Chapter 198

On the fifth day, Fang Hong summoned Lu Dabo to his home.

He mainly wanted to know how things were going with Zeng—it was already nearing February; if he kept dilly-dallying, it would be March.

"I rarely invite anyone to eat at my home—you're the first. I called you here because I treat you like family."

The two entered through the large iron gate, and Fang Hong spoke with convincing sincerity.

"The Principal has saved my life—I owe him everything," Lu Dabo said, deeply flattered, his back bent nearly in half.

"It's not that serious. Just do what I ask and keep it secret," Fang Hong said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

They walked inside; the meal was already prepared.

"This is my mother," Fang Hong introduced.

Lu Dabo bowed deeply: "Auntie, Happy New Year."

"Don't be so formal."

Xu Liyun hurried to help him up—today's youth were too polite: "Go ahead and eat. I've already eaten—I won't disturb you."

"Goodbye, Auntie," Lu Dabo bowed again.

But Xu Liyun had already left and didn't see it.

They sat down; Fang Hong served Lu Dabo a dish: "There's something I've never asked you—hasn't it been three or four months now?"

"Almost five months," Lu Dabo remembered—it had been assigned last September.

"Tell me the situation," Fang Hong said.

Lu Dabo took a bite of rice, swallowed: "Earlier, I hired a guy who was really good at chasing girls—he hung out in every bar, knew some psychology, had no job, just lived off women who supported him. He spent one or two months around Zeng—can you guess what we found?"

Fang Hong stared at him, waiting for him to drag it out.

Lu Dabo felt awkward—was the Principal really this uncooperative?

"She likes very clean people," Lu Dabo said.

"What the hell does that even mean? Be clear," Fang Hong had never heard of someone who didn't like men or women, but liked "very clean people."

Lu Dabo didn't dare delay: "According to that guy's analysis, Zeng doesn't care about gender—she only cares if a person is clean or not. 'Clean' doesn't mean appearance—it's about inner character. If she feels you're clean, she won't care whether you're male or female."

There were people like this? Fang Hong now wanted to meet her.

Zeng was too low-key—many didn't know her, and she never sought publicity or self-promotion.

From what we've seen, she's had few female admirers—Liu Tianxian is one, Guo Biting is another—they must seem very clean to Zeng.

Maybe it's just because they're pretty.

Conversely, Liu Tianxian probably sees Zeng as clean—different from everyone else in the circle—so she befriended her, as if finding someone just as clean, and considers her a soulmate.

That's why Liu Tianxian treasures her and hesitates to pursue her.

She's appeared on multiple shows with her, helping her career.

Even later, when Mao Buyi met Zeng and talked with her, he said he liked her.

This "like" means admiration! So this person still has merits.

According to Liu Tianxian, Zeng is very shy and introverted, so Liu doesn't want to hurt her.

But someone like that wouldn't harm Liu Tianxian for profit—Zeng doesn't seem to care about profit at all.

This is getting complicated.

"You've told me all this—did you succeed?" Fang Hong asked.

"No. That guy was clean-looking but clearly wasn't clean inside. Then we found a singer—he hasn't debuted yet, looks spotless, untouched by the corrupt world," Lu Dabo said.

"He lacks life experience!" Fang Hong said.

"That's fine—we hired several relationship masters to advise him. All we need is the person's inherent traits and profession."

Lu Dabo was actually quite clever.

All they needed was for the singer to display the "clean" trait—lack of experience didn't matter; they could teach him.

"How's it going?" Fang Hong asked.

"This time it's working—progress is fast, but they haven't reached the passionate stage yet. It'll take more time."

Lu Dabo pulled out a stack of photos and placed them on Fang Hong's table: "These are photos of their dates—not very intimate yet."

Fang Hong picked them up—each showed the two shopping and chatting, smiling, looking sweet, but with no physical contact.

"Good. Very good."

He put the photos down, pressing them flat with his hand: "Keep pushing. Get intimate photos if you can."

"Got it!"

Encouraged, Lu Dabo regained confidence, then his expression turned uneasy: "But Principal, I—"

"If you have something to say, just say it. Don't stutter," Fang Hong said.

"Doing this has cost me a lot of money—I'm short on cash lately," Lu Dabo said, looking uneasy, fingers fidgeting.

It had indeed cost him a lot, but he'd done it well—just one probe had revealed Zeng's true nature.

"I've arranged it. When finance opens, I'll transfer you a bonus to your account. Don't worry—it won't be less," Fang Hong said.

"Thank you, Principal!" Lu Dabo's face lit up.

After finishing the meal and conversation, Fang Hong saw him out: "How many people know about this?"

"A few people know, but none know it's for you. And betraying us wouldn't benefit them anyway," Lu Dabo said.

"Be careful with this," Fang Hong warned. The matter was settled—but Fang Hong was puzzled: what exactly was going on at Tianyu or Toilet TV?

On the sixth day, Fang Hong called Ouyang, the station chief, again—this time under the pretense of New Year greetings.

He wasn't involved in Toilet TV's internal power struggles—he just wanted to know what was happening.

His original plan had always been to deal with Zeng—and it hadn't changed.

The call connected; Fang Hong laughed into the phone: "Chief Ouyang, this is Little Rabbit Fang. Happy New Year!"

"Oh, happy new year."

The voice on the other end was slightly aged; after all, Director Ouyang was now sixty.

"I've always wanted to visit you, but I never found the time—I'm truly sorry," Fang Hong said politely.

"Ah, don't be so formal."

Ouyang spoke casually, avoiding the subject, waiting for Fang Hong to bring it up.

"There's something I've been unable to understand, and I'd like to ask your advice—would you be willing?" Fang Hong said.

"Go on."

"It's about Zeng and Liu Tianxian. I want to know the full details—of course, if you can't speak on it, that's fine too," Fang Hong said delicately.

"Didn't I already tell you about this?" Ouyang remembered having discussed it with him before.

"There are still many points I don't understand—I'd like you to clarify them further," Fang Hong said.

The phone line fell suddenly silent; Fang Hong didn't rush—he knew the other side needed time to think.

"Since you've asked, I'll tell you some connections. You know the relationship between the station and Tianyu."

Fang Hong indeed knew: Tianyu was a subsidiary of Matong.

Director Ouyang continued: "Tianyu has a General Manager named Long Danni. She used to be the station's Chief Director. She's extremely talented—she led teams that produced many hit shows and launched many celebrities, including Li Yuchun, Chen Chusheng, and Zeng, whom you mentioned."

Due to her outstanding performance, she was appointed by the organization as Tianyu's General Manager.

"She came from the station, and now she wants to return. To return, she needs better achievements—hits across film, television, music, and Variety. Few people in the entertainment circle naturally carry such traffic. Liu Tianxian is one of them."

Director Ouyang spoke at length, but only recounted this person's background—he said nothing about how the struggle unfolded.

But Fang Hong had already understood from the details: Long Danni was the leader of the Tianyu faction, and now the leader wanted to become the supreme leader.

That meant returning to the station—but she was already General Manager of Tianyu; she couldn't possibly return as just a director.

She'd need a position like Director or Director-General!

In short, she wanted to enter the core leadership—the people who could determine Matong Station's direction.

That appointment was decided by the higher organization, not by any individual at the station, so her actions were understandable.

"Thank you, Director. I wish you good health," Fang Hong said—he now knew everything he needed to know, and had guessed what had happened.

"Wait a moment," Director Ouyang said.

"Please go ahead."

"If you can resolve the matter between Liu Tianxian and Zeng, you'll indirectly crush Tianyu faction's ambitions," Director Ouyang said.

"I'll do my best."

Fang Hong knew that even if he didn't crush it, according to his past life's trajectory, when things escalated, Liu Tianxian would sever ties herself—and Long Danni would be the loser in the struggle, then leave Matong Station.

This also explained why Liu Tianxian had frequently appeared on Matong's Variety shows: helping Zeng's career was one reason, but someone behind the scenes had deliberately pushed her onto the programs.

This not only stirred up buzz, but if handled well, could pull Liu Tianxian over to Tianyu's side to star in their TV dramas.

They were just bringing her into the fold!

But he couldn't cooperate with Ouyang—because what if this entire incident had been leaked by Ouyang's faction to destroy Long's conspiracy?

The waters here ran too deep—he wouldn't get involved.

He only needed to understand. And now he understood Zeng's mindset: he liked Liu Tianxian, and was also helping his old employer.

Fang Hong would stick to his original plan.

On the seventh day of the new year, Fang Hong drove to Liu Tianxian's home.

Today, he was driving her to the airport—she was heading to the set of The Four Great Constables.

This was his first time seeing her off on a mission.

At this moment, Liu Tianxian had already packed her luggage and sat on the sofa scrolling through her phone. Liu Xiaoli was gone—probably visiting a friend.

"You're here? Then let's go!"

Liu Tianxian rose to stand, but Fang Hong circled behind the sofa and pressed both hands onto her shoulders.

"I have something to tell you," Fang Hong said.

"What is it?" Liu Tianxian turned, puzzled.

Fang Hong leaned forward and dropped a stack of photos onto the coffee table: "Take a look."

Liu Tianxian picked up the photos, seeing frozen images of Zeng laughing and chatting with a man. Her expression gradually turned serious: "Are you stalking Zeng?"

"Yes. Not only did I stalk her—this man was arranged by me."

Before Fang Hong finished, Liu Tianxian tried to rise, but he held her firmly in place and continued: "I know this is wrong—but I'm giving these photos to you. What you do with them is your decision. I won't interfere unless it becomes critical."

(End of Chapter)