Chapter 50: Zhou Yang's Confession!

Night.

It had deepened.

In the attic of the Flying Crane Cinema, Zhang Jiali curled up, lying in the cramped space.

She felt somewhat exhausted.

But...

She dared not sleep.

Although she had never filmed a movie, after seeing such a pitiful crew...

she felt as though she had been deceived.

Moreover, this feeling grew stronger and stronger!

Around ten o'clock in the evening.

People carrying cameras arrived at the entrance of the Flying Crane Cinema.

These people looked like recent university graduates, their eyes revealing a thick, clear innocence...

They acted very excited...

Upon seeing Zhou Yang, they kept shaking hands with him.

And down below, Zhou Yang seemed to be speaking something very seriously to them...

Vaguely, it seemed to be lofty terms like "dream," "life," "era," "Hollywood," and "hall of fame."

As they chatted, these university students became so excited they howled, wishing to immediately join the battlefield and charge for Zhou Yang.

Heaven!

Could this possibly be a pyramid scheme organization?

At this moment, Zhang Jiali grew more and more afraid as she listened.

By early morning, the university students below gradually dispersed, but another group arrived.

The other group seemed to be people in the guise of directors, along with a young man wearing a "Superman" costume; they followed Zhou Yang into the cinema office.

Two o'clock in the morning...

These people left.

However...

A slightly sleazy middle-aged man walked in; when the middle-aged man reached the side of the cinema, he cautiously scanned the surroundings and, furtively like a thief, knocked on the door below.

Zhang Jiali took a cautious glance and saw that the middle-aged man, carrying a bag, followed Zhou Yang into the office.

This middle-aged man did not stay long; after about seven or eight minutes he left, but Zhang Jiali noticed a detail: the bag in the middle-aged man's hand was gone.

What exactly are these people up to?

With a face full of confusion, Zhang Jiali gradually began to feel sleepy.

Finally, she blocked the small attic door with her bag and belongings, only then closing her eyes in relief.

The next day.

Zhang Jiali carried her luggage and cautiously walked down from the attic.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally walked toward the entrance of the Flying Crane Cinema.

After leaving...

she discovered no one stopped her.

If this were a fraud gang, someone like me should have been stopped, right?

Moreover, there was quite a bit of foot traffic in this place; if they were truly running a scam, they probably wouldn't have chosen this location, right?

Furthermore, Zhang Jiali glanced at the poster for "Sun Wukong Battles Superman 2" and saw the director and producer on the poster...

After watching a movie inside the cinema, Zhang Jiali confirmed they were indeed making a movie; it was just that this movie seemed a little bit terrible?

Thinking this, she, who had originally planned to run away, dispelled some of her doubts and ultimately decided to stay.

After eating lunch at noon, Zhang Jiali was called into the office by Zhou Yang.

"Little Li, in one day, you should understand what kind of crew we are, right?"

In the office, she saw Zhou Yang looking at her with a smile.

She sat opposite Zhou Yang, feeling somewhat uneasy.

"I know, but... it seems I don't quite know..." Zhang Jiali didn't know how to answer at that moment.

"Anyway, you just need to believe we are legitimately making a movie; we are not a fraud gang, nor a fraudulent organization..." Zhou Yang's smile grew even deeper.

"Hmm..." Zhang Jiali nodded, but for some reason, she felt increasingly uneasy in her heart.

"We are a group of young people with dreams; I have said it, we all come from the grassroots, and it is our burning dreams that brought us together..."

"President Zhou... I don't quite understand." Zhang Jiali felt something was wrong as she listened: "President Zhou, you... what are you trying to do?"

"Oh, I have a new batch of mobile phones here, along with a batch of SIM cards..."

He saw Zhou Yang take out a bag.

Upon seeing this bag, Zhang Jiali was slightly stunned.

This was the bag the middle-aged man had brought over last night.

"President Zhou, this is..."

"We currently have two crews starting work: one is the sci-fi blockbuster 'Superman' series, and the other is our 'Lin Daiyu Battles Lu Zhishen' crew... Because both crews are starting simultaneously, funds are a little tight; our old film 'Sun Wukong Battles Superman 2' needs time to break even, so I thought, in order to make movies faster, we need more angel investors to cooperate on this project together..."

"So..."

"Mobile phones are a good thing; they can connect unfamiliar people through a small square box, reducing a great deal of social cost..."

"President Zhou, you... you..." Looking at the several mobile phones on the table, and then looking at Zhou Yang's smiling expression.

That bad premonition was growing stronger and stronger.

"When necessary, we can actually use some quicker methods. Look, I've drafted a text message. If you're interested, please help forward it to explain our production team's situation... Of course, we've set up a mass-sending system in Zhongguancun; you just need to manage it..."

"???"

"Rest assured, everything we do is normal and legal. I've carefully checked the laws; it doesn't fall under the category of illegal fundraising... To make you believe us more, we are doing something open and aboveboard to invite partners. I'll take you to visit our new company; once you see it, you'll understand..."

"..."

Half an hour later.

Two hundred meters from the Gongan Bureau building in Yanjing City.

A film and television company named 【Xuan Shi Entertainment】 quietly put up its signboard last night.

Not many people paid attention...

In 2003, the film and television industry in Huaxia was booming vigorously. In this place called Yanjing, starting from the millennium, dozens, even hundreds, of film and television companies opened every year, and just as many went bankrupt; no one found this noteworthy.

Zhang Jiali followed Zhou Yang to the new company, and upon seeing the Yanjing City Gongan Bureau not far away, she immediately felt relieved.

But upon seeing those mobile phones, she suddenly felt confused.

What confused her even more was...

She saw Zhou Yang silently take out his mobile phone and send a mass message to a series of unfamiliar numbers.

After finishing the mass sending, he took out his own mobile phone again and dialed a number.

"Hello..."

"Is this the 1819 News Program team?"

"Someone is suspected of illegal fundraising..."

"I'm reporting it!"

"..."

"Yes, at a place one hundred meters opposite the Gongan Bureau, someone is conducting illegal fundraising..."

"It's suspected to be a scam gang; I received a text message... They said they want to raise funds for some movie; it looks like a scam at first glance..."

"Yes!"

"Bring your reporters over to take a look..."

"Come quickly..."

"Don't call the police first; don't alert the snake..."

"..."

"Hello, is this the FM95 platform?"

"I'm reporting someone for illegal fundraising!"

"Yes, it's this address..."

"..."

…………………………

"After you finish filming this movie, what are your plans?"

"I don't know... I just don't understand; is this how movies are made?"

"Sigh..."

Night.

Deepened.

An Xiaoshi and Zhang Jingya lay on the hotel sofa, watching TV and chatting at the same time.

These days.

The progress of "Love Ferris Wheel" suddenly became very fast.

Almost one plot per day; many scenes were basically done in one take.

The two investors had absolutely no say.

This left the two of them quite depressed.

Just as they were chatting...

They suddenly saw a news channel named 【1819 News】.

And then...

They saw a familiar figure.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"We didn't know this was illegal fundraising; I thought..."

"I'm sorry, my legal awareness was weak, but we really wanted to make this movie well..."

"Yes, we want to make a movie, but we lack money, so I came up with this method... We actually only needed an investment of five hundred thousand, that would be enough, but we don't know any big bosses... We are a group of young people with dreams..."

"I'm sorry, I know I was wrong; I will definitely abide by discipline and laws in the future..."

"Thank you to the 1819 News media for supervising us... And thank you for the criticism; I will definitely take it as a warning and definitely won't go further down the wrong path!"

"..."

"..."

"Yes, we will take it as a warning; in the future, we will seriously make movies... Striving to bring more positive energy to society!"

"We will lead by example!"

That familiar figure was on the television.

In the most prominent spot in the frame, with red-rimmed eyes, wiping away snot and tears, he was receiving criticism and education from the relevant media departments...