Chapter 156

Li Erpeng's manager certainly understood the meaning of these words.

In the entertainment industry, it's often "not advancing is retreating," especially in this kind of matter. As long as he bows his head and admits defeat, then in the eyes of others, Li Luo will have steadily stepped on Li Erpeng to climb up.

What is lost is not just face, but also involves a large amount of interests.

If a person can't stand firm.

Then competitors will naturally not be hesitant to move in and grab resources.

People in the circle are sometimes like vultures, eating away at a fallen corpse with great relish.

But if he doesn't retreat.

Does he still want to keep fighting?

In the current situation, he completely couldn't suppress the other party and was being constantly bitten back.

Not to mention the "Iron Triangle" of Jiang Wen, Xu Qing, and Zhang Guoli, Yuan Bin alone was enough for them to handle. Those martial arts directors often have a call-and-response relationship, and their connections are quite complex.

If he offends this group of people to death, he won't have any good fruit to eat when shooting martial arts dramas in the future.

Li Erpeng was actually just being stubborn.

He also felt immense pressure. Being criticized by such a group of people—some in the circle might be able to handle it, but it definitely wasn't him.

He also felt secretly regretful in his heart.

It's just that scolding people is fun for a moment, but how the matter develops.

Is not up to him to control.

Under normal circumstances, when encountering such a thing, Li Luo should show humility, should say there is still a lot of room for improvement, and should say that as a junior, he needs to learn more from him.

To come back and fight hard right away—how can he be so lacking in decorum!

Thinking of this.

Li Erpeng gritted his teeth hard.

While the two were silent, the assistant next to him pointed at the screen and said timidly: "Brother Peng, look at this."

They quickly shifted their gaze to look at the screen.

"You can't point fingers at people just because you have some achievements."

Li Erpeng moved the mouse with a sullen face and clicked on the link: "I think as an accomplished actor, one should calm down more, learn more things to enrich oneself, instead of putting on airs and acting superior."

The words inside did not name names.

But combined with the current situation.

It was clearly talking about him.

"This reporter has a good relationship with Lu Yi." The manager clenched his fists tightly and looked at the silent Li Erpeng: "Why don't we find a middleman to mediate? If this continues, the situation will be very bad."

The trend of this report was already very clear.

For some people, targeting anyone is fine; since the thorns on that side are sharper.

Then changing direction.

It's not impossible to go and bring down the other person!

"Let me think about it again."

Li Erpeng's voice was incredibly dry.

The trend on the internet.

Had already left the fans completely confused!

First, a group of people stood up to criticize Li Luo, with a momentum that seemed to drown him, and only Li Luo was struggling to support himself. He didn't care what others said; he would just bite back at whoever it was.

He didn't care about anyone's status or position; he would just fight them first.

It looked quite satisfying.

But they were also worried for Li Luo.

After all.

He was too isolated and helpless!

To them, it felt like Li Luo was at risk of being defeated at any moment.

But after some time passed, the situation took a 180-degree turn. Not only did he become more energetic the more he fought, but a whole bunch of people he didn't know where he met popped up to help take sides and speak for him.

The momentum turned completely.

Now it was Li Erpeng's friends who had disappeared.

There was no response anymore.

In fact, those people couldn't figure out the current situation. Xu Qing, Jiang Wen, Zhang Guoli, and Ge You—which one of them wasn't a heavyweight in the circle? Many of them knew each other.

They had to figure out the situation first before making a decision.

At this moment.

Waves rose again.

An announcement from the crew of *Fu Xing Gao Zhao Zhu Ba Jie* completely stunned everyone.

"This crew does not advocate any violent behavior and expresses great regret for the personal threats made by Mr. Wang Xuebing toward Mr. Li Luo. For this reason, we have decided to replace the actor playing the Bull Demon King."

"Effective today, we are terminating the acting contract with Mr. Wang Xuebing."

The announcement was very simple, but the amount of information was huge.

It caused an uproar online.

Reasonably speaking, Wang Xuebing had said some harsh words, which barely counted as personal threats, but it was also fine to say he was just engaging in a war of words.

That was the second male lead.

And he did this on the very first day of filming.

Never mind the netizens, even some peers were stunned, not understanding how this trick was performed.

The person involved was also completely confused.

Just as he was thinking about how to counter Li Luo's words, the capital representative walked over with a dark face and said they wanted to terminate the contract with him and told him to return the down payment.

If he had any objections to this decision, it wouldn't just be a matter of returning the money.

They would also pursue the losses caused to the crew by those remarks.

In his panic.

He hurriedly asked his manager to communicate.

The reply he got was very straightforward: there was no room for communication. Pack up and leave immediately, and don't mess with Li Luo anymore. If the matter continues, it won't do him any good.

This blow made his head buzz.

He didn't know how to react.

Seeing this announcement, Li Luo's fans frantically spammed posts. The phrase "What if I give you two hands" could be seen everywhere, completely leaving Li Erpeng's fans without any temper.

No matter how you put it.

This announcement had no problems at all; he indeed threatened to take action first, so even if they wanted to help him speak, they couldn't stand on solid ground.

Except for those netizens.

For a time, all parties online quieted down.

Upon receiving this news, even if he was unwilling, Li Erpeng made a phone call that was very difficult for him.

"Don't be polite, just act your part well."

Looking at the text message from Yu Feihong on his phone, Li Luo felt a wave of confusion.

What do you mean "don't be polite"!

It was nonsensical.

"You're the one who should act well."

He smiled and replied to her: "Believe in Brother Luo's strength; this little matter isn't enough to stump me."

Before this, he had already sent many text messages.

To those who helped him speak.

Expressing his gratitude to each of them.

You can't take this kind of thing for granted. You have to owe a favor to everyone who stood up to endorse you; otherwise, who would bother with you next time?

There were also some people who sent messages to express their concern.

For example, Bian Xiaoxiao who stayed at the hotel to rest, and Tong Lei and Chen Zihan who were thousands of miles away, all sent various curious inquiries.

As for them, Li Luo dismissed them with a few words.

Putting away his phone.

He picked up a palm-leaf fan and waved it.

Fight when you need to fight, work when you need to work.

After filming that behind-the-scenes footage, he continued with today's shoot.

This time, filming *Shen Yi Xia Lv* was relatively easy, unlike *Sui Tang Ying Xiong Zhuan*, where the progress was far behind due to special circumstances, which was why they had to rush the work so hard.

Now, this matter.

Anyway, just drag it out and see who can outlast whom.

He wouldn't be the one losing out.

After such a tug-of-war, the internet was full of news related to him. I estimate his popularity will rise significantly again. No wonder those actors like to hype things up; it's considered a shortcut to fame.

Before, everyone would think Li Erpeng was a notch above him, but after this, even if he couldn't step on that guy to get ahead.

Everyone had become equals.

Incidentally, it was also showing his edge to people in the circle: don't mess with him if you have nothing to do.

Be careful of breaking a tooth.

"Li Luo."

Just as he was flipping through the script, a shout sounded from the side.

Gao Yuanyuan, dressed in palace attire, was holding her phone and walking toward him.

"Hmm?"

Li Luo covered his chest, his expression slightly exaggerated: "Are you also coming over to comfort my wounded, young heart?"

This action, and the fierce look he had when showing off his muscles earlier.

Formed a strong contrast.

It made Gao Yuanyuan's heart thump. She first glared at him, and the beautiful girl said: "There's nothing going on tonight, how about we find a place to play mahjong?"

With things being so heated, she still had the leisure to ask him to play mahjong.

She really knew how to pick her time.

"Sure."

Li Luo hesitated slightly and agreed readily: "Then I'll go to your room tonight. Who else is playing?"

Even if the sky falls, it shouldn't delay eating, drinking, and having fun.

The main thing is to have a good mindset.

"Let's go to Jingcheng to play."

Gao Yuanyuan smiled and continued: "I'll introduce a few friends to you while I'm at it."

"Oh?"

Li Luo looked at her playfully.

Does playing mahjong require traveling for several hours? And introducing friends at this time—recalling the identity of her boyfriend, he could probably guess what this woman wanted to do.

Being looked at like this, Gao Yuanyuan's eyes were flustered.

"I'll just say it straight."

She simply pulled out a chair and sat down to the side: "I'm just acting as a middleman, not favoring anyone. It just so happens that I have mutual friends with Li Erpeng. Regardless of whether there's a misunderstanding, we have to find a way to solve it."

"If this keeps up, it's also a damage to your image."

"What do you think?"

"I think you should know what this is all about."

Li Luo leaned back comfortably and waved his hand nonchalantly: "I'm not the type who likes to hold onto others, but do you think it's appropriate to make me travel for several hours to accept mediation?"

"Is that appropriate?"

This counter-question left Gao Yuanyuan speechless.

If they were confident in taking him down.

They wouldn't need to find a middleman.

In this kind of matter, whoever looks for someone to mediate represents the one bowing their head and admitting defeat.

Admitting defeat and still making him travel for several hours—wasn't this putting on too much airs? So even though he had a good relationship with Gao Yuanyuan, he still retorted stiffly.

"I understand."

Gao Yuanyuan thought for a moment and continued: "So your meaning is, it can be discussed?"

"Show some sincerity first."

Li Luo flipped through the script and replied lightly.

Watching the figure of this young lady leaving.

He took out his phone again. Before he could make the call, Xu Qing's call came in: "Someone found Xu Jinglei wanting to help mediate, and I had Jiang Wen push it back."

"Let's leave them hanging for a while."

"Hmm."

Li Luo smiled and shook his legs: "Someone also found me just now, wanting me to go to Jingcheng tonight to communicate."

"Putting on such big airs?" Xu Qing's voice was a bit surprised, and she said with a smile: "But then again, after all, they are all divas, I guess they are used to bossing people around."

"You didn't agree, did you?"

"Am I that cheap?"

Li Luo held the phone to his ear and took a cigar from his pocket.

"That's right~"

Xu Qing's tone sounded very satisfied, but she added: "Actually, that group of people who play music has quite a strong voice, so they aren't afraid of arguing a few times."

"It's just that Feihong's hand was too heavy, suddenly stripping Wang Xuebing of his role."

"They also don't understand what's going on, and in the end, it's Li Erpeng who suffers. It's better to resolve grievances than to keep them."

"Stripped?"

Li Luo chuckled first and asked in surprise: "Sister Feihong, how did she manage that?"

No wonder there was that nonsensical text message just now.

But how was this trick performed?

"How would I know? Go ask her yourself." On the other side of the phone, Xu Qing was slowly applying nail polish: "But one thing is indeed true: everyone sees each other every day."

"There has to be a result."

"Let's not be too extreme in our actions; we still have to mix in this circle in the future."

"Actually."

Blowing on her nails, Xu Qing continued: "It's not like conflicts haven't broken out in the circle before; fighting has actually happened, but rarely has it been brought to the table like today."

"Just let people know we aren't easy to mess with."

"You can't leave an impression of being a troublemaker on your peers; it's not good for your future development."

"Hmm."

Li Luo nodded slowly.

There was nothing wrong with what she said.

Some people in the circle, even if they hate each other to the bone, have to pretend to be harmonious on the surface, just because everyone is a public figure. If things get blown out of proportion, the impact will be particularly bad.

"Since they entrusted someone to talk to you, let's talk and see."

Xu Qing moved her fingers, admiring the effect of the nail polish with satisfaction: "I won't move on my end for now; I'll wait for your news."

You have to talk when you have to talk.

You also have to achieve the desired effect.

You can't let the other party get away easily. The game was started by others, but how it ends is up to him!

After hanging up the phone.

Li Luo turned around and called Yu Feihong.

That guy was always vague; in short, she told him not to worry so much and just do his own thing. In a word: we don't look for trouble, but we aren't afraid of it either.

By the afternoon, the internet, which had been lively for several hours, finally quieted down.

The netizens who had eaten their fill of gossip.

Were enjoying the aftertaste.

People in the circle knew what was up at a glance. They had been arguing so fiercely before, and now it had suddenly quieted down; they estimated they were starting to make contact privately. As for the specific result, it would be revealed by tomorrow at the latest.

In fact, many peers felt confused.

Today's drama.

Could almost be called a melee of the Beijing circle, except that Li Erpeng's side was mostly from the music circle.

Li Luo's side was mostly from the film and television circle, with some people from the Hong Kong and Taiwan circles mixed in.

It left them dazzled.

When evening came, Li Luo and Wu Yu were going over the lines for tomorrow's scenes. The two were talking back and forth, saying those nonsensical words; just by the sound of it, one would think they were crazy.

"Ding-dong."

The doorbell was pressed.

"Go open the door."

Li Luo flicked the cigar ash and puffed out a cloud of smoke.

Fragmented footsteps approached the door, the clicking sound of the door opening rang out, followed immediately by a low gasp from Wu Yu.

"Li Luo."

High heels clicked as a very tall woman walked in, shaking her short hair and taking off her sunglasses:

"You're quite arrogant!"