Chapter 46 Give that old man a surprise
In a private room of a hotel, people were toasting each other at the table.

Several female stars wearing sexy clothes were flitting among the crowd like butterflies.

From time to time, they toasted to the powerful people, showing off their eloquence, lowering their profile, displaying their charm, or making hints, smiling, and promoting themselves.

Several old men blushed, talked loudly, and enjoyed their compliments.

Among them, the focus of the whole audience was on Lu Zhuofeng.

If he sneezed, the whole room would fall silent; if he had a runny nose, there would be a dozen hands catching it.

"Director Lu, I wish you a big box office success again. I hope you can break your record and create greater glory!" A middle-aged man with a big belly toasted Lu Zhuofeng.

The person who gave the toast is Chen Jianfeng, the vice president of marketing of Quanzhou Pictures. He is responsible for many aspects of the business. In addition to maintaining and enhancing the brand image of Quanzhou Pictures and its film products, he also plans and organizes various marketing activities, including film publicity, promotional activities, advertising, etc.

Connecting with various film companies is also one of its businesses.

Lu Zhuofeng has a rigid face covered with wrinkles, and he often appears to be intimidating without being angry, but once he smiles, he gives people a rather vulgar feeling.

At this moment, he was smiling.

He picked up the wine glass, took a sip and said:
"Haha, Mr. Chen, I accept your words. For this movie, I tell you, the box office is secondary. I want to break through myself again and make it the peak of Tianxia's film history to prove myself."

As he spoke, Lu Zhuofeng began to talk attentively about his creative philosophy.

Chen Jianfeng spared no effort to flatter him, and the two of them had a very pleasant conversation.

Later, Chen Jianfeng toasted Lu Zhuofeng with another glass of wine and said:

“Director Lu, thank you so much for adjusting the release date. You helped us to strike down Vance’s arrogance. Even if there is a one in ten thousand chance, we can’t just sit back and watch All or Nothing become a hit, even if Vance is only responsible for the promotion of this movie! We just want to let Vance know that they can run a theater chain, but they can’t get involved in film production!”

Lu Zhuofeng interrupted, "Mr. Chen, I, Lu, cannot get involved in your affairs with Vance Films, nor do I care. I am doing this just to prevent my words from falling into disgrace! I said to ban Wen Lian, and no one can use her!"

Mr. Chen smiled and said, "I know, of course I know that 'All or Nothing' is not to your liking, but you have helped us, and I cannot refuse this favor. Otherwise, if it gets out, wouldn't it be considered that I am not a good person?"

Lu Zhuofeng smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, you are just too polite."

The two smiled at each other, and the atmosphere seemed to become more harmonious.

Lu Zhuofeng picked up the wine glass again, clinked it lightly with Chen Jianfeng, and then drank it all in one gulp.

Chen Jianfeng said calmly: "Director Lu, in this circle, sometimes favors are more important than anything else. I helped you, and you helped me, this is the exchange of favors. As for Wan Si, Wen Lian, and Cheng Cheng, they are just passers-by in this circle, not worth mentioning."

Lu Zhuofeng also sneered: "Human relations, mutual benefit and win-win, this is the survival rule of our circle. Wen Lian can't adapt to it, and is destined to be just a passing cloud."

During the conversation, the two never looked Cheng Cheng and Wen Lian in the eye. Even though their movies were released at the same time, and even though there was only a one in ten thousand chance that Cheng Cheng's "All or Nothing" would pose a threat to them, they seemed to have foreseen the outcome in advance, as if they had seen "All or Nothing" struggling to survive under the crushing pressure from Lu Zhuofeng.

Of course, this is consistent with everyone's perception.

It is obvious that a movie directed by a newcomer with a group of unknown stars will not achieve high box office. How can it compete with Lu Zhuofeng, one of the top three directors in China?

At the end of the banquet, Chen Jianfeng winked at a female star.

The actress quickly understood, twisted her waist, followed, supported Lu Zhuofeng, and got into the car with Lu Zhuofeng.

-

"I'm sorry Director Cheng, I didn't expect that I would cause trouble for everyone."

Wen Lian called. She had learned from Beret the inside story of the early release of the movie. She knew that it was because of her that Lu Zhuofeng put "All or Nothing" on the National Day schedule. If "All or Nothing" was forced to abort because of her and everyone's hopes were dashed, she would find it hard to forgive herself.

Cheng Cheng asked: "Did you know?"

Wen Lian: "Yes, I learned it from Dao Dao."

Cheng Cheng: "Didn't I tell him not to tell you?"

Wen Lian covered her face: "Director Dao let it slip."

Cheng Cheng: "Is his mouth a floor drain? Can this leak?!"

Wen Lian said, "Director Cheng, don't blame Director Dao. It's good that I know the truth. At least there is still room for maneuver. Lu Zhuofeng actually wants me. He didn't like me on the show that year, not because he wanted to promote another actor, but because he hinted to me that he wanted to take advantage of me. I rejected him, so he was angry and suppressed me. Now it's just a replay of what happened that year. As long as he gets me, there will be a chance of turning around."

What prompted Wen Lian to make this decision was Yan Gou'er's expectant look when she said on the set that this was her first movie in her life;
It is Li Yang's superb acting skills that he has honed through the hard work of performing hundreds of plays;

It was Qi Hao's long-cherished wish to get rid of being an online movie actor, which had become almost insane;

It was Cheng Cheng's courage to give it one more try even if he had to sell his house or risk everything.

It was a day and night of hard work by hundreds of people in the crew.

Wen Lian had never been in a crew where everyone got along so harmoniously. There was no intrigue, only sincerity and kindness; no open or secret fighting, only working together; no criticism or scolding, only mutual support and encouragement.

Does she want to throw herself into his arms?
Does she want to offer herself to an old man?

She doesn't want to!
If she had wanted to, she wouldn't have wasted these years.

But there is no way!

She didn't want to let everyone's hopes go to waste! She didn't want Yan Gou'er's first movie to become a joke, she didn't want Li Yang to be mocked again, she didn't want Qi Hao to lose the opportunity to transform into a serious actor, and she didn't want Director Cheng to be left with nothing.

That was all she could do.

It was all she could do.

Cheng Cheng: "I've decided."

Wen Lian: "I'll call him right away—"

Cheng Cheng: "I want to ban Lu Zhuofeng."

Wen Lian: “?”

"That's right!" Cheng Cheng repeated, "People like Lu Zhuofeng are real scum, the dregs of the entertainment industry, the dark side of society, the beasts among humans, and bastards. I declare that from now on, Lu Zhuofeng will be completely banned! I will not use any of Lu Zhuofeng's favorite actors or actresses, I will not appear on any show with Lu Zhuofeng, and if Lu Zhuofeng releases a movie, I will snipe his movie!"

Wen Lian was at a loss for words. Although Director Cheng's mental state was as bad as ever, and it still made her feel at ease, but -

What's the use of your ban?
Just like the leader of a small country announced sanctions against Serbia, does Serbia care?
Wen Lian took a deep breath and said, "Director Cheng, please let me go."

Cheng Cheng interrupted, "Why are you going? If you go, I will expose you on the Internet."

Wen Lian again:?
Cheng Cheng: "I already have a plan. Since he wants to snipe us, let's give that old man a big surprise!"

(End of this chapter)