“Wahhh—”
Huang Lei was hospitalized again.
The cause: rage attacking the heart.
The “Back to the Countryside” production team was also in complete chaos.
No one had expected that their show would run into such a massive production disaster just after airing its first episode.
The staff were all numb.
Originally, after seeing the ratings, they thought they’d be able to hold a celebration banquet by the end of the day.
But who would’ve thought—things took a turn, and the celebration banquet turned into overtime.
They all rushed to the official “Back to the Countryside” Weibo to delete comments and control the narrative.
But faced with negative comments that were like the Yamata no Orochi—delete one and eight more appear—they were overwhelmed and powerless.
At the same time, such a huge uproar inevitably drew the attention of the investors.
“Wang Zhengyu, what the hell are you doing?”
“We invested so much money to work with you on this variety show.”
“And you go and stir up all this mess on the very first day?!”
As soon as the call connected, the investor laid into him right away.
Wang Zhengyu was scolded like a grandson, but could only keep forcing smiles: “Brother Sun, let me explain—it’s not like that. Someone is coming after our production team, deliberately trying to mess with our show’s rhy—”
Before he could even get the word “rhythm” out, he was rudely cut off by the investor’s representative:
“Don’t give me any of that. I’m only asking you one thing right now: can this be resolved within two hours?”
“Two hours? That’s…” Wang Zhengyu’s face showed difficulty.
With an uproar this big, how could he possibly settle it within two hours?
Especially since the evidence the other side had produced was solid, irrefutable proof.
It was practically slapping Huang Lei and them right in the face with…
“Wait, Huang Lei?”
Wang Zhengyu suddenly realized something and came up with a plan. He said:
“Brother Sun, I won’t hide it from you—this thing, forget two hours. Give me one hour and I can solve it.”
“But in the process, there’s a very tricky problem I can’t handle.”
Hearing this, Brother Sun on the other end of the line frowned: “Tricky? Are other investors entering the picture?”
“No no no, nothing like that.”
“Then it’s a money issue?”
“Not that either.”
“Then what is it?”
Brother Sun’s brow furrowed deeper.
It wasn’t other investors, and it wasn’t about money.
Could it be the higher-ups?
That was fucking impossible.
For a crappy variety show like this, how could it possibly attract the attention of the higher-ups?
Just as he was puzzling over it, Wang Zhengyu felt the timing was right and slowly uttered two words: “Huang Lei!”
“Brother Sun, you may not know this, but the malicious editing that netizens are currently blasting—it wasn’t actually our idea. It was Teacher Huang who demanded we do it.”
“So as long as we clarify things, I won’t say this will definitely be solved, but at least we can get our show out of the line of fire. I’m just worried that doing this might upset Teacher Huang…”
Hearing Wang Zhengyu’s hesitant tone.
Brother Sun laughed.
“That’s it?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Your priority right now is to salvage our investment. Do whatever needs to be done. As for Huang Lei—if he has a problem with it, tell him to come see me. Understood?”
Maybe in the eyes of those entertainers in the industry.
Huang Lei seemed impressive, with connections all over the entertainment circle.
But in the eyes of veteran investors like them, Huang Lei was nothing but shit!
A teacher at the Beijing Film Academy—not a professor, no official background.
At the end of the day, he was just a money-making tool with some connections!
Once he stopped bringing in profits, or made them lose money.
He could be kicked out at any time, with no face given whatsoever.
Hearing this, Wang Zhengyu’s face immediately broke into a smile: “Good, good. With you saying that, I’m relieved. I’ll go handle the PR right away.”
“Yeah, get to it. Make sure to minimize the impact of this matter.”
Brother Sun said, then hung up.
And with him backing him up, Wang Zhengyu moved fast.
In just three minutes, they put out an explanatory statement.
What reaction netizens had to this statement was unknown for now.
But when Huang Lei woke up the next day and saw the statement, he was so furious he nearly passed out again.
“Wang Zhengyu, what do you mean by this? What do you mean I interfered with the editing?”
“So when something goes wrong, it’s all my responsibility, is that it?”
In the hospital room, Huang Lei held the phone, fuming.
He’d never been treated like this in his entire life!
Jiang Nian hadn’t given him face while filming and had targeted him at every turn—fine, whatever.
Now the show had aired, something went wrong, and Wang Zhengyu, the director, stabbed him in the back.
Granted, this was indeed his doing, but where did Wang Zhengyu get the guts to make it public?!
“Don’t think I won’t quit!”
Beyond furious, Huang Lei threw out a threat.
This was also a tactic he’d always used.
Before, whenever he said this, no matter how unreasonable his demands were, or who was right or wrong.
Wang Zhengyu would immediately kowtow, apologize, say nice things, and beg him to change his mind.
But this time.
“Mr. Huang, please watch your words!”
“You’ve signed a contract with us. If you walk off the show now, all losses to our ‘Back to the Countryside’ program will be borne by you!”
Wang Zhengyu’s cold voice came through the phone.
Nothing like the sycophantic tone he’d had when flattering Huang Lei just days ago.
At these words, Huang Lei was stunned—clearly not expecting Wang Zhengyu to talk to him like this.
Huang Lei felt his dignity had been challenged, and his voice shot up two octaves: “What do you mean by that?”
But Wang Zhengyu was unmoved, his voice flat:
“Nothing much. Just stating a fact.”
“Also, Mr. Huang, let me give you a heads-up. Last night’s incident reached the investors. They’re very displeased, and they’re running out of patience with you.”
“If you walk off the show now, that would actually be a pretty good choice.”
“Only, you’d better be prepared to pay the price.”
As his words landed.
Instantly, the previously aggressive Huang Lei was like a duck with its throat grabbed—his blustering stopped dead.
Holding the phone, he said in disbelief: “The—the investors? Are you sure?”
Wang Zhengyu didn’t answer.
But that silent pause made Huang Lei gasp a breath of cold air.
If the entertainment industry was a farm.
And all the stars and entertainers were the animals raised on this farm.
Then the investors were, without a doubt, the farm owners—they held the power of life and death over them!
If they wanted to, with a single thought, they could elevate an unknown small actor to A-list stardom, or even top-tier fame.
Likewise, they could pull a top star down at any time, making them fade into obscurity.
So not offending the investors—that was the consensus among all the “animals.”
And now, the investors had spoken with Wang Zhengyu.
Did that mean…
“That Weibo post—the investors told Wang Zhengyu to post it?”
“And Wang Zhengyu’s attitude right now is also the investors’ attitude?!”
This thought flashed through Huang Lei’s mind.
And immediately broke him out in a cold sweat.
Because he had just been about to go against the investors!
Without hesitation, he quickly picked up the phone, forced a fawning smile onto his face, and stammered:
“Um, Director Wang—no, Director Wang, I was just joking with you earlier. I’m a regular cast member of this show—how could I possibly walk off? Don’t you think so?”
Hearing his suddenly changed attitude.
Even though Wang Zhengyu knew full well that Huang Lei wasn’t deferring to him, he still couldn’t help but feel a wave of satisfaction.
Damn it, before the investors got involved, you, Huang Lei, ordered him around like he was nothing.
Now that you’ve heard the investors are in the picture, you immediately tuck your tail like a grandson.
Arrogant before, humble after—it was laughable just thinking about it.
Wang Zhengyu sneered: “Mr. Huang, there’s no need for that. If you want to walk off, you can say so anytime. Don’t force yourself.”
“No no no, I’m not forcing myself at all! What are you even saying!”
Huang Lei quickly said.
After that, he showered Wang Zhengyu with a bunch of flattery.
Only after Wang Zhengyu was pleased did the matter blow over.
And after the business with Huang Lei was settled.
In their subsequent conversation, they inevitably brought up yesterday’s public opinion storm.
Whether Wang Zhengyu was getting cocky or just acting tough because he had backing now.
Facing Huang Lei, he actually said directly: “Little Huang, do you have any idea about this matter?”
Hearing this, Huang Lei was momentarily taken aback, then realized that Wang Zhengyu’s “Little Huang” was directed at him. A flash of anger appeared on his face.
But he quickly smoothed it over.
He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said: “I feel like this might be Jiang Nian’s doing!”
“Jiang Nian?” Wang Zhengyu said with mild surprise. “Why do you say that?”
Huang Lei said:
“Because he’s the only one with the motive to do this. Director Wang, you should’ve noticed during filming—this Jiang Nian won’t take even the slightest loss.”
“And the main subject of last night’s public opinion storm was malicious editing.”
“But malicious editing—only people who were present at the recording that day would know about it.”
“And the ultimate beneficiary of this matter is also Jiang Nian.”
“So…”
Huang Lei didn’t continue.
Because at this point, the specifics were already self-evident.
Having a conflict with the original beneficiary, Huang Lei.
And also being the ultimate winner of this public opinion battle.
If someone told Huang Lei that Jiang Nian had nothing to do with this, he wouldn’t believe it even if beaten to death!
Hearing this, Wang Zhengyu frowned.
From a rational standpoint, he didn’t think Jiang Nian, a newcomer who’d only debuted a year ago, had the guts to do something like this.
Because once this matter was investigated.
No matter how much benefit Jiang Nian had gained now, he’d not only have to spit it all back out, but he’d also get himself dragged into it.
Because this wasn’t just breaking the rules.
It was slapping the investors in the face.
Given the investors’ reaction and attitude last night, they definitely wouldn’t let him off easy.
But if it wasn’t Jiang Nian, then from the current perspective, no one else had the motive.
“I understand. I’ll investigate.”
“Little Huang, focus on recovering for now. I’ll come see you in a while.”
After a moment’s thought, Wang Zhengyu left it at that and hung up.
Listening to the busy tone from the phone, at this moment, Huang Lei could no longer control the emotions in his heart.
He furiously smashed the phone and went on a rampage in the hospital room!
“Jiang Nian, last night’s ‘Back to the Countryside’ public opinion storm—was it your doing?!”
Meanwhile, in Jinyun Xiandu, at the villa.
Early in the morning, Jiang Nian received a call from Yang Mi.
Jiang Nian yawned, got out of bed, took a sip of hot water, and said: “Yeah, what about it?”
“Are you crazy?”
Yang Mi was shocked: “Do you know that by doing this, you’ve directly pissed off the investors behind ‘Back to the Countryside’?!”
“So?” Jiang Nian said lazily. “Want me to put in more effort now and tank the other shows these investors are putting money into?”
“???”
Yang Mi was stunned.
Completely dumbfounded by Jiang Nian’s answer.
What the hell.
You messing with “Back to the Countryside” wasn’t enough—now you’re thinking about going after other shows too?
“Are you sick or something?”
After a moment of silence, Yang Mi asked.
Jiang Nian shook his head: “No, I’m perfectly fine.”
“Then why would you say something like that? The investor you’ve offended now isn’t Huang Lei or He Jiong—small shareholders like them. It’s the big shareholder standing behind them!”
“I know. That’s exactly why I’m asking you—should I mess with this big shareholder’s other shows too? If it were just small shareholders like Huang Lei, I wouldn’t even bother.”
Jiang Nian’s words would not stop until they shocked everyone.
But this was, in fact, his most genuine thought.
After having Zhang Linyu hire trolls to steer public opinion last night, Jiang Nian had already prepared himself for retaliation from the investors behind “Back to the Countryside,” and had also thought up countermeasures.
That was to just flip the table.
Nobody gets to play anymore.
Of course, this was still restrained.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be flipping the table—it’d be meeting them offline for a private chat.
After all, so what if they’re capital?
So what if they’ve been in business for generations?
He, Jiang Nian, was still a third-generation poor peasant.
Professionally matched—he was fucking coming for you!
Yang Mi didn’t know any of this.
She was just stunned speechless by Jiang Nian’s current answer, utterly dumbfounded.
At this moment, there was only one thought in her mind.
Arrogant!
Way too fucking arrogant!
Do you really not know how powerful the investors are?
If they want to come after you, you won’t even know how you died!
“Jiang Nian, stop being willful.”
“I’m being very serious with you about this right now.”
“This isn’t a small matter. If it’s not handled well, your career is over!”
Yang Mi tried to persuade him.
Hoping Jiang Nian would understand the severity of this matter.
But unfortunately, this was all falling on deaf ears.
Not just because Jiang Nian wouldn’t listen.
But because Jiang Nian simply didn’t care!
“Alright, alright, Sister Mi, you don’t need to worry about this. I have my own plans.”
“If you think I’ll drag you down, you can fire me right now.”
“That’s it. I’m going to practice martial arts. You go do your thing.”
With that, Jiang Nian hung up without waiting for Yang Mi’s reaction.
And Yang Mi, listening to the busy tone from the other end, scratched her head in frustration.
Jiang Nian was great in every way.
Except for one thing.
He really wouldn’t listen to advice.
Once he made up his mind, ten oxen couldn’t pull him back.
“Forget it, forget it. Whatever. Let him do whatever he wants—I really can’t control him at all!”
Yang Mi lit a cigarette, exhausted, and just gave up.
