Chapter 380: In 2010, I Really Became Yan Batian

At the end of 2009, Zhang Ziyi's "Ink Splatter Gate" became the center of attention, even overshadowing the breakup of the two Zhangs.

After the Ink Splatter incident, the mastermind behind it did not wait long before stepping forward—it was Zhao, Zhang Ziyi's friend and socialite.

With her own revelations, media investigations, and leaks from insiders, the full story gradually came to light.

Zhao had connections and was well-connected in the entertainment circle; she was once called a Jingcheng socialite, and Zhang had clung to her, the two becoming close friends.

Neither was content with a mundane life, so they planned to go into business together—but neither knew how to run a business and lost heavily.

Zhang then tried to bring in a new boss, Zhao introduced connections, Zhang used her fame to network and recruit, and then an A-boss emerged; Zhang was suspected of dating two men at once—one overseas, one domestic.

But this A-boss was married; his wife went after Zhao, the matchmaker, while Zhang, once exposed, blamed Zhao for the leak and also targeted her—Zhang's brother even insulted her harshly; Zhao felt Zhang was ungracious and broke ties with her.

Of course, this was only the surface story; some leaks claimed there was also an economic conflict between them.

Ink Splatter Gate was created by Zhao's "friend" to "right the wrong" on her behalf.

Thus, the feud between Zhang and Zhao, the identity of the so-called A-boss, and the overseas billionaire boyfriend's reaction became endless gossip for countless people.

Even Yan Li suffered collateral damage—someone pinned the A-boss label on him.

After all, Yan Boss's reputation is known to all; the public has long suspected that besides the two Bings, the Four Dans had also fallen victim to him.

Some even offered detailed analysis: A meant An, the "An" in Ziyi, and media claimed the A-boss was very generous to Zhang Ziyi.

It was said that just one Tiffany limited-edition necklace cost tens of millions, diamond earrings and necklaces each cost tens of millions, a Hermès diamond crocodile skin bag exceeded one million, an Audi car cost over two million, two famous paintings totaled five to six million U. S. dollars—in less than a year, he spent nearly 200 million on Zhang Ziyi in total.

Yan Li was always known in the circle for his generosity; back then he gave Fan Xiaopang a Mercedes G-Class, not to mention countless luxury bags and precious jewelry.

By the way, Fan Xiaopang and Zhang were never on good terms—whether over competing for men or revenge, the logic fit.

That matched perfectly!

Yan Li was fed up—he'd met Zhang Ziyi fewer than ten times, and now they were somehow linked.

The craziest part? He supposedly spent nearly 200 million on gifts—these reporters truly didn't treat money as money.

Remember, this was 2009—two or three million could buy a big mansion in Jingcheng.

Spending 200 million a year to court a woman? Was he out of his mind?!

Worse, people actually believed this absurd news; countless users @Yan Li, annoying him so much that he finally replied.

【Fake news—I give people stones】

This clearly sarcastic remark somehow failed to register with some trolls, or they pretended not to understand and deliberately stirred the pot.

They mocked Yan Li for his poor origins, claiming he had none of the rumored generosity, only stinginess and pettiness—he wouldn't even spend money on women, and rumors spread he'd invite women to hotels and split the room fee with them.

This was so absurd that aside from Yan Li's haters, normal netizens ignored it.

But Fan Xiaopang couldn't stand it and wanted to challenge the rumors of Zhang Ziyi's billionaire spending.

So she posted a photo on Weibo—a jewelry cabinet with multiple tiers filled with all kinds of jewelry and ornaments, most made of jade and pure gold, with the caption: "Nice sun today—sunbathing my family's stones."

Netizens: "..."

They really were all "stones"!

Someone even made a joke: these yellow-green stones were poisonous—just looking at them made people envious.

At first, netizens were just joking, but later some deep-digging experts took action, combining past Weibo posts, early blogs, and interviews to thoroughly investigate whether Yan Li was truly generous, what gifts he'd given women, and to whom.

Fan Xiaopang was the most exposed—she loved taking photos and enjoyed showing off openly and subtly.

The most famous was that Mercedes G-Class, plus this "stone" display; rough estimates put the value at tens of millions.

Just those dense gold ornaments and trinkets likely weighed several jin—by today's gold prices, they probably approached a million.

The most valuable were the jade, jadeite, and diamond jewelry; since it was only one photo, exact judgments couldn't be made, but a few pieces looked strikingly brilliant—experts estimated conservatively they were worth millions, possibly hundreds of millions.

One heart-shaped jade pendant, which Fan Xiaopang had worn once on a red carpet, was estimated at 2 to 2.5 million.

Normally, many stars wear jewelry on red carpets that are borrowed, sponsored, branded, or even fakes—no one bothers to publicly expose them.

But someone like Fan Xiaopang wearing her own—or having collected them—is rare.

Fan Xiaopang had them; Qin Dong had plenty of similar pieces too.

Qin Lan was exposed more because she frequently attended Teddy Sisterhood gatherings and often took group photos, some of which revealed jade and pure gold jewelry, even identical bracelets and necklaces to Fan Xiaopang's.

Dong Xuan was the most low-key of the three, but some details were still dug up.

But the most brutally exposed was Wang Ou.

This woman hadn't exposed much at first—just a few jade pieces were found, but Wang Ou had long been rumored to be involved with Yan Li, which was expected.

Later, some unknown genius dug up Wang Ou's secret Weibo account.

On this account, she let loose, taking pride in being a mistress, boasting endlessly about how generous her benefactor was—he gave her cars, houses, gold, jade, regular cash, and was handsome, muscular, and great in bed, etc.

The craziest part? Somehow, she gathered all the Jin Xin gifts Yan Li had given her, Yang Rong, Bai Bing, and Wu Jiani, and boasted about "sisters united."

After being exposed, Wang Ou immediately deleted all posts from that account—but the more she deleted, the more it looked like "hiding the silver under the ground."

Fortunately, it was a secret account with no direct proof; since the parties denied it, everyone just treated it as entertainment and speculated who else was "united with Wang Ou."

The serialized post on Tianya, after briefly mentioning Li Bingbing and Jiang Xin—the two well-known names—announced it was ending, then the thread was locked and archived, suspected to be suppressed by some Yan Batian.

In reality, it had nothing to do with Yan Li—he was used to it; posts digging into him weren't one or two, and he didn't care.

But some women didn't want exposure, others didn't want to know the details; together they pressured the poster and Tianya, who, due to legal concerns, compromised and backed down.

This incident, besides giving Yan Li more teasing material and making Wang Ou infamous, had limited impact—mainly because Zhang Ziyi was still in the spotlight.

Before Ink Splatter Gate's fallout faded, she was exposed again—for fraudulently donating.

In May 2008, Zhang Ziyi claimed to have donated one million, but part of the funds never arrived; later at the Cannes Film Festival, she ran a similar fundraising campaign, established her own foundation overseas, but made no actual donations.

Fraudulent donation, especially tied to the May incident—this was far worse than any soap opera affair.

The former was merely a personal moral flaw, mainly damaging Zhang Ziyi's personal image.

The latter rose to the level of public trust and social conscience, causing widespread negative impact on charity and society, possibly even legal consequences, delivering a catastrophic blow to Zhang Ziyi's professional image.

Immediately after, Zhang Ziyi was exposed again for seduction—this was kicking her while she was down.

During the promotion of Confucius, Faye Wong revealed that during the filming of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, she was seduced by some cast members, widely believed to be Zhang Ziyi.

But this Seduction Gate was vague and had little influence; many people were more accustomed to mentioning the Beach Gate of early 2009.

This incident greatly affected Zhang, and was even the primary reason many disliked her; the Ink-Splatter Gate and Fraudulent Donation Gate rapidly caused International Zhang's reputation to plummet, aided by the groundwork laid by the Beach Gate.

Thus, following Yan Li's Blog Gate, Yacht Gate, and Bankruptcy Gate—the Triple Gate—International Zhang also assembled her own Triple Gate.

Even counting the Seduction Gate and the ongoing Casting Change Gate for Snow Flower Secret Fan, International Zhang should now have the Quintuple Gate.

And she gained a new nickname: Gate Aunt (Yi), which also bestowed upon Yan Li the nickname Gate Inside (Li).

But this nickname pales far beside Cavalry Yan, Bingbing Stick, Selling-Film King, Yan Cannon, Yan Batian, etc.; it never caught on, and didn't even reach the popularity of netizens' teasing nickname Stone Brother.

The one happiest about Gate Aunt's emergence was Sister Suo and Sister Lian.

Sister Suo is Fan Xiaopang; because she started as a maid, all rivals in the Four Dan and Two Bing circle loved to mock her with the term "Golden Lock," a derogatory label, and now some also call her Hat Sister, referring to her many green hats.

Sister Lian is Li Bingbing; during interviews she called herself the white lotus of the entertainment circle, was mocked endlessly, and gradually became a derogatory term.

Others had their own nicknames too: Young Master Zhou was Pot, referencing his height and some unsavory rumors; Xiao Yanzi was Shit and Poison, one for her past experience, the other for being a box-office poison.

Xu Cai'nv had no special nickname, though the term "Cai'nv" itself was sometimes mocked, usable both sincerely and sarcastically.

Before Gate Aunt, "Grape" and "International" were the key words for International Zhang; now Gate Aunt is surging past them.

And the reason International Zhang has fallen, and why the Two Bing are happiest, is because the Two Bing are currently at their peak; the other members of the Four Dan and Two Bing are all somewhat suppressed, yet only International Zhang had the international advantage and solid awards, barely holding the Two Bing down.

Now that International Zhang is entangled in scandals, even if she doesn't die, she'll lose a layer of skin—the Two Bing now have their chance to overtake and rise to the top.

In fact, the Two Bing have already begun dividing up International Zhang's related resources.

Fan Xiaopang is grabbing commercial deals.

International Zhang had the halo of an international star and was one of the few in the Four Dan and Two Bing who could match Fan Xiaopang in certain commercial ventures.

Now that International Zhang has crashed, many commercial endorsements may be terminated; few domestic actresses are qualified to take over, and Fan Xiaopang is the top choice.

Li Bingbing is eyeing Zhang's film and television resources.

Especially the rumored casting change for Snow Flower Secret Fan—Li Bingbing knows that Ms. Deng and is now actively approaching her, leveraging her recent Golden Horse Best Actress momentum, possibly replacing her.

Unfortunately, Wang Mijing's A Master of Martial Arts has been shooting for over half a year; though rumors say progress is slow, casting change is unlikely—otherwise Li Bingbing would have wanted this role even more.

As the Two Bing move to divide the spoils, the other members of the Four Dan and Two Bing are unwilling to fall behind.

It is said: when a whale dies, ten thousand lives thrive!

Over the past two years, International Zhang has subtly become mainland China's top actress, and without Gong Li overshadowing her, she could be called the top Chinese actress.

This scale is too vast for the Two Bing to consume alone, or even to seize cleanly in haste; the others can all claim some share.

Once they are full, their unused resources will trickle down, along with leftover scraps from the competition.

These scraps the Four Dan and Two Bing despise are valuable resources for the actresses below, and when those lower-tier stars are fed, they too will pass down some resources.

This is how the head falls and all are fed—International Zhang, single-handedly, has energized half the entertainment circle…

…

United Lake, Apartment

"No next time."

Yan Li glared angrily at Wang Ou, who nodded, then dutifully helped Yan Li with post-event cleaning.

This exposure of Wang Ou's small account still caused Yan Li some trouble, most crucially because Qin, Dong, and Fan grew jealous and came after him.

At other times it would've been fine, but right now Qin Dong is pregnant, and Yan Li can't afford to provoke her—he can only vent his anger on Wang Ou.

After a while, Yan Li went to bathe; Wang Ou sighed in relief and, seeing Yang Rong smirking beside her, angrily pinched her.

"All you know how to do is laugh—why didn't you plead for me?"

"What else did you want me to do?"

Yang Rong shot her a disgruntled look: "I came all the way from Shanghai just to help you out."

After Wang Ou's mistake, she knew she'd be punished, so she begged for help everywhere—she went through great trouble to bring Yang Rong from Shanghai, even reconciled with Wu Jiani, who had grown distant, reuniting Ouniang, and urgently summoned Bai Bing.

She tried every trick, rotated combinations, groveled and served Yan Li for days before he finally calmed down.

"If you'd cooperated, if we'd teamed up, maybe I'd have been fine already."

Wang Ou had barely finished speaking when Yang Rong spat at her: "If you want to team up, team up with someone else—don't drag me into this."

This exposure of Wang Ou's small account revealed four Jin Xins; the sisters united, causing the outside world to guess which sisters were involved—Yang Rong, who was extremely close to Wang Ou, naturally wasn't spared.

In fact, she's still angry at Wang Ou.

If Wang Ou hadn't claimed Yan Li was furious and the situation was dire, begging desperately, she wouldn't have come to help Wang Ou.

"Good Rongrong, Sister Rong."

Wang Ou clung to Yang Rong, pleading; the latter remained firm: "No way."

She also warned Wang Ou: "You'd better be careful—once you get past Yan Li, the other three won't be easy."

In the past, when Wang Ou formed alliances, Qin, Dong, and Fan turned a blind eye, pretending not to notice.

But this time Wang Ou went too far, and more importantly, they learned some details of her treatment—far exceeding their expectations.

She really turned pimping into a career!

Whether to suppress or punish, Wang Ou must suffer consequences; though Qin, Dong, and Fan fight fiercely among themselves, whenever they sense a threat, they unite instantly.

"Pfft, if I can't fight them, I'll just avoid them—I'll lie low for a while."

Wang Ou spoke in a boastful tone, yet uttered a cowardly line—she truly couldn't challenge Qin, Dong, and Fan, let alone all three together.

But their ability to effectively strike her was limited, mostly because Yan Li was involved.

Especially if she yields and avoids direct conflict, using softness to overcome hardness, Yan Li won't let her suffer major losses.

Wang Ou has thrived over the past two years, enjoying constant favor, precisely because she understands Yan Li's psychology and knows her place.

She's sensible, so Yan Li protects her; Qin, Dong, and Fan may scold her, but won't go for the kill.

"You're truly shameless."

Yang Rong mocked; Wang Ou replied: "That's called wisdom."

Wang Ou was quite satisfied with her current ecological niche—though she fell far behind those three, as long as she avoided them, she didn't have to put up with their attitudes, and she was still the boss in her little clique.

If she was targeted, she could just take a break; Wang Ou had also received some of the original shares distributed by Yi'an.

Moreover, based on her seniority, reputation, and some favor from Yan Li, the original shares she received were among the most, worth at least tens of millions, massively increasing her net worth.

Under these circumstances, Wang Ou, who had never lacked money, had begun to lose some of her drive to work hard.

Even if Qin Dongfan didn't target her, Wang Ou might have still taken time off to rest; now, it was perfect to go with the flow and also earn some favor with Yan Li.

She had long envied Yang Rong's leisurely travels and fun outings, and it was finally her turn to enjoy herself.

"Aren't you afraid that after enjoying yourself, you'll lose your position as second sister?"

Yang Rong asked. Yi'an now had a rising star in Yang Mi, and Wang Ou was already struggling to keep up even while giving it her all—if she took a vacation, Yang Mi would have an even greater chance of overtaking her.

"Then let her take it."

Yan Li stepped out of the bathroom, wiping his hair, and said: "There was never any need to compete with Yang Mi."

Promoting Yang Mi was about making money for the company; Yan Li separated public and private interests. Wang Ou lacked both the ability and the drive, so there was no point standing in the way.

Aside from the special case of Fan Xiaopang, Yan Li generally didn't support his women being overly ambitious in their careers.

If everyone was busy chasing careers, what was he for? He couldn't even find anyone when he needed them.

So, moderate career development was fine, but there was no need to turn oneself into a career-driven woman.

The states of Qin Dong, Yang Rong, Huo Siyan, and others were exactly what Yan Li supported: filming one or two movies a year, engaging in other activities and hobbies, relaxing their lives—not too idle, but not too busy either.

He had also advised Fan Xiaopang, but Fan himself was a workaholic who couldn't sit still.

In Yan Li's view, Wang Ou should have stepped aside for Yang Mi long ago, but she still held onto her pride, and since Yi'an's IPO needed stars, he hadn't brought it up.

Now that Yi'an's IPO was imminent and a group of stars had been brought in through contract restructuring, Wang Ou could very well change her mindset.

"Exactly."

Wang Ou took the towel and tenderly wiped Yan Li's hair: "If she wants to be second sister, let her have it. She makes the money, I enjoy life."

In truth, Wang Ou still felt some resentment, but Yang Mi's momentum was simply too strong, and the company's support was overwhelming—she could only use this to save face.

It's not that I can't beat her—it's that I don't want to. After all, she's practically half a boss's wife; why should I fight with an employee?

"You're just a coward."

Yang Rong sneered. She had known Wang Ou for years; their friendship was Mo Ni, and she understood this sly chicken too well—outwardly loud and fierce, but when faced with a real opponent, she shrank her head.