I became famous in the entertainment industry by burning incense

Chapter 523 is trending at number one, with criticism and insults.

The trending topic #Jinli took the high school proficiency test today# came on strong. Although Chenxi Entertainment was prepared and expected that rivals would cause trouble today.

But unexpectedly, the buzz spread so quickly that it topped the charts on major platforms within half an hour.

Zou Da was a little annoyed: "It's not the weekend, so where do all these netizens come from who have the leisure to go online in broad daylight? They're all just bored!"

Sui Lingfang rubbed her temples, her voice a little hoarse, "Have you thought of a solution?"

When this trending topic appeared, she received many calls from brands that were working with Jinli.

Brands are all asking her if she can handle this matter as soon as possible.

The brand is worried that this will trigger a public relations crisis and damage Jinli's image.

When Jinli signs a cooperation agreement with a brand, the contract always includes this clause:
During their endorsement period, celebrities are required to maintain a positive image. If a public relations crisis arises due to personal misconduct or emotional scandals, the brand has the right to terminate the contract with the celebrity and pursue legal action against them.

She wore herself out just trying to appease the brand.

Zou Da quickly said, "We've already discussed it and decided to proceed in three steps."

The first step is to dig up dirt on competitors and use it to suppress trending topics; the second step is to buy traffic to social hotspots and use real-world conflicts to lower the trending topic rankings; the third step is to have celebrities with good relationships with Jinli proactively reveal and officially announce information, thereby promoting some previously unreleased blockbuster announcements.

Sui Lingfang nodded: "That's the only way."

Zou Da: "The public relations team is already making arrangements, and we should see results within half an hour."

Sui Lingfang breathed a slight sigh of relief, "Hopefully, these three steps will work!"

Zou Da hesitated for a moment and said, "Jinli is only taking the high school proficiency test, not the college entrance examination. My suggestion is to inform Jinli and have her clarify it on her blog. This will suppress the hot topic."

Sui Lingfang shook her head without hesitation: "No, I'm worried that this will interfere with Jinli's exam performance. Let her finish the three days of exams before responding."

Zou Da whispered, "If we respond three days later, we'll have missed the best time for public relations. It's best to reply today. If we reply three days later, netizens will say she's trying to ride the wave of popularity."

Sui Lingfang said indifferently, "It's just an academic ability test, not the college entrance examination. Let netizens say whatever they want. I just don't want Jinli to be disturbed."

After thinking for a moment, Zou Da said, "I think if you are really confident in Jinli, you should tell her about this."

Although I haven't had much contact with Jinli, I can sense from your words that she is emotionally stable and not the type to be defeated by such trivial matters.

If she knew about today's trending topic, she would probably just laugh it off and not take it seriously. If she can clarify things in time, our public relations efforts will be much more effective.

You treat the rumors as a joke.

That's just a joke.

Sui Lingfang frowned slightly, pondered for a while, and finally said, "Don't tell her."

In any case, she didn't want to disturb Jinli's exam preparation.

Not even the slightest factor will do.

"By the way, do you know who bought the trending topic?" Sui Lingfang asked, changing the subject.

Zou Da: "The most obvious finding from the investigation so far is Hao Zhongyi Entertainment. This company specifically spends money to buy traffic for this topic from large traffic agencies."

"However, this trending topic was not conceived by Hao Zhongyi Entertainment. It was simply a matter of following the trend. The surge in traffic after the topic emerged was all bought by some top-tier teams."

Sui Lingfang asked astutely, "Then who was the original source of this topic?"

Zou Da said with a serious expression, "The three major entertainment marketing accounts all released related news at the same time, quickly generating this tag."

Zou Da quickly named the three marketing accounts: XX Society, XX Observation Group, and XX News Network.

Sui Lingfang didn't recognize these three marketing accounts at first; they weren't names she often heard of.

Zou Da explained, "These three marketing accounts don't specialize in reporting celebrity news; instead, they chase after current events in China, posting whatever's trending."

It's not surprising you don't know them, but netizens who frequently follow international news and social issues will recognize these three marketing accounts.

Sui Lingfang was speechless for a moment.

"Why would a marketing account specifically report on Jinli taking the exam? Isn't that out of character for them?"

Zou Da speculated, "They probably want to guide domestic netizens to criticize and berate Jinli for taking the exam, saying she's putting on a show, and then take this news out through other means, along with screenshots of netizens' comments, and post it abroad to vilify the domestic situation."

I'm just speculating, and these speculations come from gossip posts where people say that these three major marketing accounts are controlled by foreign forces that have invested in them.

Moreover, these marketing accounts are registered overseas, not domestically, making them difficult for the government to regulate. One such account was previously believed to be a domestic official organization, but netizens only discovered last year that it was actually a private account.

Zou Da then changed the subject, "Of course, it's also possible that domestic celebrities specifically collaborated with these marketing accounts to release this information and smear Jinli."

Sui Lingfang took out her phone and browsed the online comments, which were mostly critical.

She said helplessly, "Any normal person knows how much courage it takes to return to the college entrance examination battlefield at such an old age, and how much perseverance it takes to study by live streaming every day for the past two years."

Jinli's determination to take the exam was commendable, but due to manipulation by unscrupulous organizations, she faced widespread criticism online, with many believing she was putting on a show.

The internet is truly a double-edged sword. Have netizens, participating in this nationwide frenzy of criticism, actually used their brains to think things through?

Zou Da was also helpless.

They tried to prevent it for so long, but they still couldn't stop it.

"What a clever person can't achieve even with all their efforts is less effective than a fool's quick thinking. Online emotions tend to be extreme, and many people are just following the crowd."

Sui Lingfang said expressionlessly, "A bunch of rabble!"
-
After the hashtag "Jinli" trended on social media.

March Sky is currently at Tianding Entertainment, negotiating profit-sharing ratios with the company.

In recent days, Tianding Entertainment has been trying to persuade March Sky to change the original revenue sharing ratio through various means, and has made a concession of 60% of the revenue sharing.

The two sides are still negotiating, and neither side has reached its bottom line.

Zhang Guang guessed that this tug-of-war would continue until the end of April.

If Tianding Entertainment fails to sign a renewal contract with March Band by the end of April, all of March Band's announcements will be suspended, and ongoing collaboration negotiations will also be halted.

So during this period, Zhang Guang was extremely busy, constantly helping March Sky sign co-branded contracts.

When the penalty for breach of contract becomes increasingly high and the consequences of breaching the contract become increasingly severe, it can actually force Tianding Entertainment to refrain from making any rash moves.

The company doesn't dare to smear the artist in return, so it takes matters into its own hands to expose the artist's dirty secrets.

Driven by enormous profits, even enemies can shake hands and make peace with smiles when they meet.

For some reason, Ming Yingyue, as the artist representative, also joined the negotiations. The company actually approached Ming Yingyue to persuade them to make some concessions and not be so stubborn.

However, March Sky had no liking for this charming and charismatic artist. As soon as she joined the negotiations, March Sky's expression turned cold, and the talks broke down in just a few minutes.

Chen Lin loudly accused, "What is your status or position in representing the company to talk to us?"
If you are an artist, you understand the difficulties artists face better than the company itself!

If you're on the company's side, then you've betrayed the artist's side, so what right do you have to act like a benefactor and try to persuade us?
"You want to be the company's dog? We don't want to be!"

The meeting ended on bad terms!

Chen Lin's accusation was like a sharp sword, tearing apart the surface of peace.

March Sky had no idea what kind of contract Ming Yingyue had signed with the company that made her so keen on moving between the board of directors and even wanting to use the energy gathered by the artists to promote a senior executive of the company to the board of directors.

But March Sky isn't stupid.

The fact that Ming Yingyue was willing to come and persuade her personally means that she is a beneficiary in this matter.

Why should they listen to someone who benefits from the status quo?

Even if they wanted to listen, Ming Yingyue, an artist with no real power in the company, was not qualified to stand at the negotiating table.

March Sky quickly left the company, got into the nanny car, and called Zhang Guang to tell him about it.

Unlike March Sky, who knew nothing, Zhang Guang did know some inside information.

"You don't need to worry about her, since you'll all be leaving the company eventually anyway."

It seems Ming Yingyue has hooked up with a powerful figure on the board of directors; they're probably having an affair. Through that person, she wants to move into the company's management, that is, into the board of directors, and acquire a stake in the company.

Chen Lin complained, "No wonder she got involved in this. Other celebrities avoided it like the plague, but she eagerly rushed to persuade them. Turns out she's a beneficiary of the situation!"

Tianding Entertainment has been in a state of chaos recently. Ming Yingyue is just one source of this chaos, and there are other areas of turmoil as well.

Zhang Guang also didn't like staying at the company, as he would always encounter all sorts of trouble.

He prefers to go out and work.

Thanks to the recent surge in collaborations, he had the opportunity to go outside the company.

Zhang Guang said, "You should go to the company less often in the future. Things have been very chaotic lately. If there are important matters to discuss, use video calls. I'm afraid there might be problems at the company."

Yan Xingdong agreed: "Okay."

Zhang Guang said with a serious expression, "There's one more thing. Don't get involved in the trending topics on the internet, and don't offer any opinions. I suspect that this is some other force targeting Jinli, and I'm afraid you'll get burned."

Gu Cheng suddenly spoke up: "Jinli?"

Zhang Guang heard this but ignored it, instead saying, "Captain, keep a close eye on your team members."

Yan Xingdong glanced at Gu Cheng, and after a long while, he said, "Okay."

After hanging up the phone, they immediately clicked on the blog and saw the top trending search in the search box.

Chen Lin scrolled through the comments and clicked his tongue. "What a massive crackdown and encirclement! Who did Sister Jinli offend?"

Luo Yi, however, thought this was normal.

"Sister Jinli usually has a very good reputation, with almost no scandals, but she is very popular. Many people are watching her. This time it must have been premeditated. I just don't know how many celebrities are involved."

Yan Xingdong thought of the siege of Li Xunfang by people in the industry on New Year's Day and shook his head, saying, "I'm afraid things won't go as planned. This matter isn't that serious at all."

On New Year's Day, Li Xunfang was exposed for having a chaotic private life and relationships, meeting and eating with different men every day. However, because there was no concrete evidence to prove that she was having illicit relationships, and everyone claimed that the other party was a good friend, the scandal did not take off.

If Jinli successfully passes the exam and obtains her high school diploma, all these rumors will naturally fall apart.

Gu Cheng said in a low voice, "It's not that simple. The high school academic certificate is just the starting point for the college entrance examination, not the end. She still has to achieve excellent results in the college entrance examination, otherwise she can't refute the statement that 'she is putting on a show'."

Chen Lin couldn't help but ask, "Then what should we do?"

Luo Yi glanced at him casually, his gaze carrying a hidden threat. "Have you forgotten what Brother Guang said before?"

Yan Xingdong: "Xiao Lin, don't get involved in this. Let's see how Chenxi Entertainment responds."

Chen Lin shrugged, somewhat guiltily saying, "I was just saying it casually, I didn't mean to do anything, don't get too excited."

Yan Xingdong turned to look at Gu Cheng and warned, "Gu Cheng, you too, don't offer any opinions."

Gu Cheng lowered his head, calmly typed a line of text and sent it to Jin Li, before saying, "I know my limits."
-
Fangfei Headquarters.

The person in charge was supposed to meet with Chenxi Entertainment today to discuss the Jinli summer advertisement, but suddenly this trending topic appeared.

The person in charge was unsure whether to continue contacting Chenxi Entertainment or postpone it for a few days, so he approached the current president, Dai Xueling.

Just last year, Fangfei's chief designer, Dai Xueling, temporarily took over as president.

This year, the title of "temporary acting" was removed, and she became the official president.

However, she did not delegate authority to others in the design department and remained the chief designer, but she gave other designers more opportunities.

Dai Xueling heard the news online, raised her eyebrows slightly, and reached out her hand.

The assistant immediately handed the tablet to Dai Xueling, which showed the top trending topic on social media: Jinli.

Dai Xueling clicked on the tag and glanced at it a few times, then scanned the comments section.

A few seconds later, she put the tablet aside and said calmly, "If an ordinary person gave up a stable job to retake the college entrance exam just to fulfill a wish, and finally got into a prestigious university, wouldn't you think that's inspiring?"

The person in charge replied without hesitation, "Inspirational!"

"But Jinli hasn't been admitted to a prestigious university yet, so we can't be sure if she will be able to get in," the person in charge said hesitantly.

Dai Xueling smiled gently: "But she's not an ordinary person either. Her education is just a bonus, not everything. If she doesn't do well on the exam, she can just continue being an artist."

Do I need to educate you about how many illiterate people there are in the entertainment industry, how many have only primary school or junior high school education? Her path forward has never been based on diplomas, nor has she used diplomas for self-promotion. What matters is her fighting spirit, not the outcome.

If public opinion continues like this, official bodies will come to her defense; continue to contact Chenxi Entertainment.

The person in charge actually felt there was nothing wrong, but he wanted to be on the safe side, so he specifically asked the president.

If anything unexpected happens, it's none of his business.

This is the way of working!

(End of this chapter)