My cousin asked me to go to Wuha, and Hanikezi stuck to me.

"Is this a dating show or a real-life romance documentary?"

This comment remained at the top of the trending topics for a full twenty-four hours.

The entire internet was abuzz with excitement as netizens and fans of the couple went wild.

Chen Yi's personal studio in Beijing.

"Bang!"

The office door was pushed open and slammed against the wall with a thud.

Xiao Fang rushed in, carrying a tablet computer, his eyes bloodshot from staying up all night staring at data.

Chen Yi leaned back in the boss's chair, toying with a fountain pen in his hand.

"If the door hinge breaks again, the repair cost will be deducted from your salary." Chen Yi said without looking up.

"Screw it! Screw it all! You can even shave my underwear off!" Xiao Fang rushed to the desk and slammed the tablet down on the surface with both hands.

"Brother! It's broken! It's completely broken!" Xiao Fang's voice cracked as he excitedly spun around on the spot.

Chen Yi glanced at the screen.

"Fifteen million!" Xiao Fang pointed to the data curve on Weibo's backend, his fingers trembling. "Bro, your total number of followers across the internet has officially surpassed the fifteen million mark! And that's not even the most terrifying part!"

Xiao Fang pulled up another data report.

"An 85% active fan ratio! 85%!" Xiao Fang swallowed hard. "Those top celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry who claim to have 30 or 40 million fans, even after squeezing out the hype, are lucky if they have 30% active fans. Your data is a complete and utter crushing victory!"

Chen Yi put down his pen, his tone calm.

"Any news from Star Entertainment?"

"They didn't dare utter a single word!" Xiao Fang sneered. "This morning, Su Wan's secretary called me, not mentioning the breakup of the couple at all. Instead, she subtly asked if we were still available next month to do a magazine cover shoot with Sister Hani. She's completely outmatched!"

A very faint smile appeared on Chen Yi's lips.

Capital never listens to emotions; it only looks at financial statements.

When the combined benefits are enormous enough, Su Wan has no choice but to accept it, no matter how unwilling she is.

The phone on the table vibrated.

Chen Yi picked up his phone.

A WeChat message from Hanikezi popped up on the screen.

"Chen Yi! You owe me compensation for emotional distress!"

This was followed by a cat emoji of a cat violently hitting something.

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow and typed a reply with one hand: "What's wrong?"

Hanikezi replied instantly.

"Sister Hong called me to her office today and projected the video we filmed on our cell phone onto the 80-inch TV. She made me watch it with her three times in a row!"

She even paused the video frame by frame, asking me if my heart was really racing!

"I've practically dug a three-bedroom apartment out of my toes! How am I ever going to face anyone again?!"

Even through the screen, Chen Yi could imagine the girl hugging a sofa cushion, her face flushed and her expression frantic.

A smile appeared in Chen Yi's eyes as he tapped his fingers on the keyboard.

"Sister Hong is letting you observe and learn to improve your acting skills."

Hanikezi sent a three-second voice message.

Chen Yi clicked on it.

"Stop it! You weren't acting at all with that look in your eyes! You were just trying to scare me!" The girl's voice was soft and sweet, filled with barely concealed embarrassment and annoyance.

Chen Yi chuckled softly, just about to reply.

In my mind, the long-dormant ice-blue virtual panel suddenly popped up.

【Ding! 】

[The Valentine's Day "GG effect" combined with the ratings of "The Five Hares" and the lingering popularity of the Golden Melody Awards has caused a qualitative change in the host's influence across the entire internet.]

[Interim summary being generated...]

[Current popularity score: Exceeding 100000 points.]

[Business Value Rating: Stable S+]

[Congratulations, host! Your status has officially entered the "Top Celebrity Preparation Zone".]

Chen Yi looked at the data on the panel, his expression remaining calm.

Popularity score of 100,000, business rating of S+.

This is just the first step in his fight against capital.

Just then.

The originally ice-blue panel suddenly flashed a dazzling red light.

【warn! 】

[Second Phase Main Quest: From Near Top Star to Absolute Top Star. Countdown is halfway through!]

[The host has not yet acquired any "phenomenal works".]

[It is recommended that the host immediately accelerate the development of the film or music storyline.]

[Failure to complete the task within the specified time will result in a phased penalty: your popularity points will be reset to zero, and all unlocked skills will be downgraded!]

The smile on Chen Yi's lips vanished instantly.

The red warning characters flashed incessantly in my mind, carrying an extremely strong sense of oppression.

One and a half months have already passed of the three-month deadline.

No matter how popular a variety show is, or how much traffic a celebrity has, it doesn't qualify as a "phenomenal work" according to the system's criteria.

To truly establish himself and pull Hanikezi out of the mire of Xingyu Entertainment, he must have a hardcore masterpiece that can silence the entire internet.

Chen Yi turned off the panel and placed his phone face down on the table.

"Xiao Fang." Chen Yi looked up.

"Hey bro!" Xiao Fang quickly came over.

"Organize the scripts that have been submitted recently," Chen Yi instructed.

Xiao Fang's eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled out a thick stack of scripts from the file bag next to him and slammed them on the table.

"Bro, I'm all set! They're all S+ level big-budget productions!" Xiao Fang excitedly flipped open the first book. "Look at this one, it's the fantasy romance drama 'Nine Heavens God,' heavily promoted by Tencent Video. It's a male-centric drama, and the pay is off to this extent!"

Xiao Fang made an exaggerated gesture.

"If you agree, you can join the crew tomorrow! No need to brave the wind and sun, it'll all be filmed in a green screen studio, and all the action scenes will be done by stunt doubles. All you have to do is show your face and look cool!"

Chen Yi glanced at the fancy artistic lettering on the script cover.

"Throw it away." Chen Yi's tone was extremely cold.

Xiao Fang was stunned.

"Bro, that's a 60 million yuan salary!"

"I said, throw it away." Chen Yi leaned back in his chair, his gaze extremely imposing. "These shoddy fast-moving consumer goods are meaningless except for damaging our reputation."

Xiao Fang swallowed hard, quickly pulled away the fantasy novel script, and replaced it with another one.

"How about this one? It's a sweet urban romance drama, the kind where a domineering CEO falls in love with me. The female lead is a popular young actress, and the investors said that if you take the role, you can choose your billing order."

"Throw it away." Chen Yi didn't even look at it.

Xiao Fang changed five or six scripts in a row, but Chen Yi rejected them all without mercy.

Xiao Fang got anxious.

"Bro, what kind of scripts are you looking for? These are the most profitable ones on the market right now!"

Chen Yi opened the drawer, took out a thin printed document, and threw it on the coffee table.

The document cover contained only two words in black and white.

Night of Sin.

When Xiao Fang saw the name, his expression changed instantly.

"Brother, are you still thinking about that suspense drama script?" Xiao Fang's brows furrowed into a tight knot. "Didn't I tell you before? The producer of this project is indeed Zhang Dapao, but the core director who truly holds the power of life and death is named Zhou Yuan!"

Xiao Fang was so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh.

"Who is Zhou Yuan? He's notoriously tough and short-tempered in the industry! He never puts himself in the shoes of investors when filming, and he definitely doesn't want popular celebrities!"

"He declared that the male lead must appear without makeup throughout the entire film and deliberately make himself look ugly! He absolutely forbids the use of stunt doubles for the dangerous scenes, such as underwater breath-holding and high-rise chases!"

Xiao Fang tried to persuade him earnestly.

"Bro, we're practically top-tier actors now. We could easily make around 80 million for a single role. Why put yourself through this? What if Zhou Yuan tortures you on set and ruins your reputation?"

Chen Yi tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"No destruction, no construction." Chen Yi said calmly, "Only this kind of script can win awards. Only this kind of script can become my moat."

Xiao Fang opened her mouth, wanting to persuade him again.

"Execute it." Chen Yi interrupted him, his gaze falling on the cover of "Night of Sin," and made the final decision.

"Xiao Fang, go and contact that director and arrange a meeting."