Shen Lu, being an actress, had taken on the leading role in a historical drama a month prior. Her whereabouts were mostly confined to the film set and occasional promotional events, nothing particularly noteworthy.
Song Ren, clearly aware that this information held little significance, focused his analysis on Shen Lu's communication records.
In the past month, besides work-related contacts, Shen Lu had been in frequent communication with three numbers. The calls were consistently made after 10 PM.
One of these numbers belonged to He Miao. The other two were a male escort from a high-end club, possessing a popular "flower boy" look, with his physique, including an eight-pack and a defined V-cut, clearly visible in his photos, indicating a high level of professional presentation.
The second individual was an entrepreneur who owned over a dozen shell companies with no actual business operations. His sole venture was a real estate project currently undergoing financing.
Quan Jiu closed the file and set it aside.
"If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move."
She quickly entered her work mode, while online, a massive storm was brewing, akin to an overturning sea.
Following the exposé of Hei Li Entertainment, approximately eighty percent of its over one hundred artists had terminated their contracts. This included popular male artists Fu Ji, Ding Wei, and Guan Biren, as well as prominent female artists Hu Ting, Li Xin, and Tang Jia, among others.
Once these artists terminated their contracts, they became highly sought-after by various entertainment agencies. Top-tier companies like Tian Yu and Tian Hua were determined to secure these popular artists.
However, when they finalized their signing plans and dispatched their most experienced agents for negotiations, they were informed that the artists had already signed with new companies.
One or two might be understandable, but why had nearly all the popular artists signed? Who could have acted so swiftly?
Tian Yu and Tian Hua probed each other, only to discover that neither of them was the one poaching talent.
While they were frustrated and speculating, a little-known company named Chu Xin Culture emerged. This entertainment company posted a collaboration announcement, tagging forty-three artists and thirty-two agents.
Upon its release, the tagged artists and agents immediately reposted, confirming their partnerships.
Instantly, the entire internet exploded.
Popular artist Fu Ji and the formerly popular Lu Lian, these two alone, had a combined Weibo following of nearly eighty million. Their massive fan base went into a frenzy upon seeing their idols' announcements. Lu Lian, in particular, who had been inactive for over a year and many speculated was blacklisted by his company, saw his fans' engagement even higher than Fu Ji's upon his return.
Within moments, the news of their signing with Chu Xin Culture surged to the top three on various platform trending lists. The viewership of their related fan communities broke hundreds of millions almost instantaneously.
Furthermore, former Hei Li agents Bai Lin and Meng Long, along with independent agent Ping Yang, all prominent figures, had also joined Chu Xin Culture. This development not only stunned netizens but also sent shockwaves through other entertainment companies.
But it didn't end there. Soon, a personal account from a laid-off Hei Li employee began circulating wildly online in image format. Nearly a hundred mid-to-upper-level Hei Li employees had joined Chu Xin Culture.
The article was deeply moving, detailing how Chu Xin Culture had welcomed them during their unemployment, providing them with stability and even better benefits and a more comfortable working environment than at Hei Li. The boss was described as approachable and beautiful, with no overtime, making it a haven for employees.
With such testimonials, even gossip accounts aiming to spread rumors and create controversy found themselves at a loss for how to smear the company.
The combined effect made it clear to everyone: Chu Xin Entertainment had poached nearly half of Hei Li Entertainment's popular artists and senior employees.
Consequently, Chu Xin Culture dominated the top trending lists across various online platforms. Due to the lack of further information about Chu Xin Culture, its profile on the business registration platform was viewed tens of millions of times in an instant.
The company's legal representative was also an unknown individual. Shockingly, the company had been established for less than two months with a registered capital of five million, and much of its information was still blank. The only concrete detail was that it had purchased social insurance for one hundred and ninety-one employees.
The internet immediately saw a polarization of opinions.
One side believed that Chu Xin Culture must have powerful backing to have risen so rapidly.
The other side argued that Chu Xin Culture was merely opportunistic, capitalizing on the Hei Li incident to recruit talent. However, they maintained that it was still a new company lacking substance, yet it had managed to sign all the best artists, agents, and even employees. They deemed it a case of undeserved prominence and speculated about hidden, unsavory dealings, leading to widespread criticism.
The two factions engaged in an unprecedentedly fierce debate online, with their discussions reaching billions of views and growing exponentially, quickly surpassing the ten-billion mark.
Chu Xin Culture's reputation became a mix of positive and negative.
Regardless, its trending status was undeniable. Within just a few hours, Chu Xin Culture's Weibo follower count surpassed twenty million, exceeding that of some minor A-list celebrities, and this growth was entirely organic.
It was arguably the fastest follower acquisition in history, even astonishing.
The external contact phone number and email for Chu Xin Culture were nearly overwhelmed. Inquiries came from program teams, directors, business proposals, and even purely personal messages of abuse or support. Consequently, from the moment they arrived at the company that morning, all employees were so busy they didn't even have time to drink water.
It was a hive of activity.
...
At Tian Hua Entertainment, in the main conference room, management from the agency and artist departments were all present. At the front, Zhang He, a member of the company's board of directors, was speaking animatedly.
Wang Chuan, Tian Hua's ace agent, sat in the first seat, bearing the brunt of the criticism.
"Who guaranteed that the most anticipated newcomer this year, Han Zhao, would be signed? After the Hei Li incident, who guaranteed that Fu Ji would be secured? But what's the situation now? All the talent that left Hei Li, all of it, has been snatched up by this Chu Xin Culture, established less than two months ago. What have you people been doing?"
Wang Chuan closed his eyes and subtly wiped the spittle from his face, keeping his head down and remaining silent.
"Data department, have you retrieved the information on Chu Xin Culture?" Zhang He asked, sitting down huffily, looking towards the person at the very end.
"Yes, it's here," the data analyst replied, projecting their computer screen onto the projector. "The legal representative of Chu Xin Culture is named Quan Jiu. She was a medical student who suddenly dropped out and disappeared five years ago. This is likely her first public appearance since then."
The document displayed a student photo of Quan Jiu from her university days. Even in a candid, strict ID photo, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
Everyone in the conference room was secretly astonished. They all dealt with celebrities, and the manager of the artist department couldn't help but comment, "If she were to debut, she would become an instant sensation."
Zhang He was also surprised. While the entertainment industry was full of beautiful people, individuals with such an overwhelming advantage in appearance were rare, with perhaps not even a second person in today's entertainment landscape. Even Tian Yu Entertainment's top star, Shan Wenqi, would be overshadowed in comparison.
"Are you sure she's the boss and not an artist? If she was a university student five years ago, how old is she now?" Zhang He inquired.
"Twenty-seven."
"Are you certain she's the sole manager of the company, with no partners?" Zhang He asked again.
As the data analyst was about to respond, Wang Chuan, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
"She's likely relying on Bai Lin. I saw her at the A University Performing Arts training showcase two months ago, and Bai Lin was present.
I don't know if she has a backer, but since Bai Lin has joined Chu Xin, and he was a member of Hei Li's board of directors with a good relationship with Meng Long, and after being expelled from the board, he also left Hei Li. Now, Lu Lian, himself, Meng Long, and Fu Ji, whom Meng Long brought, have all joined Chu Xin Culture. It's definitely Bai Lin who facilitated this.
Otherwise, I can't think of any other possibility that would allow Chu Xin Culture to get ahead of giants like Tian Yu and Tian Hua. Bai Lin has extensive connections in the entertainment industry, even being nicknamed 'one person equals one entertainment company.' With him joining Chu Xin, others would be willing to follow.
Zhang He grew even angrier, "Then why didn't you poach Bai Lin? He left Hei Li a year ago and hadn't signed with any company since. With no competition, you still couldn't handle this matter? Do you not want your salary?"