The term "unspoken rules" was originally neutral—a set of behind-the-scenes rules that the public didn't know but were mostly known and followed within the industry, which constitutes unspoken rules. For instance, magicians not revealing secrets is an unspoken rule; exposing others' magic tricks breaks the unspoken rules. Similarly, the perpetually inflated prices of laptops are unspoken rules, and when Shenzhou exposes that inflation, it breaks the unspoken rules... However, for a period, the entertainment industry was rife with scandals involving transactions of power and sex, all hyped under the name of unspoken rules. Eventually, it nearly became synonymous with such transactions, becoming widely known to the public.
Li Yan, who used to rarely gossip, didn't fully understand the unspoken rules but wasn't out of touch with society, so he knew what they meant. Upon hearing Qiao Pan's words, he secretly despised him, thinking how he dared to say it for the sake of the movie.