Chapter 236 The Beauty Trap

"That Xiao Qingfeng is a despicable fellow! We thought he would crumble under our pressure, but we never expected him to cause such a commotion. Those two children's songs are now being sung everywhere; all our previous efforts have been wasted!"

The representative of the investors from Japan was also furious, his face contorted with rage, his teeth clenched, and he slammed his fist on the table, his eyes flashing with venom.

The South Korean state-owned enterprise representative continued, "This arrogant brat dares to go against us! Who does he think he is? We've been in the entertainment industry for so many years, and we've never encountered such a troublesome guy. Children's songs, children's songs, we've spent so much money, and we've lost to children's songs."

Whether he was furious or had lost his mind, the South Korean state-owned enterprise representative started laughing at the end of his speech.

The US company representative was also indignant: "He not only disrupted our plans, but also made us lose face in the industry. Those who were waiting to see him fail are now paying attention to his nursery rhymes and praising his rebellious spirit. We can't let him get away with this; we must find a way to make him disappear completely!"

Those present were all influential figures, successful people in the eyes of others. Despite their anger, after venting their rage, they began to calm down and analyze the reasons for the failure of this soft ban.

The South Korean state-owned enterprise representative frowned and said, "First of all, Xiao Qingfeng has an enormous number of fans, and their loyalty is extremely high."

“These fans come from all walks of life and have a strong sense of cohesion and execution. We thought that we could slowly dismantle his fan base by deleting comments and reducing the popularity of the topic, but we did not expect them to notice the abnormality so quickly and organize themselves to fight back.”

The US investor representative nodded: "That's right. Moreover, Xiao Qingfeng's previous military and patriotic songs have established a very solid positive image for him. In the public's eyes, he is a singer with positive energy and a sense of responsibility. Our attempts to suppress him have only made the public feel that we are persecuting a good person, which has put us at a disadvantage in terms of public opinion."

Ke Jialong added, "Furthermore, it must be admitted that Xiao Qingfeng is a very talented singer. His songs are widely sung and have a great influence. These two children's songs of his seem simple, but they can resonate strongly with netizens."

"The people of China have a unique characteristic: they have an extremely strong sense of identity with their country and culture, and they will not allow anyone or any force to slander them. If anyone dares to slander Chinese culture, it will force them to unite like never before, and no one can do anything about it. I have experienced this firsthand."

"This kind of unity against external forces is not something we can easily stop. Xiao Qingfeng has indeed accumulated a large number of loyal fans in this regard. We underestimated his creative ability before, thinking that as long as we controlled the publicity channels, we could limit his development. Now it seems that we were very wrong."

"Furthermore, we cannot ignore the power behind him. He has close ties with the military and the General Art Troupe, which means he has strong backing. When we take action, we have to consider the external pressure we may face. This also greatly restricts our soft ban operation, and we cannot do whatever we want with other artists."

After analyzing the reasons, the experts also began to reflect on themselves.

A representative of the US company lamented, "Our approach to this soft blockade was flawed. We only focused on suppressing him through online data and public opinion, without considering how deeply entrenched his influence is. We should have developed a more comprehensive plan, rather than relying solely on these superficial methods."

A representative from Sakura State-owned Assets also sighed: "We are at a disadvantage compared to Xiao Qingfeng in terms of dissemination speed. His fans genuinely like his songs and him as a person, and they support him from the bottom of their hearts. On our side, most of the traffic is generated by spending money, and these people have no loyalty whatsoever."

The South Korean state-owned enterprise representative continued, "We weren't careful enough during the operation and didn't notice the fans' reactions in time. We thought that deleting comments and other small actions wouldn't be discovered, but we didn't expect that there were so many tech-savvy fans. Our covert actions were gradually uncovered by them, which made us even more passive in the public opinion arena."

After analyzing the reasons for their failure and their shortcomings, they began to discuss their next plan to deal with Xiao Qingfeng.

A sinister and lewd smile flashed in the eyes of the South Korean representative: "I have an idea. We can use a honey trap. Although Xiao Qingfeng has been in the entertainment industry for many years, he has never had any scandals. We can find some beautiful women or models to approach him, seduce him, and make him make a mistake. Once he is involved in a scandal, his positive image will collapse, and it will be much easier for us to make our move then."

These words immediately won the approval of everyone, and even Ke Jialong couldn't help but praise them. It is said that the land of gentle pleasures is the tomb of heroes, and no man can resist the temptation of beauty.

Ke Jialong excitedly gave the South Korean representative a thumbs up and laughed, "This is your forte. There's a saying circulating on our Chinese internet: 'I envy not the lovebirds, nor the immortals, but the South Korean tycoons who live a single day without a penny to spare!'"

In the entertainment industry, a veritable melting pot, the sordid affairs between South Korean tycoons and female celebrities are no secret. Various versions circulate on the internet, each one astonishing.

There have been many more scandals that have surfaced, including stories of tycoons attending extremely luxurious private parties surrounded by a group of beautiful but vacant female celebrities.

These parties were described as lavish medieval banquets, with champagne flowing from hand to hand under dim lights, and female celebrities acting like commodities to be sold, forcing smiles under the gaze of tycoons.

Some tycoons even treat female celebrities as playthings. Under their control, these female celebrities lose their freedom and dignity, all to satisfy the tycoons' twisted desires.

There are also rumors that some girls who dream of becoming stars enter the South Korean entertainment industry full of hope that they can shine on stage, but they don't know that they are stepping into a trap set by chaebols.

These girls were coerced and lured, some of them forced to sign harsh agency contracts with tycoons, thus becoming their appendages.

According to online reports, some girls, unable to endure the torture, tried to resist but were met with cruel retaliation. The dark methods they used were appalling; there was nothing they wouldn't do.

Park Joon-hee, the South Korean representative, swirled his glass of red wine triumphantly as he continued to elaborate on his honey trap: "We can have a Chinese company step in and invite Xiao Qingfeng to cooperate, since Xiao Qingfeng might not be too wary of his own people. Then we can take the opportunity to arrange for a few beautiful celebrities and female models to get close to him."

US representative Jack nodded in agreement: "That's a good idea. KunKun International has our investment and a certain influence in the Chinese entertainment industry. Xiao Qingfeng shouldn't refuse if he intervenes. We can also have those women deliberately create opportunities for intimate contact during the collaboration, and then have someone secretly take photos. Once we have the photos, we can make a big fuss about it."

The representative from the Sakura Country, Inuzuka, smiled sinisterly: "Yes, when the time comes, we'll leak the photos, then bribe some media outlets and online trolls to manipulate public opinion, leaving Xiao Qingfeng speechless and destroying his positive image."

Ke Jialong echoed, "That's the way to do it. This time, we must ruin his reputation."

Just as they finalized their plan and were preparing to implement it, Xiao Qingfeng suddenly published a bombshell announcement online.

Xiao Qingfeng directly announced on Weibo that he was going to form a girl group and welcomed girls aged 18 to 24 and 168-178 cm tall from all over the country and even the whole of Asia to join.

The news of Xiao Qingfeng forming a girl group exploded on the internet like a super nuclear bomb, instantly creating a huge uproar.

Fans were absolutely thrilled, cheering on various social media platforms.

On Weibo, the topic of Xiao Qingfeng's upcoming girl group formation has seen a surge in popularity, quickly occupying the top spots on the trending topics list.

"Wow, Qingfeng is going to form a girl group! This is the most exciting news this year!" A fan excitedly left a comment on Weibo, along with a series of heart and cheering emojis.

"I trust Qingfeng's judgment. He'll definitely be able to create a super awesome girl group, maybe even the number one girl group in Asia!" another fan said with great anticipation.

Various fan groups were also bustling with activity, with everyone discussing what their ideal girl group should look like.

Some fans hope for a girl group with a youthful and energetic style that can showcase the vigor of young people; others expect a girl group with classical charm that can promote the beauty of Chinese culture.

"With Qingfeng overseeing things, the girl group members' talents are bound to be top-notch. They might even be proficient in dance, vocals, and musical instruments!" a veteran fan analyzed in the fan group.

"China is finally going to have its own representative girl group! Xiao Qingfeng is about to usher in a new era of entertainment!" a netizen wrote on the forum.

“I used to always see foreign girl groups becoming popular all over the world, now it’s finally our turn, and Xiao Qingfeng is leading the way, so it’s definitely going to be reliable!” another netizen chimed in.

Many entertainment media outlets also jumped on the bandwagon, publishing articles expressing their approval of Xiao Qingfeng's move.

The article praises Xiao Qingfeng's innovative spirit and courage in expanding the entertainment industry, predicting that this girl group will become a new focus in the entertainment circle.

However, just as fans were cheering and the entire internet was immersed in anticipation and praise, some discordant voices began to emerge.

Suddenly, a large number of questioning comments appeared online, like a swarm of buzzing flies trying to ruin this wonderful atmosphere.

"Hmph, what is Xiao Qingfeng up to? Forming a girl group? Or is he just using this as a pretext to satisfy his own selfish desires?" A malicious comment appeared in the Weibo comment section.

"Exactly, maybe this is just his perverse hobby, wanting to have the best of both worlds, and engaging in some kind of underhanded dealings!" Another comment echoed this sentiment, its tone full of slander.

These negative comments spread rapidly, seemingly in an organized manner.

Some netizens who were unaware of the facts began to have doubts after seeing these comments.

"Really? Xiao Qingfeng has always had a good image, is this true?" A netizen who was originally neutral couldn't help but ask on the forum after seeing these doubts.

"Who knows? Aren't these kinds of things common in the entertainment industry? They say one thing in public and another behind the scenes," replied one netizen affected by the negative comments.

Some online trolls also took the opportunity to muddy the waters, spreading a large amount of false information and malicious speculation on various platforms.

"There must be something fishy about Xiao Qingfeng forming a girl group. Maybe there's capital manipulating things behind the scenes, and he wants to make money by using the girl group!" The lies fabricated by the online trolls are getting more and more outrageous.

Fans were furious when they saw these negative comments, and they all stood up to defend Xiao Qingfeng.

"Don't talk nonsense! We know Qingfeng best. Is he the kind of person who would engage in underhanded tactics? He has always been working hard for the healthy development of the entertainment industry!" a fan retorted angrily.

"Exactly! Don't think you can smear Qingfeng by spreading rumors. He formed the girl group to give girls with dreams a chance, and to bring us better music and performances!" another fan argued.

"Don't be misled by these rumors. We should trust Xiao Qingfeng. Once the girl group is formed, everything will become clear," a rational netizen appealed on the forum.

But those who launched the malicious attacks did not stop there; they engaged in a fierce online battle with the fans.

On one side, there was the unwavering support and defense of fans; on the other side, there was the slander and defamation by malicious attackers, plunging the entire internet into chaos.

Meanwhile, the big investors who were planning to use their charms on Xiao Qingfeng were secretly delighted to see this, as they saw it as an opportunity to take advantage of.

Park Joon-hee sneered, “Hmph, it seems that we don’t need to lift a finger, someone has already started to deal with Xiao Qingfeng. We can fan the flames from behind and make these negative rumors even more intense.”

Jack nodded in agreement: "That's right, we can have the online army intensify their efforts, stir up the waters even more, and drag Xiao Qingfeng into the vortex of public opinion, leaving him unable to take care of himself."

Inuzuka smiled sinisterly: "Haha, this time we'll make sure he's utterly disgraced and can never recover."

Ke Jialong, meanwhile, was calculating how to gain the most from this chaos, since Xiao Qingfeng's move was like a pillow being delivered to someone who was about to fall asleep.

The controversy online threw Qingfeng Media into chaos, and at that moment, the assistant presented Xiao Qingfeng with the negative news he had collected.

For an artist, the two types of news they fear most are tax evasion and promiscuity. Once they are associated with either of these, no matter who they are, solid evidence against them will prevent them from ever recovering.

In the Chinese entertainment industry, this is a well-known taboo, an absolute minefield that no one dares to easily cross.

To everyone's surprise, Xiao Qingfeng only glanced at it twice before pushing the tablet aside.

"Mr. Xiao, don't act so nonchalant. This could be a big or small matter, so please respond quickly!"

Xiao Qingfeng smiled and said, "No rush, let things take their course. First, find me a dozen or twenty beautiful models, or sexy internet celebrities!"

"What are you doing?" The assistant looked at Xiao Qingfeng in astonishment.

"It's nothing, just to create some buzz for them, and at the same time, to establish a lecherous persona for myself!"

"......"