Tao Mu stood at the ticket window stupidly, feeling that the extent to which he was affected by Shen Yu’s IQ lowering buff must be deeper and longer lasting than he had thought.

“Hello, please show your passport?” The service staff behind the window kept a polite smile and reminded him again.

“Huh?” Tao Mu came back to his senses, feeling particularly embarrassed: “It’s nothing, I won’t be buying a ticket now. Sorry for the trouble.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Tao Mu pulled the suitcase and retreated a dozen steps away in embarrassment. Although he didn’t want to admit it, he still had to toughen his skin and call Li Xiaoheng.

Far away on the other side of the earth, taking advantage of the gaps between work time, Li Xiaoheng planned a perfect tour and travel plan. He was just waiting for Tao Mu to fly over and meet him. Li Xiaoheng looked at the suddenly vibrating mobile phone, and couldn’t help but smile as he answered the call:” Have you booked your flight ticket? What’s the flight number? When will it arrive? I’ll pick you up.”

“Um…..” Tao Mu scratched his nose and said with embarrassment: “I may not be able to go.”

As if his heart missed a beat, Mr. Business Partner who was full of eager expectations suddenly felt his heart sink slightly. After speedily suppressing the disappointment, Li Xiaoheng asked in a warm voice: “What’s wrong? Is it too busy at work there, so you can’t come over? That’s okay, in the future we can——”

“I forgot to apply for a passport and visa!” Tao Mu felt that his face was completely flushed red, and even his ears and cheeks felt hot. It was with extreme difficulty that he interrupted Li Xiaoheng’s words.

A few seconds later, muffled laughs came from the other end of the line. Li Xiaoheng coughed in a very gentlemanly manner. After suppressing his wide smile, he asked with understanding: “This is your first time going abroad?”

It was indeed the first time in this life!

Tao Mu drooped his head, unable to believe that he would make such a low-level mistake: “I’m sorry, I——”

Tao Mu rubbed his face with his hands in upset, feeling that he didn’t have the face to apologize——if this was a formal business negotiation, with this kind of IQ and work efficiency he would immediately be kicked out of the negotiation room. Someone asked him why he was kicked out——only for him to reply that his visa and passport were not processed and he got stuck in customs.

Maybe he could defeat a competitor this way, by causing the other to die of laughter.

Tao Mu wanted nothing more than to find a hole in the ground and bury himself inside. How could he always make such low-level mistakes in front of Li Xiaoheng!

It would definitely affect his think tank image in the eyes of the bigshot!

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s not your fault.” Li Xiaoheng consoled in a warm voice: “I didn’t know that you were going abroad for the first time, so I forgot to remind you.”

“It has nothing to do with you, I am too stupid.” Tao Mu didn’t know why he was suddenly so stupid. He felt that Li Xiaohang must definitely be secretly feeling disdain for his stupid mistake.

But he didn’t know that Li Xiaoheng was actually smiling brilliantly on the other end of the phone. Even he himself didn’t notice the indulgence and pampering in that smile.

He just felt it was terribly endearing that his business partner, who had always been shrewd and intelligent, would also make this common sense error. Both endearing and stupidly adorable.

It seemed that the distance had narrowed suddenly. Li Xiaoheng could even picture Tao Mu’s annoyed hair pulling directly in his mind. He patiently consoled Tao Mu: “It’s nothing. It’s just a pity that I can’t spend the holiday with you. As for the specific details of launching FlyNews in country M, we can talk over the phone.”

“En.” Tao Mu hung up the phone in a depressed mood, and tugged his suitcase back to Night.

Liu Yao and Meng Qi were in the store, watching the bartender Ah Wen experimenting with a new cocktail. Seeing Tao Mu coming in with a big suitcase, they were both surprised: “Why are you back? Didn’t you say you are going to country M?”

“I didn’t apply for a visa or passport.” Tao Mu was expressionless, he felt that he didn’t need face anymore.

Fortunately, his brother Yao never let him down: “Aren’t you just going on a trip?” Did one need a visa and passport for this kind of thing?

As soon as the words sounded, Night, which had been buzzing with the sounds of talking, suddenly fell silent. The waiters who had yet to work their shift and the young masters and princesses looked at each other, before finally turning their attention to Liu Yao.

Meng Qi sighed weakly, and stretched out his hand to push Liu Yao: “Don’t speak anymore.”

“What’s the matter?” Liu Yao was very upright: “I have never left Beijing in my entire life. Can’t I be short-sighted?”

“Sure, of course you can.” Ah Wen put the adjusted cocktail in front of Liu Yao and said with a smile: “Even if brother Yao goes to country M, it is estimated that he will have to smuggle himself there. So passports or visas or something, for brother Yao, it’s indeed not necessary. Brother Yao doesn’t have this mindset at all. It’s understandable. Say Da Hui, am I right?”

Da Hui put on a pair of sunglasses expressionlessly, his desire to survive was very strong.

All the employees roared with laughter. Liu Yao was angry: “Ai, how can you talk like that? Who are you looking down on! Why should I have to smuggle in order to go to country M? According to you, I should just not think about openly and justly setting foot on the land of capitalism in my life? I don’t believe in this nonsense.”

As he spoke, he stretched a long arm around Meng Qi’s shoulders: “We will go to apply for visas and passports after October. Doesn’t old M country have a Hawaiian beach that is very excellent. Brother will take you on a honeymoon. And you can bring your bikini——”

“Fuck off! You wear a bikini.” Meng Qi elbowed Liu Yao in annoyance, comforting Tao Mu: “It’s okay, after National Day we’ll get the visa and passport together. By the way, we can also get one for old Song, and when you have winter vacation, we’ll go on a family vacation.”

“I also want to go on a family vacation!” A few number zeros (TN: one=gong/seme, zero=shou/uke) sitting on the side giggled and raised their thin arms: “Brother Xiao Qi, how about you tell brother Yao, our employee benefit this winter is to go to Hawaii for vacation. We want to wear bikinis too~”

“Fuck off! Did you earn enough money to go to Hawaii for vacation?” Before Meng Qi could speak, Liu Yao snorted and said with a strong sense of survival: “Besides, what kind of bikini would you wear with that chicken figure you have? Aren’t you afraid that the foreigners will grow callus on the eyes from seeing your bikini self?”

“Then take it as me winning glory for the country!” Little Zero straightened up proudly: “And brother Yao, it’s stye not callus. Feet grow callus, do you have any common sense!”

“That’s right!” Another male host laughed and said, “Besides, brother Yao, if you take little zero to Hawaii for vacation, Little Zero might even earn some foreign exchange. What can you do with Tao Mu? He is now a college student and he’ll be a big star in the future. Didn’t you say that we can’t curry favor with him? Then why are you so partial——”

“Enough!” Liu Yao uttered loudly, and put the wine glass on the bar heavily: “Damn, is there any place for you to talk here?”

Seeing that Liu Yao was really angry, the male host who was speaking quickly stood up and defended himself with a scared expression: “Brother Yao, I just feel that it’s unfair for you. Someone has climbed onto a high branch and wants to be a phoenix, disdaining us lowly people.”

“Are you fucking finished——”

“Brother Yao.” Tao Mu interrupted Liu Yao and bowed deeply to everyone present: “I know I was ignorant before, which hurt everyone. I hope everyone will give me a chance.”

“No matter.” A resident singer with smoky makeup and a sleeveless leather vest snorted coldly: “You are a big boss now, and you will be a big star in the future. People like us don’t dare to claim connections with you.”

“Brother Sai Wen.” Tao Mu looked at the resident singer sitting behind the drum set, bowed his head and admitted, “I’m sorry.”

Sai Wen snorted out a laugh, poking his inner cheek with his tongue, and said nothing.

“Alright already!” Liu Yao glanced at Sai Wen: “You’re all grown men. It’s all in the past so forget it. Don’t be so narrow-minded. Sai Wen, you are nearly thirty, so what’s the point in squabbling with a kid?”

Meng Qi lectured Tao Mu: “What you did before was indeed a bit mean. It just so happens that everyone is here today, so hurry up and show everyone your cooking skills, treat us with a meal to make it up.”

Tao Mu quickly agreed: “Ai. I’m going to the back kitchen now.”

Tao Mu threw the suitcase aside and obediently went into the kitchen.

Little Zero, who was clamoring about going to Hawaii to earn foreign exchange, blinked his big eyes covered with mascara and eyeliner: “I will help too.”

“Ai, you get back here!” The male host who spoke earlier watched as Little Zero skipped into the back kitchen, and threw his clothes down angrily: “Why don’t you have any backbone at all. Just forget it like this?”

“Oh, so you have a backbone! Don’t eat when Tao Mu finishes cooking then.” Liu Yao squinted at the little male host.

The little male host straightened his back: “Fine!”

Before Liu Yao could get angry, he mumbled lowly: “I’ll just drink wine.”

This timid display caught everyone off guard, and the group of people bursted into laughter again.

Tao Mu was looking for ingredients in the back kitchen, and when he heard the laughter coming from the front, he also smiled slightly. Little Zero, who followed him in, shook his head and sighed: “You kid, don’t be like that anymore! It was very hurtful!”

Tao Mu laughed: “Speaking like you are much older than me.”

“Three years older is also older. You have to call me older brother.” Little Zero raised a pinky finger and delicately rolled his eyes: “Make me a dish of tofu Kung Pao Chicken. I am trying to lose weight recently and don’t dare to eat meat. I’m almost dying with the craving.”

“Okay.” Tao Mu dug through the refrigerator: “Are there any gluten? Help me find it.”

“Aiya, you find it yourself. My manicure was just done and I can’t work. Besides, brother Yao did not let the later cooks change the placing of the kitchen utensils and ingredients. Everything is in the previous position. Not~even~a~little~change~” Little Zero sung in an effeminate way. Seeing Tao Mu suddenly look stunned, he added with heartfelt emotion: “So, brother Yao and brother Xiao Qi are indeed really good to you. Now that you have come back this time, don’t make them angry in the future.”

After Little Zero finished speaking, without waiting for Tao Mu’s response, he left with a twist of his little waist. Tao Mu was left alone in the empty kitchen, picking up different ingredients and seasonings in his familiar spot, cooking up a meal smoothly and easily.

On the other side, Yao Wenxiao, who still wanted to teach Tao Mu a lesson, also found the Weibo headquarters to discuss cooperation with the Weibo platform. As for the first part in the cooperation, he wanted to join hands with Weibo to discredit FlyNews and the founder of FlyNews.

Yao Wenxiao was the most beloved grandson of Yao Sheng’an, chairman of Sheng’an Group, and Yuxiao Media, founded by Yao Wenxiao, was also very famous in Shanghai. Because its backing was the Sheng’an Group, Yuxiao Media’s influence even faintly covered the entirety of the Jiangnan area. The senior executives of Weibo originally thought that this cooperation would be a strong alliance, and they had been looking forward to it for a time.

However, as soon as the negotiation started, the senior management of Weibo felt that something was wrong. Although it was not clear why Yao Wenxiao targeted FlyNews and Tao Mu, when it came to business, Weibo would not give up this cooperation opportunity because of untimely curiosity. Under the excuse of “FlyNews was established not long enough, and there was no black material about its founder that could be found”, they patiently discussed other cooperation points with Yao Wenxiao.

Finally, they managed to fool Yao Wenxiao. Looking at the confident back of a certain young master, the director in charge of the publicity department turned his head and looked at the CEO: “Does our publicity plan need to be adjusted?”

“No need for the time being.” The CEO of Weibo disagreed: “We are doing business, and business people should keep in mind the saying, amiability makes you rich. How can one pour dirty water on competitors at every turn.” What the CEO of Weibo did not say was that even if one poured dirty water, one must not use too low-end methods to pour the dirty water. Did people really think that there was no backing behind FlyNews!

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

“When you go back, find some time to call that young fellow from FlyNews. You don’t have to say too much. Just reveal a little bit of Yao Wenxiao’s attitude.” The CEO of Weibo felt that Tao Mu, who founded FlyNews, was a talent. Even if one day FlyNews was no longer popular——of course it was better to be acquired by Weibo. At that time, Tao Mu could also switch to working for Weibo, and everyone could then work together. Expressing goodwill in advance would always count as a favor.

They were all in the same circle so why bother to offend people to death. Did people really think that talents were that easy to find?!

TN: bonus chapter coming up!

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“You want me to help you take care of FlyNews’ organization of national school beauty and school hunk selection activities?” Yun Yi said in surprise.

Tao Mu specially called Yin Yi out during the weekend to meet at the private restaurant opposite the No. 1 People’s Beijing Hospital to discuss business matters with him.

“Yes.” Tao Mu nodded and said seriously: “Didn’t you say you want to set up a medical forum. After the forum goes online, you have to learn how to manage the forum and how to promote the forum. You can take this opportunity to practice and become familiar with FlyNews. When you have adapted to the working mode of the website, you will definitely be able to easily manage your medical forum.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

It seemed to sound quite reasonable. However, Yun Yi’s IQ had not been affected by the plot’s IQ lowering halo and was still online. “What I want to create is a medical forum. You want me to manage an entertainment website. It isn’t the same thing, is it?”

“Why isn’t it the same? Haven’t you heard the saying, grasp one fundamental point and all the rest will follow!” The essence of the acting was that whether what you said was true or not, the performance must be realistic.

Tao Mu was a man who had at least been a film emperor, and this was not a problem for him: “The Internet industry is not the same as other industries. No matter what content your platform wants to host, the basic structure of the website is the same. Promotional techniques and product operation are basically similar. Whether it is an entertainment website or a medical forum, it is essentially a social platform. If you don’t believe this, then when your medical forum goes online, I’ll help you run it a few times and you’ll see.”

“Besides, I’m going to fly to country M soon. If I don’t find someone to help me keep an eye on things, I really won’t be at ease. But I don’t know anyone else. I believe only you can help me. In fact, you also don’t have to worry about the specific operations. The production team of Longteng Entertainment will be responsible for the specific operations. They are all professionals, so we don’t need to worry much about it. You only need to help me control the general aspects, make sure that the results are absolutely fair and prevent anything fishy from happening. And most importantly, don’t let the staff take advantage of their positions to do anything that does not meet the rules of the competition.”

For example, colluding with the candidates, deliberately engaging in bias when editing final film shots, or secretly tampering with background data or something.

“I have hired auditors from DB to be responsible for the notarization. You only need to keep an eye on them when it comes time to count the voting, and then there is also the competition video cut, try to ensure that the number of frames for each player is the same.”

After experiencing the crazy star-chasing atmosphere in the previous life, Tao Mu knew that some fans would actuslly count the program frames one by one when watching TV series or reality shows in which idols participated. Although Tao Mu was not sure whether there was such a crazy person among the netizens who participated in the selection of national school beauty and hunk, he still habitually planned to take precautions.

After all, if any matter had Shen Yu involved in it, it was destined to have twists and turns. Tao Mu didn’t care about Shen Yu stirring up commotion himself, he just wanted to keep his FlyNews safe, and not let it be implicated by Shen Yu’s halo.

Hearing Tao Mu admitting his calculations so frankly, Yun Yi smiled: “Alright then. Since you believe in me this much, I won’t refuse anymore.”

Tao Mu smiled, and when he went back to face his brother Yao and brother Xiao Qi, he was also very open.

“Yao Wenxiao has come to Beijing.” Of course, Liu Yao and Meng Qi knew about the Yao family. Hearing Tao Mu’s words, Liu Yao’s eyes flashed.

Tao Mu continued: “Yao Wenxiao’s visit to Beijing this time, in addition to seeking cooperation with the Weibo platform, the main purpose is to accompany his little childhood friend Shen Yu to participate in the selection activities of the national school beauty and hunk. Shen Yu, this person, you’ll know when you see him. I’m afraid that you won’t be able to help but want to beat him up. So I asked another person to help supervise the competition. This person is Yun Yi, and he’s a collaborator I’ve tried hard to win over. This time he is participating in the management of FlyNews so that he can gain experience for the medical forum that we’ll launch in the future.”

Tao Mu always behaved very upright when facing his own people. No hiding, no concealing, but speaking straight to the point. Even if it was extremely likely to cause the other party’s misunderstanding, he would still confess, and then work hard to dispel the other party’s grudge.

Meng Qi was originally a suspicious and sensitive personality, and his gentle and considerate nature was only his protective layer. But when confronted with Tao Mu, who he had personally taught, he was too lazy to think so much, and spoke straightforwardly: “You kid, you are just afraid that brother Yao and I will act impulsively, and just directly deal with surnamed Yao, and also his little childhood friend, so you specially found someone to keep an eye on us, right?”

Tao Mu hesitated, and immediately poured the tea and behaved obediently: “Brother Xiao Qi, you are still so smart, and my little tricks can’t hide from your eyes at all.”

Meng Qi took the tea Tao Mu handed over, took a sip, and gave Tao Mu a slanted look, “But how come I feel that you seem to be more wary of his little childhood friend than that surnamed Yao himself? Could it be that his little childhood friend has some kind of powerful background?”

Tao Mu paused and had to admire the keen senses of his brother Xiao Qi: “Shen Yu is the youngest son of the Shen Group in Shanghai. He was doted on by his family since he was a child and grew up spoiled. The way he speaks and acts easily provokes unnecessary quarrels. The rest of the Shen family are even more troublesome.”

Liu Yao, who had not spoken much the whole time, raised his eyebrows and asked in a deep voice, “Has their family caused you any difficulty?”

Tao Mu shook his head and said frankly: “Not really. After all, Shen Yu wants to make friends with me for the time being so they won’t act too awful. It’s just that their arrogant attitude makes people really uncomfortable. As if I should just yield to Shen Yu and follow whatever Shen Yu says. Otherwise, I’m just an ignorant who doesn’t know what’s good for me. Anyway, I can’t stand it. If I can’t afford to provoke them then I can just avoid them. I’m only afraid that you will feel aggrieved on my behalf and decide to teach Shen Yu a lesson. At that time, the situation would become even more troublesome.”

As Tao Mu spoke, he looked at his brother Xiao Qi with pitiful eyes.

Liu Yao understood. It sounded like a group of overprotective family members and a troublemaking kid who never cared about other people’s thoughts and feelings and only cared about his own happiness. Indeed, one really couldn’t reason with this kind of person.

“But that shouldn’t make you worry to such an extent. Just what kind of people are brother Yao and I, don’t you already know? No matter what we wouldn’t squabble with an eighteen-year-old child who hasn’t even grown up yet.” Meng Qi frowned. He knew that Liu Yao’s personality was quite impulsive, but he had confidence in his own self-control ability. Tao Mu also knew this. So how come now, it seemed that he was more worried about him making a move than Liu Yao.

“Do you know that the auras between two people can be naturally disharmonious?” Tao Mu shook his head with a wry smile. He was not worried about brother Xiao Qi, but about the ubiquitous plot halo. He was afraid that brother Xiao Qi would be affected by plot halo. After all, according to Tao Mu’s memory in his previous life, there were many people who targeted Shen Yu without any logical reason, but for inexplicable emotions such as “jealousy”, “distaste for Shen Yu’s innocence and purity”, and “just plain dislike.” Because of such inexplicable emotions they would steadfastly oppose and make trouble for Shen Yu. Of course, in the end, these people would “as expected” end in tragic ruin.

Tao Mu therefore felt that according to the plot setting of the original book, Shen Yu’s protagonist halo might also have the function of automatically triggering cannon fodder characters. That was, whenever an original plot character who had the possibility of becoming a vicious cannon fodder meet Shen Yu, there would be a great chance that they would inexplicably target Shen Yu. In the end, it would just be explained away as “not seeing eye to eye”.

You couldn’t avoid it even if you wanted.

Tao Mu didn’t dare to bet on whether this possibility would really come true or not. He didn’t dare to bet on the lives of brother Yao and brother Xiao Qi. So he could only do everything possible to avoid it.

Liu Yao and Meng Qi really saw Tao Mu’s fear of Shen Yu this time.

Shen Yu just sounded like an annoying brat m who hadn’t experienced the ravages of society and had no shrewdness or sophistication. The couple didn’t know where Tao Mu’s deep grudge came from, and instantly felt very puzzled.

Tao Mu also knew that no matter how much he said it would not beat seeing the truth in person, so he said: “How about this. I promised Shen Yu that I will take him to tour Beijing Film’s school campus during the day. If you don’t believe me, you can see with your own eyes.”

——And then Liu Yao and Meng Qi finally personally experienced the kind of feeling Tao Mu described, “When you see him, you will get angry for no reason and want to slap him to death.”

Of course, Liu Yao and Meng Qi also developed this kind of feeling when they saw the mother and daughter pair of the Shen family as well as surnamed Yao.

The point was that this group of people didn’t really do anything, just that for some reason any casual remark from them was able to make them boiling mad.

Their Mu Mu really got it right, this was really fucking bizzare indeed!

After separating from the Shen family, Liu Yao, who got into the Grand Cherokee, felt like a man had just escaped from death. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of emotion and said: “I didn’t believe it when Mu Mu said it before. But today I saw it with my own eyes. How can there be such an annoying family in this world? I heard that the Shen Group is quite influential in Shanghai. Then just how high is the IQ of the men in the Shen family to be able to restrain those three idiots? Ai, I won’t follow the school beauty and school hunk competition. I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself.”

Liu Yao accompanied Tao Mu on the tour of the campus today. During this period, he was nearly overcome with the urge to call Da Hui countless times. He, Liu Yao, was a man who had never targeted women and children before. Towards this bizarre oddity you couldn’t not be convinced even if you didn’t want to.

Meng Qi looked exasperatedly at Liu Yao, who was lying on the steering wheel, his tongue practically sticking out in exhaustion.

“Then how can you be sure that the business partner you found will not be affected by the Shen family?” Meng Qi turned his head and asked Tao Mu.

Tao Mu had been secretly observing the reactions of brother Yao and brother Xiao Qi. Seeing that the two did not show any signs of wanting to target Shen Yu, he became steadily relieved.

It seemed that things like the IQ lowering plot halo could be weakened so long as there was an early warning and precautions were taken, as well as a limiting the interaction.

What he was afraid of was unknowingly being bewitched by the plot halo and then inexplicably carrying out untimely and silly actions.

“Yun Yi won’t.” Tao Mu, in a very good mood, answered his brother Xiao Qi’s question very decisively.

Because Yun Yi also appeared in the plot in his previous life, including Li Xiaoheng, who was far away in country M. If they were also affected by the plot hall, then Luo Yang’s ending might have changed. Besides, based on the status of those two, if they were really affected by the plot, their scenes would not be so little.

So after Tao Mu’s repeated speculations, it was almost certain that the influence of the plot halo was indeed limited. The more outstanding industry leaders people were, the less likely they were to be influenced. The more rational people were, the less likely they were to be affected. Just like in the entertainment industry, most of the people affected by Shen Yu were on the level of celebrities and investors. As for the ones at higher levels, they would be less affected, and as a result their scenes were very little. If not, based on Tao Mu’s cannon fodder character in the plot, coupled with his reduced luck value from confronting Shen Yu all the time, he should not have been able to even win a single film award let alone become a film emperor.

It could be seen that Shen Yu’s protagonist halo was indeed not invincible. And the best way to avoid the halo, aside from limiting interactions with Shen Yu, was to get acquainted with talented and outstanding people! Ana at the same time he must also make himself more outstanding as well.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

It was estimated that after he had achieved the industry influence of people like Li Xiaoheng or Yun Yi in his previous life, whether it was Shen Yu’s protagonist halo or the plot halo of the original book, he would no longer be able to be negatively influenced.

Thinking of all of this, Tao Mu was even more eager. After handing over the various undertakings of FlyNews’ national school beauty and hunk competition activities, Tao Mu immediately booked a plane ticket to country M to see Li Xiaoheng.

He felt that he might need to bathe in the halo of the future capitalist bigshot. Maybe it could offset the IQ lowering buff on him!

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After the two hands squeezed vigorously, they let go very quickly.

Yao Wenxiao put his right hand behind his back and rubbed his fingers with a little disgust.

As Shen Yu said, besides accompanying Shen Yu to participate in this so-called national school beauty and hunk competition, he also had another important purpose for coming to Beijing, which was to find a social platform to collaborate with.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

But unlike Shen Yu’s wishful thinking, the business partner Yao Wenxiao wanted was not Tao Mu’s FyNews, but the Weibo platform.

There were several reasons for this. For example, the capital behind the Weibo platform was stronger, and Yao Wenxiao placed more value on Weibo. In Yao Wenxiao’s view, although FlyNews could always come up with some gimmicks to attract the attention of netizens from time to time, the overall strength of FlyNews was too weak. If it really competed head-on with Weibo, the chance of winning was too small.

Weibo was different. No matter what innovative gimmicks FlyNews came up with, Weibo could always draw lessons from FlyNews’ experience. Yao Wenxiao didn’t think there was anything wrong with borrowing. On the contrary, Yao Wenxiao believed that so long as he had the ability, the student becoming superior to the master could create a better publicity effect.

So in Yao Wenxiao’s view, Tao Mu was a competent planner, but as for being Yao Wenxiao’s business partner, FlyNews was not qualified.

Of course these were all excuses. Putting aside these grand-sounding principles and interest related motives, only Yao Wenxiao knew that the fundamental reason was that he had a grudge against FlyNews.

This ill-feeling came from Shen Yu’s excessive attention towards Tao Mu. Of course, another reason was because Tao Mu suppressed the news leak he private messaged FlyNews Entertainment. This caused Yao Wenxiao to be very dissatisfied. Later, Yao Wenxiao asked around and found out that Tao Mu had a good relationship with Luo Yang. He suppressed the news he had sent to FlyNews Entertainment, and used it as a bargaining chip in exchange for the goodwill of the Luo family and the strong support of Longteng Entertainment. Only then did FlyNews have the spare capacity to undertake hosting the national school beauty and hunk competition.

——Actually willing to shake hands with a person like Luo Yang and make peace for the sake of profit.

Yao Wenxiao had investigated in detail, and naturally knew that Luo Yang had made it difficult for Tao Mu in H Town. He didn’t expect Tao Mu to be such a vulgar person who could throw aside his pride for the sake of profit. After learning the truth, Yao Wenxiao suddenly felt sick like he had swallowed a fly.

How could their Shen Yu want to make friends with this kind of person? While Yao Wenxiao was indignant, he also looked down on Tao Mu. He didn’t want to collaborate with such a person at all.

But in front of Shen Yu, Yao Wenxiao would naturally not say anything. In fact, he even showed the appearance of “I am very optimistic about you”. But Yao Wenxiao’s acting skills were not good, at least Tao Mu could clearly see Yao Wenxiao’s disgust and contempt. As for Shen Yu, he still wishfully felt that his best friend and the person he was optimistic about would also be able to be friends, so he was very happy.

“By the way, I heard that Luo Yang was beaten by his father and he is now in the hospital. Why don’t we go and see him?” Shen Yu felt that Luo Yang was also a good person. They had a lot of fun together back in Shanghai.

Shen Yan suddenly smiled and put her arms around Shen Yu, rubbing his head: “My brother is too kind. So long as it is a friend who he has met several times he is always concerned about. No wonder everyone likes you so much.”

There was no doubt that these words were also spoken to Tao Mu.

Unfortunately, Tao Mu suffered from selective deafness and turned a deaf ear to Shen Yan’s remarks.

“Luo Yang was hospitalized in the No. 1 People’s Hospital. You’ll know when you get to the hospital. I think he’ll be very happy to see you.” Tao Mu waved his hand at Shen Yu, very happy to dismiss this person so easily.

Shen Yu pouted, looking at Tao Mu unwillingly. He also wanted to have a meal with Tao Mu.

“I’m not in a hurry. How about you take me around your school? I have never been to Beijing Film. Are there many big stars here?” Shen Yu looked at Beijing Film behind Tao Mu with a curious expression. He also wanted to see Tao Mu’s dorm.

“I think acting is very fun now. If I knew earlier I would have also applied for Beijing Film. We would even be classmates.” Shen Yu sighed. He felt that the literature major he was studying was particularly boring. Unlike Tao Mu——

“By the way, what do you study in the drama department? Do you usually rehearse and act out dramas or something? I really want to see Mu Mu acting.” Shen Yu said a lot of things on his own, and then asked Tao Mu: “Who is the school hunk chosen by your school? Is it you? It must be you, if it is someone else, I will not be convinced.”

“It’s not me. This program was originally organized by FlyNews. It is not appropriate for me to participate. Besides, we Beijing Film don’t place too much importance on looks. Our school voted for a senior with very good acting skills, his talent is indeed very impressive. He won the Golden Crow Award for Best Actor in the first movie he shot in his junior year. He is very amazing.” Tao Mu didn’t want Shen Yu’s irresponsible nonsensical words to provoke enmity for himself, and explained very seriously.

Tao Mu was originally one of the most outstanding and attention attracting 2008 freshmen. Tall and handsome, good personality, talented photography skills, and created such a cool website like FlyNews. He was simply a textbook-level campus version of domineering CEO male lead. So he had won the favor of Beijing Film’s female classmates and the admiration of male classmates.

So the Shen family talking with Tao Mu at the school gate for so long naturally attracted the attention of the students coming and going. Hearing Shen Yu’s enmity attracting remarks, many students just felt a little uncomfortable, but they didn’t think too deeply. After all, what Shen Yu said was the truth. Tao Mu was originally very excellent, especially in terms of appearance——it was said that during the art test interview, the three chief examiners all gave full marks.

But after hearing Tao Mu’s explanation, all the students suddenly realized. No wonder Shen Yu’s words sounded a bit wrong. That’s right, their Beijing Film was not such a superficial school. They not only look at appearance but also look at acting skills and talents. The senior who was voted as the school hunk by everyone was a Golden Crow film emperor. In Tao Mu’s words, possessing good looks and strength. Although he was not as good-looking as Tao Mu, he was also a particularly excellent talent. After all, wasn’t Tao Mu also sincerely convinced and ready to concede himself?

What Shen Yu said, sounded as if Beijing Film had no one else except Tao Mu. Was this a friend or an enemy making a stab under the guise of a friend?

Seeing that there was something wrong with the surrounding atmosphere, Shen Yu squeezed his sleeves nervously, raised his face and asked Tao Mu: “Did I say something wrong?”

Tao Mu nodded at the classmates around him and smiled helplessly: “Okay. I know you didn’t mean anything bad. Just pay attention from now on.”

Shen Yu took a deep breath in an aggrieved manner and nodded obediently.

Mrs. Shen and Shen Yan suddenly became a little unhappy. They felt that Tao Mu was too harsh on Shen Yu. Shen Yu was still a child, and was usually spoiled by the family. How could he possess any scheming and shrewdness. Naturally, his speech would not be as flawless as Tao Mu’s. Couldn’t Tao Mu just let it be?

Yao Wenxiao couldn’t help but let out a snort and support his childhood friend: “I think Xiao Yu is very good just like this. Innocent and romantic, saying whatever is in his heart. He really feels that you are very good, and is better than others, so he said so. Don’t you think this is very valuable?”

After a pause, he also couldn’t help but say sourly: “If it was me Shen Yu admired so much, I would definitely be crazily happy.”

Tao Mu: “…..” He also felt that he was going to go crazy too.

“It’s late. If there is nothing else, you can go back and rest.” Tao Mu was too lazy to take care of these uncommunicable plot characters and directly shooed them.

Shen Yu was still looking at Tao Mu pitifully: “Aren’t you going to take me around your school?”

“It’s already dark.” Tao Mu felt exasperated: “In this darkness we can’t see anything at all. If you want to take a tour it should be during the day. Besides, your family accompanied you all the way and must definitely be tired. Why don’t you rest with them first, okay?”

So you also know that we are tired from traveling all the way? In order to come to see you, the instant Shen Yu got off the plane he didn’t even stop at the hotel and went straight to Beijing Film to see you. But this is how you treat our Yu Yu?

Everyone in the Shen family didn’t expect Tao Mu to be so ignorant and tactless, and became angry at that moment.

“Xiao Yu, since he doesn’t welcome you, let’s not stubbornly pester him. Aren’t you going to see Luo Yang? Brother will accompany you.” Yao Wenxiao’s eyes flickered, feeling wronged for Shen Yu while also at the same time pushing Shen Yu into the car. But in his heart he was thinking of how to teach Tao Mu a lesson, so that this poor bumpkin boy would know not to act so arrogant just because he created a website. Actually daring to ignore their Shen Yu?

As if you are even worthy!

Yao Wenxiao angrily stepped on the accelerator, and with a “roar”, the car drew angrily away, even the car exhaust appeared particularly angry.

The classmates who had been onlookers instantly surrounded him. Someone asked Tao Mu: “Who were those people? Their noses were practically sticking up to the sky.”

Tao Mu came back to his senses and said with a smile: “The young son of Shanghai’s Shen Group and his family. He is the school hunk chosen by Shanghai University to participate in the national school beauty school hunk selection contest.”

“Oh, the rich. No wonder.” The person chuckled: “Just looking at their aura, they’re not the same as ordinary people. Even their words hold a trace of arrogance.”

Tao Mu agreed in his heart. Suddenly, he felt something was wrong. He looked at the classmate who was talking to him, blinked subtly, and tentatively said, “Why do you say that, don’t you think Shen Yu is innocent and cute?”

“He does seem quite simple.” The classmate chuckled dryly, thinking that Shen Yu was Tao Mu’s friend, so he was embarrassed to say anything straight. But looking at the faces of the Shen family and Tao Mu’s response, they didn’t seem like it. He could only say vaguely: “If a person has a good family background and is also pampered, he’ll have a source of confidence. If he wants to be simple, then he can be simple, if he wants to be straightforward, he can be straightforward. This is not something we can get just from being envious.”

“…..Actually, you don’t need to be envious either. We all think you’re pretty good. Although we have no money and power, we have acting skills. Besides, your ability is not small either. Just started school and created such an interesting website. The way I see it, you not only want to be an actor, but also be your own boss, right?” The classmate threw his arm around Tao Mu’s shoulders in a brotherly manner, patting Tao Mu’s chest and comforting: “Cheers. We are all optimistic about you.”

Tao Mu subconsciously thanked him. Feeling rather dazed, his thoughts too messy to make sense.

Why were everyone’s reactions so different? He remembered that in his previous life, when he had just transferred to Shanghai University, everyone supported Shen Yu no matter what. No matter what Shen Yu said it was always right, no matter what he did it was never wrong. It was in that kind of extreme atmosphere that Tao Mu fell deeper and deeper, the more he struggled the crazier he became.

But now…..Shen Yu hadn’t changed, the attitude of the Shen family hadn’t changed, and Shen Yu’s admirers were still the same as well. So why was the reaction of Beijing Film’s classmates so different?

Could it be that Shen Yu’s protagonist halo had geographical limitations and time limitations? Only in the place and time period where the plot was concentrated could it have the greatest influence——such as Shanghai City, and H Town, as well as the several film festival awards and afterparties held in Beijing and Hong Kong that had clearly appeared in the book.

Outside of the time and place delineated in the plot, everyone was actually relatively normal? In fact, normal feelings of indifference and even disgust towards Shen Yu was possible instead of just blind pampering and flattering.

If this was the case, did it mean that the space he can move around in was actually larger than he thought, and he could do more things than he expected?

But to what extent could he do things so that it would not cause a backlash from the plot?

Tao Mu was completely dazed, feeling that his worldview was once again overturned.

Tao Mu felt a little psychologically unbalanced, floating back to the dormitory in a trance. He then unconsciously turned on the computer and entered the backend of FlyNews. Before Shen Yu came, he had been checking the function of the video network and the voting by netizens.

Unlike the Oscars and other award ceremonies, most of the domestic reality show competitions’ voting process generally did not bother to do notarization. Of course, this was also because the organizers of many of these shows have to operate the rankings to maximize their profits.

In fact, the selection of national school beauty and hunk organized by FlyNews also did not invite anyone to do the notarization. It was not that Tao Mu wanted to do something hidden——originally this was an activity for self-entertainment among netizens and Tao Mu intended to use this activity to promote FlyNews. He had no direct interest in any of the contestants, and of course he couldn’t play any tricks to ruin the reputation of FlyNews.

But now, as if he was bespelled, Tao Mu had an inexplicable urge to manipulate the voting algorithm so that he could tamper with the background data at any time.

Tao Mu sat in front of the computer expressionlessly, appearing as if he had a hatred for the computer. It was strange enough to catch everyone’s attention.

Du Kang, who was teaching Wen Bao to play a video game, couldn’t help asking: “What’s wrong? Who did you just go out to meet? What is that expression? Did you have a fight with someone?”

“Nothing.” Tao Mu came back to himself. For a moment, he even had an urge to shuffle Shen Yu down the rankings even if he had to tamper with the background data.

Fortunately, Du Kang interrupted his thoughts. Tao Mu came back to his senses and realized that he had no need to do such an irrational thing that could possibly even drag the newly developed FlyNews down into the water just because he hated Shen Yu.

Sure enough, was the IQ lowering buff from the protagonist halo that powerful?

Even if Shen Yu’s IQ lowering buff could not affect outsiders for the time being, he still had a very strong and subtle influence on him, a former plot character.

Maybe, this was what the saying ‘the players seeing less clearly than bystanders’ meant!

Tao Mu took a few deep breaths and calmed down his emotions slowly. Then he did one more thing, which was to find DB, one of the big four accounting firms, to do notarization overnight.

——He would rather spend a little more money to ensure the fairness and impartiality of the selection activities, then to let his IQ run freely while being under the influence of the IQ lowering buff.

Maybe he should really hurry up and fly to country M. Not only to discuss with Li Xiaoheng about the launch of FlyNews in country M. More importantly, he could take the opportunity to avoid Shen Yu’s protagonist halo.

After putting down the phone, Tao Mu tapped on the desk thoughtfully.

If he left China now, who should he leave FlyNews’ activities to?

Tao Mu first thought of brother Yao and brother Xiao Qi. But no, these two were both plot characters. Tao Mu could not guarantee whether Shen Yu’s halo would not affect Liu Yao and Meng Qi in advance. Especially in the case when these two men were helping him.

Besides Liu Yao and Meng Qi, who else could he call?

Luo Xi was not suitable either. The Luo family’s eldest miss had good abilities, but a so-so temperament, Tao Mu did not dare to trust her. As for Long Tianao, don’t even think about it. Even if this kid’s ability and character were okay, his IQ was not reliable at all. With the past episode back in H Town, Tao Mu really didn’t dare to trust him.

——Even if Long Tianao was not a plot character in his previous life, he and Shen Yu still spent some time together in H Town. Tao Mu couldn’t guarantee that with Long Tianao’s IQ, just how much was affected from long-term bathing in Shen Yu’s protagonist halo.

As for Da Mao, Xiao Pang and Feng Yuan. In the plot, they were basically cannon fodder characters who were worse off than him. It was likely that their heads would become dazed when they saw Shen Yu’s face. In truth, old man Song was a very worthy choice. However, the old man was getting on in the years and he didn’t know anything about things like the Internet.

There were his three roommates. Tao Mu thought for a while. Too little time had passed since they had met, and the three roommates did not show any talents and abilities other than acting or directing. Although Du Kang had a strong sense of variety show workings, he had not yet experienced much and had not become the hell-raising director of later years. Thinking about this, he felt a little worried about handing over such a responsibility.

At this time, Tao Mu could see that his contacts were still lacking. If he knew earlier then when he was hiring before, he should have hired a reliable professional manager as well!

Tao Mu was racking his brains anxiously, when from the corner of his eyes, he accidentally glanced at several popular medical science magazines on the shelf.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

His eyes suddenly lit up.

Tao Mu subconsciously picked up the phone and dialed Yun Yi’s number.

After three beeps, the call got through. Tao Mu said with a smile, “Big brother Yun, there’s something I need your help with~”

China’s future richest man! Possessing IQ, ability, good luck, and good ethics. This was a man worthy of trust!

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