Huayu: This celebrity doesn't follow the rules.

Chapter 80: New Look at the Company and Negative Public Opinion Regarding Meng Ziyi

On Lunar New Year's Eve in the mountain city, before dawn, the aroma of cured meats and braised dishes wafted through the alleys.

People in the mountain city have a tradition of having an early reunion dinner during the Spring Festival. Early in the morning, every household sets up their oil pans, and the sizzling sound of frying crispy pork and meatballs rises and falls.

The family reunion dinner at noon filled two large tables, with spicy blood curd soup bubbling in the red oil, glistening braised pork, and golden-brown fried pork...

The family sat together, clinking their glasses as they raised them.

Jiang Daming, unusually, didn't go fishing. He raised his glass and clinked it with Jiang Ye's: "Son, make more money this year, and Dad will get a better fishing rod next year!"

As evening approached, the task of pasting up the Spring Festival couplets fell to Jiang Ye.

He stood on a stool and pasted paste onto the door frame, while Lin Xiaoman handed him couplets from below: "Brother, the left side should be higher! Hey, no, it's crooked..."

As night fell, the family huddled together in the living room, watching the 2015 Spring Festival Gala on TV.

As soon as the opening song and dance "Four Generations Under One Roof, A Joyful Family Reunion" started, Grandma nodded along with the rhythm: "This song is lively and festive!"

Grandpa stared at the celebrity on the screen, muttering, "Oh, isn't that Li Guyi? She's still so energetic after all these years."

When Karen Mok sang "When You Are Old," the living room became much quieter.

Grandpa and Grandma suddenly fell silent. They looked at each other and quietly shook hands.

Lin Huahua quietly wiped her eyes and took Jiang Ye's hand, saying, "When Mom gets old, you must come home to visit often."

Jiang Ye was both amused and exasperated. "Mom, it's still early!"

As midnight approached, a countdown began on the television, and suddenly a string of fireworks exploded outside the window, illuminating the night sky of the mountain city.

Looking at his lively family around him, Jiang Ye suddenly felt that after his rebirth, this noisy and warm family atmosphere might be the greatest gift that fate had given him.

"10, 9, 8..."

"happy New Year!"

As the clock struck midnight, the family's cheers mingled with the sound of firecrackers outside the window, echoing throughout the house for a long time.

Firecrackers exploded outside the window, illuminating the entire mountain town as if it were daytime.

He stood by the window, his phone ringing incessantly.

Chen Duling: "Happy New Year, little brother!"

"My family is taking me on a trip abroad after the New Year, so I won't be able to entertain you! I might stop by Yanjing on my way back!"

Jiang Ye replied: "It's okay, have fun! Happy New Year, Dudu!"

Then news about Meng Ziyi came.

First came a red envelope containing 1314 yuan, with the message "The first sweet treat of the new year."

Then another 520 yuan popped up, with the note "double sweet".

Before Jiang Ye could even open it, a series of red envelopes popped up on the screen: 131.4 yuan, 52 yuan, 13.14 yuan, 5.2 yuan...

The amounts range from large to small, and each red envelope is accompanied by a different cutesy caption: "This is for milk tea," "This is for buying candy," "The rest is enough to buy a lollipop."

Below are three pink kissing emojis, just like her—direct and passionate.

He checked each payment one by one, and just as he was about to reply to the messages, Meng Ziyi's voice message popped up again, with a cheerful tone: "Accepting means you agree, so you have to continue spoiling me in the new year!"

Before Jiang Ye could reply, several more messages arrived.

Tian Xiwei: "Brother Jiang Ye, Happy New Year! Can you send me a red envelope with 3136 yuan?"

Jiang Ye was taken aback; he had never added Tian Xiwei on WeChat!
And what's with this 3136? It has both whole numbers and odd numbers...

I checked the chat history, and it turned out to be the gentle senior...

This girl changed her name sometime ago, this...

Zhou Ye: "Happy New Year, Uncle! PS: I've sent you the latest paper on the Trappist-1 galaxy! Do you think aliens celebrate the New Year?"

Egret: "Boss, Happy New Year!"

Jiang Ye replied to each of them and gave the gifts and red envelopes he had prepared in advance to his family members.

Lin Xiaoman, who had been following him around since morning, also received the iPhone 6S that her brother had prepared for her.

She disappeared within a minute of receiving the gift, probably off to show it off to her friends...

……

On the first day of the Lunar New Year: it is forbidden to use knives, eat glutinous rice balls, or visit relatives and friends to ask for red envelopes.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year: Welcoming the Kitchen God.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year: eat dumplings to welcome the God of Wealth.

On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Jiang Ye returned to Yanjing!
The company resumed work on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year!
During the more than two weeks that the company was on holiday for the Chinese New Year, Jiang Ye hired a construction team to do some simple renovations for the company.

After all, with the increase in staff, the company can no longer be as rudimentary as before!

Upon entering the company, the first thing that catches the eye is the curved reception desk, which is made of a full glass curtain wall.

On the black marble countertop sits a crystal-like "Jiangying Media" logo, while behind it, an LED screen continuously plays classic clips from the TV series "Princess Promotion".

A hostess in a navy blue uniform immediately stood up: "Good morning, Mr. Jiang. You have two visitors waiting in conference room number 3."

The office space expanded from the initial 180 square meters to 700 square meters, and he basically rented out all the empty spaces on this floor.

Upon entering the company, on the left is an open-plan office area with more than thirty electrically adjustable desks arranged in a wave-like pattern.

Each table was equipped with a 27-inch 4K monitor, and the young screenwriters, wearing noise-canceling headphones, switched between script documents and storyboard software on dual screens. A magnetic whiteboard hung on the wall, covered with costume design sketches for "Sito," and an art director with a small braid was using magnets to fix a new concept art.

The production department is located behind the glass partition on the right, with an entire wall transformed into a project progress dashboard.

The colored tiles indicate the casting progress for "Sito".

Behind the candidate Si Teng was a photo of Jing Tian, ​​and below Qin Fang were screenshots of Zhang Binbin and Deng Lun's audition clips. In the position of the second female lead Shen Yindeng, Bai Lu's information card was firmly affixed.

Two executive producers are arguing about shooting schedules using laser pointers.

The most eye-catching feature is the central creative cabin.

The circular space enclosed by soundproof glass contains a beanbag chair and a smart blackboard.

At this moment, a team of screenwriters is brainstorming inside, with scribbled "alien tribe worldview settings" written all over the glass.

The post-production area occupies a full 200 square meters, with twelve top-of-the-line workstations forming three production islands.

A colorist wearing Beats headphones is comparing the filter effects of a period drama set in the Republican era, while the sound of keyboards clicking can be heard from the special effects team.

In the innermost Dolby Atmos mixing room, the sound engineer suddenly played a sound effect of vines breaking through the air, which startled the intern in the break room, causing him to spill his coffee.

Jiang Ye had them do some preparatory work in advance, since they were just idling around anyway, so they might as well use it as a way to get the team working together...

The artist management area has a sign that says "No Trespassing" hanging on it. At the end of the corridor are two separate offices with signs that read "Meng Ziyi" and "Bai Lu" on the door!
For artists of Meng Ziyi's caliber, the company usually provides them with separate office space to facilitate work coordination and rest.

Jiang Ye had also prepared one for Bai Lu in advance.

Artists' work is meticulous and demanding, requiring a professional team for everything from scheduling and contract coordination to styling communication and crisis management.

Most importantly, the agent coordinates all work, connects resources, and finalizes schedules. They are the core bridge between the artist, the company, and external partners, and communicate with the artist in the office almost every day to plan the next steps.

There are also executive agents/assistants who are responsible for the details of the trip, such as booking flights and hotels, following up on the filming schedule, and organizing pending documents. They are always on standby in the office to ensure a seamless travel experience.

And there are stylists, publicist specialists...

Currently, apart from the agent who is still available, Jiang Ye has already provided them with all the other staff.

As expected, these two girls will be very busy in 15, busy making money for him!

The chairman's office was the simplest.

In addition to professional books, Jiang Ye's solid wood bookshelf also displays the crystal trophy for "Annual Innovative Web Series" won by "Princess".

A set of simple and elegant purple clay teaware was placed by the window. The teapot had a warm and smooth body, and several small teacups were neatly arranged next to it.

This was prepared for him by Meng Ziyi. It is said that she specially commissioned an old teapot from Yixing. The teapot body alone took more than two months to fire. Even the matching cups were handmade by famous craftsmen. The whole set was quite expensive, and it was said to be "worth half a car".

Jiang Ye usually only uses it for distinguished guests.

For example, people like Ouhao who come here to hang out all the time basically use disposable cups...

A vintage film projector sits by the window, and a handwritten inscription by Tian Zhuangzhuang hangs on the wall: "Drama is more important than anything else."

"Boss! I missed you so much!"

The egret had a head of fluffy wool curls, and the rabbit hair clip in her hair jiggled as she jumped.

Her red sweater almost reached her knees, making her look like a Chihuahua wearing her parents' clothes.

Jiang Ye narrowed his eyes and reached out to pinch her much rounder cheeks: "Did you get fed like a pig when you got home?"

"No, no!" Bai Lu stamped her feet anxiously, the hem of her sweater swaying with her movements. "It's my mom who insists I'm suffering in Yanjing, eating braised pork and stewed pork hock every day..."

She suddenly lowered her voice, "Boss, the new receptionist is really pretty, I gave you my WeChat..."

Jiang Ye wanted to scold her, but the words stuck in his throat. He raised his hand and tapped her on the forehead: "You never think about anything important, you just stare at these trivial things?"

"You need to lose some weight first, otherwise you won't look good on camera..."

"No... Boss, I'll go on a hunger strike right now!"

"There's no need to be so ruthless..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Xin, the administrative director, walked over holding a red envelope for the start of the work year.

The senior HR manager, recruited from Huayi, wore a sharp suit dress today, with the company's newly designed employee badge pinned to her chest.

"President Jiang, these are the New Year's plans for each department." She handed over a folder. "The scriptwriting team has added three graduate students from the Beijing Film Academy, the visual effects team has recruited a lighting technician from Base FX, and..."

Jiang Ye took the document and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Sister Zhang. You've been busy since early this morning."

“President Jiang…” Zhang Xin glanced at Bai Lu, and continued after Jiang Ye nodded in acknowledgment.

“In the past few days, negative public opinion targeting our company’s artist Meng Ziyi has appeared on platforms such as Weibo and Douban.”

“These negative reports are not isolated incidents, but rather targeted campaigns with a clear strategy, involving a matrix of marketing accounts working together and using highly consistent language. It is clear that a professional team is behind this.”

She paused for a moment, then continued, "The core attack is to use the work 'Princess' as a basis to argue that she, a web drama actress, has no right to take on the lead role in an S-level IP like 'Love O2O,' subtly weakening the legitimacy of her taking on such a major IP by claiming that her status is not worthy of the role."

"Secondly, they amplified the controversy surrounding the role replacement. Although they didn't name names, it was obvious to anyone with eyes to see that they were targeting a certain popular actress. Their rhetoric repeatedly emphasized that the original candidate had already completed her styling and makeup, and that she was the replacement who came out of nowhere, packaging the competition as a predation."

"There's also external instigation, with a large number of online trolls infiltrating the original novel's supertopic and fan groups, mass-producing rhetoric that capital forces the female lead into the story, which doesn't fit Bei Weiwei's character at all. They express sympathy for the fans being fed garbage by capital, and say things like 'a good IP being ruined.' They incite conflict among fans, elevate industry competition to the level of offending the original work, and lower the public's goodwill."

When asked about the specific details of the rumors, she looked up at Jiang Ye and said, "As for the fabricated accusations, in addition to her diva-like behavior, demanding script changes and refusing to do night scenes, the focus was on her bringing investment into the production team. It was said that the capital behind her forcibly intervened in the production process and used investment to replace the original female lead."

"These statements seem scattered, but they are actually interconnected. First, they question her qualifications, then they deny her professionalism, and finally they completely ruin her public image by labeling her as someone who rose to power through capital."

Jiang Ye tapped his fingertips on the table and looked at Zhang Xin: "I think I should be able to guess who's behind this!"

"She was just too stupid! She chose the wrong time; the first thing she'll face is Juku's wrath!"

(P.S.: Thanks to Fat Buddha, Laugh, Night Without Moon Flower Dance, Book Friend 20200607160827001, Mingze, Asian Dance King Nicholas Zhao Si, Wandering Map, Kaichi and other big brothers for their donations. Next month I will guarantee 8000 chapters a day, and if I am in good condition I will go up to 10,000 a day.)
(End of this chapter)