Taking Liu Yifei back to Northeast China for the Chinese New Year has sent the entire internet into

Mr. Zhang's laughter abruptly stopped on the other end of the phone.

After a brief silence, a sigh came through the receiver.

"Xiao Fang, since you asked, I won't hide it from you anymore."

"Cai Kun's current situation is quite precarious."

Fang Yu raised an eyebrow and shifted to a more comfortable position on the sofa.

"What's wrong?"

"Cai Kun is currently the most popular contestant by a landslide, how could he possibly be squeezed out of the debut lineup?"

"Popularity is popularity, and talent shows are talent shows."

Mr. Zhang's voice turned somber.

"Those nine debut spots were almost all taken up by a few established companies and investors during the audition stage."

"When we sent Cai Kun in, we only hoped that he would become a familiar face, gain some fans, and make it into the top 20. That would be considered a successful mission."

"Who would have thought..."

At this point, Mr. Zhang's tone became more absurd and admiring.

"Who knew that he could make it all the way to the front row of the finals with just that song you gave him!"

"This is like taking a big slice of a cake that has been pre-cut and scooping it out with a large spoon."

Fang Yu couldn't help but laugh after hearing this.

"and then?"

"How could these people steal tickets right under the noses of a nationwide live broadcast?"

"It's unlikely to be ticket theft."

Mr. Zhang quickly offered an explanation.

"The finals will be broadcast live online. The TV station and relevant departments are watching closely. It would be too risky to actually make fake tickets."

"But the problem is that although Cai Kun has a lot of fans now, not many of them are actually willing to spend money on voting, controlling comments across the entire internet, and fighting against negative publicity."

"In the past, everyone just watched for fun. But when it comes to competing in resources, organization, and execution, individual fans like us simply can't compete with professional fan groups."

Fang Yu's smile slowly faded.

Mr. Zhang continued:

"What's more troublesome is that since last night, the internet has been flooded with press releases."

"The content is all pretty much the same, saying that Cai Kun has no professional competence whatsoever, except for trying to grab attention."

"He also said that if he were to debut, it would be a disgrace to mainland talent shows and would lower the bar for the entire industry."

Hearing the voice from the receiver, Fang Yu sneered.

Business skills?

Industry bottom line?

These capitalists are really like prostitutes who want to pretend to be virtuous.

Ultimately, talent shows are all about who can make the audience remember them and who can bring stage presence and emotional value.

"Xiao Fang, don't take it too hard."

Seeing that Fang Yu remained silent for a long time, General Manager Zhang assumed he was upset about the matter and instead tried to persuade him:

"We've already exceeded our mission expectations this time."

"Even if he doesn't get a debut spot, with Cai Kun's current popularity, the company can get him on two variety shows and film two custom-made web dramas. His future won't be bad."

"That won't work."

Fang Yu immediately rejected the idea.

Mr. Zhang on the other end of the phone was stunned.

"Huh? Why isn't it working?"

"Cai Kun is my dearest friend, brother, and fellow disciple."

Fang Yu's tone was as serious as if he were announcing a company strategy.

As the saying goes, "When you beat a dog..."

He paused for a moment, then quickly changed his tune.

"No, you have to consider the owner before you can beat a chicken."

"They're slapping me in the face!"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Mr. Zhang held his phone, his mind racing, trying to digest Fang Yu's seemingly absurd yet strangely reasonable logic.

Fang Yu already had a mental account of the situation.

Cai Kun was the first seed he planted at Star Glory Entertainment.

As he gradually withdraws from the industry and moves on to movies, TV series, and larger projects, someone at Star Glory Entertainment will have to take over.

If Cai Kun cannot grow into the company's ace, how can he have the nerve to just walk away later?

"Xiao Fang, what do you mean?"

Mr. Zhang asked tentatively.

Fang Yu stood up from the sofa and walked to the French windows.

Book a flight.

I'm going to Hangzhou.

"Visiting the set?"

Mr. Zhang's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"At this critical juncture?"

"right."

Fang Yu looked at the traffic outside the window and said directly:

"Not only do we have to go, we have to go in a high-profile way."

"Let the whole internet know that I went there to support Cai Kun."

This time, Mr. Zhang did not try to persuade him again.

The breath he had been holding for so long seemed to have finally found an outlet, and his voice became much louder.

"good!"

"I'll arrange it right away!"

"There's one more thing."

Fang Yu reminded him:

"Have the publicity department issue an official announcement."

"It is said that Fang Yu personally went to the training camp to visit and cheer on his junior brother Cai Kun."

"clear!"

Mr. Zhang agreed very readily.

"I'll have someone take care of it right away!"

After hanging up the phone, Fang Yu looked out the window again.

He wanted to see who decided that this piece of cake could only be given to them.

……

at the same time.

Hangzhou, the recording base of "Idol New Generation".

In the office of chief director Wang Tao, several business letters were piled on the table.

Each one comes from a different entertainment company.

The content is largely the same.

Some hinted at a need to reassess future collaborations, others reminded the program to maintain industry order, and still others were more direct, demanding that the production team appropriately control Cai Kun's popularity during the final stage.

Wang Tao stared at the official documents and rubbed his temples.

Cai Kun is now a hot potato.

Keeping him around would offend several capital firms willing to spend money.

The production team wanted to suppress his popularity, but they also didn't want to lose it.

After all, Cai Kun contributed at least half of the trending topics to make this show so popular.

Wang Tao stared at the official document on the table, hesitating to put pen to paper.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the office.

"Bang!"

The door was suddenly pushed open.

The program's publicity director rushed in, still out of breath.

"Director Wang!"

Wang Tao frowned.

"What is it? Speak slowly."

The publicity director leaned against the door frame, his expression complex.

"Fang... Fang Yu is coming!"

The office fell silent instantly.

The documents in the assistant director's hand stopped in mid-air.

Wang Tao was also stunned for two seconds.

"Who?"

"Fang Yu!"

The publicity director swallowed hard and repeated it again.

"Fang Yu of Xingyao Entertainment!"

Wang Tao slowly sat up straight.

"What's he doing here?"

"Star Glory Entertainment just released an announcement."

The PR director handed over the phone, his voice still carrying a hint of disbelief.

The announcement said that Fang Yu would visit Cai Kun at the training camp tomorrow morning to cheer him on.

Wang Tao looked down at his phone screen.

The announcement was short and formal in tone.

Fang Yu personally visited the set to support Cai Kun.

These two keywords alone are enough to trend on social media!

If you put them together, the production team won't even need to buy any publicity; the public opinion will ignite on its own tomorrow!

The assistant director hesitated before speaking:

"Director Wang, those official letters from those companies..."

Wang Tao did not answer.

He stared at the announcement on the screen for a few seconds, then pushed all the documents on the table aside.

"Never mind the official letter for now."

"Get the reception plan ready for tomorrow!"