Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 251 Terrified
Ah Hai was extremely anxious, trying to adjust the camera angle and find a better shooting position, even if he could only capture the man's profile.

But the man seemed to be deliberately going against him, and never turned around, which made him curse.

Having already obtained some juicy gossip about Liu Shishi, one of the new "Four Little Flowers," Yu Ge was calm and composed, leaning back in his chair and comforting his younger brother.

"Don't worry, when Liu Shishi goes to the film set to shoot, we'll continue to follow that Mercedes. We'll eventually have a chance to get a shot of that man's face."

Even if we don't get the photos, it's not a big deal. With the photos Liu Shishi just showed us, we already have enough leverage to negotiate with Tangren."

Ah Hai took a deep breath, suppressing his frustration, and nodded: "That's the only way."

However, his eyes remained fixed on the two people not far away, and he never put down his camera, still looking for any possible opportunity.

In front of the film set, Liu Shishi and her fiancé were reluctant to part, their eyes only for each other.

Song Ci gently kissed Miss Liu's forehead: "Go in, Yuanyuan and Xiaoxia are waiting for you."

With lingering affection in her eyes, Liu Shishi tiptoed slightly, her lips lightly touching Song Ci's cheek. She slowly released her lover's waist, turned and headed back to the film crew, turning back every few steps, her pace very slow.

Song Ci stood for a long time, watching his fiancée leave, until he could no longer see her slender figure, before letting out a soft sigh.

Parting is for a better reunion next time, but at this moment, the sorrow of parting still brought a touch of bitterness to his heart.

After getting back into the car, Song Ci instructed the driver, "Go to the airport to return to Beiping."

The driver turned around and hurriedly replied, "Boss, Captain Tang, please wait a moment. I have a small matter to attend to."

Song Ci was slightly taken aback, and instantly recalled the incident yesterday when Tang Yue reported that a van had followed him when he returned to Tomson Riviera.

So he nodded slightly: "Then let's wait a bit." He then sat quietly in the back row and closed his eyes to rest.

Inside the van, the atmosphere was lively, with the three of them in high spirits, already dreaming of getting rich.

Ah Liang's eyes gleamed, showing no sign of fatigue, and he excitedly asked, "Brother Yu, how much do you think Cai Yinong is willing to pay for these photos?"

Yu Ge stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and said, "Let's start with a high price, let's ask for 500 million. The love photos of one of the four most popular young actresses, whose career is booming, are worth that price."

Ahai nodded in agreement: "Liu Shishi has always presented a pure and gentle image. If her fans knew that she was in a relationship, they would definitely not be able to stand it, and her career would definitely plummet."

It's not easy for Tangren Media to cultivate a popular actress, and I think Cai Yinong would definitely be willing to invest. With this money, we could probably set up our own media studio.”

Listening to his younger brother's vision for the future, Brother Yu smiled. He and his two brothers' wish was to be free from being controlled by others and to open a media studio.

Who would want to be a paparazzi, someone everyone hates, if they can do honest work? But earning your first pot of gold is hard, so you can only work as a paparazzi to extort money from celebrities as initial capital.

Just as the three were excitedly envisioning the future, five burly men appeared out of nowhere beside the van.

The man in the lead wore a black jacket, his face stern and imposing. His eyes were like cold stars, sharp and icy, as if they could see through everything.

The four people beside him were also tall and strong, with a very strong sense of oppression.

Upon seeing this, Yu Ge's heart skipped a beat, and his face turned deathly pale. An ominous premonition surged into his heart, as if things were heading in the worst possible direction.

The leader of the other party knocked on the car window, neither too hard nor too soft. The knocking sound echoed in the silent car, like a death knell, sending chills down everyone's spine.

Knowing he couldn't avoid it, driver A-Liang could only nervously roll down his window to meet the other party.

After rolling down the car window, Tang Yue's eyes swept across the interior of the car like lightning, and he immediately understood.

Just as he had predicted yesterday, it was a few paparazzi. However, he did not expect them to be so persistent, actually staying from last night until dawn and following the boss all the way to the film set. They were incredibly audacious.

Tang Yue thought disdainfully that they were just three low-level paparazzi and didn't bother to waste words with them. He directly demanded, "Friends, please hand over your camera, and we will compensate you accordingly."

Upon hearing this, Ahai hugged his beloved camera tightly to his chest, his face contorted with bravado but his heart pounding with fear: "No way! Why should I hand over my camera to you? This is robbery! I'll call the police!"

Tang Yue sneered, his tone chilling: "Friends, don't push your luck. Your actions have crossed the line. Don't force us to use force."

Ahai immediately shouted, "What? You dare to hit people in broad daylight?"

"I'll say it one last time, hand over the stuff." Tang Yue shouted sternly, his patience nearing its limit.

Ah Liang was naturally unwilling to hand over the millions he was about to receive, but seeing that the other party was angry and outnumbered him, he was terrified and wanted to drive straight away. So, he prepared to turn the key and start the engine.

"Ah Liang, don't drive!" Brother Yu hurriedly dissuaded him. The other person was blocking the car, and forcing his way through could potentially kill someone.

They're just after money. If things don't work out, it'll only be a matter of days. It's not worth acting impulsively and ruining your life.

Tang Yue had already prepared for the other party to drive away. Just as the other party reached for the car keys, Tang Yue reacted quickly, extending a strong hand to clamp down on the other party's hand, preventing him from making any further progress.

Then he casually pulled out the car key, the whole action was done in one smooth motion.

Tang Yue spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice low yet authoritative: "I'll say it one last time, hand over the stuff. Open your eyes wide, there are some people in this world you can't afford to offend."

"Ah Hai, give them the camera! We don't want compensation, just let the three of us leave safely."

Although Yu Ge was unwilling, he knew that if the stalemate continued, something bad might happen to them.

The two younger men haven't been in the business long, so there are some things they don't know. He experienced it firsthand: a colleague photographed a big shot's private life, and as a result, he was sent to his death by dump truck that same day, ultimately leading to the destruction of his family.

Those big shots are rich and powerful; dealing with these small-time reporters wouldn't be too difficult for them. They could just throw out a few million, and there would be plenty of desperate people willing to risk their lives for them.

The driver drinks a little, provides a dump truck "service," and after a few years in jail, he comes out a fine man again, but what they pay for might be their lives.

When his elder brother spoke up and he sensed the menacing look on the other side's face, Ah Hai didn't dare to insist any further. With a mournful face, he obediently handed the camera to the other side's leader.

Tang Yue took the camera, squinted at it, and saw that it was indeed a photo of the boss and his wife taken without his knowledge.

He then instructed his four bodyguards, "Watch them, I'll go ask the boss." With that, he grabbed his camera and headed towards the Mercedes.

The three paparazzi were trapped inside the car, feeling like each day was an eternity. Brother Yu was sweating profusely and pleaded, "Brothers, we've already handed over the cameras, please let us go. I promise we won't reveal a single word about what happened today."

Ah Liang was timid and filled with fear. He cried out, "Big brother, big brother, please, please let us go."

One of the bodyguards replied expressionlessly, "Don't worry, we are law-abiding citizens. The captain will let you go after consulting with the boss."

Without keeping everyone waiting long, Tang Yue quickly returned, his gaze falling on Brother Yu in the back seat, and ordered without room for argument, "You, get out of the car, our boss has something to ask you."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a bodyguard yanked open the van door: "Please, my friend."

Yu Ge was extremely shocked. He still didn't know the other party's identity. Wouldn't it be even worse if they had met?

Countless terrifying thoughts flashed through his mind, and his body trembled uncontrollably: "No, no, no, it's gone! I don't know anything. Gentlemen, we're just ordinary paparazzi, please let us go."

Seeing that the other party was incoherent and lingering in the car, the bodyguard took action and dragged him out. Seeing that Brother Yu was so frightened that his legs were weak and he could not stand steadily, the bodyguard had no choice but to support him and walk with Tang Yue towards the Mercedes-Benz.

The two henchmen, Ah Hai and Ah Liang, sat in the car with faces full of despair and fear, watching helplessly as their boss was taken away, but dared not stop him.

The Mercedes window was rolled down, and Tang Yue respectfully said into the car, "Boss, the person has been brought over."

Song Ci nodded slightly, fiddling with her camera. She glanced at the paparazzi who were slumped over like mud and asked calmly, "Which company do you belong to, or are you independent paparazzi?"

A cold voice drifted into Yu Ge's ears. He was forcibly dragged to the car window by the bodyguard. He subconsciously looked up and his eyes met those of the person sitting inside the car. His pupils widened in shock, and his face was filled with disbelief.

"Song Ci! You're the richest man, Song Ci!" Brother Yu exclaimed in surprise, instantly recognizing the other party's identity. After all, Boss Song's face was devastatingly handsome and highly recognizable.

Seeing the paparazzi's terrified expression, Song Ci frowned slightly: "Ah Jie, let him go."

After the bodyguard, known as A-Jie, released him, Yu-Ge was still weak all over, but now that he knew who he was, he was resigned to his fate and was no longer as panicked as before. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

Fearing that the boss would keep him waiting, Tang Yue urged, "The boss is asking you a question, so answer honestly."

Yu Ge gave a wry smile. He never expected that the man behind Liu Shishi was actually the richest man in the country. It used to be said in the journalist circle that the entertainment industry was very complicated, and he now truly understood this.

Not daring to hide anything, he answered truthfully: "Boss Song, my two underlings and I belong to Fengxing Studio. We're just thinking that we can extort some money and then leave Fengxing to work on our own."

"Fengxing Studio! Zhuowei, you know."

"You know our boss?" Brother Yu was slightly surprised, not expecting that the high and mighty tycoon would have heard of the lowest-level paparazzi.

Song Ci did not answer. He knew the famous paparazzi Wang, who had taken many juicy photos of celebrities in his previous life.

"When did Zhuo Wei send someone to secretly photograph my fiancée?"

"Your fiancée? Mr. Song, you've misunderstood. We people in this line of work know our place and would never mess with big shots. We wouldn't dare to take pictures of your fiancée even if we had ten lives..."

Yu Ge vehemently denied it, but after meeting Song Ci's cold gaze, he felt a chill and gradually realized what was going on. He swallowed hard, his face filled with disbelief: "Your fiancée isn't Liu Shishi, is she?"

"What do you say?"

Yu Ge gave a bitter smile, feeling utterly helpless. He knew he was completely doomed this time. The entertainment industry was truly full of hidden talents. He couldn't help but mutter to the top sister in his heart: "Your man is so awesome, why are you so low-key!"
"Mr. Song, we were ordered to take these photos after Miss Liu became one of the Four Little Actresses. Not only Miss Liu, but the studio also sent people to follow the other three actresses and the Four Little Actors. As you know, paparazzi make a living this way. Now that the Four Little Actresses and the Four Little Actors are the most popular, the studio naturally wouldn't let them go."

Yu Ge quickly explained, trying his best to shift the blame to Fengxing Studio and portray himself as a nobody who was just following orders.

After saying that, he remembered something and added, "Mr. Song, we only tracked down Miss Liu's whereabouts yesterday. We waited outside Tomson Riviera last night and followed the film crew here early this morning. All the photos are on the camera; we absolutely did not keep any other photos."

Song Ci asked a few more questions, listened calmly, and then planned to let the paparazzi leave.

He didn't waste his energy on those few whimsical, insignificant people. The only reason he called them over was out of concern for his fiancée, which is why he personally interrogated them.

"Old Tang, give him one of your business cards and tell Zhuo Wei to come to Beiping to see me within a week."

After saying that, the car window slowly rolled up. He planned to meet that paparazzi king; even a nobody has his uses.

In the following years, the entertainment industry experienced unprecedented prosperity, attracting all kinds of capital. Various industries became intricately connected with the entertainment industry, and Zhuo Wei still had some value, at least he could sometimes provide some useful information.

The Mercedes and Volkswagen slowly drove away. Yu Ge could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground. He looked at the business card in his hand, feeling as if he were still in a dream.

At this moment, Ah Hai and Ah Liang rushed to Yu Ge's side, quickly helped him up, and asked with concern, "Yu Ge, are you alright? Did they do anything to you?"

Yu Ge, panting heavily, waved his hand and said, "It's alright, we've passed this hurdle."

The two henchmen, still looking shaken, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and then asked curiously, "Brother Yu, who's in the car?"

Yu looked around and lowered his voice: "It's Song Ci, the richest man in the country!"

"What?! It's actually Song Dynasty poetry!" Ah Hai exclaimed, but upon seeing his boss's stern gaze, he immediately covered his mouth.

Yu Ge didn't want to reveal Song Ci's identity, but he couldn't fathom the big shot's thoughts and was afraid that the richest man would settle scores later.

He told his two younger brothers about the incident so that if he were to encounter an accident involving a dump truck or something similar in the future, they would know what happened and wouldn't be confused.

Ah Hai helped the eldest brother up: "Brother Yu, let's go back. We've been busy for days and haven't gained anything. We even lost a camera."

After getting in the car, A-Liang drove back to the city. By then, the three of them had completely calmed down and started talking about what had just happened again.

"When I was taking the photos just now, I was thinking about which bastard Liu Shishi got lucky with. Now it seems that Tangren's top star is really living the good life."

Ah Liang shook his head and said confidently, "Everyone online says Liu Shishi has a good personality, and now it seems she really is."

Her fiancé is the richest man in China, yet she never puts on airs. There's always been talk in the industry that she's very gentle, and it seems to be true; she's truly a breath of fresh air in the entertainment world. From now on, I'm a fan of Tangren's top female star.

(End of this chapter)