The trio’s discussion had no intention of including Wang Shuang.
Wang Shuang’s thinking stayed firmly on the ground floor, only showing high-level skill in gaming, utterly unteachable otherwise!
Yuan Fenghui laughed at Xie Qian’s response.
—She’d thought Xie Qian was a cold, high-IQ youth, but he still held hopes for love!
Well, Xie Qian and Wen Ying, however clever, were young. If they’d already given up on love, that’d be too cynical.
Youthful feelings were more beautiful than poetry. Yuan Fenghui pretended not to notice the glances between Wen Ying and Xie Qian, continuing her analysis, partly to teach Wen Ying about the industry.
“You’ve got one foot in this circle already, and the other will follow sooner or later. Understanding its ways early won’t hurt you!”
Yuan Fenghui never considered that Wen Ying might choose not to enter the industry.
How could she not?
With Wen Ying’s talent, staying out would be a colossal loss!
Even if Wen Ying didn’t become a screenwriter and focused on novels, in today’s literary world, no matter the genre, bestsellers inevitably faced film or TV adaptation.
Wen Ying had crafted a compelling script about the entertainment industry. Yuan Fenghui had to admit she was clever.
But Wen Ying’s understanding of the industry was still superficial. Her script’s appeal lay in its characters and plot; the setting could be swapped to any industry, and the story would still hold—her strength was prioritizing logic and plot over ornate prose, making it withstand scrutiny!
But that wasn’t enough.
Yuan Fenghui smiled slightly. Wen Ying couldn’t always rely on logic and plot. Sooner or later, her work would need to delve into deeper human complexities. So, starting now, she should face the darker side beneath the glamour!
“Yu Tianlin joining Cao Bo’s drama isn’t just to compete with me. Disgusting me is just one of his goals; he’s really paving his own path.”
“Crushing me with this drama would be ideal, but even if he can’t, he’ll still do it!”
“This industry often ignores right or wrong, only caring about popularity and commercial value. If you bring profits, even if you’re loathed, people will still prop you up. If you can’t generate value, no matter how saintly, you’re useless. So, Yu Tianlin’s reputation, good or bad, doesn’t affect his status for now.”
“Since he’s committed to the role, he wants the whole drama to revolve around him, to be the absolute center. So, he had Zhang Guangzhen revise the script, gained Boss Jin’s approval to secure his central role, and now aims to eliminate any potential drags.”
“Xu Mei is a drag to Yu Tianlin. Her career path went wrong from the moment she joined *Emerald Forest*. She completely gave up singing!”
“Among singers, Xu Mei’s quite pretty, but if she only acts, whether on TV or film, there’s no shortage of her caliber. As a vase, she’s not even distinctive enough. To stand out, she’d need to hone her acting relentlessly! Yet, a rookie like her is heavily backed by Cao Bo and Manager Guan, and later she might latch onto Yu Tianlin for clout. Working with her only brings him downsides, so naturally, he’s trying to kick her out.”
Wen Ying wasn’t as “naive” as Yuan Fenghui thought.
She hadn’t had deep exposure to the entertainment industry.
But similar maneuvers happened in every field, just with different packaging—the core was the same.
Where there were people, there were interests, and driven by interests, even absurd actions had a certain logic.
Still, since Yuan Fenghui saw Wen Ying as an innocent babe yet to be jaded by society, Wen Ying played along, listening obediently as the naive student Yuan expected.
—This was Yuan’s kindness, and she’d cherish it!
Yuan Fenghui, parched from talking, took the water Wen Ying thoughtfully offered, chuckling, “Did I say too much? Did you get it? Say something!”
“Squeak, squeak!”
The one playfully acting cute wasn’t Wen Ying but Wang Shuang.
“I didn’t get it,” Wang Shuang said, looking pitiful.
Yuan Fenghui rolled her eyes, “Who cares if you got it? We’re talking business. Go play.”
Wang Shuang felt stabbed through the heart.
But he didn’t give up entirely.
Already confused, if he didn’t try, would he stay clueless forever?
No way!
Wang Shuang pinned his hopes on Wen Ying, expecting her to share her “study notes” once she understood.
Wen Ying didn’t let him down. When Yuan Fenghui mentioned Yu Tianlin’s influence, Wen Ying had already pieced together the whole story, “Teacher Yuan, the rumor about Deputy Station Chief Duan and Xu Mei wasn’t just gossip getting twisted—it was deliberate. Someone intentionally misnamed the female lead to drag Xu Mei into this scandal, aiming to replace her. Now, probably the whole Hunan TV knows Xu Mei’s ‘affair.’ With other media reporters at today’s celebration, this ‘scandal’ sticking to Xu Mei makes her replacement before filming almost certain.”
That “someone” was, of course, Yu Tianlin.
From getting Zhang Guangzhen to revise the script, to cozying up to Boss Jin, attending the celebration with him, to ousting Xu Mei—all served one goal: to dominate Cao Bo’s project!
The script revision was a test. If Cao Bo and the others accepted Yu Tianlin’s added scenes, it showed they valued and needed his involvement.
Once Yu Tianlin confirmed this, he rolled up his sleeves to seize control.
Though Cao Bo launched the project to promote Xu Mei, if Yu Tianlin could kick her out, the project would be his to command!
Setting aside camp biases, Yu Tianlin’s moves benefited the project. If everyone fought for control, it’d likely flop. With one person in charge, backed by Yu Tianlin’s popularity, it might succeed… Wen Ying understood the logic but still found Yu Tianlin’s domineering approach unsettling.
Overbearing, authoritarian, wanting it all.
That was Yu Tianlin!
Because of his agenda, Xu Mei became the unlucky one, “sitting at home, calamity falling from the sky.”
Seeing Wen Ying’s expression, Yuan Fenghui guessed she wouldn’t have a high opinion of Yu Tianlin.
Yuan Fenghui gave a self-deprecating smile, “Yu Tianlin’s tactics? He learned them from me. I used to be just like him.”
