This director is vindictive.

Chapter 268 Digital Storm: 20030415 and 208 million

Chen Mo leaned back in his office swivel chair, his fingertips lightly tapping the desk, his gaze fixed on the rapidly rising playback data on the computer screen. Fan Chenchen stood beside him, her eyes wide open, as if she had witnessed some incredible magic.

"Brother-in-law, this...this is too exaggerated, isn't it?" Fan Chenchen swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly. "A black screen trailer, without even a single image, how could it become so popular?"

Chen Mo smiled and said calmly, "Sometimes, the simpler something is, the more it can touch people's hearts."

He opened the comments section, and a flood of messages came in.

"I listened to the heartbeat sound three times, and when the last line came out, I was completely numb!"

"This trailer is amazing! The black screen combined with the sound of a heartbeat is a hundred times more impactful than those flashy edits!"

"Chen Mo truly deserves to be called a marketing genius; he can even make a trailer stand out!"

Fan Chenchen leaned closer to the screen and couldn't help but exclaim, "Brother-in-law, your move was absolutely brilliant, you've got the netizens' psychology figured out perfectly!"

"The black screen trailer for 'The Silent Truth' seems simple, but it actually contains hidden meanings. The rhythm of the heartbeat goes from slow to fast, symbolizing the passing of Jiang Yang's life. And the last line, 'Are you sure you want to hear this truth?' not only highlights the core theme of the series, but also poses a question to the audience—the truth is often heavy, are you ready to face it? This immersive trailer technique is extremely rare in domestic film and television promotion. Chen Mo has once again proven his unique vision in narrative and marketing."

After reading it, Fan Chenchen couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Brother-in-law, your promotion was awesome!"

Chen Mo shook his head, his tone calm: "Publicity is just a means; the key is the story itself. The reason why 'The Silent Truth' has been able to evoke such a response is because it touches people's hearts with their yearning for justice and their sense of powerlessness in the face of reality."

He paused, then looked at Fan Chenchen: "What do you think we should do next?"

Fan Chenchen was taken aback, scratching her head: "Huh? We have to continue? Isn't this already trending enough?"

Chen Mo chuckled lightly: "The hype is just the beginning. We need to raise the audience's expectations for this drama to the highest level."

Having excessively high expectations is indeed not a good thing for many film and television works; as the saying goes, too much of a good thing can be bad.

For example, "Detective Chinatown 3" is a case in point. Expectations were extremely high beforehand, but the final product failed to live up to those expectations, ultimately leading to a collapse in its reputation.

However, Chen Mo in "The Silent Truth" is not worried about this at all.

This drama deserves such high expectations.

Now that Chen Mo has started promoting, he naturally won't stop there.

Chen Mo said, "Next, we will release 'clues' about key props in the show one by one, such as Jiang Yang's notebook, Hou Guiping's lesson plan, Zhang Chao's suitcase... Each item hides a story, allowing the audience to discover the truth behind it themselves."

Fan Chenchen suddenly realized: "Is this meant to involve netizens, like solving a mystery?"

Chen Mo nodded: "Yes, true promotion is not a one-way output, but about making the audience a part of the story. When they actively explore and discuss it, the show has already succeeded."

Fan Chenchen couldn't help but exclaim, "Brother-in-law, how do you even think of something like this?!"

"Hehe, this is just the beginning. Next, we're going to try something different," Chen Mo said.

He plans to complete this wave of immersive promotion before the official start of filming.

Chen Mo smiled, then picked up his phone and made a call: "Liao Fan, prepare the 'Jiang Yang's Notebook' clue. We'll release it tomorrow. The detailed plan has already been sent to you on WeChat."

After hanging up the phone, he looked out the window. The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the city's skyline, as if gilding the approaching night with a golden edge.

“The night is long and dark, but there will always be someone willing to light a torch,” he said softly, his tone firm.

The drama "The Silent Truth" is different from previous dramas such as "The Hidden Corner" or "The Untouchable".

It can be said that this drama is the one that Chen Mo found most painful and unsatisfying in the Mist Trilogy, but it is also his favorite.

Standing behind him, Fan Chenchen looked at her brother-in-law's back and suddenly felt that this man seemed to possess an indescribable power—he was not only a director, but also a warrior wielding a pen as a sword, using stories to pierce through the darkness and let the light in.

"Brother-in-law," Fan Chenchen suddenly spoke up, "can I participate in this publicity project?"

Chen Mo turned around, raising an eyebrow: "What, want to learn something real?"

Fan Chenchen nodded vigorously: "Yes! I want to see how you turn a drama into an 'event' that everyone is talking about."

Chen Mo smiled: "Okay, starting tomorrow, you'll work with Liao Fan and be in charge of releasing and interacting with 'clues about relics'."

Fan Chenchen clenched her fist excitedly: "Great! I'll definitely study hard!"

Chen Mo patted him on the shoulder: "Remember, the core of publicity is always the story. If the story isn't good enough, even the most fancy methods will only be a flash in the pan."

Fan Chenchen nodded solemnly: "I understand!"

Just then, Chen Mo's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID; it was Zi Jinchen.

Chen Mo answered the phone.

On the other end of the phone, Zi Jinchen's voice was somewhat excited: "Director Chen, I just saw the online reaction, it's amazing! Your black screen trailer perfectly captured the soul of the novel!"

Chen Mo smiled and said, "It's your story that's well-written; I'm just presenting it."

Zi Jinchen remarked with emotion, "No, it is you who made more people see the value of 'The Long Night.' To be honest, when I wrote it, I never dared to imagine that it would spark such a discussion."

Chen Mo said earnestly, "Good stories deserve to be seen by more people, and what we need to do is help these stories find their readers and audiences."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Mo took a deep breath and said to Fan Chenchen, "Let's go, it's time to go to the film set, filming is about to start."

Fan Chenchen quickly followed, his heart filled with anticipation. He knew he was witnessing an unprecedented miracle in film and television promotion—and the creator of this miracle was none other than his brother-in-law, Chen Mo.

However, before Chen Mo could even begin to implement his plan, he received a call from Third Master.

"Hello, Third Master!" Chen Mo answered the phone.

"My dear Director Chen, you're really too ambitious!" Third Master said on the other end of the phone.

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Third Master!" Chen Mo said, but his heart was in his throat.

"Don't laugh at me. Your publicity campaign has been quite impressive, but too much of a good thing can be bad! You know this drama is very sensitive. If you continue like this, I'm afraid there will be uncontrollable factors. So, it's best to stop while you're ahead," Third Master advised.

Chen Mo was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "I understand!"

He understood Third Master's concerns; in fact, the play itself was like dancing in shackles.

If this campaign continues, it could easily spark a series of discussions about procedural justice and substantive justice, and even further, lead to more in-depth discussions.

It's not that this kind of discussion is bad, but it's really out of control.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Mo immediately halted the subsequent promotional plans.

In fact, he knew he was getting a little carried away.

If things go too far, the show might be canceled before it even gets off the ground, which would be putting the cart before the horse.

In fact, at this very moment, online discussions have already begun to shift in that direction.

For example, a well-known legal blogger on Weibo published a long article: "Judicial reform can be seen from the date of Jiang Yang's death—2003 was the year the Prosecutors Law was revised, while the issue of lagging legislation on campus sexual assault involved in the Hou Guiping case was only addressed in the 2010 Amendment to the Criminal Law."

Chen Mo also realized that Third Master's concerns were justified!

However, we still need to bring this publicity campaign to a close.

The next day, filming officially began for "The Silent Truth".

On the day filming officially began, Chen Mo posted a photo of the clapperboard on Weibo, with the date clearly written as "20030415", along with the caption: "Today, we turn back time."

This Weibo post has been forwarded over a million times, with netizens leaving comments such as, "It's chilling!"

"After reading the novel 'The Long Night,' I don't know why, but I've started to feel heartache."

At the opening ceremony, when asked by reporters why he chose such a heavy subject, Chen Mo looked at Liao Fan, who was acting in the distance, and said, "Some torches are destined to be extinguished so that people can remember the temperature of the night."

That evening, #TheSilentTruthExplodedBeforeFilming# became the third most searched topic, and Tencent Video had already opened the drama's page in advance, with more than 200,000 people clicking "want to watch".

Some netizens discovered that the page description contained only one sentence: "20030415, this is not the end date, but the first day that light began to decay." This famous quote, adapted from the original work, became the best promotional footnote.

Chen Mo's mind is no longer on promotion, because the show is already popular enough, and given its special nature, it's not suitable to push it any further.

However, sometimes, things just happen by chance!
In April, Chen Mo's "The Silent Truth" became a striking topic of discussion online, generating numerous trending searches and promotional campaigns.

However, this was not an isolated incident.

While Chen Mo was quietly filming, a news story suddenly went viral and became a trending topic.

Interestingly, this time it was also a "digital trending topic"!
In fact, the person involved had disappeared from the public eye after being exposed for "surrogacy and abandonment" in January. Unexpectedly, she has returned with new revelations just three months later.

This time, the news is beyond what can be described simply as "shocking".

This is a bombshell that has caused a massive uproar across the internet! A bombshell worth 1.6 million yuan, which translates to a daily wage of 208 million yuan!

The issue of high salaries for celebrities is actually nothing new, even though the government introduced a salary cap several years ago.

However, there are still quite a few people who defy the rules and commit crimes.

Perhaps influenced by Chen Mo's trending topic with numbers, this time, the top trending topic has also become a number.

#Daily wage 208 million#! (Breaking news)
#Dual contracts and exorbitant actor salaries reappear, reaching 1.6 million!# (Breaking News)

A salary of 1.6 million yuan—what does that mean?
An author once mentioned his villa in a third-tier city, which cost 100 million yuan. The salary from one film was enough to live in a different villa every day for half a month.

Not to mention the daily wage of 208 million.

Without comparison, there is no harm. Overnight, the entire internet's working class was completely overwhelmed by the staggering 208 million!
A netizen with a daily wage of 208 yuan commented: "I dare not be late or leave early. I work diligently for 996. There is no overtime pay for overtime. My daily wage is 208 yuan."

Someone created a chart comparing the earning power of people with different salaries. The chart showed that the person with a monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan could earn in a year what the other person could earn in just 24 minutes.

Sure enough, as soon as Chen Mo arrived at the film set, he was hurriedly stopped by Fan Chenchen.

"Brother-in-law! Have you seen the trending topics?" Fan Chenchen held up her phone, the screen displaying the trending hashtag #DailyWage208Million#. "This topic has completely overshadowed the discussion surrounding our drama, but netizens are all criticizing the chaos in the entertainment industry, and even our 'digital promotion' has been dug up for comparison..."

Chen Mo glanced at the comments section, his brows furrowing slightly.

Netizen A: "Chen Mo's '20030415' incident was a tribute to judicial justice, while some people's '208 million' incident is a trampling on the dignity of working people!"

Netizen B: "Both are numbers, but one is a weighty truth and the other is a light, fleeting greed. The difference is immediately apparent."

Chen Mo frowned not because his popularity had been stolen, but because the impact of this matter was actually very significant, and could even affect the entire entertainment industry.

The public already lacks goodwill towards the entertainment industry, and then this bizarre individual who single-handedly created a new unit of currency was exposed.

One netizen commented: "The average worker envies those working in big factories, who would need to work for 666 years without eating or drinking to save up enough. 666 years... Believe me, if you could hop on a time machine and travel back to the Yuan Dynasty right now, it wouldn't be too late."

However, Chen Mo only frowned slightly, because this kind of thing was bound to happen sooner or later.

That's why so many people praise Wang Baoqiang.

Look, this time it's the same divorce, and the same person who exposed it. But look, when Wang Baoqiang's divorce happened, they couldn't find any dirt on him.

The contrast between the two is simply enormous.

Chen Mo put down his phone and calmly looked at the busy crew on set. The afterglow of the setting sun bathed everything in a soft golden light outside the studio. He took a deep breath and said to Fan Chenchen, "The chaos in the entertainment industry didn't happen overnight, nor will it be completely changed by one incident. All we can do is stick to our own path."

Fan Chenchen said anxiously, "But brother-in-law, the public opinion has been completely swayed. Netizens are all discussing the sky-high salaries, and our drama has been marginalized!"

Chen Mo shook his head slightly, a faint smile appearing on his lips: "Marginalization is not necessarily a bad thing. True works do not need to rely on riding the coattails of trending topics to maintain their popularity. 'The Silent Truth' has its own weight, and the audience will remember it."

He paused, then continued, "Moreover, this incident has actually given us an opportunity."

Fan Chenchen was taken aback: "An opportunity?"

Chen Mo nodded: "That's right. Public trust in the entertainment industry has plummeted again. At this time, a truly sincere and profound work will become the focus. People will crave to see different film and television content—not flashy traffic dramas, but stories that can touch their hearts."

He patted Fan Chenchen on the shoulder: "Remember, good works are never afraid of being buried. Instead of worrying about losing popularity, you should focus your energy on polishing the series itself."

Fan Chenchen nodded thoughtfully, but was still somewhat unwilling: "Should we issue a statement, or take this opportunity to guide public opinion? At least let netizens know that we have nothing to do with those exorbitant actor salaries."

Chen Mo smiled and said, "No need. Sometimes silence is the best response. Let the work speak for itself."

This wave of traffic is huge, but Chen Mo has no intention of riding on it. Although this sudden event did steal the spotlight from "The Silent Truth", as Chen Mo said, it's not necessarily a bad thing.

In fact, the biggest impact of this incident was not on Chen Mo or the talented actors in the production crew, but on the popular celebrities.

Ironically, more and more people are desperately trying to break into the entertainment industry. Why?
Because it's so lucrative! A daily wage of 208 million!

However, after the news of the 208 million yuan incident broke out, news of dual contracts and tax evasion followed closely behind. One can imagine what the other party will face next.

Although the results of the tax investigation are expected to take some time to come out, the impact of this event has already exploded.

As the saying goes, "ducks are the first to know when the river warms in spring." The 208 million incident was like a bomb, exploding not only public opinion but also the deep-seated problems within the industry.

Just a few days later, when you look at the trending topics again...

As expected, the top ten trending topics were dominated by #EntertainmentIndustryCleanupCampaign# and #TaxDepartmentsInMultipleLocalitiesSummonFilmCompanies#.

Netizens' anger spread from celebrities to capital, with some even digging up screenshots of a platform executive's WeChat Moments: "Winter is coming, first cut projects, then cut prices."

Chen Mo received a call from Fan Binbin.

"Chen Mo, thank you!" Fan Binbin said with lingering fear on the other end of the phone.

Chen Mo naturally knew why Fan Xiaopang had made a special call.

Even now, before this incident broke out, Fan Binbin didn't think Chen Mo's advice was very meaningful, because this kind of behavior is quite common in the entertainment industry.

She was just one of them.

However, this incident made Fan Binbin keenly aware of the seriousness of the problem!
Chen Mo suddenly spoke to Zhao Ming: "Notify the production team that all actors' pay details be re-filed and that all tax procedures be made public."

Zhao Ming was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened: "But there's nothing wrong with our contract to begin with! Isn't this just asking for trouble?"

Chen Mo interrupted him, his tone unusually sharp: "The more transparent we are now, the safer we are."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "And this might not necessarily be a bad thing for us."

"Tell Tencent Video to add a line to the '20030415' drama page: 'The total remuneration of all the main actors in this drama does not exceed 30% of the total investment. Details can be found.'"

That evening, the official Weibo account of "The Silent Truth" posted a photo: a thick stack of contracts and tax payment certificates next to the clapperboard, with the caption: "The night is long and the light is dim, but every step should be taken in the light."

This Weibo post was quickly reposted by major media outlets, including official media, and the number of comments instantly soared to over 100,000.

(End of this chapter)