This director is vindictive.

Chapter 220 The Dawn of Sleeping Together

Whether "I Am Yu Huanshui" will usher in a new chapter for web dramas, Chen Mo doesn't know.

However, he knew that several video platforms had recently inquired about the status of the remaining web series.

There's no way around it. Even though Tencent Video seems to have spent a staggering 100 million yuan to buy the exclusive broadcasting rights to this show, the buzz, influence, and traffic it generated have already made them feel like they've made a profit, but they haven't lost out either!
The key point is that their initial concern was never about the quality of Chen Mo's web series, but rather that the series was too short and the period for generating traffic and spreading topics was too short, so it might not be as good as those longer web series. However, "I Am Yu Huanshui" proved with its strength that good dramas do not need to be padded or too long, and can still unleash amazing power.

This means that a good work, even if it has a short number of episodes, can have an impact and revenue that is in no way inferior to some medium-length dramas.

In contrast, although it seems like the TV drama industry is currently experiencing a downturn with prices dropping again and again, some high-quality dramas still command relatively high prices.

For example, the production costs per episode of several popular dramas in 2019, such as "The Story of Minglan" and "Serenade of Peaceful Joy," were also quite high.

However, no matter how anxious they were, it was no use. Although shooting web series, especially mini-series, was indeed much simpler for a film director like Chen Mo than shooting a movie, it was still not something that could be done in a few moments.

Fan Binbin and Zhang Yuqi seem truly determined lately, determined not to give up until they achieve their goal.

What could Chen Mo do? He could only endure the exhaustion, yet find joy in it!

Middle-aged people have no freedom! Even Chen Mo is no exception!
Especially recently, because the two of them were around, they were worried that Chen Mo was not up to the task, so they gave him all sorts of supplements, and Chen Mo was almost sick of them.

Dishes include: stir-fried yam with lamb tripe, braised mutton, stir-fried dried scallops with fish maw, shrimp, walnuts with chives, and stir-fried he shou wu with pork liver.
The most outrageous thing is that Zhang Yuqi got the deer antler wine from somewhere, and the effect was really amazing!
After dinner, the three of them took a walk in the yard to digest their food.

Since they're all in the entertainment industry, their conversation naturally revolved around that topic.

This time coincides with the eve of the 2020 Spring Festival film season, when movies scheduled for release during the Spring Festival are officially entering their final promotional sprint.

"This year's Spring Festival film season is really exciting! Chen Mo, which one are you most looking forward to?" Fan Binbin suddenly asked.

The 2020 Spring Festival film season was hailed by the media as the "strongest ever" film season.

In terms of movies premiering on the first day of the Lunar New Year alone, 2020 saw the most intense battle for box office supremacy on that day in history.

Volleyball Women's Volleyball Team, Detective Chinatown 3, Lost in Russia, The Rescue, Vanguard, Big Red Envelope, The Golden Toad, and Boonie Bears: Wild Land.

Covering genres such as suspense, fantasy, adventure, comedy, disaster, and animation, and importantly, judging from these films alone, the quality is quite high and the types are diverse. Naturally, the box office is expected to rise accordingly. Institutions predict that the total box office for this year's Spring Festival season is expected to exceed 61-69 billion yuan.

As for Chen Mo, he also has the title of "Prediction King," so it's quite normal for Fan Binbin to ask him that question.

"I haven't seen it, how would I know?" Chen Mo said calmly.

Of course, he wouldn't tell them that this year's Spring Festival film season would be canceled, cinemas across the country would be shut down, and there would be no films being released at all.

"Let's make a blind guess, we're just killing time anyway, why don't we take a gamble together?" Fan Binbin said, linking arms with Chen Mo and dribbling towards him.

Not to be outdone, Zhang Yuqi took over Chen Mo's other arm and pressed herself tightly against him.

This made Chen Mo realize what it truly meant to have women on both sides.

Especially considering they are two wealthy and generous celebrities, this photo would definitely make headlines if it were released.

Chen Mo quite enjoyed the sensations coming from both sides, while Zhang Yuqi and Fan Binbin were different.

Fan Binbin can be said to be the top level in the slightly chubby category of the entertainment industry. Chen Mo's favorite feature is her large, round face. As for Zhang Yuqi, she has an athletic figure and is the most powerful!

Each has its own merits and each has its own wonders.

Suddenly, he glanced at the beautiful Fan Binbin, then at Zhang Yuqi, whose face was glowing with health from recent treatments, and a wicked thought that had been buried in his heart for a long time but which he had never dared to mention suddenly surfaced.

"Okay, how do we bet? What are we betting on?" Chen Mo asked with a smile.

Both of them are terrible at acting but have a strong addiction! Especially Fan Binbin, who got a bit cocky during "L.O.R.D.: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties", and was quickly suppressed by Chen Mo.

They still haven't learned their lesson.

Zhang Yuqi, this fierce woman, is quite uninhibited. Or rather, among Chen Mo's women, although she has the most fiery temper, she is also the most wild.

Moreover, this kind of thing can add a lot of fun to the relationship, so she is happy to participate.

“Let’s each guess a result. Whoever wins can make one request, and the other two must agree unconditionally! How about it?” Fan Binbin said, his eyes darting around.

"I have no objection!" Zhang Yuqi said, seemingly unconcerned.

Chen Mo's eyes lit up instantly.

"Cough, cough, is any request acceptable?" Chen Mo asked. But as soon as he opened his mouth, he felt like slapping himself.

That question was unnecessary!

Sure enough, the two women's gazes towards him instantly changed.

"I have no objection!" Chen Mo quickly changed his mind, but it was too late.

Zhang Yuqi gave Chen Mo a playful smile and leaned closer, placing all her generosity and wealth on him, saying, "What other requests do you want?"

Fan Binbin also leaned over with a suspicious look and said, "Why do I have a feeling you're thinking of something bad?"

Then the two looked into each other's eyes, and it seemed as if they could see each other's thoughts in each other's eyes.

A blush instantly appeared on both of their faces.

She secretly spat at Chen Mo, about to lash out, but Chen Mo nonchalantly replied, "Still want to bet? If you don't dare, then forget it!"

“Let’s bet! Why not bet! I’ll bet first that ‘Detective Chinatown 3’ will come out on top!” Fan Binbin said first, looking confident of victory.

“I also guessed ‘Detective Chinatown 3.’ Other movies are good too, but isn’t this obvious?” Zhang Yuqi blurted out.

"No, since you all know it's obvious, why are you still betting with me? Then I'll bet on 'Detective Chinatown 3'!" Chen Mo said, feigning dissatisfaction.

"That won't do!" Zhang Yuqi and Fan Binbin said in unison.

Now the two of them are on the same side.

"Why not? You're cheating!" Chen Mo feigned a wronged expression.

"Anyway, that won't do. You can only suggest other movies!" Zhang Yuqi retorted.

“Yes!” Fan Binbin also said.

Chen Mo was secretly overjoyed. "You little punks, you think you can't be controlled?"
Indeed, under normal circumstances, "Detective Chinatown 3" has the advantage of having the previous two films as a foundation.

However, Xu Guangtou's "Lost in Russia" is actually a sequel to the "Lost" series, so it's really hard to say which is stronger or weaker. On the surface, "Detective Chinatown 3" seems to have better market appeal.

Under normal circumstances, Chen Mo guessing the movie "Lost in Russia" would actually be the most conventional answer.

And there's still a bit of suspense.

But Chen Mo knew that there was no such thing as a Spring Festival film season this year!
So, they thought they had the victory in the bag, but little did they know, Chen Mo had a cheat code!
However, Chen Mo was also thinking about how to fool the two of them so that they would willingly admit defeat after getting the results.

This is giving me a bit of a headache! It's true, having two women on your left and right, sleeping in the same bed—it's not that easy!
“Then I’ll choose Xu Guangtou’s ‘Lost in Russia’!” Chen Mo said.

"Buy and leave!"

"Clap clap clap!" Chen Mo gave each of them a high five.

Chen Mo suddenly chuckled. "Lost in Russia" is the most outrageous film this year, bar none!
Sold to ByteDance, and streamed online for free—that counts as box office revenue, right? Makes sense! Right?

He was already looking forward to it; just thinking about it was exciting!
Chen Mo glanced at the two of them again, feeling quite pleased!
With the promotion of Spring Festival movies in full swing, Chen Mo naturally couldn't just sit idly by and spend all his time trying to conceive.

Although the outbreak was imminent, it was not actually that serious in the early stages.

So while filming was affected, the impact wasn't that significant, especially for TV dramas and web series, which can be watched at home. In fact, they showed even greater vitality during the pandemic.

Chen Mo's next project will also be a web series, "The Hidden Corner," one of the three parts of the Mist Trilogy!
The plot of this drama is one aspect, but another aspect is its quality, which has earned it the reputation of being a "movie substitute"!
The meme "Believe it or not, I'll take you mountain climbing" is also widely circulated, comparable to the idea of ​​wearing a helmet when fishing.

Originally, this was nothing, just a meme, but Chen Mo suddenly had a strange feeling that his filming of this movie would have a wonderful connection with this meme.

Why?

In the drama, Zhang Dongsheng took a risk and killed his parents-in-law on the mountain in order to prevent his wife from divorcing him.

What about Chen Mo?

Look, he's cheated on so many female celebrities, and every time he meets his father-in-law, it's the most agonizing moment for Chen Mo. So, think about it carefully.

Chen Mo felt that once this meme came out, the onlookers would definitely think in that direction.

In fact, even before netizens could react, Fan Binbin and Zhang Yuqi both looked at Chen Mo strangely immediately after seeing the script.

"Hey, why are you guys looking at me like that? This is from a novel! Don't overthink it!" Chen Mo immediately became a little defensive.

"What are we overthinking? You're the one who's feeling guilty, okay? But my parents have indeed asked me several times, when are you going to see them?" Fan Binbin said, suppressing a laugh.

Zhang Yuqi is not like Fan Binbin. In fact, she is different from Fan Binbin and Gao Yuanyuan.

She grew up in a single-parent family; her parents divorced when she was very young. After the divorce, she lived with her mother. Lacking a father's love, and with her family's poor financial situation, her childhood was anything but happy. Even when she was in college, her mother's business was struggling, and they couldn't afford the tuition. They eventually had to sell some of the family's jewelry to raise the money.

So she just stood by and watched, because she never really cared that much about marriage.

Having grown up in a single-parent family, she naturally has a deeper understanding of this.

However, she found the way Fan Binbin and Chen Mo looked incredibly amusing.

Of course, the plot of Chen Mo's new drama is even more interesting.

It's no wonder that Fan Binbin and he themselves would think in that direction.

As time went by, the drama "The Hidden Corner" was actually easier for Chen Mo than "I Am Yu Huanshui".

Because he didn't need to make any changes at all; even the actors were the original cast.

With Lao Zhang, Chen Mo's acting coach, around, things became even easier.

That's right. Even though Chen Mo started filming, Fan Binbin and Zhang Yuqi didn't seem to want to leave. Instead, they stayed with the crew.

However, it's Chen Mo who's involved. After all, his relationship with these celebrities is practically common knowledge, so it's not surprising at all.

Time slips away unnoticed.

January 23rd arrived in the blink of an eye. On that day, the epidemic prevention and control command center announced: Starting at 10:00 AM on January 23, 2020, all urban public transportation, subways, ferries, and long-distance passenger transport in Wuhan would be suspended; citizens should not leave Wuhan without special reasons, and the airport and railway station departure channels from Wuhan would be temporarily closed. The resumption time would be announced separately.

Locking down a city to protect the people of the nation!

When this announcement was released, everyone was stunned!

Because initially everyone thought that this epidemic was only regional, but they never expected it to be so serious that a city had to be locked down.

Meanwhile, multiple provinces and cities across the country have successively activated the highest-level emergency response to major public health emergencies!
The differences between China and other countries are perhaps more readily apparent when disaster strikes.

Just like right now, with Jiangcheng under lockdown, help comes from all sides when one place is in trouble!
Chen Mo immediately instructed Fanxing Medical Equipment Factory to prepare the medical supplies and set off for Jiangcheng to provide support!

People from all walks of life, including celebrities, have generously donated money and funds, and medical teams from all over the country have been dispatched to provide support.

The outbreak of the epidemic was like a severe cold wave for the film and television industry, especially the film industry.

On the same day, the China Film Distribution and Exhibition Association issued an emergency notice requiring all cinemas nationwide to suspend operations, with those already suspended to remain so, and the specific reopening date to be announced separately. Consequently, many films originally scheduled for release during the 2020 Spring Festival, such as *Detective Chinatown 3*, *Lost in Russia*, *The Rescue*, and *Jiang Ziya*, announced their withdrawal to cooperate with epidemic prevention and control efforts.

It's fair to say that winter has arrived for the film industry!
In fact, ever since the news of the epidemic came and swept across the country, Fan Binbin and Zhang Yuqi were both filled with lingering fear.

You should know that if it weren't for Chen Mo's insistence that they return to China, they would still be abroad right now.

The situation abroad is far more serious than in China.

The closure of cinemas has plunged the film industry into a deep winter.

Although many people had already given up the idea of ​​going to the cinema during the Spring Festival a few days before the holiday due to the increase in cases, and there were more voices online about whether Spring Festival movies could be watched online for a fee, the possibility of this was actually very small.

This means that the film's initial marketing and distribution costs are basically wasted. After the film is released on internet platforms, the production company's revenue will be greatly reduced due to issues such as shared accounts and piracy. After all, the Spring Festival is the most popular period of the year. In 2019, the box office for the seven days of the Spring Festival exceeded 58 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 10% of the total box office for the year.

It's safe to say that the films scheduled for release during this year's Spring Festival season will suffer the biggest losses.

But only the next day.

Just when everyone thought the Spring Festival film season was going to be canceled, on the morning of Lunar New Year's Eve, Huanxi Media announced that "Lost in Russia" would premiere on the first day of the Lunar New Year on apps such as Douyin, Toutiao, Xigua Video, Douyin Volcano Edition, and Huanxi Premiere, and viewers could watch it for free.

Many viewers were surprised that a film scheduled for the Spring Festival would premiere online for free, and the streaming platform was not one of the three largest long-form video websites in China (iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video), but rather a video platform under ByteDance.

More importantly, the efficiency was astonishing. The cooperation agreement was signed on January 23, the same day that "Lost in Russia" announced its withdrawal from the release schedule. The two parties completed a transaction of more than 600 million yuan in just one day.

Of course, it wasn't just the audience who didn't expect it; the entire film industry reacted the most strongly.

For viewers, this means they can watch Spring Festival movies for free at home. For Huanxi Media and Xu Guangtou, this not only recouped their costs and gained positive word-of-mouth, but also increased their future box office appeal. Meanwhile, ByteDance has launched a surprise attack on iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video in the long-form video field.

But for cinemas, this is like adding insult to injury.

It's even something that's absolutely intolerable!

Why? Because they're afraid! After all, every movie that dares to be released during the Spring Festival is a "big-budget" production!
You may have enjoyed the movie "Lost in Russia," but for theaters, it's nothing short of a betrayal, a stab in the back! And it could even trigger a more terrifying chain reaction.

After all, if you can do this with "Lost in Russia," then can't other movies do the same?
This move can be described as fatal to the entire cinema industry!
Shortly after "Lost in Russia" announced its free online premiere, more than 2 people in the film industry issued a public statement, saying that the online premiere of "Lost in Russia" was an act that violated the basic rules of the industry, and condemned Huanxi Media for manipulating public opinion and causing significant losses to cinemas across the country.

Moreover, on New Year's Eve, more than 20 cinema chains across the country issued similar statements, requesting relevant departments to urgently halt the free online premiere of "Lost in Russia" and regulate the film's release window. Otherwise, they would boycott any future films produced by Huanxi Media and Xu Guangtou.

The fact that "Lost in Russia" premiered online meant that all the promotional efforts cinemas had made for the film essentially benefited ByteDance. Furthermore, with the online premiere of "Lost in Russia," it's virtually impossible for cinemas to receive any box office revenue from it afterward.

However, it was of no use.

They've already received the money, how could they possibly cancel it?

It's impossible for relevant departments to stop this, since it's just a normal business operation.

This matter has caused quite a stir.

As a figure in the film industry and a top-tier director, Chen Mo received calls from several company bosses, hoping that Shengshi Pictures could also stand with them, even though he didn't have any films in this year's Spring Festival release.

In fact, it wasn't just Chen Mo; many other big-name directors in China were also notified.

(End of this chapter)