This celebrity is absolutely wicked.

Chapter 246 Storm of Public Opinion
Dongsun Video has over 90 million members, while Penguin Video has 110 million members.

There's a difference of a full 20 million users.

This only includes the number of members, not those users who are using the software but haven't purchased a membership.

These are all potential customers.

It's worth noting that "The Song of the Clear Sky" has been relentlessly criticized online, and the show's ratings have been steadily declining.

The reputation of lead actor Jiang Haoxing was also affected.

But that's about it.

When summarizing its work, Tencent Video still stated that "The Song of the Clear Sky" was an outstanding work this year.

This shows that the show didn't lose money; in fact, it made a profit.

Many people might not understand how someone could still make money despite being so heavily criticized.

This has something to do with Lu Ran.

His portrayal of the tiger demon Changfeng has gained wider online popularity, attracting a new audience.

As for the rest, it's the sheer size of Tencent Video combined with the fans of these popular celebrities.

You really have to admit, making money in the entertainment industry is really easy.

As long as you have supporters and resources, you can make endless money.

But Lu Ran felt that this industry shouldn't be like this.

But change is not something that can be achieved overnight.

Besides time, it's all about money.

He absolutely needs to make a big profit from "The Beginning".

Money makes things easier.

After talking with Shen Qingyi, Lu Ran checked the other messages and began to deal with them one by one.

Preparations for "The Beginning" are complete; all that's left is to finalize the broadcast platform before official promotion begins.

Another event was the finale of "Voice of the Heart".

The song he was going to sing had already been chosen, but the song Li Haorui was going to sing hadn't been decided yet.

While Lu Ran was thinking, they were in a private room at a private club.

Ye Zhenzhen, Cai Jiasheng, and Fu Ziheng were all present, along with a middle-aged man.

This middle-aged man is Gu Yaohui, the head of the variety show department at Tencent Video.

Ye Zhenzhen sat next to Gu Yaohui, her dress hugging her curvaceous figure.

Gu Yaohui laughed and said, "I remember Han Ye was also on 'Voice of the Heart,' why didn't he come?"

Ye Zhenzhen poured Gu Yaohui a glass of red wine: "Teacher Han's child is sick, so she can't get away."

Gu Yaohui nodded slightly, not paying any attention.

A celebrity like Han Ye is someone with high status but low economic value.

The head of the variety show department at Tencent Video has a ton of projects under his supervision.

Han Ye was not even in the same league as him.

After everyone had been poured drinks, Ye Zhenzhen said a few polite words.

Phrases like "It's my honor to meet Mr. Gu" and "I have to thank Mr. Cai for the introduction" were made.

Previously, Xingyao Media's main cooperation platform was Juzi Video, and the film and television dramas that Xingyao Media participated in producing were basically all released on Juzi Video.

Regarding Tencent Video, Xingyao Media can only say that they know people there, but their connections aren't strong enough.

However, some time ago, Cai Jiasheng made contact with Gu Yaohui at an event, which led to today's dinner.

After a brief chat, everyone raised their glasses and took a small sip.

Ye Zhenzhen took the initiative to serve the drinks.

Seeing that Gu Yaohui would occasionally glance at her out of the corner of his eye, Ye Zhenzhen moved closer to him when she sat down again.

Although she was forty years old, she maintained her skin and figure very well, which made Ye Zhenzhen feel a little proud that she could attract Gu Yaohui's attention.

Everyone ate and chatted.

Fu Ziheng clearly doesn't come to these kinds of events often, as he's busy eating.

After chatting for a while, Cai Jiasheng steered the conversation toward the children.

"Ziheng is not good at anything else, but he has a good voice and can sing."

Gu Yaohui laughed and said, "Then how about we let Ziheng sing a couple of lines for everyone?"

Fu Ziheng felt like he was a monkey.

Even if they were unwilling, they had to obediently stand up and sing with a smile on their faces.

Before he came, Cai Jiasheng told him that whether he could continue on "Voice of the Heart" depended on Gu Yaohui's thoughts.

Otherwise, we'll withdraw from the competition as previously agreed.

After he finished singing, Gu Yaohui said, "You sang well, Zhenzhen. Why don't you sing a few lines too?"

Gu Yaohui gave Ye Zhenzhen a push on the waist.

Ye Zhenzhen is a shrewd person, and she sang two lines without any psychological burden.

Gu Yaohui laughed heartily.

Ye Zhenzhen and Cai Jiasheng also laughed.

Now, the topic has come to the main point.

Cai Jiasheng got straight to the point: "President Gu, there's only one final episode left in 'Voice of the Heart.' Lu Ran and Li Haorui are both singers from the same studio. Last time, they took two spots in the top three, which is not fair. I think the list should be adjusted. Only one of Lu Ran and Li Haorui can stay."

Ye Zhenzhen also said in a coquettish voice, "This Lu Ran doesn't know any rules at all. He just wants to step on us seniors to get ahead. He's a troublemaker."

Gu Yaohui said seriously, "I can't control this. The director is in charge of the program. Since the list has been finalized and the program has been broadcast, it's not appropriate for us to force the singers to withdraw from the competition without a suitable reason."

Fu Ziheng became anxious upon hearing this.

If Lu Ran and Li Haorui don't withdraw from the competition, then he'll have to withdraw.

As a result, Cai Jiasheng and Ye Zhenzhen stopped talking about this topic and instead started discussing some industry matters.

Fu Ziheng was too anxious to get a word in edgewise.

As the meal drew to a close, Gu Yaohui rubbed his temples and said, "I'm a little sleepy, let's call it a day." Everyone stood up to see him off.

Ye Zhenzhen directly helped Gu Yaohui, who appeared to be drunk.

"Mr. Gu, let me take you home."

After the two left, Fu Ziheng hurriedly asked, "Dad, this matter wasn't resolved either. Did we eat for nothing?"

Cai Jiasheng chuckled and said, "You're still young, gain more experience. The matter is already half done, the other half is up to us."

Fu Ziheng asked in confusion, "How did it work?"

"Gu Yaohui said that singers should not be allowed to withdraw from the competition without a suitable reason, so let's give them a suitable reason."

Cai Jiasheng has been in the entertainment industry for so many years, he's seen it all.

Wasn't the entertainment industry more chaotic back then than it is now?

Lu Ran is powerful; he has an invincible body protecting him.

But if they can't touch Lu Ran, can't they touch Li Haorui?

The next day, some entertainment gossip accounts on the internet started to get active.

There are a lot of these entertainment gossip accounts; anyone who follows the entertainment industry will follow one or two of them.

People are bound to be curious about gossip.

These gossip accounts usually don't name celebrities, but use other titles to refer to them, which usually makes it easy to guess their identities.

Soon, a piece of gossip began to circulate within the industry.

“A male singer with three-character names who has recently become popular again has been married to his wife for many years and has cultivated a loving wife persona, but in reality he is secretly keeping a female college student as a mistress.”

"A male singer with three-character names has broken up with a female college student, and they are currently negotiating hush money."

"His wife had a huge fight with him after she found out, and the two are now separated."

As the news spread, marketing accounts also joined in the dissemination.

Some netizens were completely baffled after seeing this.

Is it Li Haorui?

"It must be Li Haorui. The three-character male singer who is making a comeback is none other than him."

"I can't believe it. Didn't they say Li Haorui and his wife had a great relationship? He's actually having an affair with a female college student. Men really should be kept on the wall."

"That's how all rich people are. How many people in the entertainment industry are clean?"

"Lu Ran and Li Haorui get along very well, so doesn't that mean Lu Ran is also..."

"Maybe Lu Ran's outward image is all a facade; who can say for sure?"

"That's right, maybe Lu Ran is living a life of debauchery every night, we just don't know it."

"Is Lu Ran having an affair with his manager? His manager looks like a gay man."

"You're saying that's really possible? Goodness."

Immediately, various opinions emerged on the internet.

Once the marketing accounts saw that posting about Li Haorui could bring traffic to Lu Ran, they immediately became even more enthusiastic in stirring up trouble.

There were all sorts of opinions among netizens.

Li Quan quickly discovered the situation online.

This is clearly someone stirring up trouble!
"What the hell? They're trying to stir up trouble for our Burning Studio!"

Before Li Quan could even take any action, a trending topic on social media immediately ignited the entertainment industry.

One netizen posted a long article on Weibo.

The article recounts her experiences living with Li Haorui, detailing some of the processes of being kept by a sugar daddy.

Finally, it is said that after Li Haorui became popular again, he became arrogant and would beat her up if her performance was slightly unsatisfactory.

The video also includes chat logs, photos of the injuries sustained, transaction records, and more.

After the trending topic appeared, many netizens were outraged and condemned Li Haorui.

In the Burning Studio group chat.

[Zhao Long: What's going on, Rui-ge? Did you offend someone?]

[Li Haorui: I don't know either.]

[Wang Jiayue: What do we do now?]

[Chen Ke: Let's see what President Lu has to say.]

After a while, Lu Ran replied: "I must have offended someone."

Li Quan has already organized the matter and reported it to him.

The studio immediately reported the incident to the police and issued a statement.

Just then, Lu Ran's phone rang.

It is Mu Yong, the director of "The Voice of China".

As soon as the call connected, Mu Yong's voice came through.

"Lu Ran, our production team has received hundreds of complaint letters demanding that artists who have violated moral standards be banned from participating in the program. The higher-ups are also very concerned about this matter and have asked us to minimize the impact. Li Haorui can no longer participate."

"Okay, I understand. Li Haorui is leaving the recording."

Mu Yong's tone was full of apology: "I'm really sorry, I tried to persuade the leaders, but there's still no conclusion on Li Haorui's matter, I..."

Lu Ran took out a character assessment card and checked Mu Yong's character.

Mu Yong's character score is a whopping 90, making him a trustworthy person.

Based on this, Mu Yong should not have been involved in this matter.

Lu Ran: "Director Mu, no need to say anything more, let's handle this as it is, and we'll also issue a statement."

Mu Yong let out a long sigh.

Soon, both Li Haorui's Weibo account and the official Weibo account of "Sound of the Heart" posted a message.

"Due to personal reasons, I am withdrawing from the recording of the final of 'Voice of the Heart'".

The news caused an uproar online.

(End of this chapter)