This place was also one of the restaurants Jiang Chenfeng frequently visited, and today he was supposed to discuss business with Shen Huai. However, seeing the two people downstairs, he found it impossible to focus on the conversation.

Both of them appeared in bad shape, one with a broken arm not yet fully healed and the other with half his face bandaged—it was like seeing a pair with no brains and no joy, their moods evidently not great when together.

Fortunately, the murky waters were indeed stirring. Though the situation deviated slightly from his expectations, the precarious state of Guang Ying Entertainment was a fact. The outcome of the just-concluded board meeting had also reached their ears; the Su family couldn’t come up with so much money.

Thinking about this, Jiang Chenfeng felt a bit better until he turned and witnessed the scene below.

He almost screamed in shock.

“Shen Huai! Shen Huai!” he tried to keep his voice down, fearing discovery by the people downstairs, though his tone inevitably became shrill, “What’s going on?”

Shen Huai glanced downstairs and frowned, not understanding why these two suddenly seemed so close, but he appeared much calmer than Jiang Chenfeng, saying, “Why are you shouting? Maybe they’re just putting on a show for you to see, knowing you often come here.”

However, his words only made Jiang Chenfeng’s expression darken as he paced around the room.

“Do you think I’m an idiot? What do you mean by ‘putting on a show for me’? That’s exactly the problem!” he argued, “What was the premise of our cooperation? It was your assurance that the desperate Su family’s only option would be that inheritance, and you being the only marital choice. That’s why I gambled on this!”

“Otherwise, why am I funding the acquisition of Guang Ying Entertainment shares all by myself when you can’t put in a dime? Why am I taking so much risk? Isn’t it all for a share of the Su family’s inheritance?!”

Jiang Chenfeng’s voice grew frantic, his eyes bloodshot.

“I’m not withholding it from you,” Shen Huai responded, “Calm down, we agreed you could take most of the money, and I had no objections…”

“Money? Where’s the money?” Jiang Chenfeng interrupted him, “It sounds like you’re just painting a pie in the sky!”

He wasn’t that foolish.

It didn’t matter whether the two downstairs were putting on an act; their mere togetherness indicated a collaboration between Su Ning and Shen Mingzheng.

The marriage arrangement wasn’t limited to Shen Huai as a candidate.

This fact alone could fracture their alliance. If Shen Huai couldn’t secure the Su family’s inheritance, everything would fall apart.

Jiang Chenfeng had agreed so quickly at the start because everyone in Hai Cheng’s entertainment circle knew that Su Ning was pathetically devoted to Shen Huai, who, despite occasionally showing temper, seemed likely to return to Shen Huai with a simple gesture.

But now, that situation no longer existed.

Su Ning had changed.

That was the most terrifying part.

Jiang Chenfeng had harbored doubts when he saw Shen Huai beaten up last time. Now, ignited by this scene, he became even more unsettled.

Shen Mingzheng was now involved too.

Wasn’t this newly found outcast supposed to be clueless?

At this moment, Shen Huai still managed to feign calmness, saying, “I told you, Shen Mingzheng is the biological grandson the old man brought back. He came to Hai Cheng just for fun. How long do you think he’ll stay? Marry Su Ning? He isn’t foolish.”

But this statement could only momentarily appease or deceive Jiang Chenfeng, as this reassurance soon crumbled.

Not long after, at a board meeting held by Shen Film Industry, several old employees suddenly stood behind Shen Mingzheng.

Since arriving at Shen Film Industry, Shen Mingzheng had been assertive, and this incident marked his move to involve himself in other company affairs. He clearly intended to stay in Hai Cheng long-term, even beginning to seize power.

The main Shen family remained silent, seemingly indifferent.

This was tacit approval; it was everyone for themselves.

Compared to the aging Shen Ting and the scandal-plagued Shen Huai, the powerful background and investment savvy of Shen Mingzheng made the choice clear to any discerning eye.

It looked like Shen Film Industry was about to change hands.

It was impossible to keep this a secret for long, and Jiang Chenfeng soon found out.

Especially since he learned that Su Ning and Shen Mingzheng had been spending a lot of time together, practically inseparable, while Shen Huai, even if he actively sought out Su Ning, was blatantly ignored.

Eventually, one day, when Shen Huai finally intercepted Su Ning leaving the company, before he could even speak, a car horn interrupted him.

Turning his head, he saw Shen Mingzheng stepping out of the car from the passenger side, looking at him and saying, “What are you doing here looking for Su Ning? He doesn’t want to see you.”

You call him Su Ning?!

Shen Huai, struggling to contain his frustration, replied, “It’s my right to seek him out, we have an engagement!”

“Really? Does the marriage contract between the Shen and Su families have your name on it? I don’t remember it that way.”

Shen Mingzheng stepped forward, skillfully took Su Ning’s hand, pulling him close, then looked at him and said, “Shen Huai, you should know your place. You’re not fated to be the heir.”

Su Ning didn’t even glance at Shen Huai, treating him as if he were invisible, quickly leaving with Shen Mingzheng. And honestly, the two of them together did seem like a perfectly matched pair.

This scene was all witnessed by Jiang Chenfeng from not too far away.

He knew what was happening.

At some point, Shen Huai’s advantages had begun to slip away.

Initially, the pawn Li Chu hadn’t obeyed, and the plan to drain Guang Ying Entertainment’s last bit of strength through Idol Star Map had failed. Su Ning had already changed, and these slight shifts caused his originally seamless plan to falter.

Now, his partner Jiang Chenfeng no longer trusted him, having seen with his own eyes that Su Ning truly did not need Shen Huai.

Without the Su family inheritance, only a fool would collaborate with him.

Later, Su Ning heard that an infuriated Jiang Chenfeng, feeling deceived, had smashed Shen Huai’s car.

Really considering the situation, it was still feasible for Jiang Chenfeng to cut his losses.

He had not yet purchased Guang Ying Entertainment shares; the large sum of money had not been spent, at most losing some minor investments and prior efforts. But these were trivial, so smashing a car was just him venting.

Who did he think he was, playing me for a fool!

But this was not the end.

The car-smashing incident caused quite a stir. Jiang Chenfeng, unable to contain his temper, did it in front of many people, and someone recorded it and posted it online.

Rich heir smashes luxury car—it made the headlines, not just in entertainment news but in mainstream media.

Shortly after the car-smashing, a stream of negative news about Jiang Chenfeng began appearing online, including videos of his arrogant behavior in bars and clubs.

Then, the information released became increasingly problematic, starting from legal grey areas and moving to more flagrant violations.

Events from before Li Chu’s incident showed Jiang Chenfeng succeeded many times.

The faces of some victims were blurred, heavily pixelated, or entirely cut from the videos that were released, leaving only Jiang Chenfeng’s face clear, along with some of his shocking words and actions.

Su Ning, after seeing this, immediately asked Shen Mingzheng, “Did you do this?”

Shen Mingzheng didn’t deny it, adding that some of the video segments had been recorded by Shen Huai while exploiting Li Chu and were stored on Li Chu’s computer, now proving useful.

“Li Chu gave them to me voluntarily. I discussed it with him, and Chen Tao had also gathered quite a bit of evidence before, so we released it step by step,” Shen Mingzheng explained, seemingly aware of Su Ning’s concerns, he added, “It won’t affect Li Chu and the others, there’s nothing of him in it because comparatively, his video wasn’t worth releasing.”

“Also, I’ve placed Zhou Chunqing in a safe location; Jiang Chenfeng can’t find her during this time.”

He had protected the victims to prevent Jiang Chenfeng from threatening them.

The camera had been placed there several days in advance, so the videos Li Chu got were more than just one.

But previously, even if Li Chu had seen the videos, he dared not release them because Jiang Media was incredibly influential. Zhou Chunqing had seen too many minor celebrities deceived by Jiang Chenfeng and then crushed when they tried to resist.

These materials, even some that Zhou Chunqing held, were too dangerous to release online or tell anyone about.

Jiang Chenfeng, not being a public figure, hid behind the scenes, and ordinary people wouldn’t specifically focus on his activities. Rashly acting on such sensational truths could only bring trouble, even if it meant exposing heinous acts.

You see, even if Jiang Chenfeng was imprisoned, Jiang Media would still exist. A minor celebrity expressing momentary indignation could still face repercussions later; everyone had reservations, which is why this young master had been so brazen for so long.

Such exposés needed to be handed to the right people at the right time to draw attention.

The reality was harsh, but sometimes that’s how this industry worked; however, once something exploded, even gods couldn’t suppress the public’s voice.

This time, someone had taken the initiative to do all this.

Shen Mingzheng—he had managed to arrange everything with Zhou Chunqing and her brother. And as the situation escalated, some previous victims bravely came forward to testify, soon turning social news into legal news.

Jiang Chenfeng watched the situation unfold, how could he not be anxious?

This wasn’t his first time causing trouble, but he didn’t understand why this incident blew up, so he hid at home for a while, seething with rage.

He had just smashed Shen Huai’s car to announce the breakup of their collaboration, then his own scandals broke out, leaving him no room but to speculate.

Don’t think I don’t know, these are the handles Shen Huai has on me! In his eyes, this was Shen Huai’s way of knocking and threatening him, who else could it be?

This was also confirmed in what Shen Mingzheng had told Su Ning.

“Let me tell you a secret,” Shen Mingzheng said, “Diao Chun Jiang is one of Shen Film Industry’s covert investments, initially intended to entertain VIPs. This place operates at a huge loss, not really making money, always operating at a deficit, meant to grasp these people’s vulnerabilities.

People in the entertainment industry are usually very cautious, even if they come here, they rarely do anything substantial; any secretive activities would either be at their own homes or somewhere they trust completely. Coming to Diao Chun Jiang is just for relaxation and play, except for Jiang Chenfeng, who really treats this place like a second home.”

Jiang Media was indeed a big fish caught by Diao Chun Jiang.

If everything had gone smoothly, it would have been a flawless plan, but if the hook wasn’t secure and the big fish started thrashing, it could pull the fisherman into the water too.

Su Ning: …

No wonder, that night at Diao Chun Jiang, everywhere he turned, he faced obstacles. It was rare for a place in Hai Cheng to be so unfriendly.

Jiang Chenfeng, that kind of person, would never realize his own mistakes; he would only hate whoever exposed these things. In his view, only Shen Huai had such information.

In his extreme anger, he needed a vent.

Actually, if he were to suspect, he hadn’t ruled out Su Ning and Shen Mingzheng, Jiang Chenfeng wasn’t that foolish.

But at this moment, the best solution was also to drag someone with a higher profile into the mud, exploding an even more sensational issue to shift attention from his own, then minimize and conceal the matter.

Besides national heartthrob Shen Huai, who else could serve this purpose?

Su Ning had already withdrawn from the competition, now merely a civilian, his spotlight quickly fading; he had no scandalous material left, and the public genuinely didn’t care much about Guang Ying Entertainment’s financial crisis as long as the company hadn’t collapsed yet. Shen Mingzheng was even less likely; they couldn’t divert public attention.

Li Chu? Not possible either, Jiang Chenfeng didn’t have anything on Li Chu, and revealing anything from that night would be self-destructive.

The only suitable candidate was the superstar Shen Huai.

His previous high profile could now become a sword aimed at him.

So even if he knew deep down that Shen Huai might not be behind the exposé, Jiang Chenfeng would choose to backstab him at this time.

Now, the issue between Jiang Chenfeng and Shen Huai wasn’t just about alliance breakdown; it was about entering a chain of suspicion, turning against each other, and preparing to retaliate eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

The direction of attack can reverse in just a moment of thought.