How can I justify myself as a Magnate if I don't indulge myself?

Ouyang Nana was slightly taken aback...

Gu Heng was right, she really didn't dare...

Legally speaking, she hadn't signed any contract with Gu Heng, just a verbal agreement, so even if she really reneged on the deal, Gu Heng wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Even if he wanted to sue her, the court wouldn't accept the case...

But that was under normal circumstances...

There are many things in this world that the law can't govern; why do ordinary people trust the law so much? It's because they have no other hope but to expect the law to treat them fairly.

But at Gu Heng's level, the law was no longer the only means of recourse.

If she offended Gu Heng, a super-rich tycoon, he had countless ways to make her relent...

The first, and most straightforward, was a soft ban.

By using his influence and dominance over capital in the entertainment industry to ensure she had no roles to act, no endorsements to sign, no exposure to speak of.

The entertainment industry is fickle, craving novelty and disdaining the old. A simple soft ban wouldn't take long—three years? Two years? Perhaps only one year would be enough to make a current A-list top-tier celebrity like her forgotten.

Why is the celebrity hierarchy in the entertainment industry so strict?

Isn't it because one fears inadvertently offending some big shot and becoming subject to a soft ban, hence one treads carefully?

As for the second method, it's much more brutal.

That is to spend money buying negative publicity.

Any celebrity, no matter how harmless they seem on screen, no matter how much they appear to be a pure, innocent flower, if they've made it to the top-tier A-list, their past isn't likely to be squeaky clean.

Normally, nobody digs deep because there's no need, but if you offend a rich boss who has money to spare, a bounty goes out, and countless paparazzi will scramble to spill secrets. If they can't find any dirt, they'll fabricate a series of negative stories.

And today's internet is a place where right and wrong are confused; as long as there is negative publicity, regardless of its credibility, it will inevitably attract a swarm of trolls ready to attack.

It can be said that the second method is even more terrifying than the first.

With the first method, a soft ban, reconciliation is still possible. If truly reconciled, one could continue to make money.

But with the second, one's reputation would be truly ruined, with no chance of a comeback in this lifetime.

The former top star, one of the "Four Returnee Sons" who dominated an era, wasn't Wu smeared because he offended some big shot in the capital? During that period, all the negative stories about him emerged all at once?

There are actually many celebrities like Wu who have been tarnished, but his case was the most severe; he not only completely disappeared from the entertainment industry but also ended up with a hefty prison sentence.

Ouyang Nana had never heard of Gu Heng's name in the entertainment circle, and she knew Gu Heng was not entertainment capital, so he probably couldn't soft ban her.

But still...

Capital is always capital.

It definitely wouldn't be difficult for him to destroy a celebrity like her...
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Thinking about this, Ouyang Nana couldn't help but shiver inwardly when she looked at Gu Heng's indifferent face...

Perhaps the casual kindness Gu Heng showed her throughout the day had skewed her perception of him, and only now did she realize that there was never, and could never be, equality between herself and Gu Heng...

As time went by, a minute quickly passed...

After Gu Heng bid up the price to 700,000, no one followed suit...

Auctioneer Celia saw that the proxy who had been bidding hung up the phone and understood, being able to go over by more than a hundred-thousand Euros was already the limit for the 5062/450R-001, and she did not persist any further...

After quickly announcing "700,000 Euros for the third time," she banged the small wooden hammer and said with a respectful smile, "Congratulations to Mr. Gu for winning today's lot number 5 with a high bid of 700,000 Euros!"

As Celia's words fell, the auction room also filled with formulaic applause.

Gu Heng, somewhat disinterested, leaned back in the sofa, crossing his legs...

He had thought a Patek Philippe auction would be interesting, with fierce competition, at least involving tycoons throwing money around. He hadn't expected it to be so unimpressive...

A mere several hundred-thousand Euros was already the highest bid of the event, not even reaching into the millions...

Seeing Gu Heng's languid demeanor, Ouyang Nana asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Gu Heng cracked his knuckles, producing a crisp sound, and spoke lazily, "I feel like this auction was a bit of a waste, totally uninspired."

"Uninspired? Is it because there wasn't a watch you were interested in?"

"That's part of it."

Ouyang Nana wanted to inquire further, but then hesitated as something occurred to her, "You don't think the scale of the auction is too small, do you?"

Gu Heng didn't hide his thoughts and nodded.

To participate in an auction for the first time and to this extent, it was indeed a letdown...

When Ouyang Nana saw Gu Heng nod, she fell silent...

For a while, she didn't know whether Gu Heng was just putting on airs or if he really thought that way...

"Actually, the scale of this auction is not small at all, only five lots have appeared so far, and the auction amount has already reached over 3 million Euros, which is over 20 million RMB. I don't know about the rest of the world, but domestically, an auction that reaches tens of millions is considered quite large-scale."

Gu Heng actually understood what Ouyang Nana meant, so he was just venting, otherwise, he would have left much earlier.