She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

Xiao He continued his analysis.

"You were admitted to the Beijing Film Academy at 15, played Wang Yuyan at 16, Zhao Ling'er at 17, and Xiaolongnu at 18. In just three years, you skipped all the unspoken rules of courtship and directly became the nation's goddess. This is unprecedented in the Chinese entertainment industry."

Liu Yifei rested her chin on her knees, looking at the marks on the paper that he was pointing to, without saying a word.

After her legendary role as Little Dragon Girl in "The Return of the Condor Heroes" in 2006, she should have remained a top star. However, Huayi Brothers tried to sign her twice, but Chen Jingfei turned her down both times. Rejecting the backing of the largest brokerage platform in mainland China was tantamount to rejecting the entire set of rules and benefits of this game.

The rules for choosing sides, the rules for dividing the spoils, and the rules for toasting and paying respects.

After 2008, he turned to the film industry. His four-year contract with WMA expired and was not renewed. The so-called "Hollywood route" was just a waiting vacancy.

She became a vacuum, unconnected to the Beijing, Hong Kong, and Hollywood circles. Without currying favor with powerful figures, no one would support her; without signing a contract, no one would shield her from harm.

My godfather is also busy dating and transferring resources.

She has no powerful backers, no influential figures, and no company to help her fight back against the rumors. While others only need to use their mouths to spread rumors, she has to run herself ragged to clarify things.

"There's an unwritten rule in the capital world: either you're one of us, or you're nothing. If you don't sign with Huayi, Huayi won't give you their resources. If you don't gamble with the capital, they won't support you."

He turned his head to look at Liu Yifei, who was curled up on the sofa with her hair casually tied up.

"Sis, do you know how Huayi Brothers secured its artists back then?"

Liu Yifei shook her head slightly.

"Capital operations. Huayi Brothers specifically established a company to acquire equity in artists' studios. Dongyang Haohan, a joint venture established by Li Chen, Yang Ying, Feng Shaofeng, Zheng Kai, and Chen He, was 70% acquired by Huayi for 7.56 million yuan. Zhejiang Changsheng, Zhang Guoli's studio, which was only established three months ago, was acquired by Huayi for 2.52 million yuan. Dongyang Meila, owned by Feng Xiaogang, was 70% acquired by Huayi for 10 billion yuan. This money wasn't given away for free; each acquisition came with a performance-based agreement. The artists promised to achieve a certain amount of profit in the next few years, and if they failed to do so, they had to make up the difference out of their own pockets."

Xiao He paused, looking into her eyes.

"This is the essence of the entertainment industry. Artists are not people, they are assets. If you sign a performance-based agreement, you become a tool of capital. If you don't sign one, you become an enemy of capital. The reason you've been targeted for so many years is because you don't belong to any particular capital group. If you try to stay out of it, you become a target. In this industry, staying out of it means you don't deserve to be a top star. It's not that you don't deserve it, it's that they won't let you."

Liu Yifei nodded: "So, you're saying my existence is an anomaly, making many artists feel that being independent is a good option, and that this is taking a bite out of the entertainment industry's capital market?"

The orange cat outside the window stood up from the shadow of the gazebo, stretched, and slowly walked to the edge of the lawn in the backyard, glancing into the living room through the floor-to-ceiling glass.

"So what?" she finally spoke, her voice very soft, "I just let them beat me like this, until I was completely worthless?"

"It wasn't a beating." Xiao He turned the A4 paper over; the back was blank. He picked up a pen from the coffee table and drew a horizontal line on the blank page.

"Before, you were defined by others. Now they want nothing from you except yourself."

Xiao He looked up at her, and Liu Yifei's lips twitched slightly; she understood everything at once.

The entertainment industry cannot tolerate unconventional artists, or perhaps the capital sector wants to subdue Liu Yifei and then acquire her.

The counterattack began with an exclusive interview with Sohu Entertainment, arranged in the lounge on the sixth floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel, on the afternoon after the BJ fan meeting at the end of May.

The cameraman set up his equipment, the lighting technician adjusted the color temperature, and Xiao He was wearing a loose black shirt.

Liu Yifei sat next to him, wearing a cream-colored knitted cardigan.

Reporter Chen Mo is a veteran at Sohu, having conducted in-depth interviews for over a decade. He knows exactly what questions to ask and what questions are pointless to ask.

"Let's talk about recent events first," Chen Mo said, placing the recorder on the coffee table. "Both of you have experienced quite a few rumors circulating online about Ms. Liu Yifei lately. Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Xiao He moved forward and sat down.

He knew this problem would come sooner or later.

"The false news about Ms. Liu Yifei on the Internet, such as the rumors that she is a 'transgender person' and 'kept by a sugar daddy', has been circulating since she was a teenager."

"She chose not to respond before because she believed that the truth would prevail. But this time, we didn't hesitate at all and took legal action. So as everyone has seen, those marketing accounts have deleted their posts."

Chen Mo paused his pen on the tablet for a moment. He wrote down the word "we".

"The lawyer's letter has been sent out. The first batch of lawsuits includes several accounts that have been spreading rumors for a long time, and they should have received them today."

Xiao He's hand rested naturally on the sofa armrest.

"There will be a second batch later."

"right."

Liu Yifei took over the conversation, her tone even more decisive than Xiao He had expected.

"The internet is not a lawless zone, and spreading rumors will result in legal consequences. Anyway, I'm going through a low point right now, so if anyone tries to spread rumors about me, I'll just send them all lawyer's letters, without exception."

When she said the words "low period," there was even a slight smile on her lips.

It's not self-deprecation, it's indifference, that kind of complete relaxation of "I have nothing left to lose."

"Mr. Xiao He just said 'we'," Chen Mo turned to Xiao He, "What exactly does 'we' mean? Are you two together?"

When the question was posed, Liu Yifei was stunned for a moment, and she subconsciously glanced at Xiao He.

Xiao He pulled his hand off the sofa armrest and sat up a little straighter.

"Liu Yifei and I grew up in the same courtyard. We were like siblings. Our parents were colleagues at the Wuhan Opera and Dance Theater, and we used to run around in the rehearsal hall together since we were little."

He paused.

"My sister is currently in a period of career adjustment, and as her younger brother, how can I stand idly by? So 'we' refers to me and Liu Yifei; we will form a singer group and debut."

The red light on the voice recorder is on.

The tablet in Chen Mo's hand almost slipped off his knee. All the questions he had prepared, such as "When did you two get together?", "Who pursued whom first?", and "Did your families approve?", were shattered by this announcement.

"Wait a minute, a singing group?"

His voice rose by half an octave, and it took him a full three seconds to regain his composure.

Is this an exclusive first release?

"Yes." Xiao He nodded. "The name of the group is still under discussion, and the specific format is also being planned. But the direction has been set. I am a songwriter, and she used to be a singer. This isn't just a hobby; we're going to make music seriously."

Chen Mo then posed the question to Liu Yifei: "Regarding the transition to becoming a singer, could you please share your thoughts, Ms. Liu Yifei?"

Liu Yifei leaned back into the sofa.

"That's because you forced me to do it."

She looked at the reporter with a nonchalant air about her situation.

"I'll focus on acting, and you'll criticize every single one I do. Fine, I'll take a break from acting for now. Are you satisfied now?"

After he finished speaking, the reception room fell silent for a moment.

Chen Mo's pen flew across the tablet.

"Where is the line between retiring from acting and transitioning to a singing career? Will you continue acting in the future? What's the name of your group? Is it a limited-time event, or do you plan to continue it long-term?"

"The group's name hasn't been decided yet. He's the one who decides it." Liu Yifei glanced at Xiao He.

"What about the album?" Chen Mo pressed. "Any concrete plans? Will you release singles first, or go straight to an album?"

Xiao He deflected for his sister, saying, "Stay tuned."

The atmosphere in the reception room had relaxed.

Chen Mo knew he had stumbled upon a major exclusive story today.