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

In the office, Shen Mo lay on the sofa, his suit jacket draped over his shoulders, his brows slightly furrowed.

The door was gently pushed open, and Rebecca walked in carrying a cup of black coffee. Seeing his appearance, she hesitated for a moment, but still spoke softly.

"Mr. Shen, it's eight o'clock."

Shen Mo opened his eyes, which were slightly bloodshot.

He sat up, took the coffee and gulped down a large mouthful; the bitter taste instantly sobered him up.

"Have Tianzhen and Lin Wei arrived yet?"

"Just arrived, waiting for you in the conference room."

Shen Mo nodded, stood up, straightened his shirt, and strode towards the conference room, where Yang Tianzhen and Lin Wei were already seated.

"How's it going?" Shen Mo sat down and immediately got into the zone.

Lin Wei turned the computer to him: "The homeroom teacher provided a list of phone numbers for Tian Xiwei's junior high school classmates, and we are contacting them one by one."

"Several people have agreed to testify, but verbal testimony alone is not enough."

"Does the teacher have any photos?" Shen Mo asked.

"The homeroom teacher has a group photo of Tian Xiwei's class on her phone," Lin Wei shook her head. "But that only proves she's in that class; it doesn't solve the problems that are happening online now."

Shen Mo sighed, "It seems the surveillance footage from back then is probably useless. I thought the school would keep some records of this kind of thing."

"Impossible." Lin Wei smiled bitterly. "Three or four years have passed. Surveillance footage can only be stored for six months at most."

Shen Mo was silent for a few seconds before speaking.

"Keep in touch with your classmates, the more the better."

"They don't need to preach any grand principles. It's enough if they're willing to stand up and say, 'Tian Xiwei did not bully anyone.'"

Lin Wei nodded.

Yang Tianzhen hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Director Wang from 'Ode to Joy' just called."

Shen Mo looked up.

He said, "Should we suspend Tian Xiwei's filming for now? We can rejoin the crew once things have calmed down."

Shen Mo looked at her and reached out to touch his chin.

"What did you reply?"

"I said I'll wait for your decision." Yang Tianzhen looked at Shen Mo.

"Personally, I think a pause is reasonable. Given her current condition, she might not be able to act well."

Shen Mo remained silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking.

"Then tell him to film other people's scenes first, postpone her scenes, and even suspend or replace her, and tell him not to consider it."

Yang Tianzhen was stunned for a moment. Although Wang Jun did not say it explicitly, he probably had the idea of ​​replacing the person. However, this test was probably out of the question.

"If there are any issues with the fiber optic connection, have Wang Changtian come and talk to me."

Shen Mo stood up and walked to the window.

"Her parents called early this morning; our competitors have already started to sow discord and poach her."

"Little girl, what you fear most right now is being abandoned."

"What will she think if we stop her from acting?"

Yang Tianzhen fell silent for a moment, but then realized what was happening and asked anxiously.

"Competitors are poaching talent? Are they starting to emerge? Which company is it?"

Shen Mo turned around, smiled slightly, and took out his phone. "This is the second thing I want to tell you."

"Go check out this phone number: Huaguang Media."

"However, if it really is the Wang brothers from Huayi, then we caught them by the tail last time, so it probably won't be so easy to catch them this time."

"If not, then let's see who else aspires to become the next Huayi!"

Yang Tianzhen and Lin Wei nodded, quickly took a picture of Shen Mo's phone, and immediately sent it to their subordinates.

"Oh, right." Shen Mo seemed to suddenly remember something.

"How's the monitoring of negative public opinion surrounding me and Yitong going?"

Lin Wei pursed her lips. "Nothing has been found yet."

"The negative online comments related to our company are all discussions about Tian Xiwei and Liu Haocun, and there are no comments about you or General Manager Li at the moment."

Shen Mo's eyes narrowed slightly. "Nothing?"

"no."

He was silent for a few seconds, then turned to look at Yang Tianzhen.

"It is better to cut off one finger than to injure all ten."

"Instead of attacking the celebrities, attack the boss."

"So, what do I have that can be attacked?"

In the conference room, Lin Wei and Yang Tianzhen also fell silent simultaneously.

Suddenly, Shen Mo looked up abruptly, picked up his phone, and made a call.

"Rebecca, contact the CEOs of all my subsidiaries and get to my office immediately. Now!"

After hanging up the phone, Shen Mo looked at the two of them and said, "Come on, let's talk in my office."

-----------------

Li Yitong and Tian Xiwei, wearing masks and baseball caps, walked out of the hotel, followed by their assistants Quan Quan and Cheng Cheng.

"Sister Tong, shall we go to the company?" Tian Xi asked.

"Yes." Li Yitong pulled her into the van. "Let's go find your brother Mo and see what's going on."

Tian Xiwei obediently sat down, but her eyes kept glancing at Li Yitong.

Tong Jie has been with her and comforting her since last night, and hasn't slept for more than a few hours, but she doesn't look tired at all.

She sighed, and her eyes suddenly felt a little sore.

The car stopped at the entrance of the Mohen Building, and the four of them walked into the lobby and stood at the elevator entrance to wait.

Just then, three men walked in through the door. Li Yitong's gaze subconsciously swept over them before stopping.

A black business jacket, dark trousers, and leather shoes.

He had no identification on him, but his demeanor was clearly out of place in this building full of glamorous white-collar workers.

They went straight to the service desk.

Li Yitong caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye that the leader took something out of his pocket and waved it in front of the service counter.

She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she vaguely heard two words—"ink marks."

Her heart skipped a beat. At this time, with this kind of attire, who would come to Mohen?

Almost instinctively, she leaned against Tian Xiwei, using their bodies as cover, and quickly took out her phone to snap a picture of the three people's silhouettes.

Tian Xiwei sensed her movement and looked up in confusion.

"Sister Tong?"

Li Yitong put a finger to her lips to signal her to be quiet, and then dialed the phone.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

"Look at the photos I posted," she said in a low voice. "They're downstairs."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, then Shen Mo's voice came through, carrying a hint of solemnity she had never heard before.

"I see."

Li Yitong's heart jumped into her throat.

"Really? Is it necessary? Has it come to this?"

Do you know who it is?

She wanted to ask more, but the three men had already walked towards the elevator.

She took a deep breath and forced her voice to become steady.

"Okay...okay...okay...I understand...I'll help you keep things calm..."

She paused, then her voice suddenly turned gritted and resentful.

"You better remember this, and behave yourself!"

"Otherwise, you'll regret it!"

The elevator doors opened with a "ding".

Li Yitong hung up the phone, turned to Tian Xiwei, and said, "You go up first."

Tian Xi was slightly taken aback. "Sister Tong?"

"Remember, no matter what happens, don't act impulsively."

Li Yitong's voice was very soft, but her eyes were extremely serious. "Wait for me to come over."

"The Shura Field of Chinese Entertainment: All the Young Actresses Want to Rise to the Top": Explosive word-of-mouth and rave reviews!

She looked at Tian Xiwei's assistant, Chengcheng, and emphasized, "Keep an eye on her."

Tian Xiwei grew anxious and grabbed her arm. "Sister Tong, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly saying this? Aren't you going up?"

"I'm going back to get something, I'll be right back."

Li Yitong patted her head, and before she could say anything more, she turned and walked quickly towards the door.

Tian Xiwei stood there, her lips pouting, but she still obediently followed Chengcheng into the elevator.

The three men also came in, in the same elevator as them.

Tian Xiwei pouted the whole way, her mind filled with Li Yitong's nervous look earlier. What on earth did Sister Tong do?

The elevator arrived at the floor where Inkmark was located.

The three men went out first and headed straight for the front desk.

Tian Xiwei followed behind, glanced at their backs, then turned to the other side, knocked on the door, and entered Shen Mo's office.

When she opened the door and saw Shen Mo, her eyes suddenly reddened.

Shen Mo, sitting behind his desk, looked unwell, with noticeable dark circles around his eyes and light stubble on his chin.

His suit was neat, but his shirt collar was slightly open, indicating that he hadn't been home all night.

Tian Xi stood frozen at the doorway, "Brother Mo..."

Her voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's buzz.

Shen Mo turned his head to look at her, a slight smile playing on his lips. "You're here?"

Tian Xiwei walked over step by step, stood beside him, and stared blankly at his face.

"Brother Mo, I'm sorry..."

Shen Mo reached out and gently rubbed the top of her head. "It's alright."

Just three words, but Tian Xiwei almost burst into tears. She had been worried that Mo Ge would abandon her that morning.

You deserve to die, Tian Xiwei!

"Go sit over there for a while, I need to start my meeting first." Shen Mo pointed to the guest sofa in the distance.

Tian Xi nodded obediently, walked over and sat down. Only then did she take a closer look and realize that there were so many people in the office.

This is the first time everyone in this office has been present since the company was restructured into a group some time ago.

Media CEO Yang Tianzhen, Film CEO Chen Zhixi, Asset CEO Zhao Feng, Cinema CEO Zhong Lifang, Animation CEO Chen Jing, as well as Group Investment Director Chen Jun, Public Relations Director Lin Wei, and General Affairs Director Zhou Wanqing.

Shen Mo spoke quickly and with a serious expression. They listened attentively, nodding occasionally and taking notes sometimes.

Tian Xiwei didn't listen carefully to what they were saying; she was just secretly looking at Shen Mo's profile.

Mo looks so handsome when he's working!

Those dark circles under her eyes are such a downer...

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

A knocking sounded suddenly.

Tian Xiwei noticed that almost at the same moment, everyone in the office turned serious.

The door was pushed open, and receptionist Olivia and secretary Rebecca led the three people in. Tian Xiwei realized that they were the same three men from the elevator.

The man in the lead walked straight to Shen Mo's table and took out an ID from his pocket.

"Hello Mr. Shen Moshen, we are from the investigation team of the China Securities Regulatory Commission."

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the quiet office could hear it clearly.

"Someone has submitted materials to report that you are suspected of insider trading and malicious short selling. We hope you can cooperate with us to assist in the investigation."

Shen Mo glanced down at the certificate, then slowly stood up.

He capped the pen in his hand and placed it on the table. He first straightened the hem of his suit, and then reached out to straighten his collar.

Shen Mo then extended his right hand and shook hands with the person who came.

"sure."

The visitor was also taken aback, seemingly not expecting him to be so cooperative.

"Then please."

Shen Mo nodded, walked around the desk, and headed towards the door.

"Brother Mo!"

A shout shattered the heavy atmosphere in the office.

Tian Xiwei stood up from the sofa, her face filled with disbelief, her eyes red-rimmed.

Shen Mo turned around and looked at the girl, whose face was covered in tears.

He smiled slightly at her and nodded.

Then he turned around and followed the three men out, closing the door behind him.

Tian Xi paused for two seconds, then rushed over suddenly.

However, just as her hand touched the doorknob, it was firmly pressed down by another hand.

Chengcheng rushed over at some point and stood in front of her.

"Tian Xiwei, calm down!"

Tian Xi struggled slightly, but Cheng Cheng was surprisingly strong.

"Let me go!"

"Tian Xiwei!"

A cold shout made her freeze.

Yang Tianzhen stood a few steps away, looking at her coldly.

"Sister Tianzhen..."

"What did President Shen just say to you?"

Yang Tianzhen's voice was as cold as ice.

"I already told you, 'It's okay,' 'Go sit over there for a while.' Did you hear me?"

Tian Xiwei's tears flowed even more fiercely, "But..."

"But what?" Yang Tianzhen walked over, approaching her step by step.

"What can you do if you rush out now? Can you bring your brother Mo back? Or can you drive away those people who took him away?"

Tian Xi opened her mouth slightly, but couldn't say anything.

"The only thing you can do now is to obey and stay put."

"I just wanted to do something..."

Yang Tianzhen's tone softened, but her eyes remained stern.

"At this stage, the best help you can give is to avoid causing trouble."

Tian Xi was stunned. The words "Don't make things worse" felt like a knife stabbing her.

She thought about the Weibo posts she made yesterday, the insults she used, and the trouble she had caused by her impulsive actions.

Did you start this whole thing, which led to Brother Mo being taken away?

If I hadn't acted impulsively, wouldn't those people have been unable to find an excuse?

Does that mean Brother Mo won't be taken away?

She slowly slid down to the ground and buried her face in her knees.

"It's me..."

Her voice was muffled, tinged with tears.

"It's my fault that Mo-ge is in trouble..."

No one spoke in the office; only her muffled sobs echoed.

-----------------

When Li Yitong pushed open the door and walked into the office, Tian Xiwei was already curled up on the sofa, with only her assistant Chengcheng keeping her company.

"Sister Tong!"

Tian Xiwei rushed over and hugged her tightly, as if she had found someone to lean on, and her sobs suddenly grew louder.

"Sister Tong...Brother Mo...he...he's been taken away!"

Li Yitong reached out and gently patted her back.

"I know."

"It's all my fault... I'm the one who ruined him..."

"It's not your fault."

Tian Xiwei buried her face in her shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

Li Yitong's voice was very soft, but it unexpectedly calmed Tian Xiwei's chaotic and flustered heart, and her crying gradually subsided.

"Those people were prepared long ago. Even if it weren't for you, they would have found an opportunity to make their move."

Li Yitong patted her back, then let go. She squinted her eyes slightly, her lips pressed into a straight line.

Shen Mo, you said you would be alright.

Don't lie to me!

Otherwise, you just wait!