Yao Yingxia's thoughts weren't as simple as Zhang Li's speculation.
Whether Laila learned about Han Mingjiang and his film through the film festival couldn't be proven yet—but what if she hadn't? What if she had found out about him in advance through other, more covert channels? What if she already knew that he had offended someone, and that was why his film couldn't be released?
Then, did her phone call carry other implications?
You couldn't blame her for overthinking. How many people who had thrived in the bureaucracy didn't possess a mind as sharp and intricate as a seven-jointed jade pendant? If you couldn't even grasp the "meaning between the lines" of a superior's words, what right did you have to be considered for promotion?
Zhang Li saw her expression shifting and assumed she was disgusted by the filth of the entertainment industry.
"You don't need to get so worked up about it," he shook his head and said. "Think about the traditions passed down from the old generation twenty years ago—even someone like me finds the whole thing so murky it's hard to bear. But there's a mutual-benefit aspect to it, too. Just like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai—one's willing to beat, the other's willing to take it. Can you manage everyone? Once you've seen enough of it, your heart just goes cold."
He truly just didn't want to see a talented director fall in a place he shouldn't have. Otherwise, with his usual tendency to keep his head down and avoid trouble, why would he knowingly recommend Han Mingjiang to the film festival after knowing he'd offended someone?
Yao Yingxia nodded absentmindedly, still shaken by the suspicion that had surfaced in her mind moments earlier. If Laila had come to her for some other hidden reason, how should she respond? Now that she knew there was someone pulling strings in the dark, in any other situation, she might not have chosen to step in.
As a woman who had climbed to her current position, she bore far too many burdens and scars. Long ago, she had lost the luxury of dealing with matters with simplistic idealism. If it had been Yao Yingxia who had just stepped into society, her sense of justice would have driven her to confront that rich second-generation brat head-on.
But now...
"Who was it that he offended?"
Zhang Li glanced at her, then dipped his finger into the tea and wrote a character on the table surface 'Yu', tapping on it twice.
It wasn't that he was being overly cautious—but that surname represented things far beyond what someone like him, a mere director, could afford to meddle in.
When Yao Yingxia saw the character, her expression instantly grew serious. But when he tapped twice on it, she let out a breath of relief.
"As long as it's the second son of the Yu family, it's fine. If it were the eldest… now that would be troublesome."
Zhang Li rolled his eyes. "If it were the eldest, I'd have run as far away as I could. No way I'd get involved. And really—do you think that person would do something like this?"
"True," Yao Yingxia chuckled, her expression noticeably more relaxed. "Looks like I'll have to go talk with the Yu family's eldest son."
Zhang Li laughed too. "You really plan to get involved?"
"No choice. This is a great opportunity, after all. It's so hard for us Easterners to get a foothold in that part of the world. Director Moran has excellent character, and directors in Hollywood who are so enthusiastic about casting Eastern actors are one in a million. Just for that alone, I owe it to her to fulfill her request, don't you think?"
Zhang Li gave her a thumbs-up. "If everyone were like you, how could our Eastern film industry not make it onto the global stage?"
Yao Yingxia smiled and downed her tea in one gulp.
To be honest, if the one behind this had been the eldest son of the Yu family, she would have turned around and left without hesitation, come up with some excuse, and brushed Laila off.
In the whole capital, who didn't know about the two oddities of the Yu family?
The eldest—be it his temperament or his ability—was the absolute top of the East. At his coming-of-age ceremony at eighteen, the Yu family patriarch handed over the position of clan leader to him. And he didn't disappoint. In just over a decade, he had multiplied the family's wealth several times over. In the Yu family, his word was law—nobody dared to contradict him.
Outside the family, he was also someone whose word was final. Anyone who dared to go against him would undoubtedly get a taste of "When the weather cools, the king falls".
The Yu family's second son, on the other hand, was a different kind of oddball—a well-known playboy in the capital. Whether you were talking about the Four Young Masters or the Eight Prodigies, any ranking of notorious second-generation heirs would have his name on it.
Many said that the second son had been deliberately raised into a good-for-nothing, just so he wouldn't pose a threat to the eldest son.
No one could say for sure whether that was true, but even if he was a bit of a playboy, the second son wasn't the kind who went around seeking death. He liked partying, flashy cars, and beautiful women—but he wasn't married, didn't have a steady girlfriend. As long as it was consensual, who could say anything about it?
He was smart—knew who he could mess with and who he absolutely shouldn't. Even though his own brother was the head of the Yu family, he "kept a low profile" and just enjoyed life, never causing real trouble for the family.
Take this latest incident, for example—he thought he'd been wronged. Chasing girls was normal, right? It wasn't every day you met someone that clear-headed and unpretentious, so he made a move. So what?
But not only was he rejected, he got shoved hard enough to throw his back out. That incident became prime joke material for his gang of rowdy friends.
He just wanted to chase a girl, not snatch someone off the street. Did it really warrant that kind of over-the-top "I'd rather die than submit" scene?
So after being mocked for days by his friends, the Yu family's second son, unable to swallow his pride, found out that the guy who'd shoved him was a film director—and was trying to release a movie. He immediately sent word to blacklist him.
Want your film released? Don't make me laugh. It's just a movie—anyone with money can make one. Who do you think you are?
Honestly, this whole thing never needed to blow up the way it did. The second young master of the Yu family wasn't the clingy type. If they'd just talked it out, gone their separate ways—everything would've been fine, right?
But Han Mingjiang—who knows if it was the heat of the moment or some "hero saving the damsel" fantasy from watching too much TV—got caught up in it and pushed the guy. Not only did it push him, but it also injured his back!
That's his waist, for heaven's sake! Just imagine the second son of the Yu family, clutching his back on the way to the doctor, then getting laughed at by his whole circle of friends. With that kind of background, that level of humiliation—how could he possibly let it go?
Yao Yingxia only went to see the Yu family's eldest after she'd thoroughly investigated the whole matter. Honestly, the whole incident was messy, not something worth making enemies over.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard from Director Zhang that it was the second son who stirred up trouble, and not the eldest. She knew the eldest son was someone reasonable—if she could talk to him, the matter could likely be resolved.
And that's exactly what happened.
When she arrived at the eldest Yu brother's office and explained the whole situation in a neutral tone, she was met with a completely expressionless face.