Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

"Chairman Tang, you're playing quite the trick."

Tang Yingxue, who had been engrossed in the story with her eyes closed, was startled by the sudden sound.

She opened her eyes and, in the dim light of the room, saw the person standing by the bed.

Su Yuyan, wearing only a white hotel towel, looked at her with a mocking expression.

"Ah, Su Yuyan, you pervert!" Tang Yingxue's voice cracked.

She quickly covered herself with her hands, lost her balance, and almost slipped off Jiang Fan.

Su Yuyan stood by the bed and burst out laughing.

Tang Yingxue was filled with shame and indignation. She pointed at Su Yuyan and yelled, "You were eavesdropping in the room! Shameless!!"

"I was eavesdropping?" Su Yuyan sneered. "I've been here for an hour. You're the one who's being horny, coming to knock on my door in the middle of the night. And you wanted to prove you're better than me? Is that all?"

Tang Yingxue was furious. She was naked, while Su Yuyan was at least wrapped in a bath towel.

This visual disadvantage caused her to completely lose her mind.

She reached out, grabbed Su Yuyan's bath towel, and pulled it down forcefully.

"Stop pretending to be all prim and proper, take it off!"

Caught off guard, Su Yuyan's bath towel was ripped off and fell to the ground.

She grabbed Tang Yingxue's hair and the two of them rolled around on the bed.

"Tang Yingxue, I'm going to tear your mouth apart today!"

Two top divas were tearing each other apart in bed, revealing each other's flaws and discrediting each other, with no regard for their image whatsoever.

Jiang Fan leaned against the headboard, watching the two women fighting in front of him.

These two women finally managed to get together, there's no reason to waste time watching them fight.

An hour later, Tang Yingxue turned her head and looked at Su Yuyan beside her.

"Su Yuyan...please help me block them for a bit..."

Su Yuyan shook her head.

"I can't go on either... please hang in there a little longer..."

Much later.

System notifications rang frantically in Jiang Fan's mind.

[Deep Compatibility x3, Lifespan +15000 points.]

Current lifespan: 363300 points.

Tang Yingxue and Su Yuyan leaned against each other, neither having the strength to push the other away.

---

Just as Jiang Fan was focused on filming Journey to the West, the entertainment industry underwent a dramatic change.

The headquarters of Longyao Media in Kyoto.

Chairman Wang Qiang sat in the conference room, holding an investigation report in his hand.

"Did Ye Anran meet with Jiang Fan in private?"

"Yes. Someone photographed her car downstairs at Times Media," the assistant replied.

Wang Qiang slammed the report on the table.

"You traitor! 'Martial Arts' lost 400 million yuan, and instead of taking responsibility, she wants to jump ship to Xinghuo Media to whitewash her image?" Wang Qiang sneered. "Pass on my message: activate all resources. I want Ye Anran to be unable to survive in the Chinese entertainment industry."

He took out his phone and contacted Chen Kai.

This prompted him to publicly criticize Ye Anran during a media interview.

In order to protect his reputation as a famous director, Chen Kai was naturally happy to put all the blame on Ye Anran.

"She bears the main responsibility for the film's failure. I gave her many chances, but all she did was pose. A film with an investment of hundreds of millions was ruined by an empty-faced vase. I will never work with this kind of traffic star again."

These words caused an uproar across the internet.

Following this, Longyao Film & Television officially released a statement announcing the suspension of film and television projects in cooperation with Ye Anran.

"In light of the recent negative public opinion surrounding Ms. Ye Anran, the company has decided to suspend all of her commercial activities and film and television production. The company will reassess her commercial value."

Ye Anran's reputation has plummeted, and no one in the industry dares to cast her in any films or TV series for the time being.

Shanghai, Ye Anran's private villa.

Fang Jie threw a stack of termination contracts on the coffee table, her face looking very grim.

"Anran, that old bastard Chen Kai is shifting all the blame onto you, and Long Yao is kicking you while you're down too. We're not getting any gigs right now. Should we issue a statement to refute this? Chen Kai doesn't even discuss the scenes on set; his own script is illogical. Why should he blame you?"

"It's no use." Ye Anran's voice was hoarse. "If capital wants you dead, nothing you do will help."

Ye Anran sat on the sofa, her mind filled with Jiang Fan's words, "Empress Ye, stop trying to make yourself look good by taking on zero pay."

The man, sitting in the boss's chair, had already seen through everything.

Fangjie paced back and forth in the living room, her high heels clicking rapidly on the floor.

"I'll go find a few producers I know and see if I can get some variety shows or web dramas to tide me over. I can't just sit here doing nothing." Fang Jie picked up her phone and walked out.

Ye Anran leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes.

She knew in her heart that since Longyao Media had given its word, no one in the industry would dare to hire her.

Those who once fawned over her have now all changed their tune.

---

Su Yuyan walked into Jiang Fan's break room with a tablet computer and closed the door behind her.

"Ye Anran is in trouble." Su Yuyan handed over the tablet.

On the screen, seven out of the top ten trending topics on Weibo were about Ye Anran.

#Ye Anran Acts Like a Diva#

#Ye Anran's acting is expressionless#

#Ye Anran's exorbitant salary#

Su Yuyan pulled up a chair and sat down.

"When the higher-ups at Longyao Media learned that she had been in contact with you privately, they completely broke off relations and imposed a comprehensive resource blockade on Ye Anran's studio."

Jiang Fan swiped the screen.

Marketing accounts across the internet spread negative rumors, and Ye Anran's performance in "Martial Arts" was captured in GIFs, magnified frame by frame, and thoroughly criticized.

Several directors in the industry have spoken out by name, saying that Ye Anran not only has poor acting skills, but is also extremely difficult to work with on set.

"The two big-budget films she was working on announced this morning that they would replace her. The production companies are willing to breach the contract to kick her out."

"Not only that, several of her fast-moving consumer goods endorsements have also terminated their contracts on the grounds of damage to her image."

This is how capital operates.

When they're praising you, you're a superstar; when they want to ruin you, you're not even worth a passerby.

Ye Anran's once-proud commercial value is rapidly shrinking under the combined strangulation of capital.

Su Yuyan looked at Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan recalled that day in the office when he directly rejected Ye Anran's offer of zero pay and demanded that the full contract be merged into her contract.

She thought Jiang Fan was too harsh at the time, but now it seems that Jiang Fan had anticipated this.

This man is not only a force to be reckoned with in bed, but also a ruthless monster in the business world.

Jiang Fan looked at the negative trending topics on his tablet.

"One more spark is needed."

Su Yuyan looked at him: "What do you want to do?"

Jiang Fan took out his phone and dialed Gu Qingqiu's number.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

"President Jiang, it's rare for you to take the initiative to contact me?" Gu Qingqiu's voice was languid.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"explain."

"Stop half of Ye Anran's high-end endorsements."

Gu Qingqiu controls Shengda Group and holds 80% of China's luxury goods distribution channels.

Those international brands that want to enter the domestic market all have to consider Gu Qingqiu's feelings.

There was a two-second pause on the other end of the phone.

"Are you interested in this woman too?"

"It's for work," Jiang Fan replied.

"Haha, I've wanted to make a move on her for a long time, but I haven't had the chance. Wait for my news." Gu Qingqiu didn't waste any more words and hung up the phone directly.