Chapter 177: Liu Liu Yifei: The Road-Crushing Chick

Lu Kuan returned to Beiping, preparing to head to Los Angeles to finalize the choice for the male lead.

Just after landing, his cell phone began vibrating and ringing as if possessed.

Over a hundred missed calls...

Hmm, little Liu alone had called more than a dozen times.

Not bad; although she backstabbed me, Boss Lu, she still has some conscience.

At this moment, Liu Liu Yifei had transformed into an internet troll, busy squaring off against haters on various forums.

Yang Yang Siwei and Liu Liu Xiaoli were outside, discussing arrangements for her audition for *Kung Fu*.

Lu Kuan's homepage on the blog site was a disaster zone; aside from accounts that posted malicious insults being banned, mockery and standard abuse were flying everywhere.

Liu Liu Yifei applied for a burner account.

After thinking for a long time, she chose the ID 【Crush-Lu-Chick】, intending to crush the scumbag Lu Kuan.

Clicking her mouse, she read through the comments section under Lu Kuan's latest blog post one by one; they were simply too foul to look at.

【Crush-Lu-Chick】 temporarily switched to "Road-Protection Worker" mode.

【Only for Xie Tingfeng】: Lu Kuan is truly a beast! He made things difficult for my Xie Tingfeng before, and now he's using his position to sleep with Dong Jie, who looks so pure and lovely at first glance. So indignant! So heartbroken!

Liu Liu Yifei had been hanging around Lu Kuan for nearly two years, so now, insults came to her lips effortlessly.

【Crush-Lu-Chick】 replied: Heartbreak isn't covered by medical insurance~ Don't get too hurt~ You won't be able to afford the treatment later~

【Big Brother of Beidian】: Even scum like Lu Kuan can get people to invest in him, while a talented graduate student like me gets no attention. Truly, a clown in the palace, a master among the people! I can no longer understand this world!

【Crush-Lu-Chick】 replied: My lord, you may relieve yourself on the ground and look at your reflection in it; your confusion will resolve itself!

【Seek Gun is Really Good】: Lu Kuan's ability and character aren't even one percent of Director Lu Lu Chuan's!

【Crush-Lu-Chick】 replied: Humanity's development of your intelligence hasn't even reached one percent!

This area had high traffic, and a large wave of onlookers quickly replied to her.

This 【Crush-Lu-Chick】 is so funny, very humorous and interesting; Lu Kuan's fans are so creative!

Liu Liu Yifei spent an hour "water-commenting," and her burner account gained several hundred followers.

Some asked if she was a fan of Lu Kuan, while Lu-haters sent private messages to her message board to curse her.

The internet water army hired by Yanda Huayi was frantically flooding the main battlefield—Lu Kuan's blog—with comments. Seeing this 【Crush-Lu-Chick】's like count far in the lead, and all of them helping Lu Kuan, they clicked to look at her comment history.

【Record 1】: Lu Kuan is truly a sex fiend!

Reply: Agreed! Strongly agreed!

【Record 2】: Lu Kuan is truly shameless; why does every actress look at him like a dog looking at excrement!

Reply: Indeed shameless! But Liu Liu Yifei isn't! The others are about the same!

The water army squad leader looked at the long string of records where she liked comments calling Lu Kuan a sex fiend and fell into deep thought.

Is this the enemy or an ally?

Boss Lu remained calm and composed, first issuing a clarification announcement in the name of the Wenjie Company, declaring that he would spend 10 million to hire the best lawyers in the country to pursue those who maliciously slandered him.

This is common practice in later generations, just like Fan Fan Bingbing after her scandal, who sued a circle of big and small V-users on Weibo and collected a circle of symbolic compensation.

But in this era, ordinary people don't even have the awareness to resort to the law when they encounter injustice.

Now, someone is going to spend 10 million?

In 2003, when the national average wage was 14,000 yuan, to sue netizens?

This was truly a piece of big news, even overshadowing the original gossip, and major forums quickly went off-topic.

Lu Kuan's fans used this 10 million to prove their idol's innocence;

The haters and Yanda Huayi's water army used this 10 million to prove Lu Kuan's guilty conscience!

The internet world, already surging with public opinion, seemed to have a catalyst added by this 10 million, becoming even more turbulent.

Yanda Huayi quickly launched the usual aggressive verbal attacks from the Beijing circle bigwigs, conducting a dual critique of this unscrupulous director's character and works from within the arts circle!

【Wang Shuo】: Thieves know shame, which is why they act stealthily; robbers know guilt, which is why they wear masks; scammers know they lack virtue, which is why they dare not use their real names; corrupt merchants know they have lost their conscience, which is why they often go to temples to burn incense. If a person does evil and still acts righteous, and even wants to retaliate, then he is the root of all evil!

【Feng Feng Xiaogang】: Certain young directors have crooked minds. I have heard that besides having serious issues with their personal conduct, they are also accustomed to using fortune-telling and physiognomy to swindle people. Afraid that their own film won't beat *Cell Phone* during the New Year period, they arrange for people to make groundless reports and cause trouble. It is simply shameful!

Feng Feng Xiaogang has always had a big mouth. This time, *Cell Phone* was truly hit hard by Cui Cui Yongyuan, and the two turned into enemies.

The latter used his connections and influence at CCTV to force him to change the script.

The program host became a writer, all character backgrounds related to Host Cui disappeared, and only then did the CCTV celebrity let it go.

But the creative difficulties brought to Feng Feng Xiaogang were insurmountable; the crew was waiting for the script changes while eating and spending, and the footage already shot was rendered useless.

Feng Feng Xiaogang lost both money and peace of mind, so naturally, he opened fire on Lu Kuan at will, even exposing the rumors of him being a charlatan that were circulating in the circle.

【Lu Lu Chuan】: Character is art. Certain young directors have poor conduct, and I don't see their works as being very positive either. Art should lead the trend of thought and advocate for the positive; we cannot let such morally corrupt directors continue to poison the audience with films like *Fascist Teacher*!

Lu Chuan and Lu Kuan had long-standing grievances, from their "first meeting leading to lifelong hatred" at Venice to Yanda Huayi now investing in his *Kekexili*.

When a drum is broken, everyone beats it; he was not stingy about kicking someone while they were down and adding fuel to this storm of public opinion.

In the 1990s, the domestic entertainment industry had just started, and as the main form of artistic creation, television dramas had their power held in the hands of a group of screenwriters and writers.

Wang Shuo, Hai Yan, Yu Hua, and Liu Liu Zhenyun were the best among them.

Added to them were other "courtyard children" like Ye, and they absorbed people like Feng Feng Xiaogang, who came from an art design background, gradually forming the so-called Beijing circle.

The scary and hateful thing about this group was not only that they monopolized the development resources of the early domestic entertainment industry, but they also had great influence over various opinion channels in the era of print media.

They could easily use media resources to smear their enemies; Zhang Zhang Yimou was one of the victims.

Wang Shuo had cursed Zhang Zhang Yimou as "stinking dung," called him a "renovation worker," and said he couldn't compare to Feng Feng Xiaogang at all.

This time, Yanda Huayi didn't actually invite too many prominent figures for the siege on Lu Kuan.

It was just the washed-up big brother Wang Shuo coming out to nag a bit.

There was also Feng Feng Xiaogang, whose personal interests were at stake, and Lu Lu Chuan, who had once been at odds with Lu Kuan.

Besides, if you are in the same circle, it's fine to help curse someone.

But after all, everyone had no deep grudges; Lu Kuan hadn't stolen anyone's business or cut off anyone's livelihood, so there was no need to fight with real blades and guns.

At the same time, Anita Mui, as well as Boss Lu's friends in the circle like Zhou Xun, Feng Feng Yuanzheng, and Jay Chou, all spoke up in support.

They stated that Lu Kuan absolutely did not coerce or sexually abuse female cast and crew members on set.

They didn't dare to say that Boss Lu had no relationship with these actresses, though...

After all, everyone knew what kind of person he was.

The most jaw-dropping thing was that Mani Fok of Emperor Entertainment posted a photo on the blog site; it was the Cannes trophy for *The Thief* that she had won on behalf of Emperor Entertainment at the Fashion Bazaar.

She also used brief text to describe the scene of various stars enthusiastically supporting charity that night, specifically pointing out that Boss Lu had spent 2.88 million to purchase Jackie Chan's costume to support charity.

Emperor Entertainment? Wasn't this Lu Kuan's earliest mortal enemy?

Even now, the people cursing him the most fiercely online were Nicholas Tse's fans! This was an old grudge!

How did Nicholas Tse's manager, Emperor Entertainment's big sister Mani Fok, start speaking for Lu Kuan?

The audience still remembered the bet between the two companies regarding *The Drummer* and *The Medallion*!

This world is too crazy; the mouse is acting as a bridesmaid for the cat!

Immediately, some meddlesome audience members dug up news from last week: the first Charity Bazaar Night had concluded, with stars donating over 10 million.

Some praised him for his kindness, some said Lu Kuan's money came from improper sources, and some said he was just seeking fame.

Everyone could accept the fact that the long-famous Jackie Chan was a billionaire, but how could a young man in his early twenties be one?

The onlookers watched with great delight.

Lu Kuan's sex scandal was raging, and with so many celebrities coming forward to give their own accounts, it was too exciting!

Zhuang Xu of the blog site received a call from Liu Liu Yifei and immediately instructed to control the public opinion; when he contacted Lu Kuan, the latter said there was no need to bother.

"Just let them curse you like this?"

"Whatever, sue a few more and they'll behave. Help me find all the IPs that are cursing the hardest."

Zhuang Xu asked suspiciously: "Do you know who did it?"

"It should be Yanda Huayi finding people to do it. There should be more moves coming, wait a bit longer."

Zhuang Xu knew he was going to mess with people again.

"Where are you? Haven't you returned to Beiping yet?"

"I've arrived in Los Angeles to finalize the last male lead. I'll be back in a few days."

"Alright then, take care of yourself. Also, that Liu... forget it, I'll hang up first."

Zhuang Xu had wanted to say that the actress Liu Liu Yifei had called him and was anxious because she couldn't get through.

Thinking that this dog of a person should know in his heart, he didn't say anything more.

In his office in Los Angeles, Lu Kuan had just hung up the phone when the ringtone sounded again; it was actually Zhang Zhang Yimou.

This was a rare guest.

"Director Lu, you've been making quite a stir lately, haven't you?"

"Haha, Director Zhang, are you praising me or mocking me!"

Zhang Zhang Yimou had met Lu Kuan during the fourth round of the Beidian exams and greatly appreciated this junior; because of Peter Chan, the two had communicated quite a bit.

Anita Mui had previously gone to Zhang Zhang Yimou's set to discuss *House of Flying Daggers*, and Lu Kuan had accompanied her for a few days.

"Don't pay attention to them. Wang Shuo and that bunch of cultural figures have nothing better to do; they usually just write articles, hold seminars, and curse people."

"Often, young directors get depressed after being cursed and call me."

"I advise them: how many people are there in the capital's arts circle? Three thousand? Five thousand? And you're this depressed?"

"But, you also need to be careful yourself. Don't talk about three or five thousand people; if only these thirty or fifty people in the arts circle keep writing to curse you, they can sentence you to death."

Boss Lu was speechless; Director Zhang, are you comforting me or scaring me?

"Director Zhang, then how did you manage to pull through?"

"Damn! I see the essence through the phenomena!"

"If you think the sky is going to collapse just because thirty or fifty people are trying to give you a hard time, then you're mistaken. Besides, these thirty or fifty people have their own psychological issues to begin with. Are they being objective? Are they forming cliques?" (Note 1)

In his past life, Zhang Zhang Yimou was always being smeared by the Beijing circle; he gave this group a nickname, the "Capital Literary and Artistic Circle," and didn't even bother to pay them any mind.

Lu Kuan laughed: "Director Zhang is still as broad-minded as ever. Don't worry, my heart is as small as my age, and I'm particularly fond of holding grudges!"

"This time, I'll settle the score for you, too!"

Zhang Zhang Yimou just took it as a joke, chatted for a couple of sentences, and hung up the phone.

Lu Kuan and Emil arrived at the office of the casting director, Taylor; this trip to the United States was specifically to confirm the final choice for the lead role.

"I'm very sorry, sir. Sean Penn meets the requirements in every aspect, but we requested to add a clause to the contract prohibiting the expression of political opinions during the filming and release of the movie, and he refused."

Lu Kuan glanced at the reply sent by Sean Penn's agent and was somewhat speechless.

He knew this guy was a big mouth, but for the sake of his high cost-effectiveness at this moment, Lu Kuan had to swallow his pride and propose adding this "shut-up clause" to the contract.

As it turned out, it was rejected by the uninhibited American film star as well.

In his later life, in 2004—which was next year—after Sean Penn won the Oscar for Best Actor, the first thing he did was use his influence to publish commentary.

He said that movies like *Fahrenheit 9/11* were too rare and should be made more often, and if any director was willing to make one, he would waive his acting fee.

He even spent over 50,000 USD of his own money to place an advertisement in the *Washington Post*, accusing George W. Bush of suppressing anti-war speech.

He even wandered off to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, all by himself to support the local masses...

This was a family trait; his father was also a Hollywood film star and had been on the "blacklist" of the House Un-American Activities Committee throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

"What about Brody?"

"Brody's schedule is suitable, but his acting fee has risen to 12 million USD."

Boss Lu's mouth twitched; he had just won the Oscar for Best Actor and was already raising his price. His fee for acting in *The Pianist* was only five or six million, and now it had more than doubled.

With that kind of money, I could add another 3 million USD and hire Keanu Reeves instead.

"Is Leonardo available?"

Taylor and Emil were both startled by his wild idea. Weren't they looking for cost-effectiveness? Why were they asking about the schedule of a top-tier star again?

"He just finished filming *Catch Me If You Can*. I heard he's going to take a year off, preparing to film Martin Scorsese's *The Aviator*."

Boss Lu calculated in his heart. Originally, the budget for the male lead's fee was only around 10 million USD, but at the current price, it seemed impossible to find a suitable candidate.

This trip back to the mainland, China Film Group had pre-sold 4 million for a share of the box office.

The trip to Xiangjiang had brought in another 6 million USD in pre-sales to Emperor Group for the distribution rights in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.

Overall, he could loosen his belt a little bit on the budget.

Seeing that 10 million USD was no longer enough to cover it, and finding someone between quasi-first-tier and super-first-tier didn't make much sense, he might as well go all the way to the top.

"Help me contact Leonardo!"

Emil exclaimed: "Lu, you'd be better off finding Tang Mu Cruise than him; at least he's a producer and you can negotiate the price!"

Taylor also frowned: "That's right. Leonardo's fee for *Catch Me If You Can* was also 20 million USD; he and Tang Mu Cruise are both the highest-paid in Hollywood."

Boss Lu smiled with some confidence: "Tang Mu Cruise is not just an actor but also a businessman; he's very shrewd. As for Leonardo, I actually have a way to bargain with him."

Taylor was helpless; he contacted Leonardo's agent and set up a meeting for the day after tomorrow.

Lu Kuan left Emil alone in the casting office to continue discussing business, drove back to his office by himself, opened his computer, and started writing the script.

A script that might be worth 5 million USD.

He was hiding in the United States, ignoring the world outside, but the pot of boiling water that was the domestic entertainment industry was about to blow its lid.

One after another, lawyer's letters issued by Wan Jie were sent directly via IP to some influential internet rumor-mongers and then uploaded to official blogs.

Subsequently, the official blog of a public security sub-bureau in a certain jurisdiction in Beiping released a notice of administrative penalties for a person who had engaged in serious malicious rumor-mongering and verbal abuse.

This was still a novelty in this era.

This was all thanks to Blog Network's support for official stability maintenance work during the "Boiling Point" period; long-term cooperation had forged a deep police-enterprise relationship.

Of course, Wan Jie wouldn't mention that they had just donated over 400,000 worth of patrol vehicles last month and had sent high-value condolence money to the families of two martyrs in the city who had died in the line of duty.

This was all in accordance with Boss Lu's instructions: get close to the government, stay away from politics.

The haters were finally terrified: "I was just running my mouth, you motherfucker, you're playing for real!"

Coupled with the clear stance taken by popular stars like Anita Mui, Zhou Xun, Zhou Zhou Jielun, and Liu Liu Yifei, the one-sided situation of internet public opinion came to a halt.

If it weren't for Dong Jie exposing him with her real name, this evil wind would have stopped long ago.

September 4, 2003, Yanda Huayi headquarters building.

"Big Brother, it's about time, shall we let Barbie Hsu go?"

Wang Dajun frowned as he flipped through the blog comments: "I always feel something is wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"This Blog Network has always had a close relationship with Lu Kuan. His film works' biggest promotional base on the internet is always chosen to be on the blog."

"Every time a Wan Jie movie is released, both sides cooperate to hold activities like commenting to win tickets."

"And that Liu Liu Yifei—last time Zhuo Wei broke the news, the blog also suppressed it quickly."

Wang Wang Xiaolei realized: "You're saying that's why the blog didn't control the comments this time, right?"

"Yeah."

The two pondered for a long time without coming to any conclusion, then Wang Wang Xiaolei slapped his thigh.

"We have to bite the bullet and go for it. Barbie Hsu's work has just been done; it took a lot of effort to persuade her."

"This is equivalent to a real-name report. Let's see if she dies this time!"

Wang Dajun was much more seasoned than his younger brother: "Besides her, go find Uncle Gu and the others. Let a few of the elders go to the Beijing Film Academy and file a complaint with President Zhang."

"Just say that a piece of scum has emerged among the students of the Beijing Film Academy, and demand that he be expelled immediately to serve as a warning to others!"

"Great! That's a great idea, Big Brother. Ten thousand things we say won't be as effective as a single announcement from the Beijing Film Academy!"

On the evening of September 4, 2003, the domestic entertainment industry, which had just calmed down a little, was once again in turmoil. A real-name report video by Taiwan artist Barbie Hsu went viral across the entire internet!

【Taiwanese idol drama queen speaks out: Was coerced and humiliated by a certain director surnamed Lu from the mainland, and only escaped with her life to preserve her purity!】

In the video, Barbie Hsu cried to the camera, claiming that a certain director surnamed Lu had used his power to bully her during the roadshow for *The Drummer*, forcing her to accompany him for drinks and sleep, and that she had resisted with all her might and fled.

As the price for her burning her bridges, Barbie Hsu obtained a long-term contract with Yanda Huayi.

She only needed to persuade her godfather, Wang Wang Weizhong, to let her go, and Yanda Huayi would pay a substantial compensation fee.

One knows one's own situation best; Barbie Hsu knew how washed-up she was now, and she figured Wang Wang Weizhong would be happy to get rid of her, right?

This crazy beauty was purely a washed-up star finding a way to survive after being pushed to the brink of death.

Dong Jie was the same. After she switched to the Hong Kong circle, her resources were mediocre. Wang Wang Xiaolei gave her two choices:

Sign with Yanda Huayi or take a supporting role in *A World Without Thieves*, which Feng Feng Xiaogang had just started.

Fame and fortune move people's hearts, and her sacrifice was small—just exposing a certain director's evil deeds with her real name. She hadn't gotten involved in the karma herself, and she didn't have to worry about her pure image collapsing.

She was just about to agree, but she didn't expect happiness to come so suddenly. She was shocked to hear that the boss of Emperor Group valued her highly and was already talking to Ze Dong about buying out her contract!

When she was in the *The Noble Family* crew, it was exactly when the conflict between Lu Kuan and Emperor Group erupted. It seemed her "righteous speaking out" had served as a letter of recommendation.

Dong Jie felt proud of her decisiveness; truly, the brave are the first to enjoy the world!

Note 1: The original words of Zhang Zhang Yimou in an interview with *Southern People Weekly* in 2008.

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(End of this chapter)