After ending the call, Ye Zhou washed up and grabbed a set of light-colored casual clothes from the closet to wear. Once ready, he was about to head out.
But as soon as he opened the door, he bumped right into Boss Jiang standing outside.
Ye Zhou had opened the door so abruptly that Jiang Tingyuan’s hand was still raised mid-air, poised to knock.
Jiang Tingyuan glanced at Ye Zhou’s outfit and lowered his hand, asking, “Going out?”
“Yeah,” Ye Zhou nodded. After some thought, he decided against telling Boss Jiang about the online chaos, only vaguely saying, “Some issues came up with the movie promotions. I’m going to take a look.”
Ye Zhou didn’t want Boss Jiang involved in this matter. After all, Jiang Tingyuan was the CEO of Jingzhe, one of the top production companies in the film and television industry. If Boss Jiang stepped in, it would completely tie the movie to Jingzhe.
Just as the assistant director had worried, Ye Zhou was facing a huge gamble now. Even if he won, the gains might not be much. But if he lost, he would be completely ruined.
Although Ye Zhou had appeared calm and confident in front of the assistant director, in truth, he couldn’t tell if he would win or lose.
In fact, he even felt that his chances of losing were far greater than his chances of winning.
If Boss Jiang and Jingzhe got involved and they really lost the bet, their reputation would plummet. The resulting damage would be incalculable.
Ye Zhou didn’t care about his own reputation, but he did care about Boss Jiang’s.
He couldn’t let Boss Jiang wade into these muddy waters for him.
Afraid that Boss Jiang would ask more questions, Ye Zhou gave vague replies and prepared to slip away. But he had barely walked a few meters when Boss Jiang called his name from behind.
“Ye Zhou.”
At the sound of his name, Ye Zhou shyly glanced back, blinking sincerely at Jiang to indicate he wasn’t lying.
“I won’t interfere with you handling this matter yourself.”
“Only if the situation remains controllable. The moment it goes out of control, I’ll step in.”
Boss Jiang’s voice wasn’t loud, nor was his tone particularly gentle. In fact, it sounded a bit awkward and stiff.
But Ye Zhou understood what he meant – let Ye Zhou take the lead, and don’t worry even if things deteriorate to uncontrollable levels later, Boss Jiang would handle it.
Hearing those words, Ye Zhou’s heart felt strangely sour and warm. He couldn’t describe the feeling.
Resuming his steps, he raised his hand and waved at Jiang without looking back, “It’s just a small matter. I can handle it!”
Jiang Tingyuan watched Ye Zhou’s retreating figure, pressing his thin lips together. Just before Ye Zhou’s silhouette disappeared from view, his lips quirked up slightly, a trace of a smile softening his usually cold, stern face.
How could someone be so endearing?
…
When Ye Zhou arrived at the temporary meeting room, most of the crew had already gathered.
The assistant director was standing by the projector with dark circles under his eyes, going through their dense action plan slide by slide.
Ye Zhou saw that the contents projected matched the plans he had discussed with the assistant director that morning.
Seeing Ye Zhou arrive, the assistant director had intended to yield the floor to him to present everything himself.
Ye Zhou, who was the first to notice his intention, shook his head at him and motioned for him to continue. He casually took a seat and sat down to listen with everyone.
The assistant director had no choice but to continue explaining the unfinished parts.
“So, for now, this is the plan to deal with the current crisis. If there are no major objections, next, Director Ye will divide us into groups, and we’ll begin executing according to this plan.”
His words were met with an odd silence in the conference room.
After two minutes passed with no objection, just as the assistant director was about to have Ye Zhou come up to allocate groups, someone suddenly spoke up.
“Director Ye, Assistant Director, if we really execute this plan and fail to maintain balance, it could ruin our reputation, box office, and popularity will all be ruined.
“At that point, we’d be facing an even worse situation than now, under several times or even dozens of times more pressure.”
“Isn’t this plan a bit…too extreme?”
The speaker was a thin man in his thirties, wearing black-framed glasses, named Qin Sheng. He was the head of their movie’s publicity team.
As the leader of promotions, Qin Sheng’s concerns mirrored the assistant director’s worries from this morning.
The assistant director looked to Ye Zhou.
Ye Zhou rose from his seat and walked to the front, addressing Qin Sheng, “I understand your worries, but risks come with opportunities. If we successfully arouse curiosity about the movie, the box office certainly won’t suffer.”
“From the start, the movie’s core tone and flaws meant we’d never get approval from academic critics1学院派影评人 refers to film critics who are affiliated with universities or academic institutions. They tend to have a more theoretical and scholarly approach to film analysis, and they may not appreciate films that deviate from the established norms or conventions of cinema.. Regardless of how much we spend on water armies and deleting hot search trends, that’s unchangeable.”
“Rather than force a whitewash, we can transform it into curiosity that attracts more ticket sales. While we can’t gain much in high-end markets, it doesn’t mean general audiences won’t accept us.”
“As long as we leverage this delicate balance properly, just box office-wise, it’s already enough for us.”
Hearing Ye Zhou’s explanation, Qin Sheng fell silent in thoughtful contemplation. After weighing the pros and cons, his lips moved, but he said no more in objection.
In truth, after the incident broke out, Qin Sheng had already begun drafting response plans. But compared to Ye Zhou’s, his were far too conservative and inferior.
Just as Ye Zhou said, high risks came with high returns.
Although the current circumstances were unfavorable for their movie, Ye Zhou’s plan, despite its greater risk, was far more ingenious than forcibly withdrawing hot searches and letting the trolls control reviews.
If successful, they could spin the negative news into a smooth marketing campaign, arousing curiosity that audiences would willingly pay to satisfy, all at minimal cost.
Even Qin Sheng, head of promotions, had to admit this line of thinking surpassed his own. After weighing the stakes in such a short time, Qin Sheng ultimately voiced no further objection.
Even Qin Sheng, the team leader, had no objections. Even though the others had some thoughts, they did not dare to say anything anymore.
After the plan was finalized, Ye Zhou divided everyone present into pairs, each responsible for different tasks. After the grouping was over, they quickly got to work, and the hastily formed crisis response team began operating.
Past two in the afternoon, the heat had started gradually dying down. But then, out of the blue, the two bloggers who had ignited this war suddenly spoke up again, one after the other.
The heat finally began to subside, but after the two people spoke out one after another, the feud suddenly escalated again. Fans and passers-by came out one after another, tearing into each other with renewed frenzy.
After four, Zhu Ning specifically called Ye Zhou, saying he didn’t mind releasing the two theme songs at a time like this since they were his gift to Ye Zhou and the movie anyway.
In truth, as a top idol, Zhu Ning’s fame meant he had no need to wade into these muddy waters at all. When the assistant director contacted his agency, Summit Entertainment refused, even preparing to distance Zhu Ning from the crew clearly. That way, if the movie failed, the company could still do some damage control.
They would subtly sell misery to the fans, insinuating Zhu Ning had only participated due to pressure from Jingzhe Pictures, abused the fans a bit, and the matter would blow over.
No matter what the movie’s reputation became, Zhu Ning could be extracted safely.
But unexpectedly, the usually obedient Zhu Ning was adamant about supporting Ye Zhou this time. He didn’t bother negotiating with his manager at all. The moment he learned of the situation, Zhu Ning called Ye Zhou, volunteering enthusiastically to help.
His manager was hopping mad, calling the company repeatedly, but it was too late.
In the time his manager stepped out to make those calls, Zhu Ning had already posted on Weibo, first recommending the movie and sharing he had a role, then revealing he had written both the opening and ending songs and hoped everyone would support it.
When the manager returned, he was furious.
Per company rules, artists’ Weibo accounts were typically managed by the company. But Zhu Ning had always been well-behaved and his Weibo interactions attracted fans, so the company had let him keep his account access.
Who could’ve thought that the usually compliant Zhu Ning’s one act of rebellion would be such a big move!
The manager snatched his phone, fuming, “Oh, so you’ve gotten arrogant now, Zhu Ning? You dare disobey the company’s arrangements!”
“If not for the company’s support and my blood and sweat in tearing up resources for you, do you think you’d be where you are today?!”
“Let me tell you, Zhu Ning, don’t think you’re invincible now just because you’ve gained some fame now. Your current status is entirely built up by the company’s resources. Even a pig could be elevated to first-line with resources this good!”
Zhu Ning’s manager was infamous for his strong business capabilities and terrible reputation. Zhu Ning had always been obedient before, so there was little friction between them. But he had clearly provoked the manager’s wrath this time.
The manager hurled coarse, cutting insults in the dressing room, disparaging everything from Zhu Ning’s professional abilities to his popularity, as if to reduce him to worthless trash.
Throughout it all, Zhu Ning simply kept his head lowered without a single retort.
Finally having vented enough, the manager glanced at the time and scoffed coldly, “Don’t use Weibo anymore from now on. The commercial performance starts in half an hour, hurry and get ready. I’ll wait for you outside.”
With that, he flung open the door and strode out. The assistants and bodyguards outside wore natural expressions, even fawning over him with compliments when they saw him coming out.
Clearly, they were long numbed to such occurrences in the dressing room.
What did it matter if someone was a top idol? It was glamorous on the surface, but he was still grasped firmly by the company in private.
No one understood better than them just how busy Zhu Ning was every day. He looked glamorous on screen, but in truth, he probably lived less comfortably than these assistants and bodyguards.
Everyone had their own mindset – who to listen to, who not to, who to fawn over, who could be bullied. They were all clear on this.
On the surface, Zhu Ning’s staff treated him with respect. But in reality, they obeyed Zhu Ning’s manager without question.
Now that Zhu Ning was in conflict with his manager, not a single person dared to go comfort Zhu Ning in the dressing room.
Finally, a new junior assistant pushed open the door and saw the mess inside. Zhu Ning was sitting silently on a stool.
The junior assistant’s heart ached terribly. She was Zhu Ning’s fan, giving up a high-paying job to be his assistant just to accompany her idol up close.
If not for witnessing it herself these past days, she would never have believed a top idol like Zhu Ning could be so bullied.
How dare Summit treat someone like this? How dare they!?
The junior assistant slowly approached Zhu Ning, unable to hold back in the end as her eyes reddened.
She bent down, half-kneeling before Zhu Ning, and said in a voice only they could hear, “No one should be bullied like this, gege. Please terminate your contract with Summit.”
Zhu Ning was roused from his daze by her voice and met her worried gaze. His heart warmed and he gently said, “Everything will be fine, don’t worry.”
Seeing his response made the junior assistant’s heart ache more. Through her observations these past days, she understood Zhu Ning’s difficulties.
Zhu Ning was at the peak of his popularity, known as the hardest working idol in the industry.
He was flooded with CFs, endorsements, and variety show appearances. They were more than he could handle but the prices offered by the other parties were also very high. However, most of that money was taken by Summit, leaving Zhu Ning with pitifully little.
What meager earnings he did get were used to pay off family debts. He hadn’t been able to save anything substantial this past year.
When Zhu Ning first signed with Summit, he was ignorant and got tricked into a 15-year contract with an astronomical penalty fee.
Given Zhu Ning’s current circumstances, with his family’s debts still unpaid, there was no way he could cough up that penalty to buy out his contract.
That was why Summit dared to mistreat him. They were sure that Zhu Ning couldn’t and wouldn’t leave.
A traffic star’s peak popularity only lasted a few years. Even if Zhu Ning eventually saved up enough later, Summit would have already used him enough by then. With his career declining, they wouldn’t fear him making trouble.
Advising him to terminate his contract just now had been an empty word spoken in anger.
The junior assistant was incredibly upset, having witnessed just how much Summit had exploited Zhu Ning recently. He was like a money-making tool, mercilessly wrung dry without even being treated as human.
But Zhu Ning was human, a living person! He wasn’t a money-making machine. At this rate of overwork, his health would surely suffer sooner or later.
Just look – after finally gaining some weight during filming, he had lost it all again within mere months, even slimmer now than before.
Suddenly, the junior assistant froze, as if recalling something. She fiercely wiped her tears and a new light kindled in her eyes. She urgently said to Zhu Ning, “Gege, aren’t you close with Director Ye? Director Ye and Jingzhe’s President Jiang…”
“Don’t speak nonsense!”
Before she could finish, Zhu Ning cut her off, his expression unusually stern as he said, “Don’t ever mention Director Ye’s matters to others, understand?”
“But…” The junior assistant looked anxious.
“No buts. I can handle my own affairs.” Zhu Ning stood up and patted her shoulder, softening his tone again. “Director Ye is a good person. Promise me you won’t cause him trouble, okay?”
Meeting his gaze, the junior assistant couldn’t say another word, only closing her eyes unhappily and nodding forcefully.
“Okay.”
But Gege, while you’re considering others, can you also consider yourself a bit?
–
Zhu Ning had already posted that Weibo. Too much time had passed, it was useless to delete it now since his status guaranteed screenshots were circulating already.
After the manager reported the situation to the company leaders, they decided to leave the post up.
Since they were already on the pirate ship, they had to fight for some benefits. Ye Zhou was just a small director, but Jiang Tingyuan stood behind him.
The manager, who had made up his mind, immediately decided to visit Jingzhe Pictures tomorrow. They had implicated Zhu Ning’s reputation, so naturally, they would have to gain equal value in return.
In the meantime, Weibo exploded again due to Zhu Ning’s sudden post.
Previously, Zhu Ning’s fans had been relatively restrained since their idol hadn’t spoken yet. To avoid drawing hate for Zhu Ning, the major fanbases had gradually withdrawn from the battle on the fan union’s direction.
But now with Zhu Ning directly posting himself that he had an important role and even wrote two songs for the movie, his fans instantly erupted.
After learning that her brother was participating in the film, Zhu Ning’s fans clearly now considered A Farce to be one of their own.
Many major fanbases charged back in, organized and disciplined, rejoining the fray.
Unlike last night, though those fans had also been ferocious, the truly influential major fanbases hadn’t participated then.
Now was different. Several high-impact major fanbases banded together to counter-attack, their strength dozens of times greater than last night’s.
The blogger Flying Melon, who had slowly gained an advantage, was now pushed back down. Under Zhu Ning fans’ efforts, A Farce regained a delicate balance between criticism and praise, even recovering some reputation ground.
At the same time, many professional film critics received invitations from A Farce’s crew.
Inviting them to a six-day screening in City A. All round-trip expenses would be reimbursed, and food and accommodation would be free. They did not need to bring anything, as long as they came.
But more than the perks, the most attractive part was a note at the bottom.
After viewing, critics were free to publish reviews based on their own opinions, the only requirement being the review exceeded 500 words. Beyond that, the crew would not interfere.
This note could be said to have given enough face to film critics on major platforms. Not only were they invited to watch the movie for free, but they were not required to give positive reviews.
As Ye Zhou anticipated, aside from the rare few genuinely too busy to attend, most of the invited critics readily accepted and said they would be present for the screening.
In addition, popular influencers, up-and-coming creators, video hosts, and internet celebrities on China’s trendiest short video platforms also received collaboration offers.
Aside from covering multiple platforms, these individuals also represented diverse fields – from film/TV, parody, tech, dance, and lifestyle, almost everything was covered.
It strove for as comprehensive coverage as possible to expose the movie to all viewer demographics.
With this, the initial deployment of the plan was mostly completed.
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