But Su Ning knew that Shen Mingzheng likely played a significant role in fueling the chaos.

He had underestimated the young Mr. Shen before.

Shen Mingzheng was meticulous and decisive in his methods, quite remarkable.

As the world outside buzzed with changes and explosive public opinion, the public performance of the Idol Star Map replacement competition was about to begin.

Li Chu, having stayed in the closed training camp of the program, was unaffected by the external tumult. Zhou Chunqing was living in an inn in the countryside, and she had entrusted Su Ning to relay a message to Li Chu, who was without his phone, saying she hadn’t felt so relaxed in a long time.

When Su Ning took time out of his schedule to visit the set, he indeed found Li Chu in the dance studio during the meal break. The trainees were resting briefly, and Li Chu’s eyes lit up like a rabbit’s when he saw Su Ning, running over to greet him with, “Young Master.”

His forehead was covered in sweat from the exhaustion of training, but he seemed much more vibrant and lively than before, his tone rising slightly as he spoke.

Su Ning conveyed Zhou Chunqing’s message and after a brief chat which centered on encouraging Li Chu to focus on the competition, he asked, “Shen Mingzheng hasn’t said anything to you, has he?”

He was unsure when Shen Mingzheng had started connecting with Li Chu. Li Chu and Zhou Chunqing having so much evidence was something they hadn’t mentioned to Su Ning before, even though Li Chu had been open about it, he hadn’t detailed it much.

“Hmm, if I have to say, I actually reached out to him,” Li Chu blinked, “He and Shen Huai are rivals, so it seemed fitting to let him handle Shen Huai and Jiang Chenfeng, right?”

It was a threefold gain: helping his young master solve problems, allowing Zhou Chunqing to escape peril, and with Shen Mingzheng’s powerful background, he was a safer bet than Su Ning for such actions.

Li Chu had promised not to lie to Su Ning anymore, so he laid everything out.

Su Ning: …

Weren’t you supposed to be focusing solely on the competition? How could you also think of so much?

He felt again that Shen Mingzheng’s previous remark about Li Chu not being so simple was indeed, very, very accurate.

Yet, seeing Li Chu’s innocent, round-eyed gaze, Su Ning found it hard to say anything critical.

“Don’t worry, it’s all a fair trade between us,” Li Chu seemed to read his thoughts and added, “About the song ‘Crown Me’, I could adapt the dance, but to make it stand out, we thought about changing the arrangement and lyrics too. Song Yu is quite troubled about it, but Mr. Shen offered some advice.”

According to the rules, Shen Mingzheng couldn’t directly help with the modifications, but as part of the production team, giving a few tips to the contestants was within the boundaries of the rules since the show’s management routinely provided guidance to trainees during training.

Su Ning was surprised: “He knows how to do that?”

“I’m not very knowledgeable about music arrangement,” Li Chu admitted, “but Song Yu says he’s really good, exceptionally good.”

Su Ning gained a new appreciation for Shen Mingzheng.

He didn’t talk with Li Chu for too long as soon someone around the corner called for Li Chu.

“Li Chu, Li Chu, where are you?”

“It’s time to eat, the food’s getting cold.”

Recognizing the voice as Qu Shoubai from Qilin, and though they were competitors, it didn’t sound like they were on bad terms.

Li Chu responded with a “Coming!” then turned back to Su Ning, “Actually, everyone here is quite nice.”

Talented young people filled with dreams and passion for the stage easily found common topics to share, and not everyone was fiercely competitive to the point of detriment. The entertainment industry was vast, and the road ahead was long; compared to the outcome of a competition, personal growth and achievements mattered more.

The kid has made new friends.

Su Ning felt a bit relieved and said, “Go on then, I brought some fruits and stuff for you guys, it’s all over there, make sure to share with your friends.”

Li Chu responded cheerfully, “Okay.”

As he turned to leave, he looked back at Su Ning several times before reluctantly walking away towards the brighter stage ahead.

Su Ning waved at him.

His collaboration with Shen Mingzheng was indeed going smoothly.

With Shen Huai caught up in so much turmoil recently, the internal alignment within Shen Film Industry had become quite clear, and Guang Ying Entertainment was also undergoing drastic changes.

Jiang Chenfeng, a media mogul who understood the importance of timely diversions, decided to sever ties since he was no longer planning to cooperate. His hands weren’t clean of Shen Huai’s messy dealings either.

For instance, his attempt to take over Guang Ying Entertainment and the insertion of numerous corporate spies were well-documented, except for those aspects involving Li Chu, which he kept from him. From business rivalries to scandalous affairs, the stories were indeed explosive.

“This drama is making me nauseous, you guys are truly filthy, calling it a rat’s nest would be an insult to rats.”

“Never saw it coming, huh, Shen Film Emperor? Must’ve been tough playing the long game.”

“Hang on, didn’t Old Master Su treat you well? And you plotted against him like this?”

“I think out of everyone, Shen Huai is the one who really ought to be kicked out of the entertainment industry.”

But even so, Jiang Chenfeng’s scandals weren’t completely suppressed, and soon, he began to face investigations.

By that point, even if Shen Huai wanted to shift the focus again, it was too late; even if he wanted to drag the currently popular Li Chu into it, he couldn’t.

He had thought Li Chu was a pawn without an escape, assigning many tasks to him to keep his own hands clean, which led to Li Chu having complete videos and evidence, rendering any smear attempts futile.

After all, on the night at Diao Chun Jiang, Li Chu was clearly a pure victim, which would only make the public sympathize with him more.

Just looking at how Sang Le gained public sympathy previously, it was clear how powerful such support could be; it wasn’t just shifting focus but actually boosting Li Chu’s current momentum.

As for the plot he once conspired with Li Chu, releasing that would only confirm his involvement in corporate espionage and possibly illicit dealings. The risks of public outcry and legal consequences were not lost on Shen Huai, who knew which was more severe.

Moreover, at this point, it wasn’t up to Shen Huai to decide whether he could speak out or not. His impact was too negative, and many of his social media accounts had been temporarily blocked by officials.

What must come, even if evaded, cannot be escaped.

When Su Ning saw the group of shareholders led by Ma Yi again, they no longer had their previous arrogance. Just like their tough talk before, they ended up kneeling on the ground pleading.

“Young Ning, no, President Su, after so many years, even if I haven’t achieved much, I’ve still worked hard. Please forgive me this once, I even held you when you were little,” he cried with tears running down his face, “I was blinded by greed before, I have elderly and young ones to take care of…”

He was quite old, crying breathlessly and speaking incoherently, almost as if Su Ning was bullying him.

The exposés combined with the evidence Su Ning had gathered from the company and the information Chen Tao found formed a complete chain of evidence proving these people’s corruption and bribery.

Ma Yi thought his actions were flawless and trusted Shen Huai too much, even believing he was about to succeed, which led to his current downfall.

As Su Ning had said from the start, job misappropriation was a serious crime warranting imprisonment, it wasn’t about whether he would let them off or not.

Su Ning patiently listened to his plea and then asked, “So, why didn’t you think more carefully before doing these things?”

Ma Yi looked up at him with dim eyes.

“Let’s proceed with the process, President Ma,” Su Ning looked down at him, “Coming to me now is already too late.”

After that, Su Ning rarely saw him again.

The relevant authorities soon took him away.

While people come and go, the sale of shares is a normal business activity, and the board’s discussion on buying back their shares was still ongoing.

After Ma Yi was taken for investigation, his wife handled the transfer of shares, basically having no objections about selling the shares and wanting to take the money and leave quickly, even if at a lower price.

In fact, the value of Guang Ying Entertainment’s shares had indeed dropped significantly; even if Jiang Chenfeng and Shen Huai had lost, the financial losses and talent outflow within the company were real and wouldn’t change.

That’s why Su Ning didn’t much bother about external speculations and reports.

As Shen Mingzheng said, dealing with Shen Huai and Jiang Chenfeng wasn’t difficult; the real challenge was cleaning up the mess at Guang Ying Entertainment.

Even if the lawsuits against Ma Yi ended up compensating the company, that money wouldn’t be enough, and who knew when that would be.

Some shareholders, even those not involved in the mess, really did want to sell their shares and leave, thinking they could still recoup some losses now, before possibly nothing was left if the company went bankrupt later. Guang Ying Entertainment wasn’t a publicly traded company, so there were no shareholders to share the risk with them.

But even at low prices, with so many wanting to sell, the amount of money needed wasn’t small; at the peak of Guang Ying Entertainment, the company was valued at tens of billions. Now, in decline, collecting about 40% of the shares would still cost at least five to six hundred million.

Su Ning had no money; the original master had squandered it all. Su Hongda did his best to gather some, but in such a short time, at most one and a half billion was possible, leaving a huge gap still.

But after hearing this, Su Ning simply said to him, “That’s enough.”

“What do you mean ‘enough’?” Su Hongda didn’t understand, still looking worried, “You can’t possibly force it to that amount.”

“What I mean is, one and a half billion could buy about 10% more, then the Su family would hold over fifty percent of the shares, no longer needing to live in fear,” Su Ning explained, “Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted?”

Put that way, it made sense.

Su Hongda felt a bit relieved.

His mood was now largely influenced by Su Ning, and he habitually relied on him for major and minor matters, not disobeying him at all, even feeling somewhat proud that Su Ning referred to them collectively as “our Su family.” He asked, “So you’ve already thought of a way to deal with the rest, right? You’re that capable.”

Su Ning glanced at him and waved his hand, implying they’d see when the time came.

Su Hongda, quite obedient at this moment, immediately shut his mouth and left.

Su Ning judged people not by their compliments but by their actions. He knew the one and a half billion was almost Su Hongda’s last resort, and his willingness to put it all out there already proved his stance.

Even if Su Ning initially didn’t think highly of him, seeing someone’s true nature in a crisis and calling him “our Su family” was also Su Ning’s acknowledgment to some extent.

The matters at Guang Ying Entertainment were proceeding according to his plan, and Shen Mingzheng was moving even faster; after all, Shen Huai was already at his wit’s end, beyond hope.

Soon, the Shen family headquarters in the capital made a decision. The corporate documentation came down swiftly, the process was very efficient, and Shen Mingzheng officially began taking over Shen Film Industry.

He indeed became the heir of Shen Film Industry as stipulated in the marriage agreement, and the only choice.

This outcome, from the moment an unknowing Shen Mingzheng arrived in Hai Cheng to figure out what the real challenge was, and then finding Su Ning, he was set to win.

So Su Ning wasn’t surprised by his swift actions, finding it only natural.

He calmly sent a congratulatory message, getting a bit distracted thinking about his own “marriage agreement.”

At first glance, the easiest option was, of course, to marry Shen Mingzheng, secure the inheritance to resolve the crisis, but Su Hongda didn’t bring this up because he knew it was too late.

Inheriting such a large fortune required waiting for procedures, and there wasn’t enough time now.

Moreover, did the current Shen Mingzheng even need to marry him anymore?

Shen Film Industry, though also in financial trouble, could easily resolve the issue with family support, combined with Shen Mingzheng’s capabilities. For the Shen family, the amount needed to rescue Shen Film Industry was merely a drop in the bucket, just requiring a word from the old master.

Now that the screening test was over, he could easily get the money directly from his family.

The truth was, Shen Mingzheng didn’t need Su Ning much anymore.

He had once said he wouldn’t touch a penny of the Su family inheritance, meaning he couldn’t gain financially from this matter anymore.

According to their initial collaboration, Su Ning’s shortfall, originally intended to be borrowed from Shen Mingzheng or the Shen family, even without the inheritance, plus interest, Su Ning was confident he could repay on time.

Now, it seemed that Shen Mingzheng fulfilling this was already commendable, qualifying as a perfectly mutual cooperation.

With his current status and family background, Shen Mingzheng would have better choices in marriage in the future; there was really no need to tie himself down for a temporary benefit.

However, just as Su Ning came to this realization, his phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.

It was Shen Mingzheng.

His congratulatory message hadn’t been sent long ago.

Su Ning hesitated for a moment before answering, and Shen Mingzheng immediately asked, “Are you at the company?”

“Yes.”

Su Ning checked the time; he had sent the congratulatory message at about ten o’clock at night, after wrapping up his company’s urgent affairs and sorting out the current messy situations, finally having some free time to pay attention to the matters at Shen Film Industry.

The timing wasn’t an issue for Su Ning; his life seemed to consist only of work, and staying at the company was common practice, always the case, and he saw nothing wrong with that.

“Come down,” Shen Mingzheng said, “I’m at your company’s entrance.”

“I wanted to come up to see you, but your company has a security system, and I really can’t get through this door, so I had to wait downstairs.”