Chinese entertainment industry has been booming since 2008.

Shock, anger, and grievance overwhelmed Yang Mi, causing her to lose her composure in an instant.

She suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the room, like an enraged lioness with nowhere to vent her anger.

"Why should I?!"

Her voice was so strained that it split open, completely devoid of her usual sweet, childlike tone.

Why should Liu Yifei get whatever she wants, while Yang Mi can only dream of what she desires?

What really broke Yang Mi's nerves was that she was a signed artist with Zhang Yang's company. Instead of promoting her own person, the company was promoting an outsider in its own movie. How could a company run like that?

At that moment, she felt a surge of anger at being betrayed.

After the anger reaches its peak, what follows is an uncontrollable, chilling sense of injustice.

She stopped, her chest heaving violently, her eyes uncontrollably reddening and burning. A tremendous sense of powerlessness and the bitterness of being ignored overwhelmed her.

She walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the endless stream of cars below, the neon lights blurring into a blur. She suddenly felt a little ridiculous, and a little sad.

She picked up her phone, scrolled to Zhang Yang's number in her contacts, her fingertips hovering over the dial button, trembling, but ultimately she didn't press it.

What should we say if we call now? Question him? Congratulate him?

Either way, she seemed like a pathetic sore loser.

She took a deep breath and forced back the tears welling up in her eyes.

Don't cry, Yang Mi, you can't cry.

She looked at her blurry reflection in the windowpane, her gaze gradually shifting from aggrieved and angry to cold and sharp.

This circle never believes in tears. Since the die is cast, the next step is to think about how to maximize one's own interests in this already changed game.

......

Zhang Yang wasn't surprised to receive Fan Bingbing's call; it would have been surprising if she hadn't called back.

"Zhang Yang, this move of yours is too risky. Wang Xiaoer from Huayi will definitely pull something."

Zhang Yang just smiled at Fan Bingbing's reminder: "Thank you, Sister Bingbing. This is the result I wanted. I just wanted to see what Wang Xiaoer from Huayi could do to me."

Since Zhang Yang had already said that, Fan Bingbing stopped trying to persuade him. She made an appointment with Zhang Yang and then hung up the phone. A little while later, Wang Jinghua called: "Zhang Yang, I've received news that there are a lot of online troll accounts stirring up trouble, all using the same words praising Liu Yifei. It's obvious that someone is trying to cause trouble behind the scenes."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yang's eyes turned cold: "Thank you for informing me, Sister Hua. I suspect that Wang Xiaoer from Huayi is behind this. They are using a different method of praising Liu Yifei to her death, putting her in a very difficult position."

"I'm relieved that you could guess these things."

As expected, public opinion began to reverse the next day, and several well-known film critics also began to express different opinions.

"The role of Shen Jiayi requires a simple, youthful charm, but Liu Yifei's beauty is too refined. Is she really suitable?"

"Don't forget her last movie, 'The Forbidden Kingdom,' it's too early to praise her acting skills."

Following this, an organized "black tide" emerged online.

Numerous marketing accounts have adopted a unified narrative, rehashing Liu Yifei's "dark history," from her early debut when her background was questioned, to her lack of improvement in acting skills over the years, and then to the so-called "diva" rumors.

These numerous accusations were meticulously woven into seemingly well-reasoned articles, with only one core argument: Liu Yifei's acting is wooden and her image is rigid, making her completely unable to handle the spirited campus goddess "Shen Jiayi." Zhang Yang's choice of her was purely for personal reasons and will inevitably ruin a classic.

At the same time, some discordant voices began to circulate in the industry.

"Have you heard? Zhang Yang's project has funding issues."

"Huayi has made it clear that anyone who takes on a project from their production team can forget about getting any more Huayi projects in the future."

"Several experienced behind-the-scenes professionals we were in talks with called today to decline, citing scheduling conflicts."

Qi Mingwei was very worried about this strange trend on the internet, so he told Zhang Yang about his concerns.

"Boss, Huayi is undermining our foundation. Not only that, but our entire behind-the-scenes team is also being pressured."

Despite the oncoming filth, Zhang Yang remained expressionless. He simply replied to Qi Mingwei, "As expected. Wang Xiaoer from Huayi is best at overwhelming us with resources and smearing us with public opinion. Does he think he can throw us into disarray like this?"

"Let them fight their battles, we'll fight ours. The more they try to trample Yifei into the mud, the more we'll lift her up to the clouds."

Behind-the-scenes personnel are being obstructed? Let's activate Plan B: find talented young people from the Central Academy of Drama and Beijing Film Academy. I don't need seniority; I need passion and drive!

"Those smear articles online..."

"There's no need to refute every single point; controversy generates discussion and makes a lasting impression."

So Qi Mingwei did as Zhang Yang instructed, but before he could get any results, an unexpected problem arose.

A day later, production manager Li Wei rushed into Zhang Yang's office, his face pale: "Mr. Zhang, something bad has happened. The key middle school we were originally scheduled to start filming next Monday just notified us that the location can no longer be rented! They said... the higher-ups have given instructions that schools should not be excessively involved in commercial filming."

Zhang Yang's eyes sharpened. This was the most important main scene of the movie, and almost all the campus scenes were planned to be filmed there. Changing the location at the last minute would not only mean huge economic losses, but would also seriously slow down the progress.

Li Wei asked in a low voice, "Mr. Zhang, is this Huayi?"

Zhang Yang sneered and said disdainfully, "The Wang brothers are from a privileged family, so Huayi can naturally handle this. However, this is a good thing. If we had started filming and this had happened, it would have been even more troublesome."

Zhang Yang's words left Li Wei speechless. After all, finding and coordinating a new, suitable campus site was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

Zhang Yang was silent for a moment, then picked up his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and finally found Liu Junjie's name.

The phone rang for a long time before being answered. A slightly hoarse voice came from the other end: "Oh, Mr. Zhang, you've woken up from Wang Like's gentle embrace?"

Zhang Yang didn't mind Liu Junjie's teasing. Instead, he smiled and said, "Old Liu, I've run into some trouble here. How about this, could you help me find a school in Taiwan to film 'You Are the Apple of My Eye'?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a hearty laugh: "Hahaha, I thought it was something serious. It's just a middle school venue. It's simple. No matter how far Huayi's reach extends, it can't reach Taiwan Province. So, give me half a day."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yang returned to his desk and said to Li Wei, who looked nervous, "Don't worry, the venue issue has been resolved. Pass the word that the scheduled start-up time remains unchanged."

Filming in Taiwan Province really takes us outside of Huayi's circle, and I have to say, this method is very effective.