On July 6, “Galaxy and You” achieved a viewership rating of 3.88% on Eastern TV, 2.89% on Zhejiang Satellite TV, while on the same day, “Love Cruise” only reached 3.59% on Hunan Satellite TV.
Wen Ying deliberately rustled the newspaper in front of Wen Dongrong, trying to catch his attention.
She had said it, hadn’t she? “Galaxy and You” would definitely surpass “Love Cruise”. Old Wen just lacked patience, getting all anxious on the premiere day. Impatience never gets you hot tofu!
Wen Dongrong’s face soured.
What was the point of overtaking now?
He had already lost that thousand yuan to Old Li!
Their bet was on the premiere ratings, not the final ones. Even if “Galaxy and You” surged ahead on the second day, a bet was a bet, and he had to accept the loss… So careless, so reckless!
Old Li’s smug tone on the phone made Wen Dongrong’s teeth itch with anger. Today, when the newspaper reported “Galaxy and You” had overtaken, Wen Dongrong wanted to even the score. He called Old Li, but the man refused to pick up. Furious, Wen Dongrong texted him, asking if he’d read the paper.
Old Li was ruthless, replying after ages: “So what if I read it? I won that money fair and square, and I’m not giving it back!”
Wen Dongrong was so angry he could spit blood.
Old Li questioning his gambling integrity? That was questioning his character!
Wen Ying kept shaking the newspaper, and Wen Dongrong, unable to bear it, snapped, “Don’t get too smug. The higher you climb, the more cautious you need to be. They’ve already pulled stunts like fake romances. Who knows what disgusting tricks they’ve got up their sleeves?”
Wen Ying didn’t argue with him.
His words were harsh but made sense.
“Galaxy and You” overtaking in ratings was a great sign, but it didn’t mean Wen Ying and Yuan Fenghui could rest easy.
Until “Galaxy and You” finished airing, who knew what tricks Liang Dan and her crew might pull? “Caution” wasn’t just a virtue Wen Dongrong needed at work; it was essential in the entertainment industry, where Wen Ying had already half-stepped in.
“Got it!”
Wen Ying’s tone was light. “I suspect you’re worried about me, but why… so awkwardly?”
“Your suspicions are baseless.”
Wen Dongrong huffed through his nose, strutting around the house with an air of arrogance.
As if he’d care about that scheming girl!
He was just worried she’d mess up and affect their income, which would indirectly cut into his pocket money!
…
Wen Ying acted relaxed in front of Old Wen but didn’t dare let her guard down. She made a special trip to Tianjiao to discuss the matter with Yuan Fenghui.
In Tianjiao’s office, Wen Ying, Yuan Fenghui, and Mrs. Wang gathered, with intern Wang Shuang serving tea.
What could Liang Dan and her team do to turn things around?
Yuan Fenghui first ruled out escalating Yu Tianlin’s scandal hype: “Yu Tianlin is reckless, not insane. Even if he were, his company would stop him. Hyping a romance with Hu Man is already the limit. Any further, and can he still survive in the industry?”
No romance to hype, no official endorsement as weighty as “National Fire Safety Ambassador” to use as a selling point, “Love Cruise” couldn’t rely on hype to draw attention. Liang Dan’s team would likely turn their magnifying glass on Tianjiao.
“Picking flaws in ‘Galaxy and You’, digging for dirt. If they can’t find any, they might create problems for us.”
That’s the entertainment industry.
The real entertainment world was far darker than the plot of “Galaxy and You”.
Wang Shuang, no longer easily shocked, listened to Wen Ying and Yuan Fenghui, pondering.
How would Liang Dan’s team cause trouble?
“Our plot is solid, every scene is within bounds, so they’d target people instead!”
Who, though?
Wang Shuang counted on his fingers:
Zhang Yangning was a music-obsessed nut, always composing or practicing piano, attending acting classes with a sense of “repaying a debt”. There was nothing to dig up on him.
Yun Chen was even more laid-back.
With his looks and hordes of screaming female fans, any other male star would’ve had multiple romances to justify such favor from the heavens. Yet Yun Chen’s life was monotonous.
Acting classes, gym, eating good food, back to the gym, more acting classes… His biggest worries weren’t dodging paparazzi for secret flings but resisting the laws of nature to eat without gaining weight and disguising himself to avoid fans when hunting for gourmet spots!
You’d never catch Yun Chen in Chengdu’s nightlife bars; you’d more likely spot him at a hotpot restaurant or library.
So, Yun Chen was practically a semi-recluse with an idol’s fame but a monk’s lifestyle. Wang Shuang felt he lacked even the desire to make money. Work when there’s work, no complaints when there’s none. Acting fees were enough; he didn’t care much for commercial gigs.
Yun Chen, like Zhang Yangning, had no dirt to dig.
Targeting Li Mengjiao? That was even more absurd.
“She spends most of her time at school, attending classes, getting tutored by Xie Qian. She’s the least celebrity-like celebrity!”
How could they dig up dirt on Li Mengjiao? Send reporters sneaking into a top provincial school?
Even if they got past the school’s gatekeeper, what could they catch? Li Mengjiao, the big star, occasionally blowing her nose like a normal person?
No way around it; her star aura couldn’t fend off cold viruses…
Wang Shuang went through the lives of Tianjiao’s three artists, and Wen Ying and Yuan Fenghui exchanged a glance: the only potential weak point was Li Mengjiao!
Mrs. Wang chimed in, “One reason ‘Galaxy and You’ has high ratings is our compelling drama. Another is Mengjiao being the promotional ambassador. If the enemy wants to attack us, taking down Mengjiao, the most visible target, would be the most effective!”
Wang Shuang clenched his fists.
“Someone with no issues, and they’d still smear her?”
“Of course they would,” Wen Ying answered quickly. “I suggest you read *Capital*. At 10% profit, capital ensures its use everywhere; at 20%, it gets active; at 50%, it takes risks; for 100% profit, it dares trample all human laws; for 300% or more, it dares commit any crime. Replace ‘capital’ with Liang Dan’s crew, and it fits perfectly. They can’t accept losing, so they’ll throw every dirty trick in the book. Any move that could cripple our drama, they’re willing to try!”
Morals?
Wen Ying was sure of her own ethical standards, but she couldn’t control others’ moral底线.
Yuan Fenghui sneered, “Let them come.”
She’d often thought how refreshing it was to work with newcomers.
Newcomers were clean slates, like Li Mengjiao, Yun Chen, and Zhang Yangning.
To put it bluntly, Yuan Fenghui had filtered their backgrounds countless times. Any potential issues would’ve been nipped in the bud long ago, leaving no room for outsiders to pick flaws!
On Liang Dan’s side, Yuan Fenghui had personally cleaned up plenty of Yu Tianlin’s messes.
When she jumped ship, she didn’t expose Miracle Group’s dirt because she was at a PR disadvantage; the public might not believe her.
Plus, Miracle Group could play dirty, but Yuan Fenghui had to uphold professional ethics.
If she spilled the dirt of artists she’d managed after leaving, who in the industry would dare hire her as an agent?
If Liang Dan’s team fabricated dirt to drag Li Mengjiao, Yun Chen, and Zhang Yangning down, Yuan Fenghui’s counterattack would be justified self-defense!
“I’m not afraid of their dirty tricks, but you all need to stay vigilant. Catch any stirrings early, and tell Mengjiao and the others to be careful.”
Yuan Fenghui’s instructions got the most enthusiastic response from Wang Shuang.
Since joining the PR department, he’d practically made Tianjiao his home.
Online media was hypersensitive these days; entertainment news spread faster than traditional outlets. Wang Shuang’s intern group was tasked with monitoring public sentiment!
…
Xie Qian had taken Peng Guoqing to Shanghai for over a week, and it seemed they might stay until the summer break ended before returning to Chengdu.
Wen Ying didn’t find it odd.
After all, Xie Qian usually managed his Shanghai logistics company remotely. It was normal for him to use the summer break to sort out company affairs.
Xie Qian seemed busy, their few phone calls brief. In the end, Wen Ying couldn’t hold back and brought up the “102nd in the grade” issue.
Nervous, she was surprised when Xie Qian’s tone was almost airy: “Oh, I already know about that.”
And then?
Wen Ying braced for a pile of assignments from Xie Qian, but he didn’t follow the script and changed the topic. “You’re all guarding against Liang Dan’s attacks on Tianjiao’s artists, but I think they might not target Li Mengjiao and the others. Ever heard the saying, ‘To catch the thief, first catch the king’?”
Wen Ying’s heart sank.
“You mean they’ll target Teacher Yuan?”
“It’s possible.”
Xie Qian knew that, outside academics, Wen Ying was sharp. A small hint, and she’d get it without needing lengthy explanations.
Li Mengjiao, Yun Chen, and Zhang Yangning were clean, and smearing them risked backfiring. Yuan Fenghui was different. Tianjiao’s people knew who she was, but the public didn’t.
In the public’s memory, Yuan Fenghui was Miracle Group’s former agent, who fell out with them over allegedly arranging shady deals for the group. Gossip rags had written it that way, and Miracle Group never clarified for her… With all that dirt already on her, Liang Dan’s team wouldn’t even need to dig!
Yuan Fenghui was Tianjiao’s heart. Without her, the ship would stall.
If Wen Ying worked full-time at Tianjiao, she might gradually take Yuan Fenghui’s place, but she clearly couldn’t now and likely wouldn’t in the future.
Mrs. Wang had ability but lacked industry knowledge and connections. She could hold her own but wasn’t ready to steer the whole ship for a few more years.
So, if Yuan Fenghui fell, Tianjiao would run aground, which would benefit Liang Dan’s crew in the long run. Tianjiao made great dramas but wasn’t under their control. With such a big impact on ratings and out of their grasp, they’d rather it didn’t exist!
In the short term, Yuan Fenghui was still the executive producer of “Galaxy and You”.
Smearing her could drag down Li Mengjiao, Yun Chen, Zhang Yangning, and the entire drama in one go.
“You, Yuan Fenghui, sent Miracle Group to shady deal dinners as their agent. Are Tianjiao’s artists suffering the same treatment now?”
“If even a minor like Li Mengjiao is being taken to such dinners, she may be a victim, but she’d also lose her ‘National Fire Safety Ambassador’ title!”
As Xie Qian expected, Wen Ying, though academically challenged, was quick-witted elsewhere.
The thought of Liang Dan’s team targeting Yuan Fenghui made Wen Ying’s palms sweat.
