This director is vindictive.

Chapter 337 Reunion Night - Fireworks in the Human World

The video of this scene that occurred on the red carpet at the premiere of "Man Jiang Hong" has been edited and segmented in various ways by short video platforms.

Anyway, the main point is the same: the promotion is more fun than the movie itself.

However, at this premiere, Chen Mo maintained the same commentary style as before for "The Wandering Earth 2".

"Man Jiang Hong is probably the best historical drama I've seen in recent years; it's very well-made!"

This movie, in fact, continues Zhang Yimou's usual high standards.

What level is Zhang Yimou at? In terms of cinematography, color, and visuals, he is indeed at a top-tier level.

Of course, don't worry too much about the story itself.

Chen Mo is already planning to change his persona; things like the Onmyoji are just too difficult to handle.

Damn it, I have to think twice before I speak, for fear of being misunderstood!
However, sometimes, you can't change things just because you want to.

When your public persona becomes deeply ingrained in people's minds, netizens and media say, "You're a director, what do you know about reading comprehension?"

It's not about what you say, but how we want to understand it!

Chen Mo's commentary on "Man Jiang Hong" is actually quite consistent in style with "The Wandering Earth 2," which is to emphasize praise!

However, the persona of the Yin-Yang Master is simply too deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Sure enough, the media used a headline like: "Chen Mo: Zhang Emo barely passed this time!"

The hashtag #ChenMo: Zhang Emo barely passed this time# suddenly appeared at the top of the charts, accompanied by a screenshot of him smiling during an interview, with a speech bubble next to it saying: "It's alright, a bit better than 'The Great Wall' (doge)".

Then many people immediately followed up with their own analyses that could be described as literary inquisitions!

Some netizens have listed the following from Chen Mo's statement:
"High level of completion" does not necessarily mean that the script is poor and the script is only held together by the director's technical skills.
"Historical subject matter" = a veiled criticism of excessive alteration; perhaps it should be called "Man Jiang Hong: A Suspenseful Comedy" instead?
"In recent years" implies that Zhang Yimou has run out of ideas and can only rely on his past achievements.

Some netizens also commented: "Chen Mo's words are deceitful! He says 'good-looking' = 'watchable,' 'great' = 'not a flop,' and 'high level of completion' = 'that's it?'"

"Translate this: Zhang Yimou didn't crash this time, but he wasn't speeding either (winking)."

"I understand. Chen Mo is saying, 'Director Zhang, it's really not easy for you to make a film like this at your age... (filial son.jpg)'"

Even more outrageous, some marketing accounts have compiled Chen Mo's movie reviews over the years into a "Table of Yin-Yang Phrases"!

"No weaknesses" = mediocre work
"Major breakthrough" = a warning sign of failure
"Worth pondering" = Absolutely awful
Meanwhile, some people inexplicably made a comparative interpretation of Chen Mo's evaluation of "The Wandering Earth 2" and "Man Jiang Hong".

"Some people use the phrase 'the strongest voice' to praise science fiction, and use 'in recent years' and 'good-looking' to praise history. The difference in quality is immediately apparent."

When praising science fiction films, "without exception" equals genuine approval.

When praising historical films, "best-looking" is often equated with "Zhang Yimou's work only shines because of the contrast with his peers."

"So deliberately avoiding the term 'movie' is implying that 'Man Jiang Hong' is more like a large-scale variety show skit (with a screenshot of Shen Teng's red carpet performance)."

"Chen Mo's use of 'history' to draw a line is actually a way of belittling the value of commercial films."

Chen Mo stared at the trending topic on his phone: #ChenMo: Zhang Emo barely passed this time#, veins throbbing on his forehead.

Yang Mi, with a yogurt straw in her mouth, leaned over and burst out laughing when she saw the screen: "Pfft—this generation of media knows how to 'reluctantly'! You didn't use that word in your original sentence!"

"I clearly said 'very high level of completion'!" Chen Mo threw his phone onto the sofa, which happened to block Liu Yifei's phone camera, which was secretly taking pictures of his expression.

The fairy sister stuck out her tongue and put away her phone. Immediately, a photo she had just posted popped up in the group chat—Chen Mosheng lying helplessly on the sofa, with the caption "When a director discovers that his mouth is not his own mouth (candle)".

Fan Binbin replied instantly: "I suggest using Morse code to praise the movie next time (doge emoji)."

Gao Yuanyuan added, "Or you could learn from Shen Teng and break a boulder on your chest, carrying a 'praise board' on the red carpet."

Just as Chen Mo was about to grab the phone, Zhang Yimou called.

He took a deep breath and answered the phone, only to hear Zhang Yimou's hearty laughter through the receiver: "Director Chen, your 'barely passing' has really worried President Wang. He sent me twenty voice messages overnight to analyze the subtext!"

Zhang Yimou has been around for so many years, what hasn't he heard?
However, even he found this time quite interesting.

"Director Zhang, please stop joking. I..." Chen Mo hadn't finished speaking when Wang Changtian's feigned helplessness suddenly interrupted the call: "Director Chen, tell me the truth, does 'high completion rate' imply the script is bad? Our additional marketing budget..."

"Mr. Wang!"

Chen Mo interrupted, both amused and exasperated: "If you keep doing this, I'll have Shen Teng perform the act of opening a durian on his skull in the next movie!"

There was a sudden three-second silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Zhang Yimou's suppressed laughter: "President Wang said that's fine, but the durians must be engraved with 'Chen Mo's Special Supply'."

"Hahaha!" Then the two people on the other end of the phone burst into laughter.

Clearly, these two were making this call purely to tease Chen Mo.

Is it really that people don't understand what Chen Mo means? Of course not, but it's just so funny!

However, this interpretation has turned Chen Mo's film reviews from "authoritative" to "entertaining"!
After hanging up the phone, Chen Mo felt exhausted and wanted to just let things end.

What the hell are these people?!
However, there are still discerning people. Zhou Xiaobin, a die-hard film critic and fan of Chen Mo, summarized the essence of this "carnival of interpreting veiled sarcasm".

"The misinterpretation of Chen Mo's comments is essentially a side effect of his 'master of yin and yang' persona—netizens and the media are more willing to believe that his words have hidden meanings rather than their literal expression. This interpretation is even beyond Chen Mo's control and has become a fixed 'program effect' in his publicity."

Chen Mo slumped on the sofa, watching Liu Yifei frantically take pictures of his lifeless expression with her phone.

He suddenly picked up his phone and posted on Weibo: "Man Jiang Hong is so good (this post is worth 50 cents, please delete the part in parentheses) Director Zhang Emo is forever a god!"

"Let's see how you try to misinterpret this!" Chen Mo tossed his phone aside.

Then he pulled Liu Yifei directly into his arms.

"Ah!" The moment Liu Yifei was pulled into Yang Mi's arms, the phone flew through the air in an arc and landed precisely on Yang Mi's leg.

Yang Mi picked up her phone and her fingertips flew across the screen: "Breaking news! Our boss has invented an even harsher punishment than breaking a boulder on the chest—making female celebrities write academic papers!"

The accompanying picture shows Chen Mo pinching her cheek with gritted teeth.

Liu Yifei twisted and turned in Chen Mo's arms, when she suddenly saw Yang Mi raise her phone and laugh loudly: "Hahaha! Your new Weibo post already has a class representative doing analysis!"

If anyone else posted a Weibo like this, it wouldn't cause a ripple at all, but Chen Mo is different!

Anyway, the netizens had a lot of fun.

Within just a few minutes, netizens had already analyzed the meaning of "(this 50-cent post)" in the comments section of Chen Mo's Weibo post, revealing eighteen layers of meaning!
"50 cents = 50 cents special effects? Implying that the special effects of 'Man Jiang Hong' were cheap!"

"Five cents' purchasing power = the movie's value is only worth half a bottle of mineral water!"

"50 cents is the smallest unit of currency → Zhang Dao's status in Chen Mo's heart (doge)!"

Even more outrageous is that a blogger claiming to be a linguist posted a screenshot of a paper titled "On Chen Mo's Art of Satire from the Perspective of Punctuation Spacing," which garnered 30,000 reposts.

Chen Mo confiscated all the phones and threw them aside.

He's really not playing this time! Hmm, how can this be as fun as Fairy Sister and Big Secret?

Amidst the hustle and bustle, Lunar New Year's Eve arrived.

This year is a special one!
Because Chen Mo made a decision: this year, the whole family will be reunited!
That's right, it's "family reunion," only the number of people is a bit exaggerated.

Seven women and seven children (Zhang Yuqi has twins, but Liu Yifei doesn't yet)!
With so many little kids around, you can imagine the scene.

The happiest of all was their "eldest princess," Xiao Dou Dou. She was the oldest, and although she was still a little kid, she was older than her younger brothers and sisters.

And this little guy is notoriously mischievous! Naturally, he became the leader of the kids!
Although these little ones are all still very young. In the living room of Chen Mo's old family manor, seven little devils dressed in matching bright red Tang suits were causing quite a ruckus—six of them were rolling around on the floor like little rice balls, while only five-year-old "Princess" Xiao Dou Dou, barefoot, stood on the leather sofa, her pigtails swinging back and forth, and banged her plastic golden cudgel on the coffee table: "Attention everyone! Spring Festival Gala rehearsal begins! I—Chen Dou Dou—am the host!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Yuqi's twins suddenly seemed to be synchronized, flipping over simultaneously with a "thud" onto their backs. The two little bundles of flesh were stuck between the coffee table legs, thrashing about wildly, their four short legs kicking like little frogs.

Yang Mi's daughter seized the opportunity and swiftly stole the last piece of sesame candy from the fruit plate. However, Xiao Doudou suddenly pointed at her and said, "Stop!" The candy fell right into Gao Yuanyuan's son's wide-open mouth. The little guy froze, then suddenly burst into laughter, drooling.

"Chen! Dou! Dou!" Jing Tian rushed over in her fluffy slippers, clutching a crumpled A4 sheet of paper in her hand—a page from the script of "Si Teng," now covered with crooked little figures and scribbles resembling "Qin Hui."

The little girl reacted quickly, tucked the golden cudgel behind her waist, and blinked her innocent big eyes: "I'm teaching them to act out 'Man Jiang Hong'! The little brother is playing Qin Hui—" Following the direction of her finger, you could see that Fan Binbin's son indeed had an "X" drawn on his face with lipstick, and was lying on the carpet chewing on a "foam slab" teething toy!

"Pfft—" Everyone looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

"Pfft—" Yang Mi, who was sneaking a bite in the kitchen, burst out laughing. The dumpling wrapper in her hand flew out with a "whoosh" and landed right on Chen Mo's face as he walked in.

The living room fell silent instantly.

Little DouDou suddenly started singing in a strange tune: "Daddy's face is like dough~"

The seven women turned around to stifle their laughter, but the seven children, as if receiving a command, suddenly crawled towards Chen Mo in unison. The fattest one grabbed his leg and left his face covered in drool.

Looking at the chaotic scene, Chen Mo felt somewhat helpless. He glanced at the constantly rotating AI camera and felt a little tired.

Why bother with this whole family reunion thing?
It's a pity that Chairman Chen, who holds absolute authority in the outside world, has absolutely no prestige in front of these little kids.

Especially my own little one, who isn't afraid of him at all.

On the contrary, Jing Tian's single glance can sometimes transform her into a lady.

Chen Mo was truly baffled by this. Well, the main reason was that with more children, he spent less time with them, so he naturally felt guilty.

In addition, he dotes on his children, so almost all of them like him as their father, but they are not really afraid of him.

Chen Mo wiped his face, then suddenly grabbed an inflatable toy hammer (the same one used on the red carpet) and slammed it onto the floor: "Now! Immediately! All of you—"

"Breaking a boulder on your chest!" Little Dou Dou chimed in quickly, rolling off the sofa with a self-indulgent "Ouch!" sound effect. The twins copied her, rolling around as well, only to collide and end up like two bumper balls.

Chen Mo's carefully maintained expression instantly crumbled.

"Alright, kids, come over to Daddy. We're going to take a family photo. DouDou, you're the older sister, do you know what to do?" Chen Mo had no choice but to change his expression and say.

"Tch!" All the women immediately gave Chen Mo a disdainful look.

Upon hearing Chen Mo's words, the seven little ones stirred up like puppies hearing a feeding bell!

Little DouDou was the first to drop the golden cudgel and run to her grandparents for a hug.

Mr. and Mrs. Chen naturally grant their eldest granddaughter's every request.

The two sat in the grand chair at the front, holding their eldest granddaughter who had suddenly become very well-behaved.

The little guy is quite shrewd in this regard; he knows who truly holds the throne in the family!
And then it naturally took the center position!
Chen Mo and Jing Tian stood behind their parents, while the babies all went to find their own mothers.

Liu Yifei was all alone, so Zhang Yuqi immediately put her son into her hands.

That's perfect! One for each of you!
As the camera took its position, it counted down: "Three, two, one, cheese!"

Fireworks burst outside the window, the scene freezes in time!
This was Chen Mo's first real reunion with the women.

Everyone sat around the fire at the dining table.

They chatted while taking care of the children.

Chen Mo's gaze swept over the women, his thoughts surging like a tide.

He looked at Jing Tian, ​​and Chen Mo couldn't help but recall that when he first arrived, she came to him with the script of "The Warring States" and foolishly said that she wanted him to play the male lead.

Looking back now, her silly, persistent stubbornness has become the simplicity he misses most.

The gaze shifts to Zhao Liying, who is gently wiping her son's drool, her eyes filled with tenderness. Who would have thought that the minor actress who used to eat cold steamed buns in a corner of the film crew would now be a top-tier actress?

For some reason, it gives me the feeling of a nurturing/raising system!
Yang Mi noticed his gaze and gave him a flirtatious wink. Chen Mo couldn't help but chuckle!
I couldn't help but think of that woman back then, who was being harassed by someone, but it actually prompted her to take the initiative.

Even though Chen Mo found it inexplicably funny—of course she didn't have smelly feet—this joke had become something she was most reluctant to mention now.

Thinking of the scene of her going crazy after discovering the meaning behind the perfume Jing Tian gave her, Chen Mo couldn't help but shake his head.

And then who is it?
Gao Yuanyuan?
Chen Mo turned his gaze to the woman, who was gently wiping the lipstick stains off her son's face, her demeanor as tender as water.

Perhaps there really is such a thing as fate?

Otherwise, why would it be such a coincidence that I had a less-than-romantic rainy encounter with her in the neighborhood?
Then it all fell into place naturally.

When did it start? Was it with "The Search"?

Without realizing it, I found myself looking at Fan Binbin!

Fan Binbin sipped her red wine elegantly, and when she noticed his gaze, she raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Fan Binbin, among Chen Mo's women, is probably the one who has changed the most from her previous life.
It could be said that Chen Mo's first time with her was because he coveted her beauty and the past filter he had created, and she coveted Chen Mo's resources.

Unexpectedly, they ended up together naturally.

Recalling how she once leaned against him, recounting those years, probably no one would have imagined that this woman, who was so charismatic and influential in the outside world, hailed as the queen of the red carpet, with an international flair, and who dared to declare, "I am the elite," was actually a different person.

Deep down, she's actually a little woman.

From a maid to an international star, she has experienced so much, but perhaps it is precisely because of those experiences that she shines so brightly!
Zhang Yuqi was holding a child in each arm, laughing without a care in the world.

Even after becoming a mother, this tiger mom is still a tiger—last year, when she took her child to the amusement park, she insisted on competing with young people to see who could scream the loudest on the roller coaster. As a result, her legs were so weak when she got off that she knelt down in front of him, still stubbornly saying, "The floor was too slippery!" Chen Mo recorded this scene at the time, and it is still a piece of embarrassing history that the whole family plays every year during holidays.

Finally, there's Liu Yifei.
The fairy sister made a bad choice in her friends! To be honest, Chen Mo really wanted to set her up with Lao Hu, but he never expected that the matchmaker would end up stealing from her!

Of course, Yang Mi's assistance was indeed very helpful, but when did she start to have such thoughts?
Suddenly Chen Mo smiled, because the fairy sister was secretly using his teacup to feed the child water, and he caught her red-handed, sticking out her tongue.

In reality, she's not as ethereal as she seems!
On the contrary, he's a bit silly!
Chen Mo smiled and lowered his head, then picked up his wine glass and took a small sip.

Over the years, they have accompanied him through thick and thin, from his youth to maturity, from strangers to close friends, from business partners to... family.

Recalling the past, Chen Mo found himself inexplicably lost in thought!

Looking at those beautiful and charming women, now they are all his women!
Fireworks illuminated the scene outside the window, while laughter and joy filled the room.

Chen Mo gazed at the fireworks blooming in the distance and couldn't help but smile.

Dude, you haven't let reborn people down, have you?

"What are you daydreaming about?" Jing Tian suddenly waved her hand in front of him.

Chen Mo shook his head and said, "It's nothing!"

Then he raised his glass and said, "Come on, let's have a drink together!"

Everyone raised their glasses, including the little ones who followed suit.

"Ding!"

At that moment, he suddenly felt that breaking a boulder on his chest was nothing.
What he shattered was loneliness.

And what fills it is happiness.

(End of this chapter)