Ever since offending Qi Ke, Yu Yan had started to tread carefully. Every day, he would go to the company and nestle in Shen Yuchen’s office, playing games or building Lego sets.

Three days later, a minor issue arose again on the Xingyuan set. Yu Yan, accompanied by his driver, went to check on things. By the time he arrived, Yang Chao had already resolved the matter.

In Yang Chao’s words: “As long as the money is in place, what problem can’t be solved?”

Song Yunjing handed him a cup of light milk tea. “Wen Xia has been completely blacklisted.”

“Wasn’t she already shelved before?” Yu Yan asked, sipping through the straw.

“She was previously blacklisted by the entertainment industry. But now, she’s been exposed for tax evasion and other violations. Even live-streaming platforms have banned her. She can’t even pivot to being an online influencer, and she owes a massive amount in breach of contract penalties,” Song Yunjing explained, her tone carrying a tinge of pity as she reflected on Wen Xia’s downfall.

Yu Yan caught the gist of it. “Breach of contract penalties? What’s that about?”

“Her unreleased dramas can’t air, so the production teams are holding her accountable. Then there are also breach penalties for her advertising endorsements. It’s no small amount,” Song Yunjing estimated. “It’s at least an eight-figure sum. Wen Xia probably has the assets to pay it, but she’d have to sell off her house and car and empty her savings. Even after paying it off, her future won’t be easy. But I suspect she might not pay at all. A lot of her assets aren’t in the country or under her name.”

He Zhiyao wasn’t so lucky either. After this incident, the release of Legend of Cultivation was further delayed.

There were examples in the industry of dramas with implicated actors being shelved for seven or eight years without ever airing. By then, the market often moved on from that type of content.

While others could still pick up new projects, He Zhiyao’s bet with his father required every drama he worked on to be a success.

Yu Yan couldn’t do much about the production side of things. He let nature take its course and encouraged He Zhiyao to continue filming.

Lowering her voice to a whisper, Song Yunjing said, “I heard from Wen Xia’s assistant that she suspects you’re the one behind all this.”

Yu Yan was baffled. “Where would I get that kind of power? These drawn-out, tormenting tactics are probably the work of the Qi family.”

Wen Xia hadn’t been immediately blacklisted. Over two months ago, her scandals began to surface online. She had lost resources after failing a power struggle with other artists in her company. Later, moral scandals led to her being shelved in the entertainment industry. She pivoted to live-streaming as an influencer. Although she was criticized, she still managed to make some money. A month and a half later, her tax evasion and illegal activities were exposed, cutting off her influencer path completely.

This series of attacks didn’t kill her outright but felt like a slow, grinding torment. Each time she seemed to find a glimmer of hope, the path would be blocked again.

Aside from the Qi family, Yu Yan couldn’t think of anyone else capable of such a methodical strategy.

“I’m not entirely sure either,” Song Yunjing said, cautious. “But she’s been cursing you out nonstop lately, so be careful. Don’t corner a desperate person.”

Yu Yan frowned. “How do you know she’s cursing me?”

“Her assistant said so. Apparently, Wen Xia used to treat her assistant fairly well. But recently, her mood has soured, and she’s been taking it out on her, even resorting to physical violence. The assistant has been holding a grudge and is spilling everything.”

“Why hasn’t she quit then?” Yu Yan asked offhandedly.

“She’s being paid several times her usual salary. Why would she quit?”

Yu Yan raised an eyebrow. “Who’s paying her?”

“Some people in the industry are worried Wen Xia might expose more dirt. They’ve paid her assistant to keep tabs on her for now,” Song Yunjing explained.

Yu Yan nodded in understanding. “The entertainment circle is such a mess.”

“Isn’t it? People like you are rare. I’m lucky to have signed with you. Otherwise, I’d still be stuck training rookies at the company,” Song Yunjing said with a smug smile. “Several people from the neighboring set have been asking me if you’re still signing new talents.”

If the people mentioned by Song Yunjing were noteworthy enough to be brought up, they were definitely established names in the industry—not clueless rookies.

Yu Yan’s first thought was that these individuals, like Wen Xia, had offended someone and were seeking refuge under him because of his strong backing. After all, it wasn’t a secret that he had solved issues for Cao Yuanye by dealing with Chen Hao.

Noticing his unspoken thoughts, Song Yunjing clarified, “They’re not seeking refuge. They just think you’re a decent person. As long as they have some talent, signing with you means they’ll have access to resources. Isn’t that more reliable than groveling for favors to get work?”

“If there are suitable candidates, you can keep an eye out,” Yu Yan finally relented.

“They’re not rookies. Since you said you’d only manage rookies, I turned them down,” Song Yunjing said with slight regret in her tone.

Yu Yan paused, instinctively biting the straw.

It wasn’t that he only wanted to manage rookies. He just felt that taking on newcomers was low-risk. Even if things went wrong, it wouldn’t be disastrous. But managing an artist with an established fan base and career? If their growth under his management didn’t match their previous trajectory, he’d feel guilty.

This was exactly what Shen Yuchen and Jiang Mo criticized him for—avoiding responsibility.

But Yu Yan never felt incapable of managing established artists. With the company backed by Minghua and support from Shen Yuchen and Yu Chen, as long as the artists were attractive, talented, and morally upright, there wouldn’t be any issues.

After a moment of contemplation, Yu Yan gritted his teeth. “Let’s do it.”

“Manage established artists?” Song Yunjing hesitated.

“Yes. If you find someone suitable, keep an eye on them.”

“Alright.” Song Yunjing agreed without hesitation and even mimicked his tone, saying, “No problem, no problem.”

Yu Yan had spent the entire day on set, and the investment team was already seeing signs of success. Yang Chao patted his chest and assured him that the drama would make a big profit.

After wrapping up for the day, he had just gotten into his car to head home when he received a call from He Zhiyu.

“Xiao Yanyan, come out for a drink.”

Yu Yan frowned. “You’re still filming—what are you doing drinking?”

On the other end of the line was a cacophony of loud music and DJ sounds. “No, drinking is just an excuse. Don’t you get it? Come out for a chat.”

After a long hesitation, Yu Yan finally said, “Are you having relationship problems?”

Otherwise, he couldn’t figure out why someone as oblivious as He Zhiyu would want to drink to escape from something troubling.

“You’re currently in the prime of your career—dating might affect it,” he reminded him tactfully.

“I’m not dating, stop nagging.” He Zhiyu clicked his tongue impatiently. “I’m worrying about your stuff, don’t misinterpret my intentions!”

“What’s going on with me?”

The driver asked Yu Yan for the destination, and Yu Yan gestured for him to wait.

He Zhiyu’s tone turned casual. “You’ve heard about Wen Xia, right?”

“Xiao Jing told me.” Yu Yan frowned slightly.

“This was your boss’s doing—Shen Yuchen!” He Zhiyu emphasized the name.

The three words “Shen Yuchen” struck Yu Yan like a hammer. He suddenly sat upright and blurted out, “Impossible.”

He Zhiyu’s tone carried a trace of smugness. “I knew you wouldn’t believe it. It’s a bit complicated—come over, and we’ll talk face-to-face.”

After hanging up, Yu Yan instructed the driver to head to the bar He Zhiyu mentioned.

The bar was in the suburbs, near the film set. From the looks of it, He Zhiyu didn’t plan on drinking excessively but just wanted a suitable place for a conversation.

“Want a drink?” He Zhiyu offered him a cocktail.

Yu Yan wasn’t interested. “No. Where did you get this information? Don’t slander Brother Chen.”

“Ugh, I haven’t even said anything yet, and you’re accusing me of slander? Can your double standards be any more obvious?” He Zhiyu snorted coldly.

“I’m not being biased. He wouldn’t do something so low.” Yu Yan’s tone was firm.

Initially, he didn’t want to come here to waste time on idle chatter with He Zhiyu. But on second thought, he couldn’t let people spread baseless rumors about Shen Yuchen. He had to get to the bottom of this and resolve it at its source.

“He might not do it, but that doesn’t mean others wouldn’t on his behalf. Who is Shen Yuchen? The big boss of Minghua. If he even hints at dissatisfaction with Wen Xia, there’ll be plenty of people eager to curry favor by taking her down.”

Leaning back on the couch, He Zhiyu explained, “Remember that watch brand I endorsed before? A friend of mine saw Shen Yuchen looking at watches in a store with the boss of Hengfeng Building Materials nearby—probably discussing some collaboration. While they were looking at watches, Shen Yuchen suddenly brought up Wen Xia. Isn’t that basically giving the guy the green light to help him deal with the issue? Minghua’s project in the neighboring city switched contractors for building materials, and the new one is Hengfeng. Isn’t it obvious?”

It sounded plausible, but Yu Yan still didn’t believe it.

“If he really wanted to go after Wen Xia, he wouldn’t need to go through so much trouble.”

Xinghai had the support of Minghua and wasn’t small in the industry. If there was even a whisper of action against Wen Xia, she couldn’t have lasted this long before being blacklisted.

Besides, why would Shen Yuchen involve others in dealing with Wen Xia?

Unless…

Unless it was to avenge him!

Back when the incident at the orphanage was exposed, Yu Yan had been subjected to intense online criticism for a while. If Shen Yuchen wanted to seek revenge for him and directed his anger at Wen Xia, it would make sense.

Lowering his voice, He Zhiyu said, “I heard that Wen Xia was initially just blacklisted in the entertainment industry, not completely canceled. But when she tried to set a trap for you—a honey trap, you know?—word of it got out, and that’s when all the scandals surfaced, leading to her being completely banned.”

No wonder Wen Xia had been so convinced he was the one who acted against her. It turned out she had been planning a trap for him!

In this light, the story did seem somewhat credible. But why hadn’t Shen Yuchen told him?

“Is your information reliable?”

He Zhiyu let out a long sigh. “My dear Xiaoyan, how many times have you asked me this today? I’ll bet my entire acting career on it—this matter is 100% legit! With my connections in the entertainment industry, how could this possibly be fake news?”

Yuyan had already believed about 50-60% of it, but after He Zhiyu’s final sentence, doubt crept back in.

He Zhiyu explained, “Back then, I wasn’t doing well because my dad had his hands wrapped around my throat of destiny. Look at me now—I’m thriving in the industry! The ones who told me this are my childhood friends. They wouldn’t go through all the trouble of feeding me fake news just to drive a wedge between you and Shen Yuchen.”

That made sense. Without any conflicting interests, it wouldn’t make sense for them to harm him.

And judging from He Zhiyu’s description, his childhood friends were probably just as impulsive as he was.

“Thank your friends for me. I’ll treat them to a meal sometime,” Yuyan said.

“Wait, so do you believe it or not?” He Zhiyu gave him a soul-searching question.

Yuyan neither confirmed nor denied it. “I get it. You go back to filming. If there’s anything else, I’ll let you know.”

“Great, over half an hour wasted, and my breath along with it.” He Zhiyu clicked his tongue in mock frustration. “This weekend, I’m meeting my buddies at Fang Ge’s bar—put it on your tab.”

“It wasn’t wasted. It’s the least I can do. Thanks for this.” Yuyan chuckled softly.

He Zhiyu couldn’t resist adding, “Just be careful. I’ve always had a feeling Shen Yuchen isn’t as simple as he seems.”

Yuyan seriously suspected that He Zhiyu was still holding a grudge from the company’s annual gala when Shen Yuchen had glared at him for sleeping on the floor. Nevertheless, Yuyan placated him with a few words.

When he left the bar, the sky had already turned completely dark.

Sitting in his car, Yuyan pulled out his phone, opened Shen Yuchen’s chat, and typed out a long message. Then, he deleted it all. He repeated this process several times.

Some things just couldn’t be explained clearly over text, and there was always the risk of a misunderstanding due to tone.

Maybe he should just call?

Just as he was hesitating, his phone suddenly lit up.

It was a video call!

Shen Yuchen was video-calling him!