Chapter 274: The Truth Comes to Light

Huayi, as a veteran company in the industry, still possessed a solid foundation.

Advertorials using the gimmick "Korean star Nara kneels in public to apologize for her father" were rapidly disseminated with the support of massive public relations spending.

In their PR strategy, Huayi, knowing that their online influence could not compete with Blog Network, focused their efforts on offline print media.

*Beiping Daily*, *Beiping Times*, *Jinghua Times*, *Beiping Entertainment News*, *Television Weekly*...

Among these, a short commentary in *Heart-Stirring News* sparked heated discussion:

A young girl who traveled across the ocean to contribute to cultural exchange between China and South Korea—why was she driven to the point of having to kneel in public?

We should reflect: are the extreme populism and chauvinism flooding online forums truly acceptable?

With the Olympic Games approaching, we should be presenting an open, inclusive, and harmonious international image.

And this 24-year-old Korean girl, whose knees could not hold her up before the public, should make the online mob and the dark hands of certain large entertainment groups feel ashamed!

Wang Shuo, who had not appeared in the public eye for a long time, was a guest on a live interview show on Sina Entertainment and inadvertently touched upon the topic that had been making a lot of noise recently:

Some people who wouldn't even dare to scold a street thief are brave enough to shout about destroying the "little devils"?

A bunch of people who are indifferent to the suffering of the living have the nerve to attack a weak girl who has contributed to cultural exchange.

This era is sick, and this society is sick too; I don't understand it.

Renowned young director Lu Chuan accepted an interview in his father's office at the Writers Association:

I agree with what Master Shuo said; this society is sick, and some people have become obsessed, starting to use every possible unscrupulous trick.

But I believe that justice will never be late. I support Nara.

A reporter from *Jinghua Times* interviewed the famous domestic director "Pants" on the set of *The Banquet*, and the latter said:

I can really understand how Nara feels; she is an innocent girl.

Just like when my home address was exposed a few months ago and the conflict I had with reporters, these are all premeditated actions.

The reporter's eyes lit up and they continued to press.

"Director Feng, then how do you view the 'money-grabbing' video? That was something Zhang Nara's father admitted to himself, wasn't it?"

Feng Xiaogang was very shrewd: "Heh, how do I view it? Go ask the Jie Video site. It's not appropriate for me to say more; everyone can guess for themselves!"

Various public intellectuals and opinion leaders stepped out, effectively serving the purpose of "setting things right."

Coupled with the miserable sight of Zhang Nara kneeling in public, the netizens, whose self-esteem and sense of justice were greatly satisfied, softened their tone slightly.

"Forget it, she's actually quite pitiful!"

"Gao Xiaosong is right; bullying a weak girl, what does that look like to foreigners?"

"Pants has been having bad luck since last year, and now he's much more timid. Aren't you just trying to talk about the washing machine?"

On April 23rd, after nearly a week of crisis management, Zhang Nara finally appeared in the public eye once again.

She and her editorial team walked into a nursing home in Yanjiao to carry out a charity event.

Zhou Jun used his connections to urgently arrange for this "Cultural Charity Tour" event to be aired on the international channel in two days.

"Recently, the visit to the Beiping nursing home, co-hosted by the South Korean Embassy in China and the Cultural Exchange Ambassador, has officially begun."

"What you are seeing on your screens now is the scene of the well-known international singer and film star, Ms. Zhang Nara, kindly conversing with the lonely elderly in our nursing home."

Zhang Nara performed her duties faithfully before the camera, well-demonstrating the professional qualities of an actress.

Zhou Jun was talking to a counselor from the Korean Embassy not far away.

"Give my regards to Ambassador Li. Please arrange the cultural exchange event for next week as soon as possible."

"We will broadcast it simultaneously on the General Channel and the Hunan Satellite TV. I believe this will also be very beneficial for your country's cultural promotion."

The counselor smiled at this "Banners descendant" with a deep background: "No problem, Mr. Zhou."

"The Ambassador also instructed me to convey his regards to your father and your whole family."

At this moment, he thought with no small amount of emotion: if everyone here were like this, how easy our Great Han Ming Kingdom's cultural dumping would be!

Feeling slightly more at ease, Zhou Jun walked to a corner and took out his phone.

"Wife, about my father-in-law's side..."

"Didn't I tell you they are investigating? Just wait, okay?"

Zhou Jun was helpless, but without going through his in-laws, he had no foolproof, direct way to intervene.

It was true that Zhuang Xu was a commoner.

But Blog Network was a key enterprise of the Ministry of Information's Torch Program, a star tax-paying enterprise in Chaoyang District, and the premier public opinion hub in the country.

It wouldn't matter if they used conventional means to audit taxes and accounts, but to try to frame the president of Blog Network with such near-baseless methods...

For the sake of caution, it was better to wait a while longer.

"Are you coming home for dinner tonight? Mom just had Auntie Xu send over a few wild large yellow croakers, from Huanghua."

In this day and age, cold-chain logistics were not very developed; for the powerful in Beiping to eat seafood, many of the delicacies on their tables came from the Huanghua Port in Jinmen and Cangzhou.

Huanghua is located more than 200 kilometers southeast of Beiping; the precious ingredients caught at sea in the morning could fly into the mansions to become delicacies by evening.

Zhou Jun glanced at the gentle and attentive Zhang Nara not far away: "I have a social engagement tonight, I'll probably be late. You and our son eat first."

After 8:00 PM, Zhou Jun, having just finished his "social engagement," took a shower in the luxury suite of the Financial Street Hotel.

He returned to the bed wearing a bathrobe, watching Zhang Nara, who had been screaming her lungs out just a moment ago, virtuously tidying up his clothes.

No wonder the high officials of the Tang Dynasty liked Silla maids; the lineage was indeed good.

"Alright, I'm leaving. Just leave the clothes there; someone will take them to be washed."

When it came to being careful and cautious, Zhou Jun was no less than Boss Lu.

"I understand, then be careful on your way."

Zhang Nara looked up, watching with a bit of relief this powerful descendant who was currently the only one who could pull her out of the deep water and scorching fire.

However, such relief was too luxurious; she opened the computer on the table and soon discovered the arrival of another wave of rhythm.

*The Truth Behind the Suicide of Korean Star Lee Eun-ju: Will Zhang Nara Be the Next Lee Eun-ju?*

Zhang Nara felt her heart skip a beat at just one glance. She checked the time; this article, first posted on the entertainment gossip section of the Tianya Forum, had been sent only ten minutes ago.

She scrolled down to the comment section...

There were already nearly a thousand replies.

Her ominous premonition intensified. With trembling hands, she clicked the mouse; inside was a piece of popular science that exhausted every detail.

The connection between Korean female stars, entertainment companies, and chaebols, the strict social hierarchy, and the perverted endogenous order.

And the miserable state of Lee Eun-ju after being humiliated by a certain chaebol for over 8 hours following the TV shows *Phoenix* and *Starting Point*.

Starting from the profound social contradictions and the wealth gap in the Korean nation, and the overwhelming power of the chaebols who were wealthier than the state, it tore off the bloody human-skin masks for the fans of Korean culture.

Zhang Nara's palms were sweating as she read. These were still relatively unimportant, but what did it mean that she was mentioned in the article's title?

Regrettably, she soon found the answer.

A sinister argument, seemingly calling for support but actually intended to drag her down, jumped off the page:

Please do not criticize Ms. Zhang Nara anymore. She finally managed to escape the miserable life of being abused and toyed with in her own country to come to the mainland to make a living.

Please give her a chance to live!

Shock!

"Aish! Aish!"

Zhang Nara tore the mouse cord off like a madwoman, threw it against the wall with a shrill expression, and then pounded the laptop screen fiercely.

The thin-film transistor liquid crystal of the ThinkPad T43 could not withstand the assault and turned into a garbled screen after flickering several times.

Zhang Nara collapsed on the chair with disheveled hair, looking at the colorful blocks of various sizes on the LCD screen, which crawled into her brain like extremely eerie maggots.

She remembered the first time she saw Lu Kuan, looking at that Chinese girl who had outshone her with great resentment.

She remembered the secret joy of watching Liu Yifei play a supporting role for her in *Silver Years*, and the pleasure she felt when she saw the overwhelming negative news about her on the internet!

She had *Chinese Paladin*, and she had *Chinese Paladin 3*; she had *The Forbidden Kingdom*, and she had *Seven Swords* and *Red Cliff*.

If I just had a little more time, a little more opportunity, why am I not as good as her!?

But all of this, at this moment, was almost turning into a dream bubble.

Even though she had prepared herself mentally, she completely collapsed under this second wave of premeditated negative news.

A major earthquake is terrifying, but what is even more terrifying is the aftershock.

Aftershocks will destroy your body and mind in a time, posture, intensity, and angle you never expected, causing the glimmer of hope that had just risen to be extinguished, leaving you with no way to parry.

Zhang Nara's heart was as dead as ashes; she turned her head blankly to look at the doorway where Zhou Jun had just left.

Once upon a time, there was also a girl wrapped tightly in a bathrobe, looking at the overwhelming negative news on the screen, looking back at the door with the same feeling.

It's just that what that girl saw was her own hope.

What Zhang Nara saw was despair like a black hole.

The next day, Huayi headquarters office.

Accompanied by her assistant, Zhang Nara knocked on the door and entered like a walking corpse; the smoke in the office made her cough.

Except for the sound of her closing the door, there was deathly silence.

Wang Xiaolei cleared his dry throat: "Is there any way to find the uncle again..."

"No, the last time we mediated, we used up quite a few favors. This time..."

Wang Xiaolei interrupted him: "Big Brother! This isn't called mediating, is it? It was Lu Kuan who used these dirty tactics first, right?"

"Last time, the leaders said that normal competition is fine, but you can't use these methods of putting up big-character posters."

Wang Dajun shook his head with a bitter smile: "What tactics did he use? Was that big-character poster put up by him?"

"Zhu Husheng couldn't control his own mouth; those were clips from a Korean variety show."

"That Lee Eun-ju from last night didn't directly attack Nara either; between the lines, it was all rhetoric voicing support and speaking for her."

"All the resources in the post were reposted from a Korean website."

"What can we say?"

Wang Xiaolei slammed his hand onto the sofa armrest: "Damn! This Lu Kuan is too insidious; he really is a piece of shit!"

Zhou Jun glanced at the expressionless Zhang Nara and had to offer some comfort: "Don't worry, it's far from time to throw in the towel."

"The impact of the Hunan TV station, the embassy program, and Sina hasn't fully manifested yet; I believe there will be results."

He patted the back of the hand of the actress beside him, who nodded reluctantly, not knowing what to say.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Come in."

The Huayi vice president looked at everyone in the room, somewhat tongue-tied.

"Speak plainly."

The working-stiff vice president swallowed hard, not knowing what kind of violent feedback the following news would bring:

"Hunan TV replied, saying that the higher-ups have rejected the application from the joint venture between Tianyu Media, us, and Sina; the agreement... is void!"

Before the "tiger-eyed" Wang Xiaolei could erupt, he hurriedly added.

"Also! Both episodes of 'Happy Camp' have already been recorded, and Ouyang Changqing approved... it is not suitable to make changes."

Wang Dajun analyzed: "The situation for 'Super Girl' is precarious; he wants to remain neutral to trade for concessions from Lu Kuan regarding public opinion pressure."

"After all, this power is too strong, and his position is extremely sensitive; he has no choice but to be afraid."

The first to get angry was actually Zhou Jun, who usually had excellent self-control: "Is this old thing scared out of his wits?"

"He's afraid of Lu Kuan, but is he not afraid of me, Zhou Jun!?"

He stood up abruptly: "I'm going to the embassy right now. Sina, please ask Dajun and Xiaolei to keep in touch; we must stabilize them."

"Come to think of it, Hunan TV withdrawing is just losing one channel for voicing opinions and broadcasting."

"The cultural promotion program made for Nara will be fine if it can be broadcast on the international channel and Sina; the effect won't be much worse!"

The two brothers smoking in the room responded gloomily, while the Huayi vice president stood silently to the side, then quietly closed the door and left.

Not much worse?

I'm only afraid this is the first domino!

On April 28th, following the Money-Grabbing Gate, Slap Gate, and Li Enzhu Gate, the General Administration held a symposium in Beiping, officially beginning to set the tone, define the nature, and collect opinions on the various recent sensational events in the domestic entertainment industry.

All major local satellite TV stations, entertainment companies, and media companies were in attendance.

At nine in the morning, the meeting officially began, and the host symbolically reported on the recent public sentiment and the concerns of the leadership.

The meeting requested that everyone uphold an attitude of unity and harmonious industry competition, with the goal of promoting correct values and creating excellent cultural products, to conduct various cultural activities in an orderly manner.

The symposium proceeded according to plan; during the opinion solicitation for local TV stations, Long Dan'ni, vice director of Travel Satellite TV, made a statement.

Just when everyone thought she would reiterate the various anti-pan-entertainment remarks of the leader behind her, Lu Kuan, this former Hunan TV employee avoided the important and focused on the trivial:

"New Vision, the content producer for Travel Satellite TV, will unswervingly support all guiding opinions on the surface, unswervingly practice self-restraint and self-regulation, and set a benchmark for healthy development in the industry..."

"At the same time, Travel Satellite TV will continue to learn from advanced units in the industry, including Hunan TV, striving and forging ahead to offer the broad masses of the people excellent cultural food that they love to see and hear..."

Just as everyone was listening in confusion, Long Dan'ni made another startling remark:

"In addition, I represent Travel Satellite TV and Wenjie Holdings in proposing!"

"We must show concern for the despicable behavior of certain foreign stars who bite the hand that feeds them, disregard basic moral beliefs, and hurt national sentiments; at the very least, they should not be given further opportunities to show their faces on satellite TV and CCTV."

Once these words were spoken, discussions broke out in the room; the vice president representing Huayi sat silently, not knowing what to say.

"Hunan TV seconds the motion."

Everyone looked over; the speaker was Yao Jia from Hunan TV.

She just fell into silence after saying this, keeping her head down, eyes fixed on her nose.

The meeting ended quickly.

That night, very rarely, Hunan TV's "long-dusty" verified account on the blog site was reactivated.

The previous blog content was from a year ago, celebrating the first anniversary of the release of "Chinese Paladin," a collaboration between Hunan TV and Wenjie.

However, the onlookers who came for the gossip didn't get much information from the blog content; there were only two lonely program previews.

Regarding the plot and guest previews for the current and next episodes of "Happy Camp," but neither had anything to do with Huayi or Zhang Nara.

Laymen watch the excitement, experts watch the technique.

Looking at it from the perspective of entertainment companies large and small, including Cheng Tian, Rong Xingda, Tang Ren, and Emperor, these two short lines had nothing to do with the program.

This was a ceasefire agreement between Hunan TV and Wenjie.

Everyone went to Wenjie Video and the blog site to search for videos of the Slap Gate incident, only to find that the heat had almost completely faded.

Instead, there were mostly videos of Hunan TV and Tang Mou admitting their mistakes and apologizing publicly.

Shortly after the meeting, the authorities officially issued a document, setting out the "Four Black Rules" for domestic entertainment talent shows; in short:

First, idol training and talent shows must not be broadcast on satellite TV during prime time from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM;

Second, the total duration of a single idol training or talent show must not exceed two hours;

Third, it is strictly forbidden to use ugliness, sensationalism, insulting contestants, or deliberately creating conflict as selling points to attract viewers and inflate popularity;

Fourth, the number of offline sub-venues for talent shows and cross-regional situations are strictly limited, and the number of people attending sub-venue events is strictly limited...

Overall, "Super Girl" would continue in a castrated form, but a lame leg is still better than an amputation.

On May 9th, Huayi held an internal dinner, with a luxurious team preparing to set off for Cannes.

Since the outbreak of various incidents in early April, everyone at Huayi from top to bottom had been suffering immensely.

The reason for heading to the Cannes Film Festival was to promote "Seven Swords," which Huayi invested in; besides Wang Xiaolei, Zhang Nara, and others, Bingbing would also be going along.

She was going to attend the 2005 Spring/Summer women's wear launch held by Armani and Galliano in Paris.

The atmosphere at the dinner was average; Wang Jinhua did not attend due to illness.

She and the company were almost at the brink of parting ways, with only the final layer of window paper left to be pierced.

And Bingbing, holding a glass of champagne, socializing with ease, inadvertently saw Zhang Nara's dejected and silent appearance, and sighed inwardly.

That man's moves were too sharp.

The methods of these people at Huayi were simply child's play compared to his.

Last year, the Big-Mouthed Monster acted as the spearhead to launch a cyber-bullying campaign against Liu Yifei, and Zhou Jun implemented a three-day ban on the blog site through under-the-table operations.

In the end, they were countered, failing in the attempt, and instead, Liu Yifei's popularity reached an even higher level.

It just didn't affect Zhang Nara herself, allowing the latter's popularity to skyrocket over the past year.

Perhaps feeling the timing was ripe, since April, Lu Kuan's spearhead was clearly aimed directly at Zhou Jun's Korean mistress.

After a few moves, it was basically time to pronounce her social death in the domestic entertainment industry.

For Bingbing, this wasn't exactly something to be happy about.

She was just curious about what form the final blow of this dog-head guillotine would take.

However, what the big starlet was longing for was that she would soon be able to see that man in Cannes and hear the answer in his arms with her own ears.

After the meal, Wang Dajun, Zhou Jun, and others discussed matters in a private room; Wang Xiaolei walked in holding a wine glass, and everyone's expressions were not very good.

However, the one with the worst expression was Teng Huatao, who was standing in front of everyone.

"Mr. Wang, Mr. Zhou, even if you make me consider it ten thousand more times, I still have to say this."

"Zhang Nara is indeed no longer suitable to be the female lead of 'Chinese Paladin 3'."

"While we haven't filmed many scenes yet, let's hurry and plan to change the role!"

Zhou Jun rarely interacted with these film and television directors at Huayi; he only handled the "external war" with Wenjie and Lu Kuan.

"Why can't she do it? Was she ordered to be banned? Or have you, Teng Huatao, been scared out of your wits by Wenjie?"

Everyone inside Huayi knew that Zhang Nara was someone he had personally pushed to compete against the top starlet, and she had a close relationship with him.

Was this man surnamed Teng being too arrogant because of his talent? He didn't take him seriously at all!

Wang Dajun hurriedly gave him a look: "Taozi, don't talk nonsense; how long has the cast been publicized?"

"If you change it now, you're essentially acting as Lu Kuan's knife, stabbing Zhang Nara to death directly?"

The television director shouted, emboldened by the alcohol: "Then you want to watch me get stabbed to death?"

"Go look at the cursing online; it has already spread to the crew because of their hatred for the person!"

"Our sets in Hengdian have been splashed with paint and had big characters written on them, saying we are accomplices to the Koreans!"

Zhou Jun was furious!

"Shut up!"

"If you can't film it, get lost! Do you think this show can't go on without you?"

Wang Dajun gave his younger brother a look, and the latter understood instantly: "Hey, hey, hey, calm down, calm down!"

He immediately turned to appease Zhou Jun: "Brother Jun, he's drunk, please forgive him."

"Mainly... Brother Tao has also put a lot of heart and soul into this show..."

As a second-generation director of the Beijing circle, Teng Huatao directed his first TV series at 23, collaborating with Xu Jinglei and others; his starting point was not low.

But in later generations, he didn't become a big hit until 2009 with "Dwelling Narrowness"; he did indeed have high hopes for this "Chinese Paladin 3."

Hearing this, Zhou Jun only felt he had lost face.

In front of these Huayi people who were slightly inferior to him in background, he had always been a figure who planned strategies and commanded with composure.

Now a director dared to defy his prestige to his face—

Even though he was only suggesting a role change from a work perspective.

"I will be responsible for this matter to the end; even if I fail in the end, it won't drag down Huayi and this TV series!"

Zhou Jun placed his wine glass heavily on the table and left the room with a cold expression.

Wang Xiaolei attentively saw him to the elevator, then gave a chuckle, shook his head, and returned to the private room, locking the door behind him.

"Left?"

"Left."

Teng Huatao then slapped his thigh: "Hey! What kind of mess is this! You two brothers owe me a favor, right?"

"Taozi, that’s not the right way to look at it, is it? It’s as if you didn't want to change the cast yourself," Wang Dajun laughed.

Teng Huatao gave a bitter smile: "Of course I wanted to, I dream of making this show a success."

"Since you didn't want to offend this great Buddha, you let me do it, sigh!"

Wang Xiaolei comforted him: "You were purely discussing the matter at hand, and it was just drunken babble; he won't take it to heart."

"Besides, what kind of person do you take him for?"

"Once a toy loses its value, he discards it like a worn-out shoe faster than anyone!"

Wang Dajun said sternly: "Let’s get back to business. Taozi, tell us the truth: if Jang Na-ra can't be the female lead, are there any other suitable candidates?"

"During this trip to Cannes, Zhou Army is preparing to make a final effort through both the embassy and Sina; if that doesn't work..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood instantly.

If it doesn't work, the only choice left is to tearfully execute Na-ra.

From where she came, back she shall go.

Teng Huatao deliberated: "For 'Snow View', the first choice is Liu Yifei..."

"Stop, stop, can you suggest someone more realistic?" Wang Xiaolei interrupted him irritably.

"Then how about Yang Mi? Although she is currently a supporting actress, she is decent in all aspects, and the price is right."

"Yang Mi?" Wang Dajun stroked his chin.

"Alright, it seems we'll have to poach another female artist from Rongxingda."

Wang Xiaolei nodded: "I'll have a word with Zhou Xun and see if she can do some work on it."

Teng Huatao said in surprise: "Zhou Xun has already agreed?"

"Shh!" Wang Xiaolei pressed down on the boisterous Teng Huatao: "Don't shout, Big Brother is waiting for Wang Jinhua to officially leave before we make the announcement."

"Oh, oh, I get it."

On May 11, 2005, the 58th Cannes Film Festival officially opened.

Because of the presence of "insider" Boss Lu, the Wenjie Video reporting team had long since occupied a favorable position; it’s good to have connections at the top.

In front of the signature wall, the tuxedo-clad jury president Lu Kuan, following the festival’s protocol, greeted the film crew members and visiting guests one by one as they arrived for the red carpet ceremony.

This year's Cannes Film Festival had plenty of Chinese elements, and there were quite a few of Boss Lu's old friends.

The film *Princess Raccoon*, starring Zhang Ziyi, was shortlisted for the Special Screenings section, and she was also invited to be a presenter for "Best Screenplay";

*Seven Swords* was shortlisted for the non-competition section and would hold a promotional event during the festival to screen and sell the film;

The same went for *The Myth*; Jackie Chan, Kim Hee-sun, Liang Jiahui, and others had also arrived in Cannes early to prepare for promotional work.

These commercial films need not be mentioned; they were all here to get exposure and sell films, but there were also two films truly aiming for awards.

Wang Xiaolei, who had been crazily dissed by Lu Kuan during the Beijing Film Academy Seven Gentlemen debate, brought his film *Shanghai Dreams*, starring Gao Yuanyuan and Qin Hao.

There was also Hou Xiaoxian, a director from Taiwan who had been thinking about mediating and restoring the relationship between Lu Kuan and the Golden Horse Awards.

His film *Three Times* was also shortlisted for the Palme d'Or; just as they stepped onto the red carpet, the combination of the handsome Shu Qi and Zhang Zhen sparked a frenzy of bullet comments on Wenjie Video.

Rongcheng, Tianfu Lido Sheraton Hotel.

"Liu Yifei! Are you going to sleep or not!"

Su Chang sat up on the bed, annoyed: "I have to film that ghost video of yours tomorrow. You called me here to visit the set, but you won't let anyone sleep, right?"

"What's the rush? Let's watch the film festival before sleeping."

Little Liu sat cross-legged on the bed, watching the man in the suit laughing and hugging Hou Xiaoxian on the screen with a smile in her eyes.

A month without seeing him, he seems to have lost weight.

It must be from being tired lately with the Olympics and the earthquake movie.

Su Chang lay down speechlessly, tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, so she simply jumped out of bed and crawled into her best friend's quilt.

"Look at you, acting so cheap!"

Liu Yifei ignored her look of disdain and operated the [Road-Rolling Machine] account to downvote a bullet comment.

Zhang Zhen seems more handsome than the washing machine — downvote +1.

"Look at you, is the truth hard to hear?"

Liu Yifei turned to face Su Chang and unleashed a barrage: "Fart! You call that the truth?"

"Even if Lu Kuan is a bit of a scumbag, that artist temperament he has is charming; these bullet comments don't know a damn thing!"

"And! He is great at playing soccer, and I hadn't noticed before, but his physique is actually not bad..."

Su Chang was shocked: "What? You two have reached that level? Are you trying to die, Liu Yifei?"

"What are you talking about? Your mind is so dirty! That was a charity soccer match..."

"Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Su Chang sneered: "Hehe, I don't understand, but I think Shu Qi understands quite well."

"Hmm?"

Liu Yifei turned to the screen, and what met her eyes was the washing machine smiling and hugging Shu Qi, with Shu Qi whispering to him shyly.

Her iconic sexy lips were perfectly captured by the Wenjie Video editorial team, who occupied a uniquely advantageous position.

"Hmph, Su Chang, you're trying to make me angry, aren't you?"

"Just because I kept you from sleeping, you want to make me angry? I'm ignoring you!"

Su Chang clicked her tongue in admiration: "You've learned quite well from our boss; when there's something you don't want to acknowledge, you just pretend you can't see or hear it."

Lies don't hurt people; the truth is the sharp blade.

Liu Yifei couldn't help but think of the sad past when she had repeatedly confronted the washing machine, only to be brushed off by him changing the subject.

"Ahhh!"

Little Liu broke down, threw the computer aside, and flipped over to straddle her best friend: "Are you mocking me?"

"Hahaha, you're flustered, you're flustered!"

The two laughed and played for a while, and the sound of the Chinese commentary from the livestream came from the computer.

"Now walking on the red carpet is the mainland film star Fan Bingbing. Today she is wearing a high-end custom gown in a national style, with exquisite embroidery craftsmanship outlining delicate oriental flower and bird patterns."

"The silk-textured hem sways gracefully with her steps, like flowing water, perfectly interpreting the beauty and elegance of oriental women."

Su Chang stole a glance at her best friend's profile, saw a strange murderous aura in her eyes, and had a flash of inspiration to change the subject.

"Hey, what do you think about this Jang Na-ra business lately..."

"It's him."

"Do you even need to think about it?"

Liu Yifei didn't want to see the frustrating scene of the washing machine hugging Fan Bingbing, so she put the computer aside.

She got out of bed, unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, and took a light sip.

"Don't drink so much water, you have to film that tea ceremony video of yours tomorrow."

"Mm-hmm, I know."

Liu Yifei climbed back into bed, took the computer, and placed it on their laps; on the screen, another person she didn't care for, Zhang Ziyi, walked by.

Su Chang chuckled inwardly as she watched her best friend's depressed expression.

You're unhappy, yet you can't stop these women from hugging your washing machine; it's enough to drive you crazy!

"Hey, you said 'do you even need to think about it' just now; do you mean this whole thing was planned by Lu Kuan from start to finish?"

"Yes!"

Su Chang raised a dissenting opinion: "Then how did he make Jang Na-ra's father say such rebellious things?"

"He must have allies inside Korea, right? Probably." Liu Yifei stroked her chin, recalling the scene from last year when she was in Korea for the *Exotic* roadshow.

All kinds of entertainment companies and film companies whose names she couldn't remember.

And that male actor who wanted to shake her hand but was interrupted by Lu Kuan; even now, she hadn't figured out what that was all about.

"Hey, then what about the Hunan Station situation? I heard at the company that the two sides have made up again."

"The day before yesterday, Long Danni even invited his old leader, Ouyang Changqing, to visit and guide the Tourism Satellite TV production center."

Liu Yifei pursed her lips and smiled, remembering how she had previously analyzed the insights she gained from the first chapter of *Dragon Slayer* in front of Boss Lu.

Unite all forces that can be united.

The red carpet ceremony on the screen was nearly over, and the Cannes Film Festival president, Kusturica, who had twice won the Palme d'Or, was speaking.

Liu Yifei came back to her senses: "Actually, I think the whole thing is like this."

Little Liu, who had recently been obsessed with *Dragon Slayer*, tried to analyze her views for her best friend.

"That day Lu Kuan went to a meeting; I was eating at his house in the morning and saw the content of his proposal."

"At first, he might have really wanted to take action against Hunan Station, possibly because he was worried that their *Super Girl* would compete with Tourism Satellite TV."

"Looking at historical background and the accumulation of real audience and reputation, Hunan Station is definitely temporarily superior to Tourism Satellite TV."

Su Chang couldn't help but interrupt: "But it was almost successful, wasn't it? Didn't that 'slap-gate' happen? The Administration definitely would have had something to say."

"Even I can see it; the incident happened at noon, and in less than two hours it was spreading like wildfire on Wenjie Video; it must have been authorized by the washing machine."

Liu Yifei nodded: "That's right, that should have been the original plan, but there must have been a change halfway through that made him target Jang Na-ra instead."

"What change?"

Su Chang didn't know yet that this change had to do with Zhuang Xu, the president of Blogbus who was currently pursuing her.

"How would I know? In any case, his target has changed; now his main focus is attacking Zhang Nara of Huayi."

"In *Dragon Slaying*, it says to distinguish between different enemies and adopt different strategies."

"For example, private capital in different historical periods has a dual nature. You must unite with them when they are progressive, and carry out appropriate struggle and solicitation when they waver or compromise, in order to achieve the goal of splitting the enemy camp and making your own strength more robust."

Su Chang listened in a daze, as if she had returned to the days of studying politics and history while preparing for the Beijing Film Academy entrance exams.

"You... how come you're even studying this?"

Liu Yifei arched her brows: "Struggling against bad elements!"

"So, perhaps in Lu Kuan's eyes, the Xiangtai station isn't a class enemy to be fought to the death. He has turned his muzzle and is preparing to deliver a fatal blow to Zhang Nara."

"That is why he adopted a strategy of splitting and winning over the Xiangtai station."

Su Chang looked at her close friend in silence, feeling that she became more mysterious and unfathomable every few months they didn't see each other.

This was because her mental world had been ripened by Boss Lu.

"Right! I know! I know why he is attacking Zhang Nara."

Little Liu tilted her head with a suspicious look: "Why?"

"Is he venting his anger for what happened to you last year?"

Liu Yifei was stunned; it wasn't that she hadn't considered this possibility.

But given his nature, would he mobilize so many resources just to vent anger over her encounter last year?

Not very likely.

"There must be other motives. He is always so mysterious; there are many things we can't see through."

"But one thing is certain: he would absolutely never do anything that doesn't benefit him."

"If it were to vent anger for me, wouldn't he have already used this little candy to coax me into working for him? It's definitely not that."

Su Chang muttered to herself, if he didn't give you the little candy, wouldn't you still be rushing to him anyway?

Who is the video being filmed tomorrow for?

The two chatted for a while, and Su Chang suddenly noticed the volume of bullet comments on the screen surging, almost covering the entire Cannes Film Festival interface.

"Quick, quick, see what's happening! Why did you turn off the sound?"

The two young ladies looked over; Lu Kuan, who had just finished his speech on behalf of the festival jury, had not left.

He leaned in to exchange a few words with the staff member beside him. The staff member in a suit nodded in understanding, walked off the stage, and gestured to give instructions.

The two were a bit puzzled; they had just muted the sound and didn't know what the "awesome" or "amazing" comments in the stream meant.

The director's commentary from the video came through:

"Alright, there was a slight issue with the live signal. Next, we will see the relevant leaders of the Pan-Asia Film Academy, which Lu just mentioned, walking onto the stage!"

"Pan-Asia Film Academy? What is that?"

Liu Yifei already knew the truth in advance, so she let Su Chang listen to the explanation.

At the same time, countless fans in the country who cared about the film festival, cared about Huayi's *Seven Swords*, or cared about Boss Lu were all stunned.

Lu Kuan stood on the stage, smiling as he held the microphone: "The Pan-Asia Film Academy is a director training academy co-founded by five top Asian film academies."

"The academy's main teaching and filming facilities are established at the Beijing Film Academy. It will gather the strongest directing teaching resources in Asia and the world, combining relevant theories and practices from the Hollywood film industry to cultivate genre and commercial film directors within Asia."

"We will adopt an integrated teaching model of production, study, and research. In the production and distribution of students' graduation feature films, China Wenjie Holdings, South Korea CJ Entertainment, and Japan Toho Co., Ltd. will reach a close cooperation to jointly contribute to the development of Asian cinema!"

"Next, we invite the academy's investors, joint school-running parties, and the first five mentors to take the stage!"

Film Festival President Kusturica took the lead in applauding; this segment certainly had his full support.

The Cannes Film Festival venue and filmmakers around the world who were following the festival watched curiously as one familiar face after another appeared.

The tip of the iceberg of the Pan-Asia Film Academy was gradually surfacing.

"Principal Zhang?"

"Zhou Xingchi?"

"Park Chan-wook?"

Su Chang pointed at the curly-haired woman on the screen: "Who is this person? I've never seen her."

You may not have seen her, but some people have not only seen her, but were scared out of their wits by her!

For example, Zhang Nara, who was currently sitting under the podium.

The moment she saw Li Meijing, she felt as if she had been enlightened; the problem that had also troubled her for a long time regarding Zhou Jun was finally answered!

"How did Zhu Husheng happen to expose his money-grabbing remarks so coincidentally?"

"How were the details of Li Enju being ruthlessly attacked spread so vividly on Tianya?"

Li Meijing.

CJ Entertainment.

Cheil Jedang... Samsung...

Zhang Nara could no longer listen to Boss Lu's passionate speech on stage, about the future of the film academy, about the necessity of cultivating genre film directors in the three East Asian countries, about...

She now had only one thought in her mind: escape from here immediately and call Zhou Jun.

"Hey, isn't that Zhang Nara? Why is she running out in such a hurry?"

"Who cares about her? Let her drop dead, that dirty woman!"

"Seriously, to see this thing while watching the Cannes Film Festival, how unlucky!"

Liu Yifei and Su Chang exchanged a glance, looking at Zhang Nara on the screen who was covering her face as she fled the Palais des Festivals, crying and losing her composure.

(End of chapter)