Chapter 611: For the Media

While Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian's wedding was taking place, the media had already published massive headline coverage.

It became a permanent fixture on major media outlets and trending topics.

"Live Coverage: Principal Liu Tianxian's Royal Garden Wedding!"

"Today, Principal Liu Tianxian Weds; Half the Entertainment Industry Is in Beijing, Roads Blocked!"

"Principal Liu Tianxian's Wedding 'Shakes' the Entertainment Industry: Liu Tianwang, Fang Long, Xiang Tai, Huang Xiaoming Appear on Scene!"

These were the initial headlines, and the photos released only showed certain celebrities at the scene, captured by reporters sneaking shots.

After all, reporters weren't allowed inside the wedding venue; they could only sneak photos from outside, and even if some celebrities gave interviews, they merely said they had been invited.

The wedding had not been announced to fans; even though rumors had circulated earlier, the exact details only broke on the day itself.

After all, so many celebrities and public figures attended—it couldn't be hidden.

That night, fans blocked every road leading to Gongmen Qianjie outside the Royal Garden, but since there was no bride-fetching ceremony, they all ended up coming for nothing.

Liu Tianxian didn't want to trouble her fans or make them waste money on long journeys, so she tried to keep the news quiet.

But such a big event was impossible to conceal.

Fans hung banners and portraits of Liu Tianxian along Gongmen Qianjie and waited all night, yet never saw Liu Tianxian or the Principal's wedding procession.

They didn't see Liu Tianxian or the Principal either.

The Royal Garden isn't accessible by just one road—it has an east gate and other side paths, and the hotel has special access routes.

These routes were guarded by security, so fans generally couldn't get in; they could only gather on the main roads.

Only as dawn approached did luxury cars begin to emerge from the Royal Garden, and only then did people realize the wedding had ended.

Their wedding was extremely low-key; they didn't want to trouble their fans at all.

Online, countless fans gathered, leaving comments under Liu Tianxian's Weibo post, questioning whether she had truly married, and the discussion about her wedding became wildly popular.

Not long after, major internet platforms and self-media outlets flooded with photos and clips or short videos of Liu Tianxian and Fang Hong's wedding scene.

These were released by attendees and approved by Fang Hong.

These images and videos spread across Toutiao, WeChat Official Accounts, Xiaohongshu, Weibo, Douyin, Kuaishou, Bilibili, A Zhan, and other platforms.

As soon as the images and videos were released, self-media reacted swiftly, overturning earlier headlines and shifting focus.

"Principal Liu Tianxian's Century-Style Chinese Wedding!"

"A Wedding You Can Only Afford Once in a Lifetime: Full Exposure of Principal & Liu Tianxian's Ultra-Luxury Classical Wedding!"

"Principal Liu Tianxian's Wedding: Comparable to Ancient Imperial Ceremonies!"

These keywords surged to trending status on Weibo and Baidu.

Comments flooded every platform, with any random post amassing 9,999+ replies, and traffic exploded with astonishing speed.

"Wow! Xixi in her phoenix crown and xiapi—so envious!"

"This is what a real wedding looks like—so breathtaking, with ancient rites and magnificent attire!"

"Envious! Wishing Xixi and the Principal happiness!"

"Too extravagant—clearly cost a fortune, impossible for ordinary people to afford."

"It's their own money—what's it to you?"

"The Principal is a life winner—both career and love thriving."

"Liu Tianxian got married—I want to cry!!!"

"Dead Principal, give me back Xixi!"

Wangyi comments ranged from blessings to accusations of waste, from envy to jealousy over Liu Tianxian's marriage.

Including Sina, Tencent, NetEase, and other portal media, they compiled detailed reports on the wedding venue decorations, the bride's attire, wedding rituals, ceremonial props, and guest lineup.

In short: "Extravagant to the Extreme!"

Even print media like the Southern Metropolis Daily and the Xin Jing Bao covered the wedding, though their reports were relatively restrained, focusing only on its societal impact.

People's Daily Online evaluated Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian's wedding: "Luxurious yet tasteful—a fusion of traditional wedding customs and modern culture!"

The article stated: The wedding featured no touching moments or big surprises; the entire event emphasized only one thing—"Ritual!"

Besides print and mainstream media, major television networks also broadcast the wedding, including Hunan Satellite TV, Dragon TV, and Zhejiang Satellite TV, all producing special reports.

But they only aired clips and videos released by attendees.

The full video was never released—it was kept by Liu Tianxian, who would decide when to make it public.

For a time, the whole world knew Liu Tianxian had married; some fans celebrated, some were heartbroken, some turned from fans to bystanders, and some from bystanders to haters.

It's normal—some are just face fans or body fans, drawn only by her looks, not true fans.

True fans wish her happiness and respect her choices.

Liu Tianxian didn't care: some liked her face, some her body, some her works, some her speech, some her actions—each person liked different things, so they saw different things.

Where there are admirers, there are detractors; slightest misstep invites furious criticism—slightly heavier, called "fat cow"; slightly tired-looking, called "overrated"; slightly poor performance, called "terrible acting."

Slightly more honest in speech, called "low emotional intelligence!"

Life is long—how could it be perfect? A novel spans millions of characters—how could it cover everything?

The news of Liu Tianxian and the Principal's wedding spread like wildfire, becoming one of the hottest topics of the moment, endlessly discussed.

The entire internet reported on them—even the rare massive swings in A-shares, with Shanghai and Shenzhen markets losing 2.45 trillion yuan in market value, were drowned out.

Even the national news of Beijing winning the Winter Olympics bid was overshadowed.

Just Liu Tianxian alone had this much influence—mainly because she was incredibly popular, and public opinion toward her was gradually improving.

As long as there's no moral failing, and she's in a legitimate romance and marriage, ordinary people generally have no ill will.

After all, the silent majority still form the vast majority—they are the backbone.

And today's media is highly developed; mobile internet self-media information is advancing rapidly.

Traditional self-media platforms like spaces, forums, and blogs are declining, while media information is shifting toward new self-media territories.

Chang'e Technology holds the four major text-and-video self-media platforms—Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, Douyin, and Jinri Toutiao—though it now merely needs growth and promotion.

This stems from the development of mobile internet, whose foundation is the nation's network infrastructure.

Only the era creates you; you do not create the era. Don't think too highly of yourself—Jack Ma thought too highly of himself.

To change the era requires creation. For example, without the foundation of the internet, how could Jobs have created the smartphone?

Without our strong industrial support, Elon Musk's Electric Vehicle would have languished for years, perhaps even gone bankrupt.

It was the state that created the favorable platform conditions, allowing them room to operate.

Of course, sometimes truly brilliant people are just brilliant—that's true. Their ideas and spirit of innovation cannot be taken away; this must be acknowledged.

Sometimes entrepreneurship requires a bit of luck!

Outside, rumors swirl wildly; media outlets now shift focus to investigating how much Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian's wedding cost.

How much did they collect in gift money?

Some even say their wedding had no money behind it—it was purely commercial. Others claim the wedding itself is a business: Liu Tianxian marrying the Principal is a guaranteed profitable venture.

Some have even dug up how much red envelopes celebrities gave at weddings.

Zhang Jie and Xie Na collected 37 million for their wedding; how could the Principal and Liu Tianxian collect less than a hundred million—or even billions? It must be profitable.

Earlier, people boasted about how amazing their wedding was; now they talk about how much money they made.

Most people resent the rich; their favorability has declined somewhat.

Jin Xing mocked: "Too much showmanship—this wedding is just for the media!"

"They earned their money themselves; throwing a lavish wedding for the woman they love is not excessive. Which woman doesn't dream of such a wedding? Being grand is not wrong."

"Giving the woman you love the most beautiful wedding is truly admirable—a model among men. You will surely be happy; let everyone see that you will love each other forever."

"Their wedding had no sponsors, no advertisements—how is that a business? It's just jealousy, inability to bear others' good fortune."

This quickly sparked backlash from fans and bystanders.

Huang Yi commented to the media: "A man doesn't give a woman grandeur—he gives her a lifetime's commitment. The Principal's conduct over the years speaks volumes!"

Public opinion, which began with extensive coverage and blessings of the wedding, has now evolved into controversy.

It's normal—this is the controversy that comes with being too famous.

Someone will always voice dissent to highlight their uniqueness; someone will always sabotage behind the scenes. It's all normal.

Liu Tianxian is in the way; Fang Hong is in the way.

The entertainment industry today is not what it was a few years ago—it now has big capital entering, with hot money flooding in.

Just this month, Huayi's market cap was pushed to over fifty billion, yet no notable works have appeared—it's all capital-driven.

Even Enlight Media has been pushed to over thirty billion. Enlight Media partnered with Alibaba and used Chang'e's funding to become a major shareholder in Ali Pictures.

Ali Pictures has a ticketing platform; Wang Changtian has long wanted to build one—that's why he originally invested in Tu Piaopiao.

Enlight Media's deep cooperation with Ali Pictures is the result of Fang Hong changing history. In his past life, Enlight Media backed Maoyan; but in this life, Fang Hong usurped Maoyan.

Maoyan was incubated by Meituan. After Fang Hong brought Meituan in, the Maoyan project died in the womb.

Now Meituan remains a shareholder of Tu Piaopiao and still holds a first-tier channel on its platform.

Even Wanda Pictures has reached sixty billion, though they have cinema chains; in this tiny film market, just these few have reached a combined market cap of 140 billion.

This doesn't include other companies: Huace at 22 billion; New Culture at 14 billion; Tangde at 10 billion; Beijing Culture at 6 billion.

There are also other film and television companies, large and small, preparing for or undergoing IPOs—close to 200 billion total.

Films alone cannot sustain this—entire film box office doesn't even reach one-fifth of these valuations; TV dramas can't either—it's all capital-driven.

Producing film and television is inherently extremely money-intensive; building stars, promotion, packaging—all require money. Without money, nothing gets done. This is the most basic truth.

(End of Chapter)