This director is vindictive.

Chapter 226 The Legend of Sword and Fairy Reunite, Chen Mo Enjoys the Gossip

Even though "The Hidden Corner" has finished airing, it is still very popular.

However, the film's dark style has also sparked considerable controversy.

The open ending, in particular, has left viewers with many guesses.

As one critic wrote in his review of the ending, he divided the ending of the show into three types.

"The first type is the dark ending: fairy tales are lies, and the abyss is silent!"

When the camera panned across the tattered dolls Pu Pu had hidden, the teddy bear missing an eye perhaps already hinted at the truth: the "brother" was nothing more than a sugar candy woven from her tongue, a cloying lie wrapped in the stench of 300,000 yuan in cash. During her asthma attack, she curled up in a corner of the cold storage, like an abandoned paper doll. Zhu Chaoyang listened to her labored breathing through the iron gate, but let the darkness swallow her last sob—at that moment, in the shadow cast by his eyelashes, lay the same indifference he showed when he pushed Zhu Jingjing to her death.

Before Yan Liang sank into the harbor's tide, what he saw when he looked up was not starlight, but the blurry silhouette of Zhu Chaoyang standing on the embankment. The silhouette of the boy raising banknotes was like a rusty thallium blade, severing the Cartesian coordinates they once shared—the so-called "friends" were nothing more than sacrifices on Zhu Chaoyang's path to darkness. As for the corpses of Zhu Yongping and Wang Yao, they had already been turned into two smiling wax figures in the cyanide that Zhu Chaoyang had carefully concocted, solidifying the stepmother's mocking words, "His father only believes his son."

Why are so many viewers obsessed with dark narratives?

Perhaps it's because this version shattered the filter of warmth, exposing the most viscous malice hidden in the swamp of humanity: beneath Pu Pu's innocent pupils lies a greedy snake's tongue, beneath the correction fluid in Zhu Chaoyang's diary seeps the stench of death, and even sunlight becomes a developer of evil. When Zhu Chaoyang repeats to the police at the end, "I really wanted to die in Jingjing's place," the twitching regret at the corner of his mouth is strikingly similar to Zhang Dongsheng's trembling as he wipes his glasses after committing murder—they are both on opposite ends of the abyss, practicing using tears to preserve lies.

In short: A bad kid made a good friend; went climbing Liufeng Mountain, and saw the murderer. They wanted to extort money, but I wanted revenge; my stepsister bullied me, causing her to fall from a building. I insisted it wasn't me, and my father felt guilty; a rift developed, and I couldn't keep my friend. I copied a blank card to incite a fight; I made two diaries, enough to fool the police. A bad kid, alone until the end. The new semester began.

This is the most extreme and dark ending. But this is normal, after all, "The Hidden Corner" is adapted from the novel "Bad Kids", and compared to the web series "The Hidden Corner", the original novel "Bad Kids" is actually the truly darkest of all.

The second fairy tale ending: Sunlight pierces through the fog, and the fairy tale survives in the folds!
As the end credits rolled, sunlight, like a golden key, unlocked all the shadows—Pu Pu's brother stood by the hospital window, his fingertips touching the rainbow that condensed on the glass, the 300,000 yuan in cash transforming into the dancing morning light on the medicine bottle; Yan Liang's old boat shoes waded through the harbor's puddles, the police academy badge gleaming in the reflection, Old Chen's whistle echoing in the wind like the rhythm of a lighthouse; and Zhu Chaoyang lay on the cold white table in the interrogation room, tears blurring the ink, the hand that Zhu Jingjing grabbed the railing before falling was finally re-depicted in memory as the unaltered truth.

But only a small percentage of people believe in these kinds of fairy tale endings. Why are fairy tales so extravagant?
This ending is like piecing together shattered mirrors into a kaleidoscope: Zhang Dongsheng's gaze at Zhu Chaoyang before his death is interpreted as a plea for "don't become me";

The image of Zhu Chaoyang running and calling for help when Pu Pu had an asthma attack was gilded with a heroic silver edge under the moonlight.

Even the blackened words in Zhu Chaoyang's diary were stubbornly imagined by the audience as traces of the boy erasing shadows with an eraser.

When Yan Liang walked into the auditorium in his pure white school uniform and smiled at Zhu Chaoyang across the crowd, it was as if all the sins had been swept away by the sea breeze, leaving only the waves writing "a fresh start" on the beach—although this version was as beautiful as a fairy tale town with the wax paint still wet in Pop Art's paintings, those who believed it were merely hiding a small piece of candy in the cracks of reality.

The third gray area: survivors on the tidal line!
The truth, like a rusty scale, sways between the weights of light and darkness—Pu Pu's younger brother is indeed lying on the operating table, but in the dream blurred by anesthesia, her sister's face gradually fades into a string of cold numbers on her medical record card; Yan Liang puts on his police uniform, but as he fastens the first button, he hears the pen that was not given as a gift at Old Chen's funeral making a soft, coin-like sound in his pocket; Zhu Chaoyang's confession is soaked with tears, but under the correction fluid on the last page of his diary, there is still a drop of Zhu Jingjing's blood that has not been bleached.

I also believe in this ending more, because it is this ending that is even more chilling!
Why is gray the most unsettling color?

Because this ending is like a glass of lukewarm water mixed with ice: Zhang Dongsheng's glasses, which flew off when he fell into the sea, framed the sunset for a moment, as if God had pressed the pause button, allowing his sins and Zhu Chaoyang's tears to resonate in slow motion.
The asthma inhaler that Pu Pu curled up in the cold storage could be either a sacred object of redemption or a prop for murder—it all depends on whether the audience believes that the blood on the soles of the teenagers' shoes can be evaporated into salt by the scorching sun at the beach. When the camera pans across Zhu Chaoyang opening his blank diary at the start of the new semester, the cicadas outside the window chirp sometimes as shrill as sirens, sometimes as gentle as the tide, and the audience has already planted their own answers in the cracks between light and darkness.

At this time, Chen Mo also accepted a remote interview with the media.

"There has been a lot of heated discussion and controversy surrounding the ending of 'The Hidden Corner' recently. As the director, what are your thoughts on this?" a reporter from Tencent Entertainment asked.

"Regarding the ending of the story, I think the discussion may have gone to extremes, with some saying the ending is like a fairy tale, and others saying it's like a novel."

Actually, I prefer those compromise outcomes!

In other words, the ending will definitely not be as happy as a fairy tale, but the web series and the novel should still be viewed separately.

Those who have read the novel will find that the drama has been greatly adapted from the novel!

I made this series not out of curiosity or to fit the original novel, but because I didn't want viewers to fill in extra details, backgrounds, or inner monologues that weren't in the drama. If the dark ending were truly to make sense, there would be far too many things to add to support it. But clearly, there aren't, are there?

"There's a segment at the end of the series dedicated to childhood. Most youth films in the past aimed to evoke nostalgia and evoke resonance in the audience. How do you hope the audience will interpret this cruel childhood?" the reporter asked.

The phrase "dedicated to childhood" in "The Hidden Corner" is not meant to romanticize childhood, but rather to tear away the adult's illusion of an "innocent childhood." What we filmed were those neglected, dark corners—such as Zhu Chaoyang's loneliness eating instant noodles alone at home, Pu Pu's despair as she suffocates under the shelf, Yan Liang's embarrassment clutching a few coins... These are the real world of children, not the fairy tale of sunshine and lollipops that adults imagine.

Viewers shouldn't try to sugarcoat these storylines. True respect means acknowledging that children also experience betrayal, bullying, and even develop malice. When Zhu Chaoyang smiles as he hides the blood on his hands, and when Zhang Dongsheng removes his glasses to reveal a look of fear in his eyes, we are actually asking: How much neglect, discrimination, and harm must a child endure before turning into a "bad person"?
Regarding "Dedicated to Childhood," I would like to say three things:
It is a mirror: reflecting the hypocrisy of adults—such as forcing children to be sensible with the excuse of "it's for your own good," and using report cards to cover up emotional neglect;

It is a diagnosis: Zhu Chaoyang was not born a bad person. His descent into darkness was caused by the indifference of his parents after their divorce, bullying by his classmates, and society's indifference to "problem children."

It is also a hope: just like when Lao Chen gave Yan Liang a band-aid, as long as someone is willing to squat down and listen to what the child can't say, things might get better.

Childhood is never black and white. Those moldy fairy tale books hidden under the bed remind us: don't pretend that children's pain doesn't exist.

The so-called "dedicated to childhood" is actually dedicated to all children forced to grow up prematurely. Adults always say, "I was a child once too," but they have long forgotten how difficult it is to be a child—like Zhu Chaoyang's diary filled with lies, only by tearing off the last page can we see the truth: Have we really cared about children's silence, rebellion, and cries for help?
Zhang Dongsheng couldn't capture his wife's love, just as we can't remember the pain of our childhood. But if you're willing to crouch down, you might hear those forgotten voices—like snails crawling across concrete on a rainy day, though the traces they leave behind will soon disappear, they at least prove that every child deserves to be truly seen, not locked in a cage of "understanding."

We can all understand children very well, because we were all children once; we just forgot.

With this interview featuring Chen Mo, "The Hidden Corner" has officially come to an end for Chen Mo.

Actually, filming has been really difficult during this period. Many scenes that require shooting in multiple locations simply cannot be filmed.

Even Chen Mo was the same.

During the filming of "The Hidden Corner", most of the scenes were actually filmed in the film studio. However, scenes like the one at Liufeng Mountain, such as the scene where Zhang Dongsheng pushes his father-in-law and mother-in-law off the mountain, were not filmed on location but were shot using special effects and a green screen.

Actually, there are quite a few film crews at the film studio right now.

The hotel where Chen Mo and his group stayed was located in the film studio, and many of the people staying there were actors and directors.

The lockdown has kept everyone relatively isolated. The main reason Chen Mo didn't leave was for the convenience of filming later on. After all, staying in one place is better than running around during this special period.

My 14-day quarantine period is over, and there was an organized nucleic acid test downstairs today.

Chen Mo and Yang Mi went downstairs together wearing masks, and as soon as they got downstairs, they found that there were quite a few familiar faces.

Fortunately, they were all celebrities, artists, and directors from the entertainment industry; otherwise, they would probably have been surrounded by onlookers in no time.

"Old Hu?" Yang Mi exclaimed with some surprise.

"Yang Mi? I saw your updates before, weren't you still filming over there? When did you come here?" Hu Ge was also a little surprised to see Yang Mi. His gaze suddenly met the slender silhouette beside Yang Mi, and his Adam's apple bobbed. "Director Chen?" Yang Mi's index finger lightly hooked Chen Mo's cufflink, and as her eyes flickered, a smile like a sly butterfly rested on her lips: "Guess?"

"Got it—the secret service agent in Director Chen's new film, is he going to target me?" Hu Ge said, then ran her fingertip across her lips in a zipper gesture!

Chen Mo certainly knew about Hu Ge, but the two really didn't have much interaction.

Seeing his reaction, Chen Mo was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Hu Ge to be so interesting in real life.

Hu Ge and Yang Mi have known each other for a long time and are considered old friends. However, in recent years, they have been busy with their own careers and have seen each other less often.

Moreover, it's quite interesting to meet again in this kind of situation.

Hu Ge came here to film a commercial.

In fact, Hu Ge's output has not been as high in recent years as it was in the past, mainly because he is determined to develop his career in the film industry and on the big screen.

However, the results were always disappointing. Compared to his smooth sailing in the television drama industry, his journey on the big screen was always lacking in luck.

Yang Mi and Hu Ge hadn't seen each other for a long time, but their friendship hadn't diminished at all. The two chatted while Chen Mo remained mostly silent.

"Hey? Is that Yifei? She's here too!" Suddenly, Yang Mi spotted another familiar face.

"You can recognize her from behind even with a mask on?" Chen Mo followed Yang Mi's gaze. To be honest, he couldn't recognize her at all. Of course, the main reason was that he wasn't familiar with Liu Yifei either.

"Of course! We've been best friends for years, okay?" Yang Mi said dismissively.

Hu Ge was also somewhat surprised: "It really is Yi Fei!"

Chen Mo glanced at Hu Ge, then at Yang Mi, and then at the woman who was "suspected" to be Liu Yifei and was near the front of the line.

Chen Mo narrowed his eyes, a gossipy smile unconsciously playing on his lips. He deliberately lowered his voice, speaking with a gossipy tone, "Hey, I remember there was a report back then saying that you, Lao Hu, seemed to have pursued Liu Yifei, is that true? The three of you reuniting in this quarantine hotel, what a coincidence! Tsk tsk tsk."

Yang Mi rolled her eyes in annoyance. She knew her man's capabilities. Despite his prestigious titles like "big director," he was actually quite interested in gossip and scandals.

"Look, Lao Hu's ears are all red. Stop talking nonsense!" Yang Mi glanced at Hu Ge and said, looking like she was trying to cover up her mistake.

Chen Mo and Yang Mi exchanged a glance, both of them seeing the excitement of watching the drama unfold in each other's eyes.

As expected of you! You two had such great teamwork this time.

Chen Mo turned his head and saw that, sure enough, Hu Ge's ears were really red. He waved his hands in a flustered manner, saying, "Director Chen, don't talk nonsense! Yi Fei and I are just ordinary friends." As he spoke, he awkwardly tugged at his mask, covering his face even more.

Seeing Lao Hu's reaction, Chen Mo became even more excited, winking and leaning closer: "Ordinary friends? Then what about the more than twenty takes for the kissing scene back then? I've seen the behind-the-scenes footage." He deliberately dragged out his words, but his eyes were fixed on the woman in the beige trench coat in front of him—sure enough, the figure visibly stiffened for a moment.

Old Hu looked to Yang Mi for help, as if to say, "You should control your man." He never expected that Chen Mo, such a big director, would be more interested in gossip than anyone else.

Unfortunately, he underestimated Yang Mi's tendency to enjoy watching the drama unfold. Yang Mi even added fuel to the fire, saying, "Old Hu, just admit it! I think you two are a good match. Anyway, Yifei is single now. Even if you didn't make a move before, it's not too late now! I support you. If you need a friend, I can be your matchmaker! Just say the word!"

Yang Mi's act of being a loyal and devoted friend left Hu Ge speechless.

At this moment, a male actor in the front row heard Hu Ge and Yang Mi's conversation and couldn't help but smile. He then looked up and saw Liu Yifei, who was also enjoying the drama.

He nudged the person in front of him, muttered a few words, and then the person in front glanced at him before continuing to pass the message forward.

Then, a group of people broke away from the group and smiled at Hu Ge, indicating that they were not obliged to thank him. However, the smiles in their eyes made Hu Ge wish he could disappear into the ground!

Chen Mo and Yang Mi were completely surprised by this outcome. Good heavens, are all the celebrities in the entertainment industry so fond of gossip and scandals these days?

The key question is, are they all this eager to help others?

Chen Mo and his group were pushed forward by the team behind them, and soon they came to the back of the woman who looked like Liu Yifei.

The woman in the trench coat finally turned around and pulled down her mask—it was indeed Liu Yifei's signature oval face. She frowned slightly, her gaze sweeping over the three of them, and then exclaimed with a hint of surprise, "Old Hu, Mimi, is this Director Chen? What a coincidence!"

Finally, her gaze fell on Hu Ge: "What were you two arguing about just now?"

Hu Ge was immediately at a loss, stammering like a high school student caught red-handed: "N-nothing! Director Chen was just joking around." His eyes darted around, but he didn't dare to look Liu Yifei in the eye.

Chen Mo took one look and exclaimed, "Good heavens, good heavens, there's something wrong, there's definitely something wrong!" He truly hadn't expected that the rumors actually had some truth to them!
"Speaking of which, it's really fate that you two could reunite at this time! Old Hu was just saying he wanted to catch up with you." Chen Mo knew how to stir things up!

A hint of unease flashed across Liu Yifei's face as she lowered her head to adjust her mask. "It is quite a coincidence. If Tangtang and Shishi were here too, it would be a real coincidence." She spoke softly, following up on Chen Mo's earlier point about fate.

Hu Ge immediately replied as if she had been granted a pardon: "That's right! Let me look, maybe they're hiding in the crowd!"

As he spoke, he dodged around as if searching for other old friends from the Legend of Sword and Fairy series, and began scanning the crowd.

But that lonely figure made Yang Mi feel a little uneasy.

Yang Mi glanced at Liu Yifei, who was looking down and seemingly lost in thought, then at Lao Hu, who was dodging her gaze, and couldn't help but glare at Chen Mo. The implication was clear: It's all your fault!

Chen Mo caught the meaning in Yang Mi's eyes, shrugged, and gave her a disgruntled look, as if to say, "Aren't you the same? The pot calling the kettle black!"

However, seeing Yang Mi's unfriendly gaze, he indeed reached out and made a zipping motion on his own mouth.

Can I just not say anything?

(End of this chapter)