Chapter 338 - 271: Market Value

Freeloading was out of the question.

Most ordinary people don’t care much about their portrait rights. If they found out they had a chance to be on TV, especially foreign TV, they’d probably be grinning from ear to ear.

That was because their likeness wasn’t worth much. Not only would being on TV not cause them any loss, but it would actually be an honor.

But it was different for a public figure like Ni Bingyan.

Just for a domestic show, her "friendship price" was already several hundred thousand. When it came to a foreign program, she absolutely had to get paid!

And not just get paid, but get paid well. Otherwise, if word got out, she’d be accused of sucking up to foreigners and get flamed to death by people back home!

To secretly film her for a show without her consent wasn’t just an infringement of her portrait rights; it was a violation of her privacy. Thinking a bouquet of flowers would make her happily accept it was absolutely impossible!

"What? A TV crew wants to talk to me about authorization? What crew? Authorization for what?"

Wang Biao ran a hand through his freshly permed, trendy curls and held the phone a little further away, skeptical.

Realizing it wasn’t a dream, he quickly rubbed his face with his hands.

’Making a fortune on the side while we’re already out here filming our own show? What kind of model worker is she? A walking God of Wealth?’

’Sure enough, working with her was the right move.’

"What exactly happened? Tell me first. I’m getting dressed and coming downstairs now. You’re not good with business contracts, so don’t sign anything. Wait for me and the lawyer to get there!"

Wang Biao was incredibly thankful. Ni Bingyan had wanted to see a concert and a soccer match, so Song Fuling had arranged for a lawyer specializing in related fields.

Now, that same lawyer could handle this matter on the side. It couldn’t be more perfect!

Seeing that he was fully awake, Ni Bingyan explained what had just happened:

"Yes, I got up early and came to the restaurant for breakfast. I saw a Norwegian and a Russian arguing because of a language barrier. I got anxious watching them, so I went to help translate. Afterward, someone popped up and said they were filming a show. I figured if they want me on camera, shouldn’t they have to pay?"

These kinds of hidden-camera shows are very popular abroad because the public really buys into the "authenticity" angle.

"Yes, yes, yes! You did the right thing! I’m a pro at this, don’t you worry! I’m coming down with the lawyer right now!"

Down in the restaurant, everyone felt awkward when they saw her hang up the phone.

None of them understood Mandarin, so they had no idea what she had just said.

Still, you didn’t need to be a genius to figure it out.

"Pardon me, miss, but are you very famous?"

Modesty wasn’t the custom abroad, so Ni Bingyan simply nodded and listed her awards and endorsements.

Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Artist of the Year, spokesperson for the D Family in the Greater China region, opening ceremony of Fashion Week, front-row seats at runway shows...

Most importantly, she had eighty million followers on Weibo.

To put that number into perspective, most people might not have a concept of just how large it is.

To give an example, the total population of the United Kingdom, the third largest in Europe, is less than seventy million.

In other words, the population of most European countries was smaller than her fanbase.

All of this was easy to look up. After a quick online search, everyone fell silent.

Without a doubt, they had run into a superstar from the East.

But their luck was also a misfortune.

Someone as young and beautiful as Ni Bingyan, armed with awards and favored by the fashion world, would definitely not come cheap.

Unless they deleted the footage and obtained Ni Bingyan’s forgiveness, they could even face a lawsuit.

Not only had they recorded video, but they had also recorded audio, eavesdropping on her conversation.

Their own actors were aware of the situation, but Ni Bingyan was not. A lawsuit would be a guaranteed win for her.

’Seeing their reactions, Ni Bingyan was furious!’

’A Best Actress title was worth less than an endorsement deal, and funnily enough, an endorsement was worth less than her eighty million fans!’

’Ni Bingyan secretly decided she would have Sister Wei buy her more followers when she got back!’

Just as she was moodily sipping her coffee and vowing to buy followers, she saw Wang Biao coming downstairs with the rest of their crew.

"Why are you all here?"

Wang Biao smiled sheepishly. "We ran into each other in the hallway. It’s early, and everyone wanted breakfast. I heard the English breakfast here is especially authentic!"

"Heh, heh."

Ni Bingyan understood it was best not to call them out on it.

Brother Biao went over with Song Fuling and the lawyer to negotiate. Meanwhile, Ni Bingyan sipped her coffee and opened WeChat.

As expected, the production crew’s group chat was already singing her praises.

[Little Ice Candy is so sweet! She’s served us a pie on a silver platter, just waiting for us to eat it.]

[I always feel like interesting things happen whenever she’s left alone.]

[I wonder how much Brother Biao can negotiate? I think anything less than two hundred thousand pounds would be unacceptable.]

[Haha, I know this show! It has pranks but also touching moments. It’s really interesting! I often use a VPN to watch it. This time, they’re probably using the upcoming Red and Blue Derby to discuss the future of football.]

[I suddenly feel like we’re winning without even trying!]

[Everyone, you think we can ask them for a copy of their footage from earlier? We could edit it into our show! Imagine how much work that would save! I still want to check out the duty-free shops!]

[Real ambitious!]

...

A smile played on Ni Bingyan’s lips. She finished reading the group chat messages without replying, instead just perking up her ears to listen in on Wang Biao’s conversation while pretending to calmly sip her coffee.

’At that moment, she felt she was worthy of the title "Queen of Flex."’

By half-past eight, the two parties had finally reached an agreement.

Thanks to Brother Biao’s forceful negotiations, Ni Bingyan would be receiving a fee of five hundred thousand pounds, as well as front-row tickets to the football match later.

In exchange, she would need to go to the TV station tomorrow to chat about football with everyone.

And when the episode aired, she would have to promote the show on her Weibo account.

The show wasn’t even licensed in China, so her promotion wouldn’t increase their viewership and would likely just lead to rampant piracy. She had no idea what the point of this promotion was.

’I guess eighty million followers is just that intimidating!’

’These foreigners are so clueless.’

’If only they knew her dad...’

"I have some bad news for you."

They had packed up and were heading out to the football match. In the car, Ni Bingyan was dozing off due to jet lag when she heard Pei Jin’s words. She jolted awake.

"What bad news?"

"You can’t go to the concert anymore. The filming schedule conflicts with it."

’On one hand, there was five hundred thousand pounds, which was over four million RMB. On the other, the concert she had been looking forward to...’

Ni Bingyan gritted her teeth. "It’s fine! There will always be more concerts. It’s not like I absolutely have to see her!"

’That was five hundred thousand pounds!’

’Plus, I get to be on a show!’

’If it weren’t for this, it would have been incredibly difficult for her to get on a foreign program of this caliber!’

’When the show airs, Wei Shuojie could even get a trending topic going. It was wonderful just thinking about it!’

Many Chinese stars go abroad to act in supporting roles in films, but not many get to appear on variety shows.

This was because most Chinese celebrities don’t speak English well enough to handle the complex linguistic environment of a variety show.

If you can’t add anything to the show and are just there for them to leech off your popularity, why would they invite you? They aren’t stupid!