Chapter 724: Hegemon Meets Hegemon

The entrance to the red carpet area connected to the corridor leading toward Yintai Centre, so they had to enter from Yintai and walk through the long corridor to reach the Guomao Red Carpet Area.

The charity bash's inner venue was held in the banquet hall on the third floor of Guomao Hotel.

This event, from the red carpet to the inner venue, was entirely enclosed corridors—only celebrities and stars with invitations could enter; ordinary people could not.

This was to protect privacy; those celebrities and stars inside were hardly decent folk to begin with, all that groping and embracing was an eyesore.

Pimps and drinking companions were everywhere.

The inner banquet hall had 360-degree panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows, though they were all covered up.

The place was buzzing—every big-name star in showbiz was there: Guoji Zhang, Fan Xiaopang, Li Bailian, Yao Chen, Liu Jialing, Yan Zi, Young Master Zhou—the six dan were all present.

No need to name them one by one; it was simply a dazzling constellation of stars, blinding to the eye.

"Principal!"

"Hello, Principal!"

"."

No matter how big they were, seeing the Principal they all had to stand and bow slightly to Fang Hong, as a sign of respect.

This was the Weightlifting Champion of showbiz—the entire burden of the entertainment world rested on his shoulders; though exaggerated, it wasn't without basis.

Those celebrity entrepreneurs, seeing the Principal pass through the bevy of glamorous stars, also had their eyes light up.

"A real man should be just like that!" Jia Yueting sighed to those beside him.

Fang Hong passed through the gathered crowd of stars and arrived at the front main table—the entrepreneurs' table—where he shook hands with Cao Dewang, Lei Jun, Dong Dajie, and others.

Xiao Wang was also there, just standing off to the side.

"Principal, you're here for charity too!" Cao Dewang said.

"Yes, yes, made a bit of money and my conscience kicked in," Fang Hong quipped about himself.

Though he and Cao Dewang disagreed, with differences in thinking, he had never doubted Cao Dewang's charitable character.

The man might have his flaws, but when it came to charity, he'd actually done things.

Their mutual sniping back then was just debate on stage—once you're up there, there has to be a winner and a loser, no way around it; privately the two had no grudge.

Besides, when public opinion accused Lao Cao of bleeding workers dry, he went back and adjusted his employees' wages and benefits—that counts as progress.

"Good, good!" Cao Dewang patted his hand, smiling like a Maitreya Buddha—just not a good-looking one.

The Principal being able to say that meant he had reflected on things.

Liu Tianxian, meanwhile, was mingling like a noble lady, not actually familiar with them.

"Hello Yifei, you're here too!" Xiao Wang greeted Liu Tianxian.

"Yes, General Manager Wang, what are you doing here? This isn't your seat, is it!" Liu Tianxian asked, puzzled.

"Just discussing a little business," Xiao Wang said with an awkward smile.

"Oh," Liu Tianxian didn't suspect anything.

Fang Hong chatted briefly with acquaintances, then prepared to take Liu Tianxian and leave.

"Principal, take your dog away!" Dong Dajie suddenly said.

"What did you say? You shrew." Xiao Wang flared up at once.

The surrounding people were all in the mood to watch a show; Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian exchanged a glance, equally baffled.

"What's going on here?" Fang Hong asked.

"Ask him—some sickening, shameless transaction," Dong Dajie pointed at Xiao Wang.

Fang Hong looked at Xiao Wang, his eyes questioning.

Xiao Wang hesitated, glanced at Liu Tianxian, then stepped forward, patted Fang Hong's shoulder, pulled him aside and said: "Principal, I'm just doing a little business."

He took out his phone, held it in front of Fang Hong, and said: "Just a price list, you definitely don't need it."

Fang Hong said nothing, narrowed his eyes, took it and looked carefully.

A Super A-list Star for 3 million yuan could drink with you at the main table, guaranteed C-position photo-op, touching hands another 500,000—damn, that's really expensive.

An A-list Star for 1.5 million, chat at the VIP table plus Weibo repost Propaganda Department; a B-list Star for 500,000 waits in the lounge for selection, thigh-touching included.

There were also special items, all requiring extra fees—how much extra depended on fame and status, and also on quality; for instance, one actress had yellow teeth, so her price was knocked down 200,000.

An average female star was roughly 800,000 for the whole night!

And here it was divided into three tiers: main table 3 million, VIP table 1.5 million, regular table 800,000—basically an Entry Ticket.

Fang Hong hadn't paid any Entry Ticket; he was invited and just came. Su Mang and the others hadn't mentioned this to him either—after all, at his status, and being married.

Unless rumors came out about him abusing his power over someone, sleeping with someone in an affair, ordinary people wouldn't bring this up to him.

If you had the mindset to get in on it, they'd let you in; if you didn't, you'd only embarrass yourself—who knows what your attitude is.

"You guys sure know how to play!" Fang Hong handed the phone back to him.

"Making a little money—honestly, it's not just me, everyone plays this way," Xiao Wang explained.

"Just don't force anyone, follow the principle of consent." This wasn't something Fang Hong could manage—could he stamp out human nature?

This kind of thing was one willing to hit, one willing to take; just eat, drink, and grope a bit and earn hundreds of thousands.

Holy shit, where's there such an easy business!

When Fang Hong was broke, if he'd been a woman, he'd have been dying to do the same—nothing but letting a man have his fun, you have yours too, and the money rolls in.

"Got it!" Xiao Wang nodded.

Fang Hong wouldn't bother with this matter; actually, the entertainment circle was still relatively clean—after all, the exposure is huge, countless eyes watching—other circles would only be worse.

As for Dong Dajie's sense of justice, he could only express his admiration and ignore her; just then, the crowd stirred, several security guards came in and carried an artist out.

That artist was still throwing a tantrum on the ground, shouting: "Don't touch me, don't touch me!"

Everyone present just watched—no one stopped them, no one tried to persuade them, as if it were routine, nothing to be surprised about.

"What's the situation?" Fang Hong asked.

"This artist didn't hand in an entry ticket but still took a seat at the table," Xiao Wang said.

Fang Hong nodded to show he understood, his face expressionless. The Bazaar now had changed, becoming a pure Vanity Fair.

He and Liu Tianxian returned to their own table. A few people were seated there — all bosses and celebrities — and Jing Tian was among them.

Jing Tian had short hair. She glanced at Fang Hong, then blushed and lowered her head, no one knew what she was thinking.

"What did General Manager Xiao just say to you?" Liu Tianxian asked.

Fang Hong leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words!

"Eh, that's normal." Liu Tianxian was surprised at first, then her expression returned to its usual calm.

She knew about this kind of thing. After all, being in this circle, it was inevitable that someone would try to set their sights on her.

Only in recent years it had lessened — because Fang Hong was around.

"Hello, Principal." A woman with long straight black hair stood up and extended her hand.

"Hello! You are—" Fang Hong was puzzled, wondering who this person was. He hadn't seen her before.

"My name is Jing Lu, I'm the President of Bazaar Energy," Jing Lu introduced herself.

Bazaar Energy was a subsidiary of Fashion Group, its business being event planning.

"Oh," Fang Hong nodded with sudden realization, his gaze drifting as he looked for what was different between this person and Jing Tian.

Both had broad-top, narrow-bottom triangular faces, only this one's face was a bit larger, and she had single eyelids, so she wasn't as pretty as Jing Tian — Jing Tian was more lively and cute.

As for this person called Jing Lu's background, put it this way: not only were the brand and celebrity events in the entertainment circle planned and created by her, but events held by big brands and companies like Weibo, BMW, Tencent, Alibaba, Mercedes-Benz, etc. were also all from her hands.

Even international events like Boao Culture were created by her — her resources were enviable.

Jing Lu was also from Xi'an. As for whether this person had any relation to Jing Tian, that was unknown.

In any case, a few years ago when Fang Hong attended the Charity Bazaar, Fashion Group Chairman Liu Jiang had even offered five million to win a smile from Jing Tian — that incident left a deep impression on him.

"Principal, it seems you haven't come for several years!" Jing Lu said.

"Yes, I've been busy these past few years, so I didn't have the time. Only this year did I find some free time to come take a look," Fang Hong said.

As they chatted here, the venue was noisy and bustling. Liu Tianxian turned her head — Su Mang was shuttling between tables doing the rounds, telling everyone to donate more, that donating too little meant kneeling as punishment!

General Manager Xiao hadn't restrained himself, shuttling between entrepreneurs and female celebrities with a beaming face, very pleased with himself.

Although the man had been beaten down, on the decline, he was still an entertainment-circle big shot — only no longer on the same level as Principal Jade Rabbit.

"Principal, Yifei, eat well and drink well tonight!" Su Mang came between Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian.

Fang Hong nodded. He had been chatting with someone when this old woman suddenly appeared.

Su Mang glanced at the others, bent close and said, "Is there any personal item you'd like to donate today? Contributing to charity, it's also a token of goodwill."

That was a very pleasant way to put it.

"Things I've already used — how could I have the nerve to put them out for others to photograph? Forget it." Fang Hong couldn't do such a thing.

With his current influence, whatever he casually took out, those actors would probably scramble for it. What they were buying wasn't the item, but Principal's face.

Principal's face alone was worth a fortune.

"It's just a formality, and besides, this money is going to the disaster areas." Su Mang wanted to raise more charitable funds.

If the Principal could donate personal items, tagged with the Principal's label, those celebrities would definitely buy at high prices — the Principal's prestige was no joke.

Fang Hong smiled, a smile full of meaning.

"I have a bracelet here, why not let them auction it off." Liu Tianxian leaned in and whispered, thinking that since everyone else was donating, it wouldn't look good if they didn't.

Besides, it wouldn't sound good either — not to mention that she, Liu Tianxian, would just be taking up space without doing charity.

Fang Hong shook his head, refusing.

"This has its benefits. We'll also issue positive publicity drafts — how much was donated, how loving — which is good for Yifei's negative press. It can also get Yifei on a cover, give her a whole Bazaar spread." Su Mang glanced at Liu Tianxian, seeing she was interested.

"Are we here to do charity, or here to do business with you?" Fang Hong questioned.

"That doesn't get in the way of charity, does it!" Su Mang said.

"We don't have anything for you. Find someone else." Fang Hong waved his hand, not wanting to say more.

Donating celebrities' personal items was equivalent to slapping a label on them, easily forming a price tag for the celebrity — meaning your commercial value was only worth that much money.

With so little money and still wanting a good seat, to go on stage and stand at the C-position, a top-tier celebrity being worse than second- or third-tier stars — that was the kind of illusion, that was a trap. Liu Tianxian had stepped on it, right here.

Many celebrities, after donating items, would hire shills to deliberately drive up the price, intentionally raising the starting bid — that's how it worked.

Some celebrities weren't even donating their own things, but the brand's items — trading an auction for an endorsement, tax offsets, and commission kickbacks.

Each lot could take a commission of about 20%, and there was also money laundering involved — anyway, it was quite complicated inside.

Normal lots couldn't fetch a very high price. To borrow a line from Xiao Wang: the rich have money, they're not idiots!

Just randomly find someone to paint a picture, take out some little personal trinket, and expect to auction it for hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions — how could that be possible!

In his past life, Liu Tianxian was foolish and donated a bracelet — the very bracelet she had just mentioned to Fang Hong. This bracelet was worth 23,000 yuan, considered a valuable item, but it didn't go up for auction, only appearing on display in the Silent Exhibition Area.

Later it was bought by an anonymous buyer for 50,000 yuan, becoming the lowest-priced lot of the night. Who this anonymous person was, no one knew.

No matter how you looked at it, Liu Tianxian was a top-tier star, yet her lot couldn't even make it to the auction stage, while those canary male stars and Grandma Jia's items could fetch hundreds of thousands — do you believe it?

At the root of it, there was insider manipulation inside. Liu Tianxian simply wasn't willing to play along with the insiders, that's all.

By the way, after that year in his past life, Liu Tianxian was half-blacklisted by Fashion Group — zero magazine covers for two years, sanctioned with negative publicity drafts.

They directly released Liu Tianxian's unedited photos, claiming her retouched photos were faked!

"Red Carpet Unedited Photos Strike: Even a Fairy Can't Escape Nasolabial Folds"

"Charity Bazaar Night Donation List Released, A Certain Fairy Ranks Last"

Publicity drafts like these were released by them.

She was also intercepted by Da Mimi for endorsements — all of this happened at this charity event that year.

Nothing else to it — you just didn't pay enough tribute!

"We do have ticket revenue here. When the time comes, if Liu Tianxian goes on stage to take her position, there's also a tier-based fee — super first-tier is two million." Su Mang dropped the pretense.

"Heh heh... they all say our Principal is a tyrant in the entertainment industry, but I never thought the two of us would run into a fashion-industry tyrant too." Fang Hong said with a smile to Liu Tianxian.

Liu Tianxian pressed her lips into a smile; her sympathy was already gone. She used to think this organization still had some charitable side to it, but now it was all business.

And Su Mang's words — she could understand them — it was simply the price of buying publicity drafts.

If that money wasn't paid, you'd be marked down as someone whose secrets would be leaked to marketing accounts, who would then mobilize netizens for an online pile-on. Every year there were a few celebrities who got cyber-bullied like this, and some even quit the industry over it.

Zhang Shaohan was scolded: "Scheming C-position stealer!"

Lin Xinru was scolded: "Serial fake-donation offender!" And also, the fact that the husband and wife didn't sit at the same table — that was arranged by Su Mang.

Jiang Xin was scolded: "Low-EQ stupid woman!"

Zhang Jingying was scolded: "Divorced woman, bad luck"

They won't even let the dead go, cursing them: "Cancer is karma!"

When someone passes away they say: "Finally atoned for her sins!"

This charity's decline has its reasons — it's disgustingly revolting!

"Principal, we really have no choice, this is the rule. Of course, someone of your stature doesn't need to." Su Mang was thrown off by the Principal's contemptuous smile.

Truth be told, she was also a little afraid of the Principal. After all, the Principal's fearsome reputation was far-flung — everyone had heard of it.

But she only feared the Principal as a person, not the Principal's power.

The fashion circle has a natural advantage over film-and-TV stars. Their edge is boosting fashion status, boosting value.

They can get you on the Bazaar pages, land you high-end luxury endorsements.

If you don't listen to them, they can send a "Non-cooperation Letter" to the brand!

Once a celebrity refused to donate 800,000, and the very next day Dior received a secret letter from Bazaar saying her "public-welfare image was poor," and the endorsement fell through.

That's how tyrannical they are — even more tyrannical than Fang Hong. At least Fang Hong never said he'd cut off any celebrity's path; whether you get performance opportunities depends on your own ability and your agency's ability.

But these people run a protection-money scheme — if you don't donate, they strip you of fashion coverage and endorsements, and even issue public notices to sanction you.

"What kind of bullshit rule is this? If you've got the guts, throw us out today!" Fang Hong said.

(End of chapter)