Chapter 645

The sudden removal of Da Heiniu from Run Brother triggered another wave of public outcry in the entertainment circle.

"Da Heiniu Has Been Kicked Out of Run Brother!"

This headline not only topped trending searches but also prompted media outlets to swarm and aggressively interview Da Heiniu.

He joked: "I'm just a sacrificial lamb!"

This remark sparked endless speculation among netizens—conspiracy theories, perhaps—since people are naturally curious, pushing public opinion even higher.

Most netizens couldn't connect to such complex matters, as few were aware of the wager agreement.

But some with better information channels wrote articles claiming this was Yutu's counterattack against Huayi.

It's not hard to analyze; netizens are quite smart—they can dissect the reasons behind tariff wars between two superpowers.

This level of conflict is still something one can speculate about.

Other Run Brother members were also cornered by the media and asked for their views on Da Heiniu's departure.

Nazha was the first to respond in a Fashion Cosmo interview: "The core of Run Brother isn't any one person, but the spirit of spreading joy and perseverance; the chemistry brought by new members will make the show even more interesting."

This show can run just fine without any one person.

Sha Yi, as the new member, said in his Lu Yu's Appointment interview: "I thought I'd feel awkward, but since joining, every member has taken care of me—they're all very accommodating."

He didn't say who was right or wrong; after all, he was a beneficiary himself, and this softened the tension.

Zheng Kai also stated: "Chen is very busy—he has to attend meetings at the Air Force Command every day, and his creative sessions often go until 3 or 4 a. m. I hope he takes care of his health."

This meant Da Heiniu had been working day and night preparing for his film Sky Hunter.

In other words, he had legitimate reasons—this deflected attention from deeper struggles over interests.

But despite being overwhelmed with work, Da Heiniu didn't forget to chase money or want to lose this income stream—he was actively seeking help and connections.

Losing this income stream meant not only could he not fulfill the wager, but his earnings would plummet—he was too dependent on this variety show.

He himself had little ability or talent; he only became famous thanks to Fan Xiaopang, who also helped him a great deal.

As for the other Run Brother members, they all remained silent.

A large number of netizens and viewers flooded Run Brother's Weibo asking for explanations; the spokesperson replied with just one line: "The show needs fresh blood."

It meant you can't keep relying on the same old faces—this time it was just Da Heiniu, but who leaves next is still uncertain.

"Fucking Principal, he's really pushing it too far," Xiao Wangzong slammed his palm on the desk.

Kicking out Da Heiniu and leaking Chen Chichi's scandals was clearly aimed at their wager, making him lose hundreds of millions.

Their wager was meant to prop up the film's weak performance by using acquisitions to inflate profits and bolster Huayi's financial statements.

It clearly told investors how much money Feng Kuzi would make for Huayi, and how much each star would bring in.

That way, investors gained confidence and had future expectations—after all, listed companies are all about the numbers.

But this approach had a flaw: those stars had priced their personal fame and IPs and sold them to Huayi—including Feng Kuzi.

Those stars got cashed out!

Their valuation wasn't based on content—it was purely about traffic and fan economy.

Put more plainly, it turned human value into numbers on financial statements.

If those stars lost their traffic and fan economy, if their value dropped, wasn't that just a bubble? Fang Hong's move was to crush those stars' commercial value.

There are still three months left—aren't you supposed to earn 90 million? Let's see how you do it.

It's hard to say they can fulfill the wager; Da Baobei, Shaofeng, Zheng Kai, Du Chun, Chen He—all who signed the wager—are deeply worried.

After all, they're all bound together with Huayi, sharing the burden collectively.

"Big Wangzong, Xiao Wangzong, being kicked out of Run Brother makes it nearly impossible for me to fulfill the wager—I need new resources," Da Heiniu said urgently.

"Where are you going to get so many resources? Can you even insert yourself into the ones we have?" Big Wangzong sat calmly in his boss chair.

Resources aren't easy to create—they cost money, and top-tier resources are even harder to build.

Right now, Go Fighting! is hot, but that's theirs.

Fan Xiaopang was also here, mainly because of her boyfriend; she said: "We just didn't expect the Principal would target us."

Her words were diplomatic, but the underlying meaning was: they hadn't expected the Principal to use Da Heiniu and others to strike back at Huayi.

"There are plenty of things we didn't expect—I didn't expect one Run Brother episode could knock Da Heiniu down," Xiao Wangzong said bluntly.

And these two could only take it—Fan Xiaopang still had to act in his film I Am Not Madame Bovary.

"Regardless, we signed the wager—it's agreed. You have an obligation to provide me with resources; otherwise, I can't fulfill it," Da Heiniu sounded half-giving-up, as if he could slowly make up for it later.

He wasn't going to let these two manipulate him.

They really thought it was still a few years ago, when old-school film companies dominated? Variety and film production had many emerging forces—Huayi isn't what it used to be; the market has changed entirely.

Stars now have greater leverage.

"Go home first—we'll figure something out," Big Wangzong told them to leave.

Da Heiniu stood up and left with Fan Xiaopang.

As soon as they stepped out, Da Heiniu complained: "I should've never signed that wager—it's ruined me and brought me no benefit."

"Don't worry, I'll call the Principal and ask what's going on," Fan Xiaopang took this matter seriously.

Xiao Wangzong was also discussing strategies with his brother.

They knew the Principal's sudden strike was just a test—he hadn't gone all out; if he had, he wouldn't have targeted only Da Heiniu and Chen Chichi.

Others like Shaofeng, Zheng Kai, Du Chun could all be targeted.

In fact, Fang Hong was probing Huayi's bottom line—he didn't know Huayi's exact financial status or whether capital groups would back them.

If it was like the previous acquisition of Bona, with Alibaba and Tencent secretly pushing, he'd have to respond seriously.

In truth, Huayi's wager agreements with stars and directors stemmed from desperation—the market competition was too fierce, and the impact from capital and internet capital was too violent.

BAT, iQIYI, Tencent Video, and other capital giants had flooded into the film industry, aiming to turn the entire sector into content factories for internet platforms.

Meaning: you don't need to do anything else—just focus on producing content for us.

Alibaba and Tencent also had side bets; Tencent and New Culture, Alibaba and Youku, had many side bets over The Ferryman and Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms.

This was also due to Fang Hong's "Limit Foreign" policy, because internet platforms needed massive amounts of content, and that content could only come from film and television production.

Huayi wanted to maintain its irreplaceability by binding directors and stars.

Including Tangde Film and Television binding Fan Xiaopang; Huarui Century binding Li Yifeng; Great Wall Film and Television binding Jiang Wenli and the Gu Zhangwei family; Luhan with Qingliu Capital; Lao Mouzi with LeTV Pictures; Beijing Culture binding Wu Jing—these were all such side bets, everywhere.

This was also why stars later flooded Variety shows, why fast-food TV dramas emerged, and why content quality plummeted.

Because the pressure from side bets was immense: once the money was taken, if you failed to deliver for the capital, you had to give it back—and pay damages.

Later, all of them exploded in scandal—not only did the companies collapse, but individual stars also suffered losses.

Fan Xiaopang lost over 200 million yuan due to Tangde Film and Television; Feng Kuzi paid 230 million yuan to Huayi to cover his side bet; Lao Mouzi lost at least tens of millions on LeEco.

The harshest was Boshu—he directly drove Contemporary Oriental out of the market and became a deadbeat debtor; of course, there was also Yatian who drove the boss of Yaolai into hiding.

This is the drawback of being too deeply tied to stars: this industry had only been profitable for a few years, and everyone had already gotten arrogant.

Even Xing Ye later entered a side bet with New Culture and paid 360 million yuan—this is also why outsiders speculated Xing Ye was in debt; all of it stemmed from side bets.

Side bets could rapidly convert value in a short time—the temptation was too great.

But these stars and directors had no understanding of their own abilities or how the industry was changing; fame and ability were things of the past.

It's not enough to shout loudly and expect audiences to pay.

Don't assume these stars have high awareness—it's just that the times moved forward, and they happened to be at the风口.

Of course, some remained清醒: Luhan withdrew from the industry at the right moment; no one expected this man to be the least tempted, the most grounded of them all.

In fact, the best path in this industry is to earn well for a few years and then exit—don't get too entangled; use your money for other ventures, better than enduring finger-pointing and constant criticism in the entertainment circle.

If you lack psychological resilience, don't even try this business.

Of course, if you truly love it, or have no other skills or career direction, that's another matter.

Now it's no longer the past; back then, the market was small and information was limited, and coal bosses could play around. Now, capital and all sorts of shady figures are crawling into it.

The authorities are also tightening moral controls.

Although this industry has many sordid aspects, it's still relatively fair: stars and content must please the audience, and the audience must be willing to pay to watch.

If the audience dislikes the star and refuses to pay, no matter how big the star, how great the director, whether a star二代 or a national master, they still won't get support.

This industry needs the masses; other industries don't work this way—the masses' opinions aren't nearly as important.

Huayi's series of side bets were赌注 on massive goodwill; if performance failed to meet expectations, losses would follow, because the money was already spent and couldn't be recovered.

It was easy to explode like other companies.

Investors weren't fools; Huayi's actions inflated the bubble—a short-sighted move. Any slight wind or policy tightening could easily destroy it.

Later, someone else's tax evasion scandal triggered regulatory crackdowns, and Huayi never recovered.

"Xiao Fang, thank goodness I listened to you and sold the film and TV stocks." Liu Xiaoli, bored, followed the stock market.

She watched Huayi's stock surge, then plummet violently—like a rollercoaster, thrilling.

But not as wildly as before, when it reached sixty or seventy billion.

Now, four billion is already good.

Still, overall, film and TV stocks rose, especially those affected by "Limit Foreign," since overseas film and TV content needed them to fill the gap.

But competition among big players caused constant market volatility—up one moment, down the next.

"The market is chaotic now; one scandal or policy change can wipe out a whole swath." Fang Hong warned.

"What other policies could there be?" Liu Xiaoli asked, puzzled.

"Yes, of course—like eliminating over-entertainment, salary limits—any opportunity, and they'll impose restrictions.

Entertainment has become too excessive; Fan Circle Culture is turning the masses against it. Remember, those fans are mostly teenagers still in school, some even engaging in extreme behavior—this is exactly what the authorities don't want to see.

The severity is worse than gaming."

(End of Chapter)