Chapter 61: This Damn Leech!

Morning sunlight shone upon this vast land.

Deng Hairong dressed quickly, rushed to his car, and sped toward the Tianyu Beijing Film and Television Branch, his face darkening to a terrifying degree.

Just as he was about to reach the company, he saw countless reporters blocking the open space at the company entrance into a complete mess.

Before anyone knew who shouted "Director Deng is here," the dense crowd instantly surged wildly in all directions, finally surrounding his car so tightly that not even water could get through.

Vaguely, under the blinding lights, he saw a group of reporters escorting a handsome young man rushing urgently toward him.

"Director Deng!"

"Director Deng, hello, I am Zhou Yang, the director of 'Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2'..."

"Director Deng, after receiving your company's lawyer's letter a few days ago, I lost sleep all night, constantly filled with fear and anxiety. I kept wanting to find a chance to talk with you, hoping to clarify some misunderstandings, but we called your company's phone many times, yet the line was always unanswered..."

"I had no choice. I know I am insignificant and my words carry little weight, so in the end, I could only turn to the media. Through media means, I hope to talk with you face-to-face and clear up the misunderstanding..."

"..."

Countless lenses and lights shone on his face.

The young man in the suit kept shouting at him while panting and jogging all the way toward him.

That smiling yet terrified look made Deng Hairong feel as if he had been stuck by a leech in a field—not only sucking his blood, but also impossible to shake off no matter how hard he tried.

A strong sense of "damn it" involuntarily rose in his heart!

Moments later, glancing at the gossip media nearby, he forced a gentle smile onto his face.

Seeing Zhou Yang shouting and running over, these media people were extremely excited, holding long and short cameras, eager to shove them right into their faces...

These entertainment media outlets love nothing more than making up all sorts of chaotic stories every day to grab attention and attract traffic!

If they saw him facing Zhou Yang, this vampire, with a scowl, tomorrow's entertainment papers would likely dedicate three or four pages to negative news, and company leaders might even call him in for a talk.

Watching Zhou Yang excitedly pull out the lawyer's letter, Deng Hairong guessed this guy had come solely to create a huge buzz.

"Hello, Director Zhou..."

"Hello! Director Deng, hello, hello..." Zhou Yang tightly shook hands with Deng Hairong, his expression suddenly becoming even more excited. He showed no sign of letting go; instead, he gripped tighter: "Director Deng, I finally get to see the real you. I, I... For this day, I didn't rest all night yesterday. Director Deng, you are kinder than I imagined... We have always wanted to talk with you. Actually, our company has always wanted to talk with you..."

"Don't rush, don't rush, speak slowly. There are too many people here; let's talk upstairs..."

"No, no, no, more people is good, more people is good... No, no, no, I don't mean anything else. I just... I just want to clarify things to the public. I... I am a bit nervous. Director Zhou, Director Deng, I, I..." Zhou Yang's expression grew more and more excited, his demeanor appearing slightly incoherent, as if constantly emphasizing his own nervousness.

Deng Hairong kept that smile, but inwardly he wished he could slap this guy several times hard.

This guy kept emphasizing his nervousness while looking very nervous himself, yet his face kept thrusting itself in front of various media cameras, desperately posing for handshakes with a terrified look.

Only after security personnel nearby came to maintain order did he loosen his grip slightly.

Deng Hairong took a deep breath and maintained his dignity and smile in front of the media: "Director Zhou, today..."

He had barely spoken half his sentence when Zhou Yang immediately cut him off.

"Director Deng, I... we did not infringe copyright... We only used a name similar to 'Superman,' but we did not infringe copyright. We absolutely had no intention of infringing..."

"We have actually always been Superman fans... Since childhood, we loved watching Superman and also had a movie dream. Later, when we saw Superman was about to be released, we couldn't help but want to film a movie similar to Superman..."

"But I am an amateur who entered the industry late. My team might be unprofessional, and what we produced might not be that good... We have also been criticized..."

"A while ago, our DVD and VCD discs were released... We never imagined that our movie would have such a huge impact on the original 'Superman'..."

"Many Superman fans who didn't know the truth scolded us, calling us 'Zhengban Tiao Ren,' which was one thing, but some even came specifically to scold Superman..."

"Here, I feel deeply ashamed. I must apologize to the entire nation, to all movie fans, and to the general public. It is our movie that has brought shame to 'Superman 2'..."

"..."

Under the sunlight, Deng Hairong stared at Zhou Yang!

He saw Zhou Yang shouting "Director Deng," but his gaze wasn't looking at him at all; his head had turned back to the media!

Moreover, as he watched, Deng Hairong was utterly shocked!

This guy, one second his expression was terrified, the next his eyes turned red. By the time he opened his mouth to speak, his tears flowed down like they were free, streaming rapidly.

Even when he bowed before all the media and cameras and raised his head, his entire face was already soaked in tears, looking exactly like a unlucky guy caught stealing an electric bike, handcuffed to a utility pole by the police uncle, constantly repenting...

Seeing Zhou Yang like this, Deng Hairong was somewhat shocked himself!

He had seen many talented actors in the entertainment industry; even A-list movie stars were seen every day.

But a guy like this one in front of him, who could cry on command and laugh on command without any need for emotional buildup, he had never seen before!

"Director Deng, I also apologize to our 'Tianyu' and to the 'Superman 2' team who have been working hard these days. Because of our reckless behavior, we have affected the major IP of Superman. We feel deeply ashamed. I am sorry, Director Deng, I am sorry!"

When you apologize, can you at least look me in the eyes!

Under the sunlight, when he saw this guy turn his head to look at him sincerely, bowing toward him and the company direction, then "accidentally" glancing over at those reporters again, followed by a flood of snot and tears as he "repented," Deng Hairong felt his blood pressure skyrocket!

This son of a bitch!

It was so infuriating!

"We accept your apology. I hope this matter ends here!" Deng Hairong took a deep breath, looked at Zhou Yang, and then signaled to the security personnel.

The security personnel immediately surrounded them, intending to maintain order and "escort" Zhou Yang out.

But this guy Zhou Yang stuck to them like a dog's leech.

"Thank you, Director Deng. 'Tianyu' is a very humane company... The generosity of Director Deng and the leaders of 'Tianyu' has moved us greatly. I... I am not a person who understands reason..."

"Everyone, everyone..."

"I..."

"I..."

"Last night, I consulted a lawyer friend. The lawyer friend said that although our movie did not infringe copyright, our poster is suspected of being somewhat similar to 'Superman 2'..."

"Although we came from humble beginnings, we understand the law. We also know that breaking the law is wrong. We deeply understand that blind imitation only disrupts the market!"

"We came here not only to apologize to 'Tianyu' and the overseas friends of the 'Superman 2' team, but we also hope to set an example by compensating the 'Superman 2' team for their mental distress..."

"..."

Under the sunlight.

Zhou Yang's tears vanished again, and he suddenly became exceptionally sincere...

Immediately, under countless media lenses.

Deng Hairong stared blankly as Zhou Yang, amidst the crowd, accepted a bulging black bag.

Then, he handed it to Deng Hairong.

Deng Hairong looked at the bulging bag, somewhat shocked!

This guy...

Really paying compensation?

"This is our compensation for mental distress, and, a portion of our profit income..."

Seeing Zhou Yang's sincere appearance.

Deng Hairong once felt it was somewhat unreal.

But ultimately, he smiled and shook hands with Zhou Yang.

The other party's attitude was like this; damn it, apologizing and compensating, the posture was fully performed.

One does not strike a smiling face; Deng Hairong finally looked at Zhou Yang seriously: "Director Zhou, admitting mistakes and correcting them is a great virtue. I hope you will film movies well next time and not take such crooked paths that cause trouble to society..."

"Okay, I understand."

"Then let's leave it at that for now..."

"Director Deng!"

"What is it?"

"You are a veteran of the entertainment industry and a big shot of a film company. I... we have a movie titled 【Zhengban Tiao Ren: Reboot】 about to premiere. If you have time then, please come and guide us... These are our premiere movie tickets; we have reserved VIP seats for you..."

???

Deng Hairong took the movie ticket from Zhou Yang and stared fixedly at the words "Zhengban Tiao Ren: Reboot".

His blood pressure, which had just dropped, instantly skyrocketed!

Damn it!

This guy is completely, thoroughly shameless?

"Alright, I won't disturb you anymore. Director Deng, leaders, media friends, thank you all for your supervision. I will definitely work hard to make movies and strive to bring glory to Chinese cinema!"

"..."

"Everyone, I have also prepared some movie tickets. If anyone is interested, come watch our new movie, 【Zhengban Tiao Ren: Reboot】!"

"Thank you..."

"Thank you!"

Watching this shameless guy, Zhou Yang, pull out a stack of movie tickets and hand them out everywhere...

Deng Hairong shuddered violently.

But finally, amidst the long lenses and short barrels, he decided to ignore these nonsensical matters.

He was afraid that if he stayed here any longer...

The security guards might really be unable to resist slapping this guy!

If they really did slap him!

Damn it!

This guy might even get excited...

"Director Deng!"

"What's wrong?"

"This money is suspicious!"

"How is it suspicious?"

"..."

More than ten minutes later!

The sound of things being smashed onto the floor suddenly rang out in Deng Hairong's office.

Moments later, Deng Hairong stared fixedly at thousands of one-yuan, five-yuan, and ten-yuan banknotes (the maximum denomination) flying around the office!

F*** your mother!