Chapter 70: A Reversal of Public Opinion

This week, media reporters from across the strait and the three regions fell into a frenzy, no longer suffering from the pain of meeting deadlines or being urged for copy.

The first bombshell was a statement published by the Xiangjiang entertainment giant Emperor Entertainment in its mouthpiece magazine, *East Weekly*.

"Our company's artists Xie Tingfeng and Chen Guanxi have peacefully terminated their contracts with the *Whiplash* crew and will soon be joining the new project *Heartstrings* with the mainland's Vision Entertainment. We thank our fans and moviegoers for their consistent care and support. Thank you!"

This served as a period to the crew strike incident that had been making waves for several days; both Lu Kuan and Emperor Entertainment would no longer comment on it.

The second bombshell was when the well-known Xiangjiang actress, singer, and philanthropist Ms. Mei Yanfang announced on a mainland website called Blogcn that she had been diagnosed with cervical cancer half a year ago.

Because it was discovered at stage 0, her condition had stabilized after a period of treatment, and there was hope for a full recovery within one to two years.

She immediately posted a recent photo of herself on the blog site; although her figure and cheeks looked slightly thin, her brilliant smile in the sunlight was still as heartwarming as ever.

When all the reporters and fans had no way to interview or express their concern, everyone turned their attention to this unheard-of blog site.

From Xiangjiang to the mainland, and even across Asia, countless fans and trend-followers flooded into the prepared Blogcn, and Wang Xing coordinated to increase server clusters six times in three days.

The internet was still a money-burning business; the millions that Daoist Priest Lu had begged from Emperor Entertainment were nearly exhausted before even being invested in the film.

Fortunately, the traffic and popularity brought in were enormous. To what extent was Mei Yanfang's popularity and status in the entertainment industry at this time?

She debuted at 19, winning the first *New Talent Singing Contest* with "Season of the Wind," and later swept almost every music award.

She held a total of 155 concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum and 292 personal concerts worldwide, both the highest for any Chinese artist.

She was a double Best Actress winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards, and the only Asian female singer invited to perform at the 1988 Seoul Olympics grand gala.

She was the president of the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild, her students and old friends were everywhere, and she once used "Years of Friendship" to summarize her career in the entertainment industry.

When she passed away in later years, almost every star in Hong Kong rushed to the hospital to visit her.

She was known for being outspoken and had denounced the paparazzi countless times, yet on the day of her public memorial, almost all the paparazzi and reporters spontaneously wore black to see her off in the rain, and Phoenix TV, Hong Kong Cable, and Asia Television rented helicopters to broadcast the scene live.

Posting almost one blog entry a day, it wasn't just out of support for her little brother; she herself had grown to love this channel for sharing her life and emotions.

She even invited her friends in the industry to try out this fresh internet tool together.

A few days later, Boss Lu, who accurately grasped the rhythm of event marketing, had Wang Xing arrange for Zhou Jielun, who was training on jazz drums in Beiping, to publish his first blog post.

The image was a photo taken by the crew photographer of him sweating profusely in front of the jazz drums.

A black tank top, old-fashioned bangs, bandages wrapped around his tiger's mouth, and dark brown drumsticks.

The composition was exquisite, the artistic conception profound, plus a short explanatory text:

Preparing for my first theatrical feature film, *Whiplash*!

Below it was an @ to Lu Kuan's homepage, just a hyperlink; there wasn't the exquisite UI design of later generations yet.

One wave had not yet subsided, and another rose.

The fun-seekers and fans who were already wandering on the fresh Blogcn fell into a collective climax, and Zhou Jielun's fans across Asia ran to join in!

The heat of Blogcn continued.

Just as Li Fengni was busy interacting with fans and answering questions under Zhou Jielun's homepage, a small number of people still clicked into the blog homepage of Lu Kuan, who was interacting with Zhou Jielun.

It also had only one blog post.

*Whiplash* sets sail again, aiming for Venice!

Starring: Zhou Jielun, Feng Yuan, Liu Yifei

Special Appearance: Mei Yanfang

Wishing Ms. Mei Yanfang a speedy recovery @MeiYanfangvip

Please practice your drumming well, little Zhou @ZhouJielunvip

Boss Lu was definitely leeching off them, leeching off the two biggest celebrities on the blog right now, but unfortunately, his "black-red" constitution remained undiminished, and the comment interaction section soon became a bloody mess.

【MeiYanfangvip】: Keep it up, Director Lu, looking forward to our collaboration!

【Lu Kuan】: Many thanks, Sister Mei!

His name didn't have a big V verification; he had set the backend so that only this one could be registered—a true permission-wielding dog.

【OnlyForTingfeng】: Good thing my brother isn't acting in your movie! You are trashier than the trashiest director!

【Lu Kuan】: You are even more rotten than the pig's trotters our crew stewed today!

Boss Lu didn't indulge him; he sprayed back when he needed to. He didn't want to build a "lofty and upright" persona for himself.

In this society, a prodigal son who returns is worth more than gold, but a good person is guilty of a capital crime if they make one mistake.

【Zhou Xunvip】: Xiao Lu, I wish your new film shoot goes smoothly. Please call on me if there are suitable roles in the future.

【Lu Kuan】: Thank you, Young Master Zhou! I am your fan!

A crowd of Zhou Xun's fans gathered, all feeling that the title "Young Master Zhou" was very interesting, and they left comments asking Lu Kuan what a "fan" was.

In 2002, this term was far from widespread; it became popular around 2005, and after the phenomenal *Super Girl* talent show, every female singer had her own exclusive fans with their own names.

【Lu Kuan】: Fan = fans.

【Sina Entertainment Han Lu】: Hello Director Lu, may I ask what your evaluation is regarding the cooperation with Emperor Entertainment artists and this incident?

Good heavens, this newly graduated female reporter had been chasing him from the moment he got off the plane in Beiping to the *Golden Powder* crew, and now she had even chased him to the internet.

【Lu Kuan】: Nobility is the passport of the noble, baseness is the epitaph of the base!

Although there was an agreement with Emperor Entertainment not to reveal the truth, being a riddle-maker was fine, right? Let the wise see wisdom.

This topic was still very hot, quickly gathering a large number of onlookers and a massive enemy force.

【Chen Guanxixi】: Everything is your fault! Otherwise, why didn't you speak up when the crew stopped at the beginning? Now you're just kicking someone when they're down!

【OnlyForTingfeng】: Tingfeng and Guanxi both acted in *Infernal Affairs*; what qualifications does a loser like you have to direct their acting?

【ThunderGust】: Exactly! You attention-seeking clown, you didn't say a peep before, and now you're coming out to show off?

Boss Lu had a Xinhua Dictionary's worth of profanity to spray them to death, the kind so dirty that even a septic tank couldn't dissolve it.

However, on the internet, he still had to pay a little attention to the influence, so he could only act cool in a low-key way.

【Lu Kuan】: Play chess in silence, and only speak when checkmating the opponent.

Fatal blow.

【Fan Bingbingvip】: Director Lu is so cultured, I admire you! Looking forward to the next song you write for me!

【Zhang Jizhongvip】: Xiao Lu's literary foundation is very deep, worthy of being the special consultant for our *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* crew. Friends, everyone is welcome to follow the crew's casting work!

That dog-day bearded man was here to leech again, even better at it than Boss Lu!

(End of chapter)