Who the hell pinched my butt?

In the film and television industry, WeChat groups are usually formed by influential figures at various levels to expand their networks and exchange information.

Jiang Songhe also joined several forums and summits that he was required to attend, introduced by the organizers. Most of the group members were founders of relatively new production or distribution companies, like Yunhe Entertainment.

Since they don't have the status to reach the top of the industry pyramid and can't access the shortcut of networking, the majority of the group chat content revolves around content creation and production. Those with similar ideas privately connect to pool their resources for small but effective projects, hoping to weather the film and television industry downturn together.

With the film lists from various platforms about to be released, complaints and off-topic discussions have increased in the group.

"I wonder which celebrity Lei Dachui will target this year to take advantage of the situation. This old Deng is no different from a gang leader. His paparazzi swarm out like leeches at every key moment, lying in ambush in the neighborhoods where celebrities congregate."

"Don't even mention it. The show we're going to be in has been in preparation for four and a half years. We bet on the male lead to get him on the show, and he paid off. He's gotten so arrogant, and he's been giving Lei Dachui a lot of juicy gossip over the past two years. We just had a team-building event yesterday, visiting the Yonghe Temple in the morning and the Huoshen Temple in the afternoon, taking turns bowing at the temples. Everyone in the company is acting like they're celebrating their birthday..."

"I just checked, why hasn't he made any moves lately? Judging from his past behavior, he should have released some kind of teaser or stirred things up by now. The last post on his homepage was three days ago. Could it be that he's brewing something big..."

"That's true. The matrix accounts he often forwards are the same. Something's definitely up. Could it be that there are too many scandals to keep track of? Damn it! Everyone should talk to the artist's team and check themselves as soon as possible."

"Wait a minute, all of their IP addresses are currently in Jianggang, it's very likely! He probably messed up some big shot's head with his dirt, that's why he got [knife][knife][bomb][bomb]..."

"There's another strange thing. Shen Zongli has several leading roles in movies, and he rushed to promote them before the promotion period even started. Didn't Lei Dachui expose the domestic violence scandal involving the TV King just two months ago? I don't think these two things are a coincidence."

"The scourges within the industry will eventually be punished by Heaven!"

...

Jiang Songhe pretended not to see it, locked his phone, and placed it face down on the coffee table in front of him.

Lei Dachui's gang is indeed currently lying low in Jianggang, and things aren't as dire as the rumors circulating in the group suggest. However, it's a classic case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; while they were ambushing the artists, someone else was ambushing them.

It is said that no serious conflict occurred; it was merely a scene of the Blue-Faced Yama following the snake and rat gang. After two whole days of this hit-and-run tactic, the snake and rat leader, having gained nothing, finally couldn't take it anymore and contacted his mastermind through Yama.

Choose between spending a long holiday in Jianggang or a soft ban on social media.

The IP addresses of all of Lei Dachui's gang's accounts appeared in Jianggang in the early hours of the third day.

The nine-point share is a great deal.

With Shen Zongli's hidden danger temporarily eliminated, the primary task now is to finalize the cooperation between TANG and Yunhe as soon as possible.

Jiang Songhe needs to use the top singer Janus's performance for "Yan Ge Xing" as leverage to arrange a screening with the platform, thereby securing exposure and striving for an early broadcast.

The final bilingual project proposal, along with sample copies and a revised contract, was sent to TANG via email by Lin Duole three days ago.

Jiang Songhe guessed correctly. After removing the cooperation clause with Janus's transformative work "Night of Dawn", TANG sent a reply email the next day.

The other party accepted the invitation, but before officially signing the contract, they needed to have an online conversation with the boss, Jiang Songhe.

Jingting and Maner are 7 hours apart in time. To accommodate Maner's work schedule, Jiang Songhe joined TANG's 1-on-1 transoceanic video conference at 3 a.m. in the living room of Jiang's villa.

After the signal buffered, a refined middle-aged face appeared in the square on one side of the computer screen.

"It's finally time to meet you, Mr. Jiang." The refined-looking man placed his fingers interlaced on the boss's desk, his voice clear beyond his years, and sounded somewhat familiar. "Tang Fan, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Jiang Songhe politely replied, "Jiang Songhe, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Tang Fan sat by the window, the glaring morning light from the screen invading his retina. Jiang Songhe couldn't quite see if Tang Fan had been looking at the background behind him during the ten or so seconds that he hadn't spoken.

Jiang Songhe leaned forward subtly, lowered the screen brightness, and zoomed in on the other person's image to full screen, trying to decipher their subtle expressions to see if their words and actions had any hidden meaning.

Tang Fan remained silent, focusing his gaze on Jiang Songhe's face, but he couldn't discern any emotion from her.

“Yunhe is very grateful for Mr. Tang’s trust,” Jiang Songhe said, breaking the silence. “At the same time, it is a great honor to have facilitated Janus’s first collaboration with the Chinese film and television industry.”

"Mr. Jiang, you are too modest. The purpose of my video call with you before signing the contract was actually to find out why Yunhe, who has always put our company first, suddenly gave up on Janus's 'Sacrifice at Dawn'?"

Although the other party's words were polite and their questions were understandable, Jiang Songhe still sensed a hidden meaning in their tone. Whether they learned about the project's troubles through Jonathan, or discovered clues between Jiang Songhe and Jonathan, he didn't yet know.

To avoid alerting the enemy by saying too much, Jiang Songhe replied indirectly, "It's just to match our company's publicity schedule. Actually, having your company's Janus involved is enough to enhance the project. In the beginning, our attempt to get 'Sacrifice Night Dawn' was just an attempt to add icing on the cake."

“As far as I know, Mr. Jiang has quite a connection with Janus. If I’m not mistaken, the location where Janus’s Star Show rematch is being conducted should be right where you are sitting right now.” Tang Fan spread his hands and pointed in the air with his five fingers. “I don’t interfere too much with Janus’s private games. On the contrary, I encourage him to draw inspiration in any way he can.”

Tang Fan lowered his eyes and moved closer to the camera, saying with a half-smile, "The premise is that you can't do anything stupid that will ruin your future."

“I think you know clearly that Janus is the perfect creation I made. Everything about him, whether his existence or his works, belongs only to TANG.”

The subtext is: don't let your status as prey lead you to wishful thinking, try to poach perfect artists who have signed contracts with TANG, or bypass them and misuse their work.

A surge of anger welled up inside me.

Jiang Songhe pursed his lips, composed himself, suppressed his anger, and said in a deep voice, "You are overthinking it. Yunhe Entertainment has only ever served my brother Jiang Songyun. As for your company's artists' transformation works, neither I nor my company have ever obtained any footage of them, nor do we bother to infringe on or steal them."

"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Mr. Jiang." Tang Fan took out a carved and diamond-encrusted fountain pen from his pocket and said with a smile, "I am very satisfied with your answer. To show my sincerity in cooperating and to apologize for any offense, I will sign the previous version of the contract as soon as possible."

What's going on here? Just a second ago they were asserting sovereignty and fiercely protecting their own?

Jiang Songhe felt no secret joy, but rather a strange mix of emotions. She quickly recalled Jonathan's week-long stay at Mann, and how the ultimate purpose of their private games was to gather inspiration.

"The Night of Dawn" must be really important to Jonathan.

Jiang Songhe, putting himself in the shoes of others, came to the conclusion that this person was hopelessly sycophantic. After weighing the pros and cons for a certain player, he told the person on the screen about his foolish decision.

"No need, following the last version is sufficient."

-

Two days later, on February 14th, was the WANTON WU fashion show day.

At five o'clock in the evening, Jiang Songhe arrived at his "destination" and parked the mobile fortress-like Luman in a parking space directly opposite the back door on the narrow street behind the bar.

This location makes it convenient to change into the runway outfit in the car (whose design I still don't know), and also convenient to leave quickly after repaying a favor.

After spending fifty minutes mentally preparing himself in the driver's seat, Jiang Songhe heard deafening music and drumbeats coming from the back door of Destination. He then took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Jiang Songyun to inquire about her recent situation.

The psychology of flipping a coin.

He thought that if Jiang Songyun didn't reply before six o'clock, he would pretend to be a liar who didn't keep his word.

At 17:59, Jiang Songyun replied: "I'm doing great in Manr, preparing for the finals! [smug][smug][smug]"

At 6:00 PM, Jiang Songhe let out a long sigh of despair, replied to Jiang Songyun with three "[strong]"s, locked the screen, got out of the car, and stepped into the dark passage through the back door.

Following the gradually increasing music, Jiang Songhe walked heavily to one side of the inner area, secretly observing from a corner under the stairs.

The indoor lighting was completely different from the usual dim and glaring atmosphere of a bar; it was switched to daylight mode to make it easier to display clothing.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of perfume mixed with disinfectant. Staff members wearing headbands and holding walkie-talkies were scattered around, along with male models dressed in revealing outfits.

The interior layout consists of a central main hall with a large screen covering the entire wall, surrounded by several side halls connected by corridors on both sides.

The stage in the main hall extends forward, forming a small catwalk. A "DON'T TOUCH" warning sign is posted on the side hall door, and a circular passageway separated by two railings can be vaguely seen inside.

Judging from the models' movements, the runway route should start from the second floor, go down the stairs on both sides to the first floor, split into two groups and enter the various side halls in turn, and finally return to the main hall's catwalk to end the show.

The air in the corner was even less circulated, and just smelling the strange, mixed odor, Jiang Songhe could tell that the smell was trying to cover something up, and he already felt like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat.

The thought of having to share the same style as so many other models, exposed to the bright white light, and being scrutinized by countless eyes made her feel even more uneasy.

Jiang Songhe subconsciously gasped, but halfway through, the smell stuck to the inside of her nasal cavity made her reflexively want to vomit. She slammed her breath in, exhaling the air that hadn't passed through her lungs, and hurriedly held her breath, preparing to go to the bathroom to wash her hands.

The first floor didn't look like a convenient place, so Jiang Songhe's gaze settled on the second floor.

At that moment, a group of male models with gleaming pectoral muscles came down from upstairs.

Jiang Songhe frowned and turned his head away, stepping back from the three steps he had just taken to make way for him.

"Hey, (gay)killer!" A faint, indistinct bird language brushed past my ear.

A dull, rough pain followed immediately from below! Jiang Songhe's mind went blank for a moment, and a complex and violent emotion exploded from his temple into his skull.

He turned around sharply and scanned the area, but no one met his gaze. All he could see were the backs of heads with different hair colors, connected by glossy, fleshy skin.

"Damn it! Who the hell pinched my butt?"