I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

"I saw the trending topic too. Is it about the hardest game in history?" The secretary quickly took out her phone. "I only saw the trending topic. I haven't played it."

"The game is called 'Sheep'."

The secretary paused for a moment, then immediately said, "Oh! I remember now. So, this newly established company's very first game has gone viral. It seems you were indeed prescient; the company I followed is truly extraordinary."

Tsai Chen-yi was unmoved by his secretary's attempts to flatter him and simply ignored them.

"It's hard to say right now. Trending topics can be bought too." Cai Zhenyi ordered, "Check for me whether any of those MCNs have recently accepted their promotions, and then ask them if the trending topics were bought."

The secretary nodded: "I'll go right away."

After saying that, Cai Zhenyi rubbed his forehead and pondered for a while before picking up his phone and dialing Gu Yuqing's number.

As soon as the call connected, his gloomy expression vanished, replaced by a warm and cheerful demeanor, like a sunny and outgoing young man, as if he were face-to-face with Gu Yuqing.

"Hey Yuqing! Congratulations!"

A calm voice came from the other end of the phone: "I'm on work now, call me President Gu."

“Yuqing,” Cai Zhenyi insisted, as if he hadn’t heard what she said, “Congratulations on the successful launch of the first game of the company you invested in!”

"Huh? You're online? Haha, I didn't even know. How did you find out?" Gu Yuqing on the other end of the line said very sincerely.

Cai Zhenyi frowned and laughed, "You're still pretending? The game is trending on social media, I don't believe you didn't know!"

"Trending topics? What trending topics?" Gu Yuqing sounded very surprised. "The company's first game is trending? Really?"

Cai Zhenyi frowned deeply.

He didn't quite believe Gu Yuqing didn't know. But to say she did know would be an incredibly convincing performance.

But then he smiled and said, "No need to pretend with me. We've been in this business for so long, we both know what's going on. Just tell me, how much did you spend?"

"How much did it cost?" Gu Yuqing sounded surprised.

"How much did you spend to buy the trending search?"

"Ah, President Cai," Gu Yuqing said politely, "I only found out today that the game was trending on social media. You're asking me how much it cost to buy the trending topic? Isn't that asking a blind person?"

"Really?" Cai Zhenyi was quite surprised.

At this moment, the secretary came in, saw Cai Zhenyi making a phone call, and waited quietly to the side.

"President Cai, speaking of which, do you need my help?" Gu Yuqing said with a smile. "You have such good relationships with those social media platforms like Weibo, wouldn't it be easy for you to help create a couple more trending topics?"

Gu Yuqing's words were barbed, and how could Cai Zhenyi not understand? She meant that buying trending topics was something Donghuang Qixing loved to do, something everyone in the industry knew.

Cai Zhenyi pretended not to understand and feigned surprise, saying, "What are you talking about? Our strategic cooperation with Weibo is just an official matter. They've done a lot of badmouthing us, but we haven't really broken ties yet."

Gu Yuqing smiled and said, "Then it would be great to help you promote your invincible MCN group!"

“Hey, we don’t have an MCN group. This is just rumors spreading outside to smear us. You don’t believe it, do you?” Cai Zhenyi said with a smile.

MCN agencies, or influencer management companies, are organizations that help influencers monetize their content. Live streaming guilds are also considered MCN agencies.

In reality, most MCN companies in China are essentially companies that control the channels for content creators, thereby demanding higher prices from clients and extracting the remaining value from content creators.

Donghuang Qixing's MCN group is at an even higher level—as the largest client in the domestic game industry, they control many MCNs.

Therefore, in the arena of public opinion, the Seven Stars of Donghuang are always undefeated because they have a group of dogs who are extremely capable of stirring up public opinion.

"Is this a dig at you guys? I actually think you're very strong, and I really admire your company's capabilities," Gu Yuqing said.

“Haha, really not,” Cai Zhenyi said. “By the way, speaking of which, I met your General Manager Chen once last time, but I haven’t added his contact information yet. Could you send it to me?”

"Why do you want his contact information?" Gu Yuqing's tone sounded a little wary.

"As fellow industry partners, why can't we connect, exchange ideas, and learn from each other more?" Cai Zhenyi said with a smile.

There was a long silence on Gu Yuqing's end. Cai Zhenyi said "hello, hello" twice, but she didn't respond. Just as he was wondering what was going on, Gu Yuqing finally spoke.

"I've been thinking about it, Mr. Cai, you wouldn't be thinking of investing in his company, would you? That won't do. I'm the major shareholder now, how could I possibly share my cash cow with you? You should look for someone else, don't come to me."

Cai Zhenyi said awkwardly, "You're too defensive, too much. I didn't think that at all."

"The business world is like a battlefield; how can you survive without being vigilant?"

Cai Zhenyi continued to try to get information out of Gu Yuqing, while Gu Yuqing responded indifferently and even tried to get information out of Cai Zhenyi in return.

The two exchanged barbs for a while, neither revealing a single word.

In the end, Cai Zhenyi had no choice but to hang up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Cai Zhenyi's expression was very serious, but there was also a hint of excitement beneath the seriousness.

Sure enough, clashing with Gu Yuqing is quite exhilarating.

This woman is as cunning as a fox, as cruel as a lion, and sometimes as clever and adorable as a cat.

She is very attractive.

Cai Zhenyi rarely showed interest in anything, but when he was with Gu Yuqing, he always felt a constant thrill, and he would inadvertently reveal a weakness that she could exploit.

Every encounter with Gu Yuqing only fueled his desire to conquer this woman.

"Mr. Cai," the secretary said, having waited for quite some time, "Weibo has no record of this company buying trending topics. They asked if we should remove this trending topic?"

"Withdraw? No." Cai Zhenyi shook his head, then smiled, "These guys really do make money from both sides, they're incredibly ruthless."

A common refrain on Weibo is that trending topics aren't something they can simply remove at will; they're generated based on real-time calculations, and it takes a lot of manipulation to create a trending topic.

Of course, getting on the trending topics list also requires "manipulation".

In short, you'll have to pay more.

"And then?" Cai Zhenyi continued to ask.

“All the MCNs we have communication channels with have conducted self-checks, and none of them have received any promotional tasks from this company,” the secretary said. “It seems they don’t post tasks through MCNs.”

“Hmm,” Cai Zhenyi said.

“However, we just received another message,” the secretary said. “A well-known mobile game account, the owner of the account ‘I Love Mobile Games,’ said that this company has contacted them.”

"Oh?" Cai Zhenyi became interested, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "Let's not talk about that for now. Let's have our colleagues contact this company first."

"Are you looking to invest in them?" the secretary asked.

"Ah."

"You're very decisive," the secretary exclaimed, then immediately went about her business.

Gu Yuqing's refusal to give it to him doesn't mean he won't take it.

If he doesn't take it, someone else will. Once it becomes a trending topic, those manufacturers with a strong tendency to expand will definitely have their eyes on it.

……

On the other end, Gu Yuqing hung up the phone and turned to look at Chen Ya.

"You need to understand, even if I don't give it to them now, they'll find you later."

Chen Ya said, "Then let them look for it later."

Cai Zhenyi didn't know that Gu Yuqing and Chen Ya were together—if he knew, he would be furious—he had just asked Gu Yuqing for Chen Ya's contact information, and Gu Yuqing had actually consulted Chen Ya beforehand.

Chen Ya's opinion was, "To hell with it, I'm not seeing him."

"You really don't want to join the Seven Star System? If you do, you're guaranteed a minimum annual salary of ten million!" Gu Yuqing blinked and said this on purpose.

"Really? But if I bet on the Seven Stars, wouldn't I be unable to help you fulfill your bet?" Chen Ya replied calmly, his eyes still fixed on the screen.

Gu Yuqing looked at his face with an unchanging smile, then suddenly grabbed his hand, their fingers intertwined and held each other even tighter.

"Ring ring..."

Chen Ya's phone rang just in time. Chen Ya let go of her hand and answered the call.

Cai Zhenyi's voice came from the other end.

"Mr. Chen, it's been a long time. Do you remember me? We met at the club last time..."

"President Cai?" Chen Ya said briefly.

“Good memory, good memory,” Cai Zhenyi said enthusiastically. “Then I’ll get straight to the point. Our company is very interested in your game studio, so I’m here on behalf of our company to invite you…”

"Are you interested in investing in our company?" Chen Ya asked.

"Well, that depends on how we negotiate. We have many ways to cooperate."

"No need," Chen Ya said.

The other person clearly hadn't expected him to refuse so decisively, and said, "Why don't you meet in person before making a decision?"

“I said no need,” Chen Ya said. “My studio is currently well-funded and operating smoothly, and I have no intention of accepting investment at the moment.”

Cai Zhenyi's tone sounded somewhat amused: "Are you sure you have enough funds? Mr. Chen, you have to understand that the business world is unpredictable, and you might need funds very soon."

"Thank you, I'll contact you when I need it."

"Hehe," Cai Zhenyi rolled his eyes inwardly, "President Chen, I have to remind you, not every studio has the opportunity to speak directly to me like this. I'm giving you this opportunity, and I hope you cherish it."

"Thank you," Chen Ya said calmly. "May I hang up now?"

Cai Zhenyi was seething with anger. He knew that if he replied now, it would be beneath him. So he slammed down the phone.

Hearing a busy signal from the other end, Chen Ya tossed his phone back onto the table.

Gu Yuqing looked at him with a complicated expression and gave him a thumbs up.

"You're really awesome."

……

On the other side, Tsai Chen-yi, who had thrown his phone on the table, also looked annoyed.

He sat in his office, with several subordinates standing beside him. He had already drafted the contract, but he hadn't expected Chen Ya to be so uncooperative.

Moreover, the conversation he just had on speakerphone was heard by everyone around him.

"Mr. Cai," the secretary quickly spoke up, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere, "should we take action to teach this company a lesson?"

“Yes, he needs to be taught a lesson,” an employee chimed in. “This greenhorn has never been taught a lesson in how to navigate the world.”

"Hmm." Cai Zhenyi frowned, in a bad mood, and didn't say much. "It needs to be a warning."

"How do we do it?" the secretary asked. "Take that trending topic down?"

“That’s too costly. It’s not worth dealing with these small fry,” Cai Zhenyi said. “Let that top mobile game account you just mentioned handle it.”

"Remember, use the least amount of money to beat him until it hurts."

Chapter 339 He and I are very compatible

There are many questionable practices in the gaming industry, including crowdfunding games where the developers abscond with the funds, and PV fraud where the final product is a complete mess.

It's fine to do these things; it's all about ripping off players. Players' money is the easiest thing to rip off. At worst, you can just change your identity and start over. It won't affect your future.

But there is one thing you absolutely must not do—that is, offend the Seven Stars of the Eastern Empire.

Donghuang Qixing wields immense power in the MCN industry; offending Donghuang Qixing is tantamount to offending the entire gaming industry's public opinion.

This isn't just a matter of being misled by marketing accounts; if you offend Donghuang Qixing, you can forget about making money with your game.

An industry leader once created a "iron triangle": "good reputation," "making money outside the circle," and "poor relationship with Donghuang Qixing." You can only have two of these at the same time.

If you want to have a good reputation and make money, you absolutely can't have a bad relationship with Donghuang Qixing; you have to pay them a visit.

There was a boutique company that hadn't won any awards in China for its games in five years. After receiving investment from Donghuang Qixing, it won both the CGN and Golden Controller awards the following year.

Similarly, if you have a good relationship with the Seven Stars of the East, or even become a member of the Seven Stars of the East, then you can only choose between reputation and making money.

Because all the money is being made by Donghuang Qixing, if you want to make money too, you have to use some methods that damage your reputation. If you want a good reputation, then you are being leeched off.

Although it's frustrating, that's just how things are.

So when Chen Ya rejected Cai Zhenyi, most people were surprised, and some immediately called him a hothead.

If Donghuang Qixing takes the initiative to extend an olive branch to you, you'd have to be out of your mind to reject it without even thinking.

If you refuse to be a good "competitor," then you can only be a loser.

On the day of Qingming Festival, the machine of Donghuang Qixing slowly started up, its spearhead aimed at a newly established company.

Soon, a message spread throughout the MCN community: "Don't accept any promotional tasks from Beichen Company."

When this news spread, all the MCN companies were shocked, and they all asked, "What kind of company is Beichen Company?"