Chapter 038

Jiang Tao finished taking makeup photos and hurried to the meeting room.

Wu Liao's assistant set up a screen projection, on which was the content of this black hot search.

The source of the black hot search was that several marketing accounts broke the news at the same time, saying that Jiang Tao took a fancy to Qin Li on the variety show "Travel", and hit it off with Qin Li, and invited him to star in "Bottom Line".

However, before the contract was signed, he was intercepted by Xingyao. In name, Xingyao invested in Jiang Tao, but in fact, they wanted to make the newcomer Shen Xinghe famous!

Some paparazzi also took pictures of Shen Xinghe and Zhou Qingyu meeting in the Xingyao Building, as well as pictures of Zhou Qingyu's assistant Xiao Meng helping Shen Xinghe's mother transfer to another hospital, making it clear that Shen Xinghe and Zhou Qingyu have a close relationship, and Xingyao gave Shen Xinghe a backdoor!

As soon as the news came out, Qin Li’s fans were furious.

[Brother is hardworking and dedicated. He has contributed so many classic roles in the five years since his debut. Why should we replace him? 】

[Without a backstage there is no human rights, my brother is so miserable! ]

[I was wondering where this unknown guy Shen Xinghe came from, turns out he is the Xingyao Prince, did he bring money into the group? ]

[The entertainment industry is being tainted by people like this! Can ugly people please stay out of the entertainment industry! ]

There is also a marketing account that exposed the script of the first three episodes of "Bottom Line". Qin Li's fans photoshopped a photo of Qin Li wearing a uniform based on the character of the male lead Xiang Fei and posted it on the hot search.

【Brother is so handsome! 】

【This is the chosen one, Xiang Fei! 】

[Is Jiang Tao blind? He gave up such a good Xiang Fei and chose to support the ugly child of capital! ]

[I couldn't find any information about Shen Xinghe. A pure newcomer? Can such a person have acting skills? Can he act in a serious drama?]

[I guess he's Zhou Qingyu's kept gigolo! Zhou Qingyu is so disgusting! ]

[Jiang Tao, what about your promise not to be controlled by capital this time? What about your promise to stick to yourself this time? 】

Jiang Tao was furious when he saw the comments on the projection screen.

"Bullshit! What are these people spreading rumors about? Shen Xinghe is the male lead I chose! Qin Li's image is not suitable for Xiang Fei!"

Shen Xinghe followed behind Jiang Tao. When he saw the cursing words on the projection screen, he lowered his head and said nothing.

Wu Liao's assistant muttered, "Actually, it's not wrong to say that they stuffed someone in, right? When the eldest lady invested in "The Bottom Line", didn't she insist on letting Shen Xinghe be the male lead?"

Jiang Tao cursed, "What do you know! The truth is not like that, the person I originally decided on was Shen Xinghe!"

The assistant was innocent, he didn't know about this.

Wu Liao explained, "Director Jiang, you didn't make an official announcement before, so even we didn't know the reason. But since the original male lead is Xinghe, just clarify it directly!"

The other party used a few candid photos to make their own statements. For this kind of public relations, they just need to issue a statement to explain.

Just at this moment, Xiao Yu walked into the conference room.

“It’s too late to make a statement now.”

Xiao Yu turned on his phone and clicked on the latest Weibo post from a marketing account. The link to the Weibo post was a recording.

"Ms. Zhou, you won't invest in Bottom Line for nothing, right? Don't you have any other conditions?"

"Of course there are conditions. How can it be so easy to invest without conditions?"

"You want to force someone else in? Who? The heroine? I've already told Zhou Qingyu that she's not suitable for the heroine of "The Bottom Line"!"

"The only condition Xingyao put forward is that the male lead of "Bottom Line" must be Shen Xinghe."

Jiang Tao's eyes rolled. Wasn't this the conversation he and Xiao Yu had in Hengcheng before? They were only concerned about the investment at the time. Who would have thought that someone would secretly record their conversation?

Jiang Tao was furious, "That's not what I meant at the time!"

Xiao Yu was helpless. "The speaker didn't mean it, but the listener took it seriously. This recording has gone viral on the Internet."

If the previous photos were just hearsay, then this conversation now is the hammer that hammers the "Shen Xinghe is the Star-shining Prince" rumor. Even such a ridiculous fake rumor as "Zhou Qingyu is supporting Shen Xinghe" seems credible.

[A big shot analyzed the audio track and found that there were three people speaking in the recording, one was Xiao Yu and the other was Jiang Tao. Haha, it's true, right? Director Jiang and editor Xiao both said that they stuffed someone in! ]

[Zhou Qingyu, please just record variety shows and stop messing up the film and television market, okay? ]

[One person wrote in blood to restore Qin Li's position as the male lead! Qin Li deserves it! ]

【Qin Li is the most suitable male lead for Xiang Fei! 】

With the help of the recording, Qin Li's fans became more and more excited, pushing several entries to the top of the trending searches. It was the weekend, and there were many passers-by who were watching the show, which made these topics even more popular.

For a while, Shen Xinghe and "Bottom Line" were at the top of the trending searches.

Wu Liao was in a dilemma. Now that they had the recording, even though they had no intention of snatching the male lead role at the beginning, the audience had already formed a preconceived notion that there was something wrong with "Bottom Line".

For a serious drama like "The Bottom Line", word of mouth from passers-by is very important. If the word of mouth collapses at the beginning, there will be a lot of micro-comments after the show goes online.

Wu Liao took out his phone and said, "Let's contact Weibo first and remove the trending search first!"

Yan Xi held Wu Liao's hand and said, "Why do you want to remove it? Isn't this free publicity?"

Jiang Tao originally planned to invest 30 million yuan in "Bottom Line", which refers to the production cost. However, in the investment of film and television dramas, publicity and promotion will account for at least 1/3 of the investment, which means that under normal circumstances, "Bottom Line" will have to allocate 10 million yuan for publicity and promotion.

But this is almost impossible for "Bottom Line".

Yan Xi counted and found that there were fifty trending searches on Weibo. Two of the first ten were criticizing "Bottom Line" and Shen Xinghe. There was another trending search at the end, which also scolded Zhou Qingyu.

“Three trending searches are worth more than a million!” Yan Xi nodded with satisfaction.

Wu Liao frowned and said, "Can this be considered promotion? Some netizens have already given low scores to the works on Douban's "Bottom Line"!"

Yan Xi shrugged, "Do you think if we remove the trending search, they won't give it a low score? Not to mention that removing the trending search is more expensive than being on the trending search, the people who give low scores to "Bottom Line" now are mainly Qin Li's fans. Whether we remove the trending search or not, they will give it a low score."

Wu Liao also understands

Yan Xi meant that if Shen Xinghe and Qin Li had no conflicts before, then after this incident, the two had conflicts, and their fans became natural enemies.

Of course, Shen Xinghe has no fans now, but this does not prevent Qin Li's fans from hating him.

"What can we do?" Wu Liao asked.

When a marketing account broke negative news, it immediately contacted Weibo to remove the trending search, and then issued a statement to explain. This is a routine public relations operation. Wu Liao couldn't think of any other way.

Yan Xi: "Doesn't Director Jiang have the video of Shen Xinghe's initial audition?"

"Yes, it is..." Jiang Tao hesitated, "But that thing doesn't have a time record. We can't use it to prove that I chose Xinghe as the male lead first, right?"

Yan Xi blinked, "Why don't you have time? You showed this video to Qingqing and me back in Country F."

Jiang Tao paused, and his eyes slowly widened.

Yes, he showed this video to Yan Xi!

Moreover, "Travel" is a live broadcast, and live broadcasts must be recorded!

But soon, Jiang Tao was in trouble again, "In order to avoid the plot leaking, when I showed you the video, I asked the PD to process it and not shoot the video content..."

Yan Xi also remembered this. When she and Zhou Qingyu were watching the video, both PDs changed their angles and aimed the camera at the back of the phone, so they didn't capture the video content.

However——

"Having this experience is enough," Yan Xi said calmly, "As for that video, we have seen it on a variety show. There is no need for us to tell you. Netizens will find it out themselves."

Wu Liao was puzzled, "How did they find out?"

Yan Xi smiled and said, "Put out a hook and the fish will take the hook by itself!"

——

A second-tier male artist being robbed of a role is not a big news in the entertainment industry. But with the rumor that Zhou Qingyu was supporting a young star, coupled with the popularity of "Travel" and Jiang Tao's reputation, "Bottom Line" has been a hot search topic.

At this time, if there is any relevant information, marketing accounts are willing to disclose it without paying.

——After all, marketing accounts are not only about making money, but also about maintaining the popularity of their accounts and constantly attracting new fans.

Entertainment Dog Brother is a famous marketing account. Previously, someone approached him to reveal the news that Qin Li’s role was snatched away, but he thought the offer was too low and refused.

He originally thought that this was a trivial matter, but he didn't expect that the other party had photos and even audio recordings! He uncovered the truth layer by layer, causing the news to become much more popular!

How angry was Gou Ge! He was not able to get the first-hand information. Netizens all went to other marketing accounts to eat melons. No one paid attention to him!

At this time, someone sent a private message to Entertainment Dog Brother:

[Brother Gou! I am a staff member of Xingyao. I just recorded the video of Qin Li's initial audition! ]

[Oh my god! The male lead that Jiang Tao chose was Qin Li! ]

The other party sent an audition video.

The video was copied, so it was a little blurry, and the faces were not clear. But because the scripts of the first three episodes were leaked, I followed the script and found out that this video was the audition clip of Xiang Fei, the male lead of "Bottom Line"!

This is new news!

Although he didn't get first-hand information about Qin Li being snatched away for the role, he was able to release the audition video, so he also has exclusive news!

Gou Ge was extremely excited and re-confirmed the content of the audition. After confirming that the video clip was indeed the script content of "Bottom Line", Gou Ge immediately posted on Weibo and included the relevant hot search terms!

At this time, netizens were still hotly discussing the issue of snatching the role, and Entertainment Dog Brother's revelation undoubtedly gave Qin Li's fans a shot in the arm.

[This is my brother's audition content! ]

[Although the picture is blurry, it can't hinder my brother's beauty! ]

[Brother Qin is so nice, why did Director Jiang agree to replace Xingyao? Is he blind? ]

[In the video, Brother Qin's movements are very smooth! I can't imagine how good the effect would be if it were made into a drama! ]

[Jiang Tao! If you don’t choose my brother over capital, it will be your loss! You will definitely regret it! ]

The audition video of "Qin Li" went viral.

Originally, among the entertainment industry revelations, video revelations are the most convincing. And now Qin Li's fans are very excited. With this video, won't it be more convincing that Qin Li has been robbed of the male lead?

Fans spared no effort to praise the protagonist's acting in the video, just to prove that Qin Li acted better than Shen Xinghe.

Jiang Tao looked at the online comments and opened his mouth in shock, "Are these fans blind? The person in the video is Shen Xinghe!"

Yan Xi: "But with the incident of stealing the male lead, and the misleading information from the whistleblower, even if the video is blurry, everyone will presume that the protagonist of the video is Qin Li."

"They have been bragging for a long time, but in fact they are also bragging about Shen Xinghe."

This is exactly the effect Yan Xi wanted.

Some fans, after seeing this video, recalled the clip where Jiang Tao showed the audition video to Yan Xi and Zhou Qingyu on the variety show "Travel".

[Sisters! The audition clip that I watched last week on the variety show "Travel" is this! Did Director Jiang already work with Brother Qin at that time? ]

[I also searched for Zhou Qingyu and Yan Xi's expressions when they watched the video. They were both shocked, which is enough to prove my brother Qin's acting skills! ]

[Sisters! A big guy on Bilibili pulled a soundtrack. Although the audition content was not filmed at that time, the sound of the scene was recorded! The big guy compared the two soundtracks and they overlapped, proving that the video was the one that was exposed now! ]

[So the male lead at the beginning was really the older brother, but the older brother was actually robbed of his role by an unknown actor! ]

[Wuwuwu, I feel so sorry for my brother! ]

[Please return Xiang Fei to Qin Li! ]

[Yes! Qin Li is the most suitable Xiang Fei! Director Jiang, don’t be controlled by capital anymore! ]

——

Strawberry Entertainment Conference Room

Those who paid attention to the online discussions included not only Xingyao, but also the person in charge of Strawberry.com and Qin Li's agent Xu Qiang.

When Qin Li wanted to hire some navy soldiers to discredit Shen Xinghe, Xu Qiang had some concerns. He knew Jiang Tao was very stubborn, and even if the internet supported Qin Li, Jiang Tao might not necessarily change people.

Since Xingyao has already invested in "Bottom Line", it will be difficult for Qin Li to still be the male lead.

Unexpectedly, not long after the hot search was bought, the person in charge of Strawberry.com contacted Xu Qiang and said that Strawberry.com had invested in a new drama, which was also a serious drama, and intended to let Qin Li play the leading role!

Sure enough, buying water army is useful. This wave of operations fully helped Qin Li to retain fans. Some fans made a collection video of Qin Li's character, which attracted many new fans. This is also the reason why Strawberry.com is willing to let him be the male lead.

"Where's Qin Li?"

Xu Qiang came to Strawberry Entertainment alone for the meeting, but Qin Li did not come.

Xu Qiang: "Brother Qin has something to do today. I am his agent and I have full authority to make all decisions on his behalf."

The person in charge nodded. The computer screen on his conference table was still on, full of the hot news about "Bottom Line".

"It's a pity that we can't invest in "Bottom Line." The person in charge sighed. Like Qin Li, he was also optimistic about this project.

Xu Qiang was curious, "Will Xingyao withdraw its investment due to pressure? After all, their reputation on the Internet is very bad now, and it doesn't make much sense to continue investing."

"You have a point," the person in charge thought for a moment, "I can have someone contact Xingyao. If they want to withdraw their investment, we will move in."

The person in charge looked at the online comments and said, "Now that things have come to this, it is very likely that Xingyao will withdraw its investment."

Xu Qiang's eyes lit up. "If that's the case, then the male lead..."

The person in charge smiled and said, "If we were to take over, the male lead would definitely be Qin Li! He has such a high popularity, how could we not let him play the role! However, it was also because your audition video was well played. If it weren't for this video, Xingyao would still insist. With this video, Xingyao is very likely to withdraw its investment."

Xu Qiang was very proud, "That's right, because of this video, Brother Qin's fans have increased a lot..."

Suddenly, Xu Qiang's expression froze, "We didn't show this video! Brother Qin never auditioned for "The Bottom Line"!"

Instantly, the person in charge's face turned pale, "Qin Li has never auditioned, then who is Xiang Fei in this video?!"

——

As time went by and thanks to the efforts of Qin Li's fans and online followers, every hot search entry related to "Bottom Line" contained "Qin Li's" audition video, and it was liked and forwarded to the top of the trending posts.

Netizens have already come to think that Qin Li is miserable and that his role was snatched away from him.

Photos, recordings, audition videos... they're all gone. There's no way this matter can be brought up again, right?

At 5pm, the official account of "Bottom Line" applied for V and sent out its first Weibo post since registration - a high-definition audition video of the male lead Xiang Fei.

Suddenly, netizens flocked to the video.

[I'm looking forward to it! I can finally see Qin Ge's beautiful face in high definition! ]

[The blurry audition video made me sick. I must watch this video a hundred times! ]

[Heaven's Chosen One Xiang Fei! Brother Qin deserves it! ]

But when the characters in the picture appeared clearly in front of everyone, everyone was stunned.

【？ ？ ？】

[Isn't this person Qin Li? ]

[The video says "Shen Xinghe's audition video" Oh! Is this Shen Xinghe? The unknown actor that Zhou Qingyu keeps? ]

[Fuck

! Shen Xinghe's expression just now! So crazy! Love it! 】

[This little brother is so handsome! He is the kind of cool guy! There are so few of them in the entertainment industry! ]

[Oh my god, seeing Xiang Fei being entangled in the issue of drug trafficking, I am also entangled with him...]

[Wait, this video is the same as the previously leaked "Qin Li audition video", right? ]

[Absolutely the same one! The lighting, perspective, and character movements are all exactly the same. The first one is Shen Xinghe's audition video! ]

[It turns out that the person auditioning is Shen Xinghe, not Qin Li! ]

[So before recording "Travel", Shen Xinghe had already auditioned for "Bottom Line"? Then how could he snatch the role from Qin Li? ]

Fans are confused, netizens are puzzled, and everyone is a little confused about the situation.

But at this time, some netizens who were still rational came out to analyze the logic -

[I am a passerby, not a fan of Qin Li or Shen Xinghe, but I have been following this gossip all the way. Let me first share my opinion: Shen Xinghe did not steal Qin Li's role! ]

【First of all, the previously leaked audition video and this one are the same, right? It's too obvious, one is blurry and the other is high definition, there's no need for technical proof.】

[Secondly, we need to confirm the time of Shen Xinghe's audition. Since the protagonist of this audition video is Shen Xinghe, according to the audio track pulled by the boss before, it is enough to prove that Shen Xinghe had already auditioned before Jiang Tao recorded "Travel", so Jiang Tao was able to show Zhou Qingyu the audition video on the variety show.]

【Then, everyone can watch the first episode of "Travel" and you will find that Qin Li and Jiang Tao did not know each other. They even introduced themselves when they met. 】

[Shen Xinghe had already auditioned before the variety show, while Qin Li only met Jiang Tao during the variety show. Isn't it obvious that Shen Xinghe was the first to get in touch with "The Line"? And in the extended Lincoln, Jiang Tao himself said, "I have found the male lead, who fits the image of the male lead in the script very well. I have confidence in my work!" ]

[It is known that Jiang Tao and Qin Li had only known each other for one day, and Shen Xinghe had already completed the audition. Doesn't this mean that Shen Xinghe is the male lead that Jiang Tao has decided on? ]

[Oh my god! What a shocking reversal! ]

[I was just helping Qin Li's fans to scold Shen Xinghe, but it turns out that I am the ugly one? ]

[Don’t mention it, Shen Xinghe acted really well in the audition! If I were him, I would also choose Shen Xinghe as the male lead! ]

Afterwards, another netizen broke the news: [I heard that Jiang Tao was deceived by investors on a variety show, and the deposit was lost before filming began in time. Strawberry.com was willing to invest, but felt that Shen Xinghe was not big enough, so they decided to cast Qin Li as the male lead.]

【Later, Zhou Qingyu found out about this and watched Shen Xinghe's audition. She thought Shen Xinghe acted well, so she decided to invest in "Bottom Line" and let Shen Xinghe continue to be the male lead! 】

【Is this really the truth? 】

[I think this is reasonable. Everyone knows that Zhou Qingyu likes Pei Yubai, so she can't easily fall in love with someone else, right? 23333]

[That’s why Xiao Yu said in the recording that the investor required the male lead to be Shen Xinghe, because Zhou Qingyu had seen the audition video! ]

[Zhou Qingyu actually helped Xiao Huka? I never thought! 】

[I think Miss has always been a very good person~]

[If this is the case, then Qin Li is too cruel, isn't he? He stole the male lead from Shen Xinghe, and now he's turning the tables on him? ]

[Humph! Typical case of the thief crying thief! ]

[This is so disgusting! What the hell is this! ]

——

After the high-definition audition video was released, public opinion reversed.

Of course, the last netizen who broke the news on Strawberry.com was Yan Xi’s author. As for other details, such as the audio track of the audition video, the time of the audition, etc., these were all dug out by the netizens themselves.

There is an interesting point about entertainment industry gossip: the gossip dug up by netizens themselves is far more juicy than that directly revealed by marketing accounts.

For a while, the reputation of "Bottom Line" on the Internet reversed, and the official Weibo account of "Bottom Line" and Shen Xinghe's account gained a lot of fans.

Jiang Tao was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling when he saw the new increase in fans of the official Weibo account of "Bottom Line".

The Xingyao navy must have been punished, after all, they had to guide public opinion, but their involvement was not high and they did not spend much money. With such a small investment, they actually gained such a high level of popularity, which is almost better than Jiang Tao spending millions on marketing in the past!

It’s popular before it’s even aired, this is a good sign!

Moreover, there are several trending searches on Weibo. Now everyone knows that Jiang Tao is going to take his drama seriously and his next work is "Bottom Line". This is free publicity!

As for the script leak, it’s only three episodes, not a big deal!

On the side, Shen Xinghe was staring at his Weibo in a daze.

He didn't have a Weibo account originally, but when he was taking makeup photos this morning, Wu Liao suggested that he register one.

There are only a few fans on Weibo, all of whom are staff members of "Bottom Line".

Shen Xinghe also posted the first Weibo from this account, which was a photo of a rising sun. The rising sun dyed the sky brilliantly golden.

This Weibo post has received no likes or comments.

After the scandal of "stealing roles" became a hot topic, the first red dot finally appeared on Shen Xinghe's Weibo notification, followed by the second, the third...

All the sounds were cursing at him.

They cursed him very harshly, not only at him but also at his parents, and even photoshopped his posthumous photo.

Shen Xinghe took just one look and turned off his phone.

Such preparation is necessary to enter the entertainment industry. Shen Xinghe has played villain roles before, with only two or three shots, but he was completely bad and was scolded by the audience for a long time.

Shen Xinghe is worried about his mother, who would often be sadder than he is when seeing these comments.

Fortunately, he contacted the nurse, who said she would watch her mother and not let her look at her phone.

Just now, at Jiang Tao's reminder, Shen Xinghe opened Weibo on his mobile phone again.

The notification interface has 99+ messages, and Weibo is a bit laggy.

Shen Xinghe carefully clicked on the comments——

【Ahhhhhhhhhh! 】

[Brother is so handsome! I want to give birth to a baby for him! ]

[I’m hooked! I’m hooked! That audition video is so annoying! ]

[I just received Shen Xinghe’s makeup photos on the super topic. The uniform is so tempting!!!]

[Such a handsome actor is not popular! It’s unfair! 】

The previous slander is no longer visible, and new words cover up everything.

Shen Xinghe looked at the comments on Weibo and smiled softly.