Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ye Weian ultimately didn't manage to poach the talent he wanted.

He felt somewhat regretful, but his two special assistants, Sister Long and Brother Zhang, were also quite capable.

These two were highly competent aides specially cultivated by the original host's grandfather for his grandson. They had both worked at Ye's Group for over a decade, were fiercely loyal to the company, and possessed outstanding abilities.

Ye Weian said, "Then we'll meet tomorrow."

He and Zhou Huaichen had agreed in principle to cooperate in the film and television industry and arranged to discuss the details at Ye's Group headquarters the next day.

Actually, he also wanted to show Zhou Huaichen his collection of gemstones.

He considered Zhou Huaichen a friend and wanted to share the things he loved with him.

But thinking that Zhou Huaichen, who had just gotten off a plane, had already accompanied him to a meal, must be very tired, Ye Weian decided to schedule another day.

Zhou Huaichen smiled, stood up, and said goodbye, "Alright, see you tomorrow."

Some things couldn't be rushed.

He was willing to give himself and Ye Weian time.

Ye Weian walked him out but forgot about the purple peace knot when saying goodbye.

Zhou Huaichen also pretended not to notice and left by car.

It wasn't until Ye Weian returned to the villa that the system reminded him.

Ye Weian: "...Why didn't you say so earlier?"

The system felt a bit guilty: "It just slipped my mind until now."

It wouldn't tell the host that it had been so shocked by the host's boldness that it glitched for a moment.

The system: "I think Mr. Zhou left the peace knot on purpose. You should just keep it."

Ye Weian ignored it and carefully put the box away, planning to return it to Zhou Huaichen the next day.

*

Meanwhile, Bai Yuan, seeing that Ye Weian and Lemon Entertainment hadn't responded, grew increasingly angry.

He went ahead and posted a Weibo directly tagging Lemon Entertainment: "President Ye, you're replacing Yan Qing with Lin Chang and also replacing me. Aren't you going to give an explanation?"

Bai Yuan was a rising director who had launched the careers of many stars and had a circle of friends in the industry.

Soon, many directors and well-known actors reposted it, and the incident almost involved half the entertainment industry.

The most impactful was the repost by award-winning actor Xie Siming: "I'm quite familiar with Yan Qing. He's a very talented and hardworking actor. If he's being replaced due to some personal reasons, I feel sorry for him."

Xie Siming was currently the youngest award-winning actor with both popularity and skill. Five years ago, he starred in a TV drama that exploded in popularity, making him a household name. Everyone from seventy-year-old grandmothers to three-year-old children knew his name.

He had more fans than the most popular male idols.

Because of his repost, users on various platforms were discussing the matter.

Yan Qing's fans were especially furious, relentlessly insulting Ye Weian and Lemon Entertainment.

Meanwhile, Bai Yuan had his prepared "water army" (online trolls) drive the narrative online, directly provoking conflict between Ye's Group and the artists, as well as the general public—

"Less-established artists without backing are truly pitiful, just left to be bullied by the company."

"Director Bai Yuan has some status in the entertainment industry, right? Even he has to be manipulated by capital."

"The big-shot CEO has a huge company and can throw his weight around. We ordinary folks should just keep quiet to avoid getting involved."

Bai Yuan was intentionally stirring up apprehension among users, pitting them against Ye's Group.

Sure enough, users were indeed stirred up and collectively attacked Ye's Group.

Especially the fans of some celebrities without strong backing or connections, who felt a strong sense of solidarity.

They joined Bai Yuan's water army in tagging Lemon Entertainment and demanding an explanation.

Bai Yuan scrolled through the comments at home, a smug smile on his lips: "Ye Weian, let's see how you explain this to the public."

Just then, Yan Qing called, saying softly and sweetly, "Thank you, Director, for standing up for me."

His voice was delicate and pleasing, making Bai Yuan's heart flutter. He smiled and said, "Just remember I did this for you."

Yan Qing added a few more coquettish compliments.

Bai Yuan was very pleased but suddenly remembered something and said with a hint of jealousy, "Xie Siming also spoke up for you."

Yan Qing paused on the other end, pretending not to understand, and said, "I'll thank him properly too."

Bai Yuan felt even more jealous.

But he knew that Yan Qing had many admirers; even a big boss like Ye Weian had been utterly captivated. Instead of blaming Yan Qing, it only fueled his determination.

Yan Qing was his idol. He felt he needed to make more successful and acclaimed films, becoming the highest-status director in the film industry, so he would be worthy of pursuing Yan Qing.

Of course, helping Yan Qing get justice was also important now.

Especially after receiving Yan Qing's thank-you call, he felt even more motivated and instructed his water army to intensify their efforts.

So that night, the entire internet was discussing Yan Qing's replacement.

After hanging up, Yan Qing said triumphantly to Brother Ming, "See, I told you we didn't need to bow to Ye Weian. He'll have to bow to me eventually."

So many directors and actors in the industry were supporting him, and his fans and people online were sympathizing with him.

No matter how powerful Ye's Group was, could they really take on the entire internet?

The bigger the incident grew, the more he believed Ye Weian and Lemon Entertainment would have to respond.

Brother Ming was also quite satisfied: "Let's see how President Ye handles this."

Ye Weian's previous move of deleting his account had left him feeling frustrated.

Now that they had a chance to turn the tables, he was happy to see Ye Weian get his comeuppance.

Remembering that all this was thanks to Bai Yuan, he remarked, "Bai Yuan really has your back."

Yan Qing actually didn't think much of Bai Yuan.

Although Bai Yuan was talented and had some status in the industry, he couldn't provide Yan Qing with many resources.

The person he really wanted to cozy up to was Zhou Huaichen.

At the thought of Zhou Huaichen, his expression shifted slightly.

He heard that Mr. Zhou had already returned to the country, so he planned to try to bump into him at Zhou Corporation tomorrow.

***

Lin Chang sighed helplessly as he watched his Weibo account being flooded with hundreds of thousands of hate comments.

He somewhat regretted agreeing to the publicity stunt.

Although he had gained a lot of attention in just a few days, with his popularity skyrocketing, the negative effects were also evident.

Whether it was the rumors about him and Yan Qing or him replacing Yan Qing as the male lead in *The Year the Wind Rose*, he had become public enemy number one to Yan Qing's fans.

The comments under his Weibo posts were too toxic to read, and his private messages were filled with curses and insults.

Yan Qing's fans even found his photos, drew red crosses on them, or photoshopped them into memorial photos.

It was truly shocking.

Fortunately, President Wang from his company had been monitoring the backlash and immediately reported it to Sister Long at the headquarters.

Thus, Ye Weian received a call from Sister Long before going to bed.

He was confused: "Xie Siming?"

He had expected Bai Yuan to continue causing trouble.

But he hadn’t anticipated Xie Siming getting in on the action as well.

The book mentioned that Xie Siming was also an admirer of Yan Qing and had been romantically involved with him for some time.

He came from the Xie family, which also had a prestigious background.

If it weren’t for the Zhou family’s overwhelming influence and Zhou Yongnan’s stronger background, Xie Siming would have already won him over.

Sister Long said, "The PR and legal departments have prepared the press release. When do you plan to release it?"

Ye Weian replied, "Let’s release it tomorrow."

Bai Yuan didn't care about people's sleep schedules, choosing to attack at night and keeping everyone up late following the drama, but he couldn’t bring himself to do something that cruel.

Sister Long: "..."

At a time like this, President Ye is still worried about netizens losing their hair?

Author's Note: Ye Weian: Don't go bald, my darlings.

Red envelopes from last chapter sent!~

More coming soon!~

Thank you all so much for your support! I'll keep it up!