This is absolutely hilarious - you can tell this incident hit them right where it hurts.
Even during the previous incident with Su Shengxi's "accidental like," Jiaxing Entertainment had been completely invisible from start to finish, only issuing a few extremely formal statements at the very end that framed the whole thing as "the young assistant's slip-up," "all rumors," and "will pursue legal action against responsible parties"...
These people genuinely couldn't care less about the conflict between Xiao He and Su Shengxi - they only care about whether Su Shengxi can continue generating value for them.
And clearly, their willingness to mediate this time is purely because keeping "Starry Radiance" alive definitely holds more value than having it taken down due to fan reports.
Jiaxing Entertainment and the capital behind it were actually among the investors in "Starry Radiance" from the beginning. Otherwise, with Su Shengxi's acting skills, he would never have been able to squeeze into such a high-budget production. Even Director Wen Hongyuan had been turning a blind eye when dealing with Su Shengxi.
Besides Jiaxing Entertainment, there were also Fruit Platform and several other major corporate investors who had poured real money into this drama, building it into a top-tier S+ level resource. With "Starry Radiance" becoming such a massive hit, all these investors profited handsomely, filling their pockets to the brim. They were even already planning additional advertising investments and IP merchandise.
Then Su Shengxi's fans started causing trouble, essentially launching indiscriminate attacks against everyone. The fruits of everyone's hard work were now at risk of being destroyed by one group's fans. Forget about the others - even Jiaxing Entertainment itself was furious about this.
Jiaxing Entertainment's CEO Song Yuanqi was receiving constant phone calls, with several key investors and major shareholders "checking in" to ask if Jiaxing Entertainment had lost their minds trying to ruin everyone's business.
The internal shareholders were also being particularly cunning - they normally never spoke up about anything, but now that their profits were threatened, they were all unhappy and pressuring Song Yuanqi to resolve this matter quickly. If "Starry Radiance" really got taken down, who would shoulder the resulting losses?
Thus Song Yuanqi had no choice but to step in as mediator.
And the first people he needed to mediate with were naturally Xiao He and Liu Rulan.
As a long-time former employee of Jiaxing Entertainment, Liu Rulan had practically grown alongside the company over the years. Even after going independent, the relationship between both sides remained relatively harmonious - they respected each other's boundaries without conflict, unlike other departed agents who had created unpleasant situations that became laughingstocks for others.
Of course, there were other reasons behind this as well.
After all, Liu Rulan was a veteran of Jiaxing Entertainment - having spent so many years there, what hadn't she seen? What hadn't she been exposed to?
She understood the situation perfectly clearly.
In the entertainment industry, being too upright would get you sidelined, while being too clear-headed would constantly push you out of inner circles.
The fact that Liu Rulan managed to emerge from her journey while remaining clean was already quite an accomplishment. Moving further up would have exposed her to things beyond her control, so she hadn't hesitated much before proactively finding an exit path for herself.
Though leaving some leverage with her former employer... was an unavoidable necessity.
"President Song, we're all equally anxious about this situation, but as you know, there's nothing we can do to stop Su Shengxi's fans from continuing these actions," Liu Rulan said as she walked into the nearby corridor, her tone still relatively gentle.
"Actually, we don't need you to intervene directly. We'll handle things from here - just get your fans to calm down first and stop releasing more damaging information about Su Shengxi," Song Yuanqi on the other end sighed lightly before continuing emotionally, "Xiao Liu, you were the one who brought Su Shengxi step by step to where he is today. Would you really stand by and watch him leave the industry because of this?"
Liu Rulan sneered internally while putting on a pitiful face externally: "President Song, I actually wish I could beg Su Shengxi's fans to spare us. Xiao He is the first artist I've taken on since leaving Jiaxing - everyone in the industry is waiting to see me fail. They all say I left Jiaxing only to end up with some low-tier celebrity who can only act according to his nature, destined to be a villain-agent forever. My heart is truly heavy - I simply can't understand why our Xiao He earned Su Shengxi's hatred..."
"You know how diligently I worked at Jiaxing for over ten years, and Su Shengxi was the artist I managed the longest. I'm well aware of the combat effectiveness of Su Shengxi's fans - we never intended to provoke them..."
"If Xiao He suffers major consequences from this incident, I won't have the face to continue in this industry either..."
Liu Rulan's words mixed self-pity with veiled threats. Song Yuanqi understood her implications and fell into brief silence.
If they really drove this crazy woman out of the industry, they wouldn't fare well either.
"Is there really no room for negotiation?" he asked one final time.
"President Song, we're all reasonable people. You know Su Shengxi's current situation - he's the one who narrowed his own path. No matter how hard we try now, it's difficult to prop him up again. Why bother worrying about someone so ungrateful?" Liu Rulan softened her voice as she continued persuading, "Su Shengxi's fans have offended many people this time. Even if this incident passes smoothly, he's still angered several other investors. You can't keep bailing him out every time, President Song, can you?"
Song Yuanqi: "..."
Thinking about Su Shengxi, he rubbed his temples as he weighed the pros and cons internally, finally letting out a helpless laugh: "Xiao Liu, after all this time, you're still the same style."
Applying both soft and hard tactics, neither humble nor pushy, yet ultimately turning passive into active.
Song Yuanqi was an old fox himself - how could he miss the subtext in Liu Rulan's words?
"Ah, it's mainly because even though I've left Jiaxing Entertainment, in my heart it remains the closest and most special place to me. It's been so long since I've seen you, President Song, so I spoke a bit too directly - please don't mind me," Liu Rulan said with a laugh. "I still hope to continue collaborating with Jiaxing Entertainment in the future! After all, I came from Jiaxing - no matter what, I can't bring shame to the company, right?"
Song Yuanqi snorted dismissively: "Weren't you just saying everyone's laughing at you since you left? Seems to me the shame's already been thoroughly delivered."
"Definitely not!" Liu Rulan immediately responded. "I was just playing pitiful in front of you, President Song! You're my most important connection - if I have problems, of course I need to complain to you first. Given all our years of friendship, you have to help me, don't you?"
"Hmph, what a shameless character," Song Yuanqi snorted coldly. "You're just lucky you encountered a promising talent like Xiao He, otherwise I would've blocked you long ago! Though Xiao He is developing quite well indeed - have you considered bringing him back to work with us?"
If Xiao He was willing to join Jiaxing Entertainment, then losing one difficult-to-manage Su Shengxi might be acceptable.
Liu Rulan decisively declined: "I'm afraid that really won't work, President Song. You have no idea - that Xiao He can only play villains! Don't be fooled by his good acting skills, it's all thanks to his natural aura. His acting range is extremely narrow! And that brat just doesn't get it - he loves playing antagonists, never improving his other acting skills, always content being the supporting green leaf. Casting him in idol dramas is even more challenging, so honestly, my heart aches over this."
"Bragging while pretending to complain."
Song Yuanqi saw right through Liu Rulan's boasting nature and delivered his sharp assessment.