When the lights came on, after a brief silence, the movie theater erupted into applause again.
Though it was obviously a comedy film, the very short easter egg at the end that had little to do with the movie successfully made many viewers feel somewhat conflicted.
Strictly speaking, this film didn’t technically have an absolute protagonist. Xie Gefei’s role as Killer No. 3 didn’t appear until later in the movie and his scenes weren’t particularly heavy. But somehow, under Xie Gefei’s portrayal, this character came alive. Especially at the very end in the bonus scene, when he looked into the camera, his gaze left a deep impression.
It was so captivating it made people desperately want to explore – just what kind of person was he? What on earth had he gone through to remain so calm and composed when facing the police siege, as if he had been prepared all along?
Originally, Ye Zhou had wanted to include the scene of No. 3 dying in the courtroom because Xie Gefei’s acting in that scene was truly outstanding.
In Ye Zhou’s experience, Xie Gefei’s state during the filming of that scene and the final product were good enough to easily win him an award at a film festival.
Unfortunately, when submitting the film for review, they were required to delete that scene, or it wouldn’t pass. Left with no other choice, Ye Zhou could only reluctantly let it go and replaced it with the current bonus scene version.
He’d just have to make up for it later by hyping it up on his official Weibo.
After the sneak preview ended, Ye Zhou still didn’t realize that on that very night, reviews of the movie “A Farce” were already appearing online.
As Ye Zhou had predicted, the reactions were very polarized.
Those who liked it liked it a lot, while those who hated it really hated it. The ratings ranged from 9 to 2, a huge discrepancy. But this was similar to what he had estimated.
When Ye Zhou chose to make this film initially, it wasn’t for the box office or ratings but purely because he found the script interesting and wanted to give it a try. His original intention was just to experience the joy of not being constrained by capital, to create something he liked, to satisfy himself, and to improve his skills along the way. He hadn’t expected it to make much money at all.
Therefore, even when Ye Zhou later learned of the clearly divided reactions online, he didn’t take it to heart and remained quite indifferent.
During filming, he had been very aware of this movie’s obvious strengths and weaknesses.
The strengths were the dramatic effects and conflicts, as well as the dense humor that could make audiences laugh from start to finish. But the weaknesses were also apparent – other than being silly and funny enough, this movie didn’t have much substance and belonged to the kind that would be forgotten after a laugh.
Actually, when Ye Zhou first received the script, he had two options. If he wanted to cater to mainstream thought for the ratings, he should have incorporated some positive core values to make the movie more meaningful. However, that would have weakened the dramatic conflicts and diluted the humor, making the work formulaic and preachy but more acceptable to mainstream critics. If it was the past life’s Ye Zhou, he would have undoubtedly chosen to do so without hesitation.
But in this life, with Boss Jiang’s support, Ye Zhou really didn’t need to deliberately cater to the market or consider the issue of profits and losses.
After weighing the pros and cons, Ye Zhou still decided to go with the current version.
Rather than weakening the humor, Ye Zhou hoped that when the audience saw their work, they could be in a good mood from start to finish, briefly set aside their worries, and enjoy the happiness brought by the movie.
Of course, Ye Zhou was not completely without ulterior motives either. Those who had worked with Ye Zhou knew he was famously obsessed with easter eggs, and in his past life, someone had found over forty hidden extras in one of his films. Some were thought-provoking, some especially cute, some unique. All kinds of hidden gems could be found as long as you were willing to look for the surprises.
Ye Zhou’s style had always been this way, and “A Farce” was no exception. He had likewise hidden many easter eggs in it. As for whether the audience would eventually discover these hidden gems, when they would discover them, and how they would react – that was beyond Ye Zhou’s considerations. Hiding them and running away was exciting!
After the successful screening ended, according to common practice, Ye Zhou, as the director, should treat the crew to a celebratory meal. But seeing Jiang Tingyuan’s dark eye circles, Ye Zhou still felt a little guilty.
In his impression, Boss Jiang had always been a very disciplined person. In the year they had been together, no one knew better than Ye Zhou how regular Boss Jiang’s routine was. Staying up late was out of the question. Even his fixed daily sleep schedule was very punctual.
For the usually extremely disciplined and health-conscious Boss Jiang to show up at the theater entrance looking haggard with eye bags, even the insensitive Ye Zhou knew he must have made a special trip back for him and had likely been working overtime these past few days to get back early.
He had disrupted his regular biological clock just to make it back in time for his preview screening. Faced with this Jiang Tingyuan, Ye Zhou would have to be heartless to say he wasn’t touched at all.
After handing over the meal money to the assistant director, Ye Zhou planned to take Boss Jiang home himself.
Boss Jiang used to have serious stomach issues, though he hadn’t had any relapses for years, thanks to his careful health management. But with him constantly traveling for work recently, Ye Zhou didn’t know if he had been eating properly or eaten anything he shouldn’t.
A celebratory meal was definitely out of the question for Boss Jiang. No matter how good the restaurant food, it still couldn’t compare to a healthy home cooked meal.
Ye Zhou was determined to cook some porridge when they got home, feed Boss Jiang, then get him to rest early.
The movie theater wasn’t too far from their villa, so Ye Zhou had walked over today without getting a driver. But seeing Boss Jiang’s current state, there was no way he would make him walk back. Reaching in his pocket for his phone to call the driver, his hand was suddenly grabbed before he could take it out.
Jiang Tingyuan’s long fingers slid into his coat pocket as well, slowly unfurling Ye Zhou’s grip on the phone finger by finger. The phone slipped from its owner’s hold and fell back to the bottom of the pocket with a soft thud.
Meanwhile, Ye Zhou’s somewhat stiff hand from awkwardness was held in another larger hand, the back of his hand touching the other’s palm.
Then, the closed fingers were pried open one by one.
Unfamiliar cool fingertips inserted themselves into the gaps, and the two hands were tightly interlocked, slowly tightening into a firm hand-hold.
Jiang Tingyuan’s voice sounded next to Ye Zhou’s ear, “Let’s walk together.”
Ye Zhou was startled for a moment, then reflexively asked, “But didn’t you just get back from overseas? Aren’t you tired?”
“I’m alright,” Jiang Tingyuan answered truthfully, already leading Ye Zhou forward.
The night was dark, with very few pedestrians on the streets. Most were like Ye Zhou, having just left the theater after the movie ended.
The lamplights along the road were warm yellow. The autumn night breeze blew by gently – everything was so tender.
Ye Zhou was pulled along by Boss Jiang, whose pace wasn’t fast, just right for Ye Zhou to easily keep up.
The two walked silently together for a while. At first, Ye Zhou was somewhat stiff, but as they went on, even he didn’t notice as the tense nerves gradually relaxed.
Sensing him loosening up, Jiang Tingyuan, who had been quiet all this time, finally spoke, “How have you been recently?”
“Pretty good,” Ye Zhou thought for a moment, then added, “I’ve been busy with the movie screening these days. I definitely didn’t eat any junk food.”
In the past, saying this might have made Ye Zhou feel guilty, but these days while Boss Jiang was away, he had been so busy he didn’t even have time to rest his feet, let alone sneak snacks. Even finding time to eat meals was difficult.
If Boss Jiang hadn’t considered that he would be very busy these days and instructed the chef to deliver meals to Ye Zhou in advance, Ye Zhou would likely have been too busy to even eat properly and could only starve.
Thinking of this, Ye Zhou immediately started shamelessly singing praises of his sponsor, “Jiang-ge, you’re really amazing. If you hadn’t asked Chef Chen to bring me meals every day, I would’ve easily lost ten pounds these days!”
Hearing this, the corners of Jiang Tingyuan’s lips quirked up slightly, clearly very pleased by Ye Zhou’s flattery.
“What about you, Jiang-ge? How were things overseas? Did you have any trouble adjusting to the food there?” Ye Zhou asked considerately about Boss Jiang’s meals.
In his previous life, due to frequently needing to travel all over the country for filming locations, jet lag and work were minor issues. What made him most miserable was the food abroad.
Back then, when Ye Zhou was still poor, he had limited funds when filming overseas. Many things in those countries were expensive yet unappetizing, forcing him, after a long time, to just grit his teeth and cook for himself.
So, his concern now was reasonable and well-founded, not just small talk to fill the silence, Ye Zhou consoled himself.
Jiang Tingyuan shook his head. “It was fine. There were Chinese chefs there.”
What Boss Jiang didn’t tell Ye Zhou was that he wasn’t there for a vacation after all. His busyness and workload these days were in no way inferior to Ye Zhou’s. Wanting to maintain his health regimen like he did in China was clearly impossible.
What’s more, wanting to come back two days early to accompany Ye Zhou to the movie screening instantly compressed his already tight schedule even further.
“That’s good then,” Ye Zhou said, relieved to hear it was fine.
“When we get back, I should hurry and make some porridge. Eating too late at night isn’t good for digestion,” Ye Zhou said, glancing at the time on his phone and realizing how late it was already. If they kept strolling slowly like this, they probably wouldn’t get home until after 9.
Thinking of this, Ye Zhou couldn’t help quickening his pace. Boss Jiang didn’t object, indulgently keeping in step beside him.
The orange lamplight cast their shadows long and lean. As they walked further and further, the distance between their two shadows grew closer and closer, until finally merging completely into one.
When they finally got home, Ye Zhou took down both his and Boss Jiang’s slippers from the shoe rack. As he changed into them, he started unbuttoning his coat.
In the past when doing this, Ye Zhou would usually lean against the wall. But with Boss Jiang right there this time, he still restrained himself a little and tried his best not to look too silly.
But unexpectedly, the action he had done thousands of times today ended in disaster.
Just as he was about to change into the second shoe, he somehow lost his balance and stumbled forward. Ye Zhou panicked to find something to grab onto, and the first sturdy support he found in reach was…
When Ye Zhou came to his senses, he was embarrassed to find that he had grabbed onto Boss Jiang’s arm.
“S-Sorry…” Ye Zhou, who was the first to admit his mistakes and had a good attitude in admitting his mistakes, also actively admitted his mistakes this time, apologizing while retracting his paws.
But before he could pull his wrist back halfway, it was caught and placed right back to where it originally was.
“Jiang-ge?” Ye Zhou looked at him awkwardly, caught red-handed.
Jiang Tingyuan regarded him for a moment before suddenly taking out a box from his coat.
Under Ye Zhou’s puzzled gaze, he opened it and took out a watch. The watch’s design didn’t look complicated, except for the outer rim of the dial, which was dotted with a circle of tiny diamonds.
Jiang Tingyuan gently put the watch on Ye Zhou’s fair wrist, then said, “It’s a gift.”
Ye Zhou looked at the watch that suited his wrist very much, then moved his gaze back to Boss Jiang.
Jiang Tingyuan thought the usually lively boy would say something, but Ye Zhou didn’t utter a word. He silently lowered his head and continued changing his unfinished shoe.
Seeing him not speaking, Boss Jiang didn’t press him and just patted his head, about to head inside.
“Jiang-ge!”
Just as he entered, Jiang Tingyuan heard someone calling his name and looked back to see Ye Zhou crashing into his arms like a cannonball.
Ye Zhou buried his head in his chest and gave him a big hug. His muffled voice was low, but just enough for Boss Jiang to hear clearly.
He said, “Thank you.”
Thank you for the gift.
Ye Zhou himself couldn’t remember how long it had been since he last received a gift. Due to his childhood experiences, he had a strange obsession with gifts.
He always felt that being able to receive gifts meant being cared for and thought of – it was something that made him very happy.
Perhaps it was because the more he was fixated on something, the harder it was to obtain. In his life, the number of times Ye Zhou had received gifts could be counted on one hand, which was pitifully few.
The hug was fleeting, over before Boss Jiang could even react. Ye Zhou had already swiftly retreated.
Ye Zhou’s ability to regulate his emotions was very fast. In just a few seconds, he was back to normal, as if nothing had happened. There was no hint of his prior sentimentality left.
Boss Jiang watched his back as he busied about in the kitchen, feeling both exasperated and amused for a moment, and wished he could pull him into his arms and give him a good beating.
But thinking of Ye Zhou’s expression just now, those delighted eyes, Boss Jiang felt a little stifled in his chest instead.
Perhaps he should treat him even better. Then maybe he wouldn’t have that kind of expression again, Boss Jiang contemplated.
Since they had come back late, Ye Zhou didn’t make anything complicated, just simply boiled some silver ear soup. After eating, he urged Boss Jiang again and again to go rest quickly.
For the first time in his life being shooed back to his room, Boss Jiang lay in bed staring at the ceiling silently for a long time.
After driving Boss Jiang away, Ye Zhou also returned to his room early. Making sure the door was shut properly, he got into bed and wrapped himself tightly in his little blanket, carefully caressing the watch on his wrist.
Ye Zhou held up his hand and looked at the watch in the weak moonlight from the window again, affirming that Boss Jiang really was the best person in the world, to actually bring him a gift!
Grinning excitedly, he rolled twice in bed, thrilled like a child who just got a beloved new toy.
That night, as Ye Zhou stroked his treasured watch, he slept very soundly.
What he was completely unaware of was that on this night as he slept, the movie “A Farce” was being relentlessly ripped apart online the entire time.
It started with Yun Waiyu, a famous film blogger in the industry known for fair, objective reviews and an extremely good temper. He posted a Weibo with a photo of a movie ticket, and added: I didn’t have much hope for it, was just going to watch it as a bad movie, but unexpectedly had a nice surprise. Although it doesn’t have much substance, by comedy film standards it’s still passing.
This would have been nothing, a pretty normal review. But the problem was that after he posted this on Weibo, another well-known film critic in the circle soon also posted about the film.
The photo was also a ticket for “A Farce”, but his review was the complete opposite of Yun Waiyu’s.
Flying Melon V: Trash movie of the year [photo]. You’ll understand just how trash it is after it releases.
The two were in the same circle, and both had some reputation as big V1a “big V” (大V) refers to someone who has a verified account on social media platforms like Weibo and has a large number of followers. They are considered influential online opinion leaders and experts in their particular field, such as film critics, fashion bloggers, industry insiders, etc. The “V” comes from the checkmark verification badge these accounts receive on Weibo to indicate their authenticity. critics, so their fans definitely overlapped to an extent.
Their completely different reviews were almost instantly noticed by fans, who quickly screenshotted the other’s review and asked in the comments – so, is this movie good or bad?
Yun Waiyu’s personality was clearly better, and his reply was also very mild. He just said everyone had their own opinion, there were a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people2refers to the idea that every person has their own unique interpretation or understanding of something, just as there can be many different takes on the character of Hamlet., there was no right or wrong.
But Flying Melon’s attitude was nowhere near as friendly. He was known for his vicious tongue and sharpness in the circle. His persona was to mock heaven and earth with a bad temper, daring to say anything.
When someone brought Yun Waiyu’s screenshot to comment under Flying Melon’s Weibo, Flying Melon directly stated this film was a typical trash movie, bad in every aspect. Not just failing, even getting 2 points was too much.
He even directly posted a Weibo insinuating that the only reason Yun Waiyu would say that was because he got paid to hype up a bad movie.
Seeing this, Yun Waiyu’s fans instantly exploded. Some rational fans went to ask Flying Melon what exactly he meant with that shady Weibo.
But Flying Melon didn’t back down at all. Not only was he fearless, but he even brought his fans to join him in cold mockery and scathing insults toward Yun Waiyu and his fans.
Both sides were big Vs with millions of followers. Yun Waiyu was a veteran with many years of accumulated fans, who should not be underestimated. And while Flying Melon had only recently shot to fame, his fans were extremely aggressive.
With communication fruitless, they immediately started tearing into each other.
First, the fans tore into whether Yun Waiyu was paid to hype up a bad film, and then it extended to whether “A Farce” itself was trash or not.
Initially, it was just infighting within the circle, not public. But later, somehow, Zhu Ning got dragged into it, too. Zhu Ning was a trending idol in the entertainment industry, and once his fans joined the fray, the effect instantly exploded.
Flying Melon had originally planned to use this clash with Yun Waiyu to market himself and gain some new fans. But he didn’t expect Zhu Ning’s fans to join as well.
Zhu Ning’s fans were long accustomed to various activities like voting, anti-black campaigns, and more. They were extremely well-trained, with battle power far beyond ordinary fans. Once they participated in this fanwar, things started spiraling out of control.
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