Kofi bonus chapter
Geng Bochuan’s fans have been overjoyed lately, spending their days buying tickets and repeatedly watching ‘Chasing the Light’, and enthusiastically promoting it online whenever they can.
‘Check out ‘Chasing the Light’. It’s a highly acclaimed movie with a 90% positive rating and a 30% repeat viewing rate. Watching it is a guaranteed win!’
What, you say you don’t like tragic themes? No, no, you misunderstood. The overall atmosphere of this film is positive, warm, and uplifting. It tells the story of two brothers who overcome numerous obstacles to emerge from the abyss and embrace a new life. Although the ending is a bit heartbreaking, a movie can’t be judged solely by its ending, right? At least the happiness it brought us during the journey was genuine! (x
‘Chasing the Light’ is now receiving widespread acclaim online, and with the analysis in ‘New Film and TV Weekly’, its high positive ratings and repeat ticket sales have quickly piqued public curiosity.
Is this movie really that good? But it’s a tragedy, though they say the journey is still quite inspiring. The ending is really not that important. Nowadays, many directors prefer open endings, which is not unacceptable.
Why not… buy a ticket and see for ourselves?
Most viewers bought tickets with this mindset, only to be caught off guard and pierced through the heart by one blade after another. After watching, they cursed the director, but then masochistically and unhesitatingly bought tickets for a second viewing.
One day, Ye Zhou woke up to be told by Manager Miao that his name was trending on Weibo. Thinking something serious had happened, he hurriedly grabbed his phone, only to find the topic #SendDirectorYeBlades# standing out among the trending celebrity topics.
Clicking on it, Ye Zhou found that under a blogger’s post showing their ticket stub after watching the movie, over 8,000 comments had uniformly appeared, echoing the sentiment of sending him blades.
These netizens are too brutal! They even made many bizarre meme images, like ‘Ye Zhou holding ‘Chasing the Light’ in his left hand, a blade in his right, with a honeyed smile.jpg’. Ye Zhou’s face was even taken from some encyclopedia.
There were also interactions between Geng Bochuan and Duan Jingyuan taken from the trailer, with a line of black text below: “Socialist good brothers, positive and inspiring.jpg”, and “As long as you watch ‘Chasing the Light’, we’re good friends.jpg”. The memes were flourishing and emerging endlessly.
Ye Zhou watched them with subway_old_man_looking_at_phone.jpg, but he saved them and sent them to the ‘Chasing the Light’ crew group chat, reveling in the meme battles every day.
Geng Bochuan was particularly active, skillfully using various memes. Once, he even accidentally included a meme image when posting on his blog.
Using his own memes to promote himself, his fans grew even more excited! Their creative passion surged, and the meme industry welcomed a wave of growth.
Additionally, something unexpected for Ye Zhou was that fans had started shipping the Cheng brothers, resulting in an outpouring of fanfiction, fanart, and videos.
One day, yokiii, a once popular YouTuber with millions of followers who had been inactive for a long time, suddenly returned from the dead and uploaded a new video.
yokiii: Limited materials, so I just randomly edited this for now. Will make a complete version after the release with more materials. Cheng Ye x Cheng Ling, let’s go! [Video]
Using the few available materials like the trailer and official behind-the-scenes footage, this legendary editor managed to create a 10-minute sweet and heartbreaking daily interactions video of the Cheng brothers, filled with sugary moments and bitter blades.
This fanvideo topped the trending charts on the video platform for two consecutive days. When it was shared on social media, it garnered over 40,000 reposts, causing a storm in the fandom.
Many who watched this video bought tickets for ‘Chasing the Light’, eager to taste the sweet honey while braving the sharp blades. However, after watching the movie, they all joined the “Send Director Ye Blades” squad with red-rimmed eyes.
Twenty days after its release, ‘Chasing the Light’ has grossed 680 million at the box office so far during the summer season, ranking third among movies released during the same period.
This proved that ‘Chasing the Light’ is truly a remarkable film. Although its box office performance was limited by its niche theme and not excessively high, it was undoubtedly a trailblazer in its genre.
The haters wanted to criticize it, but in the face of solid and tangible data, their negative comments couldn’t make any waves.
Of course, this did not mean ‘Chasing the Light’ is perfect and flawless. It’s just that its strengths outshone its weaknesses, meeting audience expectations and overshadowing any minor flaws.
During this period, Flying Melon was so frustrated that he constantly had blisters on his mouth, and he was not the only critic in such a predicament.
As time passed and the positive word-of-mouth for ‘Chasing the Light’ solidified, they still hadn’t been able to gather any substantial negative material. The money Cheng Ran gave them was burning a hole in their pockets.
Some experienced critics, realizing the tide had turned and that further criticism would be futile, ended up returning the money.
Film critic Liu Xiaochuan suffered a major setback with ‘A Farce’ previously. This time, seeing the situation wasn’t favorable, he hesitated but ultimately called Cheng Ran.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Cheng. I’ve returned the money to you. I can’t help you with this. You might want to find someone else.” Liu Xiaochuan’s heart bled as he said those words.
Despite ‘Chasing the Light’ being a niche film, it’s well known that the more niche the circle, the stronger its cohesion and fighting power. The fans in these niche circles may appear laidback, but they don’t back down when faced with issues.
Moreover, a significant portion of these fans were also fans of Geng Bochuan. Who was Geng Bochuan?
He was the infamous “King of Feuds” in the industry. His fans were known to have one of the strongest fighting forces in the entire entertainment circle, constantly engaged in fierce online battles.
With such a dedicated fanbase, it’s no exaggeration to say that although ‘Chasing the Light’ lags behind ‘A Farce’ in terms of popularity, box office, and audience numbers, their ability to combat negative criticism was incomparable.
You can criticize the movie, but you need solid reasoning and a clear logic. If you resort to blind criticism, I’m afraid these fans, who are definitely not herbivores, will make you question your existence with their retorts.
Recently, Liu Xiaochuan was pushed to the brink of a breakdown. For every post he made, fans countered with a response. The situation was far more difficult than when he criticized ‘A Farce.’
Most importantly, these fans did not resort to insults but presented facts and reason with impeccable logic. Apart from giving him a resounding slap in the face, it’s hard to find any flaws in their arguments. For the first time in his long career in new media, Liu Xiaochuan had to disable comments and private messages due to the overwhelming backlash.
In just the past two days, he lost over 10,000 followers. Unable to sustain such losses for an extended period and seeing ‘Chasing the Light’ as a lost cause, Liu Xiaochuan had no choice but to return the money and delete all his posts, slinking away.
Many film critics shared his sentiment. Currently, the only ones still stubbornly fighting against ‘Chasing the Light’ were Flying Melon and a few marketing accounts.
The real person behind the “Flying Melon” persona is Zheng Xiang. He was just over 30 years old. In addition to doing new media and running his Weibo account, Zheng Xiang was also a professional columnist for several film review magazines.
Although he failed with ‘A Farce’, Zheng Xiang gained significant attention from it and accumulated many followers. To maintain his popularity and relevance, Zheng Xiang started planning how to criticize ‘Chasing the Light’ even before its release, working tirelessly during this period.
He originally intended to replicate his previous strategy, gain more followers by criticizing Ye Zhou, and establish himself as the sober voice amidst the drunken crowd. During this time, Zheng Xiang slept less than five hours every night, dedicating all his efforts to combating the “substandard film ‘Chasing the Light’ and its greedy director.”
When he finally posted the negative material he painstakingly gathered, it was already past 4 AM. Zheng Xiang massaged his aching shoulders and, seeing the comments flooding in, the frown he had worn for days finally eased.
He took out his phone, intending to call Cheng Ran to report this good news to his boss. But noticing the time, Zheng Xiang decided against calling and sent a text message instead.
Zheng Xiang: Mr. Cheng, I’ve posted the article on my end. Keep an eye on the trending topics tomorrow. You’ll definitely see a surprise.
After sending the text, exhaustion washed over Zheng Xiang. He tossed his phone aside, and the weight on his chest finally lifted. He slept exceptionally well that night, even dreaming of the tragic scene of Ye Zhou and ‘Chasing the Light’ being harshly criticized by netizens the next day, nearly laughing himself awake.
The next day, Zheng Xiang was woken by his ringtone. Seeing the caller ID, he immediately became alert and answered with a smile, “How about it, Mr. Cheng? Are you satisfied with this surprise?”
Cheng Ran was already in a foul mood, and upon hearing Zheng Xiang’s confident tone, as if seeking praise, his eyes turned red with rage, nearly coughing up blood. “Satisfied? Go online and see for yourself. You’ve been ridiculed to shreds! I won’t be paying the remaining amount. Our cooperation ends here. Mind your mouth, use your brain before speaking, or don’t blame me for being impolite!”
Even after the call was abruptly hung up, Zheng Xiang remained dazed. He sat blankly on his bed for a while before belatedly opening his social media app. Seeing the trending topics, he was dumbstruck.
#GoldenLemonAwardNominations#
#PursuitOfLightGoldenLemonNominated#
Zheng Xiang rubbed his eyes, fearing he was mistaken, and refreshed the app several times. But those two topics remained firmly at the top of the trends. With trembling hands, he tapped in to see…
GoldenLemonAwardsV: The 76th Golden Lemon Awards Nominations Announced [Image]
The Golden Lemon Awards are one of the three most prestigious film awards in the country, annually presenting awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, and Best Editing.
Upon seeing the nominations list, fans were overjoyed, as if celebrating the New Year, because ‘Chasing the Light’ had not only been nominated but secured three nominations: Best Actor, Best Picture, and Best Art Direction.
Unlike the fans’ elation, after verifying the accuracy of the list, Zheng Xiang felt like dying. He had been slapped so hard and loudly that he had no ability to retaliate.
Recalling Cheng Ran’s furious tone earlier, Zheng Xiang swallowed hard, exited the trending topics, and tapped into his own social media page.
Ironically, the negative post he had published the previous night, set as a sticky post for maximum visibility, was still at the top.
There were already over 20,000 comments below, and Zheng Xiang, clinging to a glimmer of hope, opened it to see if anyone was defending him, only to find the top comments filled with ridicule and memes.
It was full of pictures of the Golden Lemon Award nomination list, with three nominations for ‘Chasing the Light’ highlighted with a conspicuous red circle.
Zheng Xiang felt extremely embarrassed, wishing he could go back to last night and swallow this Weibo post back.
But obviously, as the leading anti-fan of ‘Chasing the Light’, even if Zheng Xiang wanted to delete it now, it would be useless. He would only end up being a laughingstock. Instead of backing down, he decided to stick to his stance stubbornly.
Flying Melon V: It’s just a nomination, thousands of movies are nominated every year. Who knows how they got the nomination? Fans are so excited as if they’ve already won an award. Come back to me when you actually win, then you can celebrate[haha].
As expected, after making such a comment, Zheng Xiang was almost bombarded by fans. These days were truly unbearable for him. He had never looked forward to the Golden Lemon Film Festival results as much as now.
As long as ‘Chasing the Light’ didn’t win an award, it would mean that Zheng Xiang’s criticisms held some truth, at least he wouldn’t have to be as intimidated as now.
Although Zheng Xiang’s words sounded harsh, they were the truth. Many movies are nominated each year, but most are just there to make up the numbers, with very low chances of actually winning.
Fans were already overjoyed with just the nominations, without much expectation of winning awards.
But…life is full of surprises. One shouldn’t speak too confidently before the results are announced.
—
Ye Zhou felt a bit awkward as he tied his necktie in front of the mirror. It was the day of the Golden Lemon Film Festival Awards. He had rarely worn a suit. Looking at his reflection, he felt out of place.
After struggling with the tie for ten minutes, Boss Jiang, who was originally working on his laptop on the couch, could no longer stand watching. He put down the computer, walked over to Ye Zhou’s side, took the tie from his hands, and with his slender, fair fingers, effortlessly tied a beautiful knot, solving the problem Ye Zhou had been struggling with for a long time.
Ye Zhou felt a bit embarrassed, trying to save face in front of Boss Jiang, “Well, I just haven’t tied one for too long, so I’m a bit rusty. But I used to be quite good at tying ties back then, really.”
Boss Jiang seemed to be smiling, neither confirming nor denying it. He naturally patted Ye Zhou’s head with his large hand, glanced at his watch, and reminded, “It’s almost seven o’clock. There might be traffic jam, so we should leave early.”
Ye Zhou obediently nodded, looked at himself in the mirror, and asked with some uncertainty, “Jiang-ge, do I look a bit silly like this?”
“You look great,” Jiang Tingyuan said seriously. “Have you memorized your acceptance speech?”
Reassured by Boss Jiang’s affirmation, Ye Zhou felt a little relieved. Hearing him mention the acceptance speech, he immediately laughed: “What acceptance speech? I’m just going for a stroll. Why would I need an acceptance speech?”
Jiang Tingyuan raised his eyebrows, “But what if you actually win…”
“If I actually win, I’ll improvise on the spot.” Ye Zhou looked nonchalant and even coughed lightly, possessed by his acting skills. He raised his hand as if holding a microphone, “I’m really surprised to receive this award. Here, I want to thank my friends who have supported me all the way, especially my Jiang-ge. Without his silent support, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Thank you, Jiang-ge. Thank you, everyone!”
Jiang Tingyuan couldn’t help but laugh at his playfulness and tapped his head, “Alright, let’s go. The driver is waiting outside.”
Ye Zhou shrugged and didn’t forget to tell Boss Jiang before leaving, “Don’t bother watching the live stream. It’s not that interesting. Jiang-ge, focus on your work. I’ll give you a personal recount when I return.”
Watching Ye Zhou’s departing back, Boss Jiang smiled wryly, his gaze lingering for a long time.
The award ceremony officially started at 9 PM. Ye Zhou arrived at the venue at 8 PM. The staff originally arranged for him to walk the red carpet with Geng Bochuan, but Ye Zhou declined.
He pulled Duan Jingyuan from the crowd and pushed him in front of the staff, saying, “I’m just a director, no need for this fuss. I’ll go in with the crew later. Let Xiao Duan go instead.”
Walking the red carpet at major film festivals is often the highlight that audiences and media focus on, a great opportunity for exposure. Since they had come all the way to the film festival, this rare promotional chance, of course, Ye Zhou wanted to give his actor a push.
Caught off guard, Duan Jingyuan looked a bit shy but grateful to Ye Zhou. He wasn’t an ingrate and understood that Ye Zhou did this to create an opportunity for him.
After consulting Geng Bochuan and Ye Zhou, the Golden Lemon staff reluctantly agreed.
After the staff left, Duan Jingyuan thanked Ye Zhou, “Thank you, Director Ye. I’m not very eloquent, so please don’t mind. If there’s anything you need me for in the future, I’ll definitely be there.”
Ye Zhou was amused by him and joked, “By saying that, aren’t you afraid I’ll make you work for free?”
It was just a joke, but unexpectedly, Duan Jingyuan took it seriously and nodded firmly, “I’m not afraid, I’ll even work for free!”
This remark drew laughter from everyone present. Finally, Geng Bochuan couldn’t stand it anymore and put his arm around Duan Jingyuan’s shoulders, saying, “You silly boy, do you have to be so earnest? Director Ye was just joking with you. He’s not short of money and won’t really make you work for free.”
Duan Jingyuan belatedly realized his mistake. Although ‘Chasing the Light’ had a modest investment, the treatment of the cast and crew was excellent.
Having been an extra in many productions before, including some big-budget films, he knew that even in large crews, the good treatment was only for the main cast. For ordinary staff and small crews, the treatment wasn’t much different. It was incomparable to the treatment on the ‘Chasing the Light’ set.
Thinking of this, Duan Jingyuan felt even more embarrassed, his neck turning red, but he still said softly and sincerely, “I… I mean it, as long as you still need me…”
Ye Zhou patted his shoulder and said reassuringly, “Don’t worry, if I need you, I won’t be polite.”
With Ye Zhou’s affirmation, Duan Jingyuan finally relaxed a bit, smiled shyly, and didn’t say anything more.
At 8:30 PM, the stars invited to the film festival began to walk the red carpet. Outside the venue, waves of cheers and screams arose one after another.
Ye Zhou and the rest of the crew waited in the rest area to enter. Everyone watched the broadcast on the wall and chatted occasionally.
After watching for a while, Assistant Director Meng suddenly said to Ye Zhou, “Director Ye, are you nervous?”
“What’s there to be nervous about? I’m not nervous.” Ye Zhou shook his head and texted Boss Jiang while reassuring Assistant Director Meng, “Don’t be nervous either. Although we’re here, don’t be too attached to winning or losing. The important thing is to participate.”
Assistant Director Meng was so stunned that he didn’t know what to say for a long time. The important thing is to participate? Listen, listen, is that something a director should say? If you didn’t know better, you’d think this was an elementary school sports meet!
After holding it in for a long time, Assistant Director Meng couldn’t help but say with his neck stiff, “Getting nominated means we have some competitiveness, a one-in-five chance!”
Ye Zhou looked up from his phone, pointed at the broadcast screen, and said lightly, “Look, who’s that?”
Assistant Director Meng looked in the direction Ye Zhou was pointing and instinctively answered, “Director Kong Wei.”
“Exactly, since Director Kong is here, do you really think we can win an award? Wake up.” Ye Zhou nonchalantly burst Assistant Director Meng’s unrealistic fantasy bubble.
Kong Wei is a renowned domestic director. Although his works may not be the biggest box office hits, they are definitely the most popular at major film awards ceremonies. It’s no exaggeration to say that he truly wins awards until his arms go numb.
“You’re right…” Assistant Director Meng originally wanted to encourage Ye Zhou, but unexpectedly ended up being convinced by him instead, finding his words reasonable and unable to refute.
After all the stars had entered, it was time for the behind-the-scenes crew like Ye Zhou’s team to go in. After coolly signing their names on the wall, they finally made it into the venue.
At 9 PM sharp, the host took the stage center, with clips from previous award ceremonies playing on the screen behind. After reciting the opening lines as usual, the 73rd Golden Lemon Awards officially began.
The award ceremony was broadcast live on major platforms. Almost all social media sites like Weibo and forums were discussing the Golden Lemon Awards, with over 100 million people watching the live stream online.
Fans of different stars were cheering for their idols. Some websites even opened betting pools for netizens to vote on this year’s awards.
In the voting results, ‘Frost Blade’ directed by Kong Wei and starring an acclaimed actor, had an overwhelming lead in first place, followed by other popular films of the year. ‘Chasing the Light’ ranked second to last in the voting, indicating that most people didn’t think it had much chance of winning.
Following tradition, the bigger awards were presented later. Once the minor awards were all handed out, the music and lighting immediately changed, signaling that the main event was finally about to begin.
“The next award is one of the most anticipated every year – Best Actor. Our presenter tonight is Fang Siyu, the director of ‘The Remnant’. Let’s give a warm welcome to Director Fang!”
As the guest presenter took the stage, the previously still screen behind began playing a montage of highlights from the nominated performances.
“This year’s Best Actor is…” As the presenter spoke, the footage froze on a close-up of Geng Bochuan’s character Cheng Ye from ‘Chasing the Light’.
“Geng Bochuan, for his portrayal of Cheng Ye in ‘Chasing the Light’! Congratulations to him!”
When the spotlight hit Geng Bochuan, he was whispering something to Ye Zhou, caught completely off guard by the light. His expression was dazed, almost writing his astonishment on his face.
Ye Zhou was slightly better composed and gave Geng Bochuan a push, “Go, go, go! Hurry and go accept the award!”
Prompted by Ye Zhou, Geng Bochuan finally stood up in a daze and walked slowly to the stage. He received the award, a statuette with a golden lemon, with a blank expression.
Seeing that he didn’t say anything for a long time, the host smiled and tried to ease the situation, “It seems our Bochuan is very surprised. Let’s give him some time to compose himself.”
The audience immediately burst into a round of applause and good-natured laughter.
Amid the applause, Geng Bochuan finally snapped out of it. He pinched his palm secretly to confirm he wasn’t dreaming, then stood before the microphone. He opened his mouth, intending to say something, but before any words came out, his eyes turned red.
For so many years since his debut, he had endured all kinds of doubts and criticism without stopping. Although he sometimes clapped back at overly harsh comments, he never had a decent work to prove himself, making all his explanations seem feeble.
As an actor without any outstanding works, repeatedly criticized for poor acting skills, facing all the doubts and pressure, he appeared tough on the outside, but only he knew the true bitterness and grievances within.
Geng Bochuan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Gripping the microphone, he looked towards the familiar and unfamiliar faces below, his gaze eventually settling on Director Ye Zhou and the ‘Chasing the Light’ crew.
He smiled and began, “Sorry, it’s my first time winning an award, so I’m completely caught off guard and didn’t prepare an acceptance speech. Please bear with me as I say a few words.”
“Standing here, I really want to thank one person – he taught me many things I had never considered before. He tirelessly taught me how to understand, feel, and become the character.”
Geng Bochuan shook the award in his hand, then suddenly took two steps back and deeply bowed toward someone in the audience below.
“Director Ye, thank you.”
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