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

Chapter 384: Every injustice has its owner, and every debt has its owner

"Hey, Huahua... you found the person, right? OK, I got it... bring him back to the company first. I have a flight at noon, so I'll be back in the afternoon..."

On the bed in the hotel, Li Qin woke up from her sleep and heard people talking around her in a daze.

Sitting up slowly, she saw Meng Bai put down the phone and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Are you going back to Jingbei at noon?"

"Yeah." Meng Bai raised his hand to smooth her hair. "Huahua has found the person who wrote the article. I have to go back and take a look at the details."

"There really is such a person!" Li Qin said in surprise: "I thought you were making up a story last night... Oops!"

Meng Bai retracted his finger and looked at the girl who was covering her forehead: "You don't believe me."

"You have so many thoughts on your mind, how can I know whether it is true or false..."

Li Qin muttered softly, but she felt much better in her heart.

He got up, washed up, and asked the hotel to send food over. Meng Bai looked at the investigation materials sent by Hua Yan, and casually asked Li Qin who had just come out of the bathroom: "How long will your contract with Rong Xinda last?"

"According to the contract, it will be completely completed by the end of October."

Li Qin wrapped herself in a bathrobe and sat next to Meng Bai. She said with some sadness, "A while ago, Aunt Li asked me if I wanted to renew my contract. I said I wanted to go out and have a look. She didn't say anything at the time, but I could see that she was quite disappointed."

Meng Bai whispered to comfort her: "It's human nature. After all, you have been together for so many years, and Director Li has also spent a lot of time thinking about you."

When Rong Xinda remade Dream of the Red Chamber, he signed a large number of promising newcomers. However, after ten years, almost all of them terminated their contracts and left, and many of them were very unhappy.

In fact, Li Qin could have left a few years earlier. Although tens of millions of dollars in liquidated damages is a lot, it is not impossible to accept it if she grits her teeth, not to mention that she can ask the next buyer to pay for it.

It's just that she is nostalgic and grateful to director Li Shaohong for visiting her three times and bringing her into the entertainment industry, so she stayed at Rong Xinda until the end of her contract, which can be regarded as fulfilling this favor.

"You should be the only artist in Rong Xinda who has stayed for ten years according to the contract. You have done your best for both the company and Director Li."

"Yeah." Li Qin sighed with emotion.

"Okay, girl, just sigh a little." Meng Bai raised his voice and said, "Rong Xinda has turned the page, why not enjoy the bright future at Arclight."

"Humph, I haven't said we have to go to Arclight yet!"

"Studio model, capital injection, annual TV and film contracts, new high-end endorsements and fashion resources, and a certain investment share if there is a suitable project..."

Meng Bai said proudly: "I don't believe anyone can offer better conditions than this."

Li Qin really couldn't refute this point. The signing price that Arc Light offered for her was indeed a huge premium for her current status.

Especially the studio's capital injection and the "investment share" condition, in a sense, is equivalent to moving her identity from a simple actor and artist to the capital side.

If I can operate reasonably, maybe in a few years, I can become a capital tycoon in the film and television industry?

Li Qin imagined in her mind that one day she would acquire Arc Light Films, and then tie Meng Bai up at home to serve her tea, wash clothes and cook for her. A bright smile immediately appeared on her face.

"Snapped!"

A crisp snap of fingers rang in her ears, waking her up from her "fantasy time".

"What are you grinning about?" Meng Bai asked with a frown.

"Nothing, nothing." Li Qin put away her smile.

No, now is not the time to expose myself. I cannot let this guy know my thoughts, otherwise he will definitely suppress me.

Meng Bai naturally didn’t know that Li Qin had already started planning her future “career”, otherwise he would have laughed at her and asked her if she had forgotten how the 60 yuan was defrauded away that year?
When the film and television market was good in the past few years, many stars were trying to transform themselves into capitalists, with some successes and some failures.

Mostly failures, of course.

Even for those that seem to be successful, many of them are just a title without much actual benefit.

Just like Yang Mi, whom Li Qin used to envy, once he got the shares and signed the bet, he turned into Jiaxing’s ATM and nanny.

You have to earn gold coins and train new people, and you will be scolded if something goes wrong.

But it’s also good, it suits her ambitious personality.

Meng Bai asked Huguang to invest in Li Qin's studio, not because he expected her to become a money tree like Yang Mi. After all, this girl's ambition was really limited.

Giving her a small share of the investment was simply to let her experience the thrill of being a boss and make some pocket money at the same time.

Anyway, if you invest in ArcLight's projects, you won't lose money.

……

After breakfast, the two of them stayed together for a while. Seeing that it was almost time, Meng Bai left and rushed to the airport.

It was already afternoon when he landed in Beijing North. Hua Yan and driver Lao Qi came to the airport to pick him up.

However, the car did not go directly back to the company, but turned at Sanlitun first, and then continued to drive towards the Arc Building.

Arclight Films, conference room.

A young man with messy hair was sitting in the room, looking rather anxious.

He glanced at the door of the conference room, where two burly men were standing. The security uniforms they were wearing were taken from someone else, but they were obviously one size too small and stuck to their bodies tightly.

Looking at the two men's arms that were thicker than his thighs, the young man licked his dry lips. He hadn't had a sip of water since he was brought here from the rental house early in the morning.

Fuck, I shouldn’t have taken that order at that time!

The young man cursed in his heart.

But then he sighed again. Writing a soft article that relies entirely on splicing materials can earn 10,000 yuan. Who would be willing to refuse such a good business?

Not knowing how Mr. Meng would deal with him, the young man’s mind flashed through various movie and novel clips, each more miserable than the last, and his face grew paler.

He was just getting scared when he heard voices coming from the door. He looked up and saw the two security guards at the door with respectful smiles on their rough faces that were totally inconsistent with their personalities.

Then, a group of people filed in. Leading the way was the high school-like girl that I had seen this morning, followed by two middle-aged men in suits with serious faces.

Behind him was a tall, handsome young man, and behind him was a short man in a black men's coat, but because he was wearing a hat and a mask, his face could not be seen clearly.

The group sat down one by one on the opposite side, and the handsome young man sat opposite him. He looked at him, smiled and said slowly: "Hello, I am Meng Bai from Arclight Films."

"Meng, Meng, Mr. Meng, hello." The young man spoke with difficulty and said in a dry voice: "I am..."

"Li Mu, male, 25 years old, graduated from an unknown college. After graduation, he worked as an entertainment reporter for more than a year, also known as a 'paparazzi'. After being laid off, he began to write online novels on Qidian Chinese website, mainly based on entertainment themes. His favorite heroines are Liu Tianxian and Yang Mi. He has written three books so far, but they were all banned because the content was too similar to real events. He usually works part-time as a contributor to self-media public accounts, with an average monthly income of about yuan..."

Meng Bai read the information in his hand, then looked at the pale-faced Li Mu: "Is there anything you want to modify?"

"Well, actually I don't like Tianxian and Yang Mi very much, but more people will read my works about them..." Li Mu said weakly.

"Really? Then who do you like?"

"I don't have a particular crush on anyone... After I quit being an entertainment reporter, I won't pay much attention to the entertainment industry. At most, I'll just watch some TV series." After a pause, Li Mu added, "I prefer watching TV series with arc lights. I've basically watched all the 'Green Ivy Series'."

"Yo, you're still a fan of our Arclight."

Meng Bai put the documents in his hand aside and said, "Okay, the small talk is over, let's get down to business. By the way, let me introduce you to these two people, our legal advisors of Arclight. They will record and record all the conversations today."

Li Mu glanced at the two middle-aged men sitting next to him, and his already dry throat became even more itchy.

Fortunately, Meng Bai did not deliberately oppress him at this time, and asked someone to bring him a glass of water. Seeing that he drank it "really thirstily", he continued: "Tell me the whole thing from beginning to end, and your result will depend on your cooperation."

Naturally, Li Mu did not dare to hide anything, and he immediately recounted the entire process from the time he received the other party's message asking for an article until he was found today.

In short, Li Mu usually contributes content to various film, television and entertainment marketing accounts. Because his content is more reliable than that of other people, he has a certain reputation in the industry.

About half a month ago, when Mimi Meng's article about Yang Chaoyue became a hot topic on the Internet, someone contacted him and said that he wanted a similar article, but from the perspective of the capital behind the scenes.

Li Mu didn't take it seriously. There were many cases of rivals sending each other marketing articles to discredit each other, and he himself had written quite a few of them.

Although he also likes Yang Chaoyue, there is nothing he can do about it. After all, a man should focus on his career.

At worst, I can wait for her to release an album and buy one to support her.

So, based on the materials and information provided by the other party, he completed the article "Exposing the Capital Bureau".

He was writing completely normally. He did not deliberately increase the length of the parts involving Arc Light and Meng Bai. At most, he just took extra care to revise them.

As I said before, he had indeed watched quite a few Arclight dramas, and he admired this team and Meng Bai. After he finished writing and submitted the manuscript, the other party paid him very happily. Then within two days, Li Mu saw his article on the Internet.

His first reaction was: This “rival” spent a lot of money on promotion.

Second reaction: No, this article is different from my original text. Why are there so many more parts about arc light?
The third reaction: Oh no, I seem to be in big trouble.

Being able to support himself by writing about the entertainment industry, Li Mu naturally had some understanding of the situation here. As soon as he saw this situation, he knew that the other party's target was not Yang Chaoyue at all, but Mr. Meng from Arc Light Film and Television.

If a small person like him got involved in this kind of fight between big men, he would be courting death. But he had no other choice now, the only thing he could do was to pray that they would stop looking for him.

However, things did not go as planned. Less than two days later, the man came back to him again. He first praised his last article and then asked for a new one. This time, he asked for it urgently and had to get it within one day.

Li Mu made an excuse that the information he provided was not enough, but the other party said it didn't matter, it would be fine if it was roughly the same. He wanted to refuse, but the other party threatened and lured him again.

In the end, he had no choice but to write the second article based on the information he found on the Internet and some rumors he had heard when he was an entertainment reporter.

Just like the last time, this new article added a lot of content that he had not written before, some of which he could even tell were fabricated.

But there is nothing we can do. Other people’s words are insignificant and cannot change anything. We can only leave it to fate.

Then, the Arc Light arrived.

After listening to Li Mu's explanation of the cause and effect of the incident, Meng Bai thought for a while and asked, "You just said that someone found you. Who is this person?"

"I don't know either." Li Mu saw the other party frowning and hurriedly said, "They were all email contacts. I haven't seen them."

“Is there an email address?”

Li Mu didn't say anything and looked at Hua Yan who was sitting next to Meng Bai.

"Boss, we asked him when we found him this morning, and we also checked it out." Hua Yan said, "The other party used two email addresses in total. The first one was more secretive, and we didn't find any information. But the second one he contacted, maybe because he was too anxious, so the other party used the one with the registration information."

"We contacted the police and Tencent this morning, and together we used technology to find out the identity of the other party."

Hua Yan said as she handed the phone to Meng Bai, which contained a message from another person.

[Chen Zhijie, male, 47 years old, director of the marketing strategy department of Jiangsu Straw Bear Entertainment Film and Television Company...]

"Straw Bear Entertainment..."

Meng Bai couldn't help laughing when he read the name.

Just say that this circle is small, and anyone who comes out can know the details.

Meng Bai had mentioned this Straw Bear Entertainment when he was in contact with Guo Jingyu before. The company's boss Liu Xiaofeng was the so-called "god" who could control the ratings and decide the broadcast of TV series.

Sure enough, my previous guess was correct. Only this group of people would be so nervous about investigating the fraudulent ratings.

Actually, it was a good idea. I could hit myself to muddy the waters and delay the process. Then I could use connections or connections to make this matter smaller.

Unfortunately, the other party misjudged the determination and efficiency of the higher-ups' crackdown on the film and television industry and had to respond hastily, which led to many flaws being exposed.

At this point, the situation is very clear. Liu Xiaofeng may not be at the top of the chain, but she is close to the core.

Especially this attack against me, it is likely related to him.

"Huahua." Meng Bai gave Hua Yan a look.

"clear."

Hua Yan responded, then went out first and began to contact all parties to handle the follow-up.

Inside the room, Meng Bai looked across at the opposite side: "What about you? Do you want to recommend me a way to deal with you?"

Li Mu sat there dejectedly, not saying a word.

"Okay, then I'll give you some legal knowledge."

Meng Bai gestured, and the middle-aged legal officer at the side said, "According to the newly effective General Provisions of the Civil Law, literary works that describe real people and real events, which insult, slander, or disclose privacy to damage the reputation of specific people, should be deemed as defamation. The infringer shall bear the tort liability, eliminate the impact, restore the reputation, and apologize."

"If the victim suffers actual losses, compensation shall be paid according to the actual losses. At the same time, the injured party can seek compensation for mental damage and property damage, and the infringer shall bear the prosecution fees, transportation fees, lost wages, etc. According to the current actual impact, the total compensation should be around 30 to 50 yuan."

"Only 500,000? So little?" Meng Bai raised his eyebrows.

The middle-aged legal officer smiled and said, "Because at present, there is no way to determine the specific impact of the two articles on Arc Light. But if you strongly advocate it, we can also cooperate to make a detailed evaluation report."

Meng Bai did not respond, but looked at Li Mu again: "What do you think?"

"Mr. Meng, you have all my information and know my situation. So if you want to kill me or chop me up, just give your orders." Li Mu said.

Not to mention three hundred thousand or five hundred thousand, he couldn't even afford to pay thirty or fifty thousand, so he had no intention of struggling at all.

Seeing the other party's resigned look, Meng Bai smiled and said, "I can give you three options. Have you seen Let the Bullets Fly? Treat me to a meal, behead me..."

"Take him in and treat him as a dog?" Li Mu replied.

"Hey, don't say it so harshly." Meng Bai said, "You can replace it with 'stay in Arclight to work and pay off the debt'."

"Okay, I agree!" Li Mu agreed without thinking.

"So fast?" Meng Bai asked, "Why are you staying here without even asking?"

Li Mu smiled bitterly: "I am only good at writing, other than that, I can't think of any other reason."

"It's good to be self-aware."

Meng Bai regained his serious expression: "Hu Guang has already reported this matter to the police, so you still have to go through the procedures with the police. After that, you have to cooperate with our requirements, apologize, dispel rumors, and clarify. After these things are over, we will discuss in detail what you should do to repay your debt."

"I see."

Someone came in to take Li Mu away, and then everyone left the meeting room together. The outsourced legal consultants of the two red circle firms said goodbye and left, while Meng Bai walked towards the office, but there was a tail following him.

He opened the door and entered the room. The person who had been following Meng Bai from the beginning and had not spoken the whole time followed him in.

After Meng Bai closed the door, the man took off his wide hat and mask, revealing Li Yitong's pretty little face.

"Huh - I've been holding it in for half a day."

"You insisted on listening to it live. Are you satisfied now?"

"Well, it's OK." Li Yitong shook her head. "It turns out that our President Meng still tells the truth occasionally."

"What do you mean by telling the truth?" Meng Bai looked at her sincerely and said, "I said, I won't lie to you."

"Haha, stop it." Li Yitong was not moved at all. "You should save these words to appease Mr. Li or your ex-girlfriend."

Meng Bai curled his lips. As expected, Boss Li was the most difficult to deal with.

Compared with Li Qin and Song Zhi, this girl was angry but much calmer. She felt that the two so-called "explosive articles" on the Internet were unbelievable after reading them.

But at the same time, she didn't believe Meng Bai's words at all and had to see the real person in person, so the "interrogation" just now took place.

If not for this, Meng Bai would have sent Li Mu to the police. As for accepting the "work to pay off the debt", it only took a word.

However, even after hearing the description on the spot and knowing that Meng Bai was indeed "attacked" this time, Li Yitong still firmly believed that he was absolutely not innocent.

At the very least, it was true that Li Qin and Song Zhi did this.

It's just that after knowing each other for so many years, she is very familiar with Meng Bai, and he has been unfaithful for a long time. Anyway, as long as it is not exposed in front of her, she will just pretend that she doesn't know.

There's nothing she can do about it, since she just likes this "dog man"!

Sitting on the sofa, Li Yitong asked curiously: "Do you really want to keep that Li Mu? He is your enemy."

"What kind of enemy is he? He is just a tool at best." Meng Bai said indifferently, "Every grievance has its perpetrator, and there is no need for such a small character. What's more, this guy does have some good things in those marketing articles, which can stir up the readers' emotions. Keep him, he will be useful in the future."

"So what are you going to do next?"

"Now that we know the core enemy behind the scenes, we naturally have to fight back."

Meng Bai's face turned cold: "If we don't make these bastards into green ones, they will be considered as having never eaten leeks!"

(End of this chapter)