107: Unexpected changes

"Too much, this is too much!" Albert Yeung slammed the table.

He had actually been mocked by the boss of a small entertainment company from the mainland today.

"Wu Wei, send the notice out, let's begin." He clenched his fists. Since they were so ignorant of the times, it was time to show them the real deal.

"Yes, Chief Yeung." Hearing the order, Wu Wei nodded and walked out.

The most famous thing about Golden Culture was snatching projects from a company and poaching their employees.

He found Cai Yinong's phone number and dialed it.

"Chief Yeung, what did you say?" Cai Yinong was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from Albert Yeung.

Their status was worlds apart, and she had always wanted to collaborate with him.

"Such a black sheep, completely lacking in discipline. Don't worry, Chief Yeung, I, Cai Yinong, will speak up for justice. I will absolutely not let such scum destroy the harmony of the entertainment industry."

Cai Yinong shouted this almost instinctively. During this period, she had been infuriated by Golden Culture, but had no way to retaliate. Now, the opportunity had finally arrived.

"Hahaha." After hanging up the phone, she laughed heartily.

"Heaven has eyes, Heaven has eyes indeed."

"That little bastard is just as I thought—too arrogant, sure to offend people, and not suitable for development in this circle. How about that? I was right."

"I, Cai Yinong, have an eye for talent and unique insight; I have never been wrong."

"Someone, bring me all the information I've collected on Golden Culture."

She began flipping through various materials: "No, this isn't explosive enough."

In the photo, Li Xiuwu was stroking Shu Chang's hair, and both of them had bright smiles on their faces.

"This doesn't point to anything clear." Another photo showed Li Xiuwu running on set, with Liu Yifei chasing him with a sword. One was laughing, the other was angry; it was clearly just horseplay.

She looked at the photos and materials one by one.

"None of these are explosive, not hot enough." She threw all the materials aside.

Tomorrow, there would be reports of Li Xiuwu injuring Hong Kong Artists. Such news would definitely become a hit. The gossip she had in her hands didn't even count as a scandal.

"There must be some explosive news." She muttered to herself.

Wang Cheng put away his phone with a sneer on his face. What kind of status did they have to dare bare their fangs at him?

Ying Huang Entertainment had a market value of just over 500 million RMB, and their liquid capital was pitifully low. What could they possibly use to compare with Golden Culture?

Even counting the other Emperor Entertainment Group companies controlled by Albert Yeung, the total value did not exceed 1.5 billion.

He had heard that Qiu Wanjun controlled over forty percent of NetEase's shares. Since a chinese odyssey went public last year, NetEase's stock price had skyrocketed, and now those forty percent of shares were worth nearly three billion.

Wang Cheng didn't even realize that when he learned Qiu Wanjun and he belonged to the same boss, he became full of pride.

He dialed Qiu Wanjun, and the two discussed how to respond, ending the call on a relaxed note.

In the dead of night, printing plants worked overtime, rapidly printing newspapers.

The summer morning was very cool, and vans delivering newspapers shuttled through the streets and alleys of the big city.

"Mainland Newcomer Injures Hong Kong Artist: Talented Scholar or Violent Maniac?" a mainland media outlet reported first.

At the same time, injury reports for several people were published in the media. These were mainly the injuries of four Stunt Performers. It didn't explicitly say who hit them, but the tone implied it was Li Xiuwu.

"This paper has received news that the former top scholar of the college entrance examination injured two Hong Kong seniors on set. What made the former top scholar become so violent?"

"A newcomer acting like a big shot, joining the crew through connections, traveling with two vans, and enjoying special treatment."

"Certain newcomers, relying on their background, show no respect for the crew. Hong Kong seniors stood up for the staff and were violently injured, ending up in the hospital."

After one night, newsstands in major cities were already covered with newspapers.

Commuters buying newspapers saw the news.

"What? Li Xiuwu hit people? So violent and uncultured." One person stared at the news, eyes wide.

"That's not all. Didn't you see? He also looked down on the crew. The Hong Kong Artist stood up for the ordinary staff and was beaten for it."

On the bus, people were discussing it.

"Dicky Cheung, my idol! He's such a good person, yet he was beaten. Li Xiuwu is terrible!" A white-collar worker was indignant, clenching their fists in frustration.

In offices and schools, through word of mouth, Li Xiuwu turned into a heinous villain.

Li Xiuwu was suddenly pushed to the forefront of the controversy.

Similar reports appeared online, though they were just reposts of the print media articles, featuring a few photos of Dicky Cheung and Nicholas Tse in the hospital.

At the same time, some Hong Kong Artists accepted interviews.

Huang Gou: "Mainland newcomer, demanding special treatment. It's hot, everyone else only has one sunshade fan, but he wants an RV, water fans, and cold drinks. I have never seen such an unprofessional actor."

Zeng: "We actors have it really tough. Everyone works hard to film, how can someone act like this?"

Wong Kar-wai: "I will be cautious in choosing actors. If it's an actor like this, I won't use anyone's connections."

Many actors and directors in the Hong Kong Circle accepted media interviews. The famous ones criticized implicitly, stating they wouldn't collaborate, while small stars directly named him, demanding a boycott of such an actor.

The Hong Kong media was even crazier, demanding that Li Xiuwu kneel and apologize to all Hong Kong people.

With the interviews of the Hong Kong Artists, people were even more convinced that Li Xiuwu bullied staff and beat actors, labeling him a violent maniac and calling for the crew to fire him.

Wang Cheng, while resting, received a call from Ding Yan: "President Wang, the news about the boss hitting people has been exposed by Hong Kong. Now there are only negative reviews about the boss; the public opinion is out of control."

Ding Yan was the PR manager of Golden Culture. Yesterday he had suggested that Wang Cheng prepare for public opinion, but Wang Cheng said he already had a plan and told him not to worry.

Although he said that, he was still uneasy. He kept an eye on developments yesterday and woke up early today, buying a newspaper first thing, only to see the public opinion regarding his boss.

"What? They just publicly published it in the newspapers?" Wang Cheng was shocked awake, his sleepiness instantly vanishing. He immediately climbed out of bed: "Did Chief Qiu not take any action?"

"What Chief Qiu?" Ding Yan asked, puzzled. He didn't know of Qiu Wanjun's existence.

"Your PR department, first study a solution. I'll be at the company immediately." Wang Cheng hung up the phone and immediately called Qiu Wanjun.

Yesterday, after learning of Qiu Wanjun's existence, Qiu Wanjun had stated that he would definitely handle it well. Wang Cheng naturally believed that Qiu Wanjun would resolve the matter, so he had let his guard down.

This couldn't be blamed on Wang Cheng's carelessness; after all, a big shot controlling tens of billions in assets had patted his chest to guarantee he would handle a small matter in the entertainment industry—what else did he have to worry about?

Unexpectedly, this matter still exploded.

Qiu Wanjun received the news at this moment and was like an ant on a hot pan.

Yesterday, he had just taken this task over from Lin Qian. After understanding the ins and outs of the matter, he had patted his chest and guaranteed to Wang Cheng that it was a small matter.

Unexpectedly, in one night, before he had even made a move, things had turned out like this.