My capital is quite large.

Chapter 295 1-Finger Cicada

Just as Tencent's public relations department was scrambling to deal with the media storm caused by the game's plagiarism of "Onmyoji," fate dealt another unexpected blow to Tencent.

This time, it's Bai Baihe, the leading actress in their entertainment empire who is currently receiving a lot of attention and support, who has been exposed for scandal.

She has always focused on acting skills and reputation, and was highly anticipated by Tencent Video as a box office star to compete with Hao Feng's "The Legend of Tang Poetry". However, she has been exposed for having an extramarital affair.

What's even more unbearable to look at is that while she was traveling in Thailand, paparazzi captured shockingly intimate moments on camera using high-definition lenses.

In no time, the phrase "one cicada" became the most talked-about term sweeping across the entire Southeast University internet.

Within minutes, Haofeng's Weibo server was hit by a massive surge of traffic, with the top five trending topics all dominated by related posts and GIFs.

The gossip among netizens was quickly ignited, with all sorts of mockery and ridicule flooding the internet.

"Is this the leading lady that Tencent Video is heavily promoting? Her character is truly 'noble'!"

"What kind of company promotes what kind of artists? Tencent Video is always jumping on the bandwagon and hyping things up, and the people they promote are just like this. It's really not surprising."

"Boycott! I will never watch a show starring this disgraced artist again!"

The wrath of public opinion not only fell on Bai Baihe alone, but also spread through the internet to Tencent Video's super IP drama series, "The Lost Tomb," which was being filmed at the time!

As the male lead of this drama, Li Moufeng was seriously injured in this storm.

In an effort to protect their idols, fans from both sides frantically controlled comments on Weibo's main page, desperately trying to distance themselves from the relationship.

"No way! We're not going! What does this woman's lack of self-respect have to do with our brother?!"

"Our Brother Feng is a victim too! He put so much effort into this drama, who knew he'd end up with such a troublesome leading lady!"

"I strongly demand that Tencent Video replace this person! If they don't change him, this show will definitely not be able to air next year!"

In contrast, Jing Boran, who plays the younger brother, seems relatively safe in this storm.

After all, according to the original novel, Zhang Qiling and A Ning had almost no scenes together, let alone any emotional entanglement.

But Wu Xie, played by Li Moufeng, is different. In the adapted script by Tencent, there are many ambiguous and even sweet CP interactions between Wu Xie and A Ning!

At the eye of the storm, rumors spread like wildfire about Bai Baihe's promiscuous behavior and her ambiguous relationships with certain male actors on set.

There were even rumors that she and Li Moufeng, who had the most scenes with her, were exchanging glances on set and had a close relationship in private.

Under immense public pressure, Tencent Video's operations department was in a state of panic.

They worked through the night to remove and delete all the sweet CP clips and behind-the-scenes footage of Wu Xie and A Ning that had been released earlier as a pre-release promotion.

……

Top-floor office of the Fiyta Building, Shenzhen.

“Pah!”

Pony Ma slammed the folder on the desk, his face so dark it was almost dripping with anger. He pointed at the executives from the public relations and artist investment departments in front of him, his fury barely contained.

"You bastards! Is this how you do things?!"

"More than half a year ago, you told me that spending a lot of money to promote her and Li Moufeng was to give Tencent Video a boost in the film and web series market!"

"Now look what's happened! The new movie hasn't even finished filming, and he's already stinking in the street! Did you even do the most basic background checks on the artists?!"

Faced with the boss's overwhelming rage, the head of public relations wiped away cold sweat and nervously reported to the supervisor:

"Mr. Ma...we have indeed contacted the person involved."

"Actually... actually, Bai Baihe and her ex-husband had already agreed to divorce several years ago. It's just that they haven't made it public until now because of business contracts and endorsement obligations."

The person in charge argued somewhat aggrievedly, "Her trip to Thailand this time doesn't actually constitute adultery under the law."

It's just... it's just that the actions were too explicit, and they were caught red-handed by paparazzi, which is why the public backlash was so strong.

"Furthermore, Mr. Li, the timing of this leak is too suspicious. It happens to coincide with the crucial period of our 'Tomb Raider's Chronicles' promotion. We strongly suspect that our competitors are sabotaging this behind the scenes, trying to completely destroy our self-produced blockbuster!"

"A competitor?" Pony Ma sneered.

"Who? The pig farm? Or Haofeng?!"

"Even if it really was Li Feng, and Ding Lei was the one who did it, if she herself had no problems, how could anyone have caught her red-handed?!"

"You yourselves are corrupt, and your opponents have found your Achilles' heel. Now you have the nerve to blame your rivals?!"

Pony Ma clearly had no patience to listen to these people's complaints and issued an ultimatum:

"I don't care if she's divorced or not! And I don't care what methods you use for public relations!"

"Minimize the impact of this incident within three days!"

"If this isn't resolved properly, it could affect Tencent Video's restructuring and IPO in the second half of the year..."

"Your entire PR department, pack your bags and get out of here!!"

Once the boss spoke, the senior executives dared not delay and quickly left the office.

……

That night.

Tencent Video and Bai Baihe's studio jointly issued an emergency clarification statement on Weibo, confirming that the two had agreed to divorce two years ago, but had not made it public for the sake of their children and family, thus clarifying the negative characterization of "marital infidelity".

However, in this market that values ​​traditional virtues and moral bottom lines, some images, once collapsed, can never be put back together.

The visual impact of the cicada was so strong that even though Bai Baihe was legally cleared of the cheating allegations, his box office appeal and commercial value plummeted overnight in the public's mind.

Major brands announced the termination of their contracts and removed her endorsement posters overnight.

In order to save "The Lost Tomb," a flagship project that had already cost tens of millions of yuan, Tencent Pictures finally had to grit its teeth and make the most painful decision.

Cast changed midway through!

Amid this sudden sex scandal, Tencent Video, which was in a very favorable position, had to temporarily halt its rapid expansion.