Xusheng, blood buns, and other topics quickly took over the hot search.
During the weekend, Yuran found some time to visit the studio. Qi Younian had been waiting there for her already. When he saw her, the anger that had been accumulating hadn’t fully dissipated, and his face looked rather foul.
Kang Zhenyu grinned at her, "Negotiating with Xusheng, they’re really opening their jaws wide—either exchange resources for Meng Qiuyan, or one hundred million, not open for negotiation;
they have a big appetite, just not sure if they can swallow what they’ve bitten off."
Yuran couldn’t help but laugh, "So, Qi Younian is angry just because of this?"
Carrying a cup of coffee in his hand, Kang Zhenyu smiled at her words, his meaning self-explanatory. Yuran shook her head and led Kang Zhenyu into Qi Younian’s office.
Qi Younian lifted his gaze to look at the two, the resentment still showing no signs of fading, "You’re here."
Yuran took a seat in the chair opposite him, "If Xusheng wants to open their jaws that wide, let them. What are you so concerned about?"
Qi Younian rubbed his forehead, "I’m not angry."
"Do you believe what you just said?"
Kang Zhenyu couldn’t help but laugh inappropriately, making Qi Younian’s face grow even longer, "Kang... bro..."
Kang Zhenyu waved his hand, "Alright, alright, I won’t tease you. I think President Yu is right, there’s no need to take Xusheng’s big ask seriously, why get worked up about it?"
Qi Younian, unable to help himself, "It’s just so unsettling. I’ve never seen such... rogues.
The thing that angers me is not just their audacity to demand so much, but also... forget it, their words are incredibly unpleasant to hear. I feel bad for Meng Qiuyan.
After so many years, who knows how much benefit she’s brought to Xusheng, and what’s the result? In the end, they still treat her like a bargaining chip."
Kang Zhenyu leaned casually against the office desk, "To be strict, you should know about Xusheng’s... rules, so this shouldn’t be considered a big deal, why get mad?"
Qi Younian was still visibly upset, "It’s just that I can’t stand such a cancer."
Yuran raised an eyebrow, somewhat curious as to where all this rage was coming from. If anyone had been treated unfairly, it wasn’t him—so why the fierce reaction? It was rather baffling.
"Are you upset for Qiuyan’s sake? Do you like her?"
The coffee went down the wrong pipe for Kang Zhenyu, and he choked, unable to swallow or spit it out. Finally managing to gulp down, he was left with teary eyes.
Completely blindsided by such a juicy tidbit...
"President Yu, next time you bring up such gossipy questions, please give me a heads-up. When it’s out of the blue , I feel I look quite foolish."
Yuran replied, "Kang bro, you don’t look all that smart right now either."
Kang Zhenyu: "...Can’t you guys show a little respect for the elderly?"
Yuran couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.
Qi Younian glared furiously at Yuran, "You know what’s a joke and what’s not, don’t you have any sense?"
Yuran: "... No need to be so serious, you’re so stern, it’s kind of scary."
Feeling defeated, Qi Younian looked at Yuran indifferently, "What’s your next move?"
"I’ve sent something to your email about a few minutes ago. You and Kang bro should discuss and draft a press release; I’ll get in touch with some directors who’ve worked with Qiuyan before, as well as casting directors.
If audience members suspect Meng Qiuyan has powerful backers behind her, that’s a matter for one or two people to discuss, but what if all these directors could prove that the roles Meng Qiuyan obtained were all earned by herself?"
Qi Younian frowned, "This is not something you can resolve with just a word or two; are you sure those directors, who have nothing to do with the matter, will come forward to help resolve this?"
Yuran played with a pen in her hand, "My words might not carry much weight, but what about my husband’s?"
Kang Zhenyu and Qi Younian looked at each other, neither spoke, "You sure know how to make good use of resources."
Yuran smiled, but didn’t explain, "Diyang’s influence in the circle is considerable, and I doubt anyone would refuse to give face. Don’t worry, leave this matter to me, and we’ll handle it separately."
As Yuran was about to stand up and leave, Qi Younian stopped her, "What about Meng Qiuyan’s contract... How should it be signed?"
"The way Lu Xiao was signed initially is how she will sign, our studio doesn’t do the business of fleecing sheep, nor can we afford to."
Just when the internet was unanimously against them, numerous netizens started a petition to boycott every artist under Xusheng, claiming none of them were innocent; they were all tarred with the same brush.
Those who had been victimized were also nailed to the pillar of shame.
The violence of the netizens always came out of nowhere, prompted by a single word or a sentence—always ready to trigger their most evil side, making them wish to grind you into the ground, never to rise again.
Yes, not many artists of Xusheng managed to remain untouched, many had enjoyed resources garnered through such backdoor dealings.
But why then was Meng Qiuyan, who hadn’t taken such resources, being incessantly targeted?
The issue stemmed from a clip released after Meng Xusheng’s legal downfall, he said that Xusheng’s internal resources had been 90 percent occupied by Meng Qiuyan, so it was written in black and white that initially, he conspired with Meng Qiuyan to do this deed; if he was the mastermind, then Meng Qiuyan was the absolute accomplice.
There was no doubt that this was a deathblow to Meng Qiuyan.
Online violence can kill a person ten thousand times over.
Meng Qiuyan had been staying in an apartment under Yuran’s name during this time, with her phone turned off and not going online, ignorant of the storm raging outside. At home, she would pass time by reading books and making desserts, not wanting to know anything about the outside world, "Yuran told me that if troubles follow you like a shadow, then don’t look at the shadow. I don’t want to know anything that’s happening outside right now. Once it’s resolved, I plan to go abroad for further studies, for at least two years," she would directly tell her agent whenever she visited and hesitated to speak.
The agent then would say no more.
A boss like Yuran was truly rare; even if Meng Xusheng wanted to drag Meng Qiuyan down into an abyss from which there was no return, Yuran had the capability to chop off his claws one by one.
Those directors who originally cherished their reputation and refrained from controversy also stepped forward one by one to voice support for Meng Qiuyan.
Within Xusheng, none were clean except for Meng Qiuyan, who, from start to finish, had never partaken in the tainted resources.
One revelation after another emerged in the scandalous affair, and in the end, surprisingly, only Meng Qiuyan emerged unscathed, which left the netizens extremely dissatisfied, claiming she must have a significant backer.
At the same time, Meng Qiuyan announced to the public that she was signing with Ran Studio indefinitely.
This completely silenced the widespread speculation.
Ran Studio’s influence shouldn’t be so significant as to move so many top directors to speak up for her.
The previously outspoken netizens quieted down a little, and Meng Qiuyan logged into her official Weibo account to post an update.
Meng Qiuyan V: I never found the lowest point in my life to be so terrifying, but I must admit that this low point in my life has shown me the dawn because of the help from @M.YU, thank you @M.YU. Thank you @Ran Studio.