Chapter 648: Avoid Excessive Entertainment

This National Day was still a scene of universal celebration, with crowds everywhere.

Tourism spots and major cinemas were especially packed, though some rejoiced while others grieved.

The one grieving was Da Heiniu, who had been kicked out of Run Brother — a settled fact — and her girlfriend Fan Xiaopang couldn't persuade the Principal.

But the fact that the Principal had spoken so much to Fan Xiaopang was already a great favor.

Fang Hong wasn't afraid she'd tell Hua Yi's Big Wang and Little Wang General Manager; this was an open strategy, meant to force Hua Yi to use all its strength to respond.

But Fan Xiaopang wouldn't be so tactless as to tell Hua Yi these things.

The several celebrities who had signed the bet with Hua Yi were also worried — they were supposed to share the burden, but now Da Heiniu had been knocked out.

All the pressure fell onto the others.

Like Da Baobei, Shaofeng, and others.

Hua Yi was also figuring out how to counter Yutu; if they didn't strike back, the Principal would never abandon targeting them.

In truth, Big Wang and Little Wang General Manager really didn't want to fight the Principal anymore; they wanted to call and negotiate: let's put our grudges aside, coexist peacefully, and cease hostilities.

But they couldn't — it would be too shameful; after all, they were still big shots, even if weakened, they were still big shots.

Actually, they had countermeasures: Dad Where Are We Going had issues of poor guidance, educational disagreements, child ethics, and had long been controversial.

They could amplify the negative aspects of the show, destroy it completely — but they'd held back due to Mango TV.

Now that the Principal wanted to hurt them, they could hurt the Principal too.

Recently, Goodbye Mr. Loser's reputation had been building, and on October 6, its daily box office exceeded 110 million.

On October 7, it was again 110 million — the numbers were extremely close.

Goodbye Mr. Loser's total box office over eight days reached 5.58 billion, making it the National Day holiday champion.

Hong Kong 2 was a Mid-Autumn film; it had surpassed 1.4 billion, but its momentum had weakened — after National Day, it earned only ten million per day, far behind Goodbye Mr. Loser.

As time passed, Hong Kong 2's popularity grew even less than Goodbye Mr. Loser's.

Online, people or audiences remembered only Goodbye Mr. Loser as a comedy — they'd forgotten Hong Kong 2 entirely, its reputation completely overshadowed.

Even if its box office was lower, its reputation still completely overshadowed it.

Honestly, Hong Kong 2 was just an unpolished, rushed money-grab — and it had ruined its reputation.

As for other films, only The Tower of Demons had decent box office, surpassing 5.5 billion; LeEco was still strong, but it was weakening.

Daily box office hovered around ten million.

This film had exploded at first, then collapsed — audiences cursed it to hell, calling it a trash film, accusing it of plagiarism.

As for Liu Tianwang's Rescue Me, no need to mention it — barely over a billion, now only a few million per day.

His fans seemed to have vanished — they only shouted support online, but voted with their feet in reality.

This was Liu Tianwang's awkward position: his fame couldn't support box office at all; everyone said he was dedicated, had good relationships, and his fame surpassed all other Hong Kong stars.

But he simply couldn't carry box office — it was extremely awkward.

But it wasn't his fault; films were like industrial products — only if they were well-made and had good reputation would people buy them; otherwise, they wouldn't buy them regardless.

Liu Tianwang had no choice but to work harder at acting to prove himself.

On October 8, another major event happened in the entertainment circle — one big enough to overshadow all current scandals and feuds.

Huang Jiaozhu and Da Baobei got married at the Shanghai Exhibition Center!

The wedding was globally watched; though not as many celebrities attended as at Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian's, the number was still huge — half the entertainment circle showed up, even Xiao Wang came.

Of course, Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian didn't attend — they were filming.

Fang Hong didn't care about it, but he asked Liu Tianxian why she didn't go to Huang Jiaozhu's wedding, since he'd attended theirs.

It wouldn't be hard to spare a day.

"Too flashy, too commercial — it felt less like attending a wedding and more like doing advertising."

"Besides, I'm only familiar with her — we're not even friends; sending a gift is enough, no need to join the fuss," Liu Tianxian said.

The wedding had many advertising sponsors: the wedding dress sponsored by Dior; the wedding ring by Chaumet; the wedding car by Rolls-Royce Phantom; customized Dove chocolate gift boxes; cameras sponsored by Casio;

Too many — The Beast, tomord, Chaumet, and others were also sponsors.

Not only were hotel stays and airfare discounted or free, but the cost was paying for brand logos to appear at the wedding.

The wedding was sponsored by a Shanghai local wedding company, which also required brand exposure.

Even the venue fee for the Shanghai Exhibition Center was offset by brand exchanges — they wouldn't pay a single cent for the space.

People always say Fang Hong is stingy — these people were even more stingy.

Not only were many items and brands sponsored, but the publishing rights — photos, videos — were sold for five million yuan to Goose Factory Entertainment for exclusive release.

Weibo trending topics, celebrity interactions, and other promotional resources were sold for two million yuan to major social media platforms.

Of course, Toutiao and Bilibili didn't buy — they just copied it directly.

This was another copyright dispute.

But when Fang Hong got married, all photos and videos were freely released to the entire internet; if they now charged copyright fees, every platform without exception would be implicated — endless bickering would follow.

Huang Jiaozhu's entire wedding received over one billion online exposures, with total sponsorship value around one hundred million.

All these values combined, this wedding might truly have reached two hundred million.

But this was value on paper — much of it was paid for by others; it was entirely different from Fang Hong's actual cash-out wedding.

Nandu Entertainment Weekly published a special analysis on the wedding's cost.

It analyzed everything from venue to jewelry to sponsorships, including PR, trending maintenance, publicity drafts — calculating them all at two million.

This sparked widespread online skepticism.

"Even the candy is a customized Dove — the favors are stuffed with ads, the dress and jewelry are full product placements — is this a wedding or a commercial launch?"

"Exactly — when the Principal and Liu Tianxian got married months ago, there was zero advertising, and it was very low-key. Are Huang Jiaozhu and Da Baobei just poor and unwilling to spend? The contrast is obvious."

"Trending topics dominated, publicity drafts flew everywhere — they made their wedding seem like the whole world needed to know. So vain!"

Huang Jiaozhu's line "make the baby a princess" was clearly a performance; true affection doesn't need such forced effort.

I've never heard Principal say he loves Liu Tianxian, but he's genuinely spent money on her.

The entire venue glittered gold, like a nouveau riche aesthetic, utterly lacking sophistication.

The Rolls-Royce fleet, antique crowns… beyond showing off wealth, no artistic value could be seen.

Principal and Liu Tianxian's Chinese wedding looked better; though equally luxurious, it carried only "ritual," exuding profound ceremony.

Inviting half the entertainment industry was merely to display connections; the wedding became a Vanity Fair social event.

I heard artists who weren't invited were mocked by the media as "not famous enough"—how utterly mercenary.

No one knows who was invited to Liu Tianxian's wedding; no guest list has ever been released.

This wedding received both praise and criticism, but unquestionably, all comparisons were drawn to Liu Tianxian and Fang Hong's wedding from months earlier.

It's normal; Principal and Huang Jiaozhu; Liu Tianxian and Da Baobei are still comparable.

Even the Chinese wedding attire worn by the two women was compared—this truly couldn't be compared.

Liu Tianxian's was handcrafted from pure gold thread, costing over a hundred million; Da Baobei's was only a few million, and sponsored—how could it compare?

But Wangyi love comparing the two.

No comparison means no harm; it left Huang Jiaozhu and Da Baobei feeling uneasy, but there was nothing they could do—they couldn't punish Wangyi.

They couldn't punish Principal either; he could afford it and didn't care about money, but they did.

This wedding dominated trending topics for three days, bringing immense commercial and fan-economy value to Da Baobei and Huang Jiaozhu.

Just after their wedding dominated screens for several days, a string of new public opinions began to circulate.

"Star kids turned into 'money-making tools'? 'Dad Where Are We Going' toddlers exposed to endorse products, earning millions annually!"

"Five-year-old child monitored by cameras 24/7! Experts rage: This isn't reality TV—it's human exploitation!"

"Tian Liang's daughter despises rural toilets! 'Dad Where Are We Going' criticized for corrupting values through overindulgence!"

"Kimi's line 'I'm a prince' sparks outrage! Where did Chinese elite education go wrong?"

"Toddler memorizing lines until midnight? Wangyi dig up the show's script—proof: all affection is faked!"

Over-commercialization, scripting, and controversies over educational philosophy and values surged all at once.

Public opinion overwhelmingly criticized the show for its warped values, violation of children's privacy, and performative antics.

These controversies erupted across every corner of the internet—portals, social media, Weibo, Bilibili, and Toutiao—too numerous to delete.

The criticism was so loud that Wangyi could see trending news just by opening their phones.

The intensity of public opinion even startled Xiao Wang and Da Wang.

"Holy shit, when did our power become this big?" Xiao Wang asked in astonishment.

If they had this kind of power, they'd absolutely take on Principal without flinching—it was terrifying; Huang Jiaozhu and Da Baobei's wedding never stirred this much public reaction.

That was nothing compared to this—it was like comparing a mouse to an elephant.

"You think this is our power? It's other TV stations and capital helping us."

Da Wang paused, then added: "Several regional stations want this show gone—it's monopolizing too much viewership."

"Even the capital behind other Variety shows wants this show dead—fewer competitors."

Fundamentally, it's still competition; Huayi merely started it, and other forces and capital rushed in like sharks smelling blood.

Of course, Huayi must bear the blame—they started it.

"If we actually kill this show, I wonder how Principal and Mango will retaliate!"

In truth, whether or not they killed this show, Fang Hong intended to take them down anyway—he'd long believed this show deserved to die.

Even if these people didn't kill 'Dad Where Are We Going,' he himself would have destroyed it.

Over-entertainment must be curbed! Child appearances must be restricted!

With such massive social backlash, higher authorities will surely issue documents banning minors from excessive exposure on shows—another wave of policy-driven pressure.

Other parent-child Variety shows—'Dad Is Back,' 'Grandpa Where Are We Going'—all must die.

It's a tactic that harms oneself a thousand, harms the enemy a thousand—still, as always, who can endure it?

Fang Hong didn't care whether 'Dad Where Are We Going' died; he only wanted to ruin Da Baobei's endorsements—anything to make them fail their bet.

(End of chapter)