Zhao Wenyi's announcement published on the Xinghui official Weibo sparked a huge storm on the internet. Gao Yize's death had already damaged Xinghui Entertainment's reputation to some extent, and after the rift with Su Fengxi, this damage would only increase. However, the company's leadership was happy to see the current situation since they would rather not continue to nourish the tumor that was Hongye Studio with Xinghui's flesh and blood. The damage to the company's reputation and stock price was only temporary and would be adjusted in no time.
Xinghui Entertainment was a mammoth of a company with significant capital, something that people outside of the entertainment industry couldn't imagine. Not to mention if they lost just one top star, even if all the top celebrities left, Xinghui Entertainment could quickly promote a new group of even more outstanding talents.
The public relations department swiftly and efficiently addressed all external questions and inquiries, repeatedly emphasizing to all media and partners that they had cut all ties with Su Fengxi and that any future cooperation was impossible. For any project that Su Fengxi was involved in, Xinghui Entertainment would keep its distance. By the same token, for any project that Xinghui Entertainment invested in, Su Fengxi would be kept at arm's length.
Publicly, they said that they had cut ties, but industry insiders knew that this was a total crackdown on Su Fengxi! Xinghui almost occupied half of the entertainment industry's territory; just like its name, it was shining brightly and brilliantly. If Su Fengxi lost this background, it would be nearly impossible for her to move forward.
Suddenly, the love-hate relationship between Su Yinger and her old employer dominated the headlines of all the media outlets. People speculated about what could have happened between the two that would make Xinghui Entertainment, who once treated Su Yinger like a treasure, completely cut ties with her in such a resolute manner.
Having made their move, XLF naturally couldn't stay silent. She paid several marketing accounts and influential internet personas to publish articles on her behalf, hinting that her current predicament was caused by offending the lover of the company's boss. Moreover, the gender of the lover was male, and recently so, his popularity had risen very strangely, and his temperament was very bad, full of revenge and jealousy, unable to tolerate her position as the company's top star. She was a sacrifice to Xinghui's boss in order to please his lover, a cannon fodder under the hidden rules.
When netizens saw this article, many quickly associated it with Faglo. After all, he was the only one who had experienced a rapid rise to stardom, and despite the lack of concrete evidence, the recent positive public opinion about him made people skeptical. Moreover, the boss of Xinghui Entertainment was Zhao Wenyi, who had publicly stated previously that he had no relationship beyond friendship with Faglo and had openly admitted that he was straight, having been in a long-term relationship with a girlfriend.
When Faglo was widely criticized by the netizens, he chose to stand by, and his indifferent attitude was well known; now he was accused of having an affair with Su Fengxi, could the netizens believe it? Therefore, this article didn't stir up much controversy.
Unable to move her fan army to attack Faglo, Su Fengxi was forced to reply below the article with a sad expression. This sparked immediate reactions among fans who bombarded her with questions, "Goddess, why are you crying? Is the article true? Is it because Faglo is jealous of you that Xinghui is persecuting you?"
SXF didn't write a single word but continued to share more sad and upset emoticons as if she had so much sorrow to express. Her actions were seen as conclusive evidence by her fans, so they became more excited.
Strangely, while Su Fengxi had many haters, she also had an abnormally large number of die-hard fans, and their attitudes towards her were extremely passionate. They immediately began to hate Faglo and Xinghui Entertainment, starting organized and inflammatory attacks against the two.
"What kind of character appraisal machine? Are you all blind? A good character can't stand someone who is higher in status? This is clearly a scheming woman!"
"Xinghui Entertainment, you will regret this! Our Sushi has now become an international superstar. Looking at the country, who can match her status? Who has her influence and appeal? How much money has Sushi made for you, have you calculated it carefully? You ungrateful capitalists, spit out all the money you’ve earned from Sushi!"
"That's right! If you have any shame, return all the money Sushi earned for you! You capitalists who exploit people! And Faglo, I don't care about what kind of person you are, but if you offend our Sushi, you have to leave the entertainment industry!"
SXF's fans began to list her illustrious accomplishments over the years, such as being a grand slam actress, an international movie queen, collaborating with several major international directors and stars, and then they ridiculed Zhao Wenyi's judgment, calling him out for picking sesame seeds and losing watermelon.
Zhao Wenyi was nearly laughing at the upside-down comments, so he posted a message on his personal Weibo, "[Severing ties with the Hongye Studio is to safeguard the company's interests. It's best not to make pointless speculations.]"
Later, he closed his personal Weibo and had the accountant log in to the company account and post the total money he had invested in Su Fengxi. He wanted everyone to see what kind of person Su Fengxi was.
Once the investment table was released, those who were counting how much money Su Fengxi had made for Xinghui Entertainment were left dumbfounded, while casual onlookers were astounded and full of admiration. They didn't expect that Su Fengxi's resume would look so impressive on the surface, but be so poor on the inside.
Not long after her debut, Zhao Wenyi began promoting Su Fengxi. Her first movie was a collaboration with an international director, and she had several A-list actors as support, with a total investment of 360 million. However, the box office revenue was not even 200 million, resulting in a complete loss. Her second film, also with a top director and A-list stars, lost a billion. After this, Zhao Wenyi seemed to be shadowed by the movie investment and made Su Fengxi transition to TV shows, but her acting was awkward, which made the show's ratings always the lowest in its time slot, with a rating of only 3.2 on Douban, and it also adversely influenced one of Xinghui Entertainment's main male stars. However, Zhao Wenyi didn't give up and spent 60 million in public relations expenses, letting Su Fengxi win a best actress award, and then she continued to buy numerous awards, creating a so-called grand slam movie queen. Maybe thinking that Su Fengxi wasn't suitable for acting, he spent a huge sum setting up a marketing team to create Su Fengxi's image as a red carpet goddess, finally letting her ascend to the throne of a top A-list star...
Over the years, Zhao Wenyi invested two to three billion in Su Fengxi and it turned out that he didn't profit at all. In fact, he suffered a net loss of 1.76 billion! What was even more surprising was that Xinghui Entertainment also exposed Su Fengxi's contract, confirming that she hadn't given a single cent to the company from her earnings, in fact, the company had to provide her with luxury cars, mansions, high-end clothing, jewelry, marketing teams, and public relations teams, among many other top-tier resources, all at her disposal.
She squandered Xinghui Entertainment's funds and resources, making high salaries that didn't match her ability, without having to pay any price. This was neither a cash cow but a money press! After seeing this evidence, even casual onlookers were dumbfounded!
"Where are Su Fengxi's fans? Why aren't they speaking out? Look at what their idol has cost Xinghui Entertainment. If I were General Zhao, I would have kicked this woman to the ends of the earth long ago! It took him five years to reveal the truth, General Zhao's composure is truly admirable! I suspect that General Zhao and Su Fengxi are true lovers. No need to bring Faglo into this!"
This comment received tens of thousands of likes. The fans' disgust at Su Fengxi taking advantage without a second thought was nauseating!
However, even more grotesque news came out. Xinghui Entertainment released the revenue situation of the Hongye Studio. Over the years, Hongye had taken many top-tier resources from Xinghui but hadn't given a single cent of the profits to Xinghui. Instead, they had Xinghui pay the taxes and various operational costs. Su Fengxi also once took away three hundred million from Xinghui for filming and didn't mention splitting the profits. To her, Xinghui wasn't her former employer but a money bag. If she needed money, she reached out her hand, if she needed resources, she opened her mouth, and if she needed connections, she pounced. Everything was owed to her by Xinghui.
After reading the microblog, Su Fengxi's fans were still claiming that all this evidence was fake, but casual onlookers realized that their mindset had collapsed. If Su Fengxi had done this, why had Zhao Wenyi endured her for five years? It was simply unbelievable!
"If I were General Zhao, I might have stabbed Su Fengxi a long time ago. After taking away tens of billions over five years, leading the company to a path of no return, while she kept her pockets full, Su Fengxi might not be good at acting, but she is unparalleled in grabbing money! Speaking of which, what's the relationship between them? It's not true love; who would be willing to spend so much money on a woman? General Zhao has publicly stated that he has a steady girlfriend, of whom he's been in a long-term relationship. Could it be Su Fengxi?"
"Shocked to find the most terrifying money-oriented woman in the entertainment industry!"
"So much for 'capable beauty,' 'most influential actress,' 'grand slam movie queen,' all these honors were apparently bought with money. Hilarious! Su's fans, are you still there? Hello? Come see your idol's 'brilliant' career!"
"Just severing ties, there is no way to compensate Xinghui Entertainment for its losses of all these years, right? I think Xinghui Entertainment's approach is still too mild! Su Fengxi is the real vicious one! Even if she retreats now, the money she took from Xinghui Entertainment alone would be enough to let her squander for a lifetime!"
This article garnered thousands of likes. Casual onlookers' disgust at Su Fengxi's brazen behavior and their absolute sympathy for Xinghui Entertainment was overwhelming.
[Huh, which company can tolerate such a disaster? Su Fengxi even has the nerve to act innocent, and then shifts the blame to Fangelo, he really disgusts me!]
[I already disliked her very much, now I hate her even more! Hypocritical, selfish, unscrupulous, unworthy of virtue! Starlight Entertainment regrets it, but not because they severed ties with her, but because they regret supporting her in the first place! Zhao is definitely under a spell, otherwise, he wouldn't act so recklessly!]
"Su Fengxi, please roll out of my sight gracefully! I don't want to see your disgusting face on any screen from now on!"
"Shouldn't someone like this be banned from the internet? Otherwise, it will corrupt the values of children!"
"Hey, Fangelo once said that the person he hates the most in the entertainment circle is Su Fengxi, and even gave her the nickname 'beautiful snake'. Now it seems like he hit the nail on the head! The character assessment machine is indeed not calling out for no reason!"
The majority of netizens started attacking Su Fengxi's social media pages, her reputation, status, public opinion, professional ethics, and morality were completely negated. From a top-tier celebrity to a malignant tumor in the entertainment industry, it all happened within just one hour. Once Zhao Wenyan comes to his senses, Su Fengxi will not be able to resist his thunderous methods.
She had been protected and nurtured by Zhao Wenyan for so many years, almost forgetting how terrifying this man could be when he's sober. However, it's too late for regrets, as Zhao Wenyan posted a lawyer's letter on his personal Weibo, accusing Su Fengxi of embezzling company funds.
The evidence is irrefutable, and the accounts are clear. Because of the powerful backing behind her and her self-assured charm, Su Fengxi never tried to conceal her embezzlement of Starlight's liquid funds, and the amounts involved were enormous.
Once Zhao Wenyan is determined to sue her, it's as good as done, and if the charges are substantiated, Su Fengxi will have to spend at least three to ten years in prison. And she is a celebrity, for whom reputation and image are more important than life itself. How could she withstand such turmoil?
Su Fengxi is truly afraid this time, panicked, and at a loss. She never thought she would fall, let alone so hard, and be so embarrassed after gaining such extraordinary abilities.