When the craftsmen of thirty years ago engraved the eight characters "How fortunate we are, let us sing to express our aspirations" on the Xinghan Award trophy, did they ever imagine that it would be used by the Shanghai art circles to seek personal gain?
Ji Juntao's brow twitched.
“You’re heading in the wrong direction.” Shang Yechu snapped his fingers again (this time he actually did it). “The Xinghan Award has been around for over thirty years, and its prestige can’t be shaken in a short time. Why should we waste our energy damaging its reputation? If a kitchen knife kills someone, do we arrest the kitchen knife instead of the criminal?”
Shang Yechu had only just realized this problem.
All the way there, she was thinking about how to get revenge on the Xinghan Award, her mind racing with rage and determination, yet also disheartened because she couldn't shake it off anytime soon. It wasn't until she returned to her room and collapsed onto her bed that a sudden thought struck her.
Even if it's proven that the Xinghan Award is a fraudulent award, so what? There will still be people willing to pour money into the organizing committee and judges for this award. Those people can still hide in the shadow of the Xinghan Award's reputation and act like local tyrants. Apart from losing some prestige, it won't hurt anyone.
The real enemy is the group that controls the Xinghan Awards, those noble Brahmins of the arts and culture circle!
Ji Juntao opened his mouth and spat out two goji berries: "Go on."
"Although the organizing committee and judges accepted bribes, they still look down on us deep down. In their eyes, Qingping Entertainment is just a nouveau riche. We should thank them for accepting our bribes. However, the judges definitely can't make decisions about things like biased officiating, mobilizing or obstructing reporters. We have to look for clues from the venue and sponsors."
The Xinghan Awards involve not only substantial financial gains, but also connections, public opinion, and resources. Qingping Entertainment promised Haicheng TV a great deal of benefits for this award; it's truly disgusting to even think about.
After a moment's thought, Shang Yechu said slowly and confidently, "Awards don't make mistakes; only people do. We find people's mistakes, then discredit them, and then associate the Xinghan Award with them—then the Xinghan Award will naturally be discredited as well."
"Human error?" Ji Juntao narrowed his eyes. "Strategist Ye, give me a hint. What kind of error do we need to find?"
Shang Yechu pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What year is it this year?"
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Shang Yechu had originally planned to leave Haicheng after the ceremony. Now, he had to ask Shao Guangji for another day off.
This time it wasn't about the Xinghan Awards, but about Su Ge. The fewer people who knew about Su Ge, the better. Shang Yechu personally took charge and searched for hotels in Haicheng.
The photos Su Ge sent were blurry, but the appearance of the hotel suite could be vaguely discerned. Logically speaking, a CEO as big as Mai Zhenye should own property in Haicheng, so why would he insist on keeping his daughter locked in a hotel... Shang Yechu shook her head. Who knows what rich people are thinking?
If Mai Zhenye wants to keep Su Ge confined, he'll definitely need a highly private place, which only a five-star hotel can provide. There are about sixty five-star hotels in Haicheng, but only seven have "Hong" in their names. He can simply filter them one by one.
Shang Yechu zoomed in on the photo Su Ge sent on her computer, examining it meticulously. She couldn't make out anything else, except the night view outside the window looked somewhat familiar… but it was too blurry.
After staring at it for a long time, her eyes ached, but she still couldn't figure it out. Shang Yechu rubbed her eyes: "What is this?"
They could print out the photos and have the assistants visit all seven hotels with "Hong" in their names to compare them one by one. But that would expose Shang Yechu's role as Su Ge and Qin Tianye's love bodyguard. The assistants would definitely report it to Ji Juntao again.
Shang Yechu looked at it for a long time before finally giving up: "103, can you tell what this thing is?"
103 said, "This matter has nothing to do with your acting career. Don't ask me about anything outside of my duties."
Shang Yechu hadn't expected Zhou Bapi to do charity work, but as he rubbed the goosebumps on his arms, a sudden idea struck him.
"As an artist, I will be coming to Haicheng many times in the future, so I need a safe, comfortable, and private five-star hotel. This is the best way to ensure my safety and confidentiality. Can you recommend a five-star hotel in Haicheng?"
103: "Tianwei Hotel".
Shang Yechu rolled her eyes: "The company consulted a master who said that places with the character '宏' in my name are more auspicious for me."
“This argument is pure feudal superstition,” 103 paused and said, “The Grand Island Hotel is more in line with your requirements.”
Shang Yechu tapped the computer screen: "Actually, I personally hope to enjoy a beautiful night view... uh, like the night view in this photo. Taking a selfie in front of a beautiful night view will result in a better photo." She felt a little guilty saying this. As the saying goes, things shouldn't happen more than three times, but for Su Ge's sake, she couldn't care less about saving face.
103 fell silent.
After a long pause, 103 said, "As I said, the Hongyu Jiadao Hotel better meets your requirements."
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