America's Top Player

Chapter 106 Ariana's Adoration

Over the next two days, social media was flooded with pictures and short videos of the mysterious men in trench coats at the Magellan Theater.

Various versions of rumors were flying around.

Witnesses said that night a black man was lying on the ground with blood all over his face, in a deep coma and his life was in danger.

The most exaggerated version claimed that a fierce exchange of fire broke out there that day, and the man in the windbreaker and his entourage opened fire in public, killing some people on the spot.

Many people believe that the leader of this gang of thugs is the popular rock singer Li Ang, but others have strongly refuted this rumor.

The photos taken by the witnesses at the Mager Theater were very unclear, and the two sides quarreled over it.

In short, few people know what really happened that day.

At exactly eight o'clock in the morning, Li Ang was in the office, sitting with his feet up and enjoying his coffee, while browsing social media and smiling from ear to ear.

This was exactly the effect he wanted to achieve, to deter his opponents without causing trouble with the police.

Lenny called and asked with feigned concern, "Leon, you didn't go to the Mager Theater two days ago, did you?"

Leon could figure it out with his toes. This was JAY-Z asking Lenny to test his attitude.

The relationship between the two parties is now in a delicate balance. As long as the contract renewal is not reached, there is a risk of a rift between the two.

"Except for the publicity plan arranged for me by the company, I am free to go wherever I want." After saying that, Li Ang hung up the phone directly, leaving the other party with unlimited room for imagination.

"God damn it! This company is getting more and more abnormal!"

"Shxt, are all the idiots here still living in the 90s?"

"You damn Mexican, stop staring at me. I'm your boss's agent!"

Just when Li Ang wanted to be quiet for a while, he heard Phil cursing from downstairs.

Lao Deng was in a particularly high spirits today. He usually avoided Jorge and his gang, but today he suddenly became very excited.

He pushed open the door, waving a newspaper in his hand and demanded, "Look what you've done, you're on the news, you bastard!"

Phil slammed a copy of the New York Sun on the table.

This newspaper was sold at a low price and mainly published negative news such as suicide, crime, trial, fire, etc., and made profits mainly by satisfying the audience's curiosity.

A photo of Li Ang and his group was published in a prominent position in the newspaper.

The angle chosen by the photographer is excellent, and the black and white background makes the scene more like Chicago thugs.

Leon raised his head and glanced at Phil, "Are you so sure this person is me?"

"Humph, even if you were nailed to a cross and burned to a charcoal, I would still recognize you." Phil snorted coldly, "Who can be fooled by those disgusting Mexican beards?"

Seeing that the truth was revealed, Leon simply spread his hands to indicate that he would not pretend anymore, and there was no need to pretend for Phil anymore.

"Your reaction seems a bit too much. My competitors are using all kinds of dirty tricks against me, and I have to make some effective counterattacks."

"This is self-defense."

Li Ang deliberately pronounced the word "proper direction" very clearly.

"I understand your current situation. A label that's only been established for half a year has released three phenomenal female singers in a row. Those established record companies are already jealous and almost going crazy."

"But you shouldn't have brought these Mexicans with you and used those damn street tactics to solve the problem!"

Phil became increasingly agitated, and in the end, he covered his head and yelled, "You're going to be on the Grammy Awards stage in less than a week. Do you really want to go to jail before then?"

Hearing this, Li Ang showed a puzzled look.

He could understand Phil's fear of losing his biggest cash cow, but this reaction seemed a bit too extreme.

His keen sense told him that Phil must know something that he didn't know.

"Tell me why I was in jail. I didn't leave any evidence. One or two blurry photos can't explain anything."

Phil gritted his teeth and responded, "New York Police Commissioner McMahon, that damn corrupt bastard who rose to power by kissing senators' butts, is a regular at Dee Dee's parties!"

"Didi is no longer the guy who only used violence to solve problems. His purpose in hosting parties is to maintain a huge network of relationships!"

What Lao Deng said did make some sense, and Li Ang fell into deep thought.

He did see many politicians who were not in the entertainment industry at Diddy's party, but didn't think much of it at the time.

Now that I think about it, there were so many young men and women at Diddy's party, and enough contraband to fill a room.
Although holding a bank party is not illegal in the United States, the content of Didi's party has obviously violated the law.

And it is 100% a felony!
Such a large-scale criminal act would be impossible without a protective umbrella behind it.

Otherwise, such blatant criminal activities would not have continued for more than ten years.

"Listen, Phil, you don't understand the situation at that time. I didn't have a better choice." Li Ang lit a cigarette and said in a deep voice.

Violence is indeed an efficient means.

Since the incident at the Mager Theater, although the smear campaign against him has not stopped, the words used by the internet trolls have become noticeably more polite.

Leonard also suspended contact with Robbie and Ariana Grande's representatives.

"Shhh! There's a lot of water in this! Whether you succeed or fail, it's all just business. It's not worth risking your life and freedom!"

Phil drank half a glass of whiskey in one gulp, and his mood finally calmed down. Leon was too lazy to pay attention to him.

At 2 p.m., it was time for him and Ariana Grande to be guests on the Joe Rogan podcast.

Li Ang has participated in many interviews and podcast programs and is very experienced in dealing with the host's harsh questions.

But this time, when facing Joe Rogan, his advance preparations were almost useless.

Joe Rogan doesn't care about scandals, and even if he mentions them occasionally, he only mentions them briefly.

When asked about his affair with Ariana, Leon quickly denied it.

But Ariana's answer was very ambiguous, "Any girl would have the urge to marry him!"

Leon was at a loss for words, wondering how these words would be misinterpreted by fake news and what Robbie would think after seeing it.

The subsequent discussion between the two sides ranged from albums to the history of rock music, and then to their views on the future trends of pop music.

Finally, we even talked about the rapidly rising sport of mixed martial arts.

Li Ang was quite interested in a medium-sized fighting event called UFC, and Joe Rogan happened to be the host and promoter of this show.

"Brock Lesnar is my good friend. He is a barbarian as strong as a beast! Losing to Kane was an accident. He was suffering from diverticulitis at that time," Joe Rogan said excitedly.

"That guy is indeed as strong as an animal, but I admire martial artists like [Spider-Man] Anderson Silva more." Li Ang responded.

"After acquiring the WEC, the UFC's financial situation is not very good. UFC owner Dana White told me that one day we might not be able to see such exciting fights anymore."

"I don't want that to happen," Leon joked, leaning back in his chair. "Maybe one day I'll buy this tournament."

Joe Rogan laughed, "I have no doubt about it. Everyone says you are an investment genius. The bitches walking the streets of Florida are all wearing clothing brands you invested in."

The two got along better and better as they talked, to the point that Leon even forgot about refuting the rumors about Ariana.

When discussing this topic, Li Ang first righteously denied all the media rumors about Ariana. "Slander! Blatant slander!"

"Ariana is standing right in front of you, and she's the same person off camera as she is on camera!"

"Look at her innocent appearance, which man would be willing to believe that she would be greedy for a big dick!"

Leon looked very confident, but Ariana blushed unconsciously, "Hey, you're being too blunt!"

In order to increase credibility, Li Ang used his trump card at the end of the show.

"I'd like to invite a special guest."

Li Ang clapped his hands, and Dean in the backstage walked out in a daze, like a dog with broken bones.

Despite emergency medical treatment, his cheeks were still swollen like balls, an inflammatory reaction to having his teeth knocked out.

In order to make his condition look more natural, two makeup artists worked around him for more than an hour just to cover up the signs of injury.

The thick foundation on his charcoal-black face made him look like he was cosplaying a white person, which was quite funny.

"Dean, sit down." Leon simply patted Dean's shoulder, and he began to tremble uncontrollably, clearly experiencing post-traumatic stress. "Tell everyone what you know."

Dean held his head in frustration and told the whole story of how he was bribed with money to discredit Ariana, interspersed with some paragraphs designed by Leon.

Due to the absence of eight teeth and swollen gums, many syllables are lost when pronouncing words.

But fortunately, he still told the whole story in full.

Ariana showed an expression of amazement when she saw this scene.

The admiration and gratitude in her eyes when she looked at Li Ang were almost overflowing from the camera.

Joe Rogan frowned and asked: "Mr. Dean, are you saying that someone found you and paid you to lie to discredit Ariana? And they also beat you up?"

"Yes. These beasts tortured me inhumanely!" Dean almost burst into tears when he said this.

No one can understand the grievance in his heart. It is foreseeable that after this episode is broadcast, the reputation of Apocalypse Music will undergo a reversal.

And the evil and cunning person behind the scenes will be criticized by fans.

"Did you see that? Dean is such an honest black guy. He was just seduced into doing something stupid."

At this point, Li Ang changed the subject and fired at the mastermind behind the scenes, "And those guys hiding behind him and taking advantage of him are the real shameless ones. You idiots are challenging my bottom line!"

He patted Dean's shoulder and gave him a mysterious smile. That smile was so chilling that Dean's expression twisted instantly, as if he was experiencing atavism.

"Tell me, Dean, what happens to people who do stupid things?"

Every cell in Dean's body was trembling. He stared at the camera with wide eyes and said word by word: "You will go to hell."

"Yes, that's right! Guys who do bad things will go to hell!" Leon looked righteous and waved his hand to let Dean go backstage.

After the clarification session, the recording of the program also entered the countdown.

At the end of the show, Joe Rogan wished Apocalypse Music a great victory at the Grammy Awards a week later, and the handshake between the two sides marked the official end of the recording.

The three-hour marathon recording left Li Ang exhausted, but fortunately all the current crises have been temporarily resolved.

Sitting in the car, he gripped the steering wheel and yawned, "Fuck, now I just want to take a good bath, preferably a sauna or something."

As his vague memories gradually came to his mind, he suddenly thought of the warm bathing centers at the University of Tokyo. There were no such good things in America.

"Maybe you can come to my house. I have a big bathtub and a beautiful Nordic sauna." Ariana put her arm around Leon, with stars in her eyes.

After this incident, even if Warner or Sony threw a huge contract with an astronomical amount of money in her face, it would be unlikely that they would be able to poach her successfully.

"Really?" Li Ang raised his eyebrows.

"Of course. My landlord is Finnish and he can't stand life without a sauna." Ariana smiled playfully: "This is definitely the best sauna you can find in Brooklyn!"

With the mentality of giving it a try, Leon finally accepted Ariana's invitation.

He kept telling himself that it was just a sauna, but some dirty thoughts kept popping up.

He suddenly realized something.

It's already 2011, and Ariana has become a grown-up woman on her own.

Ariana's bathroom is as big as she said before. It not only has a huge triangular bathtub but also a luxurious-looking wooden sauna.

Li Ang wrapped himself in a bath towel and poured water on the rocks of the charcoal stove, causing steam to rise instantly.

He narrowed his eyes with a look of enjoyment, "Fuck, it's those Nordic guys who really enjoy it."

click-

The sound of the door opening startled Li Ang, and he squinted his eyes and took a look.

Ariana walked in wearing silk pajamas with a shy look on her face.

"What? Xiao A, what are you doing?"

"I want to." Ariana lowered her head, her cheeks flushed, "Can we be together? I've been very nervous recently and haven't relaxed for a long time."

Li Ang wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that it was just a steam bath together, which was nothing.

After Ariana entered the steam room, even though not a drop of water was added to the charcoal stove, the temperature rose sharply.

And there was a faint fragrance of a young girl floating in the humid air.

After staying for only two minutes, Li Ang cried out that he couldn't bear it anymore and rushed out holding the bath towel. If he stayed any longer, something would happen sooner or later.

On February 2, Li Ang flew to Los Angeles in advance for the upcoming Grammy Awards ceremony.

Although he had not received an official invitation to perform at the awards ceremony, there was no need to advance his schedule by two days.

But there is another important thing today. The movie "Straight Outta Compton" officially started shooting in Compton, Los Angeles.

Li Ang followed the crew to the filming location.

Thanks to the presence of "Saint" Robinson, this city, which is known as the most dangerous area in the United States, has become the safest place for Leon.

The guys on both sides of the street were very respectful to the crew and took on the responsibility of security for the crew.

After James Wan gave a brief briefing to the entire crew for twenty minutes.

The set team and props team have begun preparations before shooting.

The fixed cameras were also arranged in place by James Wan, without missing any angle.

The main photographer and other photographers picked up their equipment and stood ready.

"Action!"

At James Wan's command, Big E, played by Kendrick, slowly walked out from the end of the dilapidated and dim street.

All the cameras quickly locked onto him.

(End of this chapter)