After arranging the matter of purchasing the copyrights,

Chen Yiyang went to meet Zheng Zhiming.

"We're friends now, aren't we?" Chen Yiyang said after meeting Zheng Zhiming.

Zheng Zhiming's first sentence made Chen Yiyang inwardly feel bad.

When someone wants to build a relationship with you, it means they have something unfavorable to discuss.

"Friendship is friendship, business is business. You go ahead and talk about business first."

"According to the current results, by the time 101 forms its team, two of your artists will be ranked first and third.

This means, for the team of eleven people with three main faces, your people occupy two of those positions."

"Hold on." Chen Yiyang quickly interrupted Zheng Zhiming, "Song Xi is my person, and I'm the one promoting her. But what's going on with Yang Jinlu, you and I both know very well.

Initially, it was you who arranged for me to sign her. I signed her, provided resources, and she proved herself by making it to third place.

You're not going to tell me now that one of my two people needs to step down from the top three, are you?"

"If I were the one making the decisions, I certainly wouldn't allow any changes in the top three positions.

But now I'm in a difficult position too, with pressure from above and feedback from many cooperating agencies. You have to understand my dilemma."

Zheng Zhiming felt aggrieved as well.

Because the top three positions are hard to touch.

Song Xi is the talent, and not obtaining first would mean proving the show has a dark side.

The second-place contestant was pushed by a longtime partner of the Tengxu Entertainment Department, and that position can't move either.

Which leaves the third place, Yang Jinlu.

Other agencies don't care if Yang Jinlu was initially arranged for Chen Yiyang by Zheng Zhiming.

What they see is that two of the top three spots are occupied by artists signed under Chen Yiyang.

The company behind the fourth-place contestant, Yanli, Jiuya, bought articles to defame Chen Yiyang and his company all over the internet because of this.

But Chen Yiyang reacted swiftly and quelled the situation.

However, quelling it doesn't mean it's over.

These agencies can't afford to provoke Chen Yiyang, so they began to report collectively to Zheng Zhiming and his superiors instead.

"Also, I've been given some internal pressure too. Someone from the Gaming Department leveraged their influence to convince the company's leadership that one company holding two of the top three spots also impacts Tengxu's interests."

"Who?" Chen Yiyang directly asked for the name.

"I can't say that."

"If you consider me a friend, just say it directly." Chen Yiyang used friendship to pressure Zheng Zhiming.

"We have internal regulations."

"What a load of crap about regulations." Chen Yiyang said bluntly, "When your Gaming Department fakes ad partnership costs to siphon the company's funds, you don't know about company regulations?"

"Hold on." Zheng Zhiming was shocked by the sudden revelation from Chen Yiyang.

"Are you serious about this news?"

"Of course, I can even say which project team in the Gaming Department is using this method to embezzle money." Chen Yiyang replied calmly.

When Chen Yiyang visited the United States, he overheard some Tencent Gaming Department employees conversing during a meal with a small accountant.

They talked about how they took advantage of discrepancy between the ad and gaming departments to pocket money.

Chen Yiyang had been keeping this information for the right moment to use it.

He didn't expect to accidentally reveal part of it today to Zheng Zhiming.

"It's Wang Chunyun." Zheng Zhiming mentioned a name.

"Remember Jian Ming, who had conflicts with you? Wang Chunyun is Jian Ming's backer."

"I see." Chen Yiyang nodded, "So, because I used Strategies of the Three Kingdoms to snipe at his promoted SLG game, he holds a grudge against me?"

"Probably." Zheng Zhiming said, "Wang Chunyun has quite a network and influence within Tengxu.

If the Tengxu president retires, there's a chance for Wang Chunyun to take control of Tengxu.

Of course, there are five or six other similar hopefuls like Wang Chunyun within Tengxu."

"So he's one of the Emperor Candidates, huh?"

Based on Zheng Zhiming's description, Chen Yiyang got a general understanding of Wang Chunyun's status within Tengxu.

If the Tengxu president's position is likened to a King, then Wang Chunyun is one of the Emperor Candidates.

He not only holds power and influence in Tengxu now, but also might ascend further in the future.

With his influence within Tengxu, it's really difficult for Zheng Zhiming to protect Yang Jinlu's top three spot.

After all, the other party is only asking to lower Yang Jinlu's ranking, not to eliminate her entirely.

Chen Yiyang realized that simply relying on the corruption news within the Tengxu Gaming Department would hardly reverse Tengxu's decision.

After all, addressing corruption is not enough to topple Wang Chunyun.

But getting rid of his lackey Jian Ming is still possible.

Because the information Chen Yiyang heard was actually spoken by the members of the project team previously led by Jian Ming.

"How long until the night of the team formation?" Chen Yiyang directly asked.

"Half a month." Zheng Zhiming replied.

The reason he revealed the name Wang Chunyun was that he sensed Chen Yiyang's network might be more formidable than he imagined.

Might as well do him a favor now; it could prove useful later.

Half a month.

Chen Yiyang fell into deep thought.

He needed to figure out a way to reverse the pressure from Tengxu's upper management on Zheng Zhiming and save Yang Jinlu's ranking within half a month.

Honestly, whether Yang Jinlu is third may not significantly impact her future development.

Because Yang Jinlu's popularity online is indeed high, although her singing and dancing are truly lacking.

Even if she becomes the third, she probably won't have many singing and dancing opportunities later.

But Yang Jinlu being third touches on Chen Yiyang's face-saving issue.

Because Yang Jinlu has been ranked third for many episodes.

Others have acknowledged her legitimate online popularity, believing her to rightfully be in third place.

However, if on the night of team formation, Yang Jinlu suddenly drops out of the top three and doesn't become part of the 101 girl group's face cast.

Fans might only cause a stir, claiming there's a black curtain in the program group.

But others in the entertainment circle will think it's because Chen Yiyang couldn't maintain Yang Jinlu's ranking.

At that time, Chen Yiyang's reputation in the circle will definitely be damaged.

Currently, Chen Yiyang's connections and status in the entertainment industry are not yet fully established, so he certainly cannot allow such things to happen.

But how to break this deadlock?

Chen Yiyang could only first get some information from Zheng Zhiming and take it back to the hotel to review slowly.

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