Jiang Fei expected Qiao Yiyi and her manager to immediately reject his request and start bargaining with him.
To his surprise, when he made his proposal, both women’s expressions turned strange. Instead of feeling pressured, they seemed relieved!
It was as if Jiang Fei’s request wasn’t difficult at all—in fact, it seemed too simple!
“Could it be that I’ve been mistaken all along? Are the endorsement fees for these so-called big stars not as high as I thought?” Jiang Fei wondered to himself. Of course, he didn’t know that Qiao Yiyi and Aunt Mei had initially misunderstood his intentions. Now that they heard his reasonable request, they naturally felt relieved.
If Jiang Fei had been a scoundrel and taken advantage of the situation to make some outrageous demand, Qiao Yiyi and Aunt Mei would have immediately turned hostile and refused.
But… what would they have done after that?
How would Qiao Yiyi’s vocal cords recover?
In comparison, having Qiao Yiyi endorse Jiang’s Medical Center for free was a pleasant surprise.
Qiao Yiyi smiled and said, “No problem at all! Dr. Jiang, with your exceptional medical skills, I’d be honored to endorse your clinic. This way, I won’t have to worry about my vocal cords getting injured or falling ill in the future. As the spokesperson for Jiang’s Medical Center, I hope you won’t charge me for treatment, right?”
Qiao Yiyi blinked her big eyes at Jiang Fei, her expression playful and cute.
Even though her voice was hoarse and low, it still carried a gentle, pleasant tone.
“Of course not,” Jiang Fei replied with a smile.
If someone was endorsing his clinic, it would be unreasonable to charge them for treatment.
After breathing a sigh of relief, Aunt Mei regained her composure and thought for a moment before speaking seriously. “Dr. Jiang, here’s the thing. While I don’t oppose Yiyi endorsing Jiang’s Medical Center for free, her commercial performances and brand endorsements aren’t decisions we can make alone. We have to report to the talent agency… However, if you can truly heal Yiyi’s vocal cords within ten days, the agency shouldn’t have any major objections! Leave that to me. I can have a contract ready for you within two days.”
The cost of hiring Qiao Yiyi as a spokesperson far exceeded 100,000 yuan, well beyond the upper limit Aunt Mei had initially considered for the consultation fee.
If Jiang Fei had directly asked for an equivalent amount of money, Aunt Mei would have tried to negotiate. But Jiang Fei’s proposal was clever—while the value was high, it didn’t involve any monetary exchange, leaving her no room to bargain.
She couldn’t very well ask Jiang Fei to pay half the fee, could she?
So, after some thought, even though she felt they were at a disadvantage, she had no choice but to agree.
“Alright. But for the contract, you don’t need to deal with me. I’m not well-versed in that area. You can discuss it directly with Lin Moli. She’s one of the major shareholders of Jiang’s Medical Center,” Jiang Fei said with a smile. “You know Lin Moli, right?”
“Yes, I’ve met Miss Lin today,” Aunt Mei nodded.
And so, the matter was happily resolved.
Jiang Fei agreed to treat Qiao Yiyi’s damaged vocal cords, ensuring they would recover within ten days. In return, Qiao Yiyi would endorse Jiang’s Medical Center for free, frequently mentioning the clinic in media appearances and even filming promotional ads.
However, Jiang Fei thought that filming ads could wait for now.
His clinic was still small, not a large hospital. There was no need for such extensive promotion. Besides, while Qiao Yiyi wouldn’t charge for the endorsement, hiring a director and renting equipment would still cost money.
That expense would have to come out of Jiang Fei’s pocket. It wouldn’t make sense for Qiao Yiyi to not only work for free but also pay out of her own pocket!
With that settled, Qiao Yiyi and Aunt Mei prepared to leave Daocun temporarily and return to Jin City to fetch daily necessities and clothes for Qiao Yiyi’s week-long stay at the villa.
Before they left, Jiang Fei wrote out a prescription for traditional Chinese medicine and handed it to Aunt Mei, asking her to pick up the herbs from a pharmacy in the city.
To heal Qiao Yiyi’s vocal cords quickly, a combination of herbal medicine and acupuncture was necessary. Once the herbs were prepared, Jiang Fei could begin the acupuncture treatment.
As for the silver needles, Jiang Fei already had them at the villa, so there was no need to buy more.
“Yiyi, you don’t need to come back with me. I can handle things in Jin City alone. I know exactly what you need. If you return to the city, there’s a risk of paparazzi spotting you, which could cause unnecessary trouble,” Aunt Mei suggested as they stood up to leave the villa.
After saying this, she leaned in and whispered discreetly into Qiao Yiyi’s ear, “Stay here for a few hours and observe this Dr. Jiang. Test him a bit to see if he’s trustworthy. If he’s not, let me know, and I’ll figure something out.”
Aunt Mei still didn’t fully trust Jiang Fei…
Qiao Yiyi couldn’t help but laugh wryly and nodded in agreement.
From their brief interaction, Jiang Fei had left a good impression on Qiao Yiyi, and she felt the same about him.
A young, highly skilled doctor was undoubtedly impressive.
But more importantly, this doctor didn’t seem overly obsessed with fame or fortune!
This was evident in two ways.
First, Jiang Fei had shown only mild surprise upon seeing her, far from the adoration and excitement most people displayed. He treated her like an ordinary person—a patient in need of help. Second, Jiang Fei had chosen to build a villa in the serene countryside instead of buying a house in the city, embracing a peaceful, idyllic lifestyle of planting trees, growing vegetables, and raising fish. Such a mindset was rare among young people in today’s society.
These qualities endeared Jiang Fei to Qiao Yiyi.
She believed that someone with such a mindset must have good character. There was no need to worry about Jiang Fei doing anything inappropriate.
This was also why Qiao Yiyi had agreed to stay in Daocun without hesitation after hearing Jiang Fei’s conditions.
“Alright. But Aunt Mei, don’t forget to bring my guitar,” Qiao Yiyi said.
Even though her vocal cords were damaged and she couldn’t sing, she could still practice playing the guitar.
“Of course,” Aunt Mei replied, giving Qiao Yiyi a meaningful look before glancing thoughtfully at Jiang Fei and leaving the villa.
As the white BMW parked outside the villa drove away, the door closed, leaving only Jiang Fei and Qiao Yiyi alone in the spacious villa.
“Miss Qiao Yiyi, have you had lunch yet?” Jiang Fei asked, scratching his nose. He had only taken a bite of his meal before the two women arrived.
After half an hour, Jiang Fei was even hungrier and ready to finish his meal.
Now that the imposing Aunt Mei was gone, Jiang Fei felt a bit awkward being alone with the rising star.
He suddenly remembered that Zeng Tong and He Yuxuan would be visiting tomorrow for the Dragon Boat Festival. The beauty of Daocun would already be enough to amaze them, but if they also saw Qiao Yiyi in his villa, how shocked would they be?
Qiao Yiyi, on the other hand, was more composed than Jiang Fei. She smiled sweetly and said, “Dr. Jiang, you don’t need to call me Miss Qiao Yiyi. Just call me Yiyi.”
“Alright, since we’re about the same age, I’ll call you Yiyi, and you can call me Jiang Fei,” Jiang Fei said, feeling that calling her “Miss Qiao Yiyi” was too formal. He then asked, “Yiyi… have you eaten?”
Their relationship was progressing quickly!
In less than an hour, they were already on a first-name basis with a big star. It was quite an achievement.
Qiao Yiyi chuckled and shook her head. “No, I haven’t. Did I interrupt your lunch earlier? Let me help you cook something. I don’t cook much these days, but back when I was a trainee, I used to cook for myself. I’m not too bad.”
“That won’t be necessary. I’ve already prepared the food. The hot dishes have just cooled down. I’ll reheat them, and we can eat together if you don’t mind,” Jiang Fei invited.
He didn’t know how skilled Qiao Yiyi was in the kitchen, but he was certain she couldn’t compare to him.
“Why would I mind? I hope you don’t mind,” Qiao Yiyi replied with a smile. She was a bit surprised that Jiang Fei cooked for himself and wondered how good his culinary skills were.
As they walked to the dining room, Qiao Yiyi was impressed by the beautifully arranged dishes on the table. Although they had cooled and lost some of their aroma, they still looked exquisite.
She thought to herself, “This man is quite meticulous. Does he have some kind of perfectionist streak? Why go to such lengths to make the dishes look so perfect?”
“Please, have a seat. I’ll reheat these dishes,” Jiang Fei said, gesturing for Qiao Yiyi to sit down. He handed her a salted duck egg and asked, “Do you like salted duck eggs? I just boiled this one.”
Qiao Yiyi accepted the egg politely. “Thank you.”
She didn’t peel it immediately but stood politely by the kitchen door, watching Jiang Fei work. It wouldn’t be proper to start eating before he joined her.
However, Qiao Yiyi’s ladylike demeanor didn’t last long. As Jiang Fei reheated the dishes, the delicious aroma began to fill the kitchen, and Qiao Yiyi found it hard to stay composed…
