Chapter 394: Deprivation of Rights and Public Opinion Turmoil

On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, when Wei Jin came out of his room, he saw Jing Tian walking out of the kitchen carrying a plate of food.

This was her first time visiting, so Jing Tian was very mindful of the impression she made on his elders; the two had slept in separate rooms last night.

Therefore, the time Wei Jin woke up was also much later than usual.

Seeing Wei Jin, the young girl's face broke into a smile.

"Brother, come and have breakfast."

"Heh, Tian Tian, you're up early enough, haha."

Wei Jin teased with a smile; it was clear the young girl was trying to make a good impression.

One had to know that she and Liu Yifei were usually very fond of sleeping in, often not getting up even when the sun was already hitting their backsides.

"You're the lazy one, yet you blame Tian Tian for being early?"

Wei Xingbang came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and carrying a large tray, retorted at Wei Jin, and then smiled at Jing Tian.

"Tian Tian, come and eat."

Jing Tian nodded and set out the bowls and chopsticks.

"Mm, thank you, Uncle."

"Fine, you're right, old man."

Wei Jin didn't argue with his father, picking up the rice porridge on the table and starting to drink it.

"By the way, Dad, where is Uncle?"

"Him? He got up early and went back to his old house, saying some friends were coming to visit."

Regarding his own older brother, Wei Xingbang didn't know what to say; how many years had it been, and he was still dwelling in the past.

"Right, don't you have a movie showing? Why don't you take Tian Tian to see it later?"

"Tian Tian, do you want to go?"

To be honest, Wei Jin really didn't want to watch it; from filming to post-production to the premiere, he had watched it at least several dozen times, and he truly had no anticipation left.

Fortunately, Jing Tian was very understanding; she also knew the process Wei Jin had gone through, so she shook her head.

"Forget it, Brother, let's just stay at home and keep Uncle company."

"What is there to keep an old man like me company for? You young people should go out and have fun."

Wei Xingbang waved his hand; sometimes, parents feel like they are a third wheel, and he had that feeling right now.

"It's fine, Uncle, you can tell me about things from when Brother was little, hee hee."

Jing Tian looked at Wei Jin with a beaming smile, as if she wanted to dig up his embarrassing childhood stories.

To this, Wei Jin shrugged to show he didn't mind, and Wei Xingbang stopped trying to persuade them.

After breakfast, Wei Jin posted on Weibo; although he hadn't personally kept an eye on the box office for *Once Again*, as a film carried solely by Liu Yifei, he also hoped for a dazzling result.

As expected, once Wei Jin's Weibo post went out, a large number of celebrities and artists quickly and consciously helped to repost it.

Taking advantage of having nothing to do while staying at home, Wei Jin also started making phone calls to wish people a Happy New Year; such social exchanges were essential during the Spring Festival.

At noon, Wei Jin received a call from Liu Yifei.

"Brother, our movie's attendance rate is super high. We visited two cinemas this morning, and the popularity was explosive."

Through the phone, Wei Jin could feel the young girl's joy.

"Yifei, you've worked hard."

"It's not hard work; I also hope the results can be worthy of our efforts."

"Mm, they definitely will be."

After some sweet talk, Wei Jin hung up the phone, pulled up the roadshow group for *Once Again* that had been set up initially, and started sending out red envelopes.

Before long, he saw someone with quick hands pop up.

"Thank you, Boss, for the big red envelope! Wishing you prosperity!"

As soon as Wei Jin saw this WeChat cartoon avatar, he knew it was Shu Chang and immediately sent a message.

"Changchang, you are not allowed to let Yifei drink milk tea, okay? If she gains weight while on the roadshow, I'm holding you responsible."

"What? She's the one who keeps taking me to drink it. Boss Wei, you can't put the cart before the horse and fail to distinguish right from wrong."

"If that's the case, then I authorize you to supervise Yifei and make sure she doesn't drink milk tea. If her weight hasn't increased when the roadshow ends, there will be a reward."

"Don't worry, Big Boss, I'll keep a close eye on her."

Having received Shu Chang's guarantee, Wei Jin nodded with satisfaction, looking for a moment at the living room where his dad was chatting with Jing Tian about his childhood, the latter covering her mouth and smiling from time to time.

Shaking his head, Wei Jin went into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

On the other side, Shu Chang hung up the phone and reached out to snatch the milk tea from Liu Yifei's hand, leaving the latter looking bewildered.

She hadn't had a chance to check the messages in the group yet, so naturally, she didn't know her best friend had already defected.

"What are you doing, Changchang? Give it back to me."

As she spoke, Liu Yifei reached out to grab it, but because it was inconvenient to move in the nanny van and she was afraid of spilling it on herself, she never succeeded.

"Hehe, sorry, Xixi, Boss Wei has spoken; starting today, you have been deprived of the right to drink milk tea."

Shu Chang wore a sycophantic expression, looking exactly like a female version of Hunter.

"What? If you don't tell him, how would he know?"

"That won't do; what if you really gain weight? Then my reward would be gone."

"Fine, you traitorous girl, I'll scratch you to death!"

The driver sitting in the front row didn't know about the two girls' laughter and giggling; he was already driving toward the next roadshow location. Early on the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, after breakfast, Wei Jin took some time to pay attention to news about *Once Again*.

As expected, all the major portals and film news sites were filled with the box office performance of the films from the first day of the Lunar New Year.

"The first-day box office for *Once Again* is astonishing, closing at 46.3 million!"

"The 3D martial arts blockbuster *Flying Swords of Dragon Gate* finds new life in the Spring Festival Film Season, with a single-day take of 26.4 million, and the total box office has broken the 700 million mark!"

"The Viral Factor has hit a wall, reporting 8 million on the first day of the Lunar New Year; it is beyond saving."

"The appeal of the Best Actor Liang is gone; The Great Magician has a single-day box office of less than 6 million."

"The Spring Festival Film Season has ignited; the total single-day box office is nearing the 100 million mark, and the film market is becoming increasingly explosive."

Jing Tian, who was to the side, leaned over to take a look and was somewhat surprised.

"Brother, the opening day box office is so high; doesn't that mean it might reach 1 billion?"

"Tian Tian, it's not calculated that way. Holiday box office usually accounts for more than 50% of this film's total; I estimate the final landing will be around 600-700 million."

To be honest, this result was somewhat beyond Wei Jin's expectations.

But after a little reflection, he understood.

It was thanks to the prior word-of-mouth fermentation, the promotional push of the three songs, and the golden reputation Wei Jin had built over a long period.

The cinema chains were very optimistic about the film Once Again, giving it a high average screening rate of 40% early on.

Coupled with the tireless promotional roadshows by Liu Yifei and the creative team, as well as the support from a large number of stars and artists in the industry, it truly drove the enthusiasm of many fans to watch the film.

With the addition of these various external forces, having this result was within reason.

It was the situation with Flying Swords of Dragon Gate that exceeded Wei Jin's expectations; according to this trend, the probability of it breaking 1 billion was very high.

"I see," Jing Tian nodded to show she understood, then immediately remembered the film she had just glimpsed.

"Brother, let's go watch a movie later. How about that film by Brother Huang, Crazy Dinner Party?"

This film was also released on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Actually, Jing Tian had wanted to go see it yesterday, but she was afraid it would be a terrible flop, so she only suggested it today after seeing that the film's ratings and word-of-mouth were quite good.

"Sure, but there are no small screening rooms from Shanhe Cinema Line here; we'll have to disguise ourselves well."

"Okay, I have experience with this; I'll handle it for you."

Crazy Dinner Party is a low-budget comedy starring Fan Wei, Huang Bai, Liu Ye, and others, directed by Shang Jing and written by Yu Baimei; it's a bit of a follow-up to Ning Hao's Crazy series.

But Wei Jin had to admit that these three leads were truly impressive; the laughter that rang out from time to time in the theater was the best proof.

It was just that Wei Jin didn't know that his and Jing Tian's careful disguises had still been recognized by observant netizens.

Before the movie had even ended, the news was already out.

"Oscar-winning director Wei Jin appears in his hometown; the woman by his side is suspected to be Jing Tian."

"Director Wei Jin and Jing Tian—is good news perhaps imminent?"

When Wei Jin and Jing Tian left the cinema, they realized their whereabouts had been exposed.

Because they were just here to watch a movie, Lao Zhu hadn't followed them, so there was no one to clear a path, and they were just like that, surrounded by the crowd.

As two well-known entertainment figures from Shaanbei, the enthusiasm of their fellow townsfolk was truly too high.

Even a behind-the-scenes worker like Wei Jin was actually pulled aside to give dozens of autographs; as for Jing Tian, one of the Four Dan Actresses and a popular star, it went without saying—her hand was sore.

Fortunately, everyone was still relatively restrained, and the two signaled along the way, finally breaking free from the crowd.

But they didn't expect that upon returning home, before they could even sit down, people would come to visit one after another.

The Xi'an Film Studio, cinema chain representatives, the Culture and Tourism Bureau, the propaganda department, the education department—a perfectly good Spring Festival was turned into a large-scale symposium.

After dealing with it for an afternoon, Wei Jin looked lifeless, and Jing Tian was also still shaken.

"Brother, this is just too crazy."

"I didn't expect it either. Dad, is this situation common?"

"Sigh, you don't come back often, so you don't know the situation. Now, during every holiday, many departments here come to me to ask about your news. Now that you, the main person, have returned, wouldn't they..."

Wei Jin was silent upon hearing this. As the saying goes, people fear fame like pigs fear being fat; it was normal for the local area to finally produce a great director like him, who was also a well-known entrepreneur, and for them to act this way.

It was just that he had come back this time for a vacation, and he didn't want to waste his time dealing with officials.

What's more, those who came today were likely just the ones nearby; it was foreseeable that in the coming days, there would be more and more people, so it would be better to run away early.

Thinking of this, Wei Jin had already made a decision in his heart.

"Tian Tian, let's drive back to Beijing tomorrow. We can play along the way, and we're not in a rush."

"Okay, I haven't tried a road trip yet."

Jing Tian followed his lead; her wish to visit and confirm her status had already been achieved, so she naturally didn't care about the rest of the arrangements.

Wei Jin then looked at Wei Xingbang, who shook his head.

"Forget it, you young people go have fun. I won't join in the excitement; I'll just stay at home and visit with old friends."

Seeing this, Wei Jin didn't force it; after all, once he left, those people might not necessarily continue to come and pester them.

So the next day, which was the third day of the Lunar New Year, Lao Zhu drove the car, carrying Wei Jin and Jing Tian, and they set off toward the northeast, rushing back to Beijing. On the same day, a piece of news from across the ocean made the entire entertainment industry boil over.

The 84th Oscar announced the nomination list for all awards.

Sending The Flowers of War to compete for Best Foreign Language Film had caused great controversy within the circle.

Afterward, Zhang Weiping even registered The Flowers of War for 13 individual award categories.

Now that the nomination results were out, out of a full 14 awards, not a single one was shortlisted; they were completely wiped out.

This not only meant that Zhang Yimou had failed in his eighth attempt at the Oscars, but it also meant that the copyright deal for The Flowers of War was completely dead.

Consequently, many people jumped out to criticize, belittle, and mock.

"Facts prove that some old people should step aside; don't always occupy the latrine without doing anything."

"Back then, Room snatching the spot from Curse of the Golden Flower was definitely the wisest decision the General Administration has made in these years."

"It really can't remain unchanged; we should give more opportunities to other excellent directors, for example: Director Wei Jin, Director Ning Hao, Director Jiang Wen, Director Lu Chuan."

"Forget about Lu Chuan; he can't even film a movie properly, so he shouldn't go and embarrass himself!"

Even while in Linfen, Wei Jin could feel this wave of public opinion.

This time, Zhang Yimou was pushed to the forefront of the storm.

"It's all Zhang Weiping's fault; he has brought too much hatred upon Zhang Yimou over these years."

After complaining for a bit, Wei Jin immediately arranged for the company's public relations department to handle the public opinion; after all, Zhang Yimou was now a partner of Shanhe Media, so he naturally couldn't let him suffer a loss.

In order to increase efficiency, Wei Jin even posted directly on Weibo.

"The new realistic-themed film, *Hidden in the Dust*, written by myself and directed by Zhang Yimou, is currently in pre-production. Please stay tuned!"

Sure enough, as soon as this Weibo post from Wei Jin went out, the direction of public opinion changed.

"Is this for real? Don't tell me it's just to divert attention?"

"A realistic theme, so that means it's an award-chasing film? When is it coming out?"

"A script by Wei Jin, directed by Zhang Yimou, looking forward to it!"

"Then what are you two waiting for? Why aren't you starting work already? Even the donkeys on a production team wouldn't dare to rest like this, right?"

"."

It was clear that the netizens were still very expectant, and Jing Tian, who was by his side, was the same.

"Brother, is it true?"

Wei Jin pulled the girl onto his lap and nodded.

"Of course, Zhang Yimou has already taken the script back to study it, and I estimate it will start before long."

"Then this film..."

Looking at the expectation on the girl's face, Wei Jin held her in his arms and said softly: "Tian Tian, this film tells a story of rural love; it doesn't suit you."

Wei Jin already had an idea in mind for the female lead of this film, though he still needed to discuss the specifics with Zhang Yimou.

But regardless of Zhang Yimou's final choice, Jing Tian definitely did not meet the requirements for the role.

"Oh, I see."

Upon hearing this, Jing Tian felt slightly disappointed, but she quickly composed herself; she believed what Wei Jin said.

What's more, Zhang Yimou had now become a partner of Shanhe Media, so there would definitely be opportunities in the future.

"Mm, as long as you understand, then let's get some rest early; we still have to continue our journey tomorrow morning."

As he spoke, Wei Jin's hands were already wandering over the girl's curvaceous body; after all, it had been three days since New Year's Eve, and they hadn't been intimate.

"Mm~~"

Jing Tian's face flushed slightly; she was clearly already aroused.

Wei Jin no longer hesitated; he lowered his waist, swept the girl up into his arms, and strode toward the bedroom. (End of this chapter)