Cao Miao searched the Internet for the phone number of paparazzi. In the end, he chose the most notorious entertainment tabloid in the domestic entertainment industry——”Celebrity Gossip”.

This magazine had always been based on reporting celebrity scandals, digging deep into the stories behind celebrities, and making every effort to let readers know the images of celebrities outside the camera as soon as possible. Putting aside these high-sounding words, “Celebrity Gossip” was basically just a gossip tabloid that consumed celebrity privacy and stimulated sales with sensational reports.

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Although many stars in the circle have publicly boycotted “Celebrity Gossip”, and even declared that they would never accept an interview with “Celebrity Gossip”. Unfortunately, “Celebrity Gossip” was very well-known among audiences and fans. And it had always been popular with its motto of being “fast, realistic, effective, and reliable”.

After the establishment of FlyNews.com, the entertainment tabloid “Celebrity Gossip” also established its own official account on FlyNews.com, and it had attracted more than 30 million followers in just one year. Comparable to the most active A-list big name stars.

The main reason why Cao Miao chose this magazine to break the news was that after he had searched online, “Celebrity Gossip” turned out to be the tabloid that gave the most reward to whistleblowers.

Sure enough, when the entertainment reporter of “Celebrity Gossip” heard Cao Miao’s breaking news, he immediately expressed that he was very interested in Cao Miao’s news. If Cao Miao could produce relevant evidence, “Celebrity Gossip” was willing to spend 5,000 yuan to buy the information in Cao Miao’s hands.

In 2009, 5,000 yuan in Beijing was almost the salary of ordinary white-collar workers for two or three months. The entertainment reporter of “Celebrity Gossip” believed that the informant fee given by their newspaper was very generous. Unfortunately, Cao Miao was not satisfied.

Cao Miao revealed that he possessed a recording of Shen Yu personally admitting to his relationship with Yan Sheng, but he felt that the 5,000 yuan fee was too little.

Cao Miao opened his mouth greedily and asked for the biggest amount he could think of: “I want 100,000 yuan.”

The entertainment reporter of “Celebrity Gossip” immediately expressed that this price was too much. He couldn’t make such a decision.

Cao Miao didn’t care: “If you can’t make the decision, you can report this to your boss. Anyway, I want 100,000 yuan, not a penny less. If you don’t agree, I’ll go to another place.”

Cao Miao said: “I found several other entertainment newspapers on the Internet that are quite good. As they say, colleagues are enemies. I imagine those gossip newspapers also want to get more impactful gossip breaking news, so that they can grab the headlines and surpass the sales of “Celebrity Gossip” in one fell swoop, don’t you think so?”

It had to be said that although Cao Miao was not highly educated, his brain definitely worked fast enough. He couldn’t be said to have great wisdom but he could still be considered to possess some minor cleverness. Otherwise, he would not have gained Tao Mu’s trust in the previous life.

Although Cao Miao didn’t know much about things in the entertainment industry, he had actually searched and studied a lot of gossip and breaking news on the Internet in order to get close to Shen Yu. After pondering over it himself, the threat that he could make was indeed reasonable.

On the other end of the line, the “Celebrity Gossip” reporter fell silent for a while, and then said, “I really can’t make the decision on this price. Wait for me for a while, and I’ll report to our editor-in-chief. Don’t contact other magazines yet.”

Oh ho!

Cao Miao’s eyes lit up, and he swallowed both excitedly and nervously. Trying to suppress the heart that almost jumped out of his throat, he said steadily: “I’ll give you half an hour. After half an hour, if you don’t give me your decision, I’ll go to other magazines to break the news.”

The entertainment reporter of “Celebrity Gossip” agreed immediately. Cao Miao anxiously counted the time in the Internet cafe and waited for more than 20 minutes. “Celebrity Gossip” finally dialed back.

The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” communicated with Cao Miao personally and asked to meet once and listen to Cao Miao’s recording. If the evidence was conclusive, he was willing to spend 100,000 yuan to buy this breaking news. However, “Celebrity Gossip” also required that this revelation must be exclusive.

Cao Miao agreed and the two immediately decided on a time and place to meet which was a coffee shop near the internet cafe. After hanging up the phone, Cao Miao slapped the table excitedly. Before leaving, he suddenly remembered something, sat down again, and uploaded the recording of Shen Yu into his FlyNews account cloud storage. Only then did he get up and leave.

An hour later, the two sides met in a coffee shop. The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” was a man in his forties with a ponytail and a full beard.

Cao Miao was too lazy to evaluate the other’s taste in style, and asked straight to the point, “Did you bring the money?”

The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” smiled and handed an envelope to Cao Miao. Cao Miao checked it, and there were indeed ten stacks of cash in it. Each stack appeared to be 10,000 yuan thick. However, Cao Miao was still not assured, and asked the waiter of the coffee shop to borrow a money counter in the shop and began to count it in person.

The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” had seen many informants, and most of them handed over the evidence only after seeing the money. It was also a normal process to check the money in person. So the editor-in-chief was not at all impatient. He ordered a cup of coffee and slowly waited for Cao Miao to finish counting the money. During this period, he also asked Cao Miao how he got this news.

Cao Miao didn’t hide it, and directly explained how he gained Shen Yu’s trust, became Shen Yu’s personal assistant, was then investigated by the private investigator hired by Yan Sheng, and heard Shen Yu himself admit that he was in a relationship with Yan Sheng.

Cao Miao also felt that he was quite clever and his hand was played quite beautifully. Therefore, when talking about this matter with the editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip”, it was also with a boasting mentality.

The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” heard from the beginning to the end, and really felt that Cao Miao was indeed a little clever. It was just a pity that his vision was too short-sighted. If it was a different person, holding such a weakness in his hand, of course, he would stay at Shen Yu’s side, in the hopes of getting bigger profits. This was the way to put a long line to catch a big fish. But the result was, this kid couldn’t wait to find an entertainment tabloid to break the news. And just for that mere 100,000 yuan!

The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” felt contempt, but he complimented Cao Miao with a few words on the surface. Even saying that Cao Miao was a clever person, in fact, he was also very suitable to work as a paparazzi in the entertainment industry. He also asked Cao Miao to find him again if he had any other breaking news in the future.

Cao Miao was in the midst of the ecstasy of earning 100,000 yuan from a single recording. Hearing what the editor-in-chief said, he hurriedly agreed. This time he tasted the sweetness and now also thought that it was no wonder Tao Mu was so eager to become an actor. Sure enough, the money in this industry was easy to make.

Cao Miao did not delay after counting the money. He directly took out his mobile phone and pulled up the recording, handing it to the editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip”. The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” plugged in his earphones, pressed the play button, and sure enough he heard Shen Yu’s revelation——

Moreover, Shen Yu’s revelations were particularly comprehensive, not only mentioning that he was dating Yan Sheng, but also enumerating all the things he had done with Yan Sheng in the past year. Especially during the filming of “Black and White” with Yan Sheng in Hong Kong, some interactions were also photographed and reported by Hong Kong media. But at that time, no one suspected that Shen Yu had that kind of relationship with Yan Sheng.

The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” was very satisfied. Immediately, he took out a few thousand dollars from his bag and took Cao Miao’s mobile phone directly. Before leaving, he also asked Cao Miao, “You didn’t make any backups, or break the news with other media?”

Cao Miao shook his head quickly, and said with an honest expression: “Absolutely not. I promised you an exclusive report. How could I break the news with others.”

The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” chuckled and said meaningfully: “It’s good that you didn’t. If you do one line of work, you must follow the rules of that line of work. Otherwise, you won’t be able to continue in this line of work. Of course, if you just want to do a one-off business deal, then just consider it as if I didn’t say anything.”

Cao Miao’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said with an ingratiating smile: “I don’t dare, I definitely don’t dare. You are really worrying too much.”

The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” actually didn’t care if Cao Miao was doing anything tricky behind the scenes. After coming out of the coffee shop, the editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” returned to the car, took out his mobile phone, and made a call.

At Yan Sheng’s house, Zeng Yiheng, who was about to stay up late and work overtime, casually picked up the phone: “Hello?”

“What?” Zeng Yiheng barely choked on his sip of coffee, and asked in disbelief, “What did you just say?”

Who knows what was said on the other end of the phone, but Zeng Yiheng glared at Yan Sheng sinisterly: “Okay! I understand. If you have any conditions, just say it!”

As Zeng Yiheng spoke, he set his mobile phone on speaker. On the other end of the phone, the editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip”, said calmly: “…..I want 10 million in hush money!”

“Ten million?!” Before Yan Sheng could speak, Zeng Yiheng almost had a cerebral hemorrhage, and cursed angrily, “You really dare to ask for it!”

“Don’t think it’s too much!” The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” said with a chuckle: “You have to think about it from another angle, how much does film king Yan Sheng get paid for each film? How much endorsement signing fee does he get each year? How much is film king Yan’s future worth?”

“I spent a lot of money to intercept this revelation from the informant. To tell you the truth, if Mr. Yan did not have such a good reputation in the circle, and didn’t have any enmity with us from “Celebrity Gossip” before, I wouldn’t have taken the initiative to contact you! If it was someone else, our “Celebrity Gossip” would not even make this phone call, and directly release this material!”

“We in “Celebrity Gossip” respect Mr. Yan, so you can’t let us suffer too much loss, right?”

The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” put it nicely. However, both he and Zeng Yiheng knew that the most critical reason why “Celebrity Gossip” did not break the news in the first place was because “Celebrity Gossip” was well-informed and was aware of the Yan family’s background. And “Celebrity Gossip” couldn’t afford to offend the Yan family. This was why he was happy to give face to Yan Sheng.

——That’s right, even if “Celebrity Gossip” greedily opened their mouth and asked Yan Sheng for 10 million yuan, if Yan Sheng really gave the money, he would still have to thankfully accept this favor from “Celebrity Gossip”.

Zeng Yiheng took a deep breath and subconsciously retorted: “I think you have misunderstood. Yan Sheng and Shen Yu are not at all——”

“A straightforward person does not resort to insinuations. Everyone here is an expert in the industry, so you don’t need to try and fool me like you would a layman. Whether it’s true or not, as long as it’s exposed it will definitely not be fake. Besides, I have here a recording of Shen Yu personally admitting to it.”

Zeng Yiheng asked with a sinister face: “How did you get this revelation? Did Shen Yu tell you?”

“Well, no. It was a young man who found me and gave me the recording.” As a professional, even if he wanted to show his goodwill to Yan Sheng, he wouldn’t reveal his informant’s identity. Therefore, the editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” did not reveal the existence of Cao Miao. But he also vaguely revealed some inside information. As long as Zeng Yiheng was attentive, he could still find out if he checked gradually.

Zeng Yiheng glared at Yan Sheng viciously: “Ten million is not a small amount. You have to give us time to prepare.”

“That can’t be done.” The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” directly refused: “You also know that any gossip is time sensitive, and the longer it drags on, the less effective it will be. Agent Zeng is an elite talent agent in the industry. I believe that you will be able to settle the matter before this evening is out. When that time comes, I am afraid that the information in my hands will be useless.”

“Half an hour, I only give you half an hour. Mr. Yan is a superstar in the industry, and he has set up his own studio. How can I believe that you don’t even have 10 million working capital in your account, right?”

“It’s night now. Even if I transfer money from the account, the bank won’t open the door, right?” Zeng Yiheng had to do his best to appease the editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip”.

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The editor-in-chief of “Celebrity Gossip” didn’t want to make it difficult for Yan Sheng too much either, and finally compromised: “Then can you write me an IOU?”

Zeng Yiheng hung up the phone exhausted. Just as he was about to discuss with Yan Sheng how to deal with the follow-up problems, a thought suddenly flashed by in his head: “Not good!”

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