Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 590 Deception! Keep deceiving! Jing Tian gets a bargain!

To attract everyone's attention in a crowd.

If you can't do something amazing, then say something amazing.

In terms of details, what is called 'amazing'?

It's possible they're lying, or even just bragging, making things sound incredibly exaggerated and unrealistic.

However, it could also be the other way around.

In other words, what you're saying is the truth, but everyone probably knows this truth in their hearts, yet no one says it aloud.

And so, that classic fairy tale came about.

The Emperor's New Clothes.

As for this story, Lu Xun once pointed out that it was plagiarized, specifically from a European work.

However, as academic research has deepened, it has become clear that "The Emperor's New Clothes" is remarkably similar to a story in a Chinese book called "Biographies of Eminent Monks" from a long time ago.

It's called "A Thread of Emptiness".

Just by listening to the name, you can actually make a judgment; you don't even need to look at the content. They are basically similar.

So, does this mean that the so-called cultural roots of the West are actually in the East?

If I said this out loud, many people probably wouldn't believe it.

However, it must be said that Ma Xun's words this time did not seem to be intended to attract these people's attention.

In other words, he was simply telling the truth.

They even said things like, "The Warlords" lost so much money.

It's obvious that this guy wants to be the kid who tells the truth.

So, how did others react?

"Ah... Mr. Ma is joking. This film, 'The Warlords,' didn't lose any money."

"That's right, this movie has grossed at least 200 million at the box office... and that's only in mainland China."

Lin Jianyue and Jiang Zhiqiang are bosses in Hong Kong.

This statement seems to imply a defense of Hong Kong cinema.

"The Warlords" is said to be a co-production between mainland China and Hong Kong, but here in Hong Kong, they consider it a Hong Kong film, and there's no problem with that.

Ma Xun smiled after hearing this, "Indeed, two hundred million in box office."

Does emphasizing this sentence indicate agreement?
For some reason, it gives off an even more sinister feeling.

Qin Hong and the others couldn't stand it anymore.

“Ma Xun, what you’re saying is completely baseless and clearly just a publicity stunt!”

Qin Hong has always had a grudge against Ma Xun, so it's absolutely necessary for him to jump out and criticize him now.

Ma Xun smiled and said, "Whether it's just a publicity stunt or not, everyone knows the answer. As for the basis for it, I won't explain."

Sometimes it's like this, for example, I turn my back and throw a brick in the direction of a group of cute dogs.

But I don't even need to look to know which dog got hit.

"Mr. Qin, why do you think this is?"

what?
Is Ma Xun really into storytelling now? He was telling "The Emperor's New Clothes" just a moment ago, and now he's doing this?
Qin Hong was completely stunned; he never expected Ma Xun to bring up such an unrelated scenario.

How would I know why?

That's a great question; many bosses haven't even realized it yet.

Ma Xun smiled and gave an answer, "It's that simple, the one that gets hit will scream, right?"

A stone hits a dog, and it barks?

Damn! You using it here... actually makes a lot of sense.

At least, after this explanation, some bosses turned ashen-faced, while others couldn't help but chuckle.

After all, not everyone has submitted their "pledge of allegiance" to the Warlords.

The most complicated one has to be Lin Jianyue.

Lin Jianyue also voted, but he wasn't a key figure. After hearing Ma Xun's "throwing a stone at a dog" comment, he was caught between being angry and laughing.

He didn't invest much, so he lost less money, but as for this laugh... hehe, he really wanted to laugh.

Lin Jianyue was very happy to see that the Long Wu brothers had lost a lot of money.

Thinking back to what happened at the Hong Kong Film Awards when "Days of Being Wild" was released... the Lung Wu brothers were there at the time, and they were even shown on camera.

Of course, they had great respect for Boss Deng Guangrong at the time, and they didn't smile from beginning to end. Especially when the Boss went up to accept the award, he spoke eloquently, and everyone applauded.

The big shot lost a lot of money back then!
The entire Hong Kong film industry panicked, and everyone agreed to give him a Hong Kong Film Award as compensation.

This was done... way too obviously.

Who has ever seen an investor go up to receive an award?

The Best Picture award is usually won by the director.

Therefore, everyone is well aware that the Hong Kong Film Awards are sometimes a form of 'compensation'.

Some big shots fail in their investments, so they get a prize or some extra money.

Now, is the story of "The Warlords" about to be repeated?

But then Lin Jianyue came up with a rather sinister idea.

He simply walked closer to Ma Xun and said with a smile, "Brother Ma, don't worry, Fifth Brother won't be going on stage to accept the award."

Hey!
Lin Jianyue's performance was really interesting.

Was he trying to smooth things over with those words?

Or is it a loss for Dragon Five?
Thirteen Young Master still needs to receive medical treatment in the capital, so the only one who can attend when he returns is definitely Long Wu.

Lin Jianyue's words effectively blocked Long Wu's path to the stage to receive the award.

He never had the same status in the underworld as the big boss he once had.

This fat Lin is really something.

But what's most interesting now is everyone's reaction.

Lin Jianyue's behavior at this moment fully illustrates one thing.

The financial tycoons in Hong Kong are not a monolithic entity; they are not united internally.

Although we do business together and often invest together, in reality... if there's a chance to cheat, we'll definitely not let it go!

At this point, Ma Xun's goal can be said to have been achieved.

He's not here to be the child in "The Emperor's New Clothes," he's here to be a troublemaker.

He also had another purpose.

"Lust, Caution" was also nominated for the Asian Film Awards, and Ma Xun remembers that this film was the one that ultimately won the award.

This kind of movie, which whitewashes traitors, won this kind of award.

Ma Xun thought it would be better to release a better movie instead.

That is to say...

"Mr. Jia, have I made the atmosphere of this banquet..."

Ma Xun suddenly turned to Jia Yueting, catching Jia Yueting somewhat off guard.

The main reason is that this guy was watching the show the whole time, and he seemed to be enjoying it very much.

Ma Xun's attack was purely a surprise attack.

Jia Yueting quickly replied, "How could that be? We've always been very open and honest with each other."

This guy didn't give a direct answer, but he didn't deny Ma Xun either.

That's okay too.

Ma Xun continued, "I am actually still focused on our film. This film, 'Getting Home,' has received excellent reviews. How can such a great film be buried?"

Oh, as soon as he said that, everyone realized that the whole topic had taken a different turn.

Ma Xun did indeed criticize other films before, but now he's bringing up the reputation of "Getting Home".

Isn't this an act of righteous indignation?
Putting Ma Xun's meaning together, it is:

You can't let "The Warlords" win a lot of awards just because it lost money.

The real winner should be our "Return to Roots".

I, Ma Xunfa, did it to maintain the authority of the Hong Kong Film Awards!

Yes, the award should be given because of the film, not because of whether it made money or not!

So... Ma Xun is really something!
Jia Yueting understood what this meant at that moment, but she didn't know what to do.

This guy can actually be quite hesitant at times.

Seeing this, Ma Xun realized that it was enough.

"Everyone, I went a bit too far with my words just now, it was really..."

I was just about to say sorry, to smooth things over.

Unexpectedly, Lin Jianyue interrupted him, "Oh! Mr. Ma is right! The Hong Kong Film Awards should be judged on the quality of the films!"

This is interesting, really interesting.

The key point is that this made the atmosphere much better.

Jia Yueting laughed along, "Come on, let's open another bottle of good wine."

The banquet ended as if nothing had ever happened.

It's a joyful time.

……

Another corner of the banquet.

"This Mr. Ma seems a bit strange."

"He's not weird, it's just that his way of doing things is rather unpredictable."

"Sister Bingbing, do you really like him?"

"Please don't say that, I'm embarrassed."

Bingbing is very good at this; she and Gan Wei had a very congenial conversation.

However, their conversation mainly focused on men.

This isn't Bingbing's problem; it's that Gan Wei keeps glancing at Jia Yueting. Clearly, this girl is in love.

Bingbing felt sorry for her because girls like her often didn't have a good ending.

Okay, Bingbing's thinking is still not accurate enough.

To be precise, years later, when Jia Yueting ran away to the United States and never came back, leaving behind so much debt, most of it was paid off by Gan Wei.

Is Gan Wei's act of spreading rumors ultimately tragic, or just plain tragic?
I don't know, but at least she truly believes in love now.

Bingbing wanted to talk more about the movie.

"Little sister, your company, Leshi, has been developing very well lately."

"That was all caused by the men..."

"I don't believe you have no plans."

"Oh dear, what does Sister Bingbing mean by that?"

"Little sister, you've learned a lot at the military arts academy, haven't you? Are you really just going to get married and become a housewife?"

That's so accurate!

It struck Gan Wei directly into the depths of her heart.

"me……"

Seeing this, Bingbing simply grabbed Gan Wei's hand and said, "I've made some money in the industry over the years. If you want to do business in film and television, we can team up."

To be honest, Bingbing's words really made Gan Wei's heart itch.

"This, this is not good."

"How about I take on a role and help you out?"

"Thank you so much, Sister Bingbing."

Okay, that's equivalent to agreeing!
When Gan Wei said this, she had a strange feeling in her heart.

It's like betraying Jia Yueting.

Ok?
Seriously, why do I feel this way?
Just then, someone else appeared.

"Good evening, everyone."

It's Zhang Jingchu!

Her arrival wouldn't normally be anything special, but today, she's really different.

Because he was dressed very extravagantly, and in terms of his demeanor... he was arrogant and haughty.

what's the situation?
“She…” Gan Wei was a little confused.

"Hmph! So what if she's nominated for Best Actress?" Bingbing's words were full of the competitive atmosphere between female celebrities in the entertainment industry.

That's right, Zhang Jingchu was nominated for Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards for her role in "Protégé".

One point must be emphasized.

That is, being shortlisted for an award is a reward in itself.

For example, the Cannes Film Festival, we've all heard of the main competition section.

To put it simply, just being shortlisted for this main competition is considered a reward.

As for the later Palme d'Or, there was only one.

Even if they don't win the Palme d'Or, just being shortlisted is a pretty good achievement in the industry.

This is an open rule in the industry, but I should mention the Japanese Academy Awards again.

It's really bizarre. All the finalists have to go on stage and receive a certificate, but the winner gets an extra trophy.

That's basically the idea.

Although not winning the award did feel quite disheartening, the fact that this award was broadcast live on television made it the only film award in Japan to be broadcast live on television.

Returning to the Hong Kong Film Awards, Zhang Jingchu, who was nominated for Best Actress, has already received an honor.

Her current arrogant attitude is perhaps justified.

But what's even stranger is yet to come.

This guy actually went straight towards the man.

What do you mean?
But then Zhang Jingchu came up to Ma Xun and put on a haughty attitude.

"Mr. Ma, we meet again."

This is what I said...

Ma Xun laughed. If it were anyone else, they would probably be furious.

After all, they had some disagreements before.

But the current Ma Xun is actually...

"I wish you all the best at the Hong Kong Film Awards."

He even picked up a wine glass.

This surprised Zhang Jingchu.

Was this man really not angry?

Hmph! Just wait until I win the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress!

The two of them laughed and even had a drink together, and that was the end of it.

The banquet continued, becoming increasingly lively.

Lin Jianyue simply took a break and found Ma Xun.

"Could it be that Mr. Ma intends to squeeze out 'Lust, Caution'?"

This fat guy does have some brains.

Ma Xun did not deny it, but said it in an interesting way, "Jiang Zhiqiang is here, so I can't say it directly."

admitted.

Lin Jianyue laughed heartily, then asked, "What about the benefits..."

Yes, give me some conditions.

Ma Xun gave a very unusual answer.

"Ask Boss Jia for it."

what?
Lin Jianyue was dumbfounded. "You're not lying?"

Ma Xun laughed and said, "This play is also somewhat related to Mr. Jia. You know, if Ms. Jing Tian could win an individual award... cough cough, what did I say? Sorry, my mind is a little unclear."

The rest, of course, was just for show!
But Lin Jianyue already understood completely, and he asked in a low voice, "Mr. Ma, when I was in mainland China, I also heard that Jing Tian was the princess of the Beijing circle, so what exactly is her background...?"

There's no need to finish the question.

Ma Xun frowned. "To tell you the truth, what's most amazing about her is that I don't know what her background is... but you should understand, right?"

Well, I only know that she has a powerful background, but I don't know what that background is.

That's truly impressive!
Lin Jianyue gasped, "That's impressive! I get it!"

Alright, Ma Xun has now completed another great deception!

……

After the banquet, Ma Xun and Bingbing returned to their own house.

Unexpectedly, Bingbing rushed into the room as soon as she entered.

"What's wrong with that slut?"

Who are you talking about?

"Zhang Jingchu!"

"There's nothing between me and her."

"I do not believe!"

"What's there to disbelieve? Ha..."