After some coaxing, Yun Qingqing finally persuaded Miss Gu to temporarily abandon the male model idea and focus on selling brooms.
The livestream audience was amused:
【LOL, Gu Mingyan really knows how to treat friends—she ordered male models for a sad friend.】
【Poor Yun Qingqing is speechless.】
【Honestly, I’m a little jealous—can I get a dozen friends like this?】
With the hyper-enthusiastic Miss Gu under control, Yun Qingqing’s attention returned to the plain brooms.
She remembered that in the original story, Gu Mingyan and Zhang Ying were too proud to sell the brooms, ending with the lowest sales and being forced to hop around the giant castle three times—nearly collapsing.
Even imagining that scene gave Yun Qingqing chills.
The castle was huge; hopping three laps could be deadly!
Gu Mingyan pouted beside her: “If it weren’t for Jin Yan, I wouldn’t be suffering in this stupid show.”
Yun Qingqing perked up a little at the unlucky name. “Mm-hm.”
Gu Mingyan continued whining: “We’ve been here days and haven’t even seen Jin Yan once. All these clothes, jewelry, perfumes I brought—who am I even wearing them for?”
Yun Qingqing: “Mm-hm.”
Gu Mingyan shook her handbag, muttering: “I was foolish to bring all these heavy perfumes… might as well throw them away.”
Yun Qingqing: “Mm-hm… wait?!”
She snapped to attention. “You’re going to throw away your perfumes?”
“Yeah, I don’t like them anymore; keeping them takes up space.” Gu Mingyan, assuming Yun Qingqing wanted them, handed over the bag generously.
Yun Qingqing opened it—inside were several bottles of high-end perfumes, mostly new or classic editions, each pricey and barely used.
She didn’t wear perfume herself, but instead of throwing them away, she had another idea: “Mingyan, what if we use these perfumes as gifts to sell the brooms? Would anyone buy them?”
Gu Mingyan tilted her head, thinking it made sense. Since she was already planning to get rid of them, she shrugged: “Sure, whatever.”
The livestream erupted:
【Wait, buy a broom and get luxury perfume free? This can’t be real!】
【Let’s calculate—broom costs maybe a few dozen yuan, perfume thousands. The buyer gets a huge bargain!】
【I’m in this city! Can I still get there by cab?】
【Wish I were there—I feel like I just missed a billion!】
Just as Yun Qingqing was about to start selling, a Koenigsegg slowly arrived at the scenic gate.
The car door opened, and Meng Xian and Ding Manni stepped out, both looking pale and shaky.
Yun Qingqing muttered: “Aren’t they supposed to have a chauffeur? Why are they slower than us? And they look unwell.”
Gu Mingyan glanced indifferently: “Maybe the mountain road is tricky.”
What she didn’t know was that Meng Xian, focused on showing off, hadn’t considered comfort and chose a sports car with a stiff suspension.
Ten kilometers of winding mountain roads later, the ride was torturous.
Meng Xian and Ding Manni endured the bumps and skids, making it to the destination without losing composure on camera.
The moment the car stopped, Meng Xian ran to a trash bin and, behind the camera, gagged.
She regretted spending tens of thousands, getting no scenery, and suffering the entire way.
Quickly fixing her makeup, she and the equally pale Ding Manni walked toward the production team’s designated task point.
When they saw that the production team had provided only a few brooms, both of them were speechless.
“No worries, Xianxian,” Ding Manni encouraged from the side. “With your popularity, even if you’re selling brooms, someone will definitely buy them.”
Meng Xian nodded confidently. She had always trusted in her fame and public appeal.
Since they arrived late, the prime spots were already taken.
They had no choice but to settle for a slightly secluded area, leaning the brooms against the wall and setting up their little stall.
Sure enough, no sooner had they stood there than some sharp-eyed passersby recognized Meng Xian.
“Eh?! Isn’t that Meng Xian? She’s filming a show?”
“It’s really her! She’s so beautiful in person!”
“Come on, let’s go check it out!”
Soon, small groups of tourists and onlookers gathered, snapping photos and greeting her enthusiastically.
“Hi, Xianxian! I love your acting!”
“Can I take a photo with you?”
“You’re selling brooms? Haha, so down-to-earth!”
Meng Xian kept a friendly smile, responding to everyone.
With more people, the atmosphere grew lively. Naturally, some wanted to support her or interact up close, asking for prices and buying brooms without hesitation.
The livestream audience was envious:
【Wow, Meng Xian’s popularity is insane! Look at all these people surrounding her.】
【I’m so jealous of those onsite—they get to see her up close!】
【Haha, Xianxian arrived late but doesn’t need to worry about selling.】
Meng Xian smiled and shook hands with fans, secretly feeling proud.
What use was it that Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan arrived early? What good was a prime stall?
For a task purely about public appeal, only real popularity mattered.
She was still reveling in this thought when she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, a few people at the edge whispering to each other—and then, without hesitation, turning and quickly walking away.
At first, she didn’t think much of it, assuming they were in a rush to explore.
But more and more people left, and the stall visibly emptied.
Something was wrong!
Meng Xian quickly reached out and grabbed a young girl who was about to leave.
In her haste, she grabbed too hard, and the girl cried out, “Ouch!”
“Oh, sorry! Didn’t mean to hurt you. Can I ask what you’re all rushing to?” Meng Xian said.
The girl, rubbing her wrist, recognized the celebrity and her annoyance instantly turned to delight:
“Ah, it’s Meng Xian! No problem! We heard that at the center of the street, there are guests selling brooms with luxury perfume as a gift, so we wanted to hurry over.”
Brooms… with luxury perfume?
Meng Xian didn’t need to think—she knew that the guests giving perfume had to be Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan.
She opened her mouth to ask more, but the girl’s friend was impatiently urging her forward:
“Hurry! Who cares about the celebrity? The perfume will be gone if we’re slow!”
The girl snapped back to reality, waved at Meng Xian: “Bye, Sister Meng Xian!” and ran off after her friend.
Ding Manni muttered in dissatisfaction: “Gu Mingyan always resorts to flashy marketing stunts like this…”
Meng Xian bit her lip, glaring in the direction they had gone.
On the way back, the production team tallied the sales for each group.
As expected, Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan, who had successfully marketed the perfume, were far ahead, securing first place.
Right behind them were Ji Sihan and Nan Xu, who had arrived shortly after and used a one-on-one in-store selling approach.
Nan Xu, a former top agent, had excellent social skills and persuasive ability, convincing several store owners to buy brooms, achieving impressive sales.
Third place went to Jiang Mingqian and partner Yu Ran. Leveraging his singer’s charm, Jiang Mingqian set up a small speaker and played guitar while singing, attracting passersby.
No one expected the last place to go to the supposedly strongest contenders—Meng Xian and Ding Manni.
Arriving late and in a less favorable spot, their brief selling window ended, sealing their defeat.
Their faces fell, but no matter how hard they accepted it, the penalty was set.
Having been tempered by life, Yun Qingqing no longer felt guilty. She heaved a sigh of relief at escaping the dreaded hopping punishment.
After a long day, the exhausted guests returned to the castle.
Gu Mingyan immediately went to her suite for a soak in the luxurious bathtub. Yun Qingqing, worn out, ate a little and prepared to return to her room for sleep.
But as she reached her door, she froze.
Outside her room stood a line of people!
Handsome men, beautiful women, all with slender waists and long legs, each in a different style: some in suits, others in sportswear showing off biceps, some with delicate makeup and killer curves…
Seeing Yun Qingqing approach, they all gave seductive smiles.
Yun Qingqing: “???”
She suspected exhaustion had made her hallucinate, instinctively stepped back, and checked the door—it was indeed her room.
The group didn’t give her time to react and quickly surrounded her.
“Miss Qingqing, welcome back~”
“Tired? Want me to massage your shoulders?”
“Thirsty? What would you like to drink?”
Suddenly, voices, perfume, and hands massaging her shoulders overwhelmed her.
Red-faced, Yun Qingqing dodged and stammered: “N-no! Who… who are you? Did you get the wrong person?!”
A light bulb went off in her mind. Only Gu Mingyan could pull off something like this.
Feeling mischievous, Yun Qingqing blocked a brawny guy and frantically dialed Gu Mingyan on video call.
After a few rings, the call connected.
On the screen, Gu Mingyan was relaxing in a rose-petal-filled bathtub, holding a glass of bubbling champagne.
“Hey! Qingqing, see the surprise I prepared for you?”
Yun Qingqing aimed the camera at the horde of models, embarrassed and frustrated:
“Gu Mingyan! What’s going on with these people?!”
“Oh, them,” Gu Mingyan said casually. “I specifically called male and female models to keep you entertained.”
She raised her voice toward the models: “Be smart, keep Qingqing happy, and you’ll be rewarded.”
Yun Qingqing: “……”
No way—Gu Mingyan broke character!
In the original story, she was distant and haughty toward her attendants! How did she become so considerate?
The models intensified their approach after Gu Mingyan’s instruction.
Yun Qingqing was cornered, back almost against the wall.
Seeing her flustered, Gu Mingyan teased: “Just chatting. Why so shy? You’re so innocent.”
Gu Mingyan herself had dated before meeting Ye Jin Yan, so she didn’t understand Yun Qingqing’s flush at minimal male attention.
She added: “You haven’t dated before, have you?”
Yun Qingqing, lifelong single: “……”
Stung, Yun Qingqing tried to save face: “W-who’s shy?! I’ve dated, like, over a hundred times!”
On the screen, Gu Mingyan arched an eyebrow, clearly thinking: Sure, keep lying.
Flustered and angry, Yun Qingqing glanced around, catching sight of someone coming up the stairs.
Tall, broad-shouldered, long-legged, dressed simply yet exuding noble charm.
As he approached, even among Gu Mingyan’s carefully selected models, his face stood out.
Yun Qingqing thought: wow, Gu Mingyan really spared no expense. Even this top-tier guy?
To save face, she braced herself, grabbed his arm, and, under his surprised gaze, boldly reached out and lightly touched his handsome face with her trembling hand.
The warmth of his skin made her retract instantly, heart racing, yet she tried to sound composed:
“See? I’m a pro at romance.”
From the video call, Gu Mingyan could only see his jawline and Yun Qingqing’s trembling hand.
Unimpressed, Gu Mingyan laughed even harder.
Yun Qingqing, embarrassed and angry, waved at the remaining models:
“Go! You too.”
Then, under Gu Mingyan’s amused gaze, she dragged the guy back into her room and ended the call.
What Yun Qingqing didn’t notice was that the young man, who had just been slightly annoyed by her forwardness, actually relaxed his furrowed brows when he saw her act all fierce but timid, letting her drag him back into the room.
With a bang, the door closed, cutting off any prying eyes outside—and seemingly draining Yun Qingqing of all courage.
Her hand shot away from his arm as if scorched, springing back to a safe distance.
The young man raised an eyebrow.
After a brief silence, Yun Qingqing pulled three red hundred-yuan bills from her bag and, looking regretful, pressed them into his hand:
“Sorry! I just used you to deal with my friend earlier, nothing else. This three hundred yuan is for your trouble.”
Then, feeling the pain of giving away three hundred yuan, she awkwardly fished one hundred back from his hand under his indescribably surprised gaze.
The young man: “……”
Seeing him remain silent, Yun Qingqing’s heart sank.
Was he dissatisfied with two hundred? Insisting on three hundred?
Just as she pouted, fretting over the awkward situation, Gu Mingyan called again.
Yun Qingqing assumed it was a supervisory call, checking in for fun, and immediately felt a surge of irritation.
“Why?!” she snapped when she answered.
Gu Mingyan said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you—this castle was bought by my brother earlier. He might come by to grab something. Since we’ve blocked each other, if you meet him, just tell him the keys are with the housekeeper and let him get them himself.”
She glanced at Yun Qingqing’s distressed expression and smiled, “But it’s nothing serious. Keep having fun; I won’t bother you.”
“Not bothering! Not bothering at all!” Yun Qingqing clutched the phone like a lifeline.
She covered the microphone and said to the young man, “You see, I’ve got urgent matters, really can’t hang out with you. Better head off first.”
He smirked faintly, saying nothing.
Yun Qingqing quickly turned back to ask Gu Mingyan, “What does your brother look like?”
“Uh…” Gu Mingyan paused, “I’ve actually forgotten.”
Yun Qingqing: “……” This fake sibling act—no need to even perform it?!
Gu Mingyan seemed a bit guilty and quickly said, “Wait, I’ll send you a photo of Gu Xubai.”
The call ended, and a WeChat notification immediately popped up.
Yun Qingqing opened the chat and saw a seemingly candid photo: a young man in a simple white T-shirt and sweatpants, holding a basketball. His hair was slightly messy from the wind, sweat dampened his temple, and he looked handsome and full of youthful energy.
The more she looked, the more familiar he seemed.
Slowly, she lifted her eyes from the phone to the young man standing before her.
Their gazes met.
Yun Qingqing looked at the photo, then at him, then at the photo, then back at him… and finally, tentatively asked:
“Gu Xubai?”
The young man replied calmly, “Mm.”
Yun Qingqing’s world went black. She felt like she’d just died a little.