Chapter 25

Song Jixing looked very serious: "Can I have a Coke? I want one with sugar." He had eaten a little less for breakfast, so a sugary Coke could replenish his energy.

Xu Kai's smile froze on his face, he couldn't bring himself to smile.

How could he drink Coke? And with sugar too? That's so bad for the skin! What if he breaks out from the sugar? Artists have to be extra careful about what they put in their mouths, things with high sugar like Coke are a big no-no!

As a professional and extremely responsible agent, Xu Kai blurted out: "Wait a moment, let me have someone get one for you! The company vending machines only have sugar-free Coke, I'm afraid that won't suit your taste!"

What's wrong with drinking Coke? It's not like some outrageous request!

He shouldn't be quibbling with his meal ticket over a simple can of Coke!

"Thank you!" Song Jixing said earnestly with a smile.

-

Song Jixing sat in the makeup room, letting the makeup artist smear whatever she wanted on her face.

Xu Kai sat to one side hugging a tablet, introducing Song Jixing to today’s schedule and asking which jobs she wanted to pick.

After fermenting overnight, the company had received quite a few invitations. Xu Kai and several of his assistants had worked half the night before finally organizing the terms for these invitations.

From last night until now, the company’s phones and emails had barely stopped ringing.

To give you an idea, the last time they’d received so many calls was several years ago when one of the company’s artists had won an international award for a movie role.

Back then Xu Kai could only watch enviously as others hustled.

And now, he finally got such an opportunity! Even though he’d only slept four hours after working all night, Xu Kai was still bright eyed and bushy tailed: "A bunch of news outlets called asking for interviews! And dozens of variety shows, over twenty brands asked if you were free, plus some directors..."

Xu Kai reeled off the list of invitations with a touch of pride, highlighting some of the bigger names.

Of course these weren’t mandatory options, she could choose from them. "My plan for you today is to do one or two interviews first! Take on a few of the bigger, more well-known official interviews! There are also some brand endorsements, you can take a look and pick one or two you like..." Xu Kai laid out his plans.

Song Jixing listened and nodded. She didn’t really care about the workflow, her agent was the professional so of course he would pick suitable options. "Anything is fine as long as we finish on time!"

...

A moment of stillness seemed to settle on the makeup room.

Xu Kai clenched his hands tighter around his tablet. Having managed this wet blanket for years, he knew her inside out.

"Don't worry, we’ll definitely finish on time!"

The makeup artist’s gaze gradually became ambiguous, as if she’d caught wind of some outrageous secret. She carefully hid her smirk, touched the phone in her pocket, planning to share this shocking news with her girlfriends at the first chance.

-

Considering Song Jixing’s lazy tendencies and the timeliness of her popularity, Xu Kai specially picked two relatively major media outlets for her.

One focused on social news, the other entertainment and celebrities. The interviews were scheduled for the morning.

You had to admit, big companies were truly professional.

By lunchtime, edited interview clips from the morning appearances were already out.

As Song Jixing ate lunch, Xu Kai played the interview videos with a projector, wanting to spot any issues with his artist and make timely adjustments and optimizations.

Song Jixing ate her food diligently with her chopsticks while Xu Kai watched the screen with utmost concentration.

【Fans are curious, when did Jixing start running? How long has she been at it? Does she impose any harsh training requirements on herself...】

On the office projector screen, a gentle and beautiful female host held a mic, asking Song Jixing questions.

Xu Kai kept his eyes peeled on Song Jixing's actions every second, praising internally, very good, keeping upright posture throughout, facial expression management also excellent.

She just doesn't smile enough, he had to urge Song Jixing to smile more to appear friendlier.

【Can I say I’ve been able to run ever since I learned how to walk? I didn’t keep close track of exactly how long. I don’t have any training requirements either, my main job is being a student and my side job an artist. I usually have to shuttle between school and work, I’ve never formally trained.】

On the video, Song Jixing answered very matter-of-factly. Apart from Xu Kai, countless people also opened their news feeds during lunch, probing for secrets of this suddenly emerged genius athlete.

Many ate while grumbling to themselves: “Impossible there’s no training at all! Just showing up and running record times, she’s really too modest!”

Some exclaimed: “What an impressive young lady! Taking classes and working, still casually breaking world records, what is this female lead template!”

Though it was the first interview out with the scoop, looking at Song Jixing herself, apart from her abruptly exposed marathon record, she seemed perfectly ordinary. Her entertainment career was murky, she led an ordinary college student life. Everything looked so ordinary without many explosive points!

The female host on video didn’t seem satisfied, continuing to probe for details related to Song Jixing.

【Does Jixing feel like she has any special habits related to running? For example, needing to sleep a lot everyday to restore stamina, or some routine she does that she feels relates to running.】

Perhaps the female host's smile swayed Song Jixing, or perhaps Song Jixing really thought of something. Her response this time was extremely smooth.

【Yes, there is indeed something a little different. I eat a lot more than normal people.】 Song Jixing said with utmost sincerity sitting next to the female host.

Many people eating lunch couldn't help but spew food, some choked on water. A big appetite counted as some special habit?

How much could a presentable female celebrity possibly eat?

【How much more is a lot more?】 The female host asked curiously.

Song Jixing sitting next to her looked around as if searching for something, but immediately responded. 【There are no bowls in this broadcast room! No objects for comparison.】

【I feel I can eat a lot more than the average girl. For example when eating at the school cafeteria, a typical girl might have a meat and a vegetable dish and two scoops of rice to feel full. I need to eat several times that amount, at least a full pound of rice.】

On video, Song Jixing elaborated on her sizable appetite.

Hearing this, Xu Kai felt it rather inappropriate. He needed to teach his artist not to establish this kind of big eater image, it was much too exaggerated!

When Xu Kai turned, Song Jixing was still eating her food properly and gently.

Next to her already sat four empty Coke bottles, two boxes of roast duck, a box of fried rice, a bowl of noodles, a 10-inch pizza, long cleared out. In front of Song Jixing only remained half a plate of vegetable salad.

Xu Kai looked at the two young ladies sitting next to Song Jixing, Wang and Li, yelling at them: “You girls eat so much! Even if you’re not celebrities, you still gotta watch your health!”

Wang and Li held their coffees, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

Having finished chewing the food in her mouth, Song Jixing dabbed her mouth with a napkin and gently said: “Brother Xu, I was the one who ate all that.”

Xu Kai: “Full yet? Enough? If not I’ll order you more!”