If Chen Pingjiang hadn't known about Ni Na's situation, then so be it, but since he knew, he certainly couldn't stand idly by.
What's more, he himself had also taken the girl's "first blood."
Chen Pingjiang would not admit he was a scumbag.
Wu Qian was a scumbag, and Wang Cong could be considered a playboy, but Chen Pingjiang believed he was different from them, and therefore not a scumbag.
He had Ni Na's agency proactively resolve the issue without Chen Pingjiang spending a dime.
If they didn't comply honestly, he would expose them on the spot.
The agency, far from thinking Chen Pingjiang was taking advantage of the situation, actually had to thank him for letting them off easy.
Li Jianquan's side was a complete mess; you wouldn't know how bad it was until you investigated, and then you'd be shocked.
On the surface, he was a director, but in reality, he had done many malicious things.
Embezzlement was a minor issue by comparison.
Drugging and forcing alcohol on someone constituted rape, and group activities were public indecency, and not just once or twice, enough for a ten-to-eight-year sentence.
During the training class for "The Flowers of War" crew, the other actors' gazes towards Ni Na had subtly changed.
As the incident progressed, rumors began circulating online and within the industry.
Li Jianquan had offended someone he shouldn't have; more precisely, he had provoked the big shot behind Ni Na.
"Did you hear? Her former agency rushed to terminate their contract with her, and her previous agent was also fired."
"She looks ordinary, but I didn't expect her family to have such power. Li Jianquan was said to be sent in, and he was sent in."
"You're so naive, believing whatever Ni Na says? I have insider information, it's said that the big shot who's keeping her has incredible connections, and ordinary people absolutely can't afford to offend them."
"Whether he can be provoked or not, it's good that Li Jianquan was sent in. His lecherous hands were annoying; he knew I had a boyfriend but still deliberately called me at night, using the excuse of discussing the script."
"..."
The domestic entertainment industry's ecosystem is truly much better compared to that of Korea and Japan.
Japan's entertainment industry is all about being open-minded, with a wide variety of prank content involving celebrities; there's nothing you can't imagine them doing.
The most exaggerated I've seen is a fifty-year-old man sticking his bare butt on a female celebrity's face.
Not to mention Korea, where idols are almost like geishas, and suicides are countless.
In contrast, the domestic scene is much more low-key, at most just stuffing a baseball.
Every time Chen Pingjiang saw the sorry state of the entertainment industry, he would sigh.
Former idols grew more popular by the day, while later idols constantly faced scandals.
Kuaibo was going to follow the Netflix route, transforming into a streaming platform, which would inevitably lead to a direct confrontation with platforms like LeTV, iQiyi, and Tencent Video.
While purchasing copyrights was important, it was even more crucial to own his own film and television company.
This would allow for the continuous production of hit dramas, thereby maximizing the number of user subscriptions.
Following this line of thought, upstream online novel websites also needed to be acquired.
Whether adapted into films and TV series or anime later on, it would all be good business.
After acquiring Qidian, Xiaoxiang Academy, and others, a group would be established to manage the copyrights.
"Ghost Blows Out the Light," "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles," "Battle Through the Heavens," "Douluo Dalu," "Joy of Life"...
Just holding these copyrights would be like winning at the starting line.
If he could also acquire Noon Sunshine and Happy Mahua, there would be no strong competitors in the film and television sector.
Happy Mahua goes without saying; Noon Sunshine has produced far too many hit TV series.
"Ode to Joy," "The Disguiser," "Nirvana in Fire," and so on – Chen Pingjiang couldn't even count them all.
......
In late June, the LPL League, which had been in preparation for over half a year, officially commenced.
Chen Pingjiang discreetly traveled to the Shanghai Exhibition Center to watch the first match: IG VS WE.
As the sole authorized designated company by Riot Games, Renren Esports was established under Renren Network to specifically operate the League of Legends Pro League.
The LPL, China's highest-level League of Legends competition, was thus born.
The LPL currently had eight participating teams.
They were Royal Club, WE, IG, OMG, PE, LH, WOA Wings of Dawn, and Wayi Spider.
As the sole channel for China to directly qualify for the League of Legends World Championship, LOL consisted of a Spring Split and a Summer Split each year, with each split divided into regular season and playoffs.
The total prize pool of up to five million RMB also set a domestic tournament record.
High prize money, a standardized schedule, official hosting and broadcasting, and a narrow path to the World Championship – these factors ensured that the LPL attracted player attention and team participation from its inception.
In addition to the LPL, secondary leagues and youth training camps were also currently being prepared.
To usher in the start of the LPL, "League of Legends" Chinese server carried out extensive promotion and warm-up activities, coupled with continuous promotion through multiple channels like Renren Network and Weibo, attracting a large audience from the LPL's inception.
Furthermore, since the launch of the LOL Chinese server, the number of concurrent online players had steadily risen, long surpassing the 3 million mark.
This was an extraordinary number, having long left DOTA far behind.
Tickets for the first match had long sold out, and VIP seats were being resold for twenty to thirty thousand each.
"Renren Network is reliable after all; there has never been a professional league for a single game like this in China."
"Yeah, the venues for other games are so low-key, only the LPL is quite grand."
"Who do you think will win? This match."
"Definitely WE; IG's strength is clearly not enough yet. I predict WE will take down IG 2-0 today, and WE might even win the league championship, securing a direct ticket to S1."
"Young Master Wang is not convinced. Is the mighty IG something you WE can just control?"
While a few college-aged spectators were bragging, the Young Master Wang they spoke of was bowing and nodding to Chen Pingjiang in the VIP box.
"Brother Chen, this LPL is incredibly impressive; it has instantly formalized the domestic esports industry."
Chen Pingjiang smiled and said,
"This is just the first step. The ultimate goal is to emulate the NBA, establishing a complete system of super leagues and secondary leagues, along with youth training camps and drafts. Then, we'll bring in all major companies and sponsors to expand the pie. Only then will the LPL's influence truly spread across the nation."
Wang Cong gave a thumbs-up, truly impressed.
This wasn't something you could just do with money; you also needed influence.
The more Wang Cong interacted with Chen Pingjiang, the more he realized how incredibly capable this richest man, who was several months younger than him, was.
Not only could he not compare, but even his own old man couldn't either.
Especially with the recent rumors circulating about Chen Pingjiang and the entertainment industry, Wang Cong felt that Chen Pingjiang was not just as harmless as he appeared on the surface, but rather quick, ruthless, and deadly accurate in his actions, striking to kill.
Everyone said he was the "entertainment industry disciplinary inspector," but what was he compared to Chen Pingjiang?
What made Young Master Wang unhappy was that IG lost the LPL's opening match, suffering a 0-2 defeat to WE.
However, to everyone's surprise, the first LOL match garnered over ten million views.
This was an extraordinary number.
After all, it was only 2010, and even without considering TV broadcasts, the NBA's online viewership might not have been as high as the LPL's.
What made major sponsors even more eager was this:
Among these ten million viewers, over eighty percent were aged 18-28, with another fifteen percent aged 28-38.
Viewers over 40 accounted for only 5%.
Young, predominantly male — didn't this perfectly align with the target demographic for products like electronics and automobiles?
Consequently, over the next month, a series of major international brands, including Gigabyte, ASUS, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Dell, successively reached cooperation agreements with the respective teams.
This delighted the teams, who were used to meager fare.
This was unimaginable in the past.
In the era before the LPL, these teams were pitifully struggling.
Players' salaries were at most two to three thousand yuan a month.
Teams with poorer conditions trained in three-bedroom private homes, while even better-off teams only rented villas in the suburbs.
Most sponsors were domestic brands making gaming chairs, keyboards, and internet cafes.
Some teams couldn't even afford a coach.
After major brand sponsors entered, Renren Esports, as the tournament organizer, immediately required all teams to operate formally.
Each team had to be equipped with a head coach, a tactical analyst, and a team manager, and the minimum salary for players was established.
After a series of rectifications, teams significantly improved their skill levels with more funding, and the LPL's watchability consequently increased.
Good match watchability, in turn, attracted more traffic and attention, forming a positive cycle.
Consequently, more and more young people wanted to join professional teams and participate in the LPL to gain fame and money.
LOL's popularity and various metrics also rose continuously as a result.
Within just one month, other global regions launched their leagues sequentially.
These included the North American LCS, European LEC, and Korean LCK, among others.
Only then did many people finally see Renren Network's strategic plan clearly.
"I thought it was on the first floor, but it turns out it's in the stratosphere."
"LOL already makes a lot of money just from selling skins and Riot Points; with so many leagues worldwide now, it must be raking in profits."
"Clearly, ticket revenue, broadcast revenue, copyright revenue, and merchandise will all become more valuable as LOL's influence grows."
"Little Blizzard is truly laughable; if Warcraft and StarCraft had played this game earlier, they wouldn't have fallen into decline so quickly."
"Don't even mention Blizzard; they've offered almost no support for esports. Without official promotion to professionalize the competitions, it simply can't develop. Meager prize money can't attract top-tier players, can't increase attention, and ultimately fades into obscurity. Only a large company like Renren Network can pull this off."
Amidst the intense online discussions, the head of Renren Esports publicly stated: "We will actively push for 'League of Legends' competitions to be included in the Asian Games, making esports a true sport for the first time. We also hope to use this opportunity to showcase the spirit of game enthusiasts and the sportsmanship of never giving up and never abandoning."
Chen Pingjiang's personal Weibo retweeted and commented on this news.
"We also hope that through this action, we can vindicate the vast number of esports enthusiasts and show that we are not just playing games."
(End of chapter)