Huayu Tianxian: This director is such a hypocrite!

February 12, 2004, 8 PM.

In the Feiye conference room, Ye Chong, Chen Zhixi, Lan Sheng, and a group of others sat around the conference table.

Ye Chong tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his gaze fixed on an employee in the distance.

The air in the meeting room grew increasingly heavy until, at a certain moment, a startled exclamation shattered the silence: "They're out! They're out!"

"brush--"

A group of people suddenly turned their attention to that person.

"Opening day box office: The Unknown... 5.07 million! Coco... 1.26 million."

After the young man in charge of compiling the data finished reading, he subconsciously glanced at Ye Chong, who was sitting at the head of the table.

Ye Chong simply looked down at the table in front of him, his expression unchanged. The others in the conference room, however, all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Great! I've made my money back in just one day!"

"Idiot, that's box office revenue; you have to share it with the theaters and distributors!"

"President Ye's promotional plan is truly top-notch!"

Chen Zhixi rolled her eyes.

That's really impressive. He even sacrificed his own reputation by doing this, trying to put others down and create conflict. How could that not be attractive?

"Slap! Slap!"

At this moment, Ye Chong clapped his hands twice, and the meeting room immediately fell silent.

Ye Chong, his face stern, scanned the room. Just as everyone's hearts were pounding with anxiety, he grinned and announced, "Tonight! It's a street food stall, my treat!"

"Ooh ooh ooh!"

"marvelous!"

The meeting room erupted in cheers; some lively contestants, like Tu Da, even jumped up and down on the spot.

Chen Zhixi almost couldn't hold back her laughter.

These people are still young, so they can settle things at a street food stall.

"Mr. Ye."

"Hmm? What's wrong, Ming?"

Ah Ming, who had been processing the data, adjusted his glasses: "Do you need me to explain in more detail?"

Ye Chong nodded calmly: "Okay, go ahead."

"Okay. Our screening share for 'The Unknown' is 7% and 'Coco' is 9%, and the critical acclaim is about the same, but there's a huge suspicion that the other film is being manipulated by paid trolls..."

As Ye Chong listened to him, he kept his head down fiddling with his flip phone. He only looked up at the crucial moment and said, "Okay, I understand."

His voice was calm, revealing no emotion.

When A-Ming mentioned Lu's press conference, everyone's attention was immediately drawn to him again.

"Tell me in detail."

"Okay." Ah Ming adjusted his glasses again and moved the mouse to refresh the webpage.

"Ahem... Half an hour ago, Mr. Lu gave an interview to the media, in which he explained some of the difficulties in creating 'Coco,' telling the story of Tibetan antelopes, life, and faith."

"Get to the point."

"Yes!" Ah Ming's hand trembled slightly as he continued scrolling down. "When a reporter asked him about his thoughts on the opening day box office battle, his face darkened, and he said..."

"Box office... box office doesn't tell the whole story."

At a press conference held on the second floor of a hotel in Chaoyang District, Lu took off his glasses, his voice slightly strained: "Coco is a film that requires you to calm down and appreciate it. It focuses on life, ecology, and human repentance. It may not grab the audience's attention like some... some more entertaining works do right away."

"But I've seen many movie fans posting that: Director Ye's films are really meaningful. The comedies that focus on ordinary people actually reflect the tragic reality of the general public."

Lu forced an awkward smile at the reporter: "I didn't specifically name Ye Chong. Even if I did, I didn't say his film was meaningless, did I?"

"Then how do you explain the box office failure?"

Mr. Lu put on his glasses and remained silent for a long time, seemingly trying to find a more appropriate word.

But when she looked up again, her eyes gradually reddened: "I...we who make art films, we were prepared for this. The market has its own choices, that's normal, really...normal."

As he spoke, his eyes reddened, and his voice choked with emotion. "I just feel... a little sad. Our team endured so much hardship on the plateau, almost risking our lives, hoping more people would see the story of that land. But now... it seems... it seems..."

He couldn't keep up the act in the end, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Click click click—"

Reporters don't care if you cry or not; the shutter clicks incessantly, the flashes never stop, and the next tricky question follows immediately.

"Some moviegoers have reported that you seem to have hired online trolls to inflate reviews? Renowned film critic Zhang Feng said: 'The artistry of your film has nothing to do with directing technique.' What is your opinion on this?"

"I, I really tried my best! Waaah..." He turned his face to the side and quickly wiped his face with the back of his hand.

The scene erupted in commotion, and camera shutters clicked even faster.

Some female reporters showed expressions of sympathy, while others were quickly taking notes in their notebooks.

Lu continued, his voice still choked with sobs: "And... I don't understand, why can't we give different films more space? Why must we be so... aggressive? Film is an art form, something noble, and shouldn't be associated with gambling!"

He spoke the word "gambling" very softly, but it clearly reached the ears of every reporter.

The words "aggressive" and "gambling" were quickly associated with Ye Chong's name and became a hot topic.

Although Lu did not name names, everyone knew who he was referring to.

After all, Ye Chongchong's "unruly" and "outspoken" nature had already become well-known in the industry.

"My suggestion is to give both movies more time. You can't keep writing reviews forever. Let's look at the comments from other users on Douban. Besides, I'm not trying to argue which is better..."

Stop.

In the conference room, Ye Chong raised his hand to stop A Ming from speaking.

That's so damn awful, it makes me want to vomit!

What kind of innocent-looking woman is this? Acting all manipulative and crying in a coquettish way? Are you some kind of Lin Daiyu?

"Alright, I understand. He's just trying to make up for it by focusing on artistic merit and Douban ratings since he couldn't beat the box office."

"What are you planning to do?"

After pondering for a moment, Ye Chong took out his phone and began editing the text.

Chen Zhixi and Lan Sheng peeked over.

Ye Chong didn't write any lengthy explanation; he simply typed out a short and concise statement:

"I saw Director Lu's statement. I agree that box office figures only represent one day's results and don't tell the whole story. 'Coco' was hard-won and deserves respect. As for being 'aggressive,' I think the only thing I might be better at than Director Lu is that I don't cry. After all, Director Lu hasn't experienced being relentlessly attacked online, nor has he experienced being bombarded with baseless 'dirt' until he can't breathe. Losing on the opening day is a loss for me; I'll try again next time. But it seems I haven't learned the skill of 'being unable to accept defeat.'"

"As for reading the comments on Douban, I suggest that netizens save and hide them well, lest Director Lu loses again and cries after seeing them. I feel sorry for Director Lu who buried 'Coco'; you don't want to see that happen a second time, do you?"

He didn't check it and just clicked send.

Lan Sheng and Chen Zhixi exchanged a glance and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha……"

"Giggle giggle..."

"What's so funny!" Ye Chong spat out in annoyance, slammed his hand on the table, and stood up.

"Let's go! Ladies, let's have a feast at the Qingdao food stalls!"

"Oh, oh, oh!"