Futile Devices Scans

People in business naturally offended others easily, but the investors’ reply was that they had not offended anyone recently. If there had been any grudges, they would have been from long ago. However, during that period, the investors had already produced multiple films and television dramas. If someone truly wanted to target them, there was no reason to wait until now.

Zhou Lin also used her own connections to investigate, but the result she obtained was that some major figure with enormous influence was deliberately targeting them. Even those people could not help, advising them only to prepare themselves mentally. Although the film might still eventually be released, it would definitely be delayed for quite some time. Losses for the investors were unavoidable.

Zhou Lin became increasingly convinced that Wang Cheng was behind this matter. Other than Wang Cheng, she could not think of anyone else who would dare disregard the Zhou Corporation’s reputation. However, she did not tell the investors. If that were truly the case, then the investors had been implicated because of her. If they found out, they would certainly hold grievances against her. After all, Zhou Lin had personally approached the investors in order to steal Yazhi’s role assignments.

However, the investors still found out. Wang Cheng had deliberately arranged for someone to leak the information to them. Since they had dared violate their agreement with Yazhi in the first place, they should also have expected the possible consequences. If Yazhi were truly easy to bully, it would never have developed into one of the top entertainment companies in the industry.

Not long afterward, Zhou Lin received a phone call from one of the investors.

“President Zhou, back then you told me that Yazhi’s chairman had already been kicked out of the Zhou family and was nothing to fear. I believed you, which is why I agreed to hand the role over to your people. Now that something like this has happened, it’s obvious the other party is targeting you specifically. What exactly do you plan to do about it?”

Faced with the investor’s accusations, Zhou Lin felt somewhat displeased. The investor had only agreed to give the role to Tangren Media’s artist because he valued the backing of the Zhou Corporation behind her. He himself had been greedy, yet now that something had gone wrong, he was trying to dump all responsibility onto her. Did he really think she was so easy to push around? She absolutely would not shoulder this blame.

“You can’t put it that way, President Chen. Wang Cheng being kicked out of the Zhou family is a fact. I wasn’t lying. You’re not some naïve person who understands nothing. Matters like this are always mutually agreed upon. How was I supposed to know Wang Cheng would make such a huge issue over something so minor?”

Hearing Zhou Lin’s attempt to shift responsibility, the investor became so angry his liver practically hurt. If Zhou Lin had not deliberately misled him at the time, he never would have agreed to change actors at the last minute.

“Since President Zhou insists on saying that, then I have nothing further to say. However, Chen has one piece of advice for you: when dealing with people, it’s better to leave some room for future relations.”

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Zhou Lin did not take his words seriously at all. This investor’s influence had not yet reached a level that would make her wary.

The more the investor thought about it, the angrier he became. He understood perfectly well that Zhou Lin dared speak this way because she felt offending him meant nothing. Yet he had invested tens of millions into filming this movie. Now that the release had been delayed, the consequences went far beyond losing promotional expenses alone. Screening schedules at major theaters had all been arranged in advance. He had spent considerable money securing those time slots as well. Now that the release was postponed, not only had all that money been wasted, but arranging a new screening schedule later would become far more difficult.

The investor knew he would ultimately have to swallow this bitter outcome himself. But remembering Zhou Lin’s attitude left him unwilling to accept it quietly. Since the two sides had already fallen out, future cooperation with the Zhou Corporation was probably impossible anyway. At that point, he might as well smash the pot since it was already cracked.

Because enormous effort had been poured into early promotional campaigns, many movie fans who had seen the trailers were eagerly anticipating the film. Yet the next day, the news announced that the movie had encountered certain issues and that the release date would be postponed, with a new date to be announced later.

The internet instantly erupted into cries of despair, accompanied by endless speculation.

Official sources naturally could not reveal the true reason, but industry insiders already knew the film had been delayed because it had offended Yazhi. Those who investigated further learned that the issue stemmed from a certain role being recast at the last minute. Because of this incident, the investors who had previously replaced Yazhi’s artists out of respect for the Zhou Corporation’s influence suddenly became nervous, afraid they would become the next target. After careful consideration, some investors eventually decided to reject Zhou Lin and return the roles to Yazhi’s artists after all.

When Zhou Lin learned about this, she exploded with rage inside her office.

Tangren Media had actually been established under her personal name and had no direct connection with the Zhou Corporation. She had merely borrowed the Zhou Corporation’s reputation to advertise Tangren Media. Because of that, the funds used to invest in film and television productions were her own rather than the Zhou Corporation’s. And since she could not openly use the corporation’s funds, her financial resources were ultimately limited. In the short term, she could only invest in one or two productions. Yet Tangren Media had signed many artists. Obviously, one or two productions could not provide enough roles for all of them, nor were there that many available parts. That was why she had used the Zhou Corporation’s name to approach various investors, pouring considerable effort into it. Now that all those investors were rejecting her, all the hard work she had put in earlier had gone completely to waste.

Meanwhile, Wang Cheng also received a call from Pan Zhihai. Pan Zhihai informed him that all the roles previously stolen by Tangren Media had now been returned. The investors’ attitudes were fairly sincere. The fact that they were willing to go this far was already good enough. Although Yazhi had indeed been angry about the investors’ behavior earlier, openly offending them would still bring unnecessary trouble. Therefore, Pan Zhihai suggested that since the roles had already been returned, they should simply let the matter end there. Wang Cheng told him to handle it as he saw fit.

Afterward, the investor surnamed Chen personally approached Yazhi and expressed willingness to cut out the role played by Tangren Media’s artist and let Yazhi’s artist reshoot the part instead, hoping Yazhi would show mercy and let the matter go.

After consulting Wang Cheng, Pan Zhihai received approval. The role itself had never been particularly important. What Wang Cheng wanted was merely an attitude—to make people understand that Yazhi was not something easily bullied.

The role was reshot, the film re-edited, and the official trailer re-released. Sharp-eyed viewers noticed that one particular role had been recast. However, the topic did not attract much discussion. As long as it was not the male lead or second male lead being replaced, most movie fans interested in the film did not care much anyway, especially since they had not seen the movie yet. Half a month later, the film finally premiered. Those who knew the inside story became even more convinced of Yazhi’s capabilities, and some people quietly felt relieved they had not rushed to agree to Zhou Lin’s proposals earlier.

At this point, Zhou Lin and Zhao Jiansheng no longer had the energy to care about Tangren Media’s problems.

Yang Jun, whom they had sent to the overseas branch company, had caused a major disaster. Feng Yifan summoned Yang Jun back urgently without even informing the couple first, saying this was the chairman’s direct order.

Only after receiving Yang Jun’s phone call did Zhou Lin and Zhao Jiansheng learn something had happened. When they asked him what he had done, Yang Jun stammered incoherently and could not explain properly. In the end, Zhao Jiansheng went directly to Feng Yifan to find out what had occurred.

Although Yang Jun belonged to Zhou Lin and Zhao Jiansheng’s faction, the person actually controlling the overseas branch was Xie Wenzhi. Xie Wenzhi held firm control over the branch company’s authority. Yang Jun’s influence there was even weaker than Wang Cheng’s had been when he previously worked there. Dissatisfied because of this, Yang Jun repeatedly tried to oppose Xie Wenzhi.

Even the earlier minor mistake had happened for this reason. Aimoer had sent representatives over to discuss the next round of cooperation with the Zhou Corporation. Yang Jun deliberately intercepted them before Xie Wenzhi could meet them. It would have been one thing if Yang Jun were actually capable, but instead he mistook pearls for fish eyes, treating Aimoer’s representatives as ordinary job applicants and directly driving them away. If not for Wang Cheng’s sake, Aimoer would never have let the matter end so easily. Since Xie Wenzhi had dealt with Aimoer many times before, Charlie showed him some consideration and ultimately chose not to pursue Yang Jun’s actions further. Only then was a major disaster barely avoided.

On one occasion, Yang Jun represented the branch company in negotiating a business partnership. However, because he was too eager to earn merit, he was instead tricked by the other party into signing a contract, causing the company to suffer losses for no reason.

After Xie Wenzhi learned of the matter, he immediately reported it to headquarters. Yang Jun was not some rookie who had only just entered society, yet the things he did were even worse than what a rookie would do.

After Feng Yifan finished meeting with the senior executives, he decisively made the decision to bring Yang Jun back. Although Zhou Lin and Zhao Jiansheng raised objections, this time no one dared support them. Yang Jun’s mistake was no trivial matter. If something like this could still be forgiven, the company would collapse sooner or later.

Because of this incident, the influence Zhou Lin and Zhao Jiansheng held during meetings was no longer as significant as before. Yang Jun had been personally recommended by them, so now that something had gone wrong, the couple also had to bear responsibility. The fact that Feng Yifan had not immediately turned against them was already considered merciful.

After Yang Jun was recalled to the country, Feng Yifan immediately arranged for someone to temporarily replace his position. Unfortunately for Zhou Lin and Zhao Jiansheng, this replacement was the very person they least wanted to see sent to the branch company: Zhang Wu.

Zhang Wu was one of Wang Cheng’s people. Sending him there was practically equivalent to planting a powerful enemy right inside their territory. Zhou Lin and Zhao Jiansheng attempted to block Feng Yifan’s decision by arguing that Zhang Wu lacked sufficient experience. However, circumstances were not in their favor, and with Yang Jun’s mistakes still unresolved, their objections were rendered meaningless. Thus, the decision to send Zhang Wu to the branch company was finalized.

Furthermore, because Yang Jun had been the very first person Zhou Lin personally recommended—and because she had even strongly guaranteed his abilities to the company, speaking with complete confidence—Feng Yifan and the other executives discussed the matter and ultimately decided to demote Zhou Lin as punishment. As for Zhao Jiansheng, because Zhou Lin had taken most of the responsibility upon herself, his punishment was limited to having two years’ worth of annual bonuses deducted.

The next day, the news was officially announced throughout the company and posted on the notice board in the main lobby. Before long, even the branch companies had learned about it.

Somehow, the news eventually spread into the domestic entertainment industry as well. Many people began to think that Zhou Lin had lost her power and influence. As a result, they were no longer as willing as before to give Tangren Media favorable treatment. Tangren Media, which had previously moved through the entertainment industry as smoothly as a fish through water by relying on the Zhou Corporation’s backing, suddenly found itself struggling at every step.

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