Global Film Emperor

Chapter 297 Returning to China
Even with his round-trip flights, Lu Ze only had five days. His first trip abroad for work and travel came to an end amidst a tight schedule. Overall, the trip was quite pleasant. The only thing that bothered Lu Ze was the entertainment reporters waiting for him at the airport after he returned to China.

"Lu Ze, were you mentally prepared for not being selected for the Cannes Film Festival? This is your first time participating in an international film festival and you've already been rejected. How do you feel right now?"

A female reporter nearly shoved the microphone into Lu Ze's mouth. There were many other reporters pushing and shoving behind him, but she managed to stand at the very front and asked Lu Ze this question that deliberately reopened old wounds.

Instantly, Lu Ze's previously good mood turned sour. No one likes to be forced to talk about their failure, even though Lu Ze had already accepted the fact of failure in his heart.

Without giving the annoying female reporter a hard time, but also without offering her a helping hand, Lu Ze adjusted his backpack with both hands, glanced at the reporter, and replied, "It's alright."

The failure to win the Cannes Best Actor award doesn't mean anything, after all, "To Live" is still recognized by film fans in China and Europe. However, this also marks the end of Lu Ze's legendary record of winning every nomination.

While Lu Ze's achievements are still worthy of recognition, the legendary aura he once enjoyed has faded considerably. His golden status has been shattered, and his legend has come to an end. It is not tragic, but it is a pity.

"Lu Ze, do you think your failure to win an award is related to your own abilities, or is the Cannes Film Festival simply not friendly to Asians? Do you still plan to participate in the Cannes Film Festival in the future?"

The other male reporter's question wasn't exactly malicious, but any artist with a brain wouldn't express dissatisfaction with the film festival organizers—that's the rule—so this question was unlikely to get anywhere with him.

But anything can happen. Maybe Lu Ze will be like that American actor before, angry about not winning an award, and then launch into a tirade against the organizers? This reporter is just trying his luck. If Lu Ze gets carried away and really vents his frustration, that would be big news.

"Your skills are inferior, so I admit defeat. Also, I suggest you get your head checked; there's definitely something wrong with you."

Actually, it's not so bad to have old wounds reopened. Lu Ze is unhappy, but he can easily hold back and won't easily fall out with the reporters. What he fears most are these kinds of reporters who set him up and hope he makes enemies. In the end, he'll be in a mess while they're counting their money and watching the show with glee. Lu Ze really hates these kinds of people.

"You can refuse interviews, but there's no need to mock me, is there?"

"I'm sorry, Lu Ze is not giving interviews right now. Please put your cameras away. Thank you for your cooperation. Those in the back, please stop taking pictures. Thank you all."

Shen Jinghan burst out from the crowd, stopped the surrounding reporters, had Liu Bin take Lu Ze's suitcase, and led Lu Ze away from the airport.

"Lu Ze! It's okay! Try harder next time! You'll definitely win next time! Don't be discouraged! Keep making good movies for us! Awards aren't important! The important thing is to be yourself! Keep going!"

Behind the reporter were fans who came to greet Lu Ze, offering him countless words of comfort and encouragement. Although they hadn't come to the airport specifically to pick him up, they had simply stopped for a while after hearing that Lu Ze was getting off the plane. However, Lu Ze could still feel the sincere blessings in their words.

In fact, Lu Ze has never enjoyed the treatment of being greeted by a large number of fans at the airport. Usually, only fans who are passing by the airport recognize Lu Ze when he is fully armed and come over to ask for autographs and photos. But compared to being blocked by a huge crowd at the airport, Lu Ze feels that this way of interacting with fans is more relaxed for him.

"I'm so sorry to have disappointed everyone. I apologize to everyone."

If there's one thing that makes Lu Ze feel guilty about this defeat at the Palme d'Or, it's his fans who had such high expectations for him.

This apology was absolutely necessary. He wasn't a man who liked to disappoint people, so he really wanted to say it to these people.

"It's okay! Try again! I believe in you! Go for it, Lu Ze."

There were no thunderous shouts, no flushed-faced fans; instead, the cheers were somewhat uneven, clearly indicating a lack of organized training, and some shy people were too embarrassed to speak up.

It's impossible not to be moved. Lu Ze had nothing to repay his fans with, so he simply agreed to their wishes, went over to take photos with them, and left his autograph.

"Mr. Lu, it's almost time. People from the following flights are about to disembark. Please leave quickly, otherwise it could cause airport congestion, which is something none of us want to see." Airport police and security personnel gently reminded Lu Ze. Lu Ze could only apologize to the fans who hadn't signed autographs or taken photos with him, and then got into the car with Liu Bin and Shen Jinghan.

This relieved the police, and their impression of Lu Ze's fans improved. As security personnel at Hongkou Airport, they deal with many celebrities passing by the airport almost every day.

They've seen far too many rude fans who crowd, shout, obstruct pedestrians, and even cause minor stampedes. Fans like Lu Ze's, who consciously queue, speak softly, and give way to passersby, are truly rare, far too rare.

This might be because Lu Ze's fans are mostly older, making them more rational. They asked for autographs and photos and left without causing trouble for the airport or other fans. This behavior earned the approval of everyone present, including passersby. These people are truly admirable.

"Aze, where are we going now? Should we go home and rest?"

In the driver's seat, after starting the engine, Liu Bin looked in the rearview mirror and saw Lu Ze, who was clearly jet-lagged and looked exhausted, and asked softly.

"No, I'll go straight to the company. I have some things to discuss. You'll probably have to wait for me at the company for a few hours before I go home to rest."

The moment Lu Ze got off the plane, the first thing he thought of was Huang Liu and Deng Bo's group. Lu Ze had called them over, then went to France and left them at Qian Shijia. That was already quite a big deal. Now that he was back in Shanghai, if he didn't rush back to check on them immediately, it would seem like he was being a bit inconsiderate.

Shen Jinghan understood Lu Ze, so he didn't stop him. Lu Ze had important matters to attend to, so he let him go ahead and do them. Otherwise, even if he advised Lu Ze to go back and rest, Lu Ze wouldn't listen.

Along the way, I explained to Lu Ze the impact of his failure to be selected. Although the incident did not cause a big stir, it still had some impact, at least creating a lot of news headlines.

As for the online trolls who have been smearing Lu Ze since yesterday, she didn't go into details with him. What else could they say? How offensive and abusive were they really? She just told Lu Ze that the company had already resolved the matter and that he didn't need to worry.

After talking for about ten minutes, Lu Ze started snoring softly in his seat. Shen Jinghan felt a little sorry for him and signaled Liu Bin to turn up the air conditioning temperature and slow down the car so that he could sleep a little longer.

As a result, it was more than two hours later when they arrived at Qian Shijia. Lu Ze was woken up by Shen Jinghan. He rubbed his eyes, shook the watch chain stuck on his wrist, drank some water to relieve his thirst, and then opened his squinty eyes and got on the elevator.

"Hey, when did you get back? You don't look well. You should rest."

As soon as he opened the door, Huang Liu greeted Lu Ze with a water glass in hand. Seeing that Lu Ze looked unwell, he offered him some words of comfort with concern.

"Sixth Brother, Brother Bo, I'm just jet-lagged, it's nothing. How's the progress these past few days? Wow, what have you written? What is all this?"

Several large stacks of A4 paper were placed on the conference room table. Lu Ze reached out and took a look. The handwriting on it was messy and scribbled, and Lu Ze couldn't understand it for a moment.

"You'd be lucky to understand this. These are all creative drafts. This is only about a third of what I wrote in the last few days. The rest were all shredded. You sit down, we're not going to bother with you anymore. Let's continue talking."

The conversation ended, and Lu Ze sat down in his chair, took a cup of tea poured by his assistant, took a sip, and listened to their constant arguing, as if the brothers' relationship was about to fall apart.

As he listened, drowsiness washed over him again. He told the five screenwriters, went to the sofa in his office next door, lay down, put on a coat, and fell into a deep sleep.

"."

(End of this chapter)