Qin Ran found it difficult to explain to Sister Li because the evidence wasn't something she had gathered herself. Instead, it had been sent to her by an employee from the male celebrity's personal studio, who had asked for a flat fee of 800,000 yuan. The amount wasn't much, so Qin Ran quickly paid, and the evidence was sent over.
The evidence was very thorough, with a timeline dating back quite a while. This employee had been collecting evidence of the male celebrity's tax evasion for a long time, just waiting for the right moment to strike back.
This person had been biding their time for so long just for 800,000 yuan. Qin Ran couldn't help but admire their cunning.
As a businesswoman, Qin Ran didn't just take someone's word for it. She promptly had Assistant Wu authenticate the evidence. Once it was confirmed, she arranged for a "helpful netizen" to post it online. At the same time, Assistant Wu also filed an official report with the tax authorities.
This move left the male celebrity with no way out.
Qin Ran hadn't intended to completely destroy someone just because they offended Yu Shuman a little, but she hadn't expected the guy to have so many skeletons in his closet. One scandal after another surfaced, leaving him with no chance of recovery.
It was laughable. Heaven might spare you, but if you bring disaster upon yourself, there's no escape.
After explaining the situation to Sister Li, even she was stunned. She joked, "Boss, don't worry, I'd never betray you. You pay too well. I wouldn't sell you out for 800,000 yuan or even 8 million."
"I'm a law-abiding citizen. There's nothing for you to sell out," Qin Ran replied, shutting down Sister Li with one sentence. After hanging up, she continued chatting with Yu Shuman.
Yu Shuman hadn't had her phone taken away, so she was aware of what was happening online. From the afternoon on, the entire show crew had been on edge, with various strange looks cast at both the male celebrity and Yu Shuman.
At first, the male celebrity didn't know what was happening. It wasn't until he was stopped by his assistant on his way to the restroom that he learned the news. When he returned, his face was ashen, and the way he looked at Yu Shuman was odd—sometimes angry, sometimes fearful.
Yu Shuman didn't know what to make of it. Disliking him, she deliberately kept her distance.
As the events unfolded online throughout the afternoon, the male celebrity's assistant's phone kept ringing with calls coming in non-stop. The assistant, under the scrutinizing gazes of the crew, kept apologizing and stepping out to take the calls. Each time he returned, his expression grew darker. Seeing his assistant's worsening expression, the male celebrity knew things were getting worse, making him even more unhappy.
The rest of the afternoon's filming took place in an almost surreal atmosphere. The production team announced that everyone was exhausted and canceled the evening's activities, allowing the group to rest.
As a result, Yu Shuman didn't do a livestream but instead kept an eye on the trending topics and chatted with Qin Ran over the phone.
Halfway through their conversation, Qin Ran said she had to take a call from Sister Li. After finishing that call, she resumed chatting with Yu Shuman.
"I thought his character was just bad, but I didn't expect him to be involved in illegal activities." Yu Shuman sighed. She had seen the male celebrity's studio's Weibo post denying the accusations. However, Qin Ran assured her that they had verified the claims, so Yu Shuman trusted Qin Ran more than the male celebrity's studio.
After expressing her disbelief, Yu Shuman reminded Qin Ran, "We must never engage in such activities. You have to stay vigilant. Even if you wouldn't do such things yourself, make sure no one in the company gets any clever ideas."
Qin Ran chuckled at her senior's concern. "I know. I review the company's financial statements every month," she said with a smile. She reviewed not just the statements but a massive pile of reports from all her companies, stacked up like a mountain every month and quarter.
Qin Ran had a specialized team to help her review the reports, otherwise, she'd have even more to go through.
Anyone else would have a headache just looking at these reports, even though they were well-organized. Qin Ran's main task was to identify any issues within them. Those who prepared the reports for her were already high-level executives, typically with excellent professional skills and ethics. If they made intentional errors, less capable people could easily be fooled.
If she missed something once or twice, her subordinates would realize she was easy to deceive, and then they'd further try to undermine her.
Qin Ran had learned the hard way in her past life, climbing out of such traps with the help of a professional team. Naturally, she wouldn't be fooled by such petty tricks in this life.
Trying to be clever in her company and laying traps? Ridiculous. Qin Ran had rooted out the first person who tried to deceive her and made an example of them, so everyone knew the consequences of crossing her.
A stint in jail was inevitable.
In her previous life, Qin Ran's actions hadn't always been entirely clean, but in this life, she was a genuinely law-abiding entrepreneur. She didn't even engage in legal tax avoidance strategies like donations or company cars—she paid every cent. Combined with the tariffs paid by her overseas companies, she was one of the biggest taxpayers in the capital.
The two of them chatted for a while longer. When Qin Ran saw that it was getting late, she reluctantly ended the call. She lay down in bed, and soon fell asleep, resting soundly. But for some, it was destined to be a sleepless night, including Sister Li.
Sister Li had planned to sleep. Otherwise, she wouldn't have checked into a hotel to spend the night before visiting the set. But while she wanted to sleep, others had different plans.
Her phone was practically ringing off the hook. The male celebrity's mother, who was also his current manager, somehow got hold of Sister Li's number and called her directly.
At first, Xu's mother sounded haughty, asking, "What will it take for you to back off? Name your price."
Sister Li nearly laughed out loud. She wondered what kind of pedestal Xu's mother and son had been put on to be so arrogant. Anyone with a bit of knowledge would know how wealthy 99 Entertainment was. Name a price? Even selling her son wouldn't cover the cost of the clothes and jewelry Qin Ran had given to Yu Shuman.
Though she inwardly disdained Xu's mother, Sister Li maintained a polite facade, pretending to be helpless while secretly reveling in the situation. After hanging up, she happily scrolled through Weibo, only to find a new trending topic: #XiaoXu'sTaxEvasionConfirmedByOfficials# with a big, red, eye-catching "Explosion" tag.
Sister Li clicked on it without hesitation and found an official statement. Not only did it confirm that the male celebrity had indeed engaged in tax evasion, but the amount involved was as high as 160 million yuan. He was ordered to pay the owed taxes and fines within a specified period.
Just that afternoon, his studio had been stubbornly denying everything, only to be officially exposed hours later.
It was a textbook case of asking for trouble and getting it.
Sister Li had planned to go to bed after browsing Weibo, but this new development made sleep impossible. Her phone buzzed even more.
Just moments earlier, Xu's mother had been so arrogant, but now her tone had softened, her voice trembling as she asked if there was any way to mediate, hoping Sister Li could arrange a meeting. Still in her helpless tone, Sister Li hung up and then sneered.
Xu's mother was truly clueless. If this hadn't been confirmed by the authorities, there might have been some room for negotiation. But now that the official announcement was out, even if they decided not to pursue the matter further, the authorities wouldn't let it slide.
The best course of action now was to quickly gather the money and pay off the taxes and fines. That might give her son a slim chance of survival. But if they continued to be stubborn, the outcome would be the same as for those other high-profile tax evaders: a permanent farewell to the domestic entertainment industry.
But Xu's mother wasn't ready to give up. She was convinced that 99 Entertainment was behind their troubles and kept calling. After finding out that Sister Li had blocked her, she even contacted other industry bigwigs to act as intermediaries. The male celebrity had indeed managed to ingratiate himself with a few people that Sister Li couldn't afford to offend.
These were producers, directors, or investors, people who could directly call Sister Li, and she had no choice but to answer. At first, Sister Li patiently explained the situation. Some understood that this matter was beyond her control and only spoke a few words to fulfill their obligation. But others, who had grown accustomed to their high status, spoke and acted as arrogantly as Xu's mother. Sister Li, who would have played along before, was now angry and simply hung up.
Before hanging up, she retorted, "If you're so capable, call our President Qin directly. What's the point of talking to a lowly agent like me? Did you even bother to find out who he offended before making this call?"
With a cold snort, Sister Li hung up, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. Her entire demeanor radiated one word: relief.
At her previous company, she would never have dared to act like this, always needing to consider everything carefully. But now, with Qin Ran backing her, and 99 Entertainment's notorious reputation for fearlessness, there was no reason to be humble.
But with so many calls coming in, Sister Li didn't get a good night's sleep. She only managed to doze off for a little over three hours. When she woke up at 8 a.m., her dark circles were so prominent that her assistant was startled.
Yawning, Sister Li finished the breakfast delivered to her room and then did a full makeup routine. After confirming with her assistant that her dark circles were no longer visible, she perked up, grabbed her extra-strong black coffee, and set out.
She had arranged for a local contact to prepare plenty of drinks and snacks. The driver had secured everything in place to prevent spills on the way to the filming location. When Sister Li arrived, wearing a sun hat, she found the production team in disarray, with everyone looking out of sorts.
—Well, this is interesting.