Chapter 108

"Stick it up quickly, before someone finds out!"

"Brother Hai, do we really need to do this? We're all from the same country."

The slightly older one was named Sun Hai, the leader of the promotional team sent to Venice by Yanda Huayi to assist the *Gun of Mercy* crew.

His movements were fluid as he skillfully covered a *Whiplash* poster with one for *Gun of Mercy*.

Hearing the words of this young man who had just graduated, Sun Hai turned back and glared: "Who pays your salary? Too much talk! Just do as Wang Zong and the director instructed!"

"Besides, among the domestic films here this time, only our *Gun of Mercy* has the best chance of winning an award. Do you understand unity? Now is the time for their crew to show some unity!"

Behind them, the members of the *Whiplash* crew all looked displeased; Liu Yifei was so angry she wanted to go up and argue, but was held back by Lu Kuan.

It was pointless to bicker with these small-time thugs; Boss Lu didn't like hitting dogs, he only liked slapping the master's face.

Tian Zhuangzhuang patted his shoulder: "I'll go make a call to Lu Chuan and ask."

He knew Lu Kuan had a bad temper; if you provoked him, it didn't matter if you were a Xiangjiang tycoon or a popular young star—if you didn't act with decorum, he would help you find it.

But as compatriots exhibiting abroad together, this decorum was indeed necessary; one couldn't let outsiders watch a joke.

This sixth-generation director was also trying to consider the big picture, fearing unnecessary misunderstandings.

Lu Kuan smiled indifferently: "Teacher Tian, don't bother. Rest assured, I have a sense of proportion."

Suddenly, several sycophantic calls reached everyone's ears: "Teacher Tian! Teacher Tian!"

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear!

Lu Chuan and Wang Xiaolei stepped out of the car arranged by the crew, arriving at the Palazzo del Cinema as representatives of the *Gun of Mercy* director and the investors, Yanda Huayi.

It was just as well Jiang Wen didn't come, otherwise, the 'devil' would have had to sit in the car behind.

Tian Zhuangzhuang, with his calm temperament, greeted the two and turned to introduce Lu Kuan and the others.

"This is the young director Lu Kuan; next month he will be a member of the Beijing Film Academy's directing department."

All three were alumni of the Beijing Film Academy: Lu Kuan was from the 2002 directing class, Lu Chuan was a 1998 graduate student in directing, and Tian Zhuangzhuang was from the 1978 class.

In the social circles of Chinese people, fellow townsmen and classmates are always unavoidable bonds; Tian Zhuangzhuang introducing them this way was also intended to bridge the gap and avoid an ugly scene later.

Lu Chuan adjusted his glasses, glanced at Lu Kuan, and continued chatting with Tian Zhuangzhuang, clearly not taking the harmless-looking Boss Lu seriously.

Wang Xiaolei, on the other hand, took his time sizing up Lu Kuan—so this was the thorn in Liu Zeyu's side?

His appearance was indeed quite good, somewhat to the taste of the two brothers.

Turning his gaze to Liu Yifei, who was standing prettily to the side, his eyes lit up again.

Compared to the buxom beauties he was used to, this white, tender, and crisp lotus root, as if just plucked from the water, was much more fresh and lovely.

It was no wonder the little Yanei, who knew his way around food and women, was losing sleep and appetite over her.

"Lu Kuan, right? Hello, let's get to know each other."

The younger Wang Zong proactively reached out his hand with an air of condescending grace, fully embodying the posture of a tycoon boss of an entertainment company.

Lu Kuan didn't want to touch his hand; he didn't know if what he'd been touching last night was breasts or a rod.

"Nice to meet you, Wang Zong. There's something I'd like to ask you."

If you want to hit someone, hit them in the face; he walked to the poster wall that had just been covered and rudely tore down the *Gun of Mercy* poster.

Lu Chuan was furious; this film was his debut, his virgin territory, and to have it trampled on like this naturally filled him with extreme resentment.

"What are you doing!"

"Director Lu! Wang Zong!"

Before Lu Chuan could lash out, Lu Kuan took the initiative: "Just now, two sneaky guys impersonated Yanda Huayi employees and stuck the *Gun of Mercy* poster over *Whiplash*."

"They even said it was under the instructions of Wang Zong and Director Lu. I suspect it was done by the crew from Taiwan to sow discord among us mainland crews. What do you think?"

At this year's Venice, Taiwan had three films shortlisted.

Zhang Zuoji's *The Best of Times*, Zheng Wentang's *Somewhere Over the Dreamland*, and Lin Taizhou's *Crazy Blue* occupied half of the shortlisted Chinese-language films.

Lu Chuan had just wanted to scold this junior from the Beijing Film Academy for not knowing the rules, but after being interrupted by this outburst, he suddenly felt like someone who had been caught halfway through eating excrement.

He couldn't spit it out, and he couldn't swallow it.

Wang Xiaolei said with a calm expression: "There's such a thing?!"

"I will immediately file a complaint with the Taiwan crews and the film festival committee. How could they do such a thing!"

Boss Lu smiled and waved his hand, too lazy to engage in hypocrisy with them; if he dug any deeper, it would just be the fault of some 'temporary worker'.

"Hello directors, may we have an interview?"

The Hong Kong, Taiwan, and domestic media lurking nearby arrived at the news; they were actually here for Lu Chuan and *Gun of Mercy*.

After all, with Jiang Wen's participation and the backing of Yanda Huayi and China Film Group, it was easier to gain favor at the film festival.

Seeing the cameras and microphones, the group temporarily set aside their dispute; Wang Xiaolei and Lu Kuan adjusted the fastest—both were dirty bastards, nothing to be coy about.

Only Lu 'the devil' Chuan still had an unnatural expression, taking a few deep breaths to compose his emotions.

Tian Zhuangzhuang sneered inwardly, thinking that a scholar like Lu Chuan really had no recourse when encountering a reckless brute with brains like Lu Kuan.

But ultimately, they were in the wrong; if Lu Kuan hadn't gained the upper hand, he would have had to uphold justice.

Beauties always have privileges; it was Han Lu from Sina and Xie Xiao from *Nanfang* who were the first to present their questions.

"Director Lu, may I ask what your expectations are for *Gun of Mercy* at this film festival?"

*Gun of Mercy*, like Tian Zhuangzhuang's *Springtime in a Small Town*, was shortlisted in the "Upstream" section.

Lu Chuan cleared his throat with a scholarly air and modestly gestured toward Tian Zhuangzhuang beside him.

"With Teacher Tian's masterpiece ahead, how would I, a junior, dare to speak of winning awards? I would be very satisfied just to gain the audience's love."

In this day and age, Sina's entertainment section was second to none among portals, and the reporters' improvisation and professional standards were very high.

There were three crews present in total; seeing the interaction between Lu Chuan and Tian Zhuangzhuang, Han Lu took the initiative to steer the topic toward Lu Kuan.

"Director Lu, you and Director Lu Kuan of *Whiplash* are the two youngest outstanding young directors competing this year. May I ask what your evaluation and expectations are for *Whiplash*?"

Lu Chuan was born in 1971, ten years older than Lu Kuan, who was just about to enter school this year; being cited by the reporter like this made him feel somewhat annoyed.

In terms of family background, qualifications, works, and connections, why should a student with no fame be mentioned in the same breath as him as a young director?

He adjusted his glasses with great posture: "Oh, I'm very sorry, I haven't seen *Whiplash* yet."

"For a young student's work to reach Venice is already quite good. Our country's film industry still really needs such young people, haha."

"But as his senior and predecessor, I still want to offer a word of friendly advice."

"One must never be like the bamboo shoots in the mountains or the reeds on the wall; one should be more humble and eager to learn."

Han Lu didn't know about the friction between the two just now and was somewhat confused by his words.

This wasn't friendly advice; this was a naked, veiled insult.

Bamboo shoots in the mountains: sharp-pointed, thick-skinned, and hollow inside.

Reeds on the wall: top-heavy, bottom-light, and shallow-rooted.

This was implying that Lu Kuan was fishing for fame and didn't live up to his reputation.

They say scholars belittle each other; Han Lu had truly learned that lesson today.

Lu Kuan crossed his arms, squinting as he watched 'the devil' act like an elder in front of the media, his expression quite playful.

If Zhuang Xu, who knew him well, were here, he would certainly know that this kid was up to no good and was about to discipline someone.

Now there was one more person who understood him: Liu Yifei.

Having experienced the crew's turmoil, the young girl knew that Lu Kuan was far from the type to turn the other cheek or swallow insults.

If you don't believe it, go ask Xie Tingfeng and Chen Guanxi, who paid to get out of trouble, or Zhang Tianshuo, who couldn't even pay his way out?

I heard a while ago that the procuratorate was preparing to file a public prosecution; the days of singing 'Tears of the Iron Window' after being transferred from the detention center to the prison were not far off.

It's just a pity that information was blocked; 'the devil', who had been burying his head in running the *Gun of Mercy* film festival work, didn't know the severity of the problem.

He looked at Lu Kuan with some smugness, and the scene was extremely awkward.

Originally, it was supposed to be crews from the two sides and three regions encouraging and wishing each other well in an art palace; how did it instantly turn into a catfight?

But this didn't stop the reporters from pricking up their ears, carrying their cameras, and scribbling keywords into their little notebooks.

Tian Zhuangzhuang couldn't bear to watch, thinking that the son of Lu Tianming was truly hard to make into a great talent.

Just as he was about to speak up to smooth things over, Boss Lu smiled and beat him to it.

"Director Lu is absolutely right, I completely agree."

"Film is an art, and it is also a discipline. Of course, we must be eager to learn; humility makes one progress, after all."

Suddenly changing the subject, he looked as if he had remembered something interesting, his inquiring eyes fixed on Lu Chuan.

"Director Lu, I heard that when you were filming *Gun of Mercy*, Teacher Jiang was such a 'drama tyrant' that he bullied one of your assistant directors until he cried. Is that true?"

"I think Teacher Jiang is a good teacher. No wonder the 'Jiang flavor' in *Gun of Mercy* is so strong. It seems you've learned quite a lot from him, haven't you?"

Lu Chuan was left speechless, his right index finger pointing at the insolent young director, unable to speak for a moment out of sheer indignation.

You! How dare you!

How could the reporters let such news go? Previously, it was just hearsay, but now that they had the chance to verify it face-to-face, they swarmed forward, throwing out all sorts of sharp questions.

"Director Lu, I heard that the director who cried was you. Is that true?"

"Wang Zong, I heard Director Lu called you for help at the time. Is that true?"

"Director Lu..."

"Wang Zong..."

The director and producer of the *Gun of Mercy* crew were surrounded by guns and cannons, the flashes of light from the cameras blindingly bright.

It seemed the film hadn't become much of a hit, but these scandalous rumors were about to become popular first.

Liu Yifei gave Boss Lu a thumbs-up with a giggle.

She envied Lu Kuan's mouth; how could he always spit out so much ivory?

Tian Zhuangzhuang was somewhat dumbfounded; he had heard Lu Kuan say "Director Lu is right" and thought this kid had changed his nature.

He didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, a bayonet would be thrust straight into Lu Chuan's heart, so bloody that it was unbearable to look at.

Lu Chuan, oh Lu Chuan, why did you have to provoke a reckless scoundrel like Lu Kuan?

He had modestly expressed that it was difficult to compete with his senior Tian Zhuangzhuang and pointed out that Lu Kuan needed to be more humble and grounded, thinking he was offering advice to a junior from the perspective of a senior and predecessor.

He didn't expect that a moment of loose-lipped arrogance would cost him a lifetime of face-pain.

Watching Lu Chuan being pressed step-by-step by the reporters, Wang Xiaolei hurriedly dragged him away.

Truly, a scholar is useless; why argue with him? A novice director coming to a film festival—there are plenty of ways to deal with him.

Feng Yuanzheng and Tian Zhuangzhuang smiled at each other and teased Lu Kuan: "Director Lu, you really are both scholarly and martial!"

"This kid is like a hedgehog; he looks harmless, but anyone who wants to touch him has to be careful about getting their hands covered in blood."

Boss Lu laughed: "Teacher Tian, you saw it just now; they were the ones who were unreasonable first. He insisted on sticking his face out for me to slap; I couldn't help it!"

Only Liu Yifei was somewhat confused: "Director Lu, the Teacher Jiang you just mentioned is Jiang Wen, right? Why did he react so strongly?"

Actually, come to think of it, Lu Kuan and Lu Chuan's experiences at this time were quite similar.

At this time, Lu Chuan, who had come to Venice with his debut *Gun of Mercy*, had just mixed his way from a small screenwriter at the Beijing Film Studio to a film director going abroad for awards; his father, who was a screenwriter, hadn't really exerted much force for him yet.

This human comedy of Lu Chuan's 'salted fish turning over' benefited from the appearance of a noble person, Jiang Wen.

After *Devils on the Doorstep* was banned in 2000, Jiang Wen, in his boredom, took a fancy to this script.

So he pulled in investment, found locations, selected actors, and even pulled in China Film Group head Han Shanping to make a cameo as a police chief.

Jiang Wen, well, those who know, know; how could the then-unknown Lu Chuan compete with him?

It is said that after being completely suppressed one time, Lu Chuan tearfully called the investor, Wang Dajun of Yanda Huayi, and tearfully complained about the experience of being bullied.

As the saying goes, hit the eggs first to win half the battle.

Lu Kuan was touching a sore spot, tearing a piece of flesh and skin right off the currently high-profile Lu Chuan.

Hearing this, Liu Yifei laughed until she couldn't stand straight, holding her stomach and leaning on Lu Kuan's shoulder.

She fully realized what it meant to take revenge without waiting overnight, and what it meant to enjoy life to the fullest.

Getting along with such a person was truly too gratifying!

Of course, the premise is that you have to be his friend.

Tian Zhuangzhuang shook his head helplessly, but this was all Lu Chuan's own doing; Lu Kuan was young and vigorous, and such a counterattack wasn't a major fault.

He flipped through the guidebook in his hand, which had very detailed venue maps and screening information, including ticket prices.

"Little Lu, I have to go back to the crew side first. *Whiplash* is scheduled for the morning of the 4th, and *Springtime* is in the afternoon of the 4th. These few days are free time; we'll see each other then."

"Hmm... *Gun of Mercy* is also on the morning of the 4th, one session earlier than yours. Let's go together then."

"When abroad, we are all compatriots after all; we still have to keep up appearances."

Lu Chuan was one thing, but his sharp-tongued father was extremely aggressive; there was an anecdote about him having a three-hundred-round war of words with Han Han on the internet in later generations.

Tian Zhuangzhuang was worried that he would hold a grudge against Lu Chuan and make enemies for no reason.

In this day and age, don't offend scholars; they're like flies, absolutely disgusting.

"Okay, Teacher Tian, just call me if you need anything."

Tian Zhuangzhuang waved his hand and left, thinking to himself that this kid was like a donkey; I wouldn't dare trouble you easily if there's something up.

"Little Lu, what are we going to do next?"

Lu Kuan glanced at her speechlessly; whenever they weren't in a formal occasion with outsiders, and without Liu Xiaoli there to remind her, this little girl usually had the nerve to call him that.

Don't ask; if you ask, it's 'lifesaver'—what's wrong with calling him Little Lu?

(End of chapter)