Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 382: Level the Backyard First
Seeing Meng Bai's smiling expression, Meng Ziyi couldn't help but said, "Uncle, even if the reputation doesn't affect you, you won't be happy, right?"

"I'm not laughing at this." Meng Bai said.

Although public opinion does not have much impact on him, who has been behind the scenes for many years, it is never a pleasant thing to be plotted against by others.

The reason he was laughing was because he finally found the clue hidden in the fog.

In fact, he had expected the article to appear, but he thought that the other party would wait until ArcLight issued a clarification statement before finding fault with it.

Unexpectedly, the other party was faster than he expected. The first article was published only a few days ago, and before it spread widely, the second article came out first.

In this situation, there are only two possibilities. Either the other party has little experience in this kind of smearing, but judging from the leverage and content of the first article, this is obviously unlikely.

Then, there is only the second possibility left, that is, the other party is anxious.

Why would they be in a hurry? It must be because there have been some new changes recently, forcing the other party to hurry up.

Therefore, Meng Bai just thought about the recent changes in the situation and immediately understood.

According to the information that has been circulated, the amount of smuggled funds found to be as high as hundreds of millions, and this is just one artist.

It is said that the top leaders are very angry about the result and want to thoroughly investigate the malpractices in the film and television industry, launch the "Clear and Bright Operation", and re-establish the concept of building a culturally strong country.

Among the "unhealthy trends" mentioned above, the most prominent one is tax evasion, followed by data fraud, which has become increasingly rampant in recent years. This includes inflated box office sales, inflated broadcast volume, the Internet troll industry, and the recent hot topic - ratings fraud.

Because of his previous initiative to volunteer at the "Joint Meeting", Meng Bai has now become the main person in charge of communication between industries.

It just so happens that he has basically contacted all the people he needs to contact during this period. Under the request, the film and television companies and platform parties will cooperate with the documents and issue an industry statement to express their support for this "Clear Operation".

Obviously, for the interested parties behind the black industrial chain, now is the last moment, how can they not be anxious.

In fact, it can be seen from the second article that the truth has become clear in the last part, which almost links Meng Bai's personal character issues with the development of the industry in a blunt way.

Honestly, that's a bit self-incriminating.

In addition, the other party left a very important flaw because of his scheming.

The first article was written with careful wording and the revelations were backed by relevant evidence. Even if Arclight wanted to take legal action, it would be hard to see any good results.

But this time it was different. Perhaps because time was too tight to investigate, the information in the second article can only be said to be half true and half false.

This is a serious loophole.

Arclight has a lot of evidence to prove that the article contains false information. As long as a little bit of it is removed and a little guidance is given through public opinion control, the credibility of the entire article will be completely lost.

Moreover, perhaps in order to allow netizens to understand the story more intuitively, the real names of all the people involved, including Meng Bai, were used directly.

False news plus real people, Arc Light can file an appeal on the grounds of spreading rumors or damaging reputation, and basically every appeal is successful.

When the verdict is added, the whole incident will naturally be classified as a rumor.

Even if someone brings up one or two of these points, there will naturally be fans who come out to refute them.

Because there were no clues before, we could only conduct a general investigation. Now we have a direction, we just need to follow this line and I believe the mastermind will soon surface.

After all, those who dared to commit crimes at such a critical moment must not be small shrimps. This circle is so small that it won't take long even if we use the process of elimination.

Meng Ziyi was confused: "In other words, publishing this article is actually a good thing."

"That's not the case. The other party was successful tactically, but it was a serious mistake strategically." Meng Bai said: "But the key to this matter is whether we can find the person as soon as possible."

In fact, he already had some guesses about the target, but he was more interested in the people who wrote these two articles. Regardless of the accuracy of the information, the appeal and emotional incitement to the public were still very strong.

In ancient times, there would have to be something like "The Proclamation to Punish Meng Bai" or something like that.

Meng Bai really wanted to find this person and meet him. It would be even better if he could stay in Arc Light, so that he could be useful someday.

While he was thinking about it, Meng Ziyi thought of another question.

"Sister Tongtong, how are you going to deal with those guys, little uncle?"

"It's necessary to dispel rumors, clarify things, and prosecute if necessary." Meng Bai said, "They are 'victims' and it's easy to deal with them. If it doesn't work, you can also throw dirty water on me, but I don't care anyway."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Meng Ziyi walked to the table and asked curiously, "Will they be angry if they know about this?"

"If it's your words, are you angry?"

"Definitely!"

"The same goes for them."

"..." Meng Ziyi looked at him helplessly, "Then you still don't care."

"You may seem indifferent, but you're actually brainstorming in your mind." Meng Bai said insincerely, "As a girl, do you have any suggestions?"

"Haha, you said I'm a girl too, do you think I will help a scumbag like you?" Meng Ziyi rolled her eyes without hesitation.

"I think so." Meng Bai's face was full of seriousness, "Because our Ziyi's heart is as beautiful as her appearance."

Haha! Meng Ziyi sneered in his heart. Such an old-fashioned compliment, did he think he would fall for it?
Well, I do eat a lot.

After thinking for a while with a wrinkled face, Meng Ziyi said, "Anyway, if you tell the truth, there will be no hope. Otherwise, just deny it and say that this article was deliberately forged to attack you."

Meng Bai raised his eyebrows: "It's a bit hard to believe, right?"

"Believe me, little uncle." Meng Ziyi smiled confidently, "As long as a woman still likes you, she will make herself believe it no matter how outrageous the excuse is. What's more, many of these are indeed fabricated."

"Makes sense."

Meng Bai nodded, took out a box from a drawer beside him and handed it over.

"what is this?"

Meng Ziyi curiously opened the box, and then his eyes lit up: "So beautiful!"

In the box was a bracelet that sparkled brightly. The chain was inlaid with tiny diamonds, and there were five sea-blue gems evenly arranged on the bracelet.

Meng Ziyi happily took out the bracelet and put it on. The blue and silver bracelet showed a unique charm on her fair and slender wrist.

"Give it to me?"

"Of course, otherwise I took it out for you to see?"

"...Are you trying to use this as hush money for giving you advice?" Meng Ziyi looked at him suspiciously.

Meng Bai spread his hands: "What you said, as an uncle giving a gift to his niece, do I need any special reason? If you must have a reason, then I will just treat it as an early birthday present for you. Anyway, I may not have time by then."

"Hey, why would I doubt you, little uncle?"

Meng Ziyi said this sincerely, then looked at the bracelet on his hand with joy, and then quickly ran around the table to Meng Bai and opened his arms: "Thank you, uncle."

After saying that, she hugged him excitedly.

"Get out of the way." Meng Bai pushed her head away, "She's not a child, why are you holding her?"

"Tsk, I was just expressing my gratitude, it's you, little uncle, who got the wrong idea... Oops!"

Meng Ziyi touched his head and curled his lips, but still warned: "Uncle, if you want to find Sister Tongtong and the others, it's best to do it as soon as possible. Otherwise, the longer you delay, the more trouble you will have."

"I know, isn't this just about preparing..."

Meng Bai was halfway through his words when there was a knock on the office door, and Hua Yan walked in.

"boss……"

Hua Yan shouted, then saw Meng Ziyi beside her and stopped talking.

"You guys chat, don't bother with me."

Meng Ziyi walked away sensibly and sat back on the sofa, indicating that he could not hear anything.

Hua Yan gave her an apologetic smile, then quickly walked to Meng Bai and said with a strange expression: "Boss, um... Sister Song Zhi is here and said she wants to see you."

"Tsk."

Meng Bai touched his eyebrows. He expected that Song Zhi would be the first to explode, but he didn't expect that this girl would come to him directly.

Fortunately, the company in the industrial park is relatively low-key and there are no reporters waiting, otherwise there would be complications at the forefront of the storm. "It's okay, just let her come up." Meng Bai said directly.

"Ah?" Hua Yan was stunned for a moment, but seeing that her boss looked confident, she still responded, "Okay."

She was about to turn around and leave when Meng Bai called her back.

"How's the search going?"

Hua Yan was excited: "I found it. One of the self-media people we contacted said that he knew the person who wrote these two articles. Tencent verified it and it should be true. Now we have gone to find the person."

"Okay." Meng Bai also said: "Hurry up and find the person for me in one or two days. Also, tell him to either come to Arc Light to see me or find a lawyer as soon as possible."

"I see."

Watching Hua Yan go out, Meng Bai silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Even though he appears calm these days, he is actually under more pressure than anyone else.

On the radio and television side, Director Nie had already called him to inquire about what happened, and at the same time implicitly reminded him that it would be best to find a way to resolve the matter as soon as possible.

This kind of scandal really has little impact on him, but the higher-ups cannot allow a practitioner with a damaged reputation to speak on behalf of the industry at this time.

Now that the person has been found, he is already invincible. The next step is to find out who is behind it.

Meng Ziyi, who was sitting next to him, saw Meng Bai's thoughtful expression and said, "Uncle, you go ahead and do your work. I'm going back."

"No hurry." Meng Bai stopped her, "Wait a moment, I want to think of something."

"okay."

Meng Ziyi responded in confusion and sat down on the sofa obediently.

Judging from the expression on my uncle's face, it seems like something very important happened.

As she was thinking, the office door was suddenly pushed open. Then, a woman wearing a plaid dress and black tights walked in aggressively.

The woman was about to speak when she suddenly saw Meng Ziyi standing beside her. Her anger suddenly subsided. After a while, she turned around, forced a smile, looked at her and said, "Hello, Ziyi."

"Hello, Sister Song Zhi." Meng Ziyi greeted weakly.

The two had met once before at Blue Island, and later met twice at evening parties. They were not familiar with each other, but they knew each other.

Because of this, it was a bit awkward for both of them to meet here at this time.

It was not until this time that Meng Bai, who was observing secretly, finally spoke up: "Ziyi, you go back first. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Ah? Oh..."

Meng Ziyi responded blankly, nodded at Song Zhi, and walked out with a confused look on his face.

It wasn't until she left the Arclight Building that she suddenly realized what was happening.

Humph, just wonder why you didn’t let me leave just now. It seems like you wanted to use me as a buffer zone!
……

in the office.

Watching Meng Ziyi leave, the smile on Song Zhi's face disappeared instantly.

However, her original aggressive aura was weakened a little because of this episode. She pondered for a while, and found that she seemed to be unable to find the previous feeling. She could only sit on the sofa with a stern face and an angry expression.

Meng Bai walked over and sat down next to her.

"Not happy?"

"What do you think?" Song Zhi asked back, and then stared at him straight: "Meng Bai, tell me, what is the relationship between you and me? Don't be perfunctory!"

"Relationship?" Meng Bai said: "Of course you are my closest person."

This answer was somewhat different from the one in Song Zhi's mind, but it was not considered a perfunctory one, so her expression eased a little.

"What about them?"

"They? Who?"

"Are you playing dumb with me?"

Meng Bai spread his hands: "Teacher Li is a partner who has cooperated for many years. Boss Li is a friend who has known each other for many years. It's that simple."

"Hehe, are you kidding me?"

"You know me. I never lie." Meng Bai said, "I know you've read that so-called explosive article, but I want to tell you that this matter is very complicated and not that simple."

"Then just talk slowly. I have time to listen." Song Zhi said immediately.

Meng Bai sighed, and at the same time he felt happy in his heart.

As long as they are willing to listen, then it will be easy. The worst thing is that they don't want to listen.

Although he thought so in his heart, on the surface, he still spoke the whole story in a heavy tone, exaggerating it in a way that was beneficial to him.

"Your enemy?" Song Zhi asked halfway through, "Who is it?"

"As for those who falsify the ratings, they are the vested interests of this black industry chain, so we must do everything we can to stop or delay the actions to buy ourselves time to resolve the issue."

Song Zhi blinked in confusion: "So, that revelation was all made up by them in order to attack you?"

"Of course it's nonsense." Meng Bai said firmly: "Think about it yourself, aren't all the specific details mentioned in that article accurate?"

While talking, his hand subtly wrapped around the other person's waist, bringing the two of them closer.

Song Zhi didn't notice anything unusual, mainly because she was subconsciously accustomed to this kind of intimacy.

Thinking back to what she had read, she was not very clear about the other people, but as for herself, apart from the information on the surface which was relatively reliable, none of the other information was accurate.

But the information on the surface can be easily found by simply searching Baidu. In other words, the other party has no actual evidence at all and is simply guessing based on the little information they have.

Seeing the girl's expression relax, Meng Bai struck while the iron was hot and whispered in her ear, "The other party first took advantage of Xiao Yang's popularity to stir up this matter, and then involved me. But their main target is me, and Xiao Yang is not enough, so they just added a few people."

I’m afraid it wasn’t added casually, Song Zhi muttered to himself, but he had begun to believe what Meng Bai said.

The main reason was that the article was indeed full of errors and omissions, which were even more obvious to her as the person involved.

Once doubts arose, her original ideas instantly fell apart, and she became more and more convinced of Meng Bai's explanation.

The original anger had been basically dissipated after this set of attacks.

It was not until this moment that she suddenly realized that she had been held in Meng Bai's arms without knowing when.

"Let go..."

Song Zhi struggled, but his movements were not big, and his tone was not one of rejection, but rather a bit of coquettishness.

Of course Meng Bai wouldn't be so stupid as to let go. On the contrary, he directly hugged the other person in front of him.

"I know you must be very angry after reading that revelation, and I understand your reaction, which shows that you care about me. But it is really inappropriate for you to come here at this time today. If someone takes a picture of you, then it will be useless to clarify it later."

Song Zhi felt warm at heart when she heard Meng Bai say that he "understood her". But she felt nervous when she heard the following words, and she said quickly, "When I came here, I asked my assistant to observe in advance, but no one was found, so I came up."

"Besides, I don't need to clarify anything. We have been together, so why explain more?" Song Zhi puffed his lips and said to Meng Bai.

Sister, if you don’t clarify, I’m going to collapse.

Meng Bai muttered to himself, but patiently explained: "If it was before this incident, then it really doesn't matter. But now, if you don't want your fans to stop following you, you must clarify it."

"Why? I'm an actor, not a traffic idol or anything like that, why can't I fall in love?"

"Because of my personality." Meng Bai said: "Even if I dispel the rumor later, my reputation and personality are destined to be bad. Fans can accept you being in a relationship, but they can't accept you being in love. So I have to clarify it so that they can believe you."

"If you don't want to be a fan, then stop being a fan. I don't care."

"That won't do!" Meng Bai looked into Song Zhi's eyes with a righteous expression on his face, "I don't want to hear anyone scold you."

Song Zhi only felt a warm current surge up from the bottom of her heart, and her eyes were slightly moist. Looking at the man in front of her, she threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly, as if she wanted to melt into his body.

(End of this chapter)