Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, I became a legend in the entertainment industry by avo

Chapter 170 Shifting the Blame East

Zhang Qilin frowned and walked to a relatively quiet corner: "Meeting in private? What does she want to do?"

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Fang's voice was even lower: "She said she has some inside information about the real person behind this smear campaign. She wants to use this to get you to drop the charges, or at least leave her a way out in court and not pursue her personal responsibility anymore."

"Inside information? The person who instructed her?"

"She hinted that if we met in person, she could offer some substantial things," including contact records and possibly even details of financial transactions, which she felt was the biggest bargaining chip she could offer.

Zhang Qilin did not answer immediately.

Instead, he sorted out the whole thing in his mind.

Why would Li Yan be so kind as to tell him the inside story?

Why is he so skeptical?

He knew that Li Yan had powerful backers.

But why did she betray the person behind her so easily?

Aren't you afraid of those people retaliating against you?

There must be some hidden story he doesn't know about.

But he currently has no luck points and cannot divine Li Yan's purpose in doing so.

We still need to find ways to earn more luck points, otherwise we'll be in a very passive position when we encounter this situation.

He pondered whether or not he should go see Li Yan.

He suddenly remembered that Daily Fortune Teller also offered a monthly fortune-telling opportunity.

Thinking of this, he immediately focused his mind and calmed his spirit.

After the Heavenly Compass appeared before him, he immediately muttered in his mind, "Daily Divination, what risks will I face if I meet with Li Yan?"

The compass transmitted a message, and he immediately agreed to exchange four lots for one.

Soon, a fortune stick flew out of the fortune stick container.

[Low-middle fortune: Driving away one tiger to devour another, shifting disaster eastward, ominous. (Reward: Fragment of the "Performance-Changing Face" Destiny, +1 "Crisis Transformation Talisman")]

Zhang Qilin's face darkened when he saw the fortune slip.

really.

Li Yan has ulterior motives.

The phrases "driving a tiger to devour a wolf" and "shifting the blame" are easy to understand. Li Yan wanted to use him to deal with some people and transfer her own crisis onto him.

She said she wanted to tell herself who was behind it all, which seems to indicate that she hoped to fight with the person behind the scenes so that she could take the opportunity to escape.

They're certainly good at making calculations.

She was able to betray the people behind her, which suggests that they have already abandoned her.

There's no doubt that Li Yan hates him; he single-handedly ruined her career.

But compared to hating him, she probably hated even more those who abandoned her like a rag at the crucial moment.

No.

She might not actually tell you; just lying to yourself that you met her is enough.

The current situation is that the other party is in the shadows, while he is in the open.

Li Yan was merely their pawn.

His sudden attack caught them off guard. Without knowing his specific situation, they would lie low for a while and reassess his strength.

However, if the other party knows that they have been exposed, then the situation is completely different.

They went from being potential rivals to being clear-cut enemies.

The enemy had no choice but to concentrate their resources and launch a preemptive strike to eliminate him with all their might.

He's still building his foundation; there's no need for him to take any risks.

"I won't see her," Zhang Qilin said to Zhou Fang on the other end of the phone. "There's nothing between us. If she has any grievances or evidence, she can report it to the judicial authorities, instead of coming to me for a private deal."

"Understood, Mr. Zhang," Zhou Fang replied, then asked, "Then—should we secretly investigate the so-called mastermind she mentioned?"

"No need," Zhang Qilin replied quickly.

He only needs to unlock the third stage, [Sacrifice to Heaven and Divination], to find out who is behind this; there's no need to risk letting the other party notice.

"Wait," Zhang Qilin called out to him, "spread the word that Li Yan wanted to see me, but was refused."

Zhou Fang was silent for two seconds on the other end of the phone, then realized, "I know what to do."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Qilin did not feel relieved; instead, his brows furrowed even more.

This incident served as a wake-up call for him.

He is not facing a simple smear campaign, but rather the deep-rooted malicious competition and resource squabbles within the entertainment industry ecosystem.

This time it's "Star News Express," next time it might be "Monthly News Express," and the time after that it might be some more powerful platform or capital.

He can't always expect to resolve a crisis only after something goes wrong.

Moreover, the fact that he won so easily this time was largely due to his opponent's carelessness.

If the other side is prepared in advance, they can gather a hundred or so media outlets to besiege it, just like how media outlets on Earth besiege a domestic supermarket.

He couldn't have won so easily.

Next time, the other party will definitely be fully prepared, and he will be at a great disadvantage if he goes it alone again.

Therefore, it is essential to establish one's own channels of expression and gain a certain degree of influence in the discourse.

Passive defense is always the worst strategy.

An idea formed in his mind.

Expanding into the media industry.

2010 was the year of the internet's explosive growth. Traditional media still dominated, but the development of new media had already begun.

In the future, emerging forms of communication such as short videos and live streaming will become the main ways for the public to obtain information and entertainment.

He wants to lay the groundwork in this field in advance, build his own media matrix, and seize the initiative in the future public opinion and entertainment ecosystem.

He needs more than just one media outlet; he needs a matrix.

A platform where one can voice their opinions, retaliate, and influence public opinion.

It could be investing in a promising new media company.

It could also mean incubating your own content team, or even building a vertical entertainment information platform from scratch.

It's not necessary to control all public opinion, but it's essential to have a platform to speak out, clarify the facts, and even launch countermeasures at crucial moments.

He needs a trader.

They need to understand content creation, have some business acumen, possess resource integration capabilities, and most importantly, be trustworthy.

At this point, the on-site director called everyone to gather and continue rehearsing.

Zhang Qilin put away his phone and walked over.

Building a media matrix can be done gradually; right now, the most important thing is acting.

Six p.m.

Kyoto, a high-end private club.

Qian Shuyong sat in the private room, the red wine in front of him untouched.

Across from him sat a man in his fifties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

"Li Yan wanted to see Zhang Qilin," Qian Shuyong said. "She contacted Zhang Qilin's lawyer, but Zhang Qilin refused."

The man with the wire-rimmed glasses looked up at Qian Shuyong: "You refused?"

"Yes, his lawyer replied very decisively, 'I won't see you,'" Qian Shuyong nodded.

The private room was silent for a few seconds.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses took off his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses: "This young man is smarter than we thought."

"How so?"

"If he had met Li Yan, he would have forced us to turn against him," the man with the gold-rimmed glasses put his glasses back on. "But he refused, and we found out about it. He's telling us two things."

"You mean Zhang Qilin deliberately leaked this information?"

"Do you think it was an accident that this kind of thing got out so quickly?"

"So what is he trying to tell us?"

"First, he's not interested in us and doesn't want to escalate things beyond repair," the man with the gold-rimmed glasses said. "Second, he won't help us defuse this time bomb of Li Yan; he'll leave it to us to deal with."

Qian Shuyong was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "So, he is drawing a line."

"He's telling us," the man with the gold-rimmed glasses picked up his glass, took a sip, "that I don't cause trouble, but I'm not afraid of trouble either. Your people should keep their mouths shut and not spill blood on me."

"That Li Yan—"

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses put down his glass, his eyes turning cold: "Since she wants to use 'insider information' to exchange for freedom, then let her know what the price of freedom is."

Qian Shuyong continued, "What about Zhang Qilin?"

"This little guy is too alert, it's not a good time to make a move. Keep a close eye on his every move and wait for him to make a mistake."

"Zhang Li is promoting him so much, what if this show becomes a hit? He used to be able to make a splash around the world with just a few photos. Although he's not as popular as he used to be, we still have to be careful."

"He's become famous," the man with the gold-rimmed glasses said with a smirk. "Then let's talk to him about a collaboration and get him to join us."

"If he doesn't, given his methods, he probably won't compromise so easily."

Upon hearing this, the man with the gold-rimmed glasses touched the ring on his left hand.

It is inlaid with an emerald, shaped like an eye.

Qian Shuyong didn't say anything more, nodded, stood up and left.

At four o'clock in the morning, the bottom of the pit in Fuxin Haizhou Open-pit Coal Mine was already brightly lit.

The massive lighting equipment illuminated the late Qing Dynasty streets and alleys as if it were daytime.

Zhang Qilin, dressed in a white school uniform, sat in front of a makeup mirror.

The makeup artist began applying his makeup.

He closed his eyes.

In my mind, I see what I see when I'm in character.

On a street corner near the Governor's Palace, a group of young people, armed with weapons, were both excited and somewhat tense.

Are they afraid?

Of course I'm scared.

They knew they were going to die.

But they went anyway.

Back then, Lin Juemin and others ran newspapers, published books, and even gave speeches in the streets to awaken the public.

Therefore, they knew in their hearts that the only way to awaken a sleeping nation was through the most extreme methods.

Lin Juemin said to his comrades, "If this effort fails, many will die, but it will surely move our compatriots. Once they rise up with all their might, recover China, and revitalize our motherland, then even if we die, we will live on. What regrets will we have?"

Even if there had been only a sliver of hope, they would not have chosen this path filled with bloodshed and sacrifice.

At that time, Lin Juemin's wife was eight months pregnant, but in order to save this country and nation riddled with problems, he still chose to calmly face his death.

"Qi Lin, all done," the makeup artist's voice brought him back to reality.

He opened his eyes and looked in the mirror.

The person in the mirror has handsome features and a scholarly air, but deep in his eyes, a spark from another soul has been ignited.

That wasn't Zhang Qilin's usual kind gaze, but a pure belief stripped of all impurities.

When Zhang Qilin walked out of the dressing room, everyone who saw him had a strange feeling.

When Zhang Qilin walked among Brother Long and the other people who had joined the uprising, Brother Long couldn't help but glance at him a few more times.

Zhang Qilin's expression remained calm.

But his eyes were different.

It was a gaze that had abandoned all personal gains and losses, fear, and even life and death; it was so pure that people dared not look directly at it.

This young man did nothing, yet he seemed to radiate all the light around him.

Brother Long has seen countless actors get "in character," some relying on techniques to evoke emotions, and others relying on immersive experience to become truly present in their roles.

But the young man in front of him gave him a different feeling.

In front of the temporary governor's mansion.

Zhang Li, holding a megaphone, announced: "Ladies and gentlemen, this scene depicting the Guangzhou Uprising is the most crucial part of the entire film—"

He glanced at everyone and said, “I have only one requirement: authenticity. The movements don’t have to be fancy. — All groups, get ready. We’ll start filming in twenty minutes.”

Dozens of young, solemn faces gathered at the street corner.

Brother Long, playing Huang Xing, is squatting on a street corner, with Zhang Qilin beside him.

"On your marks—"

The executive director's shout came through the loudspeaker.

All the actors quickly dispersed to their respective starting positions.

"start!"

Gunshots rang out.

A group of people rushed towards the Governor's Mansion —

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