[Bonus chapter unlocked at 10k nutrient fluid]

The 'rental car' smear campaign against The Favored One? That was Xiao Zhai Zong's handiwork at Guangwen Entertainment.

Why 'Xiao'? Because he's Old Zhai Zong's son.

After Old Zhai Zong died, Xiao Zhai Zong swung big — and nearly tanked the whole company with one disastrous project. It became one of Domestic Entertainment's most legendary financial disasters, the kind where you lose your pants and almost can't find them again.

After that, Xiao Zhai Zong laid low. But his one fatal flaw never changed — his ego.

Eight years ago, when The Favored One started filming, Chen Liqi and Xiao Zhai Zong got together. Playing the big protective boyfriend, he kicked the original author — someone younger and smaller — off the production.

Eight years later, Xiao Zhai Zong could use tax authorities to 'destroy' a former girlfriend who refused to stay at his company as a cash cow.

When the author of The Favored One made her comeback and dared to push back, she bruised Xiao Zhai Zong's pride — so he dragged her into his revenge scheme. But because he's genuinely incompetent and couldn't find anyone's real weak spot, even the smear campaign he paid for couldn't land a clean hit.

The report against The Demolition Office? Chen Liqi deliberately left 'breadcrumbs' pointing at Guangwen Entertainment — worst case, she'd drag them down with her.

Chen Liqi's hatred for Yu Zhitao was nothing compared to what she felt for Xiao Zhai Zong. He was the one who had truly severed every path forward for her, cut off her money, her future — all of it.

She wanted Sang Yu to retaliate. The barefoot have nothing to fear from those wearing shoes.

Xi Xingfa, for his part, hadn't actually dug into any of this.

He only knew, clearly, that his own interests had taken a hit because of her.

The Chen Liqi who had filled him with such tender affection and heroic impulses now looked utterly repulsive to him.

No blacklisting — that would make too big a scene and give his family something to laugh about.

Xi Xingfa's 'family' wasn't just his half-siblings. It included all the people outside who desperately wanted a claim to the Xi family name. And of course, the grandchildren — each with their own agenda, each with their own moves, all trying to tear off a bigger piece of flesh from the old man while he was still breathing.

Xi Xingfa had been on track for an outstanding 'report card.'

Briefly within reach. Then gone.

The first thing Xi Xingfa did once he cooled down: cut Chen Liqi off immediately — couldn't even wait a single night.

He rushed out — and completely forgot that paparazzi are everywhere.

The next morning, the headline dropped:

[Chubby Hero, Stone-Faced, Leaves the Love Nest of a Beauty in Distress — Rumored Breakup!]

The news instantly reached someone who shared his surname but was very much a rival.

All it took was one more spark to turn Xi Xingfa into a punchline.

#ChenLiqiFansMassReportTheDemolitionOffice #XiXingfaChenLiqiBackTogether #XiXingfaStabsSangYuInTheBack

...

These old-money families — at their core, they're feudal, stubborn, stuck in a mindset that hasn't evolved in centuries.

All of them clawing and bleeding over whatever scraps the person at the top decides to hand out.

Who told Xi Xingfa to get cocky and trip over his own feet?

Kicking him while he's down is just too easy.

·

Netizens were completely blindsided.

They'd been deep in The Demolition Office when the news hit — the show had been reported.

Who dares touch my show —?!

You just poked a hornet's nest of viewers with no fan affiliations, just audience IDs, and way too much time online.

Do people not get how precious it is, in this day and age, to find one actually watchable drama? It's like spotting water in a desert.

The Demolition Office isn't perfect — there are plot holes — but it pulls you in and keeps you there, and that's rare.

Before netizens could even start roasting the people who filed the report, the culprit's identity suddenly flipped face-up on the table.

...Uh. Chen Liqi's fans?

Make it make sense.

What does Chen Liqi have to do with The Demolition Office? Isn't she already blacklisted? Why is she still stirring things up in Domestic Entertainment?

Chen Liqi can't even show her face — her fans can't just scatter around like cockroaches without an owner, making everyone's lives miserable!

If they'd reported The Favored One, sure, that would at least make sense.

Before anyone could figure out the Chen Liqi–Demolition Office connection, they got hit with another shock: Chen Liqi and Xi Xingfa getting back together.

One camp: Those two are dating?!

Another camp: They're back together again?!

Another camp: Didn't Xi Xingfa just latch onto Sang Yu's coattails? Sang Luoling's actress, a Huajing Entertainment artist...

This really does look like a backstab.

And Y03's Weibo account had pulled in no small number of fans who used Sang Yu as a self-insert. Hard not to, honestly — young, rich, never takes disrespect, the ideal headspace for any young person today.

Sang Yu gets wronged? That basically means the self-insert gets wronged too.

All hands on deck.

Someone marveled: how does one capital player in Domestic Entertainment have what looks like more genuine fans than the top four mega-idols combined?

The whole thing blew up pretty hard. Xi Xingfa got absolutely roasted.

Sang Yu deliberately didn't pay to pull the trending topics — didn't suppress the heat either. Just let it burn, and fed the momentum straight to The Demolition Office.

Pretty much a 'penance offering' at this point.

After all, what had already been done couldn't just vanish into thin air. To get back in good standing, the only move was to keep bowing lower and lower.

But then Xi Xingfa got called out at home.

Not by the old man — by his second brother, Xi Xingcheng, the one who was supposedly 'easygoing,' 'free-spirited,' 'harmless.'

For years he'd been locked in a rivalry with the eldest, Xi Xinghe — then one day he just... stopped. Checked out. Stopped caring about family affairs entirely, just coasted and enjoyed life.

Strangely, the old man didn't give up on him. Unusually, he started assigning Xi Xingcheng important tasks to attend in his place.

Hard to read.

Xi Xingfa forced a smile and reframed it: 'Bro, I'm just supporting Sang Yu's promo plan — don't get the wrong idea.'

The details and the process were different, but the outcome was the same, so it worked.

'The Demolition Office is doing that well? That's basically all my doing.'

'Give it another year — Huajing Entertainment is about to produce a mega-star!'

Xi Xingfa grinned so hard his eyes disappeared.

'Dad, throw me a little more pocket money — I've basically sunk everything into Sang Yu's side, I'm gonna be broke next month!'

Everyone knew he was playing cute and acting dumb. Whether it was true or not was unclear — what mattered was whether the old man was buying it.

The old man dabbed his mouth with a napkin. But Xi Xingfa's mother spoke first, smiling.

She'd clearly already run it by the old man beforehand. Her words were carefully chosen — light on the heavy stuff, a masterclass in verbal maneuvering.

First: at the last rare auction she'd attended, there was a jewelry set — same royal provenance as something Sang Yu had once bought. She'd find an opportunity to send it over.

Second: now that Xi Xingfa had grown the entertainment division, Huajing Entertainment was short-staffed — maybe his sister could go help out.

Xi Xingfa barely held his smile.

He went back to his room.

And lost it —

In front of his mom, he didn't need to hide anything. He knew she'd forgive everything — because he was her son.

Li Ruzhi sighed.

'Your sister? Divorced a male celebrity. Who in this family respects her? But she can go hold a seat.'

'You had first-mover advantage with that Sang Yu — similar age, that was your edge and yours alone. And you let a woman mess with your head?'

'If that person weren't so independent, not giving anyone an inch — the others in the family would've already swarmed in. Would your sister even get a turn?'

Sang Yu gave face based on mood.

When others tried to get a meeting with Sang Yu — even if they came bearing money — most people only ever got as far as the assistant. Whether a meal happened was always, always mood-dependent.

Once Sang Yu's value was confirmed, the number of people who tried to get a dinner meeting skyrocketed — and very few succeeded.

The family the Xi family looked down on — the ones who sold boats — actually pulled it off. Sold an entire yacht in one go.

Xi Xingfa, who had originally been the one with the best shot, had that same advantage.

Who could've seen this coming?

It all comes down to money.

The further you drift from that person, the further you drift from the money.

·

[Garden Group | (Decoded entry) If you knew who I was rooting for, you'd feel sorry for me...]

————

[OP]

Same. Finally got a breakout drama, looked like things were taking off — then bam, blindsided.

[Floor 3]

OP is catastrophizing, right? Once you've got one hit drama and one breakout role, it's like you've got a respawn token in Domestic Entertainment — as long as you don't self-destruct, you can coast on that for three years.

[Floor 6]

That 'coasting' thing is basically nonexistent right now... CTX... I have no heart, I clocked it immediately.

[Floor 9]

My current fave — that drama is genuinely so good, full charisma, absolutely no substitute in all of Domestic Entertainment. Please don't flop, please, I'm begging.

[Floor 13]

Is it OY? (*Ouyang)

[Floor 18]

...

So hooked on this drama.

Strong female leads exist in Domestic Entertainment, sure — but they all just play the surface, every single one ends up as an aggressive, annoying tomboy.

Flashy (*Sang Luoling = SLL = Flashy) isn't like that. She's a girl. She's cool. I'm crying.

[Floor 24]

XXF (*Xi Xingfa) going off the rails — how many people did he drag down? SLL's signed artists can't even distance themselves from HJ (*Huajing).

[Floor 27]

Pork Rib Rong's career luck though...

Not a single ripple on his side, fans are already hyping him up as the first Domestic Entertainment model (below the neck) ever.

[Floor 29]

Honestly, Ouyang's side could use this moment to do some fan-suffering content — CP fans are at peak obsession right now.

[Floor 31]

I'm watching this whole thing and it's genuinely hilarious.

But Pork Rib Rong is actually blowing up — my hometown's mall screen in some tiny county, fans bought out a whole slideshow of drama stills and solo shots.

[Floor 37]

Finally a male star cashing in on his body — and without the toxic comment section you always get when a female star does it.

[Floor 41]

I mean, there are some (lol) — I've seen a few that felt a bit... repressed. Too blunt, too unpolished...

[Floor 45]

Yeah, but way fewer than on the female star side. The ecosystem is definitely healthier.

[Floor 48]

Is there a curse in Domestic Entertainment? Two leads from the same hit drama. Can we please be a little nicer to the female star — I'm about to cry.

[Floor 51]

YZT (*Yu Zhitao) is fine. Isn't she reportedly joining that JG (*Aurora) palace intrigue drama, Kunning Palace? Aurora Entertainment will definitely cast someone who fits the vibe — her role will be second female lead or third, both with major screen time.

[Floor 57]

JG (*Aurora) goes straight for whoever looks the part — there's genuinely no substitute in Domestic Entertainment for that.

[Floor 62]

Pork Rib Rong has no future though.

CQB (*The Demolition Office) let him ride the wave of Xuan Leron's whole 'suppressed tension' thing and blow up — but is every role after this going to be showing skin too?

Because right now, Aurora Entertainment's upcoming lineup has zero pretty-boy lead types.

[Floor 64]

It's fine — he can be packaged with OYCY (*Ouyang Changyi) for a second pairing, do a Season 2. The original source material is only like a third adapted, right? It's a long male-oriented novel after all.

[Floor 68]

The main question is — because of XXF (*Xi Xingfa) going off the rails, will Aurora Entertainment even greenlight a Season 2...?

[Floor 72]

CQB (*The Demolition Office) proved Aurora Entertainment can make stars. XXF (*Xi Xingfa) has no other move left but to get on his knees.

[Floor 75]

I vow to go vegetarian for a month — please, XXF (*Xi Xingfa), let [Green Leaf] have a change of heart —!

·

Xi Xingfa was putting in the effort.

Sang Yu heard he was 'helping' Sang Yu get back at Chen Liqi.

Because Xi Xingfa had learned the truth about who reported The Demolition Office — it was Chen Liqi.

Sang Yu: '...'

What the — Xi Xingfa really did seem like a completely different person had taken over his body. It was unsettling.

Can people change that fast?

Sang Yu suddenly felt like they had no right to judge anyone else — after all, the moment money came in, they'd forgotten their roots too. Yeah.

Then, not long after, before Xi Xingfa could even attempt a 'comeback,' Sang Yu rounded a corner somewhere and ran straight into a functionally identical replacement.

A little objectifying, sure — but that's just how it was.

Even Sang Yu was caught off guard by how fast the restock arrived.

Everyone wanted to ride Sang Yu's coattails and get a sip of that hot soup.

So the moment Xi Xingfa was 'out' — the race to fill his spot kicked off.

Sang Yu was already side-eyeing it, because the buff women showing up in bathrooms and hallways had started pulling the exact same moves as Xi Xingfa...

Big yikes. Hard pass.

But one person caught Sang Yu's attention as actually useful.

A newcomer — well, a new food connoisseur — named Gong Yangtao. Another compound surname, like Ouyang Changyi's Ouyang last time.

Gong Yangtao's family ran Yuankang, a food and beverage supply chain giant, primarily in food distribution.

Normally, aside from signing celebrity endorsements, they'd have no real connection to the entertainment industry.

But the Gong family had their eyes locked on Aurora Fairyland.

If Aurora Fairyland's entire food and beverage supply chain used Yuankang's ingredients... even a one-time deal would be staggering.

Sang Yu investing in entertainment didn't mean only investing in entertainment — Aurora Fairyland and the esports tournament were both proof of that.

Oh right — that chaotic esports tournament was in the works, about to launch.

If Sang Yu opened up live in-person viewing, Yuankang could supply the bento boxes.

Bento boxes — how much do those even cost?

What an incredible PR opportunity. Free!

Sang Yu thought: the food and dining side of the theme park really did deserve more thought.

Had complained about it before —

Sang Yu didn't want the park full of model buildings, but also didn't want it to be all stinky tofu, duck skewers, and Russian purple-wrapper candy.

Actual food. Real meals.

Not just dishes that suit regular people's palates — they'd definitely need to develop some new recipes. Even if guests could immediately identify the meat and seasonings, at least visually it should feel like it belongs in a fairyland setting.