This director is vindictive.

Chapter 405 You dare to retaliate? Believe me or not, I'll show you!
It has to be said that although this wave of public opinion is very unfavorable to "Sunflower", the sanitary napkins that were ridiculed and mocked by netizens back then have become a powerful tool to reverse public opinion today.

Some things are just so wonderful and magical.

Soon, public relations efforts aimed at diverting attention from Chen Mo's predictions also began to emerge.

An insider film critic began posting: "The 'explicit script' circulating online is actually the version submitted for review, claiming that the director had to compromise to retain the core plot. The ones who should really be questioned are never the directors who dare to touch the forbidden zones."

This is actually a common practice among Chinese filmmakers to shift blame.

Anyway, if a movie flops, you can shift the blame; if a movie receives bad reviews, you can continue to complain about the environment; if a movie is criticized, you can blame it on censorship restrictions.

This is the scapegoat who's always there for everyone, but surprisingly, quite a few people actually fall for it.

Originally, at this point, although the controversy still existed, it was at least not so one-sided.

After all, Shu Qi, as the female protagonist in the Hu Shu Bao incident, did indeed evoke sympathy for what she experienced back then, which made his actions back then seem rather manly.

Add to that the ever-present scapegoat—the censorship mechanism—and it's fair to say that this marketing campaign has been remarkably successful by now.

Chen Mo hadn't intended to come out at this moment to add fuel to the fire or anything like that.

After all, it was indeed the other party who initially invited Zhao Liying. As for the movie flopping, that was only relative. Moreover, this was something Chen Mo foresaw from an omniscient perspective, but he genuinely didn't know!

Using Zhao Liying's refusal to act as a publicity stunt is a common practice in the entertainment industry.

However, to Chen Mo's surprise, this hype was not over yet.

Sometimes, he tries to be more magnanimous; he's really not petty! Look, they used his own decision to turn down a role for Zhao Liying because of its explicit content to create hype, and he didn't get angry, right?

Isn't that generous enough?
However, sometimes, if a tiger doesn't roar, it really can be mistaken for Hello Kitty!
And so, that's the end of it. Chen Mo was just a bystander, maybe he could vent his frustrations privately.

But it's true that kind people are often taken advantage of!

Suddenly, a wave of online trolls attacked.

And they directly named Chen Mo and Zhao Liying!
Zhao Liying, who was scrolling through her phone, suddenly sat up straight: "Look! Some marketing accounts are starting to spread rumors that you're using capital to suppress artistic creation!"

Chen Mo took the phone and saw a new hashtag quietly climbing the trending list: #ChenMoInterferesWithFreedomOfFilmCreation#, accompanied by a comparison image of the cover of the original novel "Sunflower" and Zhao Liying's previous award-winning works.

A popular film and television influencer on Weibo sarcastically remarked: "Some investors, relying on their dominance in online traffic, even interfere with the scripts of veteran directors like Feng Xiaogang. If 'Lust, Caution' had received this kind of 'protection,' Chinese cinema would have lost a classic."

"Zhao Liying's refusal to act is essentially a tragedy of capital manipulating art—Chen Mo's interference in casting with his investment power is the real deprivation of women's right to choose their careers!"

"This online marketing copy is quite sophisticated."

Chen Mo chuckled and opened the comments section, and sure enough, he saw a uniform barrage of controlled comments:
"Isn't it a matter of course for actors to sacrifice for art? Isn't Chen Mo being too nosy?"

"Hilarious! He made Yang Mi wear a bikini in 'The Shallows,' and now he's pretending to be a gentleman?"

"Double standards perfectly describe Chen Mo. In 'Dying to Survive,' Tan Zhuo can do pole dancing, but he won't allow it when it comes to his own woman. Isn't that control? Isn't that interference with the creative process?"

"Who can blame them? They're the ninth richest man in China! And Shengshi Pictures is the first privately-owned film and television company to go public!"

For a time, Chen Mo seemed to have become synonymous with capital interference in creative work.

Chen Mo truly couldn't understand the other party's public relations team at all. What? Even their online trolls knew that he was the ninth richest man in China and that Shengshi Film Industry was a major force in the entertainment industry.

So, am I really that good-tempered?
Have you forgotten that I was once known as someone who held grudges and sought revenge?
At the same time, Xu Fan was also somewhat shocked to see this sudden trending topic, because it really wasn't something she had arranged.

"Old Feng, what's going on? Did you have someone do this?" Xu Fan showed her husband the latest trending topics on her phone.

He replied nonchalantly, "Yes! What's wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with what you said!"

"Old Feng, are you crazy? Do you really think Chen Mo is some nobody? Even netizens know that Shengshi Film Industry is the first private film and television company to go public, and Chen Mo is the ninth richest man. The previous hype was harmless and didn't matter, but you're directly targeting him personally. Have you really forgotten how he treated the people from the Backstabbing Cult?" Xu Fan looked at him helplessly.

"It's not as exaggerated as you think. What? Is Chen Mo someone you can't mess with?" He didn't take it seriously.

Xu Fan is truly exhausted.

But what can be done now that things have come to this?
There was nothing he could do; he was used to being arrogant, but Xu Fan was still sober!

She knew her husband had a stubborn temper; back then, during the Always incident, he could argue with netizens on Weibo, and now that he's so old, he still has the same temper.

But this time we really hit a brick wall!

She now only hopes that Chen Mo will consider the other party's age and seniority, and not go too far.

To be honest, the hype generated by these online trolls is really nothing.

Even before Chen Mo made a move, many netizens had already refuted his claims.

"Chen Mo's 'petty-mindedness' stems from not wanting his own female artists to be exploited, while someone else's 'generosity' means forcing actresses to strip and dance? The bikini scenes in *The Shallows* were for the role, while the explicit scenes in *Sunflower* were for artistic pursuit? This double standard is laughable!" "Tan Zhuo's pole dancing in *Dying to Survive* depicts the desperate struggle of lower-class women, while having Miao Miao dance is 'women's welfare'? The former has social significance, the latter is purely a sensational scene. Those who can't distinguish the difference should retake their elementary school Chinese classes!"

"Shengshi Pictures' requirement for a reasonable script equals capital hegemony, while Meila Culture's forced inclusion of explicit scenes equals artistic freedom? Director Feng's 'creative freedom' is simply allowing actresses the freedom to undress, isn't it?"

"Do you really think netizens have forgotten who made Miao Miao dance barefoot in 'Youth'? They're capitalists themselves, so why pretend to be an oppressed artist!"

That's not all. The previous Always 2.0 incident slightly turned public opinion around, but it's clear to everyone that this wave of netizens was just hype and manipulation by online trolls, which caused the Always incident to take another turn for the worse.

"Back then, you called Photoshop trolls 'worse than animals,' but now you condone online bullying and refuse to act as actresses? Always 2.0 has become a mouth-covering troll, and Sister Shu Qi has been supporting you for nothing! Don't say it's not online bullying or online trolls, everyone here isn't stupid, okay?"

"Protecting Shu Qi back then was a matter of genuine character, but now using 'art' to force actresses to take on explicit roles is hypocritical. I suggest renaming the movie 'The Director's Split Personality'."

The attempt to shift blame to the review process has also backfired.

"The most explicit description in the original novel, 'The Story of Educational Reform,' is 'She washed her face.' Why add a bathing scene and blame the censors? Censorship: I'm not taking the blame for this!"

"If the sex scene in 'Aftershock' could pass censorship, what kind of explicit content can't be filmed in 'Sunflower'? Before shifting the blame, ask yourself if you're also trying to promote your own agenda!"

As for the rumors circulating online that Chen Mo deprived Zhao Liying of her choice, it only made many netizens laugh.

After all, everyone knows about the relationship between Chen Mo and Zhao Liying.

As long as this relationship exists, nothing Chen Mo does will seem like it's controlled by capital.

"As a man, I'd definitely side with Chen Mo! What he did is what a normal man would do, right? After all, he doesn't have that kind of fetish of filming explicit scenes of his woman for everyone to see!"

"If Chen Mo really used his capital to pressure people, would this movie even have been approved? It would have been blacklisted by Shengshi Pictures and the theaters long ago! He just rejected a bad script for the artist, and some people are jumping up and down in a panic. Could it be that he has some KPI to meet?"

This wave of gossip has certainly given netizens plenty to eat.

However, at this moment, many netizens also went to Chen Mo's Weibo to encourage him.

"Professor, show the same temper you had with the 'Backstabbing Cult' back then! Don't stay silent!"

"Exactly, isn't it supposed to be a case of capital suppression? We haven't done anything wrong, yet we're being wronged like this. Should we just give in?"

"They've practically shoved it right in your face, and you're still not saying anything?"

For a moment, netizens and fans were even more anxious than Chen Mo.

Of course, they were just looking for a good show and didn't mind making things worse.

However, in fact, Chen Mo had already received several phone calls pleading for leniency.

Some people are immature, but there are also sensible people!

First, Xu Fan called Zhao Liying: "Liying, Lao Feng has a terrible temper, and he's getting old and acting like a child. I'm really sorry about what happened this time!"

Then Chen Mo received a call from Lao Wang from Huayi.

"Director Chen, go easy on him! My husband has a loose tongue and he's getting on in years, so please be careful!"

Actually, they were overthinking it. Although Chen Mo was very unhappy about being stepped on, he couldn't possibly go all out to do anything to the other party.

The other person is old and in poor health. If we were to hit them too hard and kill them, that would be a real problem.

So, being old and in poor health is actually an advantage at this point?

Of course, it is impolite not to reciprocate.

In fact, by this time, the online trolls and their attempts to stir up trouble had already subsided.

After all, this stubborn guy is fearless and probably relies on his age. If Chen Mo really goes for the kill, he'll just kill him.

But Xu Fan couldn't be so stubborn, so he called a halt immediately.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Mo couldn't help but chuckle and turned to Zhao Liying, saying, "Some people just have to force me to flip the table."

“Well, you really need to be gentle. Although he is indeed annoying, if you anger him to the point of death, you’ll be in trouble too!” Zhao Liying said with some concern after hearing Chen Mo’s words.

Her concerns were not unfounded.

After all, if someone really dies, even those who dislike him the most will feel sorry for him.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" Chen Mo said calmly.

(End of this chapter)