This director is vindictive.

Chapter 508: Departure and Ascension to Godhood, Tang Palace Banquet Ignites Chang'an
Fan Binbin, as a veteran female celebrity, has a huge number of fans.

When she suddenly announced her retirement from acting, her fans were the first to react.

Many fans felt reluctant to see it end.

"I cried so hard I could barely breathe... Is Sister Binbin really leaving? 'The Empress's Wedding' has become her swan song; the Chinese entertainment industry will never have another 'Fan Ye'! (Tears streaming down my face.jpg)"

"Help! I just got tickets to the premiere, and now you're telling me this is the last show?! (Heartbreaking)"

"From Jin Suo to Empress, twenty years of youth have come to an end... (Lights candles)"

"What kind of bewitching potion did Chen Mo give her?! From now on, the Chinese entertainment industry will never have another 'Fan Ye'!"

"I cried. I've liked Sister Binbin ever since she played Jin Suo in 'My Fair Princess.' Back then, I was just a primary school student, and now I'm a mother. More than twenty years have passed, and I never expected this day to come so quickly. I wish Sister Binbin all the best and respect her choice! An actress's destiny shouldn't be limited to acting until old age; enjoying life is the true mark of a successful woman. (Thumbs up)"

"'Cooking and cleaning' is not a compromise, but another way of taking control of one's life—Fan Bingbing lives with such clarity!"

Fan Binbin's retirement from acting swept the internet, and the controversy surrounding his lavish premiere was subsequently understood.

"Now I suddenly understand why Chen Mo suddenly threw such a lavish premiere; so that's the reason!"

"Even if Fan Bingbing leaves this industry, she still wants to be different. I understand Chen Mo's move!"

"He really... I'm devastated! And... is Binbin's departure just the beginning? Oh my god, will others follow suit? No way!"

Suddenly, many fans of the other female celebrities also became nervous.

When Fan Binbin's announcement of retiring from acting caused a huge uproar online, Gao Yuanyuan also posted a message in her group of friends: "Then I'll also officially announce my retirement from acting after the wedding promotional video!"

Although her statement was brief, it revealed that she had been prepared for this for some time—in fact, this "Buddhist goddess" has been in a semi-retired state in recent years.

No one in the group was surprised by this. Yang Mi even joked, "Sister Yuanyuan, have you finally found a reason to completely give up?"

Zhang Yuqi echoed with a string of laughing emojis covering her mouth: "@ChenMo, you can't be biased!"

Gao Yuanyuan calmly responded with a cat nodding emoji, but sent Chen Mo a voice message in private chat: "Actually, I should have retired a long time ago. Filming these years is just a habit. Now, I want to make soup for you every day."

Her tone was gentle and relieved, a stark contrast to Fan Binbin's glamorous exit.

Chen Mo smiled knowingly and replied, "Then wouldn't I gain ten pounds?"

As I swiped across the screen, I remembered all the film offers she had turned down in recent years—those "makeup-free photos of her grocery shopping" that were taken by paparazzi but never officially announced were already a silent countdown to her exit from the stage.

Compared to Fan Binbin, Gao Yuanyuan had actually begun to gradually fade out of the entertainment industry a long time ago, which didn't surprise Chen Mo.

It's just that there hasn't been an official announcement yet.

In fact, many celebrities retire from the entertainment industry quietly.

Of course, the main reason is that many celebrities retire from the entertainment industry out of necessity, and it is actually quite rare for them to retire gracefully at the peak of their careers.

After all, being a celebrity really makes money!
In the group chat, Zhao Liying suddenly tagged Gao Yuanyuan: "Sister Yuanyuan, after you retire from acting, how about we open a dessert shop together? You can be in charge of tasting, and I'll be in charge of gaining weight!"

Gao Yuanyuan replied instantly with a spoon-shaped emoji: "Deal! But Yingbao, you don't want to back out too, do you?"

Soon, all the women were affected by Fan Binbin's retirement from acting.

The main problem was that the fans were getting anxious and flocked to their Weibo accounts to ask questions.

Helpless, they could only issue clarifications one by one.

This finally calmed down the restless fans.

However, Fan Binbin's Weibo post announcing her retirement from acting has made "The Empress's Wedding," her final performance in the entertainment industry, a highly sought-after project.

Countless fans are scrambling online to get their hands on a premiere ticket.

In fact, tickets for the premiere of "The Empress's Wedding" are now extremely difficult to obtain.

After all, premieres don't sell tickets.

Besides inviting media professionals, film critics, and celebrity guests, tickets for other audience members were drawn through Fan Binbin's own fan club and super topic.

However, this premiere was unlike any other, being extremely luxurious, and also Fan Binbin's farewell party, so tickets were being resold online for tens of thousands of yuan.

However, tickets are still extremely difficult to obtain.

Several days have passed since the news of Fan Binbin's retirement from acting was released, and the Tang Dynasty-style palace lanterns at Shengshi Cinema remained unlit all night.

Chen Mo stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window with a glass of red wine in his hand, when he suddenly noticed that Fan Binbin was staring at his phone screen in a daze.

Chen Mo peeked over and saw that a video titled "Fan Ye: Twenty Years of Splendor" was being shared wildly on her phone.

Upon opening, countless familiar scenes flashed across the screen—a young and incredibly naive Fan Binbin eating a steamed bun and memorizing lines on the set of "My Fair Princess," with a fan's voiceover saying, "Back then, you said you wanted to be a 'rich man,' and we laughed at you for being silly, but later we booked out ten screenings of every movie you starred in!" Then came a list of Fan Binbin's various film and television works, including "Cellphone" and "International Police," among others.

She was mesmerized by the sight.

These are all traces she left behind along the way.

The video also includes photos of her walking the red carpet in a dragon robe, as well as a slow-motion shot of her falling on the red carpet at an international film festival, followed by a sea of ​​light sticks held up by fans: "Even a fall is a queen's coronation pose!"

The final frame freezes on a clip from the trailer for "The Empress's Wedding," and the screen is suddenly filled with handwritten comments: "You just need to leave, we'll take care of sewing starlight into your everyday clothes!"

At the end of the video, a group of fans wearing "popsicle" patterned shirts held up highlighters and shouted in unison towards the end of the video: "A thousand stars, may your remaining life be brilliant! Sister Binbin, we will always love you!"

Chen Mo suddenly felt a warmth on his fingertips—Fan Binbin's tears had fallen onto the back of his hand.

The news of Fan Binbin's retirement from acting was like a bombshell, instantly igniting the entire entertainment industry.

Her fan group, "Bingbang," went from shock to reluctance, and then to collective action. Within just a few days, hotels and guesthouses in Chang'an were almost fully booked—fans from all over the world spontaneously gathered just to witness their idol's magnificent exit.

Meanwhile, a "fan support storm" swept through Chang'an City.

A giant projection on the city wall of Chang'an:

On the eve of the premiere, fans rented projection equipment from the ancient city wall and projected a montage of Fan Binbin's classic roles over the past twenty years into "The Empress's Crown" onto the thousand-year-old bricks. The camera panned from Jin Suo to Wu Zetian, finally settling on a red-clad figure turning back in the trailer for "The Empress's Wedding," prompting a flood of comments online: "You leave the stage, but we'll make you a god!"

The fan club worked overnight to produce 5,000 custom-made Tang Dynasty costumes. The women's costumes were modeled after the ruqun worn by Fan Binbin in "The Empress of China," while the men's costumes replicated the tiexie belt of Prince Chen Mo's formal attire. On the day of the premiere, the area outside the Shengshi Cinema resembled a scene from the Tang Dynasty. Some media outlets joked, "This isn't a fan meeting; it's clearly an empress's tribute ceremony!"

The news of Fan Binbin's retirement from acting, along with the premiere of the upcoming film "The Empress's Wedding" in the "Tang Palace Banquet" setting, has instantly made Chang'an City a national focus of cultural and tourism attention.

Even before the premiere of "The Empress's Wedding" began, the city of Chang'an was already buzzing with excitement.

With three days to go before the premiere, all five-star hotels in Chang'an are sold out, and even the prices of nearby guesthouses have tripled. Netizens joked, "Now, if you want to stay in Chang'an, you need to book in advance with the Empress's permission!"

Huayun Garments urgently airlifted 5,000 sets of high-end Tang suits, but the demand still exceeded the supply. Tourists wearing ruqun (traditional Chinese dress) and hairpins could be seen everywhere on the streets.

Local tailors worked overnight to produce "affordable replicas," with the owner jokingly saying, "I've never seen so many 'imperial concubines' lining up in my life!"

The official Weibo account of Chang'an Culture and Tourism Bureau posted a "Letter of Thanks to Fan Binbin and Chen Mo" in the early hours of the morning, accompanied by pictures of the brightly lit Shengshi Cinema and the deserted streets of the ancient city:
"A 'Tang Palace Night Banquet' has set a new record for cultural tourism data in Chang'an!"

Visitor numbers during premiere week reached 500% of weekday levels.
Tang Dynasty cultural experience projects generate over 2 million yuan in revenue.

Related topics across the internet have garnered over 50 billion views.

We hereby confer upon these two individuals the title of 'Honorary Citizen of Chang'an'! Thank you both for bringing the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty to Chang'an!

In fact, neither Chen Mo nor Fan Binbin expected the outcome to be so exaggerated.

To put it bluntly, Fan Binbin's retirement from acting, coupled with the lavish farewell premiere prepared for her by Chen Mo, has completely blew the Chang'an City Culture and Tourism Bureau away.

According to them, the thousand-year-old culture of Chang'an has been brought to life!

Moreover, as a result, the number of people coming here is no longer limited to fans. Many netizens from home and abroad have come to visit after seeing the grand scenes of Chang'an shared by other netizens, which has intensified the tourism boom of "The Splendor of the Tang Dynasty".

The economic value indirectly created has already multiplied many times over.

This silenced those who had previously criticized Chen Mo for being extravagant and wasteful.

Many netizens who were just watching the drama quickly came out to refute the claims.

"As expected, a sour-feet chicken is a sour-feet chicken. Now what? Come out and say something!"

"You're still the best! Chen Mo's move was absolutely amazing. A premiere, a farewell performance by Fan Binbin, directly ignited the cultural tourism industry in Chang'an, creating economic value many times greater than the cost of the premiere."

"Culture provides the stage, and the economy takes center stage. Wow, after seeing those photos online, I wanted to go too, but when I checked, I found out there was nowhere to stay!"

"To be honest, Chen Mo really is in the atmosphere this time!"

"Those who questioned Chen Mo, are you feeling ashamed now?

In fact, as soon as the news of Fan Binbin's retirement from acting was released, those people deleted their previous posts immediately.

If Chen Mo were simply throwing such a grand premiere for a wedding promotional video, even his supporters might secretly curse him as a rich scoundrel.

However, after news broke that Fan Binbin was retiring from acting, the premiere completely changed.

The nature of it is completely different.

Furthermore, with Fan Binbin's fans driving the cultural and tourism boom in Chang'an, it's natural that those who were sour about it now know that the tide has turned.

It's impossible to criticize it anymore!
(End of this chapter)