Chapter 19: The Consequences of Offending Others

Swatting flies and cleaning house are inherently painful tasks, and one is bound to get covered in dust for a while.

Gu Cheng spent the remainder of April reflecting on the series of internal issues ignited by the "Jin Chengze Case." He paid no attention whatsoever to the day-to-day operations of the entertainment industry.

Chengpin Holdings established a group-level supervisory department, merged with the Human Resources headquarters. Pan Jieying, who had been feeling increasingly overwhelmed, was transferred there to take charge of human resources and internal oversight.

Meanwhile, Cheri, who had served as the project manager for "Legend," was reassigned by Gu Cheng to assist his cousin with supervision and management, as the game's lifecycle was aging and the workload for subsequent upgrades had diminished.

Gu Cheng valued her loyalty above all. Furthermore, Cheri had seen enough of the cutthroat competition for resources among project managers in content companies to possess a certain "battle-hardened experience." Moving her to this role made it easier to identify common under-the-table tactics. As for the project manager role for "Legend," it was simply filled by promoting the former planning supervisor.

Dingdang Network and Qidian Literature also established internal supervisory groups to ensure that site operators would not collude with certain artists or writers to embezzle public resources.

Pan Jieying raised no objections to these adjustments. After all, she was still a student who had only completed two years of an MBA, with an undergraduate degree in Human Resources. As the company expanded, she found herself increasingly unable to handle the role of COO. It was better to specialize, clear her mind, and reflect on her true life values.

After consulting with Pan Jieying, Gu Cheng decided to let Lei Jun hold the vacant COO position concurrently for six months, at which point his performance would determine whether the appointment would be made permanent. Lei Jun had been the president at Kingsoft and would go on to found Xiaomi; his talent was undeniable. Having joined the team six months prior, he was naturally grateful for the promotion and solidified his resolve to continue working hard under Gu Cheng.

...

The May Day holiday was approaching. With the internal restructuring mostly complete, Gu Cheng finally had time to take a break.

In the outside world, the show "The Family of Gold" had already been broadcast twice over the past two months. The final average viewership rating on CCTV hit a staggering 18.2%. While slightly lower than "Meteor Garden," it surpassed last year's "Romance in the Rain" by four percentage points and "Autumn in My Heart" by six. In the subsequent reruns, major provincial satellite channels scrambled for the rights, and even with multiple channels airing it simultaneously, the best-performing channel still broke the 10% mark.

The title of the most popular drama of 2002 was firmly secured.

Considering the growing impact of the internet and digital media on television year by year, the ultimate social influence of "The Family of Gold" likely exceeded that of "Meteor Garden," and it appealed to both refined and popular tastes. After all, this show was not only a romantic drama but was also based on a literary classic. It was beloved not only by students who disliked studying but also by sophisticated, cultured viewers, even leading to the reprinting of Zhang Henshui’s original novel by the hundreds of thousands.

Gu Cheng’s image in the entertainment industry climbed steadily, becoming subtly more high-end with every step. On early, relatively sophisticated discussion platforms like Tianya Club, threads discussing "The Family of Gold" and Gu Cheng's performance easily dominated the boards.

On other platforms like Xici Hutong and various university campus websites, literature students who used the guise of "discussing serious literature and classic interpretation" to pick up girls also became "fans," inadvertently giving Gu Cheng a boost in popularity.

Gu Cheng had been "deep in the mountains" and hadn't noticed how much his reputation had improved over the past two months. Now that he had "emerged from seclusion," he couldn't help but feel a bit smug seeing the success. That evening, after dinner, he opened his computer, browsed major forums, and scanned several discerning professional film and television review sites.

Compared to the love of ordinary fans, Gu Cheng cared more about his reputation among industry professionals, as this would dictate the level of support he would receive for future investment projects.

"Gu Cheng's performance in 'The Family of Gold' shows a massive improvement over 'Meteor Garden'; his acting skills have already surpassed the vast majority of trained newcomers. Considering his age, he is undoubtedly the best actor under 25 in the current domestic entertainment industry, and ranks near the top among those under 30."

"Gu Cheng has once again demonstrated his astonishing cross-disciplinary talent and hard-to-explain, grand vision. Following his coordination skills—spanning acting, cinematography, lighting, and set design—which were equal to those of A-list veterans in 'Meteor Garden,' he has once again shown his excellent ability to cooperate with directors and screenwriters in 'The Family of Gold'."

"If his basketball scenes and ensemble acting in 'Meteor Garden' demonstrated his ability to carry the rhythm in high-difficulty, jump-axis cinematography, then the strong artistic vision he displayed in 'The Family of Gold' helped Director Li and Writer Liu bring the complex 'wealthy family relationship map' to life on screen. His impromptu improvisation in this drama was no less significant than the collective wisdom contributed by the young cast of the 1987 'Dream of the Red Chamber' over two years. We would not be surprised if Gu Cheng shows independent talent in screenwriting or directing in the future."

Almost all the long-form reviews were positive. Gu Cheng was delighted to find that his acceptance within the industry had risen a few notches. Especially after the meeting in March and the State Council's official issuance of "Document No. 16" in April, the legal basis for private capital to invest directly in domestic film and television was standardized. Many professional forums were buzzing with topics like, "We should let wealthy people like Gu Cheng invest in these dramas; they are sure to bring surprises to the audience."

Though he was reluctant to admit it, this was one of the benefits of cooperating with state media: the mainstream media was at least less willing to smear him. Coupled with Gu Cheng's own control over online media and the online reputation accumulated during the "Meteor Garden" era, he was currently enjoying praise from both "official and unofficial" circles.

Perhaps this year he could manage to land a producer role and test the waters with a few projects, without being dismissed as an "ignorant tycoon." "Acting and then directing" had always been a popular path for advancement in the industry.

He was feeling quite pleased with himself as he prepared to turn off the computer. However, for some reason, he felt a sudden itch to search for news about himself one more time. As he scrolled down, he saw a few unpleasant headlines.

Sina Entertainment: "Dictator Gu Cheng Uses 'Cleaning Up Internal Hidden Rules' as a Pretext for a Reckless Purge. Several veteran employees who joined Legend Entertainment since its inception were unfortunately targeted and purged."

Sohu Finance Commentary: "It is reported that after multiple evaluations, the capital market believes that 'Legend,' which has been operating for 16 months, is trending toward becoming the biggest cash cow in the Chinese internet market. Yet, the company is still a limited liability company with only a few shareholders, a model completely different from the industry norm where the 'founding team shares in the fruits of the venture.' As Legend Entertainment grows, the investment community generally believes an equity incentive plan should have been introduced this year. Gu Cheng's dismissal of veteran employees for minor mistakes at this moment is clearly an attempt to reduce the scope of stock option distributions."

3722 Guide: "Additionally, according to reliable sources, while Gu Cheng publicly claims to reject hidden rules in the content industry and provide fair opportunities for independent musicians and writers, he is merely cleaning up the traffic-faking behavior on Dingdang Network and Qidian to consolidate his power. Yet, his own first pot of gold was allegedly earned by helping internet companies on the verge of going public fake their data and daily active IP numbers. According to insiders, several large internet companies, including Netease, Kingsoft, and 3722, which caught the last train of financing before the internet bubble burst, all had business dealings with Gu Cheng. Now, a man who used the darkest, bloodiest methods to complete his initial accumulation of wealth claims he wants to be a hero and build a clean internet media circle. How much credibility does this have? How is this any different from tyrants like Liu Bang or Zhu Yuanzhang who rose to power using peasant armies, only to turn around and vilify those same peasants after their success? Isn't this just someone who succeeded through Machiavellianism, only to rewrite history to teach his descendants about integrity and shame while hiding his own despicable past? We strongly boycott Gu Cheng, the most shameless and darkest figure in the entire media world!"

3722 itself didn't have a portal or forum; it was just a hijacked navigation page. The cited posts were actually posted on Tianya and other communities by newly created accounts.

Gu Cheng’s face turned ashen. He forced down his inner rage and stood up to go to his cousin’s bedroom, intending to ask if she had heard any rumors about this and when they had started.

Pan Jieying had also been working non-stop for over a month and had only just found a moment to rest. When Gu Cheng entered the room, she was dressed in sportswear, listening to soft music and doing yoga to relax.

"Cousin, have you been reading the news these past few days? Do you know when those negative reports about me started appearing?"

"Are there any?" Pan Jieying was in the middle of doing the splits, leaning forward with her chin resting on the yoga mat. Even speaking was difficult in that position. She hadn't yet realized the gravity of the situation.

Gu Cheng scratched his head, went back to his room to unplug his laptop, and placed it on the floor in front of her. The browser was already open to the page, so it could be viewed offline.

"Oh my," Pan Jieying exclaimed in shock, nearly biting her tongue. She quickly adjusted her posture and read through the reports solemnly.

"To be able to name our initial partners like Netease and Kingsoft... hiss, could it be that those few disciples we fired went to defect to Zhou Hongyi to smear us?"

Gu Cheng had actually considered this possibility early on, but he was still puzzled: "But why smear 3722 as well? Wouldn't that be mutually destructive?"

Pan Jieying looked at Gu Cheng with disdain: "What? You don't know that Zhou Hongyi already sold his shares in 3722 and has retired to become a full-time angel investor?"

Damn it! An angel investor! No wonder he was so fearless.