Chapter 263: Jiang Wen, You

As the meeting room's atmosphere grew increasingly tense, Zhou Jianhui, Qian Jiang, and Sun Yanzi—who could not interject at all—exchanged a glance and quietly slipped out one by one.

Sun Yanzi, bringing up the rear, accidentally knocked over a chair, its legs scraping the floor with a shrill "squeak"—immediately drawing the attention of the two passionately arguing figures, who turned in unison.

"Uh, I didn't mean to—keep going, keep going."

Still slightly guilty, Sun Yanzi didn't even bother to push the chair back, sprinting out of the meeting room and slamming the door shut—

But she didn't leave. She carefully glanced left and right, confirming the corridor was empty, then tiptoed to the door crack, peering through with one eye at the two inside, now gesturing wildly, using hands and feet alike.

Their passionate debate eventually devolved into a clash of philosophical ideals; the unlicensed impostor lawyer Zhou Yi ultimately outspoke Jiang Wen, forcing the latter into a rare retreat and compelling him to revise the script for the first time.

When the set's puppet tool, Ning Hao, heard this news, he was so moved he burst into tears—

Good!

Serves him right!

Heaven has eyes!

Jiang Wen, you've finally had your comeuppance?!

Ning Hao's face beamed with joy—he was just one champagne away from celebrating.

"Let me tell you, only Zhou Yi could do this. Jiang Wen's such a tyrant, right? He nearly exploded when asked to rewrite the script."

"Supposedly, when Zhou Yi rejected his first draft that night, Jiang Wen stormed over to Warner the next morning to confront him."

"Rumors say the argument got so heated they both slammed their fists on the table, accusing each other of not understanding art."

"And yet, Zhou Yi just stood his ground!"

News in small circles spreads fast; Jiang Wen's rare defeat became the top headline in Beijing's elite circles for days.

Yes, Jiang Wen is famous—but now, Zhou Yi, returned with honors, is even more renowned.

As an outsider in Beijing's circle, Jiang Wen had plenty of detractors.

Had it not been for rumors that the two hadn't fully broken ties, Lu Chuan—who'd been bullied by Jiang Wen on the set of "The Search" until he hid under the covers crying—would've drunkenly sought out Zhou Yi to swear brotherhood.

Luckily, he didn't even have Zhou Yi's contact.

Jiang Wen, for the first time in his life, experienced what it felt like to be relentlessly rejected and tormented—

When the second draft arrived, Zhou Yi was briefing the percussionists of the Twelve Girls Band, beginning the first trial recording of "Wavin' Flag." He glanced over it, gave a few new notes, then sent it right back to Jiang Wen.

He even added a PS: "Got a little better, but not much. Brother Jiang, you can aim to surpass the original 'Godfather,' but don't be bound by it."

Those words nearly drove Jiang Wen, revising at home, to madness.

What kind of person is this?!

You're a songwriter—why don't you go surpass Mozart instead?!

Third draft, fourth draft, fifth draft…

When Zhou Yi still wasn't satisfied after the seventh revision, Jiang Wen had calmed down enough to speak to him calmly.

He'd accepted it.

Fine, let's just torment each other. Whatever.

Once his directing ban ends and his first film is made, if Zhou Yi can't deliver the feeling he wants, just wait and see how he'll torment Zhou Yi.

You like comparing yourself, huh!

When the film's score isn't good enough, I'll bring up Mozart to match you!

With this resolve, Jiang Wen stormed home to revise the script for the eighth time.

Though creative disagreements and arguments never ceased, because Zhou Yi was always right, Jiang Wen's personal relationship with him improved dramatically.

As long as they didn't talk about creation, the two could now sit together drinking and chatting about girls like close buddies.

As the nominal director, Ning Hao had become utterly awestruck by Zhou Yi—

One word: incredible!

"Director and Composer at Odds! Zhou Yi's New Album Team Suspected of Constant Conflict!"

"Director Apparently Sidestepped! Zhou Yi's New Single Revealed with Bilingual Title!"

"Overwhelmed by Glory? Zhou Yi's New Album Suspected of Arrogance?!"

"…"

Against this backdrop, though Jiang Wen's involvement was highly confidential, the rumor that director Ning Hao had been sidelined became the central topic of speculation about internal set tensions.

Some blamed Zhou Yi, others blamed someone else—everyone just kept guessing.

"All these rumors are baseless. Zhou Yi's third album's MV is still in development, and as for the songs, he's already completed several."

"The advertising theme song with Coca-Cola has already been arranged, and MV filming is underway across the country. Please, media friends, don't spread false rumors. Thank you."

On March 23, on the day of Sun Yanzi's Taipei concert, Warner's vice president and Sun Yanzi's manager debunked all speculation about Zhou Yi during the customary pre-concert interview.

"Then, what's your opinion on Pepsi's all-star lineup?"

"Me? No idea—I've been busy preparing for the concert, haven't heard anything." Sun Yanzi, master of feigned ignorance, deftly dodged the tricky question.

After Jay Chou, Pepsi, with its star Xie Tingfeng and newly signed F4, came roaring in; Coca-Cola, too, rolled out promotional ads and posters featuring members of China's national football team.

Zhou Yi, while leading his team on nationwide location shoots, even took time to pose for promotional posters with the few national team players signed by Coca-Cola.

Among them, the famous "never-dies," nicknamed "Iron Lungs," the defensive midfielder who hadn't yet become a hairline guardian, left a deep impression on Zhou Yi.

What a pity.

"Zhou Yi, long time no see. Congratulations."

Zhang Ziyi, also shooting a Coca-Cola promotional poster, smiled and chatted up Zhou Yi: "I heard you've been staying in the capital lately—free sometime to hang out?"

"Really, Sister Ziyi?" Zhou Yi teased the woman whose ambition was practically written on her face: "Aren't you filming Zhang's 'Hero'? How do you have time to hang out?"

As the archetypal marketing genius of the entertainment industry, had she not possessed that face and undeniable cinematic talent, her later behavior would've long since destroyed her career.

"That's not true—I'm not Xie Tingfeng. I heard he's been so busy trying to revive his popularity he's lost his mind."

Aware of Zhou Yi's past two-year media rivalry with Xie Tingfeng, Zhang Ziyi naturally chose the most flattering words.

And the thing she was talking about was the incident that occurred in the early hours of March 23rd — an event that shocked the entire Hong Kong entertainment industry, and indeed the whole country's entertainment circle—

A sports car, whose owner was suspected to be Xie Tingfeng, crashed into a flowerbed.

(End of chapter)