Huayu: This celebrity doesn't follow the rules.

Chapter 128 The Company's Response and the Two Girls' Cooking Skills
The meeting continued in the living room.

Marketing Director Lin Xi summarized the public opinion monitoring report: "...The speed at which public opinion fermented was unusually fast, and it was obvious that a large number of online trolls and marketing accounts were stirring up the narrative."

"They focused their attacks on Zhou Ye's qualifications, questioned the casting scandals, and then denied the legitimacy of our entire project, attempting to nail 'A Thousand Years of Song' to the pillar of shame for capital-driven bad dramas."

Production manager Zhou Tao added, "Our technical department tracked down several accounts that were the most vocal in causing trouble and several so-called sources of leaks. Preliminary evidence points to several online troll companies that we frequently cooperate with, but the financial backers behind them... are very secretive and have used multiple layers of intermediaries. We cannot yet determine which specific company it is."

"It's possible that there's more than one."

Jiang Ye tapped his fingers lightly on the sofa armrest, his eyes sharp. "It could be a joint effort by several companies, or a tacit agreement to kick someone when they're down at the same time."

Lin Jianjun echoed with a grave expression: "The timing they chose is very tricky. They took advantage of the fact that our new drama had just been officially announced and was receiving the most attention, trying to completely crush us and the project, causing our reputation to collapse and our subsequent financing and development to suffer a fatal blow."

Now that he's the general manager, he has to consider things more comprehensively, and the pressure is also greater.

Jiang Ye smiled instead, seemingly not too surprised: "There's nothing we can do, we've developed too fast in the last two years."

"At the beginning, we only made low-budget web series, and no one took us seriously. They thought we were just doing small-scale things."

"But once the projects 'Day and Night' and 'A Thousand Years of Song' came out, their investment scale, production ambitions, and the caliber of the collaborators made many people feel threatened."

He picked up his teacup, blew on the steam, and said calmly, "The entertainment industry is only so big. The cake has already been divided up. A group of people are eating around the table, each occupying their own seat."

“Now that we want to squeeze up and take the main seat, it means that some people will be pushed down and some people will have less meat in their bowls. Of course they are not happy, and a counterattack is inevitable.”

Lin Jianjun nodded: "That makes sense, but the timing of their attack was disgusting. It just so happened that we were about to start filming 'A Thousand Years of Song' and the company was about to launch its Series A financing."

"If we can't quell this public outcry and the project's reputation collapses, it will directly impact filming and future broadcast performance, and then our Series A valuation will..."

Jiang Ye put down his teacup, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

This is a conspiracy.

If "A Thousand Years of Songs" ultimately becomes a joke, failing in both ratings and critical reception, then Jiangying Media's Series A funding will become an even bigger joke.

All the beautiful blueprints that were previously drawn up will be seen as mere bubbles.

At that time, capital may still invest, but it will not be like it is now, rushing to invest and paying a premium. Instead, it will come with a knife, waiting to take a piece of cheap meat after the valuation has been suppressed.

The platform and team he painstakingly built may very well end up benefiting someone else.

There is definitely pressure.

The total investment in "A Thousand Years of Song" was 1.6 million yuan, of which his own Jiangying Media accounted for 60%, or 9600 million yuan.

This is a huge sum of money.

The other companies combined only account for 40%.

Tencent Video accounted for 10%, mainly based on the trust built with Jiang Ye through several web series they had worked on before. Although they felt this project was a bit risky, it was an investment in Jiang Ye's abilities.

Huace Film & Television and Huang Xiaoming's Mingjia Capital each hold 5%, which is more of a strategic cooperation and resource investment.

Surprisingly, Wang Sicong's Pusi Capital invested 20%.

Although Jiang Ye and Wang Dashao had some interactions, they weren't close friends.

For some reason, Principal Wang took a liking to this project, or rather, to Jiang Ye himself, and was determined to invest, and wanted a substantial share.

This 9600 million is Jiang Ye's personal money.

The company's funds are currently mostly used for the TV series "Day and Night".

He mortgaged some of his shares in Meiyingda to obtain a loan from a financial institution, which he then injected into Jiangying Media as a loan to support the project.

This was a high-risk operation, but it also demonstrated his determination for the project.

"there is always a solution to a problem."

Jiang Ye finally spoke, breaking the silence, "They want to crush us with public opinion, so we must win this battle in public opinion and use the quality of our work to refute all doubts."

"Lin Xi, increase positive public relations efforts and release some details about the project preparation, such as art concept art and special effects partners, to shift the focus."

"Zhou Tao, the crew's preparations can't stop, speed things up."

"Uncle, regarding financing, we can continue to make contact, but we must maintain a steady stance and not lose our composure or be looked down upon."

His tone became firm again: "Since they have chosen the battlefield, we will fight them to the end."

"Perfect timing. 'A Thousand Years of Song' was just missing a wave of pre-broadcast buzz, so they've done us a huge favor."

Suddenly, Meng Ziyi let out a short, startled cry from the kitchen, followed by a strong smell of burning that seeped in through the crack in the door and filled the air.

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances; the company's top female cook's culinary skills were, to put it mildly, terrifying...

Jiang Ye rubbed his temples helplessly, forced a smile, and offered an unusually sincere invitation: "Everyone, how about we have lunch here?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone waved their hands in an attempt to make amends.

"No, no! Mr. Jiang, my mom just messaged me saying the water pipe at home burst, it's an emergency!"

"Xiao Ye, your...your aunt...just called to say she's about to give birth! I have to go back and keep an eye on her!"

Jiang Ye: "..." The meeting in the living room had just ended, and Lin Jianjun and the others left one after another as if fleeing a disaster, each with a thoughtful and somewhat solemn expression on their face.

Jiang Ye rubbed his temples, preparing to go to the study to deal with a few more emails, when he turned around and saw Meng Ziyi and Zhou Ye peeking out from the kitchen, their faces bearing a strange expression that mixed excitement, guilt, and a sense of accomplishment.

? ? ? ? ?

The big thing is bad!

Why didn't he go with them?

Both of them had faint black soot stains on their fair and delicate cheeks, and a small tuft of Meng Ziyi's bangs was damp with sweat and sticking up playfully.

Zhou Ye's apron straps were tied crookedly.

They each carried a large tray with two plates on it...

A rather abstract and unidentifiable dish...

"Ta-da!"

Meng Ziyi was the first to jump out, and placed the tray on the Chinese-style solid wood coffee table in the living room like a treasure, her movements so large that she almost spilled the soup in the plate.

"Boss Jiang, are you hungry? Come and try the lunch that Xiao Ye and I have lovingly prepared!"

Zhou Ye followed behind her, her eyes sparkling with anticipation as she carefully placed her tray down.

Jiang Ye looked at the coffee table that had been instantly occupied, and the four dark-colored, unpredictable pieces of art, and his eyes twitched slightly.

A complex aroma, a mixture of burnt bits, soy sauce, and a certain indescribable sweetness, filled the air.

“I…I’m not hungry…” Jiang Ye said with difficulty.

"You also think it must taste delicious, right?"

Meng Ziyi excitedly pointed to the first plate of dark, barely recognizable lumps and enthusiastically introduced, "Look! This is my exclusive secret recipe, Meng's Black Gold Battle Axe Ribs!"

Then, she pointed to a plate of sticky, golden-yellow scrambled eggs next to her: "This is my second masterpiece, the Golden Ratio Dream Scrambled Eggs! I added my own special blend of milk and... uh, maybe a bit too much sugar? But it's definitely a blessing for those with a sweet tooth!"

"Ah Ye, I know you people in Zhejiang Province like to eat sweet things!"

Seeing this, Zhou Ye also mustered up her courage and pointed to the dish in front of her that looked relatively normal, except that the vegetable leaves were a little wilted and too oily, and whispered, "This is... stir-fried seasonal vegetables."

She paused, seemingly thinking it was too simple, and added, "I guarantee it will be cooked through."

Finally, she pointed to a small bowl of strangely colored soup with a few suspicious goji berries and red dates floating on the surface: "This is... a nourishing and healthy soup."

Jiang Ye looked at the four masterpieces, and then at the expectant expressions on the faces of the two girls, and felt his head throb even more.

But what can be done?
Even if it's an artist from your own company, or someone you're close to, you have to support them, even if it means holding back tears.

He forced himself to sit down on the sofa, picked up his chopsticks, and looked around at the four dishes. Finally, as if he had made a great decision, he picked up a piece of "stir-fried seasonal vegetables" that seemed to be the least harmful and put it into his mouth.

“…Hmm, it’s cooked.” Jiang Ye chewed expressionlessly, trying to ignore the excessive oil and almost no salt. “Very…healthy.”

Meng Ziyi eagerly pushed the plate of black and gold spare ribs in front of him: "Try this! This is the main dish!"

Jiang Ye gasped, picked up a piece, closed his eyes, and took a bite.

"...How is it?" Meng Ziyi asked nervously.

Jiang Ye forced a smile: "Hmm...very creative."

Zhou Ye blinked and quietly pushed her health-preserving soup over.

Jiang Ye's heart is now filled with longing for the egret.

My assistant's cooking skills are so-so, but they won't kill you.

Even Xiaotian's dishes, enhanced with hot pot broth, are much better than this!
Although it can cause poisoning...

He was terrified; the two girls had added strange things to the dishes they cooked.

When the new drama's female lead, second female lead, and second male lead all fail, then Xiaoming will have to go on a trip abroad all by himself.

It seems he'll have to hire a culinary instructor for the company's artists.

For celebrities, sometimes being able to cook a few dishes when participating in variety shows is a big plus.

This would also save him from these girls constantly causing him trouble.

In the stillness of the night, only the occasional sound of the wind passing by outside the window could be heard in the courtyard.

After taking a shower, Jiang Ye put on a comfortable silk robe and leaned against the headboard.

Under the soft glow of a reading lamp, he held a copy of Marquez's *One Hundred Years of Solitude* in his hand, reading the passage about Colonel Aureliano Buendía repeatedly melting and forging goldfish in the goldfish workshop, immersed in that magical and lonely atmosphere.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open with a very soft "click".

Jiang Ye looked up alertly, only to see Meng Ziyi sneak in like a thief cat.

(End of this chapter)