Chapter 480: No Need to Read Anyone's Face

At this moment, Liu Tianxian and Xu Liyun were in the Villa's courtyard, where the ground had been turned over into neat plots of soil.

All of this was for growing vegetables.

Hearing Xu Liyun's words, Liu Tianxian felt a little embarrassed, a shy flush rising to her cheeks.

It wasn't that she refused to call her that—she just couldn't seem to bring herself to say it.

"You and Xiaohu have your marriage certificate now, and the wedding is coming up soon. It's time you changed how you address me," Xu Liyun said.

Liu Tianxian steeled herself, overcame the mental hurdle, and called out: "Mom!"

"Yes!" Xu Liyun answered, her face blooming into a smile—she loved hearing that word.

And Liu Tianxian also seemed relieved; once she said it, it didn't seem like much at all, just a feeling of being closer to this family.

Xu Liyun took Liu Tianxian's hand and said with a gentle smile: "From now on, you keep Xiaohu in line—don't let him mess around outside, make sure he behaves."

"Mm, alright," Liu Tianxian nodded.

That was something she was best at—if he didn't behave, she'd hit him; just thinking about it was kind of fun.

"And you don't need to work too hard out there either. Just let Xiaohu handle it—he's a man, it's what he should do." Xu Liyun was old-fashioned: a man props up a family.

"But I have a job too, I can't give up my career," Liu Tianxian said.

"Don't take on too much work either—when you're free, just keep me company." Xu Liyun patted her hand.

"Mm, I will." Liu Tianxian had thought her mother-in-law was going to oppose her being a celebrity, showing her face in public.

Turns out she just wanted her to keep her company more—probably lonely too.

Next, Liu Tianxian helped Xu Liyun plant vegetables—cabbage, cucumbers, peppers, all small seeds.

And Heizi was off to the side, tail wagging, tongue lolling, looking very hot.

Liu Tianxian took a watering can and helped water the plants, asking: "Mom, do you spray pesticides on these vegetables?"

"No, I saw online that pesticides nowadays are all toxic, not good to eat," Xu Liyun said as she worked.

In her spare time she also browsed articles online—articles that said you can't eat this, you can't eat that.

"Then won't there be bugs?" Liu Tianxian didn't really know; she had always had food handed to her and had no idea how vegetables actually came to be.

But even without knowing, she'd heard a thing or two.

"There will be, so you have to tend to them carefully every day," Xu Liyun said.

"That sounds pretty tiring," Liu Tianxian said.

"Not tiring at all. This is way better than before. Back then we worked the fields, out under the blazing sun—that was real hard work. This is just passing the time for me. Once you two have a child, I'll devote myself to looking after the baby for you," Xu Liyun said with a smile.

"Hehehe!" Liu Tianxian giggled.

The two of them worked in the field and chatted as they went, and time slipped by quickly.

In the afternoon, Fang Hong came back. When he returned, Xu Liyun was in the kitchen cooking, and Liu Tianxian was half-reclining on the sofa reading a script.

His smiling face suddenly leaned in close to Liu Tianxian's, teasing: "Who's this? Which family's young lady is this pretty?"

"Your little baby," Liu Tianxian said playfully, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.

Their lips nibbled at each other, tongues meeting; it was a long while before they pulled apart.

"Mm! What are you reading?" Fang Hong sat down beside her, took the booklet from her hand, and looked at the cover—it read "Lucy 2."

"Jiao Huajing and the others showed it to me, said they might want me to act in it." Liu Tianxian rested her chin on his shoulder, one arm draped around it.

"It's the sequel, so of course it was meant for you to star in. It's just that we haven't found the right director for this one yet." Fang Hong set the script down on the coffee table.

This show was a pure feel-good flick; it needed a director with a strong, forceful style to do it justice.

The kind with full tension, a thrill ride from start to finish.

"Find a director? You're not directing it?" Liu Tianxian looked at him.

"I directed the first one, why would I direct this one too? A film like this needs a director with a strong personal style—someone who can capture that fire in you." Fang Hong explained.

The plot itself wasn't anything special; it was just a wildly novel concept, an imagination with the lid blown off—so it needed a bold visual style to back it up.

"So who are you thinking of getting to direct?" Liu Tianxian asked.

"My pick is Xu Laoguai—he knows how to shoot women, and he knows how to shoot this kind of hot-blooded feel-good film," Fang Hong said.

Hearing that, Liu Tianxian's face showed surprise.

"But he's busy with his 'The Taking of Tiger Mountain,' probably doesn't have the time. And we had a bit of a falling out before, so it's not easy to invite him. You know how these big directors are—they all love to rewrite scripts, change the settings." Fang Hong added.

"No, I'm just surprised you'd invite him to direct," Liu Tianxian said.

This man had never worked with those big directors before—basically kept his distance from them.

And now suddenly he wanted to bring in a big director—quite a surprise.

"Why the surprise?" Fang Hong asked.

"In my memory, you never worked with those old-generation big directors, did you? So why work with them now?" Liu Tianxian said.

"Is that so strange?" Fang Hong countered.

"Strange," Liu Tianxian nodded.

"I didn't avoid big directors before—I just felt it wasn't necessary, didn't need to suck up to them. Now I'm at this level, I don't need to read anyone's face either," Fang Hong said.

Before, his operation was small; bringing in a big director cost money and time, and you had to cater to them—these people had all kinds of rules, this demand and that demand, hard to keep the script the way you wanted without changes.

Now at Fang Hong's level, he could hold his own, so bringing in a big director was fine.

Big directors, at their core, still had real advantages.

"So you have no problem with those big directors—you just don't want to kowtow to them," Liu Tianxian roughly understood.

"You could put it that way," Fang Hong said.

"Oh, I thought you had some grudge against big directors," Liu Tianxian said, relieved.

She'd always assumed this man had some kind of issue with those big directors, which was why he didn't work with them.

"What grudge would I have? I have no quarrel with them. Even if we compete at the box office, that doesn't affect our personal relationship, right? In this circle, who doesn't have a bit of competition?"

Fang Hong said again: "Actually, those big directors have real substance and talent; if you want to reach the next level, you must collaborate with them. Look at Lao Mouzi—he picked several unknown actresses, and they all became instant stars."

The same goes for Xing Ye—he picked unknown actresses, and they all became instant stars. That's the hidden value a big director brings: he lifts your value without limit."

Before Ni Ni starred in *Thirteen Sisters of Jinling*, who knew who she was? Before Zhou Dongyu starred in *The Tree of Life*, who knew who she was?"

Even Liu Haocun—the girl is so abstract, yet she still became famous."

Before Zhang Baizhi starred in *The King of Comedy*; before Huang Shengyi starred in *Kung Fu Hustle*; before Zhang Yuqi starred in *Changjiang Qihao*."

Before these people starred in big director films, they were all unknowns—nobody knew who they were."

But after they starred in big director films, their value was infinitely elevated, earning them lifelong dividends—that's value."

That's also why actors rush to sign up for big director films."

So starring in a big director film has benefits—it adds a prestigious line to an actor's resume."

Of course, Fang Hong considers himself no big director—he has no strong personal style, just writes scripts step by step, relies on a solid team, and manages to bring his ideas to screen. Most of the time, it's even the assistant director who actually directs."

"Oh, I see," Liu Tianxian finally understood."

Indeed, now that she's won awards, she should collaborate with a big director—work with those with strong personal styles to lift her value even higher."

She felt this man thought things through well—very good."

"Honey, Xixi's ready to eat," Xu Liyun called from the kitchen."

"Let's go eat."

Liu Tianxian grabbed Fang Hong's arm, and the two walked to the kitchen and living room, where the table was piled high with home-cooked dishes."

Liu Tianxian took a deep breath: "Wow, smells amazing."

"If it smells good, eat more—see if it tastes good," Xu Liyun said, setting down bowls and chopsticks and handing her a pair."

"Yes, Mom," Liu Tianxian took the chopsticks, picked up a dish, tasted it, and chewed: "Mm, delicious."

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She finished speaking, then picked up a shrimp and fed it to Fang Hong: "Try this too."

Fang Hong bit into it—the meat was thick and rich, the texture excellent."

"Mom, sit down and eat," Liu Tianxian said, pulling Fang Hong's sleeve, signaling him to sit."

"You say that so naturally! You've never said 'husband' so smoothly before," Fang Hong laughed."

Liu Tianxian hit him, then tossed a dish into his bowl: "Just eat your food—you talk too much."

Say it enough times, and it becomes natural."

On July 4, *So Close Yet So Far* was released, earning 72.37 million yuan on its first day, ranking second on the daily box office chart."

First place was still *Transformers 4*, with around 80 million yuan—this movie was still incredibly strong, still pulling in so much box office after seven or eight days."

The film's plot was terrible, pure popcorn fare—but audiences still loved this kind of movie."

Still, compared to his past life, this movie's box office had dropped by several million yuan, since *So Close Yet So Far*'s release had an impact."

Meanwhile, *Breakup Guru*'s box office had dropped to around 20 million yuan; nearly all other films had been affected."

Seeing the poor box office performance, Deng Chao felt miserable, but he couldn't say anything."

He couldn't offend anyone—he just endured it silently."

The release of *So Close Yet So Far* still triggered a wave of negative reviews: some said the story lacked depth, others claimed it wasn't even a movie but a TV drama, with zero dramatic tension."

Some even said: "Guo Jinming can rest easy now."

Meaning both were equally terrible."

The next day was the weekend, and *So Close Yet So Far*'s box office surged to 82.46 million yuan; on the third day it dropped to 72.5 million yuan—over 220 million yuan in three days."

Online criticism was overwhelming—even a Tsinghua University professor published an article in *Youth Daily* criticizing: "Han Han's film *So Close Yet So Far* is trash!"

The article also criticized its chaotic narrative structure and poor actor performances."

It even claimed Han Han's writing was abysmal, calling him "a fake cultural idol manufactured by the media colluding with the literary world!" Even the Central Media joined in, mocking the film, roughly saying this:"

"Han Han seems to think he can easily leap over the objective laws of cinematic art."

In essence: if you write novels, stick to novels—don't come out here playing with film. Film isn't your toy, and you can't cross over into it."

The mainstream's hostility toward him was extreme—something Fang Hong and Chen Zhixi hadn't anticipated, especially since Han Han had been silent for so long."

It's his first film—of course there are flaws. Is it really necessary to attack him so harshly?"

At least it's better than *Breakup Guru*, which, even now, hasn't reached a 6/10 rating."

That movie was all negative reviews and marketing—its marketing was indeed powerful, so its box office hasn't collapsed yet."

But the mainstream refuses to criticize that film—they only want to attack Han Han."

This made Fang Hong suspect Wang Zhangtian was behind it, so he immediately called him."

"General Manager Wang, is this really necessary? Even if we're competitors, you don't need to go this far!" Fang Hong opened with an accusation."

"Principal, who did I attack?" Wang Zhangtian was confused, utterly baffled."

"*So Close Yet So Far*—Han Han," Fang Hong said."

"If I wanted to attack him, I'd hire a Water Army. Do I have that kind of power to get the Central Media and Tsinghua professors involved?" Wang Zhangtian was speechless."

He had been following the public opinion developments and knew exactly what was happening."

"You really didn't do anything?" Fang Hong asked again."

"If I had acted, wouldn't you strike back at me? My film's been out for so long—it's already settled. What's the point?" Wang Zhangtian retorted."

This left Fang Hong frustrated—Han Han really was hated by everyone!"

"It's his own fault—he used to be arrogant, insulting the entire literary world. Now they're just returning the favor," Wang Zhangtian added."

Hearing it wasn't him, Fang Hong hung up. He couldn't help Han Han—Han Han had to endure it himself. Fang Hong couldn't possibly take on the entire literary world—that would be like poking a hornet's nest! The pen is powerful—it can utterly negate a person, claim your thoughts are evil, and make you suffer mainstream rejection."

Han Han had been accused of having evil thoughts, called the biggest scandal in literature, labeled a rebel, and blamed for every ill under the sun."

Basically, he was accused of corrupting the youth and poisoning the culture—his sins were enormous."

But Fang Hong still called Han Han to comfort him and offer some warmth, and the call connected quickly.

"Hello, Principal." Han Han's voice sounded genuinely surprised—the Principal was calling him at this hour.

"This isn't the work of the rival side; I can't help you," Fang Hong said bluntly.

"I know. I can handle it," Han Han replied succinctly.

He knew very well that this was the backlash from his youthful arrogance—how he had insulted so many people, called the entire literary world "bullshit."

What did he expect, jumping out to make movies? Better to vanish quietly.

"Good. But the movie's box office is strong—you don't need to care about those outside voices; they're just talking big," Fang Hong said.

"Thank you, Principal." Han Han felt a warmth in his heart.

After all, the Principal had personally called to inquire—this proved he was paying attention, and that he had already asked the rival side.

But this matter has little to do with the entertainment circle; it's the literary world that wants to scold him.

They hung up. Han Han turned on his computer and scrolled through the negative reviews; they still affected him somewhat, but no longer truly reached him—he had walked through criticism before.

And this movie wasn't all negative reviews—some audiences gave positive ones, saying it felt like an art film, or that it carried deep emotion.

The reception was sharply polarized.

Online public opinion was fierce, mostly targeting Han Han—no one could control it; after all, he had been so arrogant in his youth.

Even Fang Hong wasn't that arrogant—he only stirred trouble within his own circle.

This matter wouldn't affect the box office; those literary figures couldn't sway the box office trend much.

(End of Chapter)