Chapter 210: Going At It Back and Forth

After being stalled for a long time, the few of them finally managed to enter Jade Rabbit's territory without hassle.

This time, no one stopped them.

Fang Hong also knew he couldn't avoid it—after all, the company was right here. He could hide, but the company couldn't. This matter had to be settled eventually.

Mainly, he didn't want to go to court either—it wasted money!

"Waving a chicken feather as if it were a war token—trash."

"Don't lower yourself to someone like that. He'll be a security guard his whole life."

"Exactly!"

"."

The few of them muttered among themselves as they entered the building, took the elevator to the 13th floor, and saw a Jade Rabbit statue at the door.

They looked at the statue—it was Jade Rabbit's logo.

They walked around the statue and arrived at Jade Rabbit's office. Many people were working inside, but the staff seemed indifferent; a few just glanced at them with a bit of curiosity.

The extra glances were because these celebrities were currently being publicly shamed by Wangyi online, which didn't earn them much goodwill from the staff.

Still, no one said anything—they were all sensible. It was simply because Jade Rabbit had its own celebrities too, and outside stars often came for meetings, like cast meet-and-greets, so everyone was numb to it.

"Excuse me, General Manager Fang is already waiting for you in the reception room. Please follow me."

A female secretary led the group to the reception room.

The door opened, and there sat Fang Hong at the head of the room, with Huang Bing seated beside him.

"Principal, you're trying to back me into a corner!" The moment Xiebazi entered, he started complaining.

"When you came after me, did I say anything? I just took it, didn't I?" Fang Hong swiveled his chair slightly.

Xiebazi could read between the lines—the two of them shared a silent understanding.

He walked over, sat down in front of Fang Hong, and said: "But you can't come after me like this. You're pushing me to my death!"

"Isn't everyone always going back and forth like this? Why are you so thin-skinned?" Fang Hong said calmly.

The remark left Xiebazi deeply embarrassed.

It said he wasn't steady at all, couldn't keep his composure, and had no resistance whatsoever.

"No matter what, you can't come after me like this. If I go down, it won't do you any good either." Xiebazi was shameless too.

"So coming after me did you some good, did it? By your logic, should we book a venue next time we go at each other, have a drink together, hash out the plan, and then go at it?" Fang Hong said sarcastically.

That remark made the few celebrities press their lips and secretly smile, because the way these two talked—going back and forth like that—anyone who didn't understand would think they were discussing something else entirely.

Far too ambiguous.

But the moment Fang Hong glanced their way, each of them quickly straightened their faces and didn't dare chime in.

Huang Shengyi felt uncomfortable watching her own husband act so meek in front of the man. She'd thought she'd found a strong one, only to find a coward.

Back then, watching Xiebazi stand up to Xing Ye had truly thrilled her heart.

But now, watching him go up against the Principal—there was simply no comparison. Every time he tried, he lost, and he couldn't even talk back.

Xiebazi's face also looked a bit uneasy. He naturally understood Fang Hong's sarcasm, and he didn't dare treat the Principal the way he treated Lu Dabo—because the other's status was on par with his own.

"Don't get so worked up. Let's talk this through properly," he said.

"If I didn't want to talk this through properly with you, I wouldn't be sitting here today." Fang Hong tapped the table.

That was about as far as this could go. Pushing it to the extreme would mean mutually assured destruction—the man had capital of his own.

Da Heiniu seized the moment and spoke up: "Principal, I don't think we've offended you, have we?"

"Right, so what are you doing here then?" Fang Hong feigned curiosity.

One sentence left Da Heiniu speechless. If you haven't offended him, then what are you here for?

"Principal, sorry about this. This is our first meeting, and it's about this matter—do you think we could keep it from escalating to a legal level?" Du Chun said politely.

"That's something you need to discuss with Yin Xiaotian. It has nothing to do with me. I'm not the one suing you—Yin Xiaotian is." Fang Hong deflected with one sentence.

Indeed, his target was Xiebazi; he had never intended to sue them. Yin Xiaotian was just collateral damage—probably that man had his own grievances too.

Their faces darkened. The Principal was truly impervious to reason.

"Principal, let's cut to the chase. What do you want?" Xiebazi said.

"Yin Xiaotian's reputation has been damaged. Compensate him with thirty million, and we'll consider this matter settled." Fang Hong was very straightforward.

He also couldn't think of anything else to ask from Xiebazi—anything the other had, he had too; anything the other didn't have, he had.

Apart from money, Fang Hong had none—so he asked for money.

Xiebazi had never really established himself in the film and entertainment circles; otherwise, his wife wouldn't have had to kneel to Zhao Dashu.

"Thirty million? To Yin Xiaotian?" Xiebazi's eyes went wide. You're quite the saint, stirring up such a huge fuss for someone else's sake.

The others were equally astonished—they hadn't expected the Principal to play this card. Wasn't this just for himself? "If you don't want to, forget it. I don't care either way." Fang Hong spread his hands.

"Principal, that's too much. How could we possibly afford it?" Xiebazi tried to haggle.

Asking for that much money—he might as well go to court. Even if he spent it all on lawyers, he might not necessarily lose.

"Then I'll knock off a few million for you." Fang Hong knew it was a bit much.

"Still too much. A few million would be fine—I'd consider it making friends with you, like treating you to a meal. But eight figures? That's absurd." Xiebazi shook his head.

"I need to eat your few-million-yuan meal? Are you looking down on me, or looking down on yourself?" Fang Hong said bluntly.

Xiebazi fell silent for a moment, then looked at the few celebrities. The meaning was obvious—he wanted to split the cost, each person chipping in a bit.

At this stage, Xiebazi still had money—those stretch limousines, Dzi Beads, and whatnot were supposedly worth hundreds of millions.

But having money and having real strength and resources were two entirely different things! Fang Hong had converted all his money into strength and resources, which was how he'd established himself in the entertainment industry.

Those celebrities all fell silent; some even lowered their heads, not too keen on paying up. Earning money wasn't easy—they all loved money.

"How about this—even though we're at odds, fighting builds friendships. I have a connection with you, so I won't make things hard."

Fang Hong held up one finger: "Ten million. Figure it out among yourselves. If it works, it works; if not, forget it."

He meant "you all" as in you split it evenly.

As for being destined to you, that's nonsense—just fancy words.

Xie Bazi thought it over, then said, "That's acceptable. Each person chips in one or two million, and we're done."

"I'm not asking for your money—I just want your attitude. From now on, we coexist peacefully and don't harm our rapport," Fang Hong added.

This sounds good, but the subtext is: if you cause trouble again, we'll use your own money to destroy you.

"Alright, I'll go back and think of a way," Xie Bazi said, utterly drained by the Principal.

He couldn't argue his way out, and he couldn't fight his way out either. "Your awareness is excellent."

Fang Hong patted him on the shoulder.

Then he prepared to see them off—after all, they'd paid up; payers were patrons, and patrons deserved a proper send-off.

The several celebrities each harbored private thoughts, silent as stones.

They arranged a meeting at a club and sat down to discuss it.

"I'll put up three million. You each chip in one or two million, and we settle this," Xie Bazi took charge.

"That's too much. I don't think we've done anything so wrong," Du Chun said.

"What nonsense are you spouting? You're the one who ate the most in this. Didn't Hai Lan Jia give you something?"

Xie Bazi pointed at him: "If you won't pay, I've other ways to make you spit it out."

This silenced everyone else in the room—the implication was clear: disobey, and we'll bury you alive.

They negotiated, while Fang Hong did nothing—he didn't care, since public opinion hadn't cooled and was still publicly executing the Chadao Sect.

The complaint had been filed, but it could still be withdrawn.

Recently, "Your Seatmate" had finished post-production and was set for release on April 25, during the May Day holiday.

Zhu Yirong still played the male lead, and the female lead, as in the past life, was Zhou Dongyu.

Zhu Yirong had become the fixed male lead in youth films—he starred in all three of the Abortion Trilogy, with different actresses each time.

Meanwhile, "The Conjuring" had been in theaters for a month, grossing $318 million globally—over 2.2 billion yuan—which made Zeng Maojun of Wanda green with envy.

But he didn't pressure Fang Hong; the timeline was too short—he'd give him more time.

To avoid domestic coveting, U. S. Yutu changed its name to Zhonghuajia.

The logo was changed too—it was now a nuclear mushroom cloud.

Although Wanda still knew, those who didn't pay attention or weren't observant didn't know.

Not everyone paid special attention to Yutu's old English name, nor did everyone know Yutu had a U. S. branch.

This matter would soon fade.

From "The Conjuring," Fang Hong earned $79.5 million—550 million yuan—with further revenue from copyrights, TV pay-per-view, DVDs, etc.

But this money came steadily—it wouldn't arrive quickly, and would continue for ten or twenty years, though decreasing year by year.

Per original plan, all this money was to be invested in Tesla stock.

Now Yutu wasn't short on cash—it had earned hundreds of millions from "The Big Man" and could still last several months.

But it couldn't last long—Yutu's staff kept growing, especially in the Animation Department and Best Special Effects.

Salary-related administrative expenses alone were a huge sum.

Additionally, entering the TV drama field, "You Who Came From the Stars" had an investment of 50 million.

Beyond exquisite production, the sets needed to reflect wealthy lifestyles, and the special effects could attract investment for Yutu's Best Special Effects department.

Also, Fan Xiaopang's fee was higher than ordinary female stars—she was top-tier.

"Legend of Lu Zhen" had finished filming; Chen Xiao got one drama, so Zhao Xiaodao must get one too—equal treatment—and Li Xian would be brought in as male lead.

This drama was "The Heirs," casting young actors from Beijing Film Academy—Cai Wenjing, Dou Xiao, and others as supporting roles—just slapdash idol drama acting.

Idol dramas only need decent plots—just show off looks and charm! This was another huge investment, plus funding for films like "Lost in Thailand," "Cold War," and "Lucy 1," and how much did Yutu still owe the bank?

Fang Hong dared not look—he feared he'd break down and start cutting costs.

He didn't even dare touch the video platform Bilibili—just dumped tens of millions to keep it barely alive.

You must work hard—no effort won't do!

Just as Fang Hong was preparing for the filming of "Lucy 1," gathering the behind-the-scenes crew and actors together,

Xie Bazi delivered one hundred million as promised—fifty million went to the Propaganda Department as a service fee, to expand cooperation channels and build a professional PR team.

Preparing for further battles ahead.

The other fifty million went to Yin Xiaotian, as compensation.

The Chadao Sect incident ended as Yin Xiaotian and Bian Xiaoxiao shook hands and publicly apologized to each other.

Yin Xiaotian also withdrew the complaint—he had no choice; without Yutu's support, he couldn't win this lawsuit.

Not to mention the cost and drained energy—plus the harassment, subtle threats, and pressure—he simply couldn't bear it.

He wasn't even sure he'd win.

The matter slowly faded under the backroom dealings of the two big bosses, but the Chadao Sect was still criticized by Wangyi, and the incident still circulated online.

(End of Chapter)