"There's nothing we can do about it," the agent said casually. "She's just unlucky."
These words were like a red-hot branding iron, branding her heart with deep, bleeding marks, etched into her very soul.
From then on, Tang Wanjun changed.
However, after she had become accustomed to hypocrisy and the exchange of benefits, she heard someone say with absolute certainty, "As long as he hasn't done anything wrong, he's an artist under my management, and I won't give him up."
Tang Wanjun didn't know what she was feeling at that moment. Over the years, she had always wanted to hear those words, but each time she was disappointed.
So she comforted herself, "It's okay. As long as I'm strong enough, I'll never be the one who gets abandoned."
As she gradually deceived herself until she believed it all, she finally heard those words.
At that moment, she was even a little jealous of Xue Chengge.
Tang Wanjun slowly came to her senses, her lips moved, but in the end she didn't say anything, she just watched Shen Huai and Ye Cang discussing how to deal with Huayu.
This is different from before. As long as Ye Cang steps onto the stage, it means that they are completely on the opposite side of Huayu Entertainment and will have to face a behemoth that holds most of China's music market.
However, neither Shen Huai nor Ye Cang showed the slightest hesitation.
Ye Cang rolled up his sleeves: "Isn't he trying to cover this up? I'm not going to give him the chance. Once I produce a comparison of his plagiarism, I refuse to believe that anyone will still lie through their teeth."
Shen Huai did not stop Ye Cang.
He's been keeping an eye on Huayu Entertainment these days. Although he hasn't been involved in the investment world much in recent years, he has a wide network of contacts, so it's still easy for him to find out anything about Huayu Entertainment.
He hesitated for a moment, then dialed a number.
"Check how much assets I currently have on hand?"
Since Huayu wants to play this game, he'll play along to the end.
Chapter 123
The internet has been buzzing with activity lately, and netizens are thoroughly enjoying the gossip.
First, Zhuo Feiyang's fans attacked the unknown actor, then Morningstar Company issued a statement supporting him. In the afternoon, Zhuo Feiyang himself posted a veiled Weibo post, directly targeting Ye Cang.
Soon, many singers under Huayu Entertainment reposted this Weibo post, but interestingly, Lu Zhenzhen, Qiu Jie, Tang Ruoyi, and others did not speak out.
Xue Chengge insisted on returning to the competition. Although he was constantly criticized by Zhuo Feiyang's fans, he did not give up on himself but persevered.
Xue Chengge's ranking was not outstanding at first, because although he had a good foundation and could create original works, his personality was much quieter than those contestants with strong variety show skills, so he was not as popular.
However, after this incident, many people saw his hard work, perseverance, and talent. In addition, his tragic situation aroused the sympathy of his fans, and his ranking actually started to rise.
This almost made An Yuanjie and the others furious.
On the other hand, although they successfully dragged Ye Cang into the mess, Ye Cang's fans didn't buy it at all. As soon as they stirred things up, they would "take away Cangzai" (a nickname for Ye Cang), or they would use terms like "prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law, patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendliness" to completely irritate Zhuo Feiyang's fans.
If they were to use online trolls, before the argument even started, Ye Cang's fan group would have already begun investigating the IP addresses and analyzing them, then clearly exposing the trolls through numerous images.
Moreover, Ye Cang's fans are older than other fans, with many being middle-aged people over forty. These people all have their own families and cannot fight for him online at all times, but they have their own ways of supporting Ye Cang.
So, after the Columbus Awards, the sales of the album "Rebirth," which had been gradually declining, started to rise again. Many singers who were preparing to release new albums this year were furious, cursing Huayu Entertainment for stirring things up. What if their new albums couldn't even beat the sales of this "recycled" artist? Where would they put their faces then?!
Of course, Shen Huai wasn't idle either. He was more familiar with the tricks of capital than anyone else. He even just revealed a little information, which made many investors cautious, causing Huayu's stock price to fluctuate frequently recently, causing the senior management to be in a lot of trouble.
In addition, many friends called the two to ask if they needed help.
Li Zihang was the first to call Ye Cang, looking indignant: "Old Ye! Don't you even consider me a brother anymore! You didn't tell me something so important!"
Ye Cang felt a warmth in his heart, but he didn't care at all: "I can handle this, can't I?" He then told Li Zihang about his and Shen Huai's analysis.
Upon hearing this, Li Zihang immediately flew into a rage: "You wait, I'll hire a bunch of online trolls right now and spread the news of Zhuo Feiyang's plagiarism all over the internet!"
Ye Cang: "...No need."
Li Zihang: "Yes, yes! Don't worry about me spending money. I'll talk to my grandpa right away. Don't worry, the old man will be even angrier than I am!"
Ye Cang: "..."
Meanwhile, Shen Huai received a call from Guo Wenyuan.
Guo has been busy joining the cast of "Red Actress" and preparing for the production of "East City Fog" lately, he's practically overwhelmed. As soon as he finally got a break, he saw the news online and immediately called Shen Huai.
Guo Wenyuan didn't mince words and went straight to the point: "Do you need my help?"
Shen Huai was grateful, but still declined Guo Wenyuan's offer.
Guo Wenyuan knew that Shen Huai was thinking of him, so he said, "Don't be so polite with me. We're all brothers. If I bully you, I'm just bullying me!"
Shen Huai explained in every way he could, and Lao Guo finally believed that they could handle it, so he gave up, but still said with some unease, "If you need help, just ask anytime!"
Shen Huai replied, "I will, thank you."
"No need to thank me! I didn't help at all." Lao Guo grunted. "How about this, I'll go buy some fake accounts later and start cursing him on Weibo. I'll get him trending on Weibo!"
Shen Huai: "..."
After finishing the business, Lao Guo coughed lightly, seemingly a little embarrassed, and asked Shen Huai in a low voice, "Um, what has Miss Tang been busy with lately? How is she doing?"
Shen Huai hesitated for a moment: "It's alright."
"That's good, that's good." Old Guo said with a hint of shyness, "I just ordered cherries and flowers for Miss Tang, they should be delivered to you soon. The flowers are orchids that I specially chose, they are quiet and elegant, very suitable for Miss Tang's temperament, I don't know if she will like them?"
Shen Huai paused, then turned to look at Tang Wanjun, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, surrounded by spicy strips, potato chips, and cola, laughing uproariously at a variety show.
With difficulty, I reluctantly replied, "I think... I'll like it."
-
Huayu CEO Feng Yankai paced back and forth in his office, pointing at An Yuanjie and saying, "You were the one who patted your chest and guaranteed me that you could definitely resolve this matter. Is this the perfect solution you were talking about?!"
An Yuanjie was trembling with fear and dared not speak.
Feng Yankai slammed a stack of documents at him: "Look! Look! How badly has the company's stock price plummeted lately! I'm starting to suspect you're a spy sent by the rival company!"
An Yuanjie hurriedly protested his innocence: "I didn't do it! President Feng, the company's stock price... it's all Shen Huai's doing behind the scenes!"
"Don't I know that already!" Feng Yankai glared at him irritably.
Huayu Entertainment has been doing very well these past few years, and Feng Yankai has become a bit arrogant. It's not that he hasn't heard of Shen Huai's reputation in his early years, but since Shen Huai has rarely made a move in recent years, he naturally looks down on Shen Huai.
He was wary of Shen Huai using the Shen family as a backer, but he never expected that Shen Huai didn't need the Shen family at all.
Ultimately, capital is all about people and money.
Shen Huai has extensive connections, insight, and skill. He was undefeated when he first entered the industry and was revered as a "god of wealth" by many in the circle. Anyone who hears him speak has to think twice.
Feng Yankai now deeply regrets his past actions, but there's no turning back now, and he has no choice but to grit his teeth and go on.
Fortunately, Huayu Entertainment is well-funded, so even though it has weathered some storms, it hasn't been too affected. If things really come to a head, Shen Huai won't have an easy time either.
Thinking of this, Feng Yankai said to An Yuanjie, "Let's put Shen Huai aside for now, and focus on Zhuo Feiyang..."
Before he could finish speaking, An Yuanjie's phone rang. It was his secretary calling him. The secretary was a very tactful person; he knew that An Yuanjie was in the president's office at the moment, and he wouldn't call him at this time unless it was something important.
With that thought in mind, An Yuanjie had no choice but to answer the phone, despite Feng Yankai's murderous glare. But after listening to the call, his expression changed.
Seeing this, Feng Yankai forgot his anger and asked, "What happened?"
An Yuanjie seemed a little absent-minded: "Your father posted a Weibo..."
Feng Yankai: "What?!"
An Yuanjie slapped his own mouth and quickly explained, "It's a music blogger, his Weibo name is 'Your Dad.' He's very professional and has a high profile on Weibo. He just posted a Weibo post about creating the color palette that Feiyang plagiarized, and..."
Feng Yankai: "What else?!"
An Yuanjie: "Also, he contacted Tristan Hall, the original composer of that song, who threatened on Twitter to sue Feiyang and us..."
Feng Yankai's face turned ashen.
If this is true, it would be a major transnational case that would likely cause a sensation online. In that case, not only Zhuo Feiyang, but also Huayu Entertainment would probably be implicated.
As the industry leader, Huayu Entertainment has more than just Morningstar as its rivals. In the end, these people will surely tear a piece of its flesh off.
Feng Yankai gritted his teeth and said, "What's going on here! Didn't you say before that foreigners don't pay attention to Chinese music and nobody knows about it?!"
An Yuanjie was covered in sweat and stammered, "I...I don't know either..."
Feng Yankai was so angry he wanted to kick him, but he held back for a moment before saying, "And what about this 'your father'? Who is this guy?!"
An Yuanjie quickly said, "This person appeared online last year. He has a deep understanding of music, but his identity is unknown. Many people speculate that he is a professor at a music academy or a music critic, but no one is sure..."
"I don't care who he is!" Feng Yankai suddenly stood up. "The most important thing now is to shut him up and stop him from saying anything out of line!"
An Yuanjie quickly shut his mouth.
"Go! Find him, and make him take down the Weibo post, no matter what method you use!"
An Yuanjie nodded quickly.
Feng Yankai paced back and forth in the room, gritting his teeth as he said, "As for that foreigner, all they want is money! Find a middleman to contact the other company and settle this privately. Don't let it escalate!"
An Yuanjie: "Yes, yes, yes..."
Before Feng Yankai could finish giving his instructions, An Yuanjie's phone rang again. This time, Feng Yankai was so angry that he walked out from behind his desk, snatched the phone from An Yuanjie, and said coldly, "Speak! What other troubles are you dealing with!"
The secretary was startled, never expecting the president to answer the phone. She quickly said, "It's about the time when Fei Yang went to the Cologne Awards and was accused of plagiarism at a restaurant. The video of him being thrown out was uploaded to YouTube and then seen by netizens and posted on Weibo..."
Feng Yankai abruptly hung up the phone, his fingers gripping it tightly, his chest heaving violently.
He doesn't even need to look to know what the situation is like online right now.
After a long while, he finally managed to calm down, and almost gritted his teeth as he said, "How are you going to explain this now!"
An Yuanjie's mouth was full of bitterness as he whispered, "I did send people to the restaurant to find them, and I saw them delete the photos, but there were just too many people, and Shen Huai and the others were there too. Maybe they were the ones who took the photos..."
"idiot!"
Feng Yankai was so angry that his fingers were trembling. He just couldn't understand how his subordinates could be such a bunch of stupid, pig-like creatures.
An Yuanjie didn't dare to argue and could only obediently lower his head and accept the scolding.
After venting his anger, Feng Yankai finally felt a little better. He glared at An Yuanjie and said fiercely, "What are you still standing there for! Call the publicity department and public relations department over for a meeting!"