Chapter 211: Online War of Words

Reincarnation Begins in 2002 Chinese Entertainment, Chapter 206: Online War of Words

In the office, Cheng Chen and Director Kong Sheng talked for a long time.

Their conversation revolved almost entirely around the script of "Nirvana in Fire."

To be honest, as a major male-led political intrigue drama, the character development in "Nirvana in Fire" is truly impressive!

Mei Zhangsu, as the male lead, fully satisfies many people's ideals.

The political scheming is also incredibly satisfying, leaving viewers utterly hooked.

"Actually, when I first read the script, I had a question: why set it in a fictional dynasty?

China has passed through so many dynasties; why not pick one real dynasty as the story's setting?

It wouldn't be impossible, and it would make the audience feel more immersed.

If you could include some historical figures, viewers would find it even more familiar."

Hearing Kong Sheng's words, Cheng Chen smiled and said:

"Originally, we did plan to borrow a real dynasty.

But that would demand too much historical expertise. The biggest challenge in historical dramas isn't character portrayal or plot structure.

It's the subtle details that slip through—clothing, rituals, prices of goods at the time, and so on.

Most viewers might not care, but certain perfectionists do. Their reviews—

or rather, their deliberate searches through ancient texts and historical records to prove the drama is historically inaccurate—

can also cause the work to miss out on promotional resources, like official media.

So I'd rather create an alternate history, fabricate a fictional setting.

This lets the audience focus entirely on the story itself.

Not on strange, irrelevant details."

Hearing Cheng Chen's words, Kong Sheng suddenly understood and immediately agreed.

After talking at length, Cheng Chen asked Kong Sheng to direct "Nirvana in Fire."

Kong Sheng didn't hesitate—he immediately agreed—but Cheng Chen made one request.

"I'll definitely play Mei Zhangsu. I assume Director Kong has no objections?"

Kong Sheng shook his head. He'd seen Cheng Chen's acting—after all, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" and "Kung Fu" were right there.

Besides, his old friend Wang Wenjie, director of "The Great Dyeing Workshop," had praised Cheng Chen endlessly.

An investor wanting to be the male lead… Kong Sheng wasn't stupid. Even if Cheng Chen were unknown, he'd still agree.

Though his appearance was rugged, he understood the details better than anyone.

"Also, the female lead of this drama—I'd like Yan Danchen to play Nihuang Junzhu. What do you think?"

Cheng Chen said, looking at Kong Sheng.

Hearing this, Kong Sheng paused, then nodded in agreement.

To be honest, in a major male-led drama like "Nirvana in Fire,"

the female lead is merely an afterthought—a palate cleanser for viewers who enjoy romance.

Romance plots in such dramas are truly insignificant.

So as long as the actress chosen isn't wildly unsuitable, Kong Sheng would accept it.

He naturally knew Yan Danchen—a highly regarded actress in the industry.

It seemed Cheng Chen's request was simply about placing people into the crew.

And the people he placed were all quite talented. Kong Sheng had no reason to refuse.

"That's about it. I'm handing the entire production over to you, Director Kong.

Everything about assembling the crew and casting actors—I'm leaving it all in your hands."

Cheng Chen said with a smile.

"Alright."

Kong Sheng nodded seriously.

…

In the following period, Cheng Chen enjoyed a rare vacation.

Because in a week, he would travel far to Korea to continue his Asian concert tour.

Korea's soft power has long led the world.

Its entertainment industry's development is obvious to all.

Yet beneath its glamorous surface always lurked rumors of how terrifying Korea's entertainment circle truly was.

In January this year, an internal document titled "Report on In-Depth Interviews with Specialists for Predicting the Prospects of Advertising Models and Celebrities" (shortened to "X Dang An") leaked from Korea's advertising company "First Planning."

The 113-page document meticulously analyzed the current status and trends of 99 popular Korean entertainers.

The most explosive part was the use of "rumors" to expose the "extreme private lives" of the artists.

The document categorized the celebrities' issues into severe, moderate, and minor levels.

Among those exposed were many currently popular entertainers.

Including: Quan Xiang Yu, Pei Yong Jun, Cui Zhi You, Li Ying Ai, and others.

Although all the celebrities named in the document firmly denied the claims, calling them slander and framing,

years later, after Li Bing Xian's scandal broke, the public realized how eerily accurate the "X Dang An" descriptions had been.

In fact, China has had similar exposure documents before, but that article was so absurd

that most people read it like a popular novel, enjoying it thoroughly—about its truthfulness…

few believed it.

Starting from the end of the last century, South Korean pop culture gradually gained market presence in neighboring countries.

With the launch of various idol groups, the Korean Wave exploded across Asia.

Domestically, it appeared everywhere in people's lives.

Left those unfamiliar with South Korean pop culture utterly baffled.

South Korean audiovisual works were widely adored by young people—copyrights, concerts.

Especially the sale of merchandise generated enormous economic returns.

Japan and South Korea, as the leading forces in Asia's entertainment industry, shared many similarities.

For example, the girl groups favored by LSPs.

Yet despite their similarities, there were differences.

Fundamentally, one was a star factory, the other a stepping stone.

Not just South Korean girl groups, but the entire Korean idol system was systematically, procedurally produced.

Training, packaging, debut, resource allocation—record labels held enormous weight.

Japan's idol industry, by contrast, primarily focused on discovering individual traits and potential, granting members greater freedom.

Good behavior—such as tweeting, handshakes, live events—earned fans; management rarely interfered.

They rarely imposed fixed personas completely at odds with the idol's true self.

South Korean groups offered one-stop services—idols were entirely owned by the company.

The company told you to dye your hair, you dyed your hair; told you to date, you dated.

SM Entertainment was especially extreme—fans suffered, their money all ended up in the company's pockets…

Someone once said:

South Korea was the intermediate form, Japan the ultimate form.

China was currently in the initial form.

The core of girl groups lay not in the members, but in the behind-the-scenes entertainment industry system.

Like a painting—even if a master sketched it with charcoal.

Its price could not be compared to that of a painting done in gold leaf by an unknown artist…

At present, compared to the future, South Korean girl groups still had room for growth.

After news broke that Cheng Chen would hold a concert in South Korea, some South Korean entertainment giants.

Such as SM Entertainment, contacted Xinghuo Entertainment.

They offered substantial compensation if Cheng Chen allowed their girl group to appear on stage as backup dancers.

The tone also implied that if Cheng Chen agreed, any of their artists could be chosen at his discretion.

Hmm, choosing foot-warmers…

Cheng Chen of course did not agree.

Although Cheng Chen had once been genuinely obsessed with the girls in the Tiangong Zhi Xi girl group.

…

"Hey, Cheng Chen, have you checked Weibo? Xixi's in trouble!"

While Cheng Chen was practicing songs at home, Jiang Xin called abruptly.

After the filming of "Immortal Sword" wrapped, the lead actors all had Cheng Chen's contact information.

Jiang Xin was no exception.

"Huh? What happened to Xixi? Isn't she still filming 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes'?"

"Oh come on, that's ancient news—the 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' crew already wrapped!"

Quick, check Weibo—I can't reach Xixi's phone, I'm frantic!"

Jiang Xin hung up; Cheng Chen's heart sank to the bottom of a valley.

He turned on his computer, logged into Weibo, and saw a post trending at the top:

"Liu Tianxian Is Actually a Man."

Though ranked tenth, its popularity was extremely high and rising rapidly.

Cheng Chen clicked the post and realized it was Song Dazui causing trouble again!

The post claimed:

The whistleblower, Song Dazui, said he had a friend in a hospital.

That friend had personally witnessed Liu Tianxian undergoing gender reassignment surgery, and gave detailed, plausible accounts.

Song Dazui even wrote a full report detailing how Liu Yi Fei transformed from a man into a woman.

Cheng Chen's first reaction upon reading it was rage.

Song Dazui was truly asking for death!

Cheng Chen vaguely remembered this incident—when Liu Tianxian had tried to clear her name.

She had appeared on CCTV's "Today's Legal Talk" to clarify:

Online rumors about her gender transition were baseless.

She stated these rumors had severely damaged her career and personal life.

As the saying goes, fame invites controversy—after "Immortal Sword" Season One ended,

Some netizens published a chart ranking female entertainers by topic discussion volume.

Liu Tianxian led by a landslide, far ahead of second place, becoming the undisputed goddess of the homebound.

It was then that Song Dazui set his sights on her!

Cheng Chen immediately reposted Jiang Xin's scathing article about Song Dazui, writing directly:

"Disgusting, utterly disgusting! This kind of person is a tumor in the entertainment circle!"

In Cheng Chen's impression, Song Dazui had already pulled this kind of opportunistic stunt more than once.

Back then, De Yun She had just announced their New Year's Eve crosstalk special.

Immediately after, Song Dazui rushed over to ride the hype.

He posted to mock Guo for leading a bunch of uncultivated apprentices to ruin traditional culture.

He even advised Guo to quit and go raise pigs!

In fact, Song Dazui cursed De Yun She almost every few months.

He couldn't stand it when any De Yun She member trended online.

Even when insulting other artists, he couldn't resist a dig at Guo.

The reason was simple: Song Dazui had cursed nearly every star in the entertainment circle.

But only Guo ever responded to him; their grudge stretched back years...

But this time, Song Dazui had walked straight into the gun barrel.

If he hadn't popped up, Cheng Chen wouldn't have remembered this guy at all.

Now there was no need to spare him any face!

Thinking back, when he first debuted two years ago, this guy had also attacked him.

But back then, plenty of people had insulted Cheng Chen, and he hadn't taken it to heart.

Also, recently when he had a conflict with Gang Sheng.

Almost half the entertainment circle had sided with Cheng Chen.

Yet this guy insisted on being different, posting to rage that Cheng Chen was rude, acting like a big star, and showing no respect to elders!

Thinking of this, Cheng Chen's anger boiled over—he began typing furiously on his keyboard:

"How old are you, to go insult a girl under eighteen? Are you desperate for fame?"

"You've got no sense of shame at all—I don't think you look like S."

"I think you look like B, then both sides started arguing—and the result? You're an SB..."

Cheng Chen's fingers hammered the keyboard, then hit Enter to send.

His heart instantly felt lighter!

To be honest, this guy was truly disgusting.

He was the type to bully the weak and cower before the strong, deliberately standing against the public to steal traffic and grab attention.

Most stars endured his harassment silently, because it wasn't worth fighting a thug.

Any response would only give him more exposure.

And the world never lacks SBs—when you step down to argue.

It often means the incident has a fifty percent chance of being twisted into falsehood.

But if you ignore it and let it cool, your chances of winning are still high.

But Cheng Chen refused to compromise now!

As soon as Cheng Chen's Weibo was posted, it immediately drew massive online attention.

"Holy shit, what's up with the boss? He's so angry!"

"Ah, it's about this—boss nailed it! Who the hell is this guy, accusing my goddess of being a man?"

"No sense of shame? That phrase... homophone, hahaha—boss is truly brilliant, even his insults are fresh and unique!"

"S... B, yeah, crude, but so satisfying! This old bastard just kicked a steel plate!"

"Our Xiaoyao Gege will take good care of Ling'er sister—Song Dazui, die!"

In the ending of Xianjian Qixia Zhuan Yi, Li Xiaoyao, Zhao Ling'er, Anu, and others joined forces to defeat the villain, the Moon Worshipping Cult Leader.

But they paid a terrible price.

After defeating the Moon Worshipping Cult Leader, Ling'er was severely wounded.

When she pretended to be fine and walked home with Xiaoyao, she collapsed from exhaustion.

When she smiled and said she wanted to go home with Xiaoyao, to be his wife, to be a country bumpkin...

It broke viewers' hearts until they couldn't breathe.

When Ling'er closed her eyes, when her hand slowly fell...

Xiaoyao took a deep, agonizing breath, hugged Ling'er, and walked painfully through the falling peach petals.

He had to take his Ling'er home... just thinking of it made one weep.

Li Xiaoyao became the most tragic character.

Once the carefree, charming, joyful youth.

In the end, he became a heartbroken, endlessly desolate lone man—truly heartbreaking.

For many, this ending was simply unbearable.

The scene where Zhao Ling'er died in Li Xiaoyao's arms became a tearful memory for countless fans.

Now, with Song Dazui provoking, Cheng Chen fiercely retorted on Liu Tianxian's behalf, instantly evoking the plot—the battle against the Moon Worshipping Cult Leader.

So, the first to react were the Xianjian Yi drama fans—they immediately launched their assault on Song Dazui.

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