After five bigwigs in Beijing's elite circle fell into their trap, I fled.

Chapter 91 Mysterious Card
The villa of famous director Xu Zhao.

Cigarette butts littered the ground.

Xu Zhao, with a worried expression, made phone calls to investors and brokerage firms one by one:

"Mr. Zhang, your artist has been involved in so many scandals, we definitely can't use her anymore. Either you find someone else—or you withdraw your investment? We're old friends, and you're pulling this stunt on me?"

"Mr. Li, I don't care how you want to promote your little mistress, it's impossible for me to use my A-list actress to promote her. She's a complete newcomer with no acting experience. She'll not only ruin my script, but also her own reputation. An audition? No, no, no! I've already auditioned once. Please make sure she learns to memorize her lines before coming back. Just saying '1, 2, 3' won't look good if word gets out..."

"Manager Wang, does your diva still want to act? I don't care if she's a socialite from the capital or not. She threw a tantrum on set and kicked my male lead out of the crew, and now she's quitting herself! If you push me too far, we'll all fight back. Don't think I'm really scared!"

"Withdraw investment? Mr. Ning, you're withdrawing your investment to fund my rival's game, is that it? Fine, fine! Take your 30 million and get out!"

"Actor Chen, let's talk about your breach of contract..."

……

When Xu Yan came in from outside looking dazed, Xu Zhao was already lying on the sofa, clutching his chest and panting.

"Dad, are you alright?" Xu Yan walked over suspiciously. "Are you too tired? Do you want me to help you to rest for a while?"

"No, I was just angry." Xu Zhao shook his head, suppressing his negative emotions, then looked at his daughter and asked with concern, "Did you cause any trouble for Jiang Shu?"

"A little," Xu Yan said somewhat embarrassedly, "She's been giving me food and taking things from me all the time. I already owe her a huge favor, and now I feel even more indebted to her..."

“You are friends, so don’t always worry about who owes whom. Friends shouldn’t be so calculating, otherwise you’ll become estranged.” Xu Zhaoxin said with feeling, “High school friendships are very precious. After you enter society, you’ll find people who will betray you everywhere. It’s the people from your youth who can stand by you through thick and thin.”

Seeing that her daughter was still a little confused, Xu Zhao smiled and patted her head: "If you still feel bad, don't worry. High school students don't have many worries. On the contrary, when they go to college and enter society, they will need all kinds of connections and resources... If you pay close attention to what she needs most, there will be plenty of opportunities to help her in the future."

Xu Yan nodded, then her gaze fell on the cigarette butts scattered on the floor: "Dad, why are you smoking so much? Is something wrong at work?"

"Isn't it just the same old trivial stuff every day?" Xu Zhao shook his head, his tone cold. "The industry is full of monsters and demons. I've only recently had the lead actor in a new drama collapse, and now everyone, whether they know me or not, is trying to kick me while I'm down, hoping to kill me off and get a piece of the pie..."

Xu Yan asked with some worry, "Dad, can you handle it?"

"At most, it's just a period of low ebb! Your dad makes a living with his talent, and as long as the market recognizes my work, I'll always be able to make a comeback."

Xu Yan hesitated for a moment: "Can I help you?"

“You’re just a high school student, how can you help?” Xu Zhao didn’t want his daughter to worry, so he laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m used to the ups and downs in this industry. I’ve been contacting a few movie stars I’ve known before. If they’re willing to act in my new drama, the word-of-mouth will pick up quickly.”

Xu Yan asked curiously, "Which award-winning actors are they? Is my idol Yan Yu among them?"

Xu Zhao, who was already in a bad mood, rolled his eyes at his daughter's provocation: "Every time I'm about to film a new drama, you have to ask if Yan Yu is involved. Do you think I don't want him? Who is Yan Yu? Half of the top actors in the entertainment industry combined don't have his status! I couldn't afford to hire him when I was at my peak, and now that I'm in a slump, you expect me to hire him? I know you like him, but when I get a chance to meet his agent, I'll get you a signed autograph... As for the dream of getting him to act in a movie, I don't even dare to think about it!"

Then he named several washed-up movie stars. "Tomorrow I'll invite these stars over for a get-together and see if I can persuade one or two to help me out..."

For some reason, Xu Yan's mind drifted back to the extremely important return gift that Qin Dou and Lin Shuangshuang had given her in the car.

Although she wasn't heartbroken, she still felt envious and a little disappointed. She couldn't help but speak up: "Dad, today Jiang Shu gave Qin Dou and Lin Shuangshuang a thank-you gift: a signed photo of Yan Yu and a package of prime-seat tickets! Lin Shuangshuang even got a personally signed invitation from Yan Yu..."

Xu Zhao was utterly shocked!
He sat up straight, incredulous: "The prime seats are all monopolized by those damned super-rich! Apart from the one set that was sold in the Puppet Man livestream a while ago, you can't buy them on the market! As for Yan Yu's autographed invitation... Yan Yu has never cared about Tianlai's affairs, let alone personally inviting her... You're not mistaken, are you?"

“I’m not mistaken.” Xu Yan took a deep breath. “I borrowed it from them and looked at it over and over again, more than a dozen times…”

Xu Zhao said incredulously, "I still don't believe it—they gave a return gift, so what about you?"

“I have some too.” Xu Yan paused for a moment, “I only have a stack of greeting cards…”

Xu Zhao asked in surprise, "You're different from them? What greeting card? Let me see it."

"It's just a very ordinary card, similar to a bookmark, and the quality is not bad. It has a signature, but it's not Yan Yu's; it's probably some unknown celebrity... I secretly searched for it, but couldn't find it."

As Xu Yan spoke, she handed over the gift box in her hand.

Xu Zhao casually took the book and opened it:

"Even so, don't hold any grudges against Jiang because of this. He never owes you anything. You—I'll fucking swear on you!"

When Xu Zhao saw the large stack of high-quality black cards in the box, he immediately jumped up!
"Dad, you?"

"Don't speak! Don't speak!" Xu Zhao took a deep breath, rubbed his eyes, and then looked at the stack of black cards again...

"I'm seeing things! I must be seeing things! How could a pass from the Fengshen Group possibly appear in front of a nobody director like me!"

He paced back and forth a dozen times, then went to the door to let the cold wind blow on him for a while. When he came back to check, the black card was still there. Suddenly, he felt a wave of relief wash over him, and he slumped heavily to the ground!
"Dad!" Xu Yan exclaimed in a panic, "Dad, is there something wrong with this greeting card?"

Xu Zhao closed his eyes and steadied his breathing for a while before looking at his daughter with a complicated expression:
"You're busy studying, so you're not very aware of what's going on in this circle. Do you know about the FY conglomerate?"

"I know! The world's largest conglomerate! The absolute hegemon of the financial world! Number one on the global wealth list! And the controlling shareholder is Chinese!"

Xu Zhao nodded: "The FY conglomerate has countless industries under its umbrella, one of which is the entertainment industry. Don't be fooled by the numerous entertainment companies, large and small, both in China and abroad. Behind them all is the same controlling shareholder—the heir of the FY conglomerate, that globally renowned troublemaker. And just a few months ago, the FY conglomerate separated its entertainment business from the FY parent group and established the Fengshen Group in Beijing, China."

Xu Yan exclaimed, "So, Fengshen Group is the actual controller of the entire entertainment industry?"

Xu Zhao sighed softly: "You could understand it that way—but in reality, everything is decided by FY's prince, who's prone to acting crazy from time to time. Only when he's too lazy to care does the CEO of Fengshen Group, Nie Hongnian, have the final say. And after Fengshen Group was established, they issued a pass, like the one you have in your hand."

(End of this chapter)