Chapter 288: The First Independent Battle, Fan Jin Passes the Exam

What events have occurred on August 25th throughout history?

If one considers the awakening of self-consciousness from the perspective of individual independence in Descartes' "I think, therefore I am," this day indeed holds some significance.

On August 25, 1825, Uruguay declared independence from Brazil, and this day became Uruguay's National Day.

On August 25, 1830, Belgium began its independence from Dutch rule, marking the start of the Belgian Revolution.

On August 25, 2005, Liu Yifei became independent from the rule of Lu Kuan, an entertainment industry tycoon who had "mentally abused and manipulated" her for three and a half years.

This change in the domestic entertainment industry, triggered by emotional entanglements, invisibly influenced the fates of many people.

It had a profound impact on Liu Xiao herself, Fan Bingbing, Liu Shishi, and even Yang Mi.

It is just that this kind of independence was mixed with too much pain and lingering trauma.

Early the next morning, Yang Siwei, who was still on the phone while sporting two dark circles under her eyes, felt this deeply.

Public relations work is always a game of combining blocking and dredging.

Blocking is to control the spread of a crisis, while dredging is to resolve the root of the crisis.

But ignoring the factor of Boss Lu, Yang Siwei could neither block nor dredge the mess from last night.

More importantly, she did not dare to ask Wenjie for help; after all, she had to consider that there was an injured "woman" last night.

She was afraid that Liu Xiao would turn against her.

Once someone is unhappy, their attitude is unlikely to be good, especially for bosses and minor leaders.

"Xu Rong? Why was your phone off all day yesterday? Where are you and Shishi?"

"Hello?"

"Ah, I'm here, we were... we had a social engagement last night, and the phone ran out of battery a long time ago."

Yang Siwei habitually assumed she was just making an excuse to be lazy, not expecting that there really was a social engagement.

With Tangren.

"Be at the company at 10 o'clock sharp; we need to hold a meeting to discuss and divide the public relations work."

"Ah? This!"

Xu Rong said in a difficult tone: "Siwei, these photos are already all over the internet; even if they aren't very clear, this matter can't be hidden!"

"That, there is a decent film crew here in Shanghai, I'm bringing Shishi over to take a look and audition."

Yang Siwei was stunned, suddenly remembering Yao Jia's invitation: "Shishi shouldn't go out and accept random roles right now, she still has to..."

Beep, beep, beep, beep...

A moment later, a text message came in: Shishi and I are on the plane, the flight attendant told us to turn off our phones, we'll contact you when we arrive.

Yang Siwei sighed secretly, thinking to herself that she was still too soft-hearted.

This kind of mediocre person should have been kicked out long ago; if it weren't for the mentor who helped her graduate early, she shouldn't have even been recruited.

You are asked to build a solid foundation, but you insist on thinking you are being deliberately suppressed.

Even with conditions like Liu Yifei's, she is still pressed by a big director like Lu Kuan to practice morning exercises every day, and so far she has only been in two of his films.

What right do you have?

The blind leading the blind, go ahead and brave the Shanghai Bund; I estimate you'll be back looking disheveled in less than half a day.

By then, you'll bring a pile of receipts for me to reimburse, and one look will show they are all against the rules.

Liu Yifei had actually woken up very early; her biological clock was already set from being used to morning exercises, and upon waking, she had been looking at materials for "The Foreign Land 2" and the massacre film.

"Xixi, are you awake?"

"Mm, please come in!"

Yang Siwei walked in with a stack of materials to confirm the public relations strategy with her artist.

"Xixi, I'll just say what I have to say; there are things you aren't happy about that you have to face, okay?"

Liu Yifei gave a bitter smile, but still tried to comfort her agent: "Is there any other female star in the mainland who has experienced more than I have?"

She counted the hardships of the past three years on her fingers.

"Entering 'The Noble Family', I didn't know how to act and was excluded and isolated by the crew."

"I signed with Red Star Dock, only to meet a bad person, and in just over a year, Red Star Dock was disbanded on the spot."

"Filming 'Whiplash', I was scolded to tears several times a day; the key was that I had to wipe my tears and go back to filming obediently."

"Filming 'The Foreign Land', I was a stunt double for someone else, and it was only my turn after I got injured."

"And then there's that Song Zude who has no morals."

Liu Xiao brushed the stray hair from her ear and looked at her agent expressionlessly: "Add last night's incident to that, what else do you think can strike me?"

Yang Siwei thought to herself that there really was something—the kind where you'd shed tears the moment you saw him.

"I've thought about it; we've done our best to block what needed blocking, and now it's a matter of dredging."

"Since you said to respond truthfully, we will guide public opinion in the direction of being daring in love and hate, authentic and unpretentious."

If the target wasn't Lu Kuan, Yang Siwei could have worked toward the direction of an ignorant girl being a victim of deception; after all, the weak can always arouse sympathy, and perhaps the fans would increase rather than decrease.

But this target was too terrifying and special; even if she dared, Liu Yifei would not agree.

In this birthday confession incident, among the three people involved, the impact on Boss Lu was the smallest—at most, he had to wash two more pieces of clothing, as long as he didn't get entangled in a scandal with an underage girl.

Fan Bingbing is a fierce top-tier actress; she craves this kind of negative publicity.

Only the blow to a pure female star like Liu Xiao was too great.

She is the most important link in the blog traffic monetization created by Boss Lu, bearing too high a level of traffic in promotion, ringtones, the Wenjie Mall, and Mytube traffic diversion.

Once this pure persona is broken, the decline in the traffic economy brought about by large-scale fan loss will greatly damage her commercial value.

But there are exceptions to this kind of thing, such as Zhou Xun, who dared to declare to reporters just a few years after her debut: I was born for love.

Her agent and company also worked hard to build her image as straightforward and free-spirited, holding a frank and brave attitude toward love, not suppressing her emotional life because of her profession.

Female stars are also flesh-and-blood people who have moments of brave expression in the face of love.

For Liu Xiao now, this is the only direction for public opinion attempts and efforts.

"Additionally, Uncle An will ask the counselor of the embassy to accept an interview, giving your actions empowerment from the perspective of romance and courage."

"My aunt found the deputy editor-in-chief of the People's Daily, and through his connections in the Propaganda Department, she will ensure some celebrity tabloids don't stir up trouble."

"For now... that's about it."

Liu Yifei nodded and stopped speaking; it was too difficult to walk out of this kind of tragic scene, and she could only continue to pour her energy into her work to divert her attention.

When everything is settled, let's go.

Going out to see different scenery will surely make me feel better, right?

Preventing the people's mouths is more difficult than preventing a river; all the efforts Yang Siwei made could only stop the situation from developing in the worst possible direction.

But this level of gossip is already the equivalent of an atomic bomb on the internet; even the official power of the blog network cannot suppress it unless there is a large-scale account banning.

"Xixi, let me use your computer; I need to prepare some materials."

Yang Siwei took the computer from Liu Yifei's room without further ado.

Liu Xiao watched her chubby back walk away and helplessly continued her unfinished work, a trace of warmth melting the chill in her heart.

She was afraid that she would look at online comments like last year.

Shanghai, Tangren Headquarters.

"Welcome! Shishi, revisiting an old haunt, aren't we!"

Liu Shishi was slightly embarrassed, but the fact that the vice president of Tangren could come out to greet her personally was somewhat beyond her expectations; she glanced sideways at Xu Rong.

The latter gave her a reassuring look and pushed the seemingly reluctant Liu Shishi inside.

The young girl at the Tangren front desk curled her lips in disdain; she's a Lu Bu among women.

It was still that familiar boss's office, and Liu Shishi was still sitting on the sofa, looking not much different from before she left last time.

"Shishi, Xu Rong has conveyed my wishes to you, right?"

Liu Shishi was confused: "Ah? Sister Rong said you had a role for me, this..."

Xu Rong looked at Liu Shishi in surprise, thinking to herself when her skills had improved so much that she knew how to play dumb and wait for a better price.

Coming to join voluntarily is being a servant of three masters; having Tangren poach you is called "three visits to the thatched cottage."

It's not the same if you say you aren't going.

Xu Rong secretly savored the meaning of these words, inexplicably thinking of Yang Mi, who had returned with her yesterday; she looked like a shrewd one.

Could it be that she taught her?

"Hehe, Shishi is becoming more and more advanced." Cai Yinong laughed blandly twice, then pierced this meaningless layer of window paper.

"Let's make a long story short; you didn't get any decent resources from Liu Yifei, did you?"

Liu Shishi was stubborn: "Of course I did, Xixi treats me very well; I appeared in the box-office hit 'Bad Genius', and I also have a role in the second episode of her recent viral tea art video."

She seemed to have racked her brains to search for evidence, but she really couldn't find anything more convincing.

Of course, in her heart, the studio hiring a performance teacher from the People's Art Theatre for guidance through Feng Yuan's connections did not count as any positive addition or empowerment.

In Xu Rong's words, that was called "praising in name but criticizing in reality," that was called suppression.

Cai Yinong really couldn't keep up the act anymore; I know your worth better than anyone, acting like a little adult here.

"I won't talk nonsense with you, Liu Shishi."

"The route I set for you before indeed didn't consider your feelings; that was improper."

"But you also have to admit that only by hanging onto the title of Liu Yifei's cousin can you stand out from a novice, right?"

Liu Shishi couldn't stand hearing this the most right now, especially after talking all night with her good friend Yang Mi.

Her face flushed red, and she wanted to refute immediately.

"Listen to me finish!"

As the former boss, Cai Yinong's female authority naturally remained; Liu Shishi turned her head to express resistance, but she didn't dare to just flick her sleeves and leave.

If you leave now, you will truly be a "three-surname" slave.

Cai Yinong analyzed it for her with piercing insight: "The events of last night have spread like wildfire; now is the best opportunity for you to stand out."

"Big Liu Yifei, small Liu Yifei, cousin this, cousin that—as long as you become more popular than her, go online and look, your fan count and the hot comments will explain everything!"

"What is 'historical revisionism'? The internet has no memory!"

Xu Rong cooperated by turning the computer on the desk around for her to see, continuously switching between multiple portals, forums, and the most popular online communities, including Tianya, blogs, and Mop.

Her little beauty boss’s bravery and romance from last night had already become the talk of the town.

"Penguin Entertainment": Eighteen-year-old top young star confesses in public and is rejected, a reenactment of Don Quixote-style tragedy!

"Sina Entertainment": Eighteen-year-old girl acts on impulse for love, unexpectedly becomes a sentimental nuisance.

"Star Bigstar": After Zhou Xun, another top young starlet falls in love early; after the car crash, where will her pure persona go?

"NetEase Entertainment": A certain director eats both big and small, a reenactment of the magnificent spectacle of an entertainment industry harvester!

Most of those speaking out were internet portals, which had a competitive relationship with Blog Network and Wenjie; furthermore, such explosive news did not count as distorting facts, so everyone had a very strong desire to report it.

But within the forums, all sorts of dirty talk and strange rumors emerged, mostly gossip about the "Washing Machine" seducing an underage girl, or an underage starlet offering herself up to climb the ladder.

To highlight the persuasiveness of their arguments, they presented facts and reasoned, leaking information in the tone of a former field manager for the *Drummer* and *Exotic* film crews, and neighbors from when Liu Yifei lived in the United States, leading the onlookers to watch with great relish.

Cai Yinong coaxed her: "Since you are willing to come and talk with Xu Rong, that means you have the intention; you don't even need to admit it, everyone knows it in their hearts."

"Secondly, look at Liu Yifei's current reputation and the direction of public opinion; once her pure maiden persona can no longer hold up, even if there are youth films like *Genius Gunner* in the future, will it still be her turn?"

"If that bearded Zhang Jizhong were asked to cast roles now, would he still give her Wang Yuyan or Little Dragon Maiden?"

"So!"

Liu Shishi felt a pause in her heart as she was spoken to; her eyes, which were already haughty, now added a sense of emptiness.

"When one whale falls, all things grow; Liu Yifei's blog followers dropped by over a million overnight, and it will only fall faster from here."

"How many people are eyeing her position right now? How many people are eyeing these numbers to see if they can be added to their own tally?"

The Tangren female boss counted on her fingers: "Cheng Tian poaching Huang Shengyi, Huayi poaching Yang Mi, that Tang Yan from Emperor—weren't they all cultivated by following her path?"

"And you! Shishi! You have a unique advantage!"

Cai Yinong was afraid this sensitive and insecure young girl would kick up a fuss, so she didn't spell it out completely, but everyone in the room knew it well.

What advantage?

"Resembling the beloved."

You can become a substitute; whether it's a perfect substitute or not is hard to say, but at least you can provide a place for the grief of the young fans who unfollowed because "Little Liu" fell for the "Washing Machine."

Liu Shishi felt somewhat despondent; was she destined to never escape this fate in this life?

But then she thought of Cai Yinong's bewitching words.

Right! As long as I am more popular than her in the future! Naturally, fans will help me rewrite history!

She took a deep breath, as if she had made a major decision: "I have one condition."

"Speak."

"I have a 2 million contract termination fee; Tangren must pay this money."

Cai Yinong looked at her with a calm expression for a few seconds and gestured vaguely with her finger: "Shishi, when you left, I didn't receive a single cent from Liu Yifei's studio."

"Now that you are returning from a ship that is about to sink, and you still want Tangren to pay this money, isn't that a bit whimsical?"

The industry-renowned, vengeful female boss gave her a soft, firm rejection.

"Do you think you are beautiful as a fairy, or a bewitching enchantress? You are a seedling I discovered from the Beijing Dance Academy, but are there not hundreds or thousands of seedlings like you?"

"You need to get this straight! Your only advantage is that you look like Liu Yifei!"

"Don't talk to me about this and that here!"

Cai Yinong was well-versed in the art of negotiation and knew that this young girl, who had learned a trick or two from who knows where and wanted to put on airs with her, was nothing but a hollow shell.

If she didn't break her psychological defenses and mentally enslave and suppress her, she would be a trouble even if she joined later.

Xu Rong saw that the situation was not right and hurriedly pulled the tearful Liu Shishi to persuade her: "Boss Cai is doing this for your own good, Shishi; the entertainment industry is all about one radish for one hole."

"Think about the one million, two million fans Liu Yifei lost; don't they have to be added to your tally?"

"You haven't seen the studio's accounts; you don't know how much these fans are willing to pay for her—one-yuan ringtones, dozens of t-shirts, and every time she promotes a film for Lu Kuan, those reply threads reach several thousand!"

"As long as you successfully fill the spot, won't all of that be yours in the future?!"

These were long-accumulated grievances for Xu Rong.

She knew how profitable the studio was; even without touching the core accounts, she could calculate how much money was made just by looking at the download numbers for a 1-2 yuan ringtone.

Calling it an astronomical figure would not be an exaggeration!

But where was the money? Where were the studio bonuses?

You, Yang Siwei and Liu Yifei, you just have to hold onto your wallets that tightly, right?

Not even letting a crumb fall for the people below?

Yang Siwei: The money all goes to the puppet masters of the entertainment industry; if you have the guts, go ask for it yourself.

Cai Yinong gave Xu Rong a look and excused herself to go to the restroom first.

Xu Rong, already obsessed and blinded by greed, secretly gave Liu Shishi advice.

"Shishi, I think you can talk to Liu Yifei directly; she is actually very soft-hearted."

"Last month, the studio driver falsified gas receipts, and when they found a gap of over 20,000, Yang Siwei wanted to fire him, but wasn't he persuaded by Liu Yifei?"

Liu Shishi looked up at her, not very willing to go back and humble herself, begging pitifully in front of her.

Xu Rong was almost driven mad by this dawdling Beijing Dance Academy student and slapped the table hard!

"Shishi, just tell me if you want to leave or not!"

"I want to..."

"Good, I have two ways for you, so you don't have to pay this money and can still join Tangren, and just as Boss Cai said, start gaining fans from *Sword Fairy 3* and fill Liu Yifei's position!"

Liu Shishi looked up at her, wide-eyed, feeling that Xu Rong and Yang Mi were both noble people in her life, and nodded at her manager with tears in her eyes.

"The first way is to use kind words to gain sympathy and beg for forgiveness, explaining your helplessness and bitterness in bearing this name all along; Yang Siwei will definitely disagree, but Liu Yifei is different—she is soft-hearted."

You certainly know how to deceive a gentleman with his own virtues.

"The second way is a bit more troublesome."

Xu Rong sighed deeply and lowered her voice: "I have the video of the incident from last night, the full video."

"Ah?"

Liu Shishi was shocked: "Why did you record that?"

She immediately covered her mouth, thought of something, and looked Xu Rong up and down with great astonishment.

"If we don't let you go, the video goes online; it's that simple. This is our bargaining chip."

"Yang Siwei's PR over these twenty-four hours is too powerful; right now, the internet is basically just one picture to start with, letting everyone make things up, so it's very easy to refute rumors."

"If those blurry pictures are hand grenades, then this video is an atomic bomb."

"Her fans can take a good look at how their goddess was throwing herself at him to confess, only for it to end in nothing."

Liu Shishi wasn't that stupid yet; if it really came to this, even if Yang Siwei and Liu Yifei couldn't do anything to her, but...

What about that young director who mistook her for Liu Yifei at first glance?

What is his attitude and stance now?

Xu Rong was sharp-eyed and clear-headed, dispelling her concerns step by step: "For this video, can't you just claim a friend has it? Don't threaten her to her face; that would be too damaging to the relationship."

"Secondly, don't worry about others, especially the big boss of Wenjie; he won't care."

Liu Shishi asked urgently: "Why?"

"Why? Did he care when people called him 'Washing Machine'? Every day so many female stars are rumored to be with him; Fan Bingbing is like that, did he care?"

"That's not right!"

Liu Shishi remembered her experience following "Little Liu" to the Magic City to participate in the promotion of *Initial D*; his bodyguards treated Liu Yifei like the lady of the house.

Xu Rong just waved her hand and sneered when she heard her say this: "Silly girl! You're wrong!"

"What kind of person is he? The boss of the largest entertainment company in the mainland; he only looks at actors for two points: first, is their acting good enough for his films, and second, can they make money for him?"

"Maybe his relationship with Liu Yifei was good before, but now?"

"A young starlet who debuted with a pure maiden image has had her persona collapse; not only will the box office appeal of youth films decline, but even her fan count has been plummeting."

"Once Liu Yifei falls to the point where she can no longer provide him with traffic value and loses her commercial value, will he still care if she lives or dies?"

Liu Shishi had indeed been thoroughly fooled by Xu Rong and Cai Yinong for several days, but she had indeed been in contact with Lu Kuan several times while with Liu Yifei.

When eating hot pot, Boss Lu answered a call from the Olympic Organizing Committee and Liu Yifei fed him meat; at the Magic City racetrack, Lu Kuan stood up for her and taught a Xiangjiang pervert a lesson.

How does this look like an ordinary relationship?

However, one sentence from Xu Rong did indeed make her puzzled: "If there were real feelings, why didn't he agree to her on the spot? You tell me?"

The office door was suddenly pushed open, and Sister Cai returned leisurely.

"Huayi just urged us again; Teng Huatao wants us to finalize the casting by next week, otherwise, even if Tangren holds shares, it won't be easy to operate."

"Shishi, you have to think it over yourself; I'm not forcing you."

Cai Yinong leaned back in her chair and smiled at Liu Shishi, who was caught in a dilemma: "Just like when you left, did I make things difficult for you? It doesn't seem like it, right?"

Liu Shishi gathered her courage, finally tore off the mask that had already been seen through, and whispered: "Can you be sure that Xixi... Liu Yifei is really finished?"

"Of course not! But there is a very high probability!"

Cai Yinong rattled off the names: "Mao Ning in 2000, stabbed and injured, unclear relations with male friends, his career never recovered."

"Last year, CCTV host Zhao Zhongxiang was publicly exposed for an extramarital affair by Rao Ying and also owed medical examination fees; now he hasn't appeared on screen for a long time."

"Internationally, Michael Jackson last year—so what if he won the child molestation lawsuit? Now his concerts are being boycotted."

She paused, pondered for two seconds, and said: "Judging by the current situation, in short, I think she is at least going to be severely damaged."

"I... I want to ask for a friend's opinion."

Liu Shishi stood up timidly, and after receiving a "please go ahead" from Cai Yinong, she went into the corridor and dialed her best friend's number.

"Hello? It's me, Mimi..."

One stone stirred up a thousand waves; because of the "August 25th Liu Yifei Incident," those closely monitoring the development of the situation were far more than just Tangren.

For example, Yao Jia, who had also arrived at the scene to offer congratulations on the day of the birthday banquet.

She had already been sitting in the old station director's office for a while.

"Director, after you finish signing the documents, I have something to report to you."

Ouyang Changqing knew what she wanted to say, secretly thinking that this girl still lacked the experience and that her way of doing things didn't have the spiritual spark of Long Dan'ni.

Thinking of changing one's strategy at the slightest sign of trouble is not called flexibility; it is called lacking strategic determination!

"What do you think?"

"Liu..."

"Follow the plan; ask if her studio is willing to cooperate."

Ouyang Changqing interrupted his subordinate's report with little patience, which was rare in his professional career.

Yao Jia was stunned for a moment, realizing that the old director must have misunderstood.

"Leader, what I meant is that we should upgrade this 'offering charcoal in snowy weather' of ours!"

"If it was just a mutual cooperation before, like sending ordinary pine charcoal, I think we can send something bigger now! Send fruitwood charcoal!"

Ouyang Changqing laughed heartily upon hearing this and capped his pen: "Good, fruitwood charcoal is good."

"Not only is it warm, but it also has the fragrance of fruitwood, which is refreshing to the senses!"

"Little Yao, you've made progress."

The old director was overjoyed, feeling that this little girl was worthy of the promotion and cultivation he had given her all along.

"Tell me your thoughts."

Yao Jia felt a bit guilty as she picked up the thermos on the floor to add water for the old leader: "Actually, I hesitated at first too."

"If it's really like what's been said online, Liu Yifei is truly an atypical female star in the domestic entertainment industry; a normal female star wouldn't do something like this."

"You don't know, I was there last night and was absolutely dumbfounded."

"After I came back and thought about it carefully, the key to this matter is not her."

Ouyang Changqing's eyes lit up: "Who is it?"

"It's the 'Little Overlord of Jiangdong' you mentioned!"

"Hahaha! Calling him the Little Overlord of Jiangdong is because he is from near Jinling; in fact, he is more like Liu Bang from Xuzhou in northern Jiangsu."

"He has vision, he has methods, and he will stop at nothing!"

The old director looked at his capable subordinate with affirmation: "Liu Yifei has suffered a Waterloo for the time being; if there is no external intervention, there is indeed a risk of her never recovering."

"But there just happens to be an external force watching from the sidelines; whether they intervene or not is one thing, but the relationship between them won't be that simple."

Yao Jia covered her mouth and laughed: "Leader, this is the first time I've seen you be so gossipy about the romantic relationships in the industry."

"Sigh! I'm at my age, can I be curious about this? The key is that this Lu Kuan doesn't follow the usual path; if you don't speculate on his actions from this angle, you won't be able to grasp his pulse!"

Yao Jia nodded: "Actually, what changed my mind was that the scene was already in chaos that day; Yang Siwei and the reporters were almost about to fight, yet Lu Kuan was still talking to Liu Yifei on stage."

"I couldn't get close enough to hear what they were saying, but that kind of scene is worth pondering."

Ouyang Changqing gossiped: "What do you mean?"

"The photos are about Lu Kuan and Fan Bingbing, and Liu Yifei was clearly questioning him."

"If the two didn't have a tacit understanding, what position would Liu Yifei have to demand an explanation from him? And where would Lu Kuan get the patience to answer her?"

"The fact that the two could have that ten-second conversation shows that in this relationship, both sides have a kind of emotional tacit understanding."

"Although this emotional tacit understanding might be hidden underwater for now, it is very likely to become the biggest variable behind the current confusing situation!"

Ouyang Changqing sipped his tea and squinted, teasing his old subordinate: "That's enough, Yao Jia, you'd be good enough to guest star on our station's 'True Feelings'."

"Sigh! Just like you said, this Lu Kuan acts in a devious way; if you don't find a clue to lock onto him, there's no way to see through his moves."

"Liu Yifei is one clue; including Zhang Nara from a few months ago, tracing it back to the source, it still can't be separated from this young girl."

It was just that Yao Jia didn't know the truth; the Travel Channel was originally aiming to deal a fatal blow to the Xiang Station. If it weren't for the Zhou Army creating trouble and looking to deal with Zhuang Xu, the Xiang Station's "Super Girl" might have already died in the cradle.

"Alright, go ahead and handle it. Since you've decided to offer charcoal in snowy weather, don't be coy about it."

"State your identity and position directly, then invite her to be on a program, for example, when the box office of 'Genius Gunner' breaks one hundred million, invite the whole cast to come to the base camp."

Yao Jia nodded in agreement, pondering the leader's intentions in her heart.

The cast of "Genius Gunner" is almost entirely artists from the Wenjie system; is this a signal being released once again?

She immediately thought of the booming investment for "Super Girl" and the lukewarm state of "The Voice," thinking that this must be the old director's precaution.

Afraid that some people won't be able to afford to lose and will turn hostile? Give them a honeyed date to taste first?

Yao Jia prepared to work overtime today; she called Yang Siwei, confirmed the sincerity of the cooperation again, and then had the official blog prepare the promotional materials. It seemed there was no other choice, right?

In Liu Yifei's studio, there was only Liu Shishi, so she should draft the blog post first.

As the old director said, since they decided to do it, they should do it generously; being hesitant would only be annoying.

——

At Beiping Capital Airport, a heavy-hearted Liu Shishi and the turncoat manager Xu Rong had just gotten off the plane.

"Shishi, shall we go back to the studio? Yang Siwei has been calling all morning."

"Uh... can it be tomorrow? My heart is really in a mess right now."

Liu Shishi had thought about it the whole flight; although she had confirmed her decision in the call with her best friend, the thought of having to face Yang Siwei and Liu Yifei herself...

The phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated violently. Liu Shishi glanced at the caller, her hands shaking so much she almost dropped the device on the ground.

Knowing she couldn't hide anymore, she thought: sticking her head out gets a blade, pulling it back gets a blade too.

"Xixi, I just got off the plane."

Little Liu had been "grounded" at home for a day; her parents, aunt, and Yang Siwei had cut off all her external internet access, just to prevent her from seeing the outside clamor and getting hurt a second time.

Aftershocks are much more damaging than the main earthquake.

"Can you come home? I have something to tell you."

"Ah? Oh, okay! I'll come over right now."

Xu Rong stood by with a blank expression, waiting for her to hang up, then put her arm around Liu Shishi's shoulder to encourage her: "Come on, Shishi! After tonight, it will be your rebirth!"

"Remember what President Cai said in the office: when a whale falls, all things grow."

"Now it's Yifei falls, all things grow. Think about the banquet that night, so many big stars, business leaders, millions in budget, dressed like a princess; don't you want that?"

The devil whispered in her ear, making Liu Shishi feel both shy and restless, looking down at her own steady footsteps.

I must be walking on the right path, one step, two steps, one step, two steps...

"Hey! Shishi!"

Xu Rong looked at her speechlessly.

"Ah?"

"You're going the wrong way! This way!"

Xu Rong was speechless, once again cursing Yang Siwei in her heart.

At the Liu Yifei residence in Changping, the little girl was in the bathroom, drawing her eyebrows and eyes, attempting to cover up her red and swollen eyes.

She had just reclaimed her computer under the pretext of looking at materials.

Then she logged into her blog.

There was abuse, fans leaving, and people criticizing her for being overly sentimental; some called her shameless.

It wasn't the female fans of the "washing machine" (a nickname for her fans), but her true-love fans who had turned love into hate.

However, Little Liu wasn't crying because of these; whether they were scolding or praising, she would just flip through them and move on.

No matter how harsh the scolding was, could it be worse than the unprecedented black material from last year?

She could be considered to have a high threshold for being smeared, which could be considered a blessing in misfortune.

She was shedding tears again like she was writing in her diary last night; she was just like countless heartbroken college students in later generations, thinking about deleting photos from her blog...

As a result, she inexplicably went through the eighty-one tribulations all over again, and they were all tribulations of love.

Delete this one! No, wait, although he is in this one, I had just entered the crew, so it still has some commemorative value.

Better delete this one! Sigh, but this was my first movie wrap-up; how could I bear to erase it?

This one must be deleted; I'm not in it, only that dog thing is smiling and looking at the camera.

But...

This was the day "Foreign Land" broke the Chinese film box office record!

That day, she first took a piece of white paper and wrote "Go Chinese Cinema & Go 'Foreign Land'," which ended up sparking a craze in the entire domestic entertainment industry, working together to pull "Titanic" off its pedestal.

Forget it, forget it, just flip past it; out of sight, out of mind.

Tossing and turning, Little Liu recalled her three years of youth like a movie.

Looking down again, another handful of sad, hot tears fell onto her smooth thighs.

Not a single photo was deleted.

To hell with the washing machine!

In the bathroom, Little Liu looked at her bare face in the mirror, picked up the eye cream she had barely used, and applied it around her eyes, wanting to cover up her red and swollen eye sockets.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Xixi, they're here."

"Okay, coming."

Knowing that Liu Shishi and Xu Rong had arrived, and since they were all her own people, she didn't want to fuss; she wiped her face and pushed the door open to go out.

Liu Shishi returned to her ostrich-like state, organizing her words in her heart, and looking at Liu Yifei, who was walking gracefully toward her, she felt she had to summon all the courage and wisdom of her life.

Hmm, as Director Lu said, actors must have style, actors are artists, actors are warriors...

"Sit, why are you standing?"

Liu Yifei’s casual, polite remark startled her; she silently exchanged a glance with Xu Rong and sat down opposite her, feeling somewhat constrained.

She narrowed her eyes and scanned the room; hmm, Yang Siwei was not there, which was a good thing.

"I have a..."

"Xixi!"

Under the table, Liu Shishi was quietly kicked by Xu Rong, and the somewhat uncontrolled volume of her voice gave Liu Yifei a big fright.

Little Liu asked in confusion: "Hmm? Then you speak first."

Liu Shishi took a deep breath, and looking at the red, swollen eye sockets of Liu Yifei opposite her, she inexplicably gained a bit more confidence.

"Xixi, I... I want to leave the studio."

After waiting for a long time without receiving a response, Liu Shishi gathered her courage to look at the girl opposite her, emboldening herself to defend her actions:

"I'm sorry, I really can't stand being called 'Little Liu Yifei' everywhere I go; I'm too heartbroken."

"Xixi, I'm really sorry. I didn't pick this time on purpose to have a showdown with you, but I really can't go on like this..."

Perhaps Liu Shishi was truly heartbroken, or perhaps she was mindful of the advice from her best friend Da Mimi, she began to play the emotional card without restraint.

Tears flowed in streams from her eyes, which were devoid of others, and her proficiency in method acting became even more refined.

At least from this point of view, the acting teacher the studio found for her could not be called useless.

Xu Rong swallowed hard, looking at the expressionless Little Liu, feeling inexplicably terrified.

If it were a face that was always stern and cold, those who were in frequent contact would not be too affected by it.

But with Liu Yifei, who was usually optimistic and naive, this demeanor easily made people’s imaginations run wild.

But you are just an actor, what can you do? You are not a top-tier power broker in the domestic entertainment industry like Lu Kuan.

If Su Chang or Yang Siwei were by her side at this moment, looking at Liu Yifei’s silent expression, they would likely be able to faintly detect the shadow of that man.

Little Liu was a bit sad; she had intended to tell Liu Shishi some excellent news—that she had secured the position of female lead for the base camp.

The gold content of this position was self-evident, especially for a complete amateur like Liu Shishi.

In 2005, "Happy Camp" had a national viewership of 1.759% and a market share of 3.948%, firmly ranking in the top three for its time slot.

It had unparalleled value in promoting the development of the celebrity economy and driving peripheral industries such as program production, advertising agencies, and artist management.

Once you, Liu Shishi, sat in and secured this position as a female host, it meant having exposure at a top-three level in the television field every weekend, sometimes even the first.

But before she could even say it, she had actually received a betrayal from within the studio.

The blade turned inward, making it hard for the young girl, who was already sensitive these past two days, to accept it for a moment.

Why did the people she treated with the greatest sincerity and kindness always treat her this way?

Back then, when Liu Shishi was accidentally injured by her and couldn't extricate herself from the pain of being "Little Liu Yifei," it was she who took her to see Old Xia for acupuncture and did her best to help her terminate her contract.

Even if this time in the studio hadn't brought her more opportunities beyond the occasional guest appearance, was this bit of hardship and loneliness really so unbearable for you?

Sitting opposite Liu Shishi and Xu Rong, Don Quixote-Fei felt her Dao heart on the verge of collapsing in an instant, and the mood she had finally managed to settle was thrown into chaos again.

The two people across the table exchanged a glance, and seeing Liu Yifei’s speechless appearance, they both felt there was a chance.

Yes, an eighteen-year-old girl who usually didn't concern herself with worldly affairs.

With Yang Siwei not here, wouldn't she be easily handled by the two of them?

Since you can be bullied by your own uprightness, then bully her to death! The entertainment industry is just this realistic!

In Liu Yifei’s first film, "Whiplash," her main scenes were a breakup with the male lead who was determined to fully commit to jazz drumming.

That was a scene that required long-duration over-the-shoulder and close-up shots.

In this performance, Boss Lu taught the fledgling Liu Yifei several shortcut acting methods.

For example: how to play someone with confidence and a strong aura?

Very simple: slow down your speech speed and coordinate with certain body movements.

"Little Liu, do you think now is a suitable time to propose leaving to me?"

Good heavens! Little Liu was calling others Little Liu too!

Little Liu extended her hands to the sides, pressed her palms onto the tabletop, raised her head slightly, and let her shoulders relax and sink naturally.

From a psychological perspective, a slow speech speed gives the other party a sense of mystery that makes it difficult to easily probe one's inner thoughts.

Lowering the speech speed and emphasizing the tone can more effectively convey emotions and attitudes, giving words more weight.

And such expansive and open body language was clearly telling the two people on the other side of the negotiation that I, Boss Little Liu, am not to be trifled with!

Like a little tigress, Liu Yifei brought her method acting techniques to the extreme at this moment.

And she had been practicing observing this kind of cold-faced, Machiavellian merchant character for three and a half years.

There was no need to deliberately imitate or master it; that figure, who had broken her heart yet whom she still couldn't help but be drawn to, descended naturally.

Liu Shishi and Xu Rong exchanged a secret glance, not knowing how the Liu Yifei who looked weak and easy to deceive just a moment ago had suddenly stood her ground.

Liu Shishi’s tears burst forth: "Xixi, please just let me go this one time, otherwise I really have no way to survive."

"I have worked hard dancing for nearly 10 years; this time is truly my best opportunity, otherwise... wuwuwu..."

Xu Rong secretly thought this was bad; they hadn't even reached an agreement yet and she had already revealed her next destination—wasn't this just waiting to be manipulated?

Little Liu raised an eyebrow: "What opportunity? Tell me about it. If it’s really good, for the sake of our friendship, I won't stop you."

"No! No! Shishi was just talking nonsense. We were just thinking of going back to Beijing Dance Academy to finish this year first, then slowly think about these things."

"Oh, then you can go, I don't agree."

"Xixi, how can you be like this!" Liu Shishi, thinking she was really going to leave, hurriedly stood up.

Seeing that things were not going well, Xu Rong could only add a sinister remark: "Yifei, everyone is helping you with public relations right now."

"As far as I know, there are still many videos circulating outside. Let’s see if we can resolve this matter as soon as possible, so we can continue to..."

However, this was just her perceived trump card; little did she know that according to Liu Yifei’s own instructions, public opinion guidance based on facts was not afraid of their videos at all.

She stood up, bracing herself against the table, and looked down at the tearful Liu Shishi and Xu Rong: "Don't try that with me; do you want to try it and see?"

"I know you don't want to sink with my broken ship, but one must have a bottom line as a person, right?"

"Get out now!"

"I’m telling you, if you want to leave, either slap 2 million on this table in front of me! Or wait until you are 26 to talk about it!"

The black-hearted Yang Siwei had signed an 8-year contract with her, so she wouldn't be able to come out until she was 26, at which point she could just retire.

"Tangren! It’s Tangren!" Liu Shishi blurted out, making Xu Rong curse in her heart again.

Little Liu narrowed her eyes, and her thoughts became clear in an instant.

So, you’re treating me like Elba, are you?

You don't even look at whether you are Napoleon!

These words didn't sound out of place coming from Boss Lu’s mouth.

But Little Liu’s internal monologue sounded quite like a certain someone.

Perhaps even she hadn't noticed that in her attitude toward such business dealings, she had unknowingly become highly similar to that person.

"Oh, alright then, congratulations."

Liu Yifei, who had made a gesture to leave, sat down gracefully again, sighing in her heart at how short-sighted they were.

Even if they had waited a few minutes for her to finish talking about the Hunan station and "Happy Camp," it wouldn't have come to this point of tears and snot.

Liu Yifei felt a pang of reluctance looking at her ashen face; if it weren't for the fact that she chose this time to leave, she really couldn't say the other party had done anything terribly wrong.

This past year really hadn't brought her many opportunities, but that was because she herself had just been a hardworking wage slave this year!

Working for love.

Looking at Liu Shishi’s eye sockets, which were almost as swollen as her own, Boss Liu sighed in her heart.

No matter how much she was influenced, she couldn't be as ruthless as a washing machine.

A reincarnator has a superior perspective on the world, a feeling of treating all things as straw dogs.

Moreover, she wasn't that kind of person by nature; she had just been pushed forward step by step, learning these survival rules amidst the threats of wind, frost, swords, and blades.

To be honest, she wanted to relent and let Liu Shishi go; the crying here was truly annoying.

She hadn't even sorted out her own mess, so she had no spare time to deal with her.

But thinking of Yang Siwei, who was establishing systems and rules for the studio and had been running around all day doing public relations,

Liu Yifei couldn't bear to let her own soft-heartedness destroy her rules.

Just like when she was in Lu Kuan’s office and saw his approval to cut the screenings for "The Ark."

Once a company sets rules, they must be followed.

If you keep showing favoritism and granting favors, how can the people below work with you?

Little Liu hardened her heart: "Do things according to the rules; there is nothing more to say."

"Liu Yifei! Do you really have to drive me to a dead end!"

Liu Shishi had an emotional breakdown, bypassed the table, and grabbed the young girl’s arm, using some force in her excitement.

Little Liu looked at her speechlessly.

Don't look at the fact that you are from Beijing Dance Academy; even if you were from Beijing Sport University, I could take on ten of you like this.

She effortlessly shook off Liu Shishi’s entanglement, not wanting to waste any more words with people like her and Xu Rong: "Go talk to Siwei."

"Talk to me, and this is my attitude."

"Talk to Siwei, and it’s not even certain if she will let you go."

Liu Yifei dropped these words with a cold expression and turned to leave, which delivered the final blow to Liu Shishi, whose emotions were on the verge of collapse.

"Fine! Fine! I agree! I agree, is that enough!"

Liu Shishi was sobbing uncontrollably and collapsed to the ground; Xu Rong reached out to help her up, feeling helpless and unable to stop herself from sighing.

It wasn't that she pitied her.

It was that compared to Liu Yifei, who had transformed from a young starlet into a leading lady right before her eyes, the gap was simply too vast.

Xu Rong couldn't help but think of that young director whom Yang Siwei often mentioned during studio meetings.

She spoke with such earnestness about how decisive and ruthless he was, never hesitating when it was time to act, and demanded that the studio's PR team learn and implement this spirit.

At the time, she hadn't paid much attention to what her junior from the Communication University of China had said.

But having just witnessed the clash between these two young starlets of similar age, Xu Rong finally understood that Yang Siwei’s words were not exaggerated.

Standing on the second-floor terrace of the villa, Liu Yifei watched as the tearful Liu Shishi and the Xu Rong who was supporting her departed.

In truth, she didn't feel very good inside either.

The confrontations and contests between people are a blending and struggle of auras.

Liu Shishi’s streaming tears, helpless crying, and perhaps even the silent curses in her heart—all these negative emotions affected Liu Yifei’s mood.

Even though she was the overwhelming victor.

Looking at the signed termination agreement in her hand, Liu Yifei sighed silently.

She really didn't know how he could accept such things so willingly, day after day for so many years.

With Xu Rong’s help, Liu Shishi also found another way, using the plan the two had previously discussed to sign a contract that was nearly indentured servitude with the general manager of the Beiping Tangren branch.

10 years, 10%.

As consideration, Tangren would pay the 2 million in termination fees, which would, of course, be deducted from her acting fees and commercial work.

After all, she had 2 million fans, and with Liu Yifei’s precedent for monetizing traffic, she figured she could still make something of it.

The Beijing Dance Academy student returned home in a daze, greeting the uncles and elders on the road with a bitter face as she walked inside.

The phone in her pocket vibrated; it was a call from Mimi.

In the cold of winter, one knows the pine and cypress; in times of trouble, one sees true feelings. Friends and besties, isn't that little bit of warmth what you look for in daily life?

She sat by the fitness equipment in the residential complex, watching the children running before her, and answered the phone: "Mimi."

"Congratulations! Shishi! You finally achieved your wish!"

"Huh? You know?"

Liu Shishi’s voice was bitter: "It wasn't easy, though. I really didn't know she was that formidable."

"She is formidable, to actually be able to get you into the host position on 'Happy Camp'! My god! I'm so envious of you, sister!"

"You have to look out for me in the future, okay? Talk about me to the leaders at your station when you have the chance, and invite me if there's an opportunity!"

"Huh?"

Liu Shishi was completely bewildered; what was all this about?

"Mimi, what 'Happy Camp'? What do you mean by 'get me in'? I just terminated my contract, you know?"

"You..."

On the other end of the line, the voice of Yang Mi—who had been praised by the director known as the best at training actors, Lu—suddenly stopped, sounding even sharper.

She seemed to realize something was wrong and didn't dare to boast anymore: "Shishi, go back and check the blog, the official Xiang Station blog."

"I'm hanging up now, let's talk later."

Liu Shishi was left completely confused, but she couldn't imagine for the life of her how anything like 'Happy Camp' could have anything to do with her.

She suddenly felt her heart pounding; a slightly blurry logical thread formed in her not-so-developed mind, and she immediately strode toward home.

She almost forgot the essentials of maintaining beauty: keeping her head high, chest out, and neck straight.

"Oh! My daughter is back!"

"Dear! Come out quickly, it's great news!"

Liu’s father came out of the kitchen wearing an apron, beaming with joy, holding a spatula: "Don't say anything, go wash your hands and get ready to eat. We are going to celebrate properly today."

"Daughter, Dad just fried some sauce today, it's bubbling with fragrance! And your favorite Tianfu Hao braised pork knuckle and mashed tofu!"

Liu’s mother didn't mind her daughter’s somewhat dazed state: "Why are you just standing there? Knowing you're going to be a host on 'Happy Camp', your father is practically crazy with joy!"

"I told you, that little Liu is sincere. Even with her own business going on, she didn't forget to arrange so many things for you."

"Hey, dear, should we find some time to go see her and show our appreciation?"

Liu’s father poked his head out from the kitchen: "Absolutely, one must have a heart of gratitude. Our daughter takes after us in that regard!"

Her parents, who hoped their daughter would become a phoenix, didn't notice that Liu Shishi, who didn't take after them much, had already rushed into her room and turned on the computer!

The words of Yang Mi and her parents were constantly adding clues to her deductions, and an extremely terrifying reality presented itself to her in almost every aspect.

With a fearful heart and trembling hands, Liu Shishi clicked on the blog site.

Xiang Station, pinned announcement.

[Station News: We have officially reached a cooperation agreement with Liu Shishi, an artist from the Liu Yifei Studio, as a contract host. Shishi will meet everyone on the 'Happy Camp' program every weekend. Please look forward to it!]

Sent twenty minutes ago.

Liu Shishi refreshed the page, her entire face pressed against the computer screen.

She leaned in, picking at and looking at every single word, when she suddenly discovered that Xiang Station had released a new announcement.

[Station News: Due to a communication error, the statement regarding the appointment of our host is void and has been deleted. We are very sorry!]

Shock!

The senior student from the Beijing Dance Academy felt her heart turn to ash; even with her slow reaction speed, she instantly understood the cause and effect!

"Ah!!!!"

"Ah!!!!"

Like a madwoman, she pulled the Tangren contract out of her bag and tore it to pieces with all her spite and strength! She scattered it!

Her entire face was twisted and contorted, and she almost bit her teeth to pieces!

Liu’s parents heard the commotion and rushed in, only to be stunned as they watched their daughter dancing about like a goddess scattering flowers.

"Dear, what... what is wrong with our daughter?"

The man holding the spatula scratched his head in confusion: "She should be happy, right? Such a great thing."

"Why would she tear things up if she's happy?"

"Hmm..."

Liu’s father pondered for two seconds, then suddenly slapped his thigh!

"Oh no! Fan Jin passing the imperial examination!"

At the same time, Changping, Liu Yifei’s residence.

"Not bad! You really managed to negotiate that."

"It was simple, and also very boring."

Liu Yifei was listlessly munching on an apple, having just chatted about the battle situation with Yang Siwei, who had been running PR all day.

Yang Siwei was pleasantly surprised; she was also shocked to hear about the traitor’s rebellion.

Upon hearing Liu Yifei’s handling of the result, she couldn't help but click her tongue in admiration.

This time, she finally didn't soften her heart; the last time, that driver who embezzled gas cards had been let off because she softened her heart.

On this point, Yang Siwei hoped more than anything that Liu Yifei could become infinitely closer to Boss Lu.

The artists who truly clicked with her were actually the Fan Bingbing type—daring to fight and charge, decisive in killing and cutting, and never soft-hearted.

As for Liu Yifei, she was innocent and kind, easily bullied by those who were devious, but today she had truly impressed her.

Yang Siwei was just happily laughing when she suddenly received a call from Yao Jia.

"Ah? Oh! This... okay, thank you Director Yao, goodbye."

She looked at Liu Yifei, who was daintily munching on an apple, with a puzzled expression and couldn't help but ask: "Xixi."

"Yes?"

"Yao Jia from Xiang Station called... said they posted the wrong announcement."

"Oh, yes, they did post it wrong."

Liu Yifei tossed the apple core into the wastebasket with a calm expression: "I forgot to tell them at first, and Yao Jia thought the choice of Liu Shishi was confirmed, so she posted the announcement."

"When I saw it was wrong, I quickly called her to retract it."

Yang Siwei was not a stupid person; the holes in this story were so big they were practically like a sieve.

But seeing the young girl in front of her trying to cover things up, she didn't ask further; it was meaningless.

For a traitor, no amount of torment was too much.

But what if Liu Yifei had deliberately used this matter as a pretext to let Liu Shishi taste this bitter fruit?

This method was somewhat familiar.

"Alright, I won't chat with you anymore, I'm going back to my room to look at materials."

Liu Yifei walked gracefully back to her room and sat down at her desk.

She opened the laptop she had hastily closed earlier; the interface was still on Liu Shishi’s blog, which she had seen by chance.

On the blog, for some unknown reason, Liu Shishi had liked a post.

[The unnamed scumbag director in my eyes! Counting his top ten crimes of being unworthy of his position!]

Liu Yifei closed the interface, not wanting to see it, and pulled out the script for 'Exotic 2' to continue her homework.

Hmph! Big mouth.

I can scold him, but you can too?

I’m crazily busy, so there might be intermittent updates or fewer chapters these next few days; please forgive me!

Also, I really don’t have the time to reply to everyone’s feedback one by one.

I can only say that those I can type a reply to are all book friends, all friends who support the author, and I am very grateful in my heart.

Perhaps there are places where the author hasn’t written to everyone’s satisfaction, but my attitude has never changed: I must be worthy of the book friends’ paid subscriptions.

The posts in the single-chapter comments and discussions that involve mutual attacks and insults are too unsightly, so the operations team has deleted them; from now on, anyone who insults others will be banned, including Alliance Leaders.

All the answers are in the text; if you have questions for now, you will understand once you read further, so don’t be too impatient.

I almost became a Liu Xiao who had to be disemboweled (laughs).

In any case, I am very grateful; thank you brothers for your support! Bowing in thanks!

(End of this chapter)