Chapter 292: Airport Encounter, Heading to Chicago

On the morning of the 29th, the crew of *Tangshan Earthquake* and the Wenjie Hope School Foundation gathered in Rongcheng.

This trip had two purposes: first, to formally inspect the completed primary and middle schools in Shumo Town, to push and promote the reconstruction work more thoroughly, and to ensure quality control.

Second, the crew would make their first collective appearance to participate in public welfare activities, including earthquake escape and self-rescue drills and lectures.

These activities will become routine after the film's roadshow officially begins, and a portion of the funds from overseas box office profits will be set aside to sponsor such educational initiatives.

Every painstaking effort is made just to sow a few more seeds of hope before that day arrives.

At 10:00 AM, the stars and big names of *Tangshan Earthquake*, including director Lu Kuan and actors Song Jia, Hu Jun, Zhou Xun, and Wang Baoqiang, donned volunteer uniforms and walked into the Caotang Primary School in Rongcheng.

The school hosted them grandly, expressing gratitude and accepting the earthquake escape-related books, manuals, and first-aid kits donated by the *Tangshan Earthquake* crew.

After the school leaders spoke, earthquake experts used vivid and interesting videos and picture books to explain, leading the elementary students to understand the dangerous areas and safe zones during an earthquake.

They then conducted several promotional sessions, including demonstrations of escape skills and interactive Q&A sessions on earthquake knowledge, before leaving for the next school.

Although the crew members and stars did not quite understand the purpose of this arrangement, they all cooperated willingly out of absolute deference to Boss Lu's authority.

In the afternoon, accompanied by leaders from Aba Prefecture, Wuchuan County, and Shumo Town, the large group arrived at the newly completed Hope Primary School to hold the unveiling ceremony.

Under the witness of media outlets such as the *Rongcheng Business Daily*, *Huaxi City Daily*, Blogcn, and Wenjie Video, two brand-new teaching buildings appeared in everyone's view.

The joy overflowing on the children's dusty little faces, and the eggs, tea leaves, and local specialties that the villagers insisted on giving despite repeated refusals.

And that courtyard wall that had been knocked down and repaired by their own hands, and the national flag flying high.

How gratifying and reassuring it all looked!

While the earthquake experts were conducting their routine interactive presentations, Boss Lu and Zhou Xun were out scouting for inspiration on the Ancient Tea Horse Road near the tea mountains.

"How did you think of coming here at that time?"

"Fan Jianchuan told me the tea here is good, and I am a tea lover, after all."

Zhou Xun looked at Lu Kuan, who was wearing sunglasses, and asked curiously, "Why have you been wearing sunglasses all day today?"

"My eyes have been acting up lately; I've been editing too much, and now I tear up whenever I look at the sun."

"The doctor told me to avoid the light; it'll be better in a while."

Zhou Xun suddenly gossiped, "Xixi is going to the United States. Yesterday, she invited me and Zhou Jielun to her place for dinner; why didn't you go?"

"Me go? I'm afraid of being kicked out by her."

"Don't look at her thin arms and legs; she's got plenty of strength after training with Yuan Heping, and she hits hard!"

Zhou Xun burst into laughter at the young director's cowardly demeanor; it wasn't easy for outsiders to see this side of him nowadays.

She was naturally a perceptive person and would neither interfere nor interject in matters between Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei.

As someone with a phosphorus-type personality, she knew best what kind of ghost emotion was; it was truly a place that no one but the parties involved could see clearly, and there was no reasoning with it.

"Why have you been looking at your phone the whole time? Is someone looking for you?"

Boss Lu spouted nonsense without hesitation: "Yes, I have an appointment to meet a venture capitalist in Beiping to find funding for the mall project."

In reality, he was waiting for the leak of the Olympic proposal online.

The video and photo attacks by Jang Na-ra had caused a fire in the Zhou Army's backyard, and now he only had to cut the Gordian knot and sever his own chances of winning the bid.

But he had already had the materials for two or three days; if he didn't release them by the 30th, he might not be planning to release them at all.

A proposal being leaked from Wenjie's hands versus being leaked after it had been reported and selected by the Olympic Organizing Committee were two different things; the severity was not even comparable.

Boss Lu was prepared to add more fuel to the fire.

On the evening of the 29th, due to the earthquake public welfare publicity activities conducted by the *Tangshan Earthquake* crew in Sichuan Province and the charitable act of building Wenjie Hope Schools, the Provincial Department of Education and the Department of Civil Affairs jointly hosted a banquet for the guests who had traveled from afar.

Before the banquet began, the president of Wenjie Holdings accepted interviews from multiple media outlets, discussing the Olympic bid, which was due at the end of the month, and appeared full of confidence.

Lu Kuan stated that the Wenjie team had researched and polished as many as fifty or sixty program proposals, and finally, having selected the best of the best, they were ready for the submission and presentation.

Reporters learned that this time, the Wenjie team's proposal would combine grand cultural connotations with gorgeous and dynamic modern technology, and they would certainly do their best to contribute to the motherland's Olympic cause.

Push the traffic, promote the news, and provoke the Zhou Army!

On the 30th, the crew and the Hope School construction group continued to work tirelessly, finishing all twenty-plus schools for this public welfare activity and inspecting and verifying the twelve teaching buildings that had been completed.

In the evening, Mayor Ge of Rongcheng attended in person to express his gratitude to Lu Kuan and his party and to host a farewell dinner.

As a film and television company, Wenjie's own influence among local governments was limited.

But ever since *Tangshan Earthquake* broke out of its circle through the film cooperation model, the construction of the local commercial street and film shooting base in Tangshan, and the holding of the global launch conference and global premiere, it had greatly enhanced the city's popularity and reputation.

Especially with the constant promotion of shooting progress and behind-the-scenes footage on media such as Wenjie Video and Travel Channel.

This made the leaders of Rongcheng quite envious!

At the banquet, Mayor Ge personally accompanied them; they were all veterans of the drinking table, and two bottles of Jiannanchun were finished in an instant.

"Director Lu, I've been following the trends lately and went to check out your Wenjie Video."

"That behind-the-scenes footage of *Tangshan* you posted was truly shocking; it had me in tears."

He was referring to the night scene of the big explosion, the grand scene where the survivors of that year and the descendants of the survivors appeared as extras; it was extremely shocking.

The footage released in advance was also constantly building momentum for the New Year's slot three months later.

Mayor Ge was slightly tipsy and felt some nostalgia for the arduous years of the past: "Actually, around those years in Tangshan, we also had frequent earthquakes here."

Hu Jun asked curiously, "Mayor Ge, Rongcheng is so far away; did you feel the tremors too?"

"It had nothing to do with Tangshan; starting from '76, there were frequent warnings, and at that time, almost every family in our Sichuan Province had slept in earthquake shelters."

Looking at Mayor Ge's lingering fear, it was clear he had experienced a bone-chilling ordeal.

This was a good thing, as it was more favorable for the promotion and dissemination of Wenjie's donations and earthquake escape education.

Mayor Ge recalled the current momentum Tangshan had gained thanks to this film and, feeling eager to try, said, "Director Lu, look at your cooperation model with Tangshan; can we replicate it?"

"You decide on the professional matters, come up with a plan, and pull together a team; we will provide full cooperation!"

Boss Lu was suddenly struck by a few ideas by his line of thinking.

Using cultural industries to drive local reputation, build city brands, and promote the development of the tourism industry was not rare in later generations.

In the film industry alone, there were many successful cases.

The Shire, where the Hobbits lived in *The Lord of the Rings* films, was filmed in the small town of Matamata in New Zealand; the picturesque pastoral scenery there blended perfectly with the fantasy world in the film, leaving a deep impression on the audience.

After the film was released, Matamata quickly became a pilgrimage site for "Ringers" from all over the world, with tourists flocking to experience the scenes from the film in person, driving the vigorous development of the local tourism industry.

The town also developed a series of tourism projects related to *The Lord of the Rings*, such as Hobbiton tours and film scene guided tours, further enhancing its tourism appeal.

*Avatar* took the world by storm with its stunning visual effects and the fantastical world of Pandora.

Among them, about half an hour of footage featured the "Hallelujah Mountains," with the quartz sandstone peaks of Zhangjiajie as the background; this unique Chinese element made the film more mysterious and also showcased the beautiful scenery of Zhangjiajie to global audiences.

In early 2010, Zhangjiajie established the "Avatar Theme Tour Comprehensive Affairs Office" and launched the "Avatar Tour," combining 15 scenes from the film to introduce multiple tourist routes, with attractions including Zhangjiajie's Huangshizhai, Golden Whip Stream, and Yuanjiajie.

There were also Hokkaido in *If You Are the One*, Chiang Mai in *Lost in Thailand*, and the mountain city in *I Belonged to You*.

But there were very few cases where the theme and characteristics were 100% compatible like *Tangshan Earthquake*; at most, they were embedded as soft advertisements for the city.

"Mayor Ge, actually... it doesn't necessarily have to be a movie."

"You've also seen the interface and content of Wenjie Video; we could do some variety shows combined with Rongcheng's hot pot, ancient Shu civilization, pandas, and other cultural elements."

"Oh?" Mayor Ge became interested and pulled the young director aside to chat while drinking.

The banquet was a joyous occasion for both host and guest; those from the government were all drinking experts, and this meal left Boss Lu quite overwhelmed, and he returned to his room feeling sluggish very late at night.

Rongcheng at the end of August was still in high-temperature weather; Lu Kuan woke up at three in the morning to find water to drink and opened the window to smoke.

Because the air humidity was high, he felt dizzy and lethargic.

It was past 12:00 AM, so it was now the 31st, and the Zhou Army still hadn't made a move.

Had he really given up?

But with his vindictive personality and the arrogance of someone who considered himself a scion of royalty, could he let such a great opportunity pass?

Regarding the choice of the leak time, from the Zhou Army's perspective, he was actually somewhat indecisive.

If he leaked it too early, he worried that Wenjie could immediately come up with a new proposal; although the possibility was small, he didn't want to take the risk.

If he leaked it too late, it wouldn't be able to create the illusion of an accident; this was clearly aimed at the Wenjie bidding team!

He didn't have a god's-eye view, so of course, he didn't know that the fuse, Sun Wenwen, had already successfully left the country and could no longer be touched or seen.

For Lu Kuan at this moment, if he really wanted to drag the Zhou Army down and drown him once and for all, he could even choose to leak it himself.

It was just that the risk was huge, and it was somewhat not worth the loss.

The phone on the table vibrated without warning; the ash on the cigarette in Boss Lu's hand shook, and he grabbed the phone and flipped it open to answer.

Calling in the middle of the night? It wasn't certain to be...

"Lu! I'm Steve! Good news!"

Damn it, that kid Chen Shijun.

"Hmm? It better be good news; I was just woken up from a dream by you."

"Jerry Yang from Yahoo contacted me; he wants to buy Mytube!"

"What's the price?"

"1.2 billion dollars."

Boss Lu crushed the cigarette butt fiercely: "He's dreaming!"

Chen Shijun didn't understand: "Huh?"

In the original timeline, YouTube was sold to Google for 1.45 billion dollars in 2006; at that time, Jerry Yang and Yahoo were also the first company to make contact, but they gave up because they couldn't agree on the price.

The current CEO of Yahoo, Terry, was the former CEO of Warner, a subsidiary of China's Huayi, and during his tenure at Warner, he had built one of the six major Hollywood studios into a top-three company in the world in terms of company scale and entertainment products.

And Yahoo recruited him mainly because Terry had experience working at Warner and Disney, which was of great significance to Yahoo, which was currently ranked first in the United States in music videos.

Likewise, because Yahoo had the goal of further expanding in this track, it also became interested in the rising Mytube, similar to Deng Wendi.

"Wall Street analysts gave a valuation of only 1.2 billion; now the premium base for Internet companies in the North American market is 50%. Is Jerry Yang being a bit too arrogant?"

Chen Shijun gave a bitter smile: "We had a preliminary talk."

"Terry kept using the profit model and the increasingly huge copyright fees as excuses; these two deadlocks are also very difficult for us to avoid."

While Mytube is growing wildly and barbarically, it naturally has its limitations; besides the incurable diseases mentioned by Chen Shijun, the risks of moderation and the proliferation of vulgar content are also major flaws.

This flaw limits the enthusiasm of high-end product advertisers; after all, no one would open a gold shop in front of a foul-smelling outhouse—though this is an exaggeration.

"Don't rush, keep stalling, find financial reporters to write articles, leak the fact that Yahoo and News Corp are interested in us, and drive the price up."

"Also, write in AOL, Viacom, and Google, whether they've been contacted or not; drive the price up, drive it up, keep driving it up!"

Chen Shijun deeply grasped the leader's intent, but still had one important matter to report: "Boss Lu, have you looked into the matter of Crystal's videos?"

"Oh, soon, don't rush, and don't always rely on her; nurture those Indian-descent accounts well."

Liu Yifei's accounts are mainly driven by ethnic Chinese traffic, but the potential of Indian customers on Mytube is the greatest.

The second installment of Mytube videos is about Chinese sword arts, which will be handled by Wu Ershan, the director of *Zhu Xian 2*; after filming, Liu Yifei will fly to the United States for pre-production training for *The Forbidden Kingdom 2*.

The studio and Wenjie are conducting business-to-business negotiations; this is the result of mutual compromise.

Boss Lu recalled the pleasant years of "free-loading" over the past two years in the dead of night, only to find that the past is now but a blur.

Let's look at the three key potential buyers currently being courted by Mytube in the North American market.

Deng Wendi is naturally the number one sycophant, but she doesn't want MySpace shares, and clearly, she isn't very willing to shell out cash either.

Yahoo is too short-sighted; the 2000 internet bubble burst, Yahoo was hit, its market value shrank significantly, and subsequently, in clashes with emerging competitors like Google, Yahoo's search business gradually lost its advantage, and its market share was constantly being eroded.

The resulting strategic errors in the search business, excessive expansion, and fragmented industrial lines completely dragged down this veteran internet enterprise.

Among these, the most talked-about event for later generations is that Yahoo once offered to acquire Facebook for 1 billion around 2006, but at the last moment, they lowered the price to 850 million dollars, and the acquisition plan fell through.

Two months later, Yahoo resubmitted an acquisition offer, but it was rejected by Facebook's board of directors.

Regarding this, the "Red-Clad Leader" once privately cursed Yahoo, from Jerry Yang to Terry Semel, as idiots—a group of short-sighted fools.

Facing the price expectation of less than 2 billion proposed by Lu Kuan, Jerry Yang and Terry Semel would likely find it hard to accept as well.

The rest is Google, which is also the buyer Boss Lu wants to sell to most; he is coveting Google's shares.

Mainly because Google acquired the Android company founded by Andy Rubin in the first half of this year; if he can get a piece of the pie in this track through holding Google shares and have some say, it will naturally be a good move for the future layout of mobile internet.

Boss Lu smoked two cigarettes and went back to sleep, but in less than half an hour, his phone was buzzing by his ear again.

Could this be it?

He squinted his eyes for two seconds; is this kid Chen Shijun crazy? It's him again.

"Hello? It better be that someone has made another offer; you've just woken me from a wet dream."

"Hello?"

Chen Shijun on the other end of the phone stammered for a long time, as if confirming something, before exclaiming: "Lu, your Olympic proposal!"

"What?"

"Your Olympic proposal! It's spread all over the US side! It's on Mytube!"

Boss Lu was shocked; this old guy Zhou Jun is careful enough, and just like him, he's started playing the game of "blooming outside the wall but smelling inside."

"Tell me in detail."

Chen Shijun dragged the progress bar: "Um... the title is 'Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Proposal,' but I saw your name and team name at the beginning."

"The video contains the program effect renderings and 3D display images of your proposal, as well as some text descriptions, including a feasibility analysis of the lighting scheme."

"In short, it's quite detailed."

Boss Lu roared: "Good... what a scoundrel, you've ruined my big plan!"

"Alright, I'm hanging up first, we'll talk later!"

He got up directly and opened his computer, not using a proxy to look at foreign websites.

Sure enough, the domestic network also began to be flooded with "suspected Beijing Olympic opening and closing ceremony proposals" under the guise of reposting.

Zhou Jun seized this timing well!

Even if he didn't know this was a poisoned bait, choosing to leak it at this time puts Boss Lu in a bit of a dilemma.

If Wenjie brings out a flawless new proposal, then once the recording material is delivered and the incident occurs, Zhou Jun can bite back after being dragged into the water; this is the trap Lu Kuan intentionally set.

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that they could produce a version no worse than the leaked one in 10 hours?

If Wenjie cannot produce a proposal and reporting material sufficient to convince the Organizing Committee, then he has also achieved his goal; the possibility of Lu Kuan becoming the chief or deputy director of the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies thereafter is extremely low!

He can start planning the dismantling and disintegration of the public opinion tools under the Wenjie system.

If the original Olympic bidding work was a major exam for Boss Lu, it is now clearly an additional question added by Zhou Jun.

Forcing him to use more superb eloquence, a more perfect report, more fascinating program content, and some surprising ingenuity to bid with a "castrated" version of the proposal content.

Everything has its pros and cons; Zhou Jun has a special background, and the opportunity to topple him is precious. Lu Kuan chose to use the Olympic proposal as bait to launch a counterattack against Zhou Jun, thus bearing the risk of a failed report;

But for Zhou Jun, this is also the only flaw revealed by Lu Kuan, who is usually more impenetrable than a steel plate; he considers himself well-prepared:

Leaking it on the foreign web, choosing this time node that makes Boss Lu extremely embarrassed.

*Sun Tzu's Art of War: Marching* says: "When the enemy crosses the water to come, do not meet him in the water; it is advantageous to let half of them cross and then strike."

What he is doing is the same as the "striking while they are crossing" from *The Art of War*.

He decisively dialed the phone to the newly appointed assistant, Chen Zhixi.

"Hello? Boss Lu?"

The intern who was tricked into working like a beast for Wenjie with movie roles as bait is about to go crazy.

The man's voice on the other end of the receiver was low, clearly in a state of erupting anger: "Call the police!"

"Ah?"

"Immediately report to the local branch, stating that you represent the Wenjie Olympic opening and closing ceremony targeted solicitation team; someone has intentionally leaked our company's proposal, and it is already online."

Chen Zhixi was startled: "Yes! Understood."

"Right, notify the members of the Olympic proposal team one by one to gather at the company urgently at 8 AM; I will go directly there after I get off the plane."

"Received."

At the break of dawn, the cast and crew of *Aftershock* were still wandering in their dreams, while Boss Lu and A-Fei had already arrived at the airport early to wait.

Because of this unexpected incident, the cultural industry project meeting between Wenjie and the Rongcheng municipal government this morning was shelved.

Mayor Ge heard the bad news and specifically coordinated a flight through private connections and civil aviation.

Flight schedules are public resources, and the government plays a leading role in schedule allocation.

Government leaders in popular tourist cities generally have good relationships with regional administrations and can apply for additional flight slots for local airports according to prescribed procedures and priorities to arrange more flights.

But there was a reason for this, and with Zhang Heping from the Olympic Committee personally calling to coordinate, they skipped the normal steps and had this precedent of a specially opened flight.

Being one minute early means one more chance for a remedy.

There are still 12 hours left until the 5 PM bidding deadline.

From Rongcheng to Beijing, plus the time to reach the company, it takes at least 4 hours; while the two were sleeping on the plane, this leakage accident had already become the talk of the town.

August this year seems even more scorching than July.

From the Liu Yifei incident starting on the 25th, to Fan Bingbing posting a paternity test to clarify rumors, to Jang Na-ra crying about being "submerged" by mainland-background figures, the onlookers in all walks of life were dazzled.

Today's piece is clearly another bombshell.

——

At 6:30 in the morning, Liu Yifei had already finished washing up.

Today is the day she leaves Beijing.

Her luggage and items were all packed yesterday; feeling bored, she decided to log into her blog, which she hadn't touched for almost a week.

It's time to say a proper goodbye to the fans and friends who have always supported and cared for her.

Just after opening the blog site, the homepage was almost entirely video clips of her at Zhou Jielun's concert the day before yesterday, which had already replaced the Jang Na-ra video as the hottest topic.

These are all the credit of Yang Siwei, but the cooperation between the blog site and Wenjie Video is also indispensable.

This time, it's not a matter of who took advantage of whom.

She gets paid for cooperating with the recording and filming of *The Voice* and Mytube videos, and the blog site and Wenjie Video get paid for doing PR for her—a normal market transaction.

Seeing her blog fan count back at 10.5 million, the difference between the incoming and outgoing can be considered a purification.

Habitually, she attached an "ugly photo."

Liu Yifei is still a "chicken soup" girl for now:

[If the world sinks tomorrow, I will exchange suffering with a smile! About to set off for North America to prepare for a new movie and a new life, love you all forever!]

She replied to a few highly-liked comments and interacted with fans on her own theme website; usually, Yang Siwei and the studio staff do this.

Just as she wanted to close the interface, a pop-up news item from Tencent caught her attention.

"Wenjie's Olympic opening and closing ceremony bidding proposal suspected to be leaked on the foreign web!"

Outside the door came Liu Xiaoli's urging: "Xixi, come out when you're ready, we'll go to the airport waiting room early."

"Ah, got it!"

Liu Yifei wanted to ignore these words that still made her sensitive, and just as she was about to close the computer and get up, she couldn't help but click on the news.

Tencent, of course, did not publish the leaked content, but a casual search on Tianya or Mop showed it was already in an uproar.

*Along the River During the Qingming Festival* with large stage scene arrangements and numerous actors participating;

*Tai Chi*, which embodies the philosophical thought of "unity of man and nature" and the values of pursuing harmony in traditional Chinese culture;

The magnificent Four Great Inventions program projected onto the stage background using advanced digital imaging technology...

Even if it was just 3D renderings and simple special effects CG, combined with the concise introduction in the bid document, each program full of cultural heritage and modern technological sense seemed to have leaped onto the screen.

Liu Yifei is not an expert, but looking at the "lu" on the cover of the bilingual bid document and the replies under the post that were either loudly regretful or gloating, she naturally knew that Lu Kuan was in trouble.

It looked like catastrophic trouble.

Liu Xiaoli knocked and entered: "Xixi, why are you still dawdling? Come out for breakfast and get ready to leave."

Liu Yifei was startled, quickly snapped the computer shut, and walked out of the room, lost in thought.

Around 9:30, the mother and daughter arrived at the Capital International Airport; along the way, she happily obliged the occasional fan who recognized her and requested a photo or autograph.

Liu Xiaoli grumbled inwardly that her daughter’s popularity had indeed been affected this time; going by past form, they would have been surrounded and blocked off long ago.

But as they turned the corner before the VIP passage, they suddenly saw A-Fei constantly pushing back the reporters swarming toward them, while the onlookers enjoying the spectacle were tireless.

The man in the middle, looking helpless and unable to move as he was surrounded, was constantly rubbing his eyes under his sunglasses with his fingers.

Little Liu knew he never wore a watch or glasses; this must be his eyes feeling unbearably sore from editing footage again.

"Why is Little Lu here?"

Liu Xiaoli was greatly surprised; could he be here to see her daughter off to the United States?

But now was clearly not a suitable time for conversation; the mother and daughter could only follow the crowded throng, inching forward step by step.

"Director Lu! What are your thoughts on the leak of the proposal?"

"President Lu, is there a remedial plan for this incident?"

"Director Lu, do you think this leak was an inside job or a setup?" Liu Xiaoli whispered to her daughter: "The Wenjie Olympic proposal was leaked?!"

"How could this happen?"

Little Liu watched with a complex expression as he was trapped by the crowd: "I just saw it this morning."

She had never seen Lu Kuan look so helpless.

In front of her, apart from the first time he encountered backstabbing from Xiangjiang actors during the filming of *Whiplash* and was stalled for a few days, it was hard to see him in such a helpless and difficult state afterward.

More often, he was the image of someone dashing and unrestrained, wielding power and influence in the business world and the film industry.

Only when Little Liu saw him rubbing his eyes in frustration did she realize that he must also be bearing a great deal of pressure, right?

Including the true ownership of the blog network, Lu Kuan had never deliberately hidden anything from Liu Yifei.

But regarding his confrontations in the shadows with Liu Ze, Zhou Jun, and the likes of the Big and Small Wangs, he had never mentioned them in front of Liu Yifei.

Because that involved too much sinister treachery and absurd darkness; it was a merciless, bloody fight to tear off one bloody human-skin mask after another.

It is said that a grain of sand from the era, when it falls on an ordinary person, is a mountain.

Even as a transmigrator, the schemes, hunting, and sniping from the second-generation elites were not easy things to deal with.

The bigger and sweeter the cake he made, the more attacks and covetousness he faced from unconventional channels.

If he hadn't already built a closed-loop industrial chain with a preliminary scale, and secured more capital and confidence for himself in public opinion channels and international prestige, perhaps the wolves would have already rushed up to tear him apart.

At this very moment, looking at him, who was within arm's reach yet unable to travel together.

The complex image of the man she loved so deeply and hated so bitterly became a little clearer in Liu Yifei's heart.

The genius director she loved deeply, the artist, the corporate leader, the man with a sense of national justice, the flag-bearer of film industrialization.

The bastard she hated bitterly, the one with extreme control issues, the mastermind behind the scenes in the entertainment industry, the scoundrel with a luxurious private life!

Perhaps, a new label needed to be added now.

The one who bears the burden and moves forward.

"We're going through security, Xixi, no time to say hello to Little Lu."

Having finally squeezed through the surging crowd, Liu Xiaoli pulled her daughter, signaling her to hurry through security.

"Wait! Right away!"

Little Liu took out her phone, quickly flipped to the text message interface, and entered a string of numbers.

She had already deleted Lu Kuan's number; it was just that phones didn't have a block function yet, otherwise, she would have done it all in one go on her birthday night.

Entered: I'm leaving.

Clicked send, closed the cover.

The young girl put her phone and bag into the tray for security, unable to resist turning her head to take one last look at him.

The phone in Lu Kuan's pocket vibrated; he took it out, saw the message, and froze for a second, then immediately looked around, locking onto that graceful figure in the crowd.

Both wearing sunglasses, the two had a second of eye contact, then one walked into the security channel, and the other squeezed through the crowd of reporters.

In that instant, it was unknown if they could capture the true feelings hidden by the other through their respective dark optical lenses.

——

Delayed for a while by reporters, the young director arrived at the Ideal International Building just before ten o'clock.

In the conference room, the members of the previous Olympic bidding team had not yet fully gathered.

Foreigners like Dragoon and Michelle had already returned to the United States after the previous proposal was finalized, temporarily ending their consulting work.

The atmosphere in the room was solemn; in the scorching July heat, the room was so quiet it felt as if it could freeze water into ice.

Boss Lu pushed the door open and hurried in; everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief—a team must have a leader and a backbone.

This bidding team was built by him single-handedly; Lu Kuan was the sole authority.

"Have you confirmed it?"

Chen Zhixi nodded with a grave expression: "Yes, it is indeed our previous bid document, slightly changed but largely the same."

Boss Lu thought to himself that these slight changes were perhaps Zhou Jun’s attempt to cover up his tracks.

Regardless of the time of the leak, the channel of the leak, or the content of the leak, Zhou Jun had already done it to the extreme.

The young director slammed the table, his face livid: "Good! Everyone, listen to me."

"I communicated with Director Zhang Heping on the way here; the bidding deadline of 5 PM cannot be changed. This is a national matter and will not shift based on the will of any unit or individual."

"The only thing we can do now is to quickly take the forty-plus programs we left out and, following the cultural or technological routes we previously agreed upon, come up with another relatively complete proposal!"

Lin Ying raised her hand to interrupt him: "Time! Time! There isn't enough time!"

She was going crazy too.

"Don't worry too much about this problem," Boss Lu said decisively.

"Everyone must remember, we are not a unit that signed up on its own; we are a unit that the Organizing Committee specifically solicited a bid from."

"The most important task today is to deliver a qualified bid to the Qinglan Building. As for the subsequent presentation work, I will do my utmost to gain the approval of the Organizing Committee."

"Once we are shortlisted, it is not impossible for us to continue supplementing materials."

"Butian Pictures is right downstairs; everyone is on standby now, waiting for the orders from this office."

He dragged the whiteboard over and began to deploy tasks.

"The three parts of the bid: the creative proposal, the budget proposal, and the technical proposal."

"The creative proposal is the simplest, because every program we discussed previously was a combination of culture and technology; the content of the proposal is largely the same, and it can be changed slightly."

Since the last time the programs were finalized, Lu Kuan had used some small tricks and did not select the programs he thought were the best.

The so-called "no first place in literature"—this was not something worth delving into in the eyes of the team.

The programs leaked this time were mostly parts that Lu Kuan, with his perspective from the future Olympics, did not consider 100% brilliant; they would not have much impact on the real trump cards he would bring out later.

"For the budget proposal, Chen Zhixi will take the finance people to help; this also won't take too much time."

"The hardest part is the technical proposal."

Boss Lu looked at the time on his phone: "Including the travel time on the road, we have at most 5 and a half hours."

"So, regarding the technical proposal and some creative special effects, we must make trade-offs, point out the key and unique core points, and I will orally explain the rest to the leaders of the Organizing Committee!"

"Alright, everyone go to your respective duties; I'm going to Butian Pictures to participate in the production on-site."

The moment the young director put his pen to the whiteboard, the conference room, which had seemed frozen for three feet, thawed instantly, accompanied by the sound of tables and chairs being dragged and the figures of everyone rushing about.

Lin Ying watched his departing back with admiration; she was very glad she had given up on the Li An team and chosen Wenjie.

Only when the great river flows can the true character of a hero be seen; the pressure of wanting to be the chief or deputy director of the Olympics is terrifying beyond what ordinary people can imagine.

If one cannot withstand the pressure at such a critical moment today, even if one reaches the position of chief director, one might not be able to make it to the end.

In early 2001, the office location of the Organizing Committee was at the Xinqiao Hotel in Chongwenmen; it later moved to the Qinglan Building on Dongsi Shitiao, and in 2006 it would move to the Olympic Building on the North Fourth Ring Middle Road.

If the delivery location for today's bid was the Olympic Building, Wenjie would have had an extra hour of preparation time, because the distance from the Ideal International Building to the Olympic Building is only 4 kilometers.

But now, the transit time that needs to be excluded must leave at least one hour of safety time.

Even if it's one second late, it counts as abandoning the bid.

This is a matter watched by so many eyes; even if your Lu Kuan's proposal is good, the scene today does not allow for favoritism.

From 12 noon, the area in front of the Qinglan Building was a scene of heavy traffic.

Not to mention the fourteen teams participating in the targeted solicitation, there were also a considerable number of civilian teams and spontaneously formed artist groups; whether they were selected or not, they all wanted to contribute to the centennial Olympics.

After two in the afternoon, Zhang Yimou walked into the Qinglan Building with his assistant; Minister Wang of the Cultural Activities Department of the Organizing Committee happened to be on the phone at the stairwell.

"No, there is indeed no news for the time being. Yes, yes, I will continue to pay attention."

He turned his head and saw the old master, only then revealing a smile that was uglier than crying: "Oh! Yimou, you finally came; today is just not a day for humans to live."

"I'm just here counting on my fingers: Li An, Zhang Yimou, Central Song and Dance Troupe..."

The old master grinned, revealing two very obvious nasolabial folds; it was clear he had been working overtime recently: "Is it because of the leak of the Wenjie proposal?"

"Sigh! Who says it isn't! Chairman Liu was so angry he smashed his cup in the office!"

Zhang Yimou gave a bitter smile, understanding Wang Lin's meaning.

If it were a mediocre proposal, to put it bluntly, it wouldn't matter if it leaked.

But this entire proposal was a masterpiece, from its cultural heritage to its international vision, from its core logic to its feasibility.

It was such a pity!

"Sigh!"

The old master let out a long sigh: "I called Little Lu as soon as I saw the news; how could such a thing happen? It really is a pity."

In all fairness, with the level of his top-tier bidding team, he wouldn't dare say he would win against this proposal.

The power of a forward-looking perspective is enormous, especially in projects that extremely require the creator and the director's own ability to judge.

Relatively speaking, the level of creation has to give way to the level of aesthetic judgment.

Because in a team composed of top artists, what everyone worries about is not a lack of programs, but too many programs!

I don't know how to choose, or how to connect them most appropriately.

Zhang Yimou recalled the heavy tone in Lu Kuan's voice over the phone and wanted to find Liu Laoshi first to put in a good word.

It would be a bit much to call it opening a back door, but he wanted to see if a small gap could be left to allow them to submit a rough proposal first.

Minister Wang led him toward the fourth floor: "The leader is not here right now."

"Ah? How can he not be here on a day like this? Didn't you just say he was throwing cups in his office?"

Wang Lin said in surprise: "I'm also confused. His secretary delivered an envelope to the office at noon, and he left in a hurry less than two minutes later."

He checked his watch: "It's been two hours, and he still hasn't returned. There might be some emergency."

As the two spoke, they exchanged a glance, and both felt a chill in their hearts.

It truly is a troubled time.

At 2:30, Ma Wen, Tan Dun, and other New York artists arrived to submit their bids.

At 3:00, the People's Liberation Army team arrived to submit their bid.

At 3:30, the extremely luxurious Gehua team arrived to submit their bid.

Gehua is a key solicitation unit for this Olympic Games, with main personnel including the godfather of rock Cui Jian, Beijing People's Art Theatre director Lin Zhaohua, and famous director Li An.

Among them, Atlanta Olympic director Michelle and Chinese-American designer Lin Ying were both team members in later generations, but in this life, they were poached by Boss Lu first.

The deadline was 4:00; the remaining teams, including the National Song and Dance Troupe, the joint team of CCTV and the North Olympic Company, the French ECA2 team, and Chen Kaige's team, all arrived one after another.

In the fourth-floor conference room, the various artist bigwigs drank tea and chatted, looking relaxed.

Cai Guoqiang smiled: "I thought our proposal was already quite perfect, but after seeing the one leaked online, I realize I still underestimated the heroes of the world!"

"Indeed, it's such a pity, such a pity."

Zhang Yimou muttered incessantly; the call he had just made to Lu Kuan went unanswered, and he didn't know what was actually going on now.

Chen Weiya of the People's Liberation Army team nodded: "The most outstanding part of the Wenjie proposal is that it integrates traditional culture and modern technology to the extreme."

"To be honest, many of our teams lack that kind of international vision; they don't understand many of the world's cutting-edge technologies at all, let alone how to apply them."

Hu Zi Zhang Jizhong patted his shoulder: "It's just that this Director Lu Kuan is too young. The Olympics is a systematic project; it doesn't tolerate carelessness."

"Right! That makes sense!"

Feng Xiaogang smiled: "Exactly. Young people are still not meticulous enough in their work."

The current scene was a bit like "discussing heroes over wine," though everyone was lamenting that now-defunct proposal and commenting on Boss Lu being too young.

Wang Lin walked out of the office and looked at the clock on the wall; it was already 4:30, with only half an hour left.

Among the list of targeted solicitation units, the only one that hadn't delivered yet was the Wenjie team led by Lu Kuan.

Feng Xiaogang walked a few steps away with his phone and dialed Zhou Jun, who was currently sitting at the bottom of the building drinking coffee.

Criminals usually like to return to the crime scene.

That's right, since they hadn't arrived by 4:30, Zhou Jun felt he had already succeeded by more than half.

Sitting at Yano Coffee at the bottom of the Qinglan Building, watching the people coming and going through the glass window, perhaps he could see Lu Kuan's hurried figure running over here to beg for leniency and a way out.

This would greatly satisfy his emotional needs, bringing a strong sense of achievement and stimulation.

"Alright, I understand. I guess they won't be able to make it; it's quite a pity."

Of course, Zhou Jun couldn't tell Feng Xiaogang that he was the one behind this; today was just a pretext of accompanying him to submit the bid.

With half an hour left until the bid submission deadline, where was Boss Lu at this time?

He was in Liu Laoshi's car.

The driver was standing guard in front of the car; this was a private communication between the parties involved and the authorities.

Early this morning, news of the Wenjie proposal leak reached Liu Laoshi's ears, and after he saw the full proposal circulating online, he truly wrung his hands in regret.

It was such a pity.

However, during lunch, a recording file sent in with the working meal completely elevated the severity of the matter to a new level.

If this matter were spoken of as a commercial company's leak, it might seem like nothing much.

But after confirming Zhou Jun's identity in the recording, the two sides involved in the incident became quite sensitive.

Leaving aside Zhou Jun and his background for now, what about Lu Kuan?

On the surface, he is an international film festival "half-grand slam" director, the dean of the Pan-Asia Film Academy whose influence spans China, Japan, and Korea, and he has a certain say in the international art world.

Aside from his domestic industries, he also has an output tool like MyTube in the United States.

Although it is a bit inappropriate to say, those who control public opinion and the discourse of the art world have, to a certain extent, the qualifications to "rely on foreign power to bolster their position."

Just like Steven Spielberg, who withdrew from the creative group before the 2008 Olympics due to a certain issue, leaving everyone in a very awkward position.

These are all the discourse power and capital that Boss Lu has been striving to accumulate for himself since coming down from the mountain to deal with some "force majeure factors."

At a time when the Olympic cause is in full swing and looking bright, pacifying Lu Kuan—this megaphone that could potentially become a hidden danger—is a very important prerequisite task.

There is too much involved behind the scenes; he could not act unilaterally, so he had to ask for instructions and report first, which led to this current private communication.

"Comrade Lu Kuan, I am not representing anyone right now; I am just an ordinary Olympic Organizing Committee worker, and I want to ask for your opinion on how to handle this."

Lu Kuan looked incredulous: "Confirmed it's him?"

"Temporarily confirmed; the authenticity remains to be further verified. Don't overthink it; I'm not here to pressure you today."

Liu Laoshi smiled: "Right and wrong will be judged, and there will certainly be an explanation given to you."

Boss Lu let out a long sigh: "Leader, to be honest, I really can't swallow this!"

"International friends and artists from all over the world gathered here just so that our dream Olympics could be held smoothly. It's been four months since I signed the contract in May!"

"Tangshan, Cannes, Beijing, Rongcheng—how many days and nights have we toiled!"

The Berlin Best Actor began to act, but not too exaggeratedly; in front of such a high-level leader, going too far is as bad as not going far enough.

"Leader, I also understand the difficulties of this work."

"Considering his identity, if this matter explodes, it will be a scandal internationally, affecting our current national image of unity."

Liu Laoshi looked at the young director before him, nodding with not only a hint of scrutiny but also appreciation.

This person understands the big picture.

It is no wonder so many high-level leaders give a thumbs up when mentioning this young man.

Boss Lu seemed a bit tongue-tied, wanting to say something, then sighed heavily again.

"Speak! It's just the two of us in the car; say whatever you have to say."

The young director gave a bitter smile: "Liu Laoshi, Wenjie can choose not to pursue the matter on the surface, but there must be a fair and just explanation."

"We can't just let this pass without a word, can we?"

Liu Laoshi's expression was serious: "Rest assured! Even if you say let it go, it won't be allowed!"

"Some people, relying on the protection of their fathers and mothers, have lived too good a life and simply don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!"

He looked regretful: "Such a good proposal! To have it leaked to the internet like that is truly a great pity!"

"By the way, don't tell me you came empty-handed today? Zhang Heping said you rushed to make a backup proposal; has it been sent over?"

Boss Lu checked his phone: "Yes, it should have arrived already."

"Leader, we only had time to create the framework for the backup proposal. We will gradually fill in the content after the bid presentation. What do you think..."

"Good! Good! Good!"

"These are all small matters; as long as you can bring out good things, that's all that matters."

Liu Laoshi patted his shoulder and smiled: "I've been paying attention to you since you proposed cultural output at the research meeting. That sentence was well said!"

"When national culture goes out, whether to listen to the sound of the money bag or the sound of the book bag is the first route issue to consider."

"'Foreign Lands', 'Tangshan Earthquake', including the videos you shot on Hanfu and tea culture, all contain our excellent national culture and national spirit."

"Comrade Lu Kuan, many leaders think highly of you and praise you. Starting from the opening and closing ceremonies of this Olympic Games, I hope you can shoulder heavier burdens!"

Lu Kuan's expression was unprecedentedly solemn: "Yes! I will not refuse!"

Things had reached this point, which basically met his development expectations.

Handling the leak privately is the most appropriate way: first, there will be no more digging into the matter on the surface, and second, it won't form a deadly feud with the Zhou family.

I have already let your son go; if you keep looking for trouble, let alone others, Liu Laoshi, who is handling and coordinating this, will be the first to disagree.

As for the toothless Zhou Jun, he is not worth mentioning.

The Wenjie team's bid was on another car, being escorted by Chen Zhixi on the way.

At approximately 4:50, Boss Lu arrived at the Qinglan Building in Liu Laoshi's car, shook hands with the leader to say goodbye, and then headed toward the building.

"Eh? Boss Lu?"

Zhou Jun had been waiting for him here for a long time and almost thought he wouldn't come.

Seeing Lu Kuan's solemn expression and the fact that there were no staff members carrying a bid box beside him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of glee.

Boss Lu looked up at him indifferently; with the "yellow jacket" gone, Zhou Jun was just like an ordinary person to him.

"Boss Zhou, hello, long time no see."

It had indeed been a long time, but the back-and-forth of daggers and swords had never ceased, and they were all the kind that stabbed into the heart.

Although Zhou Jun was showing off with the posture of a victor, he hadn't fully succeeded after all, so he remained somewhat reserved on the surface.

He said with feigned regret: "I heard the bad news; Director Lu, please don't take it to heart."

The young director looked at him expressionlessly for a few seconds.

"Boss Zhou, good tactics."

Boss Lu suddenly felt he had entered a "sage mode"; the Zhou Jun in front of him was no different from a living dead man.

He had no interest in wasting words with a living dead man, nor did he even have the interest to put on a show of expressing his anger; he stepped toward the Qinglan Building.

Zhou Jun felt a slight sense of alertness as he watched his departing back, but he just assumed he was helpless and yielding to reality.

It's just that...

Why is the sense of satisfaction after this great victory so lacking?

Shouldn't it be that Lu Kuan, desperate like a cornered dog, would come up and throw a punch at him, only to be heroically subdued, and then he would rebuke him for losing both the battle and his dignity?

"Zhou Jun? Why are you here?"

To avoid any suspicion, Liu Leader had not gotten out of the car with Lu Kuan just now.

After all, with the bidding and the tender imminent, he could not show any stance.

But watching from the car as Zhou Jun wagged his tail and came out to kick a man when he was down, he still felt a sense of disgust.

What a good-for-nothing thing.

"Oh! Uncle Liu, long time no see. I went abroad for the New Year this year, so I didn't go to your house to pay my respects!"

Liu Leader smiled and nodded, his voice steady and powerful: "It doesn't matter if you don't go to my house; hurry back to your own home, Zhou Jun."

He looked up at the national flag fluttering atop the Qinglan Building and let out a long sigh.

"The wind is about to rise."

Zhou Jun watched him leave with a humble expression, then looked up at the afternoon sky of Jingcheng, blue as if washed, with leisurely white clouds.

The wind is rising?

Where did that come from?

Going to be crazy busy at the end of the year, adding 3000 first, still owe 7000.

(End of this chapter)