"What on earth is Zhang Menglong trying to do?" Seeing that Weibo post by Zhang Menglong, Hu Bufan immediately panicked.
All these big brands like Louis Vuitton, Porsche, Lancome—they might be big and successful, but in front of Zhang Menglong, they're no different from the small vendors on the street.
His presence was like opening a seven-star restaurant in a snack alley—if he wanted a shop to go out of business, then it would go out of business.
Zhang Menglong's post was essentially a command. Although it didn't state the consequences, thinking with one's butt was enough to know that if they chose not to terminate their partnership with Hu Bufan, it wouldn't be long before they'd have to worry about more than just finding a top influencer to endorse their brand—they'd have to worry about whether their company would survive at all.
"Brother Zhou, the director of Porsche's Huaxia division just called to say they want to terminate their partnership with Brother Fan!"
This news came just minutes after the post was made.
"That's not acceptable, we have a contractual agreement. They can't just terminate it unilaterally, or they'll have to pay a penalty of 50 million!" Zhou Zong immediately said.
"Brother Zhou, they say that Brother Fan's improper behavior has damaged their brand's reputation. They don't just want to terminate the contract, they're even demanding 20 million in damages for defamation."
"What? They want compensation? Ridiculous!" Zhou Zong slammed the table angrily, "Right now, Zhang Menglong is just making up charges out of nowhere. If there really was such an issue, we wouldn't need him to deal with it—the relevant departments would have already been in touch. There's no such thing as damage to reputation!"
"We absolutely can't be suppressed by him!" Zhou Zong immediately said, "Have the PR department release an article right away to counter Zhang Menglong's claims. Those chat logs provided by those people have no credibility whatsoever. We have to fight against this sort of slander!"
Zhou Zong slumped onto the sofa, out of breath, thinking that even if the situation continued to ferment, there would be a more gradual process.
Who knew that Zhang Menglong wouldn't reason with you and now, even without definitive proof, directly threatened all the major brands to terminate their contracts with him. How were they to defend against this?
"I believe those brand representatives aren't idiots. In the current situation, Zhang Menglong doesn't have solid evidence. They can't terminate our contract without any concrete proof that Fan is so-called 'disreputable artist', they wouldn't dare to really terminate the contract!"
But they were still wrong. Indeed, some brands hesitated and didn't respond immediately, but many other brands chose to terminate their contracts right away.
"Tengxun Video announces the termination of their brand endorsement advertising with Hu Bufan!"
"Wangyi Music announces the termination of their three-year brand endorsement deal with Hu Bufan!"
Minutes after Zhang Menglong's message was posted, Wangyi and Tengxun's official Weibo accounts each released their messages.
Tengxun and Wangyi, with their 14 games, were raking in money hand over fist. What's just tens of millions in penalties? If it needs to be paid, then it's paid!
Moreover, paying the penalty was only a temporary situation. Ma Hua and Ding Sanshi were well aware that once Zhang Menglong set his mind on doing something, he would carry it through to the end, and he never engaged in meaningless or immoral acts.
They were sure that Hu Bufan must have done something. Although they had no evidence now, they believed that sooner or later, Hu Bufan could be exposed by Zhang Menglong!
By then, if the disreputable artist's charges were proven true, not only could they get back the penalty they'd paid, but they could also demand the corresponding damages from Hu Bufan according to the contract.
And now, a small temporary price was a small price to pay for winning Zhang Menglong's favor—a deal that was definitely profitable without any loss!
Holding a similar view were the majority of Huaxia's brands as well as some foreign ones. In just three short days, nearly 20 brands forcibly terminated their partnerships with Hu Bufan!
Facing such a trend, even a portion of Hu Bufan's fans started to panic.
Although Hu Bufan always said that these were just rumors, to date, Zhang Menglong hadn't received any legal notice. Doesn't this indicate that they simply didn't have the courage to sue Zhang Menglong?
The brands, one after the other, terminated their contracts—was it not just fear of Zhang Menglong's threats, but because they had gotten wind of something?
Gradually, even without concrete evidence, public opinion started to lean more towards Zhang Menglong's direction.
"Not bad, at least they have some brains," Zhang Menglong looked at the announcements from the brands. "Hong Yi, how many brands are left that have not terminated the contract?"
"There are still seven foreign brands including Lancome and Givenchy," replied Hong Yi.
"It seems that some people are still harboring illusions," Zhang Menglong sneered. "If they are not taught a lesson, they'll think that my words are a joke."
"Mr. Hubert, it's me, Zhang Menglong!"
The owner of Givenchy was so startled by the call that he nearly jumped.
"Zhang... Mr. Zhang..."
"Mr. Hubert, it seems you haven't taken my words to heart, have you? Has Givenchy become too proud, or is Zhang Menglong unable to wield a knife anymore?"
"Mr. Zhang... well, uh, there's still no definite outcome regarding Mr. Hu's affairs, right? We can't terminate the contract with him for violating moral standards and damaging the brand unless it's a misunderstanding..."
"Misunderstanding?" Zhang Menglong laughed coldly. "So, you're not terminating the contract, is that it? Then I'll just have to call the Dorellas family and let them talk to you."
"What... the Dorellas family?" This name sent a shiver down Hubert's spine. Was this a name that could be casually mentioned in Europe?
"I dare to ask, Mr. Zhang, what relation do you have with the Dorellas family?"
"Their family's head is a servant in my household!" Zhang Menglong said. "If you don't believe me, I can have the head of their household call you shortly, but I don't guarantee they will be as friendly as I am."
"I... I'll arrange the termination right away!"
Where would Hubert dare to doubt any longer? First of all, not many people knew about the Dorellas family, and the fact that Zhang Menglong could so casually divulge this name meant he was indeed on that level. Hubert would rather err on the side of belief than disbelief!
"If I don't show you some color, you really think I'm just farting, huh?" Zhang Menglong
"Givenchy announces the termination of its endorsement contract with Hu Bufan!"
Following Givenchy's announcement, other brands such as Lancome and Louis Vuitton also chose to stand together, and of course, whether their owners discreetly called Hubert is unknown. But if they knew about Zhang Menglong's connection with the Dorellas family, they would probably be scared out of their wits, right?
Thus, all the brands that had endorsement deals with Hu Bufan had ended their partnerships with him.
At this moment, Hu Bufan was like someone who had all his strength drained, collapsed on the sofa.
Even though the breach of contract payments had earned him a good sum, he was well aware of what he had done, and though he had covered his tracks cleanly, guilt still haunted him. If by any chance solid evidence was found one day, he would have to pay back every cent of that money, even potentially providing hundreds of millions in compensation!
The best strategy in the Thirty-Six Stratagems is to retreat!
An idea arose in Hu Bufan's mind. In Huaxia, he was definitely no match for Zhang Menglong. Even if Menglong couldn't find conclusive evidence, just by spending money, he could crush him completely, turning his life into something akin to imprisonment.
The best option for him would be to return to California!
"Notable! Disaster has struck!" At that moment, Zhou Zong came over. "We're finished this time!"