Chapter 727: Ruining My Reputation

The audience wore varied expressions; the celebrities and tycoons were all silent, while the stars were visibly invigorated.

With the Principal backing them, their days would be far easier—fashion and media alike would stop pestering them for money at every turn.

No money, and they'd dredge up their old scandals.

Su Mang's face was black as night; the Chairman's wife and the Board Chair wore grim expressions. The Principal's move was tantamount to wiping the Baisha Charity off the map.

"Madam Chairman, you saw it too—there are all these stars here you've been oppressing. They're angry, they're unwilling, and it's all of your own making. If there's blame to lay, you can only blame yourselves."

Fang Hong's gaze swept the entire hall: "The time has come. Our entertainment circle needs its own charity fund."

After saying this, he stepped off the stage, took Liu Tianxian by the hand, and walked outside.

Following his departure were many other stars; the ones who had stood up earlier also left one by one in the Principal's footsteps.

They would take no part in the group photo afterward, nor in the banquet to follow.

The face had already been publicly torn—what was the point of staying? Besides, this time Baisha had stirred up public fury.

The tycoons and celebrities watched the stars file out one after another, exchanging glances—when had stars grown so unyielding?

The Chairman's wife was even more furious, no outlet for her rage; she gulped down the wine on the table in one go, then slammed it down hard.

The Board Chair watched the situation blow up and knew next year's Baisha Charity was in trouble—could it even be held was uncertain. No stars to fill the stage, and the tycoons wouldn't come either.

They had assumed stars were easy to bully, to squeeze a little here and there, never expecting the Principal to raise one arm and rally them all together.

Yet the tycoons also rose one after another and left—Lao Cao, Dong Dama, Lei Bus, the Wanda representative, the Alibaba representative, and so on, all departing in succession.

Some of them were quite angry; they had come intending to do some charity, only to find it was a performance.

Seeing the stars and tycoons leave, the male stars who hadn't participated could no longer sit still either; they rose and departed. The tycoons who'd come hunting for pretty faces, and the second-generation rich, also left out of boredom.

Including Xiao Wang, Jia Yueting, and others had no choice but to leave—lingering any longer was pointless.

Jing Tian didn't leave; this matter was none of her business—she'd just come to get her face known and ride the wave of attention. Still, she sat for a while and then left too.

"Madam, what do we do now?" Su Mang asked, watching everyone depart one after another.

"You ask me, who do I ask?" the Chairman's wife roared.

This startled Su Mang so badly his whole body gave a shudder.

This incident put pressure on the Chairman's wife as well—if Fashion Group really got blacklisted by the entire entertainment circle, they couldn't bear it either.

Stars are a vital resource for Fashion Group's footing; if the Principal cut off that resource, they'd find it very hard to keep operating.

Even publishing magazines, endorsements and the like still need a star image attached.

Issuing publicity drafts—they can't badmouth every single star, but picking out the key ones is still doable.

Outside it was already deep night; the stars drifted out in twos and threes into the Guomao lobby, which was sealed off.

"Principal, this time we've offended Fashion Group—they'll definitely strike back and retaliate." Guoji Zhang caught up with Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian.

Behind them trailed a group of stars, all gazing at the Principal expectantly. The Principal had now become their spiritual pillar—after all, it was he who had led them in this uprising.

It was the Principal who led them to resist the fashion circle.

"Don't worry—surely they can still offer you performance opportunities and resources, right?

Those brand merchants will also bypass Fashion Group. What they want is an endorsement image—they look at who's hot, who has high popularity, whose persona fits. Let Fashion Group's evaluation standards be voided."

As for Fashion Group's retaliation, that's even less to worry about. Compared to the vast media channels, do you think they can match Chang'e?"

Fang Hong looked at these familiar star faces—when had they become stars so unattainably lofty?

Now they were just a group being bullied and pushed around. To ordinary people, the star group was nothing more than "rich folks."

In terms of social standing, they were inferior to ordinary people. A simple example—you can visit prostitutes, but if they solicit once, they're done for.

Any act that violates morality is forbidden.

Of course they've also made money—made so much of it, so a little restraint is only fair. If you don't want it, then quit; once you quit, no one cares what you do.

So they're a group any circle can bully a little; whenever something happens, they can dig up their affairs to divert public attention.

Useful and obedient—why wouldn't they?

"Thank you, Principal, for speaking up for us this time." Fan Xiaopang spoke up at the right moment.

Guoji Zhang and Young Master Zhou shot her a sharp look—simp, never missing a chance to suck up to the Principal.

Even at a time like this, these big stars were still fighting among themselves.

The other stars and artists merely watched—they had no right to speak, could only look on and listen. As long as the Principal helped them, they weren't afraid of Fashion Group.

Under Chang'e, Douyin and Bilibili were developing at breakneck speed; even Xiaohongshu's user base had leapt to fifty million.

These users are all little fairies and rich ladies—they have plenty of money. Compared to Bilibili's loser spending power, they're far stronger.

The simp economy hasn't collapsed yet.

"I only did what I should have done; it has nothing to do with you. As long as you unite and don't fight among yourselves, no one can break through you. Don't think too little of yourselves—you're actually very important." Fang Hong fed them chicken soup, paying no heed to Fan Xiaopang's flattery.

He only handled limited matters—namely the fashion bullying. Other matters he didn't touch, otherwise these people would have an excuse to shirk responsibility.

They might even say it was the Principal who told them not to do charity, this and that. Fang Hong had never said not to do charity—only that he didn't support fake charity.

So he let them unite on their own and handle it themselves.

Liu Tianxian merely listened at his side—whatever she could support, she would definitely support. This kind of thing was still best left to Fang Hong.

"Then you just said we could have our own charity—when can we organize our own?" Guoji Zhang asked.

"That needs careful planning; it's complicated. It's not something I can just make happen by saying so, but I can give it a try." Fang Hong said.

A charity fund needs to be registered, needs an umbrella organization, needs multiple layers of oversight—the twists and turns inside are endless.

Baisha Charity is also under the oversight of the Siyuan Project.

"Alright then, Principal, how about going for a meal?" Fan Xiaopang spoke again.

"No need—everyone go home!" Fang Hong refused, then left with Liu Tianxian, got into a business van, and vanished into the night.

The stars also drifted off in twos and threes, some going to eat, some to keep playing, some calling up old flames for a quick round that night.

Many in the entertainment circle don't marry—they have physical needs, and they find a partner for it.

That way it's safer, no need to worry about being discovered.

The car sped down the road, scenery flashing past on both sides like streaks of light. Inside the car, Liu Tianxian asked, "Why are you suddenly taking on something this big? That's not like you."

"I don't like the look of them." Fang Hong glanced at her.

"Honestly, you really are something — now you're sticking your nose into other people's business. Before this, you even meddled in Jing Tian's boyfriend situation. What, are you afraid she'll find a boyfriend?" Liu Tianxian had held it in until now before finally saying it, a hint of jealousy in her tone.

"How could I be? I'd love for her to get married off early, get married right now even. I'm just afraid she'll meet the wrong person and get deceived. That girl is naive, hasn't really been through any setbacks." Fang Hong said.

"Oh, you care about her so much." Liu Tianxian's tone was teasing, arms crossed, eyes flicking a sharp glance at him.

"She did admire me, had a crush on me once, had some feelings for me — proves I've got a little charm. I only did a tiny thing, that's not too much, right?" Fang Hong pinched his two fingers tightly together in front of Liu Tianxian's eyes.

Meaning he only had that tiny bit of concern.

Liu Tianxian watched his hand waving in front of her, then suddenly grabbed those two fingers and bit down on them.

"Hey, are you part dog or something!" Fang Hong quickly used his other hand to press against her forehead.

But he still got bitten by Liu Tianxian. Her gums clamped shut, and Fang Hong let out an "Ah!" of agony.

"What are you screaming for! I didn't even use any real force." Liu Tianxian opened her mouth and let him go.

"I was afraid you'd use force." Fang Hong pulled his hand back.

"Hey, I'm just curious — how did you decide for sure that the person she was seeing was the wrong sort? Did you really meet him? Or was it something about a thirty-million IOUs from playing cards?" Liu Tianxian hadn't moved on yet.

"Never met him. The story was something I made up." Fang Hong shook his head.

"You really are something — still saying you don't care about her, yet you made up a story to try to convince her to break up." Liu Tianxian was speechless.

"Actually that guy really did have problems. Trust me, what I did was just saving someone." Fang Hong said.

Whether that person was involved in gambling or not is unknown, no conclusion — because the country doesn't recognize IOUs tied to gambling, nor supports recovering them, so a lawsuit can't be filed.

Later the lawsuit was the creditor using private videos to extort, and the one being extorted was Jing Tian — this has been confirmed.

Anyway, that whole matter is shrouded in fog, but two points can be confirmed: that person really did owe money and couldn't pay it back, that's settled. As for what he did with all that borrowed money, no one knows, because that person never filed a complaint.

A lot of people got the logic wrong on this. The creditor took the video to Jing Tian — it was Jing Tian herself who directly sued the creditor, it was Jing Tian herself who directly reported to the police. That person was only a witness — that's the whole relationship.

That person, from beginning to end, didn't even dare to defend his rights, didn't dare say a word, never filed a single lawsuit.

Jing Tian won the case, got the creditor sent in, and instead that person got cleared — it's truly the biggest joke in the world. Can't figure out what they're whitewashing, what's there to whitewash.

Jing Tian suffered the greatest harm, put in the greatest effort, yet ended up clearing that person's name.

The judgment clearly states the video was shown to the creditor — on this point alone there's no way to whitewash it.

And they still let that person off without holding them accountable — simple logic: without that person showing it, how would the creditor have seen it? More than generous already!

"Really?" Liu Tianxian was half-convinced, half-doubting.

"Yes, if I'm lying to you, may lightning strike—" Fang Hong raised his hand to swear.

"Stop, I believe you." Liu Tianxian covered his mouth, not letting him continue.

Actually she bore Jing Tian no ill will either — felt that girl was pretty nice, just that she didn't quite fit in with them, didn't really make friends within the circle.

Fang Hong held her fair, delicate little hand and coaxed, "I just knew my wife was the best."

"Hmph, now you know I'm good? Who's the one who told outsiders I don't give you money?" Liu Tianxian patted his head: "Ruining my reputation."

"That was just something I said off the cuff."

"."

That night was not peaceful — the charity Basha didn't even dare release the video, only scattered clips.

And those clips only showed the celebrities' auction interactions — quite heartwarming, quite lively, viewers thought everything was harmonious.

But beneath this harmonious scene, some celebrity artists still inevitably got dragged.

Posting their candid shots, calling them miserly, donating too little — the accusations of not donating at all still raged on.

Especially Liu Tianxian and the Principal — basically everyone said these two were misers, because in the clip videos, they weren't seen donating and so on.

Many other celebrities got criticized too.

Of course not all celebrities issued publicity drafts to criticize — Basha didn't have that kind of nerve. They only criticized a few at the front lines, like Liu Tianxian, Guoji Zhang, Young Master Zhou, Yao Dazui, etc.

The publicity drafts were the same old lines, nothing new.

Major celebrity artists — Guoji Zhang, Fan Xiaopang, Yao Dazui, Da Mimi, etc. — collectively issued statements: "Refusing to shoot Basha magazine covers."

This statement instantly stirred up a huge wave in public opinion, leaving many Wangyi stunned — what on earth happened? Anyone with big ones want to explain?

This move caused many of Basha's subsidiary magazines to fail to publish, even their news app versions couldn't be released.

They had no choice but to find lesser celebrities to fill in.

Lesser celebrities still really want to be famous, but without the influence and popularity of big stars, it inevitably led to magazine sluggish sales and subscription cancellations, and online traffic and attention would also plummet.

This dealt Fashion Group a collective blow from the entertainment circle, and also showed the fashion circle just how serious it was when the entertainment circle refuses to play with you.

Honestly, without celebrities, those brands can't even be bothered to put ads on Basha's magazine pages — no one's looking.

And just as public opinion was raging, and some capital also expressed dissatisfaction with Basha, Wanda Pictures demanded: "Our artists will never participate in Basha!"

Their company doesn't have many artists, and they're not very famous either — Wang Zixuan, Liu Mengmeng, these are all minor celebrities.

This meant the capital circle was also displeased with them — bleeding their stars dry, forcing donations from their artists, and this matter also caused Huayi's stock price to drop again.

The reason behind it is unknown — probably that price list from General Manager Xiao Wang pissed off Wanda.

Additionally, the coal boss — the one who bought the rosewood Guanyin statue — refused to pay the auction money, backed out and didn't want it.

Plus a bank wants to recover 28 million in naming fees, because this Basha event's promotional effect didn't meet expectations — they didn't even dare release the video.

And so many celebrities publicly boycotted, making this Basha event stink — how could they be willing to accept that?

This storm — not only did celebrities collectively boycott, even capital defected and fled one after another. Capital has the least integrity — sees something wrong and runs.

One can imagine, when celebrities unite, it's still terrifying — their influence is still huge.

The Chairman of Fashion Group was starting to panic — magazines can't be shot, capital fleeing, the economic losses are enormous — a continuous series of blows, in fact.

(End of chapter)