Chapter 360: Wanda

Yan Li meant what he said and actually called Cheng Long.

To be honest, their relationship was decent; Yan Li gave face to Cheng Long as his "big brother," and Cheng Long respected Yan Li as a mainland big shot.

In this situation, this Dragon Crown Prince was a bit of a liability to his father.

You should know that Cheng Long is not having an easy time right now.

Earlier this year, he attended a forum where he claimed that some chaos in Hong Kong and Taiwan stemmed from "too much freedom," and uttered the famous line: "The Chinese need to be managed," sparking widespread uproar and fierce criticism from Hong Kong and Taiwan media.

At this moment, Yan Li would leverage the Dragon Crown Prince's "peasant-like" remarks on Weibo to stir up trouble—let both father and son suffer.

"Mr. Yan, rest assured, I'll give you a proper reply."

On the other end of the line, Cheng Long's tone visibly turned irritable.

Those past controversies hadn't really hurt his core.

His main market is now on the mainland; that statement was, in a sense, a declaration of allegiance— the more he was vilified, the more benefits he gained.

But the phrase "peasant-like" was highly sensitive on the mainland; if taken seriously, he'd be forced to shed skin.

Most infuriatingly, the Dragon Crown Prince had no actual conflict with Yan Li—he was just speaking out to please someone or out of misplaced loyalty.

If the Dragon Crown Prince and Yan Li had genuinely clashed, and Cheng Long, as his father, believed his son was in the right, he'd defend him without hesitation—even if he wasn't in the right, he wouldn't just stand by.

But now, Cheng Long was truly stifled, wishing he could kick that unlucky brat to death.

Yan Li was still fanning the flames… cough, advising: "Big brother, the kid's grown up now—just talk to him, absolutely no physical punishment."

After hanging up, he saw Fan Xiaopang playing with his phone and asked: "What are you looking at?"

"I'm checking how old this kid of yours really is."

He flipped his phone over: "Born in 1982, just two years younger than you, debuted a year after you."

"No wonder he sounded so resentful."

Yan Li understood—if he were older, he'd be a senior, and upon debut, seeing Yan Li already established, he'd identify as the pursuer and likely wouldn't feel so bitter.

But they were nearly the same age, and Yan Li's early career might have even been worse than his, who benefited from his father's influence.

Witnessing Yan Li overtake him on a curve and leave him far behind, some might admire it, but others would feel deep resentment—the Dragon Crown Prince might be one of the latter.

Considering Cheng Long has always criticized and suppressed this son, he might even have used Yan Li to belittle him—making the hatred even deeper.

Whether this was about standing up for Wang Le or venting his own grievances, it was now hard to say.

Fan Xiaopang, seeing no further action from Yan Li, frowned in confusion: "That's it?"

Yan Li sighed: "You're petty, and your thirst for revenge is even stronger than mine."

Fan Xiaopang nodded matter-of-factly: "If someone insults my man, I'm obviously upset—just tell me, are you doing it or not? If not, I'll handle it myself."

Yan Li asked curiously: "How exactly do you plan to handle it?"

Fan Xiaopang declared firmly: "I'll take down Zhou—since he bullied my man, I'll bully his woman."

Yan Li: "..."

They're all Four Dan and Two Bing—why turn on each other?

Fan Xiaopang had a different view: it's precisely because they're Four Dan and Two Bing that she cared—had Wang Le not tangled with Young Master Zhou, she wouldn't have lifted a finger.

"Leave it to me—this playboy's got a pile of shit under his ass; just a little dusting off will be enough to ruin him."

To be honest, despite Wang Le's family being richer, Yan Li could crush him more easily than the Dragon Crown Prince.

Cheng Long's situation was special, their resources and networks overlapped, and it touched on regional sensitivities—not that he couldn't act, but he had to be precise in his timing.

Wang Le was different—his family's money and connections couldn't touch Yan Li, and Yan Li, having reviewed annual intelligence reports, knew his weaknesses inside and out.

His family made its fortune through gray-market operations in Australia, then returned to invest in real estate—many things were unexplainable.

That's just his family's business; this kid himself had the audacity to chase cars and brandish guns in Jingcheng—his usual conduct was obvious. Yan Li scanned him with his system and easily gained control.

…

The next day, Yan Li opened his daily intelligence report: Wang Le's file hadn't triggered yet, but the Dragon Crown Prince had been exposed for several more dark secrets.

Yan Li, being kind-hearted, forwarded them to Cheng Long: "Big brother, my people are clueless—they must've heard this from somewhere. I mean no harm, but you really need to discipline this kid before he goes down the wrong path."

This was both a friendly warning and a veiled threat.

If Yan Li didn't get a proper reply, the black secrets could go to Cheng Long—or appear on Weibo's trending list.

The phone call carried real weight: that same night, Cheng Long hosted a dinner with several friends, inviting Yan Li, and made the Dragon Crown Prince personally pour wine and apologize to Yan Li.

"Big brother, it was just a small misunderstanding—why make such a big fuss?"

Yan Li, seeing the Dragon Crown Prince's still-red palm print on his face, scolded Cheng Long: "You've made me look like the uncle bullying my nephew."

Qi Boss, one of Cheng Long's friends, smoothed things over: "Respect for elders and hierarchy—Big Brother's just angry the kid's been foolish. Yan Zong is magnanimous, Zu Ming knows his mistake—everyone's happy."

Yan Li glanced at Qi Boss—he remembered him vaguely; he was a luxury car distributor, rumored to be eyeing the film industry, close to Cheng Long, possibly planning to invest in cinema chains.

"Cinema chains? Too ambitious. The film market is booming right now, and Big Brother's being generous enough to collaborate—we're just testing the waters with two theaters. Yan Zong is an industry pioneer, please give us plenty of guidance."

Yan Li understood now: Yian and Huayi were both pushing celebrity strategies, and Cheng Long was likely tempted.

But his stature and scale wouldn't settle for just sipping scraps from big companies—he needed a wealthy partner.

One provides money, the other provides fame and effort; profits are shared, losses are minimal for him.

Qi Boss was clearly Cheng Long's partner—he dealt in luxury cars and could leverage the film industry to boost his brand and promote his luxury business.

Indeed, as entertainment boomed, capital flooded in—and Yan Li's success had added even more fuel to the fire.

Yan Li had little interest in Qi Boss and Cheng Long's partnership; he'd once considered courting Cheng Long, but the latter didn't lack financiers, and Yan Li didn't push.

This veteran superstar held too much project leverage and demanded too high a price—he wasn't a good partner in Yan Li's eyes. He preferred rising stars like Zhen Zidan.

More obedient, better value, and more aligned with the current market.

Of course, given Cheng Long's name and influence, Yan Li would still invest in a good project.

But after chatting a while, hearing about black children seeking Cheng Long, Shaolin temple cooks urging people to lay down their knives, and the Xinhai Revolution—Yan Li lost all interest.

Cheng Long's box office had declined these past two years because he abandoned his signature kung fu comedy style and now favored "deep" and "genre-expanding" themes.

From his personal perspective, it's fine, but from the investor's point of view, this is gambling.

Yan Li is willing to gamble, but he doesn't think Cheng Long will win these rounds, so he's holding off for now.

After chatting for a while and seeing the time was right, Yan Li prepared to leave; as he departed, he slapped the Crown Prince's shoulder who had come to see him off.

"Nephew, your father's not young anymore—grow up, don't go causing him trouble."

"Seriously, if this isn't your father's face at stake, you won't be able to survive in mainland China."

Saying this, Yan Li nodded to Cheng Long and turned away directly.

After he left, the Crown Prince's face darkened; he muttered under his breath, and Cheng Long slapped him again.

"Fuck your mother, if it weren't for you, shitty kid, after all these years I'd never have to bow my head to someone your age—better to give birth to a piece of char siu than you."

The Crown Prince had been holding back his anger, but now, with Cheng Long both hitting and cursing him, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Am I even your biological son? When others bully me, you don't stand up for me—you force me to apologize."

Cheng Long flew into a rage and kicked out, but was held back by Old Qi; all he could do was point at his son and scream.

"If you weren't my own flesh and blood, I wouldn't give a damn how you get played to death."

"Your old man has to bow to him—I'm nothing compared to him. What makes you think you can stand up to him? Do you know, if I hadn't stepped in, your naked photos would already be splashed across the front page of Xiangjiang newspapers, and all of Asia would know my son, Cheng Long's son, drove drunk, cheated on his girlfriend, and seduced married women."

"..."

The Crown Prince ultimately feared his father; after barely standing his ground for a few seconds, he was cowed into silence by his father's yelling.

Among the group, Old Qi and the others mediated and soothed: "Zuming, you have to understand your father's intentions—Yan Li may be young, but his wealth, influence, and connections in Jingcheng are among the top."

"A strong dragon can't overpower a ground snake. You two can't outplay him on mainland soil—even if your father isn't afraid of him, he still fears what Yan Li might do to you."

This hit the nail on the head: Cheng Long's swift submission stemmed entirely from his concern that Yan Li would target the Crown Prince.

He could withstand Yan Li; his son could not.

Even if he's shielding him now and they barely get through this, how old is he? How old is Yan Li?

Cheng Long, who rose from the bottom, knew when to bend and when to stand firm—he once bowed to Shaw Brothers, later bowed to Hong Kong and Taiwan triads, and now, for his son, he could bow to Yan Li too.

With Old Qi and the others mediating, and the Crown Prince, terrified of being beaten, finally calmed down and apologized to his father.

Cheng Long's face was grim: "Stay away from Wang Le in the future—what kind of bad company is that? He just uses you as a pawn."

In this incident, what angered Cheng Long most wasn't Yan Li, nor his son—it was Wang Le. He believed Wang Le had manipulated his son; this kid was the worst.

Under his father's pressure, the Crown Prince agreed, but inside he didn't take it seriously—he still planned to find Wang Le and see if he could help him get revenge.

But unfortunately, Wang Le had no time to deal with him anymore.

The very next day, a passionate netizen on Weibo exposed numerous damaging details about Wang Le, including illegal acts; it quickly surged to the trending list and drew widespread attention.

Just as the Weibo traffic of the Jingcheng Four Young Masters had once been sky-high, and the exposure of his relationship with Young Master Zhou had once been glorious, now Wang Le was utterly humiliated—he couldn't hide even if he wanted to.

The official Jingcheng police account stated they would investigate the related information, and some insiders who realized what was happening also stepped forward to kick a man while he was down.

Even Young Master Zhou got caught in the fallout and hastily left the country for an event, to lie low.

If Wang Le survives this crisis, he'll be fine—just keep a low profile privately; if not, he'll have to cut ties—at least publicly, they must break up and cool off for a while.

Yan Li's unapologetic retaliation also sent a powerful shock through many people.

In the past, when Yan Li retaliated, he at least found some excuse; now that his power was established, he didn't even bother pretending—whether right or wrong, if you provoke me, I'll crush you.

Wang Le's family tried to ease relations; even his stepmother, Wang Yan, began cultivating ties with Fan Xiaopang—the two had both starred in Huanzhu Gege.

But Yan Li ignored them—if they truly wanted to resolve things, they wouldn't wait until after the incident to reach out.

Didn't they bet he couldn't touch them?

Since they placed the bet, they'll have to bear whatever consequences come.

However, Yan Li's actions weren't without drawbacks—right after he struck, Wang Le was thrown into such despair that the prestige of the Jingcheng Four Young Masters plummeted.

Weibo relied on these figures for traffic; Yan Li's move felt like killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

But fortunately, Yan Li soon discovered a better traffic hotspot than the Jingcheng Four Young Masters—Wang Dashao.

At present, Wang Dashao had just graduated; his father had invested 500 million to launch an investment firm for him, generating massive buzz.

Not only was he inherently newsworthy, but Wang Dashao was also eager to be active online—he appeared on Tianya, Tieba, and Weibo, and due to Weibo's greater popularity, his frequency there was clearly much higher.