Chapter 493: Risk Prevention? No! Making Money Comes First!

The moment he returned to Linghui Entertainment, Xiao He told Liu Rulan about the situation.

Liu Rulan also seemed not to have expected that from such a simple, straightforward event, Xiao He would actually have this kind of romantic encounter.

Of course, it wasn't exactly surprising either.

Looking at Xiao He now, Liu Rulan also felt a kind of worry, like a well-grown cabbage that was easily coveted by pigs.

"You handled this very well. Things like this are common in the industry circle, you don't need to take it too much to heart," Liu Rulan said. "Although an actor dating isn't a big deal, and your public persona positioning has never leaned in that direction, it's still better not to date if you can avoid it, especially during your current career development phase."

Xiao He rubbed the space between his eyebrows. "I know, I know, I really don't have that intention."

He had so many secrets on him right now, and he had no plans to share them with anyone else.

And then there was the most important thing—being single was really great!

Being single for a while feels great for a while, being single forever feels great forever.

Liu Rulan seemed to have already seen through Xiao He's "destined to be alone forever" attribute and let out a long sigh. As his agent, for a moment she actually started worrying whether Xiao He might really end up alone forever. But then she quickly snapped out of it, realizing she was the artist's agent. If the artist never wanted to date, that was practically something she could burn incense to celebrate every day.

"Alright, I was overthinking it."

Pushing these non-existent problems to the back of her mind, Liu Rulan continued asking Xiao He about other matters. "Why did you ask the production team to reduce the screen time for the internet celebrities signed under Rongding Media? Thankfully, Lin Cheng told me. If you'd just tossed this request over directly, believe me, tomorrow there would be rumors saying you're blacklisting internet celebrities within the industry circle."

Xiao He spread his hands. "I was just asking if it was possible to reduce it first, not demanding they do it immediately."

"Reason?"

"Uh, this might be called... risk prevention?"

Xiao He found an excellent adjective.

Liu Rulan's eyebrow twitched.

This was perhaps the most dreaded thing when filming an internet celebrity variety show.

The bloody lessons left by countless predecessors were still vivid in memory.

If *Public Enemy Number One* was affected because of this, it would indeed be a major issue.

"Are the people from Rongding Media problematic? How do you know? What risks are there?"

Liu Rulan immediately pressed with a serious tone.

"There are indeed problems, I'm quite sure. Especially that live-streaming sales blogger called Guoguo. He has quite a lot going on. Besides, just one card is enough to explain many issues."

Xiao He wiggled his fingers, and then a card appeared before Liu Rulan.

Liu Rulan took it and glanced at it, frowning slightly. "A card? The quality is good, but what can it explain?"

"Doesn't this explain enough?"

Xiao He retorted. "This card is of very high quality. Whether it's the text on it or the subtle watermark pattern at the bottom, it has a strong sense of design. You can tell at a glance it was custom-made. This means the cards were definitely mass-produced, and most likely this Guoguo has already distributed them to many people."

"One card equals one person. If fifty cards equal fifty potential clients, even if among them there are people like us who just casually throw the card away or ignore it upon receiving it, the temptations within these circles are inherently huge. Among these fifty people, some will definitely become new clients. Even if only five out of the fifty people convert into sustainable new clients for them, the profit they can obtain is still very considerable."

Although he didn't know if they were only involved in the "adult entertainment" related industry, or if they were also dabbling in the other two things that shouldn't be touched, judging by the "similar scent" Xiao He detected, this Guoguo was absolutely very problematic!

Furthermore, the people Guoguo contacted might not just be celebrities and other internet celebrities, but also his fans below.

A top-tier live-streaming sales blogger basically holds an account with tens of millions of followers. If they dare to openly recruit people offline, then if they further develop this offline industry into an online one, the profits would be even more astronomical.

"Guoguo is just a live-streaming sales blogger. His own ability is limited. Since he dares to openly issue invitations and has the capability to make introductions, I don't believe his company is unaware. Or perhaps he was making introductions on behalf of the company all along. The source of everything is still this Rongding Media."

Don't even try to say the company doesn't know what's going on with the people they sign. The person they eventually throw under the bus cannot represent the company's innocence.

Based on this one Guoguo, Xiao He could infer what the company behind him was like.

If they are conducting client recruitment so openly and brazenly, doesn't that also suggest this company has even higher authorities backing it?

It wasn't that Xiao He was overgeneralizing based on a single case. He just didn't hesitate to speculate about others with the worst possible malice.

After listening to Xiao He's analysis, Liu Rulan fell silent.

She was all too familiar with such things within the industry circle, so her attitude towards these matters had long become numb. When encountering them, she would only turn a blind eye, soothe the artist's emotions, and avoid those guys next time.

This was the rule within the industry circle. And the ridiculous thing was, everyone knew it and had grown accustomed to it, even though it was wrong and distorted.

Only Xiao He was still trying to dig into the profits and operational costs behind it.

But, what was the use?

All they could do was ensure their own interests weren't harmed.

Liu Rulan: "I will talk to the production team and try to minimize the relevant screen time for the artists from Rongding Media. But this is treating the symptom, not the root cause. Making internet celebrities the core of a variety show naturally means bearing many risks associated with them. This was something everyone knew when the program was launched."

To be honest, during the recording period of *Public Enemy Number One*, there was already a certain blogger known for doing suggestive moves who had to withdraw midway after being exposed for cheating.

This risk, whether they were willing or not, they had already been bearing it.

"So I think instead of blocking it, it's better to let them continue editing and accelerate monetization."

Liu Rulan flipped through her phone, looking at the files from over there as she spoke. "The heat cycle of a program is at most three months. The subsequent long-tail effect gradually begins to weaken. After that, even if Rongding Media has any problems, they won't be able to affect our program."

Currently, the problems with Rongding Media were only discovered and speculated upon by themselves. Others didn't know, and the authorities above hadn't heard any recent rumors either. So Liu Rulan tentatively believed that these people wouldn't have major issues during the broadcast period of *Public Enemy Number One*.

Then, from a marketing perspective, if they edit and broadcast it, and if Rongding has problems later, it could also become a point to continue maintaining the program's heat.

On the cusp of the traffic wave, everyone is a gambling addict.

Some people teeter on the edge, their reputation collapse imminent, yet they stubbornly stay popular for over a decade, standing firm.

Some people are honest and hardworking, only to wake up the next day to find their reputation has collapsed into ruins, with nothing left to collapse.

And their internet celebrity variety show was originally a bunch of precarious houses.

So what is there to fear?

Making money comes first!