This director is vindictive.

Chapter 429 The Romantic: He's so good at this! The Wasteful: Did he pay taxes?
The saying goes, "The gossip-loving masses never sleep," meaning that no matter the time of day, there are always people waiting to enjoy the gossip.

Not to mention public figures like Chen Mo and Zhang Yuqi.

In addition, because the term "co-creation" has become so ubiquitous lately, people have started to miss Chen Mo even more, and are urging him to hold another round of gossip sessions.

Therefore, Zhang Yuqi's Weibo post was quickly noticed by bored netizens and marketing accounts that had been following her closely.

Moreover, Zhang Yuqi's Weibo posts are clearly filled with explosive news.

Zhang Yuqi's nine-grid photo collage exploded on Weibo like a depth charge.

The first image shows a swirling blue fluorescent vortex outside the shark cage; the second image shows a whale shark swimming past a projected nebula; and the ninth image shows Chen Mo's back as he adjusts the equipment—the caption "money power" immediately propelled the hashtag #TheDisappearingHerRealLifeUnderseaStarrySky# to the top of the trending topics list.

However, this topic is full of controversy.

The onlookers quickly split into two camps: the romantics and the wastefuls.

Romance fans exclaimed: "Help! This is like taking the tragic ending of 'The Vanished' and turning it into a happy ending! Did Zhang Yuqi save the galaxy in her past life?"

Fans of "The Vanished" were crying in the supertopic: "The starry sky that Li Muzi never got to see, Zhang Yuqi saw in the shark cage. Is this a sweet treat for the audience by Director Chen?"

Fan artists worked overnight to create a chibi-style comic—Chen Mo, with the word "ATM" glowing above his head, is pouring gold coins into the sea, accompanied by the caption "Underwater starry sky, every frame is the shape of loving you."

"So, I finally understand why Chen Mo is such a scumbag, yet those women never caused any trouble, each one of them willingly aiding and abetting him. The truth is actually 'money power + super romance'! I can't learn that, I really can't learn that!"

"He doesn't have that much money power. There are plenty of people richer than Chen Mo, but he's rich and willing to spend money on romance, and his romance is so artistic. He's one of a kind in the world!"

"Attention, scumbags! If you don't have the money, shut up! Look at him! His romance isn't just a one-off thing, it's consistent. Because of the monogamous system, Chen Mo has taken a different approach and created the Huayun Wedding Dress series, arranging a grand wedding for every woman. From Jing Tian's 'Phoenix Brings Auspiciousness' to Zhao Liying's 'Flying Sword Immortal,' then to Yang Mi's 'Space Odyssey,' and now to Zhang Yuqi's 'Underwater Starry Sky,' each time it's not just about money, but about genuine care. He really is... I'm crying! If I were one of them, I probably wouldn't be able to resist Chen Mo's combination of wealth, good looks, and super romance, right?"

It's common knowledge that Chen Mo is a scumbag; it's practically an open secret.

He's never married, yet every wedding he has has caused a sensation. He's clearly a scumbag, but to this day, very few people bring it up. This is partly due to the current social climate, but also partly because he frequently does things that make countless women envious and jealous of his women.

For example, this time, although this kind of romance is based on financial power, which is something that ordinary people can't imitate at all, romance is romance!
At the same time, another faction is never absent: the "waste faction"!
A financial blogger did the math: listing the costs of equipment rental, marine biologist consultation, and security team, concluding that "burning down a second-tier city school district house just for a 15-minute selfie is a Guinness World Record for being incredibly rich and foolish!"

Environmentalists questioned the use of endangered species as a marriage proposal prop, pointing out that animal protection accounts had uncovered a shadow resembling a sonar device on the whale shark's dorsal fin in the video. They condemned it as "romanticism built on ecological damage!"

A satirical commentary: A renowned postgraduate entrance exam tutor quipped when sharing the post, "Next time, I suggest scattering money underwater; you could even make a sequel to 'Disappearing GDP'!"

Envious and pseudo-moralists: "Spending hundreds of millions at a time, it's understandable if it's for making a movie, but just to make a woman smile, what's the difference between this kind of romance and 'lighting the beacon fires to amuse the feudal lords'? With so much money, how many people can it help?"

And then there are even more extreme cases.

The comment section of the trending topic #TheDisappearedHerRealLifeInTheSeaStarrySky# on Weibo was suddenly flooded with a long post.

An account verified as belonging to a "well-known financial commentator," @正义算盘, published a lengthy and scathing article titled "Chen Mo's 'Underwater Beacon Fire Play with the Princes,' a Performance Art Under the Guise of Consumerism," in which it angrily denounced:

"Have you seen the shocking waste of resources behind this so-called 'romance'? According to industry quotes, a 4D projection system costs 80 yuan per day, and sonar-guided whale sharks are suspected of violating the 'Endangered Species Protection Regulations.' Not to mention the research-grade submersible that was temporarily deployed burns 6 yuan in fuel costs per hour! This money is enough to build ten rural primary school libraries, but Chen Mo only got 15 minutes of material for his WeChat Moments!"

The comments section quickly flooded with environmentalists, and the animal protection organization @BlueFinAction reposted the message with a link to the report: "Evidence has been submitted to the Maldives Ministry of Environment that sonar interference can cause permanent hearing damage to whale sharks."

However, if such remarks were made ten years ago, they might have actually caused Chen Mo some trouble.

However, in this day and age, where more and more people are becoming increasingly pragmatic, these kinds of remarks are completely useless.

In fact, since a series of events, people have become increasingly averse to this kind of rhetoric that attacks others from a moral high ground.

In particular, there are statements such as "forced donations," "if you have money, you should donate," and "not donating is being rich and heartless."

Therefore, Chen Mo didn't need to do any public relations; countless netizens naturally "revolted."

"A scene of people jumping up and down? It's none of your business if he spends his own money to make his woman happy! By that logic, the wedding shouldn't even happen, the money should be donated to Project Hope! I'm just wondering, what's wrong with you? Rich people live in villas and fly in private jets, and you don't say a word. Someone spends millions on a drone show and you don't say anything either, but when Chen Mo gives Zhang Yuqi a romantic gesture, you all become saints?"

"Some fans spent a lot of money to buy advertising screens in Times Square for their idols to celebrate their birthdays. What, you only mock them for being brainless, but ignore how much money they spent?"

If it were Chen Mo, he'd be the villain! I'm speechless. What era are we living in? Still playing this moral blackmail game every day? You don't dare offend those die-hard fans, but what, you dare offend Chen Mo?

People earn money and pay taxes according to the law; they can spend their money however they want, as long as it's not illegal. What's the problem?

"I saw an interview where the reporter asked, 'Would you be willing to donate 100 million yuan?' The person immediately answered that they would!"

Then they asked, "If you were asked to donate 10,000 yuan, would you be willing?" The other person immediately said no.

He doesn't have 100 million, but he can donate air easily. He does have 10,000, so he definitely wouldn't be willing to donate that much.

It's the same principle. You bunch of people who use moral blackmail, why don't you show everyone where you spend all your money? Have you donated as much as Chen Mo?

Actually, these netizens weren't entirely defending Chen Mo; they were just fed up with these people who used moral blackmail, which is why so many people spontaneously refuted and took sides.

Meanwhile, tech-savvy netizens began to use their technical skills to refute these claims.

"Science popularization: The device on the whale shark's dorsal fin in the video is a harmless marker for scientific research (the original image shows the Maldives Maritime Authority logo when viewed under a magnifying glass). Why don't some 'environmentalists' who are making such a fuss report the BBC documentary?"

"Hilarious! 'Sonar damages hearing'? The infrasound-guided technology they're using has been featured in National Geographic documentaries for ages. Keyboard warriors should Google it before they call the police!"

"I'm not going to talk about these technical issues. I just want to say that environmental protection should be supported, but let's not take it too seriously. I'm wondering, are all environmentalists vegetarians? Don't they eat meat? You eat chicken, duck, fish, and pork with gusto, so what, is environmental protection discriminatory? I'll chop off my chickens one by one, feel free to criticize!"

"Holy crap, I get it now. I looked through the blogger who posted this Weibo post, wow, this guy is a real expert in moral blackmail. Look at all his past posts, almost all of them are condemnations!"

The netizens' rebuttals haven't been too bad yet.

The most embarrassing thing happened later.

The Maldives Tourism Board really made a fortune because of Zhang Yuqi's Weibo incident!

They also launched an underwater starry sky experience hall, priced at 3980 yuan per person, with the slogan: "You and Zhang Yuqi are only one Chen Mo (bank card) away!"
They also publicly thanked Chen Mo for his contributions to the local tourism industry.

Furthermore, a statement was subsequently issued: 1. The Undersea Starry Sky project has been approved by the Maldives Environmental Protection Agency; 2. All equipment will be donated to the Marine Research Institute.

Meanwhile, two underwater hotels in China also publicly extended invitations to Chen Mo.

The Atlantis Sanya Hotel directly released a stunningly photoshopped image—placing Chen Mo's silhouette, which was adjusting equipment, next to the shark cages in their Ambassador Lagoon, with the caption:

"@Director Chen Mo, our tank comes with three beluga whales (natural navigators of the starry sky), and the sonar system has been upgraded to a whale-dolphin friendly type!"

Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom played on a pun, releasing screenshots from the penguin enclosure's surveillance footage:

#UnderseaStarrySky2.0Crowdfunding# We already have Antarctic aurora effects and emperor penguin extras. All we need is a sponsor to recreate the iconic scene! @ChenMo, doesn't this cage (referring to the penguin incubator) look like merchandise from "The Vanished"?
Moreover, both companies' copywriting contained hidden messages—the Sanya hotel pinned a comment stating, "All endangered species protection fees will be waived during the cooperation period";
Zhuhai Chimelong quietly modified its official website booking page, adding a "Underwater Proposal Package" booking button, with the price precisely set at 1314 million yuan per session (including rental of the same 4D projector used by Chen Mo).

Just as the marketing campaign for the Atlantis Sanya Hotel was making waves, Haidilao, a giant in the hot pot industry, quickly joined the fray.

At 2 a.m., Haidilao's official Weibo account suddenly posted a 15-second video: a waiter wearing a glowing whale shark headgear arranged the tomato soup base in a heart shape. The camera then panned to a private room that had been transformed into a miniature "underwater starry sky," with blue LED string lights hanging from the ceiling and a shark cage-shaped condiment rack on the table prominently displaying the hashtag #ChenMoSameStyle#.

The accompanying text is even more brilliant: "Haidilao's 'Underwater Starry Sky' branch is now open! Share this post for a chance to win one of 10 'shark-proof cage' private rooms (Note: This cage is only to prevent gluttonous cats from stealing shrimp paste)."

The effect was incredibly exciting, mainly because it was so fun to ride this wave of popularity.

(End of this chapter)