"So President Song, what do you think about this situation—"
After maneuvering with Song Yuanqi for quite some time, Liu Rulan finally cautiously inquired.
"Sigh."
Song Yuanqi remained silent for a long while before finally sighing on the other end.
"This era changes so quickly," Song Yuanqi lamented. "Since the old traffic has passed, then as you said, we should replace it when needed."
—The most fundamental reason was actually that Su Shengxi no longer possessed that level of "value."
In contrast, although Xiao He was following the villain actor path and hadn't yet proven his leading role value, his current development momentum was actually quite rapid.
Moreover, this was a young actor with good acting skills, bringing his own traffic heat, unwilling to compete for first billing, and content to play supporting roles.
Xiao He would only become more sought-after by directors in the future.
Combined with the relationship between Linghui Studio and their Jiaxing Entertainment... After weighing things in his heart, Song Yuanqi actually gave up on Su Shengxi quite easily.
Or rather, he had already made his decision internally, but just wanted to see Liu Rulan's attitude.
Clearly, Liu Rulan's performance satisfied Song Yuanqi greatly.
People—when they're useless, just replace them. After all, they were all groomed by the company, and making money was what truly mattered.
And with Song Yuanqi's casual remark, it basically declared the end of Su Shengxi's future star path—he had been abandoned by capital.
After Liu Rulan hung up the phone, Xiao He finally walked over from the corridor, his face showing concern.
"How did it go?"
"Easier than expected." Liu Rulan shrugged. "That old fox Song Yuanqi is quite cunning. Clearly he wanted to abandon Su Shengxi himself, but he deliberately used us as the excuse."
Su Shengxi probably never expected that allowing his fans to "battle" everywhere would result in offending his own top boss.
Perhaps in the unseen workings of fate, everything was karma striking—back then he was lifted high by his fans, all the way to his debut position, then because of fan support, he smoothly went solo to Jiaxing Entertainment, and under Liu Rulan's guidance enjoyed continuous success, rising to become a top idol.
But as time passed, that person who once wholeheartedly appreciated his fans forgot his origins, becoming no longer sincere, no longer grateful.
So in the end he was also consumed by his fans, becoming the pawn abandoned by capital.
Success came from fans, failure came from fans, but he couldn't blame others—the one who first forgot his original intentions was always destined to face retribution—
"Su Shengxi is going to be abandoned by investors," Liu Rulan said. "From what Song Yuanqi implied, they plan to ice him."
Xiao He raised an eyebrow: "Is Jiaxing Entertainment willing to do that? So decisively?"
"Su Shengxi's fans have offended not just Jiaxing Entertainment, but several other investors too. They're all closely connected business partners. Jiaxing never really had much chance of protecting Su Shengxi," Liu Rulan explained. "Businesspeople most despise those who bite the hand that feeds them."
If this matter only involved the conflict between Xiao He and Su Shengxi, those people would never have intervened.
But the problem was Su Shengxi's fans made a stupid move by directly targeting "Starry Radiance"—this was the most fundamental principle issue.
The capital wouldn't care whether Su Shengxi encouraged this or not—they would only remember that Su Shengxi's fans did this, so naturally everything would be blamed on Su Shengxi.
Moreover, Su Shengxi had been constantly involved in various issues recently, already losing his top idol glory, while several newcomers promoted by Jiaxing Entertainment were seeing their resources soar and data surge rapidly. By comparison, Su Shengxi was no longer Jiaxing Entertainment's "unique" product.
Xiao He still felt quite displeased: "So what? After this storm passes, he can still come out and continue hopping around. I'm really getting tired of him. Why don't we release a wave of his black material before then, completely collapsing his reputation into ruins?"
Liu Rulan glanced sideways at Xiao He: "You think I don't want to? If Su Shengxi's reputation completely collapses, Starry Radiance would definitely be affected. This work represents the hard work of many people—can you just abandon it like that?"
Although Starry Radiance had finished airing, it was still continuously generating revenue. Song Yuanqi was willing to compromise precisely because of pressure from Starry Radiance and other capital! If Su Shengxi disrupted everyone's money-making and traffic-gaining at this point, the losses would outweigh the gains. That old fox Song Yuanqi might even turn his firepower against them!
"And don't underestimate what they mean by 'abandonment.' Sometimes compared to legal scandals collapsing reputations or official bans, capital's ruthlessness is truly despair-inducing." Liu Rulan looked meaningfully at Xiao He.
Although Starry Radiance had finished airing, it was still continuously generating revenue. Song Yuanqi was willing to compromise precisely because of pressure from Starry Radiance and other capital! If Su Shengxi disrupted everyone's money-making and traffic-gaining at this point, the losses would outweigh the gains. That old fox Song Yuanqi might even turn his firepower against them!
"However, capital's ruthlessness is like a sharp knife cutting through tangled hemp—swift and absolute, giving you no chance for comeback whatsoever, let alone now when almost no capital is willing to take on Su Shengxi's mess."
Liu Rulan crossed her arms, looking seriously at Xiao He: "Actually, Su Shengxi's current situation is the best outcome for many of us. Being iced by capital, his future path basically sealed, his previous works unaffected—after this storm passes, Su Shengxi will gradually fade from public view, no longer remembered. For him, this is also a kind of torment."
Having managed Su Shengxi for so long, she understood him quite well. Turning Su Shengxi into some legal criminal wasn't necessary—although Su Shengxi wasn't a good person, he was cowardly, and with Liu Rulan's tight management, brushing against legal boundaries was his limit.
Even if Su Shengxi's black material were exposed, it would mostly involve moral criticism, not legal issues. If they really wanted to implicate him legally, they'd have to target tax payments, but that would inevitably involve Jiaxing Entertainment, and Song Yuanqi would definitely fight them tooth and nail—not worth it.
So however you looked at it, the current situation was the optimal choice.
Capital's soft ban, though low-profile, was fatal.
"Alright..."
Xiao He regretfully dismissed the idea of exposing Su Shengxi's black material.
Liu Rulan's reasoning made perfect sense.
Liu Rulan seemed to detect Xiao He's lingering thoughts, clearing her throat lightly: "I've said all this, so don't interfere with this matter anymore. And actually, I haven't told you this before, worried you'd get too expectant, but I'll say it straight now—works like 'Starry Radiance' are actually well-suited for award competitions, and your performance as Meng Zetian has tremendous potential for impact awards, both in terms of acting skills and heat. So 'Starry Radiance' absolutely cannot be affected, understand?"
"Starry Radiance" had interlocking plotlines where every character served crucial purposes and values. Not just deleting Bai Mingchuan's scenes—even cutting a few less of Bai Mingchuan's plots would make "Starry Radiance"'s post-production team explode—because it truly couldn't be edited.
"I understand, I understand." Xiao He uncomfortably rubbed his nose, suspecting Liu Rulan could read minds.
"But Sister Liu, for the role of Meng Zetian, do I really have a chance at awards?"
Xiao He sounded somewhat skeptical.
Meng Zetian's character identity was too complex and sensitive, and with the current online uproar about Meng Zetian being maliciously whitewashed, if he could actually compete for awards with this role, that would be...
Honestly, the risk was quite high. If he were a judge, he'd definitely avoid this choice.
Liu Rulan patted Xiao He's shoulder, laughing while scolding: "I was just saying it, and you're already getting carried away?"
Xiao He: "..."
Don't trick people like that—he would genuinely believe it—