Chapter 397

Yan Li's final verdict had an excellent effect.

If the couple themselves don't care whether they married into a wealthy family or are one, then no matter how loud outsiders talk, it's useless.

However, although this incident let Fan Xiaopang dramatically showcase her affection and steal the spotlight, it also offended many people.

Especially female celebrities who married into wealthy families, or women with poor personal conditions who married up to climb the social ladder, all harbored some degree of resentment toward Fan Xiaopang.

Fan Xiaopang claimed she herself was part of a wealthy family, becoming the famous "Fan Ye," even a model of the virtuous inner helper.

This made each of them look like gold-diggers and parasitic social climbers who despised poverty and adored wealth.

Hmm, although most of them were indeed true, truth doesn't mean Fan Xiaopang could use them to pull down others.

Besides, let's be honest—you, Miss Fan, aren't gold-digging, but how could you have stayed with Yan Li while he was so charming and promiscuous?

Two celebrities in Xiangjiang linked to billionaires made a few snide remarks, but they had no fame and little influence; Fan Xiaopang ignored them and didn't care.

So what if she offended them? Hasn't she offended plenty already?!

Earlier, many had mocked her by contrasting Qin Lan and others with Yan Li's refusal to marry; so she countered by using the wealthy family angle to pull them down—everyone hurt each other, and we'll see who can endure it.

At least now she has money, power, and fame; whether she's bragging or making bold claims, her man is willing to back her up and cover her reputation—how many of those miserable souls suffering in wealthy families dare say the same?

Since her debut, Fan Xiaopang has always been a topic storm; even after joining Yan Li, controversies over her love life and career never stopped.

She's smart—if she wanted to lie low or craft a few controversial personas, she'd have calmed down long ago.

But she's kept up her dominance: partly because of her nature, partly because she's truly tasted the benefits—controversy means high visibility, maximum commercial value, and while many dislike her, many also love her.

The wealthy family debate offended many, but also earned her admiration and affection from many for her boldness.

Internet mega-influencers, celebrities, and even female business tycoons have publicly praised her; even some related state media picked certain angles to affirm her self-confidence and highlight the charm of career women, and so on.

Her fanbase grew even more!

As previously mentioned, Fan Xiaopang is too beautiful and too dominant, which actually hindered fan attraction—female fans couldn't identify with her, and male fans felt pressure.

Combined with conservative social attitudes, people tended to favor actresses embodying traditional virtues.

But as Fan Xiaopang continuously demonstrated her strength, and as the internet became widespread and attitudes gradually opened, many fans gradually shifted their mindset.

If you can't identify with her or feel pressured, then admire strength—the stronger the idol, the more worthy of learning and following.

Previously, many fans prioritized morality in stars—being a good person came first; now, ambition, professional ability, and work achievements have become new standards many fans value.

Fan Xiaopang herself was the star who most transformed fan perceptions and reaped the greatest benefits.

This Cannes python robe, "Fan Ye," and wealthy family debate further fueled her already overwhelming popularity, making her blazing hot and further solidifying this new trend.

Yan Li added fuel to the fire too—his ambition theory was widely discussed, spreading beyond the entertainment circle to all of society.

Now is the era of money worship and the rampant rise of success studies; many older-generation views are seen as outdated; ambition, wolf-like drive, and climbing upward have become new popular ideals, at least among countless young people.

Yan Li himself is the most successful representative of the post-80s generation, with enormous influence among the young.

His words have always been widely accepted and imitated; if they align with one's inner thoughts, they're even elevated to gospel.

Perhaps in other areas, the impact of these words will slowly emerge, but in entertainment, the feedback was immediate and obvious.

No ambition, don't want to be famous? Just find a regular job early!

It even became a catchphrase among many agents and fans; though it doesn't mean they pull down artists who are amoral or career-zen, ambition is no longer a derogatory term, and competition in the entertainment industry has risen somewhat.

This shift in trend left some artists dissatisfied, while others thrived.

For example, Yang Mi almost directly called herself "Fan Xiao Fan Xiaopang."

According to Yian Artist Agency's leaks, since the Spring Festival holiday, Yang Mi has had no breaks until after summer—her schedule is completely full, and some minor gigs are crammed into single days, leaving almost no rest time.

If the company hadn't still had many resources pending and needed to reserve some slots, Yang Mi might have filled her entire year's schedule.

This workload and intensity even surpasses Fan Xiaopang's.

Even when Fan Xiaopang was busiest, she still occasionally took breaks—not to mention whether her body and spirit could handle it, the key was she needed to date.

If she worked every day and never saw Yan Li, she feared he'd be stolen by another woman.

And Yan Li wasn't willing to let Fan Xiaopang work so hard; except during special phases, he'd force her to take vacations or reduce her workload.

But Yang Mi is different—she has no man, no need to date; although Yan Li wouldn't brutally exploit employees, when employees compete fiercely and nothing goes wrong, a boss has no reason to block or obstruct them.

So Yang Mi is even more overworked than Fan Xiaopang was—where the latter was a model worker, Yang Mi is a true workaholic.

Especially these past two years, Fan Xiaopang has tried transitioning into behind-the-scenes management, and with her momentum already established, she's also shifted toward high-end, premium projects—whether film/TV or commercial endorsements, they're light in volume but heavy in quality.

As a result, Fan Xiaopang visibly became less busy, further highlighting Yang Mi's relentless drive.

Wang Ou previously didn't want to compete with Yang Mi, partly due to laziness in earning money and being targeted by Qin Dong, among other reasons.

Another key reason was she was terrified of being outworked by Yang Mi!

Given Yang Mi's speed of rise and workload, for Wang Ou to keep her second-place position, she'd need to maintain at least half or two-thirds of Yang Mi's workload.

Wang Ou became Yan Li's mistress out of vanity, wanting to enjoy the benefits—she had no reason to compete with Yang Mi to become Yian's model worker.

In fact, because Yang Mi is so intense, even Yan Li maintains a certain respect and distance from her, avoiding any private entanglements.

Rabbits don't eat the grass around their own burrows!

Back then, Yan Li pursued Fan Xiaopang and Wang Ou mainly because he hadn't tried them before, was curious, and since his foundation was still shallow, there was some blending of personal and professional interests.

Now Yian is a large enterprise with countless resources—Yan Li doesn't need to personally bind himself to them, and he doesn't lack options, so there's no need to touch the grass near his own burrow.

At least he won't touch those like Yang Mi who are feverishly making money for him—otherwise, they'd end up like Wang Ou, spoiled and useless.

Yan Li clearly remembers that one reason he originally noticed Wang Ou was because he saw ambition in her—she could make money for him.

Now, the money Wang Ou makes for Yan Li may not even exceed what he spends on her; fortunately, she's developed team skills that bring him many benefits, so it's not a loss.

Considering Yang Mi's connections to Dong and Qin, this rising star, publicly seen as Yan Li's new favorite, actually has no connection whatsoever with Yan Li—even less interaction than Tong Yaya.

This baffled Yang Mi herself; she had also considered taking shortcuts.

After all, she was under Dong and Qin's wing; seeing their good lives, it was hard not to envy them.

But she had no access, and because she was under Qin Dong's protection, she was too sensitive to make any moves—she could only work hard, hoping Yan Li would notice her, perhaps bringing a turning point.

But she never imagined that working harder only made things worse—the more she worked, the farther she drifted from her original goal.

But she had already been pushed up, and had tasted the sweetness of hard work, so she might as well keep going.

To be honest, Yan Li had many women, but very few of them actually made money for him.

Yang Mi, by grasping this trait, would still be valued by him and avoid backlash from other women—this was not without benefit.

Even Yang Mi's current success was partly due to this; most of Yan Li's women did not resent her.

Even Fan Xiaopang targeted more the Qin Dong behind her, never once directly attacking Yang Mi herself—after all, Yang Mi, to some extent, helped her make money.

Fan Xiaopang laid the foundation as a model worker; now Yang Mi, the relentless fighter, has carried it forward.

The two of them passing the baton formed a certain culture within Yi'an; not just in the Artist Agency Department, but even HR in the company's Personnel Department now paid special attention to it—ambition and drive were major bonus points.

Yan Li neither suppressed nor strongly encouraged this new company atmosphere.

For a company to grow, it must increase competitiveness; wolf culture is unavoidable—if you don't hustle, you'll eventually be hustled to death.

Yan Li was the boss; he didn't want to say hypocritical nonsense. From his perspective, he certainly wanted employees to work like mad.

So Yan Li did not suppress the company's competitive atmosphere; instead, he subtly promoted and guided it—but never openly endorsed "wolf culture."

Yan Li had studied the so-called advanced management and corporate cultures of some domestic enterprises.

He found wolf culture useful, but also prone to extremism, becoming pure performance-based competition for competition's sake.

For an internet company, this performance-driven model had costs but also benefits; but for Yi'an, a film and content company, putting performance first was a disaster.

If screenwriters, directors, actors, and staff worked solely for performance metrics, the data might look good—but could the content still be watched?

Anything taken too far becomes counterproductive; big companies are like large ships, hard to turn—stepping on the gas is easy, but hitting the brakes is hard.

If Yi'an had a strong rival, Yan Li might not care so much—but now Yi'an was the undisputed leader, proving its current system was still reliable; better not to touch it, stability first.

…

Yan Li paid little attention to the controversy around Fan Xiaopang or the internal atmosphere at Yi'an; his main focus now was on Tudou. com's IPO.

Over the past two years, Tudou. com had been burning cash, locked in a tug-of-war with Youku, both sides considering an IPO to gain market recognition and more ammunition to crush the other.

Currently, Tudou. com needed to accelerate; the plan was to list in the U. S. before October.

But Youku was closely following, expected to list before year-end.

Who listed first, who listed second, and their post-IPO stock performance and market reception might well become the turning point in this years-long video website war.

Yet, right after Tudou. com's board meeting on the IPO ended and it formally submitted its application to the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a piece of news exploded across financial boards.

Wang Wei, Tudou. com's actual controller and largest shareholder, was sued by his ex-wife, who claimed the divorce asset division was unfair and demanded a redetermination.

This lawsuit directly froze Wang Wei's shares in Tudou. com, forcing the IPO plan to stall.

Tudou. com, once brimming with confidence, felt like the sky had fallen.

Magu, Tudou. com headquarters

The laughter and cheer from just two days ago were gone; the entire company was visibly suffocating.

Some employees quietly lingered by the door, then returned in hushed tones, not daring to speak, exchanging whispers in private QQ groups.

【Did you hear? Boss Wang didn't come to the office today】

【Where did he go?】

【Probably went to deal with things】

【How to deal? They've got him by the throat—won't she demand a lion's share? Can you even satisfy her?】

【Even if she demands a lion's share, you still have to feed her—otherwise no IPO, shareholders will eat him alive】

【To be honest, Boss Wang really… before was one thing, but now, at such a critical moment, he's caused this huge mess】

【Sigh, do you think the company might change hands?】

【Change hands? How?】

【Don't forget, Boss Wang and that guy from Yi'an have always been at odds—they nearly came to blows before. Now that Boss Wang messed up big time, do you think he won't have ideas? We might get a new boss】

【No way, Boss Wang is the founder】

【I'd actually welcome a new boss. Boss Yan made Weibo so successful—if he took over, we wouldn't have to worry about Youku anymore】

【…】

As everyone chatted excitedly, a lurking account suddenly sent a string of exclamation marks, then four words that sent the entire group—and then the office, then the whole Tudou. com company—into uproar.

【Yan Li is here】

Refusing to go to the lounge, Yan Li, dressed in a suit, looked icy cold, his gaze locking directly on Wang Wei's confidant.

"Bring Boss Wang back. General Xiong and General Ma are arriving soon—we need an emergency board meeting."

The confidant sensed trouble, but dared not resist Yan Li; he rushed out to make a call.

Yan Li casually sat down, closed his eyes to rest. During this time, shareholders and board members arrived one by one; Yan Li opened his eyes, nodded in greeting, but said nothing—the conference room remained utterly silent.

Wang Wei returned quickly—even faster than many shareholders. Seeing the scene in the meeting room, his already grim face turned even darker.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Yan Li kept his eyes closed. One shareholder snorted: "I'd like to ask what you mean, Boss Wang. Just days ago you swore the IPO was certain—now how did it suddenly fall apart?"

Wang Wei glanced at Yan Li, then explained: "There were some minor complications, but they can be fully resolved."

"Resolved?"