Chapter 033: They’re Practically Going Crazy with Envy and Jealousy! [Please Keep Reading]

Under the cover of night on a new day, Leslie Cheung’s concert in the capital was in full swing, with countless fans nearly bursting the massive venue at the seams. Thanks to the concert news and relentless promotion, the advertisements and posters for "The Shallows," pushed by CCTV, were also steadily infiltrating major cities. By now, the most widely known piece of information across the streets and alleys of China was that "The Shallows" would premiere this Saturday at 8:00 AM.

At a film shooting base in a certain province, Zhang Yimou, sitting behind the monitor to oversee the night scenes, felt Zhang Ziyi passing by him again and again. When she passed for the fifth time, the director couldn't help but cough a few times. "Ziyi, you don't have any scenes these next few days. If you want to go out for a breather, or catch a concert or a movie, just go. Do you need me to help you get a ticket?"

Zhang Ziyi was overjoyed. "Thank you, Director! There’s no need to go through that trouble; I can get a ticket myself. I wish our crew an early wrap and global box office success!" After saying a few pleasantries, she scurried off. Tickets? Whether it was a concert or a movie, where were there no scalpers? Anything that could be solved with a little money wasn't a real problem, and she certainly wouldn't waste personal favors on such trifles.

As she drove away, her older brother—who was also her agent—coughed and said, "I have some bad news for you: you’ve been pushed out of the top twenty in the Tencent Asian Most Beautiful Faces rankings again."

For days now, Tencent had been sending one or two pop-up reminders daily to every logged-in user, urging them to support the first annual 21st Century Asian Most Beautiful Faces contest. Even if your favorite idol had a lower ranking, the spirit of "winning glory for the country" against Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, and even the Middle East was strong. The desire to win glory for one's nation was a point of pride.

Originally, the list was driven by internet trolls from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, but soon, Jun Ji-hyun, Kim Hee-sun, and various Japanese beauties joined the fray. Even netizens from India got involved, and once they started voting, two Indian beauties surged into the top fifty. It gradually became a matter of widespread curiosity and attention across Asia. People are inherently drawn to beauty, and the vast majority of men are visual creatures—even a sixty-year-old likes to look at pretty girls. When someone even managed to push some Middle Eastern princesses into the top fifty, the "Asian Most Beautiful Faces" list, curated by Asian netizens, gained significant prestige. Previous beauty pageants like Miss Hong Kong or Miss Asia never featured Middle Eastern royalty.

As of now, Fan Bingbing dominated the rankings with over 22 million votes, under a rule that allowed only one vote per registered account, making her status as the most beautiful in Asia unshakable.

Cecilia Cheung was in second place with over 13 million votes, and Jun Ji-hyun followed as the third-place finisher with over 11 million. As for Gao Yuanyuan in tenth place, she had 390,000 votes, while the twentieth spot held just over 100,000. The gap was absurdly large.

Pony Ma of Tencent was almost in tears; with a one-vote-per-account rule, that meant theoretically, Fan Bingbing had over 22 million registered users voting for her. The top three in Asia alone accounted for 46 million registered voters. It was worth noting that in 2001, Tencent only had a little over 50 million registered users—a level of engagement that could command tens of millions of dollars in financing.

But the crucial part was this: in early December, Leslie Cheung had publicly declared that among the new generation of actresses he had worked with, Fan Bingbing was the most beautiful, kind-hearted, and talented, calling on his fans to vote for her. By mid-month, Andy Lau and Joey Wong had done the same. Three days ago, Rosamund Kwan—an icon who had outshone an entire era and made many wealthy socialites anxious—publicly told the media that if one had to name the best-looking of the younger generation, it was definitely Fan Bingbing. She remarked that she herself, at twenty years younger, would only be on par with her. Just yesterday, Sharla Cheung had joined in the praise.

Even if many argued in various forums that the contest was rigged, you couldn't convince the fans of these legendary superstars—they simply wouldn't stand for it. Could you really doubt that so many icons could rally over 20 million fans to cast a vote?

Fortunately, Pony Ma didn't have to worry for too long; Tencent’s user base would break 100 million by March 2002. Fan Bingbing also led the mainland version of the rankings with over 18 million votes, followed by Hu Jing with 11 million—rumored to be the result of a wealthy tycoon buying votes online just to amuse his favorite beauty. Even Zhao Wei had surged to over 6 million votes in the mainland rankings, barely clinging to the tenth spot.

Outside the top tier, a massive wave of actresses from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, India, and beyond were already on the verge of falling out of the top thirty.

Zhang Ziyi was furious. "I am a major star who has made a name for myself internationally, and now I’m reduced to the same level as two students from the Beijing Film Academy?" She muttered, "That woman surnamed Fan is shameless! How can she get so carried away just because of a face? Let her float; I don't believe her acting can keep up on the big screen. The higher she flies now, the more she’ll collapse when everyone mocks her acting later."

She couldn't believe she had been bested by a girl who... well, it was infuriating.

Her brother hesitated but eventually spoke up after the car had traveled a few hundred meters. "I’ve asked around among theater owners who saw the preview reels. They all say that the Fan girl acts quite well. The theater owners claim the whole film is thrilling and tense, and that the audience is completely drawn in—no one said they were taken out of the experience."

Zhang Ziyi still refused to believe it. "I’ll call up Zhao Wei and Xu Jinglei. As part of the 'Four Dan Actresses,' I don't believe they’ll be convinced that they’re being beaten by someone with the face of a maid." She felt Zhao Wei was the one who... well, never mind. She would organize a group to watch "The Shallows" at 8:00 AM on the 22nd. They would definitely have to critique and talk trash about Fan Bingbing to vent their frustration!

How much had she sacrificed to appear in Jackie Chan’s "Rush Hour"? How much had she put into "The Legend of Zu" and "Warrior"? And that was with "The Road Home" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" as her foundation! She had started as a film star, yet now she was being crushed by a small maid from "My Fair Princess."

Zhang Ziyi contacted Zhao Wei, and as soon as she brought it up, Zhao Wei replied briskly, "We’ll book a private screening on the 22nd. We won't be the only ones—from the Central Academy of Drama to the Beijing Film Academy and the Shanghai Theatre Academy, there are plenty of graduates and students who want to get together to look down on her acting skills. What kind of nonsense is this? 'Asian Most Beautiful Face,' dominating the top spot by a huge margin? Pfft, she just met the right man."

"Those who praise her acting are definitely just doing it to save face for Leslie Cheung and Director Li, blowing smoke with their eyes closed. Are there really so few precedents in this circle of people giving face to big shots by blindly praising them?"

"The least trustworthy thing is expert opinion spread by word of mouth!"

Zhao Wei, having learned about the terror of second-generation elites and capital through her current boyfriend, had completely awakened into a powerhouse. Yet, she was still insanely jealous! Even big stars like Huang Xiaoming and Alec Su were like lapdogs to her, so why her? A certain Mr. Li clearly had questionable taste, yet he had single-handedly propped Fan Bingbing up as the number one "Asian Most Beautiful Face."

If this became a precedent, with year after year of rankings, the countless Asian netizens across the web would never forget Fan Bingbing as the founding queen. Word had it that some major European and American luxury brands were already contacting Fan Bingbing’s agent to discuss collaborations. No matter what anyone said, 20 million votes in ten days, involving regions as far as West Asia and India—it was a marketing gimmick with massive impact!