"My name is Mina!" The girl hesitated for a moment, but still answered honestly.
Hearing this, Chen Jing thought to himself: *Just as I expected.*
The moment he laid eyes on the girl before him, Chen Jing had a feeling she was Mina, the Xinjiang beauty and entertainer from his past life, only slightly more tender and green.
And it made sense; Xinjiang beauties possessed a distinct exotic charm with very high recognition—women like Mina, Xiaodi, and Hani Kezi.
Of course, some weren't quite as overtly marked by these features, much like Yaya and Jiang Xing.
Yet without a doubt, every single one of them was a stunning beauty.
Chen Jing had sought Mina out for two reasons: first, he was taken by her looks; second, he wanted to sign her.
At this point in time, Mina was likely facing family hardships, which was why she was working part-time as a model to earn money and support her household.
Because of this, she ended up embroiled in so much messy trouble later on, which ruined her public reputation and prevented her from ever truly blowing up to become a top-tier starlet.
There was no question that Mina's looks were practically defying the heavens within the industry.
In his past life, Chen Jing had a particular soft spot for this type—no, rather, he wanted to help her steer clear of the dark history in her future while signing her to make money for himself.
Seeing Chen Jing stare at her without speaking, his gaze filled with appreciation, Mina's eyes flickered slightly before she asked cautiously, "Is... is there something you need from me?"
Chen Jing smiled. "Do you know who I am?"
Mina shook her head. "I don't. But I know you must be a big star!"
Chen Jing nodded. "Then I'll get straight to the point. Have you ever thought about becoming a star?"
"A star?" Mina nodded. "I have. I even participated in a modeling contest before, but..."
Chen Jing continued, "I think you're very pretty. The key point is that your face has a strong exotic flair. If you become a star, you'll be instantly recognizable, and people will easily remember you."
Mina beamed. "Really?"
"I don't even need to tell you; you must know it yourself. There really aren't many ethnic minority stars like you in the entertainment industry," Chen Jing said. "So, I want to sign you. What do you think—"
"I agree!" Mina blurted out before Chen Jing could finish.
*Huh?* That actually left Chen Jing stunned. *I was still trying to figure out how to win you over, and you just agree this fast?*
It seemed Mina really was somewhat naive—or rather, simple-minded and easy to trick. No wonder she would run into so many scumbags in the future.
Seeing the look of astonishment on Chen Jing's face, Mina gave a bitter smile. "Can stars make a lot of money?"
Understanding dawned on Chen Jing. Lately, the pressure on the two sisters must have been immense. "Well, let's put it this way: over the past four days, I made a total of four million, with 1.28 million ending up in my own pocket. Compared to ordinary people, it's definitely a lot of money."
"Then I agree," Mina said, her eyes lighting up.
Chen Jing asked deliberately, "Are you in urgent need of money?"
Mina nodded immediately. "My dad is sick—seriously ill. He needs money for surgery and long-term care, a huge sum. As long as you give me 600,000, I'll sell myself to you!"
Chen Jing opened his mouth to nod, but thankfully stopped himself in time. "I said I'm signing you to be a star. What's this talk about selling yourself?"
Mina shook her head. "I don't care, and I can't afford to care anymore. I just need 600,000 to cure my dad, and I'll be yours. Our family is at the absolute end of our rope, and my sister and I are about to snap. I'm utterly sick of living like this."
With that, tears welled up in Mina's eyes, and she looked ready to break down.
Seeing this, Chen Jing said at once, "All right, I can give you this money, but we have to sign a contract for a term of ten years!"
"No problem!" Mina instantly beamed through her tears.
Seeing how easily Mina agreed, Chen Jing couldn't help shaking his head. He wasn't sure if she had been driven out of her mind by her father's surgical bills, if she was just plain foolish, or a combination of both—selling herself out for ten years over 600,000.
After that, Chen Jing opened the door and stepped out.
"So fast?" Ge Feng looked at Chen Jing, who had just emerged, with a face full of surprise.
Chen Jing's face darkened. "Fast your head! I'm not a runner. Can't your mind stay clean for once?"
Ge Feng stuck out her tongue, looking thoroughly awkward.
Chen Jing gave his assistant a sideways look, then asked, "Do you know anything about artist contracts?"
"Huh?" Ge Feng was momentarily stunned, then replied, "The company has standard template contracts."
"Good. Get in the car first, we're heading back to the hotel," Chen Jing said.
The three of them then got into the car and left. Mina called her sister to let her know she was safe and would be returning a bit later.
In the car, Chen Jing laid out the terms of the contract to Mina: a ten-year term, a fifty-million-yuan breach-of-contract penalty, and so on. The terms were somewhat harsh.
Yet Mina agreed without much thought, showing just how desperately she needed the money.
Upon arriving at the hotel, Ge Feng printed out the prepared contract and returned to Chen Jing's room, witnessing firsthand the two of them signing and stamping it, bringing the contract into effect.
"Alright, from now on you're an artist at my company," Chen Jing said, pulling out a card and handing it to Mina. "Here is 600,000. I'll give you a week to go home and handle your family matters, and then you come report to me."
"Thank you, thank you, Boss!" Mina took the card with trembling hands, bowed ninety degrees to Chen Jing, and hurried away.
"Are you really just going to let her leave like that?" Ge Feng watched Mina depart and asked, "Aren't you afraid she'll take the money and never come back?"
Chen Jing smiled. "600,000 isn't that much, and if she really doesn't come back, what she'd be throwing away is countless more 600,000s! She needs the money, so she'll definitely return."
Ge Feng shook her head helplessly, thinking Chen Jing was a complete fool, but dropped the subject. "We have to shoot the Weibo commercial at nine tomorrow morning. Get some sleep and don't be late."
Meanwhile, Mina rushed out of the hotel straight to a bank ATM, pulled out the card, and checked the balance. Discovering that the 600,000 was indeed there, she jumped up and down with excitement before bursting into tears.
To scrape together this money, she and her sister had suffered so terribly over the past few years.
"Hey, Sis, I've got money. We have the money to treat Dad's illness now," Mina said, her voice choked with tears.
Mina's sister was startled. "Mina, you didn't do anything foolish, did you?"
Mina gave a tearful, slight laugh. "I sold myself!"
"What? What's going on? Where are you right now?" her sister demanded anxiously.
"I'm fine, I'll be right back." With that, Mina hung up the phone. Looking up at the moon in the sky, she thought of Chen Jing's handsome face. Wiping away her tears, she flagged down a taxi and left.
Back home, Mina's sister was anxiously waiting for her. "Mina, what on earth is going on?"
Mina took a sip of water first before recounting the whole sequence of events.
Her sister was stunned. "He wants to sign you as a star?"
"That's what he said anyway," Mina smiled.
Her sister hesitated. "Could this be some kind of trap?"
Mina shook her head with a smile. "Regardless, this money is real, so it doesn't matter whether it's a trap or not."
Hearing this, Mina's sister pulled her into an embrace and rested her chin on her head. "You've had a hard few years."
Mina rubbed against her sister's shoulder and smiled. "You've had a hard time too, Sis."
After hugging for a moment, her sister suddenly said, "Why don't we just run? We have enough money for Dad's surgery now. Let's just leave Beijing!"
"No!" Mina refused flatly. "The surgery alone isn't enough. There'll be rejection issues afterward, lifelong medication, and in severe cases, even more surgeries. What will we do then?"
"Still, we can't just let you sell yourself like this!"
"It's fine, I'm not getting the short end of the stick anyway. He's a big star, and he's very handsome. If worst comes to worst, I'll just treat it like being pricked by a toothpick." Mina shook her head. "Besides, I looked at the contract—it looks legitimate. If I really can become a star, we won't have to worry about anything in the future."