The electronic contract was sent over, and Su Wan opened the file. She scrolled through it line by line, word by word, carefully checking each clause: no exclusivity clause, no renewal tie-in, a 50/50 revenue split—half upon publication, the balance upon reaching the required playback threshold—and not a single hidden clause.

A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, followed by a smile. She got up and walked to the printer, pressing the print button. The paper slowly emerged, and she picked up a pen, signing her name in neat, confident strokes. No sooner had she signed than a WeChat notification popped up: a deposit of 1,500 yuan had been received.

She grabbed the contract, walked over to the scanner, pressed the scan button, and saved the document in a newly created folder named “Brand Collaboration Record 001.”

Around noon, her phone suddenly rang, displaying the name “Comrade Lin Shengnan.” Su Wan picked up the phone and answered. Her mother’s voice immediately filled the earpiece, brimming with pride: “Wanwan! Your dad just ran into Old Li downstairs. He said that right now, every household in the entire Qianjin Residential Community and several nearby resettlement communities is watching your video on how to choose a home and avoid pitfalls. Even people at the neighbourhood street office are actively sharing your post on avoiding relocation traps, saying it’s clearer and more practical than the official notices they issue. They keep praising you as a wonderful young woman who truly does things for the people!”

Su Wan responded with a simple “Mm,” but her hands kept working, still tweaking the script for the collaboration video. Her mouse glided lightly across the screen, deleting unnecessary sentences. She raised a hand to press her brow, recalling how, in her previous life, she’d become complacent after achieving just a small success and ended up suffering a major setback. This time around, she couldn’t afford to get carried away.

“Do you remember? When you were little, your teacher always said your writing was logical and well-organized. Now look at you—you know more about demolition policies than the people at the street office! Your dad is so proud he tells everyone, ‘My daughter is even better than the experts!’” Her mother’s voice continued, dripping with pride.

Su Wan spoke seriously into the receiver: “Mom, please tell Dad not to brag everywhere. Have him find our family’s resettlement agreement and go over it word by word three times—no single character can be missed. Don’t just act as a consultant for others while your own family ends up making mistakes. Better safe than sorry.”

After hanging up, Su Wan put down her phone, opened CapCut, and created a new project. Her fingers swiftly scrolled through the media library, selecting a close-up shot of a concealer being applied flat as the cover image. In the title bar, she quickly typed: “Suyan Ji Real-World Test | Can Concealers Under 100 Yuan Really Deliver?”

At the beginning of the script, her fingers flew across the keyboard, delivering a straightforward yet relatable message: “Many people ask me whether affordable makeup is worth buying. I say yes—but you’ve got to know how to pick the right one. Today, I’m putting this 68-yuan concealer to the test to see if it’s really worth it.”

Halfway through writing, she paused, opened her private messages, and pulled up those two previous DMs from unscrupulous brands. With a tap of her finger, she took screenshots and saved them in the “Pitfall-Avoidance Reference” folder. Then she went to the National Medical Products Administration’s website, double-checked the registration numbers for those Suyan Ji products, and confirmed there wasn’t the slightest error before returning to the script-editing page and continuing to write.

Outside, the sky had grown dark again. Su Wan didn’t turn on the main lights; she left only the desk lamp on, its warm yellow glow falling on the keyboard and illuminating her figure as she typed. Line after line of neat, resolute words slowly appeared on the screen—each sentence a genuine feeling, each recommendation standing up to scrutiny.

End of Chapter 25: Finalizing the Collaboration