Honestly, at this moment, Jiang Ruotang felt very anxious. He worried that Jiang Huaiyuan would be upset that he had kept things from him.

He lay on the balcony, even imagining a cigarette in his hand, wanting to put it in his mouth and smoke.

His fingertips suddenly warmed, someone holding them.

Jiang Ruotang looked up and met Lu Guifan’s gentle eyes.

“The only people in this world who genuinely celebrate your achievements without any ulterior motives are your parents,” Lu Guifan said.

This sentence calmed Jiang Ruotang’s mind. He smiled and asked Lu Guifan, “Then when you celebrate my achievements, what ulterior motives do you have?”

Lu Guifan squeezed Jiang Ruotang’s fingertips, biting them between his lips. “Perhaps you’ll like me a little more when you’re in a good mood?”

Just then, his phone vibrated. It was a message from Jiang Huaiyuan: [Son, I’m proud of you! Dad will also strive to be a force for your progress!]

At that moment, Jiang Ruotang’s eyes felt hot and moist.

He sent a voice message back to Jiang Huaiyuan: “Dad, you’ve always been my driving force!”

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Ruotang thought he should be more honest with Jiang Huaiyuan. While looking into Lu Guifan’s eyes, he said into the phone, “Dad, let me share another good news—I successfully pursued Lu Guifan!”

Lu Guifan was stunned, then burst out laughing, leaning in to ask, “You tell me clearly, who pursued whom?”

“I pursued you, of course,” Jiang Ruotang said matter-of-factly.

“When did that start? How come I didn’t know?”

“From the first time I asked you for help with a problem,” Jiang Ruotang looked at Lu Guifan with a “are you stupid?” expression.

“At that time…” Lu Guifan was stunned. “I thought you were genuinely studying hard. I really always thought… I was the one who liked you first.”

Jiang Ruotang showed a confident expression, “Hehe, on this point, I have the most authority to speak—I’ve liked you since my previous life!”

Lu Guifan smiled at Jiang Ruotang, then suddenly lifted him onto his shoulder and walked towards the bedroom.

“What are you doing! Put me down!”

“My heart suddenly raced—today, I’m going to try again to see if I can enter the harbor.”

Jiang Ruotang’s face was so red it almost cracked. “Impossible! If you have the guts, dismantle that giant ship into a small bamboo raft, otherwise it’s absolutely impossible to enter the harbor!”

“Original, no dismantling!”

And when Jiang Huaiyuan saw that message, he was utterly shocked, looking up at the sky and exclaiming, “My son is amazing! Not only is he successful in his career, he can even win over a male god!”

---

The contract signing between the two parties was incredibly efficient.

On that very day, Little Sweet Fruit initiated the comic development for the IP Drunken Immortal Platform. They signed the most renowned domestic studio and popular cartoonist as the lead artist, and hired many assistants to ensure the comic’s exquisite and efficient production. Even the grand backgrounds were meticulously reproduced without any shortcuts.

As soon as the comic was launched, it immediately captivated users, and its popularity soared. Any screenshot could be used as wallpaper. There were even extensive discussions about the comic on Weibo, a platform usually dominated by entertainment gossip.

Chen Qian immediately seized the opportunity to guide netizens and audiences, drawing their attention to Ling Song’s personal domain on Little Sweet Fruit. When they scrolled through the stills and clips, their interest in the drama version linearly increased.

Previously, anime fans would loudly protest against live-action adaptations, as few actors could embody the image and temperament from anime, often destroying the aesthetic beauty of the original. However, Ling Song’s ethereal and detached gaze as he looked back from the clouds, followed by a faint smile, captivated many anime fans. He was truly an anime male god brought to life.

As the comic serialization progressed smoothly, Little Sweet Fruit’s backend also received numerous user suggestions to introduce the drama version of Drunken Immortal Platform.

Such opinions became more and more frequent, making Gao Cheng and the entire management team optimistic and full of anticipation for the drama’s broadcast during the winter break.

---

As the holiday approached, Jiang Ruotang and his roommates went sketching together to complete their final projects.

On the way to a small village in the suburbs, Lu An suddenly exclaimed, “My god, that top idol ALEN… he’s really a mess!”

“ALEN? The idol from K-country?” Ding Bing leaned closer. “My cousin is obsessed with him. What happened?”

“This ALEN, he was going up an elevator at the Warm Winter TV Festival and was so arrogant that he actually had his bodyguards pull out old Mr. Feng Moshan who was already in the elevator! Old Mr. Feng fell to the ground and broke a bone! Forget artistic achievements, doesn’t he even know how to respect elders?” Lu An said while scrolling on his phone.

Hearing this news, Jiang Ruotang was also stunned. He quickly messaged Zhao Yunshu to see if she knew how old Mr. Feng was doing.

Zhao Yunshu replied: [Bone fracture, hospitalized. He probably won’t recover in two or three months. The play performances have also been canceled. Don’t worry, your father and I have both visited him. If there’s anything we can help with, we’ll actively do it!]

Seeing this, Jiang Ruotang let out a breath.

In his previous life, ALEN’s downfall was due to policy restrictions on K-pop artists’ development. Because ALEN had been developing here for a long time, he lost many K-pop fans. This domestic policy caused all his announcements and endorsements to disappear overnight, essentially smashing his rice bowl.

He then publicly cursed on various social platforms. Being an uncultured person, he fully displayed his nasty side, cursing fans, the domestic entertainment industry, and even making more outrageous remarks, inciting public outrage. He was directly blacklisted by relevant authorities.

Jiang Ruotang never expected that in this life, ALEN, being excessively promoted by Qin Zhanchao and Han Ming, would be so arrogant as to attend a domestic TV festival… What works of art did he even have to show for himself? This was nothing short of “killing with praise”!

As expected, the utterly inflated ALEN didn’t know how to restrain his behavior at the TV festival.

Afterwards, when a reporter interviewed him, he actually said he didn’t know who old Mr. Feng Moshan was, and even stated that old people shouldn’t go to public places like TV festivals, as bumping into things just adds burden and pressure to society, showing no remorse whatsoever.

When the reporter asked again when ALEN planned to visit old Mr. Feng and apologize, ALEN gave a very contemptuous smile, saying, “That’s none of my business,” and then went to interact with fans, completely avoiding the topic.

Qin Zhanchao’s scalp tingled watching the interview video. He contacted ALEN’s team, telling him to apologize immediately and visit Old Feng in the hospital, but was directly refused by the other party, who meant, “there’s no need to humble ourselves.”

The old man didn’t have fans, so this matter would quickly pass. If they truly apologized, they would be caught by the handle, and then the apologies would be endless.

ALEN’s entire team was carried away by the illusion of being a top-tier star that they had created. They simply didn’t realize that no matter how popular he was, it wasn’t enough to compensate for his arrogance and lack of ethics.

Qin Zhanchao felt a chill to the bone. Old Master Qin personally called him, telling him to immediately terminate all cooperation with ALEN and to issue a public relations statement condemning ALEN’s behavior and drawing a clear line, establishing Huanyu Pictures’ stance before the media could criticize them.

This move would result in significant financial losses, with all investments related to ALEN going down the drain.

Fortunately, Old Master Qin was decisive. The day after Huanyu Pictures issued its statement, public opinion further escalated. Everyone was speaking up for Old Mr. Feng, an artist who could be called a towering figure, saying what was ALEN anyway, uncultured and ill-mannered, lacking even the most basic respect for elders. On Weibo, eight out of ten trending topics were exposing ALEN’s scandals. As for traffic, his traffic was truly unrivaled—a bottomless pit of negativity!

Han Ming was practically going insane, constantly trying to remove ALEN from trending topics and posting positive news. Eventually, even marketing studios refused to take Han Ming’s work because accepting more would lead to being reported by netizens.

Meanwhile, Geng Zhaotan, who was in charge of public opinion work at the relevant department, directly organized a meeting. They decided to list ALEN as a disgraced artist, who came to China to make money but showed no respect for anything in the country.

When the notice was issued, the internet exploded. Everyone said that the cultural and entertainment management department had finally done something good, and this completely ended ALEN’s future.

As a result, the already recorded Idols, Please Step Forward could not be aired. An entire season! ALEN was a team mentor; there had to be scenes of him.

Qilin Video was in chaos. It was almost winter break, the best time for traffic, and such an incident occurred! The huge upfront promotion and production costs were wasted. Netizens even started to criticize Qilin Video for giving garbage like ALEN a chance to hog screen time.

Qilin Video demanded that Qin Zhanchao and Han Ming resolve the issue, or they would seek compensation if the show couldn’t be broadcast.

The two had no choice but to spend a fortune hiring another popular singer to reshoot, but the show’s effect was terrible, and ratings plummeted, beyond salvage.

Sitting in his office, Qin Zhanchao felt like he had been ambitious and soared to the sky, only to return to square one overnight. He even avoided eye contact with Jiang Huaiyuan and his wife at subsequent board meetings. After all, they had presciently opposed Huanyu Pictures’ large-scale marketing investment in ALEN, which was almost the cost of producing a drama, but Qin Zhanchao hadn’t listened.

Several shareholders held a grudge, their words filled with accusations and complaints. There were other investment projects to discuss, but their dissatisfaction, once expressed, showed no signs of stopping. They even brought up Jiang Huaiyuan and his wife, saying that young CEO Qin should listen more to the seniors’ advice, as their practical experience in the entertainment industry was not something he could compare with through opportunistic means.

Qin Zhanchao’s face alternated between green and pale, and Old Master Qin did not try to smooth things over for him, as he had to accept his fall.

Zhao Yunshu, however, was a discerning person. She spoke up, “Young CEO Qin’s approach wasn’t wrong. Otherwise, when it was first proposed, didn’t all the shareholders raise their hands in agreement? Traffic is like water; it can both carry and capsize a boat. When there’s profit to be made, everyone rushes to agree, but when the boat capsizes, they start blaming. Is that really fair? When Idols, Please Step Forward distributed dividends a while ago, everyone was beaming. You can’t just share profits without bearing risks, can you?”

At her words, the chatterbox shareholders fell silent.

Zhao Yunshu looked at Qin Zhanchao and said, “Huaiyuan and I don’t actually object to Young CEO Qin pursuing the traffic route. We just hope you won’t blindly chase after popularity, but instead pay more attention to risks. An artist who can’t control risk, who is so arrogant that he won’t even cooperate with public relations plans when he makes a mistake… such an artist shouldn’t be included in Huanyu Pictures’ investment options. Next time, be sure to do more research and cut losses in time.”

These words not only told the shareholders to move on and look forward, but also pointed out Qin Zhanchao’s problem, doubling the shareholders’ goodwill towards Zhao Yunshu.

Although Jiang Huaiyuan was no longer the chairman, his position remained solid. The shareholders also understood that while Jiang Huaiyuan didn’t contend for power or profit, it didn’t mean he lacked ability. From now on, they would likely seriously consider what the couple had to say in board meetings.

After the meeting, Jiang Huaiyuan and Zhao Yunshu headed towards the elevator when Old Master Qin, leaning on his cane, walked out and called out to them.

They arrived at Old Master Qin’s office. Old Master Qin started brewing Kung Fu tea, with a much more obedient-looking Qin Zhanchao sitting beside him.

“I won’t say any more pleasantries. Thank you for helping Zhanchao out today. This child is too eager for quick success. He didn’t listen to your advice before. I hope in the future you’ll still speak your mind and not let this child be blindly confident and go down the wrong path.”

Old Master Qin sighed, then added, “Ultimately, our Qin family was not righteous. I intended to be a loyal supporter my whole life, helping and assisting you, but in the end, for the sake of my children’s unwillingness to concede and their greed, I didn’t stick to my promise to Old Jiang…”

Jiang Huaiyuan smiled faintly, “You wanted to be a supportive minister, but I needed to be a capable king. Unfortunately, I’m a weak ruler. Constantly balancing shareholder interests exhausts me; I’m not cut out for that. Now I can focus on making dramas and movies, shooting whatever I want, which I’m quite content with.”

And he also had a son, that was Jiang Huaiyuan’s true confidence.

“How is Ruotang doing in the capital? I estimate that when he grows up and becomes sensible, knowing what he lost, he might resent me, ‘Grandpa Qin’.”

Old Master Qin’s thought was simple: Qin Zhanchao could acquire Lin Chendong’s shares, causing Huanyu Pictures to change ownership. In the future, Jiang Ruotang could do the same. Fortune turns like a wheel; it’s a common phenomenon in the world. He said this also hoping that Qin Zhanchao would understand and no longer cling to his position.

But at the mention of Jiang Ruotang, Jiang Huaiyuan’s eyes were filled with pride.

“Ruotang has long since grown up and become sensible. He has his own ideas, foresight, and enjoys his own success. The world outside is so big; he wouldn’t even care for the shares in my hand. On the contrary, I need to work hard to produce better works, or I might be eliminated by my son’s world.”

Hearing him say that, Old Master Qin chuckled.

“How is your Drunken Immortal Platform doing? I heard the TV station is still waiting for purchasing quotas. Now, Qilin Video… the buzz around Idols, Please Step Forward has died down. They should be considering something new to attract users. You’ve always had a good reputation and strong viewership appeal among audiences. How about I ask Zhanchao to talk to them, give Qilin Video a way out, and have them negotiate a reasonable price with you as soon as possible? It should still make the winter break schedule.”

This could be considered a gesture of goodwill from the Qin family.

Jiang Huaiyuan smiled and exchanged glances with Zhao Yunshu, saying, “No need, it’s already sold.”

“Sold?” Qin Zhanchao straightened his back in surprise upon hearing this. “Which company?”

“It’s still confidential for now. Everyone will know during the winter break.”

As the couple left the chairman’s office, Zhao Yunshu’s phone rang. Unexpectedly, it was the general manager of Qilin Video’s procurement department calling, meaning they wanted to iron out details and discuss the online streaming rights for Drunken Immortal Platform. They were even willing to offer a higher price.

To put it simply, Idols, Please Step Forward was affected by public opinion, and all its data was rapidly declining. The more popular it had been before, the more ALEN’s behavior turned off the audience. However, in order to fully support this variety show, purchases of other content were sacrificed for it, resulting in no impressive or trending drama reserves. That’s when they remembered Jiang Huaiyuan’s Drunken Immortal Platform. A renowned director’s work was like a brand, unlike unstable traffic that came and went.

This time, it was Zhao Yunshu’s turn to calmly reply to the other party, “Oh, it’s already sold.”