Chapter 185: The 185th day of being popular

Chapter 185: The 185th day of being popular

As the summer vacation began in early July, the judgment result for Luo Shuai finally came out fresh.

#Luo Shuai's First Instance Verdict

#Luo Shuai Sentenced to 25 Years

#Luo Shuai's Exorbitant Breach of Contract Penalty

These few phrases practically dominated the entire internet. Netizens flocked in response, starting a lively gossip session.

"Wow, they're piling up the charges, sentencing him to a full 25 years in prison. Impressive!"

"Luo Shuai is already in his thirties this year, so theoretically, he won't be out until he's 55 years old."

"Hahaha, it's so satisfying. The scum deserves to be kicked out of the entertainment circle."

"Why bother? He could have enjoyed the adoration of fans under the spotlight with a hefty paycheck. Now he's ruined himself over nothing."

"Thanks to Yao Bianliang. Who knows when Luo Shuai's misdeeds would have come to light if it wasn't for her."

Netizens were overwhelmingly pleased with this judgment.

But some observant ones noticed, at the bottom of the announcement, an official statement mentioning an investigation with Luo Shuai's company and the prohibition of any public lewd behavior.

This small print wasn't particularly prominent, and compared to the entertainment company, the public was more focused on the star himself.

As a result, this information didn't garner much attention at the moment.

Until a well-known influencer noticed something and posted on Weibo:

"Hey, everyone! I've found an extremely accurate prediction thread. All the allegations have been proven true one by one. Yao Xinxin, Lu Yanchen, Luo Shuai... who's next?

You can check out the details by clicking the webpage link xxxxx."

As soon as this news broke, many followers scrutinized the thread. Soon, everyone was shocked.

The poster claimed to be an insider at Ansheng Entertainment, and due to dissatisfaction with the company covering up Luo Shuai's wrongdoing, they had chosen to resign.

They revealed several insider messages in total. While the integrity of the rest remained uncertain, quite a few pieces of information had been verified as true up to that point.

"Oh my, it's actually true. They mentioned months ago that Luo Shuai had relationship with fans."

"Who's the genius behind these predictions? Can't believe they got it all right."

"Ladies, I initially clicked to enjoy some juicy gossip, and then I saw my artist in this thread... *stop smiling*"

"Hahaha, forgive me for my lack of empathy, but these artist before must be feeling miserable."

Is it true that Lu Group helps its artists evade taxes?

Heh, it's clear that both Lu Group and Ansheng Entertainment are not good commodities. What kind of people can their artists be?

This thread listed several incidents involving celebrities, including but not limited to tax evasion, prostitution, gambling, rape, being the third party in a relationship, extramarital affairs, and so on, encompassing all types of scandals.

All these celebrities, without exception, are from Ansheng Entertainment.

Shouldn't the relevant authorities investigate this?

Lu Yanchen is Luo Shuai's cousin. He has helped Luo Shuai cover up his crimes more than once. Well... this is terrifying upon closer inspection.

Birds of a feather flock together, huh?

Haha, I am bookmarking this thread and waiting for more juicy updates.

*****

After waking up, Zhou Fei discovered that his post had gone viral.

"Thousands of likes overnight, what happened?" Zhou Fei was perplexed as he looked at the bright red "999+" notifications.

He clicked on his post, skimmed through the comments, and finally understood the sequence of events.

When he had resigned earlier, he had posted this thread out of frustration. The post hadn't received any attention at the time, not even a single like or comment. Over time, Zhou Fei had even forgotten he had made the post.

Now, with Luo Shuai in trouble, someone had dug up his old post.

Even if he wanted to provide additional investment, he didn't have the funds for it.

Thinking of this, Mr. Sheng couldn't help but complain, "Why did you use the promotion funds on props and costumes?"

Did the crew not understand whether props and costumes were more important or promotion was more important?

Once the promotion was boosted, who would care whether the props and costumes were good or not? What difference did it make between a five-cent prop and a one-dollar prop?

Wen Xuan said, "Mr. Sheng, don't be too agitated. As far as I know, Yao Bianliang's new drama, 'Spring's Warmth and Rich Dew,' is in the same genre as ours. Moreover, it's scheduled to air at the same time as ours."

"We might not have promotion funds, but Yao Bianliang's investors are generous. They must have prepared a sufficient promotional budget."

A flicker of interest appeared in Mr. Sheng's eyes, and he asked, "Are you suggesting?"

"When Yao Bianliang's new drama airs, her fans and team will undoubtedly put effort into promotion," a playful smile flashed in Wen Xuan's eyes. "She's ridden on our popularity so many times, can't we also ride on her popularity in return?"

Colliding dramas of the same genre, provocations, and mutual trampling were common marketing strategies.

This type of promotion was very effective and could save them significant money.

Mr. Sheng's eyes brightened, and he was quite intrigued. However, he thought of something and had some concerns.

"How can you be sure that Yao Bianliang's new drama won't outperform ours?" he asked.

Provocation marketing was an excellent strategy, but it was also easy to backfire.

If things went wrong, they might not only fail to promote their own drama successfully but also inadvertently promote another's.

Yao Bianliang's dramas had consistently been of good quality, and this time, with "Spring's Warmth and Rich Dew" its quality might not be worse than "Legend of An Hua"

Therefore, despite knowing this information, Mr. Sheng hadn't considered this direction before.

Wen Xuan chuckled lightly, "Mr. Sheng, rest assured. I've already found out that Yao Bianliang's new drama has an extremely toxic plot, and it's unlikely to be well-received!"

Facing Mr. Sheng's puzzled gaze, Wen Xuan calmly pointed out a few poison points to him.

"In Yao Bianliang's new drama, the female lead has served many people and her innocence is questionable. Many viewers can't accept this poison point that's the first one."

"The second point is that the female lead is oppressed whether she's in the brothel or in the palace. The storyline is full of suffering from start to finish, without any turning point."

In the midst of Mr. Sheng's astonished gaze, Wen Xuan paused slightly and then dropped the last bombshell.

"The third point is that, in the end of this drama, the male lead will treat the female lead as a gift and present her to the neighboring lord as a concubine!"

When Mr. Sheng heard the first two poison points, although he was quite surprised, he could still accept them.

It wasn't until he heard the last poison point that Wen Xuan mentioned that he was utterly shocked. "Giving away the female lead? Isn't this a terrible ending? Are you sure the information you obtained is correct?"

Wen Xuan nodded, "Mr. Sheng, don't worry. The information is absolutely reliable."

A twitch appeared at the corner of Mr. Sheng's mouth as he was deeply shocked.

Using the male lead gifting the female lead as an ending, could a human being really come up with such a storyline? It was practically like seeking revenge on society.

He even felt that Yao Bianliang must have made this drama specifically to disgust the audience and prepare to face criticism.

"What happens to the female lead after she's given away?" Mr. Sheng couldn't help but ask.

"She dies," Wen Xuan shrugged, "tragically dies at the neighboring lord's residence. The male lead has no reaction upon hearing this news, as if an inconsequential person had died."

Mr. Sheng: "..."

Great, this was beyond being described as just "poison."

It was incredibly toxic, enough to cause heart attacks in an instant.

"In that case, your suggested promotional plan indeed seems feasible," Mr. Sheng's eyes were getting brighter and brighter.

One storyline was pleasing, the other was toxic. He could fully imagine how public opinion would develop once both dramas were released together.

In this scenario, it was nearly impossible for their plan to backfire when trampling on the other party.

By doing so, they could save a considerable amount of funds and take revenge for Yao Bianliang, causing both Lu Yanchen and Luo Shuai to leave the entertainment industry!

With these thoughts, Mr. Sheng glanced at the calendar and circled the dates of tomorrow and the day after.

"Our drama will officially premiere tomorrow, and Yao Bianliang's new drama will also premiere the day after. Our marketing plan will be executed in these two days," a smile curled at the corner of his lips.