The Entertainment Industry in Turmoil: Young Actresses All Want to Rise to the Top

188 has been released; those who haven't seen it can go back and watch it.

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Do you own any shares of Huayi?

In a private room at a restaurant in Beijing, Fan Binbin swirled the red wine in his glass and asked Li Chen across from him a question.

Li Chen paused, picking up food with his chopsticks, and looked up in surprise.

"You bought one too?"

In his memory, after this former top female executive of Huayi Brothers started her own business, although she did not fall out with her former employer, their relationship had become complicated.

The Wang brothers actually approached her too?

"Not much, 0.5%."

Fan Binbin gave a number.

"And you?"

"I……"

Li Chen hesitated for a moment, but still spoke.

"0.1%. That's all the cash I have on hand. I think the price Mr. Wang offered is a rare opportunity."

As he spoke, a smile mixed with relief and a touch of pride appeared on his face. Opportunities to acquire Huayi's shares at a price nearly 10 yuan lower than the market price were rare.

As for what Wang Zhonglei said about benefits only available to Huayi's core partners, Li Chen just listened to it and let it go. For him, getting shares in Huayi was the most important thing.

Fan Binbin gave a soft "hmm," the rim of the wine glass resting against his lower lip, but he didn't drink any more.

That inexplicable sense of unease resurfaced in my heart.

When Wang Zhonglei approached her, his explanation of "remembering old times and giving her a chance" was impeccable, and the price was indeed... .

But she is not Li Chen; she has seen far more scheming behind smiles.

It's true that Huayi's stock price has been soaring recently, but the Wang brothers' eagerness and low-key approach in distributing shares to so many "insiders" is surprising.

It always made her feel... that it wasn't as simple as just sharing the benefits.

It's too concentrated, and too generous.

On the other side of the capital, in a private residence, Feng Xiaogang poured a glass of Moutai for Zhang Guoli, who had recently been acquired by Huayi.

"Brother Guoli," Feng Xiaogang said, taking a sip of wine, his face flushed.

"That was a brilliant move of yours! Back then, the acquisition involved a share swap at 60 yuan per share. It hasn't been that long!"

"It's almost at 80! A net profit of over twenty yuan, impressive!"

Zhang Guoli chuckled and waved his hand, appearing very humble.

"It's all luck. I also valued Huayi's platform."

"Plus, Mr. Wang and the others didn't mind."

He paused, as if remembering something, and lowered his voice.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Wang contacted me again a couple of days ago, saying that in order to deepen our cooperation in the future, he was willing to give me another 0.5% of the shares."

"What a coincidence!" Feng Xiaogang slapped his thigh.

"I just took 0.5% too! Old Wang is really going all in this time, trying to keep everyone on the same boat."

He leaned closer, lowering his voice, which was tinged with alcohol and doubt.

"But Brother Guoli, you have a wide network of connections, do you know who else they contacted?"

"Huang Xiaoming? Li Chen? Or Fan Binbin?"

Zhang Guoli's smile faded, and he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Xiao Ming has probably been in contact as well, but I'm not sure exactly how much."

"As for the others, Mr. Wang didn't say it explicitly, but from what he said, the scope of this feedback is quite large. He wants to bind a group of top artists."

He flicked his cigarette ash, his eyes flickering slightly behind the smoke.

"So, what exactly are you two Mr. Wangs trying to do?"

Feng Xiaogang nodded, "I've been thinking about that too. Huayi is doing really well right now, so they probably aren't in a hurry to tie themselves to any artists."

"Are they trying to use this news to boost the stock price and push it further towards the 100 yuan mark?"

"Or is there something fishy going on here...?"

He didn't finish his sentence, but Zhang Guoli already understood the implied meaning.

The two exchanged a knowing glance, both seeing a hint of doubt in each other's eyes.

They are all seasoned veterans; even if they don't understand how the capital market works, their ability to read people is still excellent.

However, even with their suspicions, they still succumbed to the immense temptation.

Similar whispers and speculations continue to occur in different parts of the capital.

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The cast and crew of "Silent Witness" arrived together, with Yang Mi and Liu Shishi accompanied by assistants carrying nearly a hundred cups of milk tea, making quite a spectacle and attracting the attention of the staff.

"Kirigiri!"

Yang Mi took off her sunglasses and quickly stepped forward to give Li Yitong a hug.

"A surprise visit! Shishi said she missed you, and since I happened to be here for a business event today, I came along too."

Liu Shishi followed beside her, smiling gently, and also gave Li Yitong a light hug.

The "Three Beauties from My Love from the Star" have been frequently seen together this year, which is well-known in the industry. The friendship between these three top beauties always attracts attention.

On one hand, it's the friendship and mutual appreciation that the three of them built up after the huge success of "My Love from the Star".

On the other hand, the film and television production capabilities and financial market acumen demonstrated by Mohen and his key figure Shen Mo make Yang Mi and Liu Shishi and their team unable to ignore them.

This visit to the set was genuinely meant to show concern and care, but the underlying intention to uncover secrets was also tacitly understood.

After exchanging pleasantries with the director, producer, and other main actors, Yang Mi couldn't wait to pull Li Yitong and Liu Shishi to a relatively quiet corner of the rest area.

"Tongtong, I won't beat around the bush with you."

Yang Mi lowered her voice, her beautiful fox-like eyes flashing with shrewdness and eagerness.

"Huayi recently contacted us, hoping we could join the Huayi Group. They are willing to give up some of their shares for this purpose, at a price much lower than the market price."

"With their stock price soaring, Wang Zhonglei is actively extending an olive branch; others might not even be able to accept it."

"But why wouldn't you let us pick it up?"

Liu Shishi nodded, "Yes, Tongtong."

Yang Mi's eyes darted around as she tentatively asked a question.

"Didn't Mohen already reconcile with Huayi and even become a shareholder? Is there something fishy going on here?"

Seeing their anxious and confused expressions, Li Yitong smiled and pulled them to sit closer.

"Oh dear, my two dear sisters, don't be in such a hurry. When have I ever harmed you?"

"Think about it, with so many core artists and directors in the Huayi Group, why should you get these kinds of benefits?"

"You should know that you two don't have any deep connection with Huayi, right?"

Yang Mi raised an eyebrow: "Isn't this an opportunity to pull us into the Huayi Group?"

Li Yitong didn't say anything, but tilted her head and looked into her eyes with a smile.

Yang Mi felt a little flustered by her gaze and reached out to lightly slap her.

"When you speak, don't be a riddle-maker."

Li Yitong shook her head, her smile fading, and began to explain.

"A reconciliation has been reached, but cooperation continues."

"But Mohen is no longer a shareholder of Huayi."

"What?"

Yang Mi and Liu Shishi were both stunned. They looked at each other and saw disbelief on each other's faces.

Such a major change in shareholding, how come there wasn't a single word about it?

"Over-the-counter transaction, negotiated transfer."

Li Yitong explained, "According to regulations, the transaction only needs to be publicized within 30 days after completion. That's why the news hasn't been released yet."

She looked at the two of them and paused meaningfully.

"Otherwise, where do you think the shares that Huayi is now ceding are coming from?"

Yang Mi reacted very quickly, her pupils constricting slightly.

"You mean, Shen Mo transferred his Huayi shares back to the Wang brothers?"

"And instead of holding onto them, they broke them up and sold them off?"

She used the word "sell" instead of "transfer," which clearly showed that she had realized what was happening.

Liu Shishi understood the subtext and a serious expression appeared on her face.

"Hua Yi, is something about to happen?"

"Their stock price is clearly on a strong upward trend right now, how could you choose to sell at this time!"

Li Yitong took their hands and patted them gently.

"I'm not really in a position to go into the specifics right now."

"But it shouldn't be too long. If the sisters pay a little attention to the following news, they might understand."

"Anyway, listen to me, okay? We're not touching it this time."

She blinked, her eyes filled with a hint of coquetry and affection.

"Don't worry, I definitely wouldn't do anything to cheat my two dear sisters! Otherwise, I'd be too embarrassed to attend your wedding!"

The topic suddenly shifted to private matters, and Liu Shishi's cheeks instantly flushed slightly as she said coquettishly.

"What wedding banquet? I haven't officially announced it yet."

Upon hearing this, Yang Mi touched her lower abdomen with a sweet expression, sighed, and smiled happily.

"Well, I need to hurry up and finish filming 'Gu Jian' here, otherwise it really won't be able to be kept secret anymore."

"We might announce it officially next month when the time is right. The wedding is tentatively scheduled for January."

"When the time comes, you, Shen Mo, and Shi Shi—none of you can be missing!"

"I'll definitely be there!"

Li Yitong smiled and agreed, then leaned affectionately against Yang Mi's shoulder.

Congratulations, Honey!

She looked at Yang Mi's belly with envy, then reached out and gently touched it.

"I wonder when I'll be able to have a child of my own."

Yang Mi reached out and pinched Li Yitong's cheek.

"What's the rush? You're only 23. Enjoy your prime as a big star for a few years first."

Yang Mi suddenly lowered her voice and moved closer to her.

"However, there's something I, as someone who's been through it, have to say."

"Your Shen Mo is too outstanding. If I had been born a few years later, I would have wanted to be with him."

You'd better seize this opportunity.

Liu Shishi reached out and grasped her hand, speaking as she looked at her distinctly knuckled fingers.

"I think Shen Mo is a trustworthy person, you should give him enough trust."

"His position meant that social engagements, temptations, and even moths to a flame were all indispensable."

"As long as his heart and his body are still with you, some things can actually be ignored."

Li Yitong smiled and did not refute, but she understood what the two women meant.

She suddenly remembered the two names Wang Zheng had sent.

What does it mean for a saying to come true?

That was probably the night I asked him if he had any special thoughts about the "three sisters who look alike".

Now that it has actually happened, she can't bring herself to hate it.

So, isn't this another manifestation of his infatuation with himself?

Otherwise, why would so many moths fly into it? He only found two people who were "similar" to himself.

This thought made her heart tighten, yet strangely, it also gave rise to a twisted, almost self-mocking "consolation."

In Shen Mo's eyes, Li Yitong was ultimately different.

Leaving aside the childhood sweetheart relationship and the mutual love, let's just talk about the destiny of being reborn together.

This sealed their fate, making it impossible for them to be separated in this lifetime.

It belongs to him; no one can take it away from him.

"Thank you, Sister Honey. Thank you, Senior Sister."

Li Yitong raised her head, her voice low and soft.

"I know. I believe him, and I believe in myself."

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The release date for the Running Man show has been set long ago.

On October 10th, it took over the time slot of the phenomenal show "The Voice" from Blueberry TV.

The exclusive online streaming rights were also secured by Kiwi and Tencent Video.

Mohen, Blueberry TV, Huayi, Kiwi, and Penguin Video sat together, without any formalities, only a densely packed publicity and promotion plan.

A top-tier marketing extravaganza has officially begun.

What it wants to devour is the entire network traffic.

What it aims to achieve is nationwide popularity.

Huayi was the first to be affected, with a poster of the Running Man family appearing on large screens in the core business districts of major first- and second-tier cities on the same day and at the same time.

Immediately following the prime-time slot on Blueberry TV, an "extra-long trailer" was forcibly squeezed out.

The camera cuts in from the night view of West Lake, with the background music kept low, before shifting to an empty campus corridor.

The various MCs frantically fled across the campus.

Suddenly, a bell rang and the lights flashed.

The next second, the cold, piercing announcement rang out: "The hunter has been released."

Then the camera flashes, revealing Sha Yi's terrified face.

"Sayon is OUT!!!"

Bai Lu then turned around, her big eyes wet with tears, biting her lip as if she were about to cry, "Brother Mo!!!"

The camera cuts to Dilraba falling down, and a shadow looms over her.

"Cut again," Shen Mo rushed towards her, "Reba, run!"

Finally, the screen went black, leaving only a piercing tearing sound.

"Sizzle—!"

The message, displayed in white text on a black background, reads, "See you at 9 PM on Friday, October 10th!"

The night the trailer was released, the various social media indices for Running Man skyrocketed.

Within an hour of the trailer's release, related topics such as #RunningManTrailer#, #KimJongKookHunter#, #GuestShenMo#, and #DilrabaFallsDown# rapidly rose to prominence and dominated the top five trending topics.

On the Running Man special page on Tencent Video, the trailer received over a million views in five minutes, the number of program reservations exceeded one million in one hour, and two million in four hours, and continues to grow.

At the same time, a congratulatory video from all the members of the Korean version of "Running Man" was also released on the official Weibo account of Running Man.

The official fan sites for each MC in the Korean version of Running Man have also started reposting.

In a university dormitory in Beijing, Hu Die, a sophomore, is a seasoned fan of "Running Man".

I just turned on my computer today, intending to browse the latest "Running Man" content on various fan sites on Weibo, when I happened to see a video of all the "Running Man" members sending their blessings in broken Chinese.

Looking at the Running Man cast's name constantly appearing on the trending topics, she suddenly felt like a treasure she had kept for a long time had finally been discovered. .

Out of a sense of obligation to support the show, she clicked on the Running Man promotional video.

The camerawork has a familiar feel to it; could it be that the original production team came to help?

There's also the familiar bell, the shadows peeking out from the ground, the rapid breathing, and the intensely tense chase scenes.

The sight of the hunter, his back to the camera and his muscles bulging, made her heart race.

so similar!

Her first reaction was to open the "Running Man" fan group where they were having a great time chatting.

One of the group members immediately posted a screenshot, in which a close-up of the figure's back was circled.

"Jong Kook oppa! It's definitely him! I can't be mistaken!"

"They're already going to fight with Jong Kook oppa in the first episode? They're asking for trouble! Watch my oppa take on everyone alone!"

"Will they actually tear it up? Or is it just a staged photo, a pretense of politeness and deference?"

"The official Weibo account of Running Man in China said that they invited the director and cameramen of RM to provide guidance on set, so it shouldn't be too bad, right?"

"If the director and VJs are the same team, the quality control should be alright. Could you all help share this to support Jong-kook's overseas work?"

Hu Die pressed Enter and sent the message.

Immediately afterwards, the group chat started flooded with messages again.

"We need to promote them. It's not easy for them to have a chance to appear on a domestic variety show, so we have to promote it."

"I want to show my friends how amazing our Jong-kook oppa is!"

……

A completely different atmosphere permeated Shen Mo's fan group; there was no questioning, only pure, burning passion.

"This is Shen Mo's first reality TV show!"

"We must boost our popularity!"

The group admin quickly forwarded the support plan from Shen Mo's official fan club:

1. Maintain trending topics: All Weibo discussions should include the keywords #ShenMoRunningMan#, #ShenMoTearingNameTags#, and #ShenMoVarietyShowSense#, so that the topic enters the trending list before the main episode airs.

2. Comment control: Click to make a reservation on the dedicated homepages of both Kiwi and Tencent platforms, and leave comments in the comment section while rewatching the trailer's view count. Be careful not to spam and affect the viewing experience of casual viewers.

3. Anti-black monitoring: Focus on monitoring Douban and Tieba. If you find posts that question or smear, such as those containing content about "staged photos" or "scripts", do not argue. Instead, use pre-recorded clips from the directors of both the domestic and international versions of the program to make rational clarifications.

4. Recommendations from passersby: Share the trailer with captions such as "Looking forward to watching" on your own social media platforms such as Weibo, Bilibili, Toutiao, personal WeChat Moments, and Tencent Space.

……

"Okay, got it!"

"Even if the creator doesn't post it, I'll still retweet the trailer. I'm so excited!"

"Mo Ge is so handsome! I have to share this!"

Immediately afterwards, wave after wave of readers flooded the Running Man topic page.

Welcome everyone to the first episode of "Running Man"!

"Looking forward to Shen Mo's first reality show performance, I believe it will bring a different kind of surprise!"

Besides Shen Mo's fans, Bai Lu, Dilraba, and other fans of the regular MCs also entered the venue at the same time.

Even though Bai Lu and Dilraba are not particularly popular yet, the regular MCs also have relatively few fans.

But in the end, it still propelled the popularity of Running Man to new heights.

The second wave of planning followed immediately.

Blueberry TV's official Weibo account first posted a poster.

There was no face on the poster, only a torn corner of a name tag with three big characters on it: Kim Jong-kook!

The caption was just one sentence: "Some people say that no one will be able to tear him off this time."

Ten minutes later, Huayi's official Weibo account reposted the message, with the direct caption: "I don't believe it!"

Half an hour later, the official Weibo account of Mohen added insult to injury.

The video included a clip of Shen Mo saying, "Reba, run!"

Caption: "Hero saves the damsel in distress? Or walks right into a trap?"

The collaboration among the three parties caused the topic to expand like a snowball.

That night, the top three spots on the trending topics list were completely dominated by the same person.

#ShenMoVSKimJongKook#

#DilrabaRun#

#RunningMan#

The three entries, like three knives, were placed in the most prominent position on the list.

The first topic in particular sparked a heated debate.

"Don't be ridiculous, even if we win, it's all scripted!"

"Look at Kim Jong-kook's muscles, how can Shen Mo, with his skinny arms and legs, possibly win?"

"Facts speak for themselves. Look at the scenes of Shen Mo getting injured in 'My Love from the Star' and 'The Journey of Flower.' Those eight-pack abs aren't something your beer belly can fake!"

"You guys really believe you can win? Based on my years of experience watching movies, with trailers edited like this, there's a high probability you won't win. They're just using this clip to get you watching."

"This is called streamlined muscle, unlike those big, lumpy muscles!"

There was some noise.

Some people analyzed the tactics.

Some people started digging up Shen Mo's old physical training videos.

Some sports bloggers have even started making serious "strength comparison charts".

When the people behind Mohen's publicity saw that picture, they couldn't stop laughing: "Look, this is what you call breaking into the mainstream."

"When variety shows break into the sports world, that's what you call top-tier."

Blueberry TV went even further, employing its most ruthless tactic: inserting Running Man's "release date announcement" into the last minute of the main episode of "The Voice of China".

In short: "See you next Friday at the same time on Running Man!"

Of course, neither Kiwifruit nor Penguin Video could sit and watch, so both companies launched a "countdown" page, with a banner prominently displayed on the homepage.

In the days leading up to the premiere, the trailers shown each day were different.

The first day featured a compilation of each guest's facial expressions on a pressure plate.

The next day, Bai Lu, Chen He, and others were seen frantically falling into the water.

The third day was a clip of Kim Jong-kook chasing after each guest, showing their escape.

The comments section under each trailer was flooded with: "Stop cutting! Release the whole thing!!!"

Meanwhile, Mohen released one set of posters after another.

Various attractive photos and funny memes were released through the official Weibo account.

Every single one of them is a provocation of emotions.

Bai Lu sat on the catapult chair, her wet hair wrapped around a pillow, with the caption: "I have no will to live."

Dilraba fell down and covered her face with her hand, captioning the post: "Someone save me."

Shen Mo reached out and grabbed Kim Jong-kook, captioning it: "A real man's 1v1 battle."

……

On October 9th, the last day before Running Man aired, artists from the Mohen Group and Huayi Group began forwarding Running Man posters.

The two massive traffic streams converged at this moment, jointly pushing the popularity of Running Man to its peak.

On the trending topics list, the hashtag #Half of the entertainment industry cheers for Running Man# quickly rose to the top.