Traffic Star Development Program

Chapter 64 is full of shady dealings.

The sheet of paper was as thin as a hotel bill, resting lightly on the table, seemingly weightless, yet exuding an indescribable sharpness.

Xu Wen didn't say a word. With a gentle push of his fingertips, he slid the paper in front of Zeng Hao, leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette, and slowly exhaled smoke rings, clearly waiting for Zeng Hao to finish reading before speaking.

The paper listed Zhang Tianai's name, clearly stating that it had been exactly eighteen months since the contract was signed, with thirty-seven notices lined up in a row. The amount had increased from eight thousand yuan a day at the beginning to thirty-two thousand yuan now, with each payment clearly marked with the after-tax amount. The handwriting was so neat it looked printed, and even the notes for taxi fares, meal allowances, and clothing reimbursements were listed separately, each item clearly distinguished.

Zeng Hao knew at a glance that this was definitely organized by Sister Liu, not by Xu Wen.

Xu Wen's numbers are always off-target, and his decimal points are always crooked. Only Sister Liu is meticulous, does things step by step, and is never ambiguous.

He read the entire page from beginning to end without nodding or shaking his head, his face completely expressionless, as if it were a piece of waste paper. After finishing, he looked up and asked, "How many industry accounts have you contacted?"

Xu Wen stubbed out his cigarette and counted on his fingers: "The two stable partners are both small gossip accounts in the entertainment industry, not the kind of top accounts with tens of millions of followers, but their comment sections are very active, and their fans are willing to share and believe them."

"Find those with high trust levels, not those with the highest traffic." Zeng Hao pushed the paper towards him with his fingertips, his tone as indifferent as water. "Just post this, without any explanation, comments, or guidance. Post the data exactly as it is and let people see for themselves."

Xu Wen picked up the paper, glanced at it, paused for two seconds, then suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" His eyes lit up, and his tone was full of belated realization: "So the reason you asked me to organize Zhang Tianai's things before, not because of Sister Di, was because—"

"Zhang Tianai's salary increase is even steeper and more impressive." Zeng Hao interrupted him before he could finish, his tone completely calm. "A newcomer, his salary more than quadrupled in eighteen months, who's being exploited? Do fans get paid that fast?"

"Someone will definitely jump out and say: You only earn 3,000 a month, but you feel sorry for others who earn tens of thousands a month."

"This is exactly the effect we want."

Xu Wen swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue, not daring to ask any more questions. He quickly shoved the paper into his black file bag, stood up, and walked out, his steps becoming much lighter.

He stopped at the door, turned back hesitantly, and asked, "Should I blur your face? And what's the exact amount—"

"No need," Zeng Hao said without even looking up.

"it is good."

The door closed gently, without making a sound.

In the entertainment industry, there has always been an unspoken rule regarding the salaries of artists.

The figures that agencies report to the public are always pre-tax figures, which sound impressive. What actually reaches the artist is the post-tax amount. After taxes and commissions are deducted, it's considered good if they can get half of it.

In Ding Sheng's smear article, the so-called "pay below market price" is just playing word games. By comparing the pre-tax quotes, it seems lower, but it's all a shady business.

The list compiled by Xu Wen is entirely after-tax, accurate to the single digit, with the tax items clearly marked next to it. Calculating backwards, the pre-tax price is actually higher than the figure written in Ding Sheng's article.

Zeng Hao was too lazy to explain this matter in detail.

He knows people online all too well; there's never a shortage of people who can do the math. Just present the clear data, and someone will naturally finish the story for you, without you having to say a word.

This is why you should look for smaller accounts with high trust levels, rather than large, top-tier accounts with high traffic.

When a large, high-traffic account posts something, the first reaction of fans is that it's a PR piece or a paid article, and they don't believe a word of it. But it's different with smaller, more trustworthy accounts. Fans are willing to read it carefully and do the math, making it ten times more effective than a large account.

Zeng Hao didn't think much of it and reopened the script for "Three Lives Three Worlds," turning directly to scene thirty-three.

It was completely dark outside the window, but people were still walking back and forth in the office building corridor, their voices coming through the door panels, muffled and unclear, making the office seem unusually quiet.

Xu Wen returned two hours later.

When he pushed the door open, the excitement that had been building up for so long finally burst forth. He strode across the table, and without a word, held up his phone screen to Zeng Hao, his eyes practically gleaming.

"Mr. Zeng, look at the comments section."

Zeng Hao didn't reach out to take it, nor did he even lift his eyelids; he simply gestured, "Read it."

Xu Wenqing cleared his throat, suppressing his excitement, and read aloud selected popular comments:

"I did the math, and after taxes it's four times higher. Is that what you call exploitation? Our company only doubles our salary after five years. Where can I complain?"

"Hey, Dingsheng Media, could you at least use a calculator before writing your article? Doesn't your face hurt?"

"It turns out that the article used pre-tax figures. I knew something didn't look right. Turns out they were playing word games."

"And another thing," Xu Wen put his phone away, his voice even lower, barely concealing his excitement, "the top comment in the original post's comment section has changed. Someone directly asked, 'What's wrong? I don't see it.' It's already got over six thousand likes."

Zeng Hao calmly turned a page of the script, his tone still unchanging: "Any movement from Dingsheng?"

"Not yet," Xu Wen said with a smile. "It's just that the criticism they bought before seems particularly abrupt now, completely out of sync with the rhythm of real netizens. Some people have already started taking screenshots, saying that this paid troll is too obvious, and they're so embarrassed they're picking their toes."

After Xu Wen finished speaking, he waited for several seconds, but found that Zeng Hao did not show any sign of celebration on his face. He did not even say "good" or "not bad". He still looked calm and indifferent.

He had no choice but to continue, "So... should we add another batch of Di-jie's data later? You said before that it depended on the situation—"

"No need," Zeng Hao interrupted directly. "Zhang Tianai's page is enough. Sending Di Jie's page would seem deliberate and would backfire, like adding unnecessary details."

Xu Wen put her phone back in her pocket, looked up at him, and asked in disbelief, "Is it really over just like that?"

"It's settled."

"Are we just going to let things go with Dingsheng like this?"

Zeng Hao folded a corner of the script, gently put it down, and without even looking up, said in a tone with the detachment typical of someone who's been through it all: "They're not losing out this time, they're losing out the next time."

Xu Wen stood there pondering for a long time, but still couldn't figure out what those words meant.

However, he had already learned that with President Zeng, if you don't understand something, don't ask questions. Asking too many questions will only cause trouble. So he simply nodded and opened the notebook in his hand: "The interview time for 'Day Day Up' has been confirmed. It's the afternoon after tomorrow. Chu Ran and Chen Lei will go together."

"Hmm," Zeng Hao responded. "Did you send those seven questions to the production team?"

"It's been sent, and the other party said there's no problem and they'll do exactly what we gave them."

"Regarding the last question," Zeng Hao instructed, "tell the host not to rush to answer, and give her enough time to finish speaking."

Xu Wen quickly jotted it down in his notebook, then paused and tentatively asked in a low voice, "President Zeng, when is the release date for 'Diamond Lover'?"

Zeng Hao picked up the script again and casually tossed it at him: "You don't need to know."

"……good."

Xu Wen dared not ask any more questions, and quietly slipped out, closing the door behind him.

The office returned to silence.

Zeng Hao took out his phone and sent a message to Sister Liu. The message was very simple, containing only a date.

Three minutes later, Sister Liu replied: Received, ready.

It's that simple.

On the day "Diamond Lover" was released, he remembered everything about Dingsheng Media's competitors: which time slot they were in, how many resource slots they had allocated, and how much advertising they had signed in advance. He knew it all perfectly well, down to the last detail.

He was particularly impressed by his competitor's film, "Love in Flames".

On the day of the premiere, the barrage comments were sparse, and the comment section was full of paid trolls for the first two hours. When real viewers came in during the third hour, the only comment was "Why was the beginning so rushed?" After that, it completely flopped and didn't make a splash at all.

Dingsheng went to great lengths, inquiring everywhere about the release date of "Diamond Lover," racking their brains to block the release and try to crush them.

pity.

The date they found out was never real.

Zeng Hao leaned back in his chair, gazing at the pitch-black night outside the window, a faint, almost imperceptible smile curving his lips.

Playing dirty tricks?

They're still too inexperienced.