Chapter 379: Entertainment Circle: Smashing the King, Layered Education, Ink-Splatter Sect

After the Weibo Night, the buzz over Lao Mouzi joining Yi'an surpassed the hype generated by Sun Honglei and Fan Bingbing winning Weibo King and Weibo Queen.

The strongest evidence for this rumor was Lao Mouzi's attendance at Weibo Night, where he conversed warmly with Seeing Yan Li and Han Sanping.

Lao Mouzi also presented the award to Han Sanping, whose film "The Founding of a Nation" won Weibo's 【Movie of the Year】.

Yet many believed the film "The Wind" was the best movie of the year.

But "The Founding of a Nation" was the highest-grossing domestic film of the year, had greater influence, and most importantly, was an official tribute film—Weibo couldn't afford to ignore it.

Previously, Han Yan and Boss Zhang had clashed so bitterly; now, with Lao Mouzi openly "taking sides," combined with various rumors of tension between the two Zhangs and the negative reception of "Three Guns Shoot Back," people naturally began speculating.

Lao Mouzi did not respond to the rumor; Seeing Yan Li gave an ambiguous answer.

"Of course I welcome Director Zhang to Yi'an, but the specifics are hard to discuss right now—let's wait and see."

Neither denying nor confirming, his words were full of implication; netizens mocked him as heartless, and it struck Boss Zhang especially hard.

He again forcefully stated in an interview that Lao Mouzi would not leave.

Immediately after, he negotiated with Lao Mouzi, who was intent on going solo, and the talks ended in another bitter failure.

Not to mention Boss Zhang's personality—he would never tolerate Lao Mouzi leaving; even if he could tolerate it, he no longer trusted Lao Mouzi at all. Boss Zhang even suspected Lao Mouzi had colluded with Seeing Yan Li to stab him in the back.

The two sides held two more talks; the more they spoke, the more tense it became, and Boss Zhang's words grew increasingly harsh.

Eventually, Lao Mouzi simply stopped answering Boss Zhang's calls, and some of his assistants and team members also resigned from New Picture, preparing to join Lao Mouzi's studio.

These people had followed Lao Mouzi for years—they naturally went wherever he went.

Even some other New Picture employees wanted to defect to Lao Mouzi, either because they joined New Picture because of him or because they doubted its future.

This time, Boss Zhang was truly panicked!

He realized Lao Mouzi wasn't just throwing a tantrum—he was serious about leaving, and he understood that if Lao Mouzi left, New Picture would be in trouble.

Boss Zhang went to see Lao Mouzi, intending to appeal to their emotional bond, but Lao Mouzi had anticipated this and refused to be entangled.

He didn't answer calls and avoided meetings; when Boss Zhang showed up at his door, his wife claimed ignorance of everything.

Boss Zhang lost his temper and issued threats, forcing Lao Mouzi to finally appear.

But this negotiation also went poorly.

Lao Mouzi was determined to leave, especially after Boss Zhang threatened him—he felt deeply wounded and resolved to depart.

Yet Boss Zhang still believed he held leverage over Lao Mouzi, using both soft and hard tactics to coax him back, but made no progress. Lao Mouzi, though unwilling to provoke him and maintained a mild attitude, refused to return to New Picture.

Boss Zhang, desperate inside, finally dropped the act and revealed his true colors: "Zhang Yimou, think of yourself, think of your family—you're at this age, don't end up ruined, divorced, and your children scattered."

Saying this, Boss Zhang stormed out; Lao Mouzi's face turned ashen.

His wife, hiding nearby, worriedly asked: "What should we do? Should we go back?"

"Go back? If I go back, I'll spend the rest of my life enslaved by him!"

Lao Mouzi thought they were brothers, partners—but in truth, the other man never regarded him as anything.

"Parting amicably" was a joke; even a peaceful exit was denied—he had to be completely betrayed.

"Then what do we do?"

His wife was anxious. Setting aside any leverage he might have, she feared Boss Zhang might do something reckless.

He had been in the industry so long, knew people across all circles, and his methods weren't clean. Even if Lao Mouzi himself wasn't afraid, he couldn't ignore his wife and children.

Lao Mouzi feared this too—he knew his own vulnerabilities, knew they carried some negative weight, but nothing life-threatening.

But if Boss Zhang resorted to underhanded tactics, that would be trouble.

No matter how great his title as "National Advisor," he was still just a film director, with limited actual resources and influence.

"I'll make a few calls and ask around."

At this point, Lao Mouzi could only seek help—his own network was one thing, but he also needed allies.

"…"

"Director Zhang, don't worry—I've spoken with Third Master. That Zhang won't dare lift a finger against you or your family."

Seeing Yan Li actually wanted to see what tricks Boss Zhang would use—then he could catch evidence and send him straight to prison.

But Lao Mouzi certainly didn't want to take that risk, so Seeing Yan Li had to focus on deterrence.

Boss Zhang had spent years cultivating connections across all sectors; Seeing Yan Li had ties in both legal and illegal circles, even had dedicated personnel handling gray-area work.

Lao Mouzi had a wife and children; Boss Zhang had them too—even his overseas illegitimate son's address was known to Seeing Yan Li.

Seeing Yan Li believed business warfare should focus on undermining the opponent; unless absolutely necessary, avoid going too far.

Even gangsters know not to target wives and children—business should be no harsher.

So unless the opponent acted extremely aggressively or used similarly unsavory tactics, Seeing Yan Li would never easily resort to this method.

Boss Zhang bullied Lao Mouzi with power; Seeing Yan Li's move was turning his own weapon against him.

Seeing Yan Li did not appear in person, but called Boss Zhang to declare he was protecting Lao Mouzi; then Lao Mouzi used the address and materials Seeing Yan Li provided to go negotiate in person.

Faced with threats to his family, Lao Mouzi stood firm for once—not just because of Seeing Yan Li, but because he had mobilized other connections too.

After all, he was a renowned director; Lao Mouzi still had influence across sectors. He didn't need to fight Boss Zhang to the death, but lending moral support was no problem.

Feeling the pressure, Boss Zhang raged helplessly for a while, then finally compromised.

But he still made an agreement with Lao Mouzi: he could operate independently, but New Picture must participate in all future film projects.

Lao Mouzi feared giving Boss Zhang no room at all might lead to mutual destruction, so he nodded in agreement.

Seeing Yan Li had previously instructed him to give Boss Zhang a face-saving exit—to stabilize him, and when real cooperation came, the initiative would be theirs; they had many ways to undermine New Picture.

Even if they didn't sabotage him, New Picture had no money, no channels, no artists—it couldn't secure any meaningful share.

Previously, New Picture relied on Lao Mouzi for the lion's share and lived comfortably; now it could only sip broth and lick bones—it couldn't even satisfy hunger.

In late December, Lao Mouzi Studio was established and opened its official Weibo account, announcing Lao Mouzi's next film would be "A Love of the Hawthorn Tree."

The already noisy public opinion exploded again, with everyone discussing the split between the two Zhangs.

Lao Mouzi remained silent, handling it quietly and coolly.

Boss Zhang muttered with resentment, "He doesn't want anything to do with me anymore," and hurriedly dealt with the negative fallout from Lao Mouzi's departure and the terrible reception of The Three Musketeers.

Seeing Yan Li also stopped being active, but his presence was anything but low.

From Boss Zhang's outburst, to the two men's feud, to the release of both films, less than a month passed—and Boss Zhang's decade-long partnership with Lao Mouzi was shattered by him.

How terrifying!

Many of Seeing Yan Li's longtime fans declared this was just his usual move—he was famously a master at poaching talent.

Fan Xiaopang had originally been poached from Huayi; Yang Mi, now rising in fame, was formerly with Rongxinda; Deng Chao, Zhang Zhilin, Qiao Zhenyu, Yang Xue, and others each had their own employers.

By the way, Wang Gaofei, the No. 2 at Sina Weike, was formerly a senior executive at Sina; after joining Weike, he helped crush Sina Blog and Sina Weike entirely.

Li Bingbing is Huayi's top actress; she films for Yi'an more often than for Huayi. Tong Dawei is Orange Sky's top actor, universally recognized as Seeing Yan Li's close friend. Hu Ge, Sun Li, Sun Honglei—all the top stars from several companies—signed exclusive contracts with Yi'an.

By the way, when Wang Jinhua left Orange Sky, it dealt Orange Sky a massive blow just as it was riding high after acquiring Shaw Brothers—behind it all was Seeing Yan Li's shadow.

Don't even think about it—once you tally it up, you're stunned: Seeing Yan Li is practically the "Plow King" incarnate, wielding his plow better than anyone.

Seeing Yan Li, however, rejected this title; poaching talent was undignified—he could do it, but preferred to stay low-key.

Soon, major Weibo influencers claimed Seeing Yan Li wasn't impressive at all—he was merely a catalyst of conflict, the final straw that broke the camel's back; without him, the two Zhangs would have split anyway.

Some supported this view; others still believed Yan the Plow King was truly formidable.

Compared to the outside world, this incident elevated Seeing Yan Li's stature within the industry to a new level.

If there was a grudge, Boss Yan delivered real revenge—and it was truly impressive!

Boss Zhang might not have mattered much to Seeing Yan Li, but in the industry, he was a towering figure, someone many could only look up to.

This very figure was publicly scolded by Seeing Yan Li, his reputation ruined, his film a flop, his director gone, his situation utterly humiliating.

Of course, many other factors were involved—but people didn't consider them.

The most direct conclusion: Boss Zhang angered Seeing Yan Li, and Seeing Yan Li crushed him mercilessly.

The title "Yan Batian" grew louder in the industry—once a mocking joke, it was now slowly becoming fact.

…

Wancheng Huafu

When Seeing Yan Li returned home, he found Guan Yue and Dong Xuan chattering excitedly.

"What's going on?"

Dong Xuan shook the few papers in her hand: "Guan Yue is pregnant too."

"What?"

Seeing Yan Li thought for a moment: Tong Dawei and Guan Yue had married because of a pregnancy; they'd just had their first daughter last year—barely over a year had passed, and now she was pregnant again.

"Don't you two watch TV at night?"

"This time it was an accident."

Guan Yue explained: she and Tong had wanted another son, but since their daughter had just been born and Tong was fully focused on his career, they hadn't planned to conceive now.

Still, they hadn't been careful—and she got pregnant immediately. Her due date was even slightly earlier than Dong Xuan's.

But unlike Dong Xuan, who tested daily, Guan Yue was careless and never realized she was pregnant; she thought she was just exhausted from caring for her daughter, and only now, nearly two months along and showing symptoms, did she realize something was wrong.