How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 16 Is it gambling on people's malice?
"What would you do if Ms. Qu were unwilling to cooperate?"

After comforting Qu Shou and sending her back to rest, Zhang San asked curiously.

"We'll do what needs to be done," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Why do you have to make such a big deal out of this? Actually, letting her terminate the contract herself could avoid your risks," Zhang San asked, puzzled.

"What I want is not to avoid risks, but to solve problems." Wang Yao narrowed his eyes. "Besides, I can't do things that bully honest people. A man has his pride."

"Alright, just for your attitude, I'll go all out for you." Zhang San smiled.

"Don't worry, Dr. Zhang. Once this is done, you'll be a renowned and righteous lawyer in China. You can then hand over the business operations to me and give me a bigger share of the commission," Wang Yao said with a light laugh.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Wang, but you should pay the deposit for the lawyer's fees first." Zhang San chuckled and handed over a contract.

"Wait, I'll go get the money." Wang Yao picked up the contract and took a taxi straight to the company.

"Ah Yao is back! How did the recording go?" He Ming received a text message from Wang Yao saying he had something to discuss, so he arrived at the company early to wait for him.

"It went quite smoothly, and I learned a lot. It was really the right decision to have me bring Nazha along. Director Li Ying gave her a lot of screen time and even said that she could be considered for a suitable program in the future," Wang Yao praised.

"That old woman Li Ying has the sharpest eyes. She poached many people from Hunan TV. It won't hurt for you to contact her more often."

He Ming smiled knowingly. "What important matter do you want to see me about?"

"About Qu Shou," Wang Yao said in a deep voice.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" He Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.

"After the show yesterday, Teacher He treated us to dinner. She drank some alcohol, and when she got home that night, she fainted due to low blood sugar. I took her to the hospital for a checkup."
"I noticed she had many bruises and contusions on her body. The doctor said it didn't look like a bump or knock, but more like it was caused by someone. So I made sure to get a medical examination done," Wang Yao said, handing over the medical report.

"You were beaten up?" He Ming was stunned for a moment, his brows furrowing.

“I asked her privately, and she said it was her current boyfriend who was abusing her,” Wang Yao sighed.

"What a beast! How could he do this to such a well-behaved girlfriend?" He Ming said angrily. "Did you try to subtly find out if she knew those photos had already been leaked?"

“She said that scumbag not only took a lot of photos and videos, but also used them to blackmail her into giving up her career and getting married, otherwise he would ruin her. These are threatening text messages, and I took some photos as evidence,” Wang Yao added.

"Hiss, that means the private photos can't be kept quiet anymore." He Ming irritably lit a cigarette.
"The private photos can still keep the PR team in check for a while, but judging from the text messages, the other party definitely has more explosive content. It's highly likely that something will be leaked, so we need to make plans as soon as possible."

"Qu Shou's two cameo roles in movies have earned him a total of 300,000 yuan. If he terminates the contract, we'll have to pay a lot of money, right?" Wang Yao said worriedly.

"The filming was completed and the film has already been submitted for review and scheduled for release. If we breach the contract, we will have to pay at least two million yuan in compensation. Moreover, that old rogue Wang Jing might ask for an exorbitant amount."

He Ming smoked two cigarettes in frustration. "But it's still better than the movie being pulled from theaters after its release because of Qu Shou. That's when we'd really lose everything."

And most importantly, Tianhuo Media will be unable to operate in the industry anymore. Nobody will dare hire our people. Damn it, Xu Chunxu really gave us a huge disaster! We can't take the blame for this ourselves.

He Ming felt increasingly uneasy.

“Mr. He, you often say that risk is opportunity. As operators, we are here to turn adversity into opportunity. So I have a small, albeit immature, suggestion. Would you like to give it a try?” Wang Yao said softly.

Did I say that?
He Ming was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, but still suppressed his annoyance and waved his hand, "Tell me your suggestions."

"You know Shu Qi, who has become incredibly popular in the last two years, right?" Wang Yao asked.

"Nonsense, of course I know. The special case of a former star turning into a superstar is a legend in the packaging industry, huh? Wait a minute." He Ming rolled his eyes in annoyance, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

“I think Qu Shou’s current situation might be similar to Shu Qi’s example. Moreover, Qu Shou now has a more compelling public persona than Shu Qi: a victim of domestic violence,” Wang Yao said in a deep voice.

"A victim of domestic violence!" He Ming slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, his face beaming with undisguised excitement. "Interesting, very interesting! Ah Yao, you're a genius!"

"It's all thanks to Mr. He's excellent teaching," Wang Yao said modestly with a smile.

"Shu Qi was able to get out of this situation mainly because she was ruthless. While others avoided talking about their past as a porn star, she always faced all kinds of harsh and malicious gossip and rumors head-on."

Furthermore, by exploiting their impoverished background and domestic violence, they legitimized the act of "escaping," and gradually public opinion shifted from ridicule to sympathy.

"Sure, sure! Qu Shou now has evidence of domestic violence. If we can use this advantage to our advantage, we can seize the moral high ground and guide public sympathy. Who knows, we might even become famous!"

He Ming paced back and forth, muttering to himself, his expression growing increasingly excited.

He transitioned from model to gymnast over a decade ago and is now able to attract millions in investment, so his professional skills are beyond question; he just lacks a suitable opportunity.

Now he seems to feel that this opportunity has arrived!

I initially thought Meishe had delivered a major disappointment, but now it seems it might be a great gift.

"Oh, I didn't know it could be done like that." Wang Yao feigned sudden realization. "I thought their situations were similar, but I didn't expect it could be done this way."

"You're still young, but to even think of something like this is already a genius. There's a whole host of things you can handle later on." He Ming smiled smugly, then found Wang Yao more and more pleasing to the eye.

This kid first secured the promising talent of Nazha, and now he's found a brilliant way to turn things around in Qu Shou's crisis. It seems my judgment is truly sharp. A discerning eye for talent is nothing short of amazing.

"But Mr. He, what if things don't go smoothly?" Wang Yao suddenly asked with concern.

Upon hearing this, He Ming's enthusiasm waned slightly. He sat back in his boss's chair and said, "Ah Yao, every investment carries risk. As long as the risks are assessed properly, it's fine. In my experience, as long as we can successfully expose Qu Shou's identity as a victim..."

Given the strong sense of justice among Chinese netizens, they could at least turn Qu Shou's reputation into a positive one. Just imagine it.
"You see a girl like Qu Shou, who is beautiful, love-struck, willing to take private photos for her boyfriend, and obedient to him, yet is dumped and even threatened by a scumbag. As a man, how would you feel?"

"I wish I could kill this bastard, and then I would feel sorry for Qu Shou. If I were her boyfriend, I would definitely take good care of her," Wang Yao said, pretending to think.

“That’s right, but the two points you mentioned, the former is malicious intent and the latter is benevolent intent. Ah Yao, remember this: when we manipulate public opinion and assess the success rate, we mainly look at the malicious intent. As long as the malicious intent is strong enough, the success rate will be high enough.”

He Ming blew a smoke ring to show off.

"Are you betting on people's malice?" Wang Yao narrowed his eyes.

"That's right, hype is all about human nature. Human nature is nothing more than good and evil. Goodness in human nature is only occasional, but evil is the norm. So never gamble on people's goodness," He Ming said in a teacher's manner.

"I've learned a lot," Wang Yao nodded, then said happily.

“Public opinion is on Qu Shou’s side, so even if there are private photos, we are actually in a positive position. This is not an obstacle to the film, but rather a form of publicity. They won’t sue us for breach of contract, right?”

He Ming was taken aback for a moment, then a cunning glint flashed in his eyes. "Sue us? Hmph, I'll make them pay more."

Wang Yao's words reminded him that Qu Shou's previous salary was determined by his status, but if the private photos incident had a significant impact, Qu Shou's value would need to be recalculated.

However, upon further reflection, he realized that he couldn't handle such a potentially offensive matter of raising prices on short notice. He decided to leave it to Wang Yao, since Wang Yao was indeed in charge of Qu Shou's project and it was only right for him to fight for Qu Shou's rights.

"Ah Yao, I've given you the ideas. Now let me test you. If I were to handle this matter, how would you do it?" He Ming smiled, narrowing his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yao waved his hand and said, "Mr. He is joking. How would I understand?"

"Besides, the inspiration is yours too. Do you think I'm a shameless scoundrel who steals my apprentice's work? This matter will be handled in your name, and I'll take the lead. Once it's successful, you'll definitely become a household name in the industry," He Ming said with a face full of pride.

“Mr. He.” Wang Yao appeared moved.

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me your thoughts." He Ming waved his hand.

"I think the most important thing is to solidify Qu Shou's public image first. We should take the initiative, directly collect evidence, hire a lawyer to sue her current boyfriend, and control the other private photos and videos he has."

"Then let major media outlets report on it to create buzz, preferably trending on social media, and get some internet celebrities and stars to take sides to attract more attention, such as female celebrities like Yao Chen who love to champion justice on Weibo," Wang Yao said after a moment's thought.

what? !

Wow, that's amazing!

Hearing this, He Ming suppressed his surprise and nodded, feigning composure. "Not bad, continue."

"Then let Qu Shou respond directly and publicly on Weibo, not denying the authenticity of the photos, and then establish the persona of a devoted girlfriend who doesn't regret loving him, even though she was hurt by her boyfriend, she doesn't deny their past relationship."
"This will evoke more sympathy and pity from male netizens," Wang Yao continued.

Oh ho?

That's how it has to be.

Rigorous, no wonder he's someone I taught.

He Ming nodded with a look of delight and said, "That's right."

"Then let Qu Shou publish some content and reflections on the dilemmas women face in their careers and relationships to consolidate the buzz, because I think the private photos incident is ultimately a stain."
Although netizens currently sympathize and appease them from a moral high ground, deeply ingrained traditional values ​​will not change.

Qu Shou wants to follow in Shu Qi's footsteps and achieve success by emphasizing his career-oriented persona to attract more women and abandon the male-dominated market. He believes this will bring greater profits to the company and also help promote the film.

After Wang Yao finished speaking, he scratched his head and said, "That's about all I can think of."

"It's alright, there are still some details that haven't been considered thoroughly enough, but that's okay, I'll oversee things for you behind the scenes. Just proceed according to your ideas for now, write a plan for me, and I'll help you solve any resource issues you need." He Ming nodded.

Wang Yao's plan was even more comprehensive than his. He felt that he should let Wang Yao handle the matter himself. If it succeeded, he would be the one who orchestrated everything behind the scenes, and if it failed, he could shift the blame onto Wang Yao.

I am the real genius.

"Mr. He, I have no experience," Wang Yao quickly declined.

"What are you afraid of? I'll oversee things for you! Go ahead and do it." He Ming waved his hand and sent Wang Yao out to write the project proposal.

After wandering around the office a couple of times, he felt that the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

He immediately picked up the phone and called Mr. Xu, the CEO of Meishe, to claim credit.

"President Xu, Tianhuo is going to produce the next Shuqi."

　During the new book launch period, I humbly request all readers to support me with your reading, monthly tickets, and recommendation votes!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)