The Internet was abuzz, and the fighting group continued to expand. It was already late at night, but passers-by or other melon eaters1Melon (瓜): official news or rumors that worth gossip. Eat melon (吃瓜): an activity of consuming gossip without taking sides or expressing any particular opinion. Melon-eating crowds / Melon eaters (吃瓜群众): people eating melon aka consuming gossip. still continued to join in.
The battle raged on until 4 or 5 in the morning without stopping. Not only did it not end, the heat actually grew more intense.
It even trended on the hot search at one point, with the ranking rising continuously as the factions expanded.
It was hard to wait until the overnight warriors finally couldn’t take it anymore and went to sleep. As soon as the next wave of people woke up in the morning and quickly understood the context, they enthusiastically took over the baton.
As more and more people woke up in the morning, the scale of the battle expanded again, and the hot search ranking, which started from the bottom, jumped to #10.
At this rate, topping the hot search was only a matter of time.
Woken up after 3 in the morning, the assistant director had been following the comments under Weibo. He called Ye Zhou countless times, trying to wake him up to discuss how to handle the situation.
But Ye Zhou had a habit of turning on night mode before bed, automatically entering do-not-disturb after 11 pm until calls could get through after 6 am.
Unable to reach him, the anxious assistant director barely slept all night. He refreshed Weibo almost every two minutes to see how far the deterioration had gone and consider what to say to Ye Zhou tomorrow.
How could they minimize the damage to the film with this? Their movie hadn’t even officially launched yet!
If it was torn apart before release, the assistant director could easily imagine how bleak the box office would be.
The assistant director discussed with the colleagues in charge of promotion, and while staring at the comments on the Internet, he began to contact marketing companies and troll leaders he knew in advance.
They even prepared to take the trending topic off the hot search as soon as Ye Zhou woke up.
At 6 am sharp, Ye Zhou’s phone finally connected. The assistant director was so moved he nearly cried. After recounting what happened last night, he eagerly asked what they should do now.
Having just woken up and still a bit confused, Ye Zhou quietly listened to the full context before speaking, sounding puzzled.
“Isn’t this supposed to be a good thing for us?”
Running on fumes after a sleepless night, the assistant director barely stopped himself from rushing over to shake some sense into Ye Zhou when he brushed it off so breezily as a good thing.
There was overwhelming negative press. They were about to go down in flames, yet the director called it a good thing? The assistant director nearly cried in frustration.
Ye Zhou smoothed down his messy bedhead and said, “Lao Meng, calm down first and hear me out, okay?”
The assistant director swallowed his tears and grunted.
Seeing him settle down, Ye Zhou analyzed point by point: “You said this all started because two big-name critics disagreed on whether our movie was good or bad, right?”
Assistant Director: “Yes!”
“So the current online opinion isn’t one-sided, but polarized with both positive and negative, correct?”
Assistant Director: “That’s right.”
Hearing no denial, Ye Zhou continued: “A work can never have just one voice. Even the best works will have some negative reviews. Rather than fear different opinions, shouldn’t we be more afraid of no one paying attention at all?”
The assistant director was silent for a long time, clearly seriously considering Ye Zhou’s words.
After a long while, he heaved a deep sigh, “Maybe you are right.”
Seeing that he had taken his words to heart, Ye Zhou chuckled lightly. His tone was no longer as serious as before. “I just checked Weibo. Lao Meng, if we can guide this matter correctly, it may actually benefit us.”
“It’s easier said than done,” the assistant director said as he rubbed his face. His voice was heavy with burden. “Our movie hasn’t been released yet. We don’t know how much damage these negative news will cause.”
“Director Ye, don’t be too blindly optimistic.”
These words weren’t something an assistant director should say. After all, Ye Zhou as the director was the leader of the entire film and crew.
By questioning Ye Zhou like this, if Ye Zhou had a bad temper or was petty, it would certainly create a rift between them.
But having worked together for so long, the assistant director knew Ye Zhou’s temperament well. He truly admired this talented young director and considered him a friend. That’s why he could speak so frankly.
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhou indeed did not get angry.
On the contrary, he understood the assistant director’s concerns quite well. A film getting so much negative publicity before its release would indeed greatly impact box office and word-of-mouth.
In severe cases, it could even influence public perception and theatre booking.
If possible, Ye Zhou did not want to gain public attention in this manner and at this cost.
But it had already happened. It wasn’t as if things could go back to normal just because Ye Zhou wished it so.
Since the incident was inevitable, the best Ye Zhou could do was find the optimal solution amidst the headwind.
As the assistant director said, hiring internet water armies to control discussion and remove trending hashtags was clearly the worst resort.
Netizens were not melons or radishes2“not melons and radishes” (不是冬瓜和萝卜) suggests that netizens are not passive objects or “yes men” who will accept whatever is fed to them. Melons and radishes are metaphors for people who passively accept things without thinking. . They had thoughts and consciousness. Indiscriminately removing trending searches or sending out internet armies would not calm things down. On the contrary, it would only provoke netizens’ contrarian mentality.
Cases of celebrities getting backlash for removing hashtags were common. Huge sums were spent, but reputations were not salvaged. Instead, they were completely ruined by the ensuing backlash.
It was basically a tactic that did more self-harm than damage to enemies3“杀敌一千，自损两千” (shādí yīqiān, zì sǔn liǎngqiān) literally means “to kill one thousand enemies, but lose two thousand of one’s own”. It is a variation of the more common idiom “杀敌一千，自损八百” (shādí yīqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi), which means “to kill one thousand enemies, but lose eight hundred of one’s own”. Both idioms are derived from the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu’s famous quote: “What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations. … Therefore, those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him. … One who acts thus is like one who brings his own enemy to the field of battle, and he is the master of the situation. … One who does not act thus is like one who lets the enemy bring him to the field of battle, and he is not the master of the situation. … Thus, one who is skilled in warfare principles subdues the enemy without doing battle, captures the enemy without laying siege, overthrows the enemy without protracted war. … Therefore, I say: Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.” (The Art of War, Chapter 3: Strategic Attack, translated by Lionel Giles) The idioms are used to describe a situation where one achieves a victory or a goal, but at a great cost or sacrifice, or even a loss that outweighs the gain. The idioms can also imply that one is reckless, foolish, or desperate in pursuing one’s objective, regardless of the consequences. The variation with “two thousand” instead of “eight hundred” exaggerates the degree of loss and the negative outcome of one’s actions..
Unless absolutely necessary, Ye Zhou would not consider such solutions. Moreover, the current situation was not as bad as the assistant director imagined.
At the very least, the movie had not been officially released yet. The premiere audience was only a minority. This meant most netizens did not actually know anything about their movie.
As long as they could divert netizens’ appetite for drama into curiosity about the movie, it would be an indirect form of publicity for their crew.
Ye Zhou pondered for a moment before speaking, “Lao Meng, it’s like we’re walking on a tightrope. One careless misstep, we will be shattered into pieces. So, I hope you’ll carefully listen to what I’m about to say next.”
Hearing this, the assistant director finally pulled himself together. He drew the computer closer, ready to note down Ye Zhou’s instructions anytime.
“First, try your best to get in touch with the two bloggers Yun Waiyu and Flying Melon. No matter what the cost, you can just throw money at them so that they can continue to stick to their positions and speak out again.”
“I need this battle to climb another level while maintaining the current heat.”
Upon hearing this, the assistant director could hardly believe his own ears.
Things were already chaotic enough. Yet they were adding more fuel to the fire to make it burn even more wildly. The director must have lost his mind!
As if reading his thoughts, Ye Zhou continued before he could speak up, “I know you have objections, but hear me out first. Just record what I say for now. We can discuss any questions after I’m done.”
The assistant director choked for a moment but finally swallowed his words. He obediently opened a document and noted down the first instruction.
“Second, use your connections to invite more film critics and reviewers. In the remaining days before the screening ends, arrange for them to come to City A in batches for the next six days of screening.”
“Remember, you must make it clear to them in advance that the necessary condition for participating in the movie is to write a review of at least 500 words after watching the movie. Regardless of whether it’s positive or negative, we won’t interfere with their evaluation.”
The assistant director was shocked by Ye Zhou’s boldness. It was already this chaotic with just two critics. He dared not imagine the outcome if they directly invited a bunch more critics and didn’t restrict their reviews at all. How was this different from seeking death?
“What if some refuse to come?” The assistant director croaked.
Ye Zhou just laughed. “We’re at the eye of a storm now, but it has also brought tremendous heat our way. Whether our movie is good or bad, as long as they want to ride this wave, praising or criticizing works for them either way.”
He didn’t spell it out, but the assistant director understood what he meant.
Yes, regardless of their movie’s quality, the hype was real. By not intervening in the critics’ commentary, it became a win-win for the reviewers.
They could choose to follow the trend and scold them or defend the film. Either would let them leverage the movie’s popularity to gain huge attention.
The assistant director sighed. If not for the terrible timing, he truly believed Ye Zhou had talent and understood people’s hearts perfectly.
“What’s the third point?”
Ye Zhou continued in his clear, methodical manner, “Third, contact Zhu Ning’s team and see if they’re willing to release the theme songs.”
“Of course, we’d need Zhu Ning’s consent himself. If he disagrees, this point is void.”
Upon hearing this, the assistant director was briefly at a loss on how to react.
See, if one were to say he was soft-hearted, being able to remain so calm and logical at the eye of the storm, analyzing pros and cons step-by-step without being disturbed by external factors. He was willing to sacrifice some reputation for his goals, which showed a certain ruthlessness.
But if you said he was ruthless, when facing those people he had accepted into his circle, his heart softened to a terrifying degree. Whether it was last time with Xie Gefei’s incident, where in order to give an explanation, he disregarded public opinion and directly chose to call the police, or that time with Zhu Ning’s situation, his heart had softened unbelievably.
He was willing to sacrifice his own interests for their sake.
“Anything else?” The assistant director felt a little confused. He tried to hide it and urged Ye Zhou to continue.
“Fourth, I need you to contact the hottest short video platforms in the country and get their influencers, creators, celebrities – use all means to get them involved too.”
“Why is that needed? Isn’t Weibo enough? Our problems are mainly concentrated there. Why go to…”
Ye Zhou took a sip of water to clarify for him, “It’s precisely because the hype is limited to Weibo now that it’s not enough. Each platform has a different audience group. What we need to do now is make this a nationwide discussion that covers all age groups.”
“It’s not necessary for all of them to actually step into the theatre. But I hope when our movie comes up, they’ll have some awareness or even recall a scene or two. That’s sufficient.”
The assistant director dutifully noted down Ye Zhou’s words. Although still confused, he didn’t speak up this time.
“Fifth, release some of the trailers we prepared over this period and gather comments about the movie from viewers who have watched the screenings over the next six days. It’s best if we can directly interview them outside the theatre. Edit them together with the trailers but pay special attention to confidentiality and minimize spoilers.”
“Sixth, and most important, tell our staff not to respond to or explain any online comments before the premiere, except for publicity needs.”
After Ye Zhou said the last item, he stopped talking and waited for the assistant director’s questions and objections.
But only silence answered him for a long time. If not for the audible breathing, Ye Zhou would’ve thought he had hung up.
“Lao Meng, anything you want to ask? You can ask now.” Ye Zhou prompted.
After a brief pause, the assistant director’s voice finally sounded again.
“I have nothing to ask. I think…I understand what you mean.” The assistant director glanced at the densely filled yet clearly organized document, his voice dry.
This surprised Ye Zhou a little, but he quickly laughed, “Then let’s proceed according to this plan.”
“Alright.” The assistant director agreed.
Just before hanging up, the assistant director’s mouth moved for a bit, seemingly hesitant. But in the end, he still voiced his doubts, “Director Ye…”
Ye Zhou was about to end the call when he paused upon hearing him. “Go ahead.”
The assistant director swallowed and steeled himself to ask the question that plagued him.
“Have you considered the consequences? If our film fails to gain recognition from the audience and critics, shattering the current balance of mixed praise… then everything you’re doing now will become blades cutting back at us in the near future.”
“Are you so confident that our movie has the quality to maintain this balance? If we collapse under the pressure, we, small fries, probably won’t be impacted much. But as the director… your reputation and future could be completely ruined.”
The assistant director’s voice was somewhat hoarse. Had anyone been beside him then, they would’ve seen his reddened eyes brimming with tears.
“Is it really necessary for us to pay such a huge price to gamble on this?”
“It’s necessary.”
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