Full Level Bigshot Only Takes the Career Path

In the Pei family’s mansion in H City, Mother Pei was texting and talking to her eldest son, “Peipei will be coming back in a few days, right?”

The eldest son of the Pei family replied, “He’s coming to H City to record a variety show. Then, he’ll come home afterward.”

As he was speaking, his phone rang.

Mother Pei hadn’t seen her youngest son for a long time and thought she could only see him during the Lunar New Year 1. She didn’t expect him to come back in just a few days. She had the housekeepers clean up the house, so when Pei Mingzhan returned, he could move in directly.

“A trending topic?” The eldest son furrowed his brow. “Did they find out who started it?”

At the mention of a trending topic, Mother Pei looked at her eldest son. Trending topics usually revolved around her youngest son. After Pei Mingzhan had been in the entertainment industry for these years, she had also gained some understanding of the industry and was no stranger to trending topics. She casually clicked on the trending topic to see the situation and came across the one about the sasaeng fan.

She handed her phone to her eldest son and asked, “Boss 2, why is this trending topic still up?”

The eldest son of the Pei family was currently having his subordinates handle the situation. They initially thought they could easily suppress it, but they didn’t expect the person behind buying the trending topic to be so stubborn. They tried to suppress it, but the other side kept buying it. He briefly replied, “It’s nothing. We’ll suppress it soon.”

Mother Pei glanced through the trending topic and asked, “Peipei is fine, right? Is it true that he has a sasaeng fan?”

The eldest son patiently explained, “He’s fine. That person was caught in the act, and these online matters are all created by someone buying the navy trolls.”

Mother Pei continued scrolling and came across the official account of the “Youxian” program. She noticed mentions of “Huihua” and realized, “Isn’t Huihua the company behind this program? I’ve noticed it recently. It seems like their company frequently trends.”

“Not all hot searches are negative, but this matter is not simple. I’ll update you when there are results,” replied the eldest son of the Pei family. Apart from instructing the PR team to handle the trending topics related to Pei Mingzhan, he rarely involved himself in other matters.

Mother Pei continued using her phone and expressed her concerns, “I heard about the Zhao family’s situation. Xiao Yao just left the group recently, so if he encounters any difficulties during this time, keep an eye out for him.”

She used to be classmates with Zhao Yao’s mother, and their houses in the suburban area were close to each other. However, they rarely visited the suburban area in recent years. Zhao Yao’s grandfather passed away a few years ago, and their families gradually lost contact. But they still occasionally communicated during holidays and special occasions.

Peijia Dage3 nodded, “I know.”

As the subordinate received the instructions and went to work, Peijia Dage and Mother Pei looked at the trending topics, contemplating whether they should call Pei Mingzhan.

At that moment, Peijia Dage’s phone rang again, displaying Pei Mingzhan’s name.

He answered the call on speakerphone and before he could say anything, he heard Pei Mingzhan’s slightly urgent voice, “Brother, have a doctor come to the house. I’ll send you the address.”

The eldest son and Mother Pei were taken aback. A doctor?

-*

Zhao Yao had developed a fever.

After hearing Uncle Wang’s explanation, Pei Mingzhan learned that Zhao Yao had shown signs of a cold in the afternoon. Uncle Wang had prepared ginger tea to drive away the cold and even had cold medicine ready. However, they didn’t expect Zhao Yao to start running a fever within half an hour of resting.

“I’ll call the family doctor. It will take about an hour for them to arrive,” Pei Mingzhan said after ending the call. He continued, “Let’s monitor the situation. If the temperature continues to rise, we’ll go directly to the hospital.”

Although there was a doctor accompanying the program team, Pei Mingzhan still had some concerns and called the family doctor to come over. He didn’t expect that after not paying much attention to Zhao Yao in the afternoon, he would end up getting himself worked up and running a fever.

Lele knocked on the door, and after tucking in Zhap Yao Pei Mingzhan tucked in and went out.

Pei Mingzhan’s phone was on silent mode. Since they couldn’t reach Brother Lao’s side, the call was redirected to Pei Mingzhan instead. After taking Lele’s phone, Pei Mingzhan asked, “What’s the situation?”

“Huihua handled it on time, and the water army has been dealt with,” Brother Lao briefly explained. “Chen Xi told me that this time, Shi Yang was stirring up trouble. Zhao Yao had called Huihua earlier to give them a heads up, so they were able to handle it in time without major issues.”

Because Huihua had been prepared for a long time, they were able to suppress a significant amount of the situation when the marketing accounts and water army started to take action. Otherwise, the current trending topic would be more than just about private fans.

Earlier, Brother Lao had seen screenshots where the water army deliberately misled fans in different directions, aiming to create conflicts between the fans and the program team. At first glance, it seemed like Pei Mingzhan was the main target, but the main focus was actually on the program team. It was evident that the person behind the water army didn’t dare to directly target Pei Mingzhan.

Pei Mingzhan had the support of the influential Pei family, and throughout his years in the industry, many troublemakers had faced the consequences. These people were merely attempting to provoke his fans.

“This is clearly a case of opponents setting traps for each other, and Shi Yang is targeting Huihua this time,” Brother Lao said, sounding a bit displeased. “We’ve been used. It looks like a trending topic about private fans, but the real target is the program team.”

“We’ll leave the matter of sasaeng fans to the program team to handle. We’ll release a statement to reassure everyone,” Pei Mingzhan said in a serious tone. “As for Shi Yang, we don’t need to be polite with them anymore.”

People from all sides were busy with emergency public relations. Meanwhile, Xiao Xu had already been taken away by the police for investigation.

The Pei family’s doctor arrived after 10 p.m. and conducted an examination on Zhao Yao. He briefly explained, “It’s a fever caused by a cold. There’s no need to worry too much.”

The program team’s doctor had already prescribed medication, and the Pei family’s doctor also came prepared. Uncle Wang brought a clothes rack into the room and quickly set up the infusion equipment. Pei Mingzhan entered the room after making a phone call. After listening to the doctor’s instructions, he planned to stay overnight to take care of Zhao Yao. He said to Uncle Wang, “You can rest in the next room.”

Naturally, Uncle Wang didn’t want to leave, so he went downstairs to prepare more things.

Zhao Yao had a fever-reducing patch on his forehead and even in his sleep, his brows were slightly furrowed. Pei Mingzhan gently placed his hand on Zhao Yao’s arm to check his temperature, constantly concerned that the infusion might make his hand feel cold, and he occasionally adjusted the blanket.

Sitting by the bedside, Pei Mingzhan watched Zhao Yao without saying a word.

When Zhao Yao woke up, Pei Mingzhan estimated that he would have to worry about other things again. How did he never notice Zhao Yao’s habit of furrowing his brows before? He reached out to smooth his eyebrows but felt his burning forehead. Just a while ago, when he tested Zhao Yao’s temperature, it hadn’t reached 39 degrees yet, but he had the constant feeling that Zhao Yao’s forehead under his hand was extremely hot.

The Pei family’s doctor was sitting in the living room downstairs of the guesthouse. When he heard Pei Mingzhan’s call, he quickly came up to measure the temperature again and reassured him, “Second Young Master, there’s no need to worry too much. The temperature hasn’t risen, and the fever should go down during the night.”

The online discussions were still heated. Among Pei Mingzhan’s fans, there were many long-time fans who had seen the world and quickly stepped in to help control the situation.

【There’s no need to worry too much about this. Don’t you know the capabilities of the studio?】

【The most aggressive ones under the marketing account are the water army. They’re probably intentionally causing trouble.】

【Ah, I’m relieved that Pei Pei is okay. But I forgot that this is the entertainment industry where marketing and hype go hand in hand.】

【Let’s wait for an official announcement. It seems like the program team is the one being targeted.】

【Ladies, don’t be used as tools of hatred. Let’s wait for the official statement from the program team before criticizing.】

The head of the program team, along with Huihua’s PR department, was handling the situation. In addition to Xiao Xu, who entered Pei Mingzhan’s room, they also identified a staff member from the team. This staff member was a newly hired assistant director, and the photos circulating on the marketing account were spread by him. When questioned, he only mentioned that the marketing account paid him a high price for the photos, but he didn’t reveal any other information.

Huihua handled what needed to be reported to the authorities, and internally handled the rest of the matters. Only after these issues were resolved did the program team release a Weibo post explaining the whole incident.

@Youxian: [Long statement]

The long statement includes a comprehensive account of the incident, the process of reporting to the authorities, details about Xiao Xu and his company, as well as the newly hired assistant director within the program team. The statement is concise and to the point, without any unnecessary information. However, due to time constraints, some details will have to be clarified in subsequent investigation reports.

Fans quickly flocked to the post, ready to express their anger, but after reading the program team’s statement, they shifted their focus to other discussions.

【The handling speed is pretty good. Give it a thumbs up.】

【Compared to the marketing account’s fabricated Weibo post, this one finally explains the whole incident clearly.】

【Wait a minute, I think I’ve discovered something. Aren’t these two troublemakers from the same company?】

【I heard that this sasaeng fan was caught in the act when they were planning to cause trouble. That’s why it didn’t escalate into a big issue. I wonder why it suddenly blew up like this.】

【The photos posted by the marketing account were sent by that assistant director, right? The location was in the countryside, and it happened just two hours ago. How did the marketing account act so quickly?】

【Someone manipulated this, right?】

Netizens flocked to the official account to read the announcement. Due to the detailed nature of the statement, some water army members tried to stir up trouble but were promptly shut down by other netizens. There were also other netizens whose focus was slightly different—

【Long explanations seem to be trending lately, huh?】

【If it’s a long statement, then it’s a long statement. This program team is handling things incredibly fast.】

【I checked the information about Youxian and found out that it’s also a project by Huihua???】

【Huihua has been in public for the past six months. How many projects have they invested in?】

【Haha, true, their clarification announcement is consistent with their style!】

The program recording involves not only Pei Mingzhan but also other artists. To prevent further issues, the program team decided to hold a live broadcast tomorrow during the day to explain the situation. Compared to official statements and announcements, comforting the fans primarily relies on the artists themselves, and a live broadcast is the best way to address any remaining concerns.

After discussing with the staff and other artists, everyone agreed to the live broadcast. The recording schedule for the program was pushed back by one day. Fortunately, the other artists didn’t have any schedules and were available to participate.

Pei Mingzhan helped Zhao Yao change the IV drip. Zhao Yao’s body temperature was still high, but it had improved compared to before. Pei Mingzhan was about to step out to make a phone call when he noticed Zhao Yao opening his eyes.

The room was dimly lit with only a small lamp.

When Zhao Yao woke up, his whole body felt sore. He realized he had a fever and was about to greet the others when he noticed Pei Mingzhan sitting beside him and the IV drip hanging on the stand.

He murmured, “You… Why are you here?”

“You have a fever. You’re currently receiving infusion. Don’t move,” Pei Mingzhan said as he adjusted the blanket. He asked, “Are you still feeling uncomfortable?”

“I’m fine,” Zhao Yao responded slowly. After a while, he asked, “How are things with the program?”

Pei Mingzhan thought it might be too taxing for Zhao Yao to worry about the program right after waking up, but he knew that even if he didn’t say anything, others would eventually inform Zhao Yao. So he briefly explained the current situation.

After listening, Zhao Yao fell silent for a moment. “It’s just as I expected. They planned this so well. They must have been prepared for a long time. Even if you weren’t the guest for this episode, they would have found a way to shift the blame onto someone else, like Yang Mumu.”

Whether Xiao Xu was a fan of Pei Mingzhan or not didn’t matter. As long as he had made some small moves in Pei Mingzhan’s room, other circumstances could conveniently make it seem true. This scheme could be applied to other celebrities as well. Regardless of who the guest on “Youxian” was, they could have prepared behind-the-scenes scripts to unleash.

“But it almost became true this time because Xiao Xu’s Weibo post had been up for a long time. It didn’t seem like a hastily prepared alternate account. He was probably one of my fans,” Pei Mingzhan said as he helped Zhao Yao sit up. “I don’t think their original plan was to go as far as having a sasaeng fan. The main issue they wanted to highlight was the lack of integrity among the program staff, aside from Xiao Xu, there was also a director’s assistant involved. They had prepared many backup plans.”

Zhao Yao felt a throbbing pain in his forehead, and his entire body felt uncomfortable due to the fever. “Does Shi Yang really have no fear of me retaliating against them?”

“I don’t think you need to take matters into your own hands for this.” Pei Mingzhan said. Hearing the hoarseness in Zhao Yao’s voice, he brought a warm cup of water to Zhao Yao’s side.

Zhao Yao was about to take it, but Pei Mingzhan said, “The cup is a bit hot. Just drink it from my hand.”

Zhao Yao took the glass, which had been brought in front of him, feeling a bit thirsty. He lowered his head slightly and took a few sips before asking, “What do you mean?”

Pei Mingzhan spoke gently, “Right now, your priority is to rest.”

-*

Inside the private room of a bar, the lights were flashing, and Boss Lin was surrounded by people, some of whom were holding glasses and flattering him.

“Boss Lin, going against Huihua is asking for trouble. The Zhao family indeed has a strong background, but in the entertainment industry, where tricks are played, Zhao Yao probably doesn’t even realize he’s being manipulated,” the man in a suit said with a smile. “After these two incidents, if we create some other issues on our platforms in the later stages, Chen Xi probably won’t understand what we’re up to. Right, Old Wang?”

Old Wang raised his head at the mention. “Yes…yes, that’s right.”

The man in the suit continued, “What are you afraid of? You’ve already signed the contract. Later on, people from your company will be taken care of by Shi Yang’s team. It hasn’t been easy running a small company these years. Don’t worry, when your company’s people come to Shi Yang, we won’t mistreat them either.”

Old Wang thought about the continuous phone calls from his company, even Dai Xuan had called him. “I understand. I don’t need to worry about the company’s affairs anymore.”

The man in the suit laughed heartily and turned to continue his conversation with Boss Lin. “Boss Lin, this time it worked out perfectly. The person with the surname Xu is a fan of Pei Mingzhan to begin with, and it turns out that he’s the mysterious guest on the ‘Youxian’ program. This saved us a lot of trouble.”

“Whenever Huihua is going to be unlucky, the heavens are helping me,” Boss Lin sneered. “We don’t need to worry about Pei Mingzhan either. Ultimately, this incident didn’t harm his interests. Who knows, maybe even his fans will lend us a hand.”

“Boss Lin, I offer you a toast to your great insight,” the man in the suit smiled.

At that moment, Boss Lin’s secretary hurriedly approached.

Boss Lin frowned, displeased when he saw him. “What’s the matter?”

The secretary hesitated.

“Just spit it out, we’re not outsiders here,” Boss Lin said.

The secretary was hesitant, but finally said, “Boss Lin, our trending topic has been taken down, and the paid water army we hired has been banned by the platform. The person in charge of the marketing account just called and said they received a warning.”

Boss Lin’s face changed. “What happened?”

“When we investigated, we found that Pei’s side had intervened with the platform. As for the marketing account, it seems to have come through another channel. They can no longer continue,” the secretary’s expression was extremely grim. “Not only that, ‘Youxian’ has already released a statement, and the fans didn’t go in the direction we anticipated. Huihua was also prepared before the water army took action…”

Boss Lin slammed the glass on the ground, and the private room fell silent for a moment.

At that moment, Boss Lin’s phone suddenly rang, and he answered, “Hello?”

The conversation revealed the situation, and Boss Lin’s expression became even more grim. “Handle this matter yourselves. How is it being handled now?”

The man in the suit remained silent upon seeing the situation, while Old Wang grew nervous.

Boss Lin was extremely angry. Not only did the online incident not go as planned, but also with Honey Melon TV. After the platform rejected Huihua, Huihua decided to negotiate cooperation with domestic online streaming platforms instead. Boss Lin originally planned to entice Huihua to collaborate with other platforms and then exploit their relationships to squeeze out profits. However, Huihua gave up the high temptations and completely did not follow the routine at all.

Originally, these two incidents combined should have thrown Huihua into chaos, but unexpectedly, Chen Xi didn’t fall into the trap, and the online public opinion was quickly suppressed. After investing so much time and effort in setting up the scheme, the result was nothing but a complete failure. His subordinates were more adept at causing trouble than achieving success.

Old Wang, observing the situation, anxiously looked at the man in the suit, but before he could say anything, Boss Lin hung up the phone in anger. Suddenly, silence filled the room, and Boss Lin looked at the silent figures around him, losing all confidence in his heart.

-*

Chen Xi, with the rest of the Huihua team, managed to handle the public relations crisis skillfully, turning the situation around. However, he didn’t let his guard down. He personally called Pei Mingzhan’s studio to explain the situation and apologize. Although Shi Yang was behind the incident, there were also issues with the newly recruited director’s assistant in their program team. Their program had loopholes that needed to be addressed, and apologies were necessary where due.

“Right, we’ve declined all the collaboration invitations from other platforms,” Chen Xi said simply. “We’ll incur losses if we have to, but we won’t let Shi Yang benefit from it.”

He had just received the news that the assistant causing trouble in the program team had sign a merger agreement with Shiyang Films.

It was obvious that all of this was targeted at Huihua. Chen Xi couldn’t afford to keep suffering losses every time. Mr. Zhao had high expectations for Huihua, and if he couldn’t deliver results, he wouldn’t have the face to see Mr. Zhao.

Did Shi Yang think they could be played like this?

Huihua wouldn’t allow themselves to be exploited either.

Chen Xi made a phone call to a friend in the industry. “It’s me, Chen Xi. Do you have any information that could be used against Shi Yang?”

The situation was intense, and it was thanks to Huihua’s foresight and timely handling that a bigger disaster was averted. Pei Mingzhan’s studio didn’t have to exert much effort either. After seeing that the online public opinion was largely under control, Brother Lao received a phone call from Pei Mingzhan.

Pei Mingzhan didn’t say much. He simply briefed Brother Lao on the handling of the situation and then asked about Shi Yang Films.

Brother Lao knew that Shi Yang was behind all this, so he took some time to investigate. “I looked into Shi Yang. Recently, their main focus should be on preparing for next year’s Lunar New Year film releases. Oh, and I heard that they just had a good project pass the review yesterday…”

Word travels fast in this industry, especially when it involves these major companies.

Brother Lao shared some scattered information and promised to forward the relevant documents to Pei Mingzhan later.

After listening, Pei Mingzhan said, “Oh, just passed the review?”

Brother Lao asked, “What are you planning?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Pei Mingzhan replied, but then heard some movement in the room. “I have to go now.”

Brother Lao was about to ask for directions to the village entrance, but before he could say anything, he heard a busy tone from the other side.

The wind was particularly strong at night. Brother Lao had hurried over from the high-speed rail station, standing on the village road with his suitcase, braving the cold wind. He had rushed over, and on top of that, Pei Mingzhan had wasted his time asking him to check things, only to hang up on him.

“I’m tired,” Brother Lao sighed. He looked up at the moon, half obscured by dark clouds. “What’s so beautiful about this moon? I hope it doesn’t rain with this lousy weather.”

Pei Mingzhan entered from outside with a hot water bottle in his hand. He saw Zhao Yao trying to remove the needle while talking on the phone, and he quickly walked over to stop him. Then he said, “There’s still one-third left, just wait a bit longer.”

Zhao Yao glanced at him and continued speaking to the person on the other end of the line. “Hmm, handle it as I suggested.”

His throat wasn’t feeling well, and the more he spoke, the more itchy it became. He coughed softly twice. “Okay.”

The person on the other end of the conversation was in charge of the family’s assets. After Zhao Yao joined Zhao Group, he entrusted the handling of those matters to a trusted confidant from his mother’s side. Since Shi Yang had made a move on their projects, they shouldn’t expect an easy time.

Shi Yang Films produced films and TV dramas every year, but it wasn’t easy to have all those projects pass the review. Some projects exploited loopholes and managed to pass the review, earning them significant profits.

If the project meets the approval criteria, then there shouldn’t be any issues. However, when he found out about Zhang Qi’s conflict with Shi Yang, he entrusted others to investigate the approval process. It was discovered that Shi Yang had many projects that passed the approval by pushing the boundaries. Originally, as long as they avoided Shi Yang, there wouldn’t be much trouble for Huihua. But Boss Lin insisted on crossing his line.

Huihua may not interfere with others’ affairs, but that doesn’t mean he can be bullied.

Upon hearing Zhao Yao’s suppressed cough, Pei Mingzhan poured warm water and brought it to him. “If your throat is uncomfortable, drink more water. Rest early. Why are you in such a hurry to remove the IV and go somewhere?”

Zhao Yao intended to go downstairs to check the situation. He lowered his head slightly and took a sip of water from the cup, then replied, “I’m awake now. I don’t feel too hot.”

“A feverish patient’s words cannot be trusted,” Pei Mingzhan’s voice became slightly stern. “With your condition, if you go out in the wind, are you planning to delay until I have to take you to the hospital?”

Zhao Yao paused at his words. It had been many years since someone spoke to him like this.

In his previous life, he was surrounded by hypocrisy. Although Uncle Wang and Yao Bai cared about him, there were occasional traces of caution. Only Pei Mingzhan spoke to him so sternly.

Suddenly, Zhao Yao coughed twice, and Pei Mingzhan, on the other side, became nervous and handed him the cup again.

He suddenly said, “Pei Mingzhan, extend your hand.”

“Why?” Pei Mingzhan reached out his hand, but Zhao Yao grabbed it firmly.

With his scorching hot hand holding Pei Mingzhan’s wrist, Zhao Yao’s voice carried a touch of seriousness. “Yesterday, I didn’t hold it firmly enough. Let me hold it properly…”

In the middle of the night, Uncle Wang originally wanted to come upstairs and check the situation. When he pushed open the door, he found the room to be very quiet.

He saw the small bedside lamp dimly lit, and the IV had already been removed. There were two people lying on the spacious bed. He hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t enter to disturb them.

Downstairs at the guesthouse, Brother Lao, who had just arrived, was working late into the night. He lowered his voice when making a phone call, saying, “What a joke. Old Pei has made it clear that he will handle this matter. That Lin guy is nothing.”

Uncle Wang kindly prepared a cup of energizing tea for Brother Lao, who was pleasantly surprised and took it before continuing to speak into the phone, “What? Chen Xi has also acquired some black material…”

-*

In the early morning hours, a large amount of black material against Shi Yang suddenly surfaced online. The unspoken rules of the management and the mistreatment of artists were exposed by a former artist who had retired for many years. It immediately surged to the top of the late-night trending topics, and netizens clicked into the discussions to find out more.

Lin Boss had just come out of the bar, and his face didn’t look good.

But another related phone call came in, and his voice sounded slightly annoyed, “We’ll talk about Huihua’s matter tomorrow!”

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded extremely anxious, “Boss Lin, a lot of black material against Shi Yang suddenly surfaced online, saying that it was your unspoken rules…”

“Who leaked it? Weren’t we able to suppress all of that earlier?” Lin Boss was furious, “How did you handle things before?!”

While he was still speaking, the secretary standing next to Lin Boss received another call and, after hanging up, looked at Lin Boss with a pale face.

“Boss Lin, it’s not about Huihua. The project we submitted to the Panda Platform has been blocked…”