aimed straight at Gong Nanxing’s face like hunting dogs catching the scent of prey. Witnessing the cameramen swivel their lenses with the precision of sniper rifle adjustments, Little Bull let out a sigh of relief—everyone was here to look at Mr. Gong, so they probably wouldn’t pay too much attention to him!
Despite the situation, Gong Nanxing maintained an expressionless face as he introduced himself, not forgetting to sweep a sideways glance at Little Bull beside him in a black suit. He couldn’t help muttering inwardly: Who on earth suggested finding a mature-looking outfit for the cow? Standing there like that, he looked just like a bodyguard.
Having inexplicably received a glare from Gong Nanxing, Little Bull grew so stiff in his limbs that he almost walked with his arms and legs moving on the same side. He stepped forward, took the handed microphone, and began reciting his self-introduction. Although his speed was slow, he fortunately finished reciting the entire standard Mandarin introduction without missing a beat.
One had to admit that having Gong Nanxing standing nearby felt like getting an injection of confidence. During the interview segment, Little Bull frequently forgot he was on stage and kept stealing glances at Gong Nanxing’s profile as he answered questions.
“If you zone out again, I’m going to shave you.”
As the procedure moved to showcasing all the brand products featured in the commercials, while staff members fetched the samples, Gong Nanxing silently brushed past Little Bull’s ear and left behind a threat. Feeling a tingling sensation in his ear, the cow stood at attention with his legs together without even thinking, blinking his innocent big cow eyes as he curiously looked toward the staff just like the audience below.
Spotting this, the host improvised to liven up the atmosphere, smoothly asking Little Bull as the brand model which product was his favorite. Gong Nanxing thought to himself: Oh no, this question wasn’t on the interview script. I hope this big dummy doesn’t start spouting nonsense. Just as he opened his mouth to help Little Bull answer the question, he heard Little Bull crisply reply:
“I like the water bottle best!”
“The water bottle?” The host was visibly startled by the answer, as water bottles were not among the items Mountain was exhibiting this season.
He knew the cow was foolish, but he didn’t realize he was this foolish—wouldn’t saying he liked all of them have sufficed! Gong Nanxing felt fire shooting from his eyes and stepped forward two paces to clarify to the host:
“Mountain’s products explore the boundary between nature and the city, so we are also developing products that can be used for camping as well as daily work and life. The thermos cup is one of them.”
Gong Nanxing’s impromptu explanation piqued the curiosity of the audience below, who eagerly expressed wanting to see the new product in advance. However, since there were no plans to launch new products today, naturally no samples had been brought to the venue. Exchanging glances with the staff in the audience, the host hurriedly started beating around the bush to smooth things over.
Realizing he might have said something he shouldn’t have, Little Bull shrank his body down until he looked barely one and a half meters tall, tucking his tail in as he scurried over to Gong Nanxing for rescue: “Big Brother… what do I do, I messed up. But if they really want it, I actually brought mine.”
“What else can you do? Clean up the mess you made yourself. Go get it.”
Gong Nanxing forced down the urge to stage a live demonstration of ripping apart roasted beef on the spot, and with a smooth, agreeable smile, he replied: “Can’t be helped. The model at home has eyes too pure and simply can’t keep a secret.”
While Little Bull went backstage to retrieve his water bottle, the host suggested the audience wait a moment and learn about the design concepts behind Mountain’s camping products for this season, giving everyone something to look forward to for future releases. The designer then took the stage to explain the original design intent behind each item. Mountain’s products discarded the rigid stereotypes of past camping apparel being “machismo” or “monotone in style.” While maintaining original functionality, they offered a wider variety of color palettes and conducted meticulous body data research across different genders and body types to better fit individual curves and demands.
After thanking the designer, the host turned to discuss sales data for this season’s products with Gong Nanxing. Ever since the launch, the uniquely colored windbreakers and camping chairs capable of adjusting to various user heights had received widespread acclaim, and the host asked if Gong Nanxing had anything to share regarding this success.
Right at that moment, Little Bull was holding his thermos cup, standing eagerly backstage waiting for his cue to return to stage. Finding the sight somewhat amusing, Gong Nanxing gestured for Little Bull to come back up.
“Our products are released only after being tested by different groups of people, including our model—he isn’t just here to look pretty in photos.”
Prompted by Gong Nanxing’s words, Little Bull used his quick wit and immediately asked the host to hold the microphone while he personally demonstrated the thermos cup in his hands. The entire cup featured a minimalist design that didn’t look out of place in work, daily life, or even business settings. At the same time, it was equipped with interfaces for various specialized accessories: a shoulder strap to free up hands during daily commutes, and a fixed mount bracket for outdoor cycling.
Hearing the growing buzz and cheers from the audience, Little Bull even demonstrated his own unique way of using it: the cup’s lanyard was made of a special material that could transform and combine with the lid to turn into a phone stand. Paired with a cycling mount, it could even temporarily serve as a shared electric scooter smartphone holder during rides.
“Darn it, you can’t even hate on this; this is a genuine college student who actually rides shared bikes.” “Damn, now I really want one.” “Where is human decency? And where is the link?”
As soon as the offline video of Mountain’s debut launch event was uploaded, the comment section was swamped by netizens clamoring for the thermos cup to be put on shelves immediately. Gong Nanxing also never expected that Little Bull’s happy accident would catapult one of their unreleased standalone items into massive popularity, boasting features even the designer hadn’t anticipated. This cow really did have a natural talent for driving sales!
It seemed he needed to arrange even more devilish training sessions for him; e-commerce live streaming needed to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. With that thought, Gong Nanxing reflected the glowing light of the computer video playback, wearing a capitalist’s shrewd and cunning smile.