Chapter One Hundred: Why the Fuck Did I Provoke a Mad Dog!

Ruthless!

Qian Youlai, you are ruthless, truly ruthless.
To tell the truth, Chen Fang had not expected Qian Youlai’s counteroffensive to hit so hard.

Chen Fang had assumed Qian Youlai would only target Kang Zikai and Chuangxiang Entertainment behind him, but he had not expected the assault to spread so completely.

Then he thought it over and understood: in this industry, Future Star Path had long ago stopped having friends or even partners.
The companies and artists in the circuit had all been waiting to laugh at a spectacle of Future Star Path and Qian Youlai.

First, they were convinced Qian would never retaliate. After all, Future Star Path had spent all those years swallowing insults in silence, so everyone had long formed the impression that it was easy prey.
Second, they were eager to see it collapse and then pounce on the resources tied up in Qian’s hands.

Of course, Kang Zikai was the main target of the rumors. But those media accounts and entertainment companies that had fanned the flames from behind were no saints either.

Qian Youlai chose not to pretend at all.

Let everyone burn together!
It was better to turn the entire entertainment world into a filthy mess, force the authorities above to send people down to clean house.

And this time, it was the others who started panicking.

“Boss Qian is surprisingly merciless,” Chen Fang said with a laugh.
It was clear he still had underestimated Qian Youlai’s methods.
The cruel edge in this good-natured fool’s heart, the decisiveness of his actions—everything surpassed everyone’s imagination.

Xiyuan-Yuan was not as optimistic as Chen Fang. She said worriedly, “I’m afraid releasing so many bombshells at once will cause trouble later. What if the other companies in the industry band together and push him out?”

For smaller companies, it wouldn’t matter much. What frightened her was the three major entertainment giants moving against Future Star Path.

Chen Fang snorted. “Even if Boss Qian didn’t do this, the other companies would gradually unite to suppress Future Star Path anyway. They need Qian’s resources. Only when Qian is knocked down—and Future Star Path is knocked down with him—will they dare to act.”

If Chen Fang had been the boss of Future Star Path, he would have done it even more ruthlessly.
If you don’t have cruelty in your heart, what kind of boss are you anyway?

Chen Fang had always feared that Qian Youlai was too cautious, that his force of retaliation would be restrained. So he had prepared quite a cache of dirt on Chuangxiang Entertainment as backup.
Now it was clear that Qian Youlai was cut from the same cloth as him.
That made sense. Chen Fang always preferred company of his own kind.

“This should become as big a scandal as possible.”
“We should make these entertainment companies and self-media channels either die or have their skin peeled.”
“As for Kang Zikai, we must ruin him thoroughly.”

Chen Fang spoke in a cold tone. Xiyuan-Yuan froze.

She looked at Chen Fang’s stern features. In his eyes flashed a dangerous light; his usual playful smile had vanished entirely. In that instant, Chen Fang was as frightening as Qian Youlai when he was angry.
Wang Situtu stood silently on his other side, unremarkable and quiet.
She did not understand the cruelty of the entertainment world, but she did know one thing: sticking with Chen Fang could not be wrong.
After all, she had watched last night’s program “Let’s Love Together,” and hearing he had written three songs in seven days—just that alone made Wang Situtu decide she would cling to Chen Fang for life.

Sensing Chen Fang’s icy presence, Wang Situtu did not feel fear for a second. She became even more excited. Chen Fang in this mood was so domineering, so brazen—she liked it.

“I’m worried it may go too far and someone from above will come down with a warning,” Xiyuan-Yuan said.

She disliked Kang Zikai as well.
But the issue was this: she worried that by the end, Future Star Path might not gain any advantage at all.

Chen Fang’s mouth curled in a faint smile. “Do you really think Boss Qian chose to expose himself and others in a sudden fury? I think Qian must still have a second move.”

At that, Xiyuan-Yuan looked thoughtful. Chen Fang did not continue the conversation. The three of them went out to dinner, then returned to the office and carried on with their work.

During a spare moment, Chen Fang checked the online trending topics.
The topic post for “Let’s Love Together,” which had stood in the top ten hot searches the night before, had already been buried. Now, glancing at the top ten, every entry was one of Qian Youlai’s leaks or a clarification statement from another company.

The leading trend read:
#Huaguang General Television Network Will Conduct a Thorough Investigation of Improper Practices in the Entertainment Industry and Draft Related Policies#

There it was.

The people above really could not sit still.
Tonight, many people were destined to lose sleep.

In truth, everyone knew the entertainment world was not clean. But day to day everyone maintained a polite, silent pretense of ignorance.

Qian Youlai did not care. Future Star Path’s reputation had already rotted through these years. As long as no tax violations surfaced, Future Star Path would barely feel it.

But others were different. These people spent years building and guarding the public image of their companies and artists—pouring money into publicity, buying hot topics. They had struggled for years and only recently reached a decent level. Now Qian Youlai had dropped an ace card, and overnight they became clowns.

That was not even the main point.
The real issue was that many of their companies had genuine tax problems.

Kyoto.
On the top floor of a high building, a middle-aged man in a suit stood with anger boiling in his face. He tugged at the tie at his neck and slammed his phone hard onto the floor. In an instant, the phone shattered into four pieces.

“Damn it!”
“Qian Youlai has gone insane!”
“What the hell did I do to poke such a mad dog?!”

He roared in fury.

Fortunately, the office had good soundproofing; nobody outside could hear what was happening inside.
The female secretary beside him shivered in place and didn’t dare draw a breath.

On the desk, the man’s name was clearly visible:
Ying Xiangwen,
Chairman of Entertainment Weekly.

Ying Xiangwen panted, chest heaving, his neck and face flushed deep red from rage. He had never imagined that lending Chuangxiang Entertainment a small, casual favor would end up dragging his own company down with it.

What unsettled him even more was how Qian Youlai had obtained such dirty material.

Still, there was room to maneuver.

What Qian had exposed was only that a deputy editor at Entertainment Weekly had abused his power over a subordinate. That editor was middle management; sacrificing him and making him take the blame was still bearable.

After a while, a harsh glint flashed in Ying Xiangwen’s eyes.
“Have Zhou Tao come out and speak for himself. Let him take all the blame.”

“Yes, Chairman Ying,” the secretary replied.

Ying Xiangwen kept frowning. He felt deeply uneasy.
That ordinarily upright and proper Qian Youlai suddenly going wild, snapping at everyone like a rabid dog—this was a very bad omen.
For some reason he kept feeling this time they were about to take a heavy loss.

What Ying Xiangwen feared most was this: would Qian Youlai have a further move?

To speak plainly, a deputy editor coercing a subordinate was too petty.
At Entertainment Weekly, nearly all the young women there had, in one way or another, been lured into bed by Ying Xiangwen himself. The company was effectively his harem. If that were exposed, that would be the truly fatal blow.

As he thought of it, his hand that held the cigarette trembled. He regretted everything now.

Future Star Path had once been one of the leading enterprises.
Even a dead camel is taller than a horse.
Now he had dragged himself into such a mess that escaping untouched was no longer possible.