Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 396 Under 30, Controlling Three Companies Worth Tens of Billions

Yan Li's definitive conclusion was quite effective.

The couple doesn't care whether she married into a wealthy family or not, so no matter how much outsiders talk, it's useless.

However, while this incident allowed Fan Xiaopang to show off his love and gain a lot of attention, it also offended many people.

Especially those female celebrities who married into wealthy families, or women who didn't have good personal qualities but married into wealthy families to achieve upward social mobility, all have some degree of dissatisfaction with Fan Xiaopang.

Fan Xiaopang claims to be from a wealthy family himself, becoming the well-known "Fan Ye" (Master Fan), and even a model of a virtuous wife.

They all seemed like gold diggers, clinging to the rich and powerful, and gold-digging women.

Yes, while most of what people say is true, that doesn't mean Fan Xiaopang can use it to belittle others.

Besides, speaking of which, you, surnamed Fan, are not materialistic, yet you were able to be with Yan Li and tolerate his charming and debonair behavior all this time?

Two Hong Kong celebrities who had connections with the tycoon made a few sarcastic remarks, but they weren't very famous or influential, so Fan Bingbing ignored them and didn't care.

So what if she offended someone? Hasn't she offended enough people already?!

Many people had previously used Qin Lan and the others' failure to marry Yan Li to provoke and mock her, so she would use the wealthy family as a counter-attack to put them down. Let's all hurt each other and see who can withstand it.

At least now she has money, power, and fame. Whether she brags or spouts nonsense, her man is willing to back her up and save her face. How many of those scum who suffer in wealthy families would dare to say the same thing?
Since his debut, Fan Xiaopang has been a controversial figure. Even after dating Yan Li, he has been the subject of constant controversy due to his relationship and career.

She's a smart person; if she wanted to keep a low profile or create a controversial persona, she would have shut up long ago.

But she has always maintained a strong stance, partly due to her nature, and partly because she has indeed tasted the benefits. She is controversial, generates a lot of buzz, and has a strong commercial appeal. At the same time, she has many haters and many fans.

The "rich family" theory offended many people, but also made many admire and like her domineering personality.

Internet influencers, celebrities, and even female businesswomen have all praised her, and some official media outlets have also chosen angles to affirm her confident mindset and showcase the charm of a career woman.

This will attract even more fans!

As mentioned before, Fan Bingbing is too beautiful and has a strong personality, which actually hinders her from attracting fans. Female fans don't feel a strong connection with her, and male fans feel pressured.

Coupled with factors such as a conservative social atmosphere, people tend to prefer female stars who possess traditional and beautiful qualities.

But as Fan Xiaopang continued to demonstrate his strength, and with the popularization of the internet and the gradual opening up of the public's mindset, many fans gradually changed their attitudes.

If you don't feel a sense of identification or pressure, then admire the strong; the stronger the idol, the more worthy of learning from and following.

In the past, many people valued celebrities more for their morality, with being a good person being the most important thing. Now, ambition, professional skills, and work performance have become new standards that many fans value.

Fan Xiaopang is the celebrity who has changed fans' perceptions and benefited the most from the success.

This time at Cannes, her dragon robe, Fan Bingbing, and the talk of the wealthy have only fueled her already formidable presence, making her even more popular and further solidifying this new trend.

Yan Li also added fuel to the fire, and his theory of ambition was also discussed in various ways, even spreading from the entertainment industry to the whole society.

In this era of money worship and the rise of success-oriented thinking, many of the older generation's ideas are now considered outdated. Ambition, a wolf-like mentality, and the drive to climb the social ladder have become new popular concepts, at least admired by countless young people.

Yan Li himself is the most successful representative of the post-80s generation and has a huge influence among young people.

His words have been widely recognized and emulated, and if they align with one's own beliefs, they are even more revered as guiding principles.

Perhaps the impact of these words will gradually emerge in other areas, but in the entertainment industry, they have had a very direct and immediate effect.

If you have no ambition and don't want to be famous, you should find a job as soon as possible!

It has even become a common phrase among many agents and fans. While it doesn't necessarily lead to the denigration of unethical or career-indifferent artists, the fact that "ambition" is no longer a derogatory term has certainly increased the level of competition in the entertainment industry.

This shift in public opinion has left some celebrities dissatisfied, while others are thriving.

For example, Yang Mi, she's practically calling herself Little Fan or Little Fatty.

According to a source from Yi An's artist management department, Yang Mi only had a holiday during the Spring Festival this year. As of the end of the summer vacation, her schedule was completely full, and some of her smaller engagements were crammed into one day, leaving her with almost no time to rest.

If it weren't for the fact that the company still has many resources pending and needs to reserve some slots, Yang Mi might even have filled her entire year's schedule.

Fan Xiaopang can't match this work frequency and intensity.

Even when Fan Xiaopang was busy, she would take a break from time to time. Regardless of whether her body and mind could handle it, the key was that she had to be in a relationship.

She's busy with work every day and hasn't seen Yan Li much, so she's afraid that other women have stolen his heart.

Yan Li was reluctant to let Fan Xiaopang work so hard, so except for some special periods, Yan Li would force Fan Xiaopang to take some vacations or reduce his workload.

But Yang Mi is different. She doesn't have a man and doesn't need to date. Although Yan Li doesn't exploit his employees to the point of exhaustion, as long as no one causes trouble, there's no reason for the boss to obstruct or prevent employees from opening their books.

Therefore, Yang Mi was even more determined than Fan Xiaopang was back then. If the latter was a workaholic, she was a workaholic.

In particular, in the last two years, Fan Xiaopang has tried to transform into a behind-the-scenes management job. With his own momentum already established, he has started to take a high-end boutique route, focusing on quality over quantity in both film and television and business.

As a result, Fan Xiaopang was visibly less busy than before, which only highlighted Yang Mi's hard work.

Wang Ou's previous reluctance to compete with Yang Mi was partly due to factors such as being complacent about making money and being targeted by Chairman Fan Qin.

Another key reason is that I'm terrified of Yang Mijuan!

Given Yang Mi's rapid rise and workload, if Wang Ou wants to keep her position as the second-in-command, she would have to maintain at least half or two-thirds of Yang Mi's workload.

Wang Ou became Yan Li's lover because of vanity and a desire to enjoy the benefits; he had no reason to compete with Yang Mi for the title of Yi An's model worker.

Even Yan Li maintained a certain level of respect and distance from Yang Mi because of her shrewdness, so as to avoid any private entanglements with her.

Rabbits don't eat the grass near their burrows!
Back then, Yan Li ate Fan Xiaopang and Wang Ou mainly because he had never eaten them before and was craving them. He would eat them whenever he could find them, and his connections were still shallow, so there was a certain degree of overlap between public and private interests.

Now that Yi An's family is large and powerful with countless resources, there's no need for Yan Li to personally bind her. Yan Li also has plenty to eat, so there's no need to mess with the people right next to him.

At least those like Yang Mi who are making a lot of money for their families shouldn't be allowed to stay put, otherwise people like Wang Ou will be spoiled and ruined.

Yan Li clearly remembers that one of the reasons he chose Wang Ou back then was because she was ambitious and could make money for him.

Now, the money Wang Ou earns for Yan Li may not necessarily be more than what Yan Li spends on her. Fortunately, the development of team skills has brought Yan Li a lot of benefits, so it's not a complete loss.

Then consider Dong and Qin, who are behind Yang Mi. This popular actress, who is regarded by the outside world as Yan Li's new favorite, actually has nothing to do with Yan Li. She doesn't even have much interaction with him. Even Tong Yaya is more familiar with Yan Li than she is.

This puzzled Yang Mi herself, and she had actually considered taking a shortcut.

After all, she was Qin Lan and Dong Xuan's woman, and it was hard not to envy them when she saw their good life.

But she had no connections, and because she was Qin Dong's person, she was quite sensitive and dared not do anything underhanded. She could only work hard, hoping that Yan Li would notice her and perhaps there would be a turning point.

To her utter surprise, all her efforts led to mistakes, and the harder she tried, the further she strayed from her initial idea.

However, she had already been put on the leash and had tasted the sweetness of hard work, so she simply continued to roll up the sleeves.

In truth, Yan Li had many women, but not many of them could make him money.

Yang Mi's ability to grasp this trait means she will still be valued by him and won't face suppression from other women, which is perhaps a good thing.

Even Yang Mi's current success is partly due to this; most women in Yanli are not hostile towards her.

Even Fan Xiaopang's attacks were mostly directed at Chairman Qin behind her, and he never targeted Yang Mi herself, since Yang Mi did make money for her to some extent.

Fan Xiaopang's hard work laid the foundation, and now Yang Mi, the workaholic, has carried it forward.

The two of them working together created a positive atmosphere within Yi'an. Not only the artist management department, but even the company's HR department paid extra attention to this aspect when recruiting. Ambition and drive were considered important advantages.

Yan Li neither suppressed nor particularly encouraged the new atmosphere in the company.

For a company to grow, it must increase its competitiveness. A wolf-like culture is inevitable. If you don't compete fiercely, you'll be crushed by others sooner or later.

Yan Li is the boss, and he doesn't want to say anything hypocritical or nonsensical. From his perspective, he definitely wants his employees to work like crazy.

Therefore, Yan Li will not suppress the company's competitive atmosphere, or even promote and guide it, but he will not openly encourage or support any "wolf culture".

Yan Li has studied the so-called advanced management and corporate culture of some domestic enterprises.

He found that wolf culture is useful, but it can also easily go to extremes, becoming a performance-based approach, competing for the sake of competing.

For internet companies, this performance-based approach has both costs and benefits, but for a film and television content company like Yi'an, prioritizing performance is a disaster.

Screenwriters, directors, actors, and staff work hard to achieve good performance, but are the data still watchable?

Everything in excess is as bad as deficiency. Large companies are hard to turn around; stepping on the gas is easy, but stepping on the brakes is difficult.

If Yi'an had rivals, the competition would be extremely fierce, and Yan Li might not have so many concerns. But now that Yi'an is the leading company, it proves that the current company mechanism is reliable. So, if we can avoid making any moves, we should prioritize stability.

...

Yan Li wasn't too concerned about the controversy surrounding Fan Xiaopang or the internal atmosphere of Yi'an; his main focus was now on Tudou.com's IPO.

Tudou.com has been burning through cash for the past two years, and its tug-of-war with Youku has become increasingly intense. Both sides are considering going public to gain market recognition and more resources to defeat each other in one fell swoop.

Currently, Tudou.com is moving even faster, planning to go public in the US before October.

However, Youku is also following closely and is expected to go public before the end of the year.

The timing of listing, whether it's an initial public offering (IPO) or a subsequent IPO, along with the stock market performance and market acceptance after listing, could very well be the turning point in this long-running battle among video websites.

However, just after Tudou.com's board meeting regarding its IPO concluded and it officially submitted its listing application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a piece of news ignited the financial sector.

Wang Wei, the actual controller and largest shareholder of Tudou.com, was sued by his ex-wife, who claimed that there were problems with the division of divorce property and demanded a redistribution.

This lawsuit directly resulted in the freezing of Wang Wei's shares in Tudou.com, which in turn hindered the company's listing plans.

Tudou.com, which was once full of ambition, has collapsed!

Shanghai, Tudou.com headquarters
The laughter and joy of the previous two days were gone, and a palpable sense of oppression permeated the entire company.

Some employees quietly circled around the entrance, then returned in hushed tones, not daring to speak, and communicated privately in a small QQ group.

Did you hear? It seems like General Manager Wang didn't come to the office today.

Where did you go?

[They probably went to resolve something.]

How do we solve this? We've got their Achilles' heel; won't they demand an exorbitant amount? Can we even satisfy them?

Even if they demand an exorbitant amount, we have to feed them, otherwise they won't be able to go public, and the shareholders will eat them alive.

To be honest, Mr. Wang is really... well, it was one thing before, but now he's caused such a huge mess at such a crucial moment for the company.

Sigh, do you think things might change at the company?

[How will the political landscape change?]

Don't forget, Mr. Wang and Yi An don't get along. They almost came to blows before. This time, Mr. Wang made a big mistake again. How could Yi An not have something to say? We might have to get a new boss.

[No way, Mr. Wang is the founder!]

[I actually hope they change bosses. Mr. Yan has done such a good job with Weibo. If he takes over, we won't have to worry about Youku anymore.]

【…】

As everyone was chatting animatedly, a lurking user suddenly posted a series of exclamation marks, followed by four words that caused an uproar throughout the group, then the office, and then the entire Tudou.com company.

Yan Li is here.

Refusing to go to the lounge, Yan Li, dressed in a suit, looked coldly at Wang Wei's confidant.

"Call Mr. Wang back. Mr. Xiong and Mr. Xu will be here soon. We need to hold an emergency board meeting."

The confidant sensed something was wrong, but dared not disobey Yan Li, and hurriedly went out to make a phone call.

Yan Li casually found a seat and sat down, closing his eyes to rest. During this time, some shareholders and board members came over from time to time. Yan Li opened his eyes and nodded in greeting, but did not speak. The entire conference room was very silent.

Wang Wei returned quickly, even faster than many of the shareholders. Seeing the state of the meeting room, his already unpleasant expression turned even more ashen.

"What do you all mean by this?"

Yan Li continued to rest with his eyes closed. One of the shareholders snorted, "I also want to ask President Wang what he means. He was so confident about the IPO just a few days ago, how come it's suddenly fallen through now?"

Wang Wei glanced at Yan Li and then explained, "There were some minor setbacks, but they can be completely resolved."

"Resolved?" Another shareholder slammed his hand on the table. "This didn't just happen. I'm just asking you how things are going now. Will it delay the IPO?"

"Don't worry..."

Just as Wang Wei began to offer his advice, another senior executive from the board of directors spoke up: "President Wang, what time is it? We are racing against time to go public with Youku. If we are behind, we will be behind at every step. It's no exaggeration to say that this is a matter of life and death. How can everyone not be anxious?"

Upon hearing this executive speak, Wang Wei's eyes flashed with anger; this was the very executive Yan Li had arranged to join the board of directors last time.

His willingness to speak out was undoubtedly due to Yan Li's instructions.

Wang Wei didn't know how many of these shareholders and board members were on Yan Li's side, and he was too lazy to waste words with them, so he looked directly at Yan Li.

"President Yan, you orchestrated this whole situation today, didn't you? What are you trying to do? Are you trying to force me out of my position?"

"Mr. Wang, it's come to this, aren't you going to reflect on your mistakes?"

Yan Li finally opened his eyes, looked at the angry Wang Wei, and said leisurely, "Tudou.com was the first video website to gain momentum. It had users and scale, but it was firmly suppressed by the rising star Youku."

"If you can't manage your company well, your home life will be a mess too. You just submitted your application and they've already started a lawsuit. It's obvious they've been watching you all along, just waiting for this day."

"From marriage to divorce, such a long time has passed, and you still haven't managed to win over a woman. In the end, she even turned the tables on us, causing us all to suffer losses. Now that we've just expressed our dissatisfaction, you're already clamoring that we're forcing your hand."

"Fine, since that's what you think, I have nothing more to say. Let's force you to abdicate then."

"The capable rise and the mediocre fall. I personally believe that Mr. Wang is not suitable to serve as the chairman and CEO of Tudou.com. I hope that Mr. Wang will consider the company's development and step down to make way for a more capable person."

Upon hearing this, Wang Wei's expression changed drastically. He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "I founded Tudou.com myself. What right do you have to steal it?"

Yan Li shook his head: "You founded Tudou.com, but Tudou.com doesn't belong to you; it belongs to all the shareholders."

Wang Wei's eyes were red, and she looked at the major shareholders, hoping they could say something for her, but they remained silent.

Clearly, everyone had reached a consensus before the board meeting.

Wang Wei flew into a rage and suddenly pointed at Yan Li: "It was you! You and that slut conspired to frame me! You're in cahoots!"

The executive who had just stood up to defend his boss said, "Wang Wei, don't resort to desperate measures and make false accusations."

"I knew you would say that."

Yan Li remained calm, expressing with a hint of disdain and confidence: "To tell you the truth, I don't need such methods to take over Tudou.com. After that incident, many people supported my rise to power. If I hadn't been so concerned, you would have been out of the game back then."

“Even for me, with the traffic from Weibo and the content from Yi An, I can start from scratch, reinvest, or establish a video website and still make it work.”

“Originally, I didn’t want to say it so harshly, but you were married to them for a long time, and you didn’t lack money. You just gave the two of them a breakup after the divorce, and now you’re getting your comeuppance and you’re starting to say that others schemed against you.”

"You should maintain your integrity, avoid causing trouble for the company, and make Tudou.com thrive. I have no reason to argue with you, and the shareholders here wouldn't support me either."

"..."

Yan Li berated Wang Wei, admitting that he had been preparing for this scene for a long time and that he wasn't as innocent as he claimed.

However, this matter was not instigated by him; the root cause was Wang Wei's own actions, so Yan Li's rebuke of him was quite justified.

Wang Wei was taken aback by the barrage of words. Although she was indignant, she couldn't think of anything to say in response.

The divorce case caused losses to the company, and regardless of whether someone instigated it, he can't escape the blame.

At this moment, Mr. Xiong from IDG, who had been silent until now, spoke up. He is an investment tycoon and an important shareholder of Tudou.com, so his words carry a lot of weight.

“President Wang, I know you and President Yan have had some unpleasantness, but I trust President Yan’s character. He won’t let a small matter cause a big loss, nor will he resort to underhanded tactics in this matter.”

"If you are not satisfied, the board of directors can organize a special investigation or even call the police."

"But now, I hope we can talk about serious matters."

"For us investors and shareholders, changes in company leadership are the last thing we want to see, let alone on the eve of an IPO."

"The company is now facing a crisis due to its listing, poor business development, and a disadvantage in the face of competitors. Someone must take responsibility, and an excellent leader is needed to turn the tide and reverse the predicament."

Another important shareholder, Mr. Xu from Today Capital, also spoke up to advise Wang Wei.

“Mr. Wang, you are the major shareholder of the company. If Tudou.com loses to Youku, your years of hard work will be wasted and your interests will suffer huge losses. I believe this is not something you personally want to see.”

"I hope we can put aside our disputes first, work together, and get through this difficult time smoothly. Then we can discuss any disagreements that may arise."

"..."

Clearly, compared to Yan Li's stern face, Xiong and Xu played the good cop; one was reasonable and well-founded, while the other was earnest and persuasive.

Wang Wei is the largest shareholder of Tudou.com. Although the shares held by the other companies can completely suppress him and smoothly gain control of Tudou.com, if Wang Wei causes trouble, it will be very detrimental to Tudou.com, so it is necessary to keep him in check.

At least until Yan Li consolidates and takes control of Tudou.com and takes it public, Wang Wei should remain low-key and quiet.

Wang Wei is becoming increasingly desperate. If the board of directors forces him to resign today, he will have no chance of resisting.

Perhaps he could go all out, threatening the entire Tudou.com platform to force Yan Li and the others to back down.

But he didn't have the courage, and if he did, he would probably lose all the support of the people, and it might even lead to the collapse of Tudou.com.

Tudou.com is gone, but Yan Li and his group still have their own businesses and assets. He, on the other hand, has lost everything.

If he invests, he will still be the largest shareholder. If the company goes public, he will at least become a wealthy man, and he may even have the opportunity to make a comeback and turn defeat into victory in the future.

Yan Li silently watched Wang Wei, awaiting his decision.

In fact, Wang Wei is not in dire straits yet, because the incident has not been going on for too long, and many people believe that it can be resolved quickly and Tudou.com can be successfully listed on the stock exchange.

It wasn't until negotiations stalled and Tudou.com completely missed its chance to go public that everyone realized the seriousness of the situation.

Later, Youku went public first, widening the competitive gap with Tudou.com and ultimately causing Tudou to collapse. This event went viral and even became an unavoidable milestone in Chinese business history.

But Yan Li couldn't wait that long. The longer it dragged on, the worse it would be for Tudou.com. In the end, it would collapse, and it would be useless for him to take it over.

Therefore, Yan Li had been laying the groundwork in various ways to create favorable conditions for himself to take over and compete for Tudou.com.

After the incident, they quickly created momentum, pointing out what had not yet happened, stirring up the atmosphere and situation, giving everyone a sense of crisis, and then using this momentum to force Wang Wei to resign, crushing the confused Wang Wei with overwhelming force.

If Wang Wei were a decisive and resolute entrepreneur, ready to fight to the death, he might not be a match for Yan Li, but he could certainly cause him a lot of trouble.

But Wang Wei was different. Moreover, he had a strong scholarly air about him, was often indecisive, and dared not and were unwilling to risk his life.

Yan Li understood Wang Wei's personality, which is why he plotted against Tudou.com and set up this scheme today.

If it were Liu Qiangdong of JD.com, Yan Li would never have used such an aggressive approach, or even considered it at all.

After a long silence, Wang Wei looked at Yan Li, her voice slightly hoarse.

Can you guarantee that Tudou.com will have a successful IPO?

"do not know."

Yan Li shook his head: "That depends on how well you talk to your ex-wife, but I will do my best to help you resolve it."

"If there's really no way to resolve this in the short term, then if we can't go public, then we'll prevent Youku from going public as well."

“As long as they don’t rush to go public first, and everyone starts on the same footing, I’m confident that I can lead Tudou.com to beat them.”

Wang Wei asked, "How will you deal with my ex-wife, and how can you guarantee that Youku won't be able to go public?"

Yan Li knew that Wang Wei was making a last-ditch effort and trying to save face, so he wasn't impatient. Instead, he offered an explanation, both to Wang Wei and to win over the various shareholders.

"Your ex-wife's matter is simple; to put it bluntly, it's all about money."

“If she’s smart, she’ll understand that splitting the shares is impossible. I’ll give her a huge sum of money to satisfy her. Of course, you’ll have to pay for it, and the amount will be within your acceptable range. If you don’t have enough money, I can lend it to you first, and you can use the shares as collateral.”

Wang Wei shook her head: "If it were that easy to convince her, I would have solved it long ago."

His ex-wife has big ambitions. After all, if Tudou.com goes public, it could be a business worth tens of billions. Holding the key to this business, how could she not try to take advantage of it?

The company wasn't listed, so Wang Wei didn't really have that much money, and she couldn't accept being given that much.

Tudou.com was founded before his marriage. Even if they were to divorce and divide the property normally, it would only be property acquired during the marriage. His ex-wife's asking price is clearly excessive.

As a result, the ex-wife, confident that she had Wang Wei completely under her thumb, refused to budge, leading to a stalemate between the two.

“Mr. Wang, she is your ex-wife, and you are in the wrong, so she can control you. But I am different. What does blocking a deal worth hundreds of billions mean? I believe your ex-wife will know when to back down.”

Yan Li smiled. Compared to many business owners who started in the internet industry, he was far inferior in terms of strength, methods, and resources.

In business, sometimes you can't be too honest!

Of course, Yan Li didn't intend to do anything illegal; he wouldn't touch anything illegal. He just wanted the other party to know that the negotiating partner had changed, and the nature of the situation had also changed.

Moreover, Yan Li also has an intelligence network that can uncover secrets unknown to others, which can be quite beneficial in such matters.

Offering only sweet treats might tempt the other party to want even bigger ones, but a combination of sweet treats and a stick makes the choice much easier.

As for Youku, that's even simpler!

Every company starts out with a lot of dirt on it; if you want to dig it up, you can always find some, not to mention Yan Li and the system.

Of course, such a practice is extreme and could easily be met with fierce retaliation, making it a target of criticism within the industry. But the key question is, who told Youku to resort to underhanded tactics first?

According to Yan Li, the outbreak of Wang Wei's divorce has little to do with Youku.

However, the latter definitely fueled the fire and took advantage of the situation after the incident broke out, and Youku did indeed become the biggest beneficiary of the matter.

Often, whoever benefits the most is the mastermind behind it all, and even if it's not you, you can't really say for sure.

Regardless of whether Youku is innocent or not, Yan Li is determined to portray them as the actual beneficiary and the mastermind behind it all.

Firstly, Yan Li's replacement of Wang Wei is suspected to be orchestrated by a mastermind.

By promoting Youku, we can make clear choices, reduce negative impacts, and maintain our image.

Secondly, by making the already discordant Youku a public target, Tudou.com can be greatly united internally, fostering a shared sense of grievance and a united front against external threats, thus facilitating Yan Li's control over the company.

Furthermore, they first shifted the blame onto Youku, seizing the moral high ground and public opinion.

If they can't resolve the situation on this side, they might resort to underhanded tactics to drag Youku into it. In that case, it would be retaliation in kind, giving them a taste of their own medicine, without damaging Yan Li's or Tudou's reputation.

Yan Li has Weibo as a powerful tool; with a little manipulation, even eight mouths on Youku can't explain himself.

As for whether this will deepen the animosity and conflict between the two families?

They were mortal enemies to begin with, wishing they could crush each other, so what difference would a little more make? You fight me, I fight you, let's see who's tougher and can fight.

The only drawback is that this tactic is a bit unethical, but Yan Li has never been very moral, so let it be. The business world is like a battlefield, and a virtuous person can't get rich there.

Yan Li briefly outlined his strategy, but due to the fact that many things couldn't be discussed openly, he only mentioned them briefly and in a rather general way.

But those present were all sensible people, and could probably guess what it meant.

While feeling relaxed, she became even more supportive of Yan Li's rise to power, because only Yan Li could handle everything.

Even Wang Wei had to admit that Yan Li's strategy was good, which made her even more suspicious that Yan Li was the mastermind behind it all, otherwise how could he have prepared a solution so quickly?

But there's no point in arguing about it now.

Yan Li would never admit it, and the shareholders neither believed him nor supported him. Wang Wei sighed, pursed her lips, and finally said somewhat dejectedly,

"I...I resign."

Resignation is better than being forced out of office, but the meaning is the same. The board of directors immediately began to nominate a new chairman and CEO. Yan Li was elected with an absolute majority of votes, and the election was announced to the public that afternoon through the official website and official Weibo account.

Wang Wei, the former chairman and CEO, resigned for personal reasons, and Tudou.com welcomed a new leader.

The news quickly became a trending topic on Weibo and a headline in the financial section.

No one expected that the divorce would lead to the resignation of Wang Wei, the founder, and that Yan Li, after founding Yi'an and Weibo, would take over Tudou.com.

Wow, at less than 30 years old, he already controls three companies worth tens of billions of dollars. That's even more amazing than cheating.

Those in the know exclaimed in astonishment: Yi An produces the content, Tudou.com broadcasts it, Weibo promotes and drives traffic—a complete self-production, self-praise, and self-sales chain! Yan Li has truly become the king of Chinese entertainment…

(End of this chapter)