Chapter 25: It wasn't me, I didn't do it, that's slander

Time ticks forward to December 5th.

Before heading out, looking absolutely stunning, Pang Bing declared with fierce, unbridled confidence, "Yu, you might not believe this, but I’ve realized that the heavens have truly blessed me with talent even more than Zhou Xun."

"The press conference for *The Miracle Boy* is today. I’m playing the third female lead, and I’m going to make sure I crush A-Zhi until she looks like a complete fool."

For the past few days, beauty pageants have remained the hottest topic across the internet in Mainland China and throughout East and Southeast Asia. Massive numbers of internet users have been bypassing firewalls, transforming into fierce keyboard warriors to support the Mainland beauties, cheering them on and engaging in heated flame wars. The internet communities in Japan and South Korea have already been crushed by them several times over.

Pang Bing is attending the *The Miracle Boy* press conference... her acting prowess has soared from 85 to 90, yet another major milestone! With an acting attribute of 90, as long as the connections are in place, winning Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards would be a breeze.

This hasn't really increased Li Wenyu’s accumulated free attribute points—they remain at a meager 11—but he has earned plenty elsewhere; Pang Bing tends to charge into action with great enthusiasm whenever she gets excited.

Li Wenyu chuckled, "So you’ve been looking at my phone, too? I never replied to A-Zhi’s texts asking me to hang out. Is it really worth getting this worked up?"

A-Zhi is certainly a stunner, but he isn't interested in being a relay runner for someone else. If you argue that A-Zhi is "cleaner" than the hostesses he saw at the clubs before his rebirth, that might be true, but he’s been reborn—he can’t keep lowering his standards. Otherwise, what was the point of his rebirth?

Pang Bing loves hearing things like that; she almost felt like giving old Li another reward right there. "No, I have to go to the press conference. Brother Rong is also publicly announcing the significance of 12-22-08 for the first time today. He’ll be there, since he made a guest appearance in *The Miracle Boy*."

"I’m really starting to gain momentum now. *The Shallows* is making its first appearance, and the posters are ready to be promoted."

Li Wenyu nodded. "The online and offline posters, along with the news being spread by the marketing teams, will also push the narrative of you, the former Shanghai Normal University campus belle, representing the Mainland in the competition."

"This play is rock solid. Let’s aim for 60 million Hong Kong dollars in the Hong Kong box office and 100 million RMB in the Mainland. Once the title of the 'Number One Beauty of the New Generation in East and Southeast Asia' lands on you, that hype, combined with the quality of the film, will definitely secure those box office numbers."

By the end of 2001 and the beginning of 2002, this influx of wealth will quickly allow Pang Bing to achieve financial freedom, meaning she won't have to owe Wang Jinghua any more debts.

After sending Pang Bing off, he planned to grab a meal—an actual meal. With his fitness attribute as high as 102, the incredible amount of physical activity involved in "wearing out" Bingbing meant his appetite was naturally quite large.

Just as he called the dining department to place an order, he received an unexpected call: Director Zhang was coming to visit, accompanied by Le Jiatong and Zhang Ziyi.

...

After hesitating for about ten seconds, Li Wenyu decided to meet Director Zhang in a different guest suite; his current room held too much of the "scent" of his recent activities.

A few minutes later, seeing Old Zhang and the two beauties arrive, Li Wenyu reached out to shake hands. "Director Zhang, it's an honor. I grew up watching your films; I really should have been the one to visit you."

He didn't know the purpose of the visit, as the man should have been busy filming *Hero*.

Director Zhang, possessing high emotional intelligence, jumped right into the pleasantries. After a few minutes of small talk, he got to the point. "Director Li, I’m here to learn about film promotion and distribution. My current film, *Hero*, has an investment of 30 million US dollars—260 million RMB. If it fails, it will be the Waterloo of my career."

"Your promotional tactics this time have truly stunned our entire domestic film industry. Who doesn't praise your brilliance and feel admiration when they see what you've done?"

"Xiao Zhang has had some exchanges with Miss Fan, but the relationship isn't quite there yet, so I had to ask junior sister Le to help bridge the gap."

Le Jiatong is currently the "Third Beauty" who has been winning glory for the nation by battling against Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Her market value is skyrocketing, and her advertising contracts have already jumped to 150,000 RMB per spot. Investing 100,000 early on to get on board was definitely a profitable move.

As Le Jiatong and Zhang Ziyi began to show off their own emotional intelligence and butter him up, Li Wenyu felt a bit numb for a few seconds before waving his hand politely. "I heard that you already had a comprehensive distribution plan, Director Zhang? Many people want to learn about this kind of internet-driven hype."

"But the first person to eat the crab always gains the most. After *Hero* is filmed and released next year, even if you want to hold a second 'Number One Beauty of the New Generation' contest or create a beauty ranking, you can."

"But Ziyi, I'm not saying you aren't beautiful—aesthetics are just too subjective. Everyone likes different things. I feel that unless you spend a massive amount of money to buy a ranking, it will be very difficult for you to break into the top ten."

"If someone who isn't ranked ends up as the number one beauty, the public will definitely suspect a massive scandal."

Zhang Ziyi, who had been busy showing off her social skills, almost lost her composure and started swearing. What did he mean by "can't even reach the top ten"? No wonder this guy chose Pang Bing—his taste is terrible. She had been incredibly dissatisfied that Pang Bing could pull off such an upset, and now she felt even more frustrated that he had chosen Pang Bing for personal visual preferences. If the acting quality were to fall flat, it would surely lead to a disastrous ending for such a major project.

If Pang Bing’s acting failed, even if they swindled a huge fortune like *The Blair Witch Project*, the reputation would still collapse—and it would be Li Wenyu’s reputation that suffered. Zhang Ziyi had been filming *Hero* and didn't have a very clear understanding of the outside world.

Le Jiatong smiled and said, "Sister Ziyi, your status was earned through your acting skills. Director Zhang has personally certified that, and the whole world knows it."

Old Zhang also wanted to laugh, but he held it back and nodded. "Director Li is right. Aesthetics are too subjective. Just like Xiao Li—I mean Ziyi—you are an actress who relies on talent, so you must believe in your own strength."

"Our team also has an overwhelming plan for light boxes, billboard advertisements, and cinema posters, followed by ads on several CCTV channels, hundreds of local stations across the country, and various other types of saturation bombing, including bundling with mobile phone ads."

"I am here to learn about online promotion from you, Director Li."

"If you are willing to help, I can't change my current film, but for my next project, I will at least save a role for you, Director Li—a second female lead. You can recommend whoever you want. I would truly reserve the role for Miss Fan, but after *The Shallows*, her star power will be so high that she might not even look at it."

"But if she is willing to cooperate with me, and her acting is suitable, having her play the female lead would be a powerful collaboration."

Zhang Ziyi almost lost her composure and coughed up blood again! She was a supporting actress in *Hero*—a supporting actress! She had given up so many opportunities and other offers to focus on being a supporting role. Wasn't that all for the sake of getting a lead role next time? This old man is playing dirty!

Li Wenyu thought this was fine. Regardless of the future, Old Zhang’s *Hero* would go on to gross 1.4 billion RMB worldwide with a decent reputation, truly opening up the landscape for Chinese blockbusters. *Hero*’s overseas sales were even more profitable than *The Shallows*! Although that "poetry-loving genius" ruined the market expectations with his film *The Promise*, the Director’s contribution to the Mainland film scene was truly significant.

As they chatted, the food delivery arrived. Director Zhang felt dizzy—watching him eat at nine in the morning? Should they eat together? Everything felt a bit chaotic.

Director Zhang soon left with Zhang Ziyi, agreeing to chat more over dinner later.

Le Jiatong stayed behind for a moment. Under Li Wenyu’s puzzled gaze, the senior sister smiled and whispered, "Director Li, I heard you want to collaborate with Sister Min and put a 'hat' on the Ni family? Take a piece of advice from your senior sister: messing with someone who has a boyfriend is prone to trouble. If you’re interested, I’m always available."

"I will definitely take good care of you. I’m not greedy for Sister Bingbing’s position; when you get tired of me, I’ll leave. I’d be more than satisfied just getting that second female lead role from Director Zhang."

Li Wenyu almost choked on his own blood. "I didn't, I don't, that's slander!"

Who the hell was spreading such rumors? He was absolutely not that kind of person!

Le Jiatong had a bit of a "social media influencer" look, but she hadn't gone under the knife. Her skin was a bit tan, but she still had that distinct charm of a Sichuan-Chongqing girl.

He said again, "Where did you hear that rumor? How many people have you told? I just want some peace and quiet!"