How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 456 Falling Twice!
At 6 p.m., with only two hours left before the New Year's Eve galas of major TV stations were scheduled to air, the online hot topics that should have been dominated by "gala program list" and "celebrity outfits" were suddenly replaced by an explosive video.

Initially, the video titled "Tianxi Media General Manager Li Lehua Admits to Manipulating the Golden Melody Awards" only circulated in a few online forums. However, within just over ten minutes, with netizens frantically forwarding it, the video instantly ignited the entire internet like a cigarette butt thrown into a cotton field.

In the video, Li Lehua sits behind his desk, pointing at Zhang Wen and cursing him, saying things like, "It was Zheng Jinpeng I found who stripped you of your Golden Melody Award," "I ruined your award, this is the price you pay for going against me," and "I'm the company's general manager, I can do whatever I want." These words are particularly offensive.

Especially the final scene where Li Lehua grabs the photo frame and smashes it at Zhang Wen, made viewers gasp in shock.

There was no blurry image quality, no deliberate editing; everything felt so real.

The office lights illuminated the arrogance and hostility on Li Lehua's face. The painful cries of Zhang Wen in the background, along with the indignant voice of Deputy General Manager Chen Mingyuan, made the authenticity of the video undeniable.

In an instant, countless netizens were enraged by Li Lehua's behavior.

After seeing that Sun Shiping had been sent to a mental hospital for treatment, everyone thought that his accusations yesterday about "Li Lehua giving gifts" and "Zheng Jinpeng accepting gifts" were nonsense, and they also believed the clarification statement issued by the Music Association and Tianxi Media.

But now that everyone has seen this video, they all understand that Li Lehua and Zheng Jinpeng have been treating them like fools all along.

"Li Lehua is too arrogant! Does the general manager have the right to beat and scold employees at will? This is simply workplace bullying."

"Zhang Wen is so pitiful. He wrote songs and made so many artists famous, but he was treated like this and suppressed by Li Lehua. If it were me, I would have quit long ago."

"Where is the fairness and justice in the Golden Melody Awards when Li Lehua and Zheng Jinpeng are actually manipulating the awards behind the scenes?"

"I suspect that Sun Shiping was sent to a mental hospital for treatment as revenge by Li Lehua and Zheng Jinpeng!"

"..."

The comment section kept refreshing, and angry netizens quickly took over major social media platforms, with related topics skyrocketing in popularity.

"Li Lehua manipulates the Golden Melody Awards."

"Li Lehua beat and verbally abused his employees."

"Li Lehua and Zheng Jinpeng colluded in evil deeds."

The deceived netizens now only want to do one thing: vent their anger.

They went to the music association's official Weibo account and left a message in the comment section of the earlier clarification post.

May that liar's whole family die!

"You used to say Sun Shiping was mentally ill, but now that Li Lehua has admitted it, are you still pretending to be dead?"

"We demand a reinvestigation of the Golden Melody Awards judging process and to give Zhang Wenhe and Future Girls a fair trial."

"Removing Zheng Jinpeng is like a rotten apple spoiling the whole barrel."

"..."

Faced with increasing accusations and insults, association staff were forced to urgently disable the comment function, which only attracted more criticism.

Netizens quickly shifted their focus to leaving comments on the Weibo accounts of association members.

Tianxi Media was not spared either, and its public relations department was in complete chaos.

They had prepared countless crisis plans, but they never expected that President Li would "self-destruct" so thoroughly.

They wanted to issue a statement to deny the allegations, but the video evidence was irrefutable; they wanted to delete the video, but it had already spread across the entire internet and was impossible to delete; they wanted to settle things privately with Zhang Wen, but they couldn't contact him at all; they wanted Mr. Li to apologize in person, but they didn't have the courage to do so.

After thinking it over and over, all I could do was stare blankly at the news.

Chen Mingyuan, who was still at the company, couldn't stop smiling after seeing the news online.

Actually, when he first saw the video trending on social media, he was completely dumbfounded. As someone who witnessed the incident, he didn't see Zhang Wen recording the video. But the reality was right there, and all he could say was: Well done!
It now seems that Teacher Zhang had set up the whole thing from the beginning, just waiting for Li Lehua to take the bait. As for him, he just happened to become a witness in this scheme.

The video's popularity is still skyrocketing, but Chen Mingyuan feels it's not hot enough. He hopes it will get even hotter, so hot that everyone is talking about it and the board members can see it too.

With that in mind, he immediately called several media outlets he was close to, with only one goal: to hype up the video of "Li Lehua admitting to bribing the Golden Melody Awards" as much as possible.

This would not only affect Li Lehua's position in the company, but also damage the connections behind him.

Connections are also a form of strength.

Li Lehua's network of connections has been damaged, which will naturally reduce his strength and will be extremely beneficial to his future power grab.

'Li Lehua, Li Lehua, you wouldn't go to a mental hospital for treatment too, would you?'

Li Lehua had already returned home. After taking the phone from her husband, her face immediately darkened.

The screen was playing a video of her admitting in her office to suppressing Zhang Wen.

From his arrogance when admitting to asking Zheng Jinpeng to change the award, to his ferocity in grabbing the photo frame and smashing it at Zhang Wen, every scene was like a sharp knife, piercing her heart.

"How could this be!" Li Lehua muttered to himself, his voice trembling.

She clearly remembered that Zhang Wen did not carry any filming equipment when he entered the office, but from the angle of the filming, it was Zhang Wen who secretly took the photos.

hateful!

Li Lehua gritted his teeth, his expression gradually turning ferocious.

She was puzzled as to why the man surnamed Zhang was acting so weakly today, unlike his usual arrogant self. It turned out he was setting a trap for her.

A news notification suddenly popped up on my phone screen: "Li Lehua manipulates the Golden Melody Awards" followed by a glaring "hot" word. Clicking on it, I found the comments section full of insults and accusations against her.

No, we absolutely cannot let this video continue to spread!
She quickly pulled out her phone, found the PR director's number, and dialed it. The moment the call connected, she launched into a tirade of abuse.

"What is your PR department doing? Are you all a bunch of useless people? Why don't you delete the news online?"

The PR director said aggrievedly, "Mr. Li, I contacted all the major social media platforms as soon as the video was leaked, but after we deleted it, it would reappear on other websites. We can't delete it all, we just can't delete it all."

"Why say so much? If you can't delete it, it just shows your incompetence!" Li Lehua said irritably. "I don't care what method you use, you must make this video disappear from the internet and suppress its popularity, otherwise you can forget about being the PR director."

After saying that, he hung up the phone directly.

The PR director was frustrated. It was clearly Mr. Li who spoke recklessly, but she was the one who had to bear the consequences. This was just too unreasonable.

I feel uncomfortable and want to cry.

Li Lehua watched the video again, and the more she watched, the angrier she became.

She hated Zhang Wen for secretly recording her; she hated Chen Mingyuan for not stopping her; and she hated the netizens who accused her without any evidence. She had given so much to Tianxi Media, yet because of one person and one incident, they labeled her as an utterly wicked bastard.

"Ring ring ring!"

At this time, the cell phone ringtone suddenly rang.

Li Lehua glanced at the screen, her expression turning even more grim.

It's Zheng Jinpeng.

If someone calls at this time, they're definitely here to demand an explanation.

The ringing bell was like a death knell, ringing incessantly.

Her finger hovered over the answer button for a long time before she finally answered, trying to make her voice sound as calm as possible.

"Hello, Chairman Zheng."

"Li Lehua, have you lost your mind?" Zheng Jinpeng's furious roar came through the phone. "What nonsense are you spouting in the office? Are you trying to get me killed?"

He was already getting ready to go on a date with his girlfriend when he received a call from the public relations department. He then learned that the video of Li Lehua's self-disclosure had been posted online, and now the entire internet was criticizing him.

Sun Shiping accused him of accepting gifts and manipulating the Golden Melody Awards. He wasn't afraid because the other party hadn't witnessed it firsthand. However, when Li Lehua admitted to giving him gifts, he couldn't remain calm. Since the other party was the person involved, and the person involved had already admitted it, any explanation he gave would be in vain.

Sensing Chairman Zheng's anger, Li Lehua felt a little guilty and said aggrievedly, "Chairman Zheng, you can't blame me. Zhang Wen set me up. I was provoked by him and couldn't help but say those things."

"Couldn't hold back? I think you're brainless!" Zheng Jinpeng said irritably. "I told you before that this kind of thing can be said by other people, but it just can't be said by you. Now look what's happened, you not only admitted it in the office, but you also hit someone. Are you afraid that others won't know that you're guilty?"

"President Zheng, I don't know what came over me back then," Li Lehua said softly, filled with regret. If she had known that the man surnamed Zhang would be so despicable, she would never have revealed her plan to suppress him.

"I think you've gotten too cocky. You'd better find a way to suppress this matter right now. Let me tell you, if this affects me, I'll make sure you and Tianxi Media regret it," Zheng Jinpeng said coldly, his other hand, which wasn't holding the phone, was already clenched into a fist, as if he wanted to punch the other person from afar.

We just dealt with Sun Shiping, and this woman popped up again. She's such a terrible teammate.

Li Lehua, after being subjected to such a barrage of insults, finally erupted in a fit of rage. She yelled into the phone, "Zheng Jinpeng, stop trying to shift the blame! If you hadn't leaked my information to Sun Shiping, would he have known about the gifts I gave you? As the chairman, you can't even manage your own people. What right do you have to criticize me?"

"Bullshit!" Zheng Jinpeng cursed. "I've already dealt with Sun Shiping, and the matter is over. It's your arrogance that led to this situation. This time, you not only have to deal with the media, but also with the official investigation. If I can't continue to be the chairman, you won't have an easy time either."

"Hmph, who's afraid of who? At worst, we'll fight to the death!" Li Lehua was already bloodthirsty. No matter who the deputy general manager or the president was, no one could control her.

"you……"

The two argued fiercely on the phone, neither willing to back down, and their previously "tacit" cooperative relationship was completely shattered.

"Snapped!"

After hanging up the phone, Li Lehua was so angry that she trembled all over. She slammed her phone to the ground, shattering the screen into a spiderweb shape.

Her own people bully her, and outsiders bully her too. Does she have a face that makes her easy to bully?
"Zhang Wen!"

Li Lehua gritted her teeth fiercely, her ferocious expression suggesting she wanted to devour the other person alive.

"Ring ring ring!" The cell phone on the ground suddenly rang again.

Li Lehua glanced at it and could vaguely see two words in the cracks: Chairman Zhao!

Her heart leaped into her throat. Chairman Zhao had been very dissatisfied with her decisions and actions recently, and had even sent Chen Mingyuan to seize power. This call was probably to hold her accountable for the video circulating online.

As the old saying goes: You can dodge the first day of the month, but you can't dodge the fifteenth.

She hesitated for only a moment before answering the phone.

"Chairman Zhao, you..."

Li Lehua was interrupted by the voice on the phone as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Li Lehua, what exactly are you doing?"

The roar, filled with anger, made Li Lehua frown. Once the other side quieted down, he said, "Chairman Zhao, it's not what you think. This was a trap set by Zhang Wen to deliberately provoke me..."

"Nonsense, he provoked you, and you admitted it? He provoked you, and you attacked him? Are you a three-year-old? Don't you know what you should and shouldn't say?" Zhao Tong coldly accused him, not expecting that on the last day of the year, she would still cause him trouble.

"Chairman Zhao, I've already had the public relations department handle it, and we'll be able to suppress the trending topic soon," Li Lehua said.

"What's the point of suppressing trending topics? Do you think you can shut everyone up?" Chairman Zhao said angrily. "And let me ask you, why are you targeting Zhang Wen? The three songs he wrote this year have brought a lot of revenue to the company. What good does it do the company to treat him like this?"

Upon hearing Zhang Wen's name, Li Lehua's anger flared up again. He gritted his teeth and said, "Chairman Zhao, Zhang Wen is too arrogant. He not only disregards the company's rules and regulations but also schemes against the company, causing it to suffer losses."

"What are the specifics?" Chairman Zhao asked.

"He modified the contract for the future girl, turning the profit sharing into a fixed payment..."

"I know about the contract." Chairman Zhao interrupted Li Lehua before she could finish speaking. "You should think about it. Without Zhang Wen, would the girl group have become so popular? Would they have the commercial value they have now? Now that you're jealous of the group's success, why didn't you promote those five trainees earlier?"

Li Lehua opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing, because what Chairman Zhao said was true, and she had no way to refute it.

Chairman Zhao continued, "No matter what, Zhang Wen and Future Girl are both employees of the company. Instead of thinking about how to retain talent, you've teamed up with outsiders to steal his award. You're destroying the company's foundation. Who will put their heart into creating in the future? Who will still consider the company their home?"

Li Lehua blushed deeply. She admitted that Chairman Zhao was right, but as the company's general manager, what about her dignity? Didn't she have any self-respect?
"I'm giving you a chance now," Chairman Zhao said sternly, his voice carrying a warning. "Within two days, suppress the online criticism, then find Zhang Wen, apologize to him, and obtain his forgiveness. If you can't do that..."

He paused deliberately, then continued, word by word, "Just wait to be removed from your position as general manager. Don't blame me for not giving you face then; you've brought this upon yourself."

Upon hearing that he had to apologize to that Zhang man, Li Lehua immediately became anxious. "Chairman Zhao, I founded Tianxi Media myself. Who does Zhang Wen think he is? You want me to apologize to him?"

“Li Lehua!” Chairman Zhao shouted, “Tianxi Media doesn’t belong to you alone, it belongs to all the shareholders. You need to recognize your position.”

"But……"

"There are no 'buts'. This is not my decision alone; it is a decision made jointly by all the directors. I have said what I need to say. You'd better take care of yourself."

After saying that, the phone was hung up with a "click".

Li Lehua gripped her phone tightly, as if she wanted to crush it. Chairman Zhao's last words, "Tianxi Media is not yours alone," were like a heavy hammer, slamming down on her proud identity as the "founder."

Relying on being the founder of Tianxi Media, she used to control resources and decide the fate of artists at will, forgetting that the company was no longer under her sole control.

She didn't want to apologize to that Zhang, but ever since the last time she lost an artist and a TV series because of the "bullying incident on set," the board members were quite dissatisfied with her personal revenge and even sent Chen Mingyuan to check her.

If we don't follow the board's decision this time, we might really be kicked out.

Are there few instances of founders bringing in capital only to be ousted by it?
"Do we really have to apologize?"

Li Lehua was filled with resentment.

The last apology and compensation already made her lose face, and now she has to apologize again after two months? Won't this become the focus of conversation among the company's employees?

It is said that a smart person will not fall twice in the same place, but she fell twice in front of the same person.

This Zhang Wen is simply her nemesis.

Just as Li Lehua was pacing anxiously at home, her phone suddenly popped up with an entertainment news notification with the headline:

The Golden Melody Awards committee issued a statement: the scores of the works were re-evaluated and revised, and Chang Wen and Future Girls received corrected awards.

Li Lehua was shocked when she saw it.

She remembered Chairman Zheng saying that the re-evaluation should be delayed as long as possible, preferably until the public opinion calms down.

But only a few days have passed? Does Chairman Zheng intend to use this to quell the matter and rebuild the reputation of the Golden Melody Awards?
She clicked on it and read the statement carefully.

"Following an investigation by the Golden Melody Awards Organizing Committee's special investigation team, some judges' scores for this year's Golden Melody Awards were found to be abnormal. After re-evaluation, it was finally decided that: Zhang Wen will win the Best Lyricist Award, and Future Girls will win the Best Newcomer Group Award. The Golden Melody Awards is committed to maintaining fairness and impartiality in the music industry and will improve its judging mechanism in the future to prevent such incidents from happening again."

After reading the report, Li Lehua's face darkened. The organizing committee returned the award that should have belonged to Zhang Wen and the Future Girls to them, which was tantamount to a public slap in the face to her and Zheng Jinpeng, and completely confirmed her crime of 'manipulating the award'.

She quickly exited the news, wanting to call Cheng Kam-pang to question him about why he issued the statement at this critical juncture. However, she stopped as soon as her finger touched the screen, remembering their earlier argument on the phone. She knew Cheng Kam-pang wouldn't answer the phone now.

She looked at the comments section below the statement, where many messages had already appeared.

Some netizens were happy for Zhang Wen and Future Girls, believing that the two awards were well-deserved, while others demanded that the organizing committee and Tianxi Media apologize to Zhang Wen and Future Girls.

She thought of Chairman Zhao's words again.

It seems I have no choice but to apologize to that guy surnamed Zhang.

Li Lehua found Zhang Wen's number on her phone, stared at it for a while, then suddenly took a deep breath, as if making some difficult decision, and finally pressed the dial button.

Soon, the call was connected.

"Teacher Zhang, I am Li Lehua."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before Zhang Wen's calm voice came through, "Mr. Li, is there something you need?"

Li Lehua paused, then said with difficulty, "Regarding the Golden Melody Awards and my attitude towards you in the office, I was wrong, and I want to apologize to you."

These words seemed to drain all her strength, leaving her without any imposing presence, and she appeared to have aged more than ten years.

There was another silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Zhang Wen's slightly sarcastic voice: "President Li's apology is a bit too late, but is an apology all it takes?"

Li Lehua had already guessed that the other party would definitely try to extort money from him, and said helplessly, "I'll compensate you, just name your price."

Zhang Wen chuckled lightly after hearing this, "President Li, what kind of person do you take me for? Back then, you colluded with Zheng Jinpeng to change the awards, preventing me and Future Girl from winning. Do you know how much this affected our careers?"

Li Lehua sneered inwardly. He just wanted her to say a number, right? Stop talking nonsense!

"How about five million?"

“I can give you five million, no problem. What about the future girl?” Zhang Wen asked.

"what?"

Li Lehua frowned. The five million yuan compensation she mentioned was a one-time settlement, so how did it become compensation for one person in the other party's mouth?
She wanted to yell at the other person for being greedy, but when she thought of Chairman Zhao's words, she swallowed all her anger.

“The future girl also costs five million,” Li Lehua said coldly.

“Mr. Li, Future Girls lost several endorsements that were originally agreed upon because they missed the Best Newcomer Group Award, with a total value of over ten million. You think you can just give them five million? I’m afraid that won’t work,” Zhang Wen said slowly.

"What? Ten million?" Li Lehua exclaimed, her voice trembling. "Zhang Wen, this is outrageous! Besides, didn't the Golden Melody Awards committee already return the Best New Group Award to Future Girls?"

"Who cares about a second-hand prize!" Zhang Wen said dismissively, curling his lip.

"You... fine, ten million it is." Li Lehua gritted his teeth and finally agreed.

"Mr. Li is very generous," Zhang Wen said with a smile.

The money the girl will pay to the company in her first year is now there, isn't it?
He very much hoped that Li Lehua could continue to carry forward the spirit of "never giving up" and keep an eye on him, so that he could receive a gift of money the following year.

"Zhang Wen, I have agreed to compensate you, and I hope you can take down the video online," Li Lehua said anxiously.

“It can’t be taken back now, but I can guarantee that it will be removed from the trending topics list, and then I will issue a statement to express my forgiveness to you,” Zhang Wen said.

Li Lehua snorted coldly, knowing that this person had bought the trending topic.

"Then it's settled. I'll wait for your statement."

"Don't worry, I'm very trustworthy."

"..."

After hanging up the phone, Li Lehua logged onto Weibo and kept a close eye on Zhang Wen, waiting for a statement.

A few minutes later, the other party's Weibo account was actually updated.

“I received Mr. Li’s apology, which was very sincere, and I choose to forgive him. As for the Golden Melody Award, I will not accept it. As for the Future Girls’ award, I will accept it on their behalf, since newcomers need encouragement.”

Li Lehua breathed a sigh of relief after reading it, but then felt very depressed. These few words cost her 15 million, which was simply extortion.

Good heavens, please punish this person!
Li Lehua looked out the window, feeling helpless, and could only turn to God for help.

……

(End of this chapter)